20-04-2019, 09:48 PM
"I get that you love them as much as I do, Helen. And I know you'd still be with one or both of them today, if the thought of being either of their 'second choice,' much less both of them, wasn't too much for you. They never make me feel that. In fact, Julie was worried I might after they got back from seeing you before. They didn't need to worry, but... er... I really liked how they went about it.
That's what motivated me to call you that first time. I had never seen either of them worry about anything until they got home."
"You were protecting your family." Helen agreed. "I was some bad influence from their past who'd hurt you and managed to buy my way back into their hearts, like I tried to buy my way into yours. Again, I find myself unable to blame you at all."
"That night, that's what I thought I was doing; protecting them. When I moved in, Monday through Thursday were 'Just Us Time.' I was happy to give it to them; still am. I was... staying with some friends for the weekend when I got the news about you. They've called it 'Just Us and Susan's Always Welcome to Join Time' ever since."
Helen beamed to hear that.
"I truly envy you, Susan. Both of them were my first love, back when even suggesting that they get together was always met with an 'eww' from both parties. And the night we had when they were here last time was positively magical."
The cigarette had burned out again, so she lit another and leaned in conspiratorially. Moving her lower back to bend didn't hurt as much.
"Before that night," she whispered to Susan, making her think of how she'd acted on the video during the drunk bit. "I hadn't gone down on a guy since..." Helen felt the vibe that it was too early for 'girl talk,' and backed out of the sentence, taking a drag of her cigarette. "Ok, you probably don't want to hear the GOOD parts of my sex life with Vincenzo either."
"You'd be right, there." Susan said with a smirk.
"I'll just leave it at 'he never needed those little blue pills,' then. He was so... different from all the pretty rich boys and girls that Julie and I had fucked and/or extracted money and gifts from all our lives. Troy was back in America in college then. Without him to reign us in, we both basically took whatever we wanted from the mega-rich party crowd. For all their concern about how I take things too far, I know you've seen Julie's jewelry collection. We both kind of felt Troy over our shoulders, though. Even from Seattle. So, for what it's worth, we never took any of them for more than they could afford to lose.
"And then I met him. A man who knew what it was to have anything he wanted except the person he loved. Contessa Sofia died young, you know. He'd been alone for a long time. And I loved him enough to endure the shouts of 'gold-digger' and 'graverobber' whenever we went out in public. Sometimes I'd do The Thing to someone who got in my face with it, but never in front of Vincenzo."
Susan noticed the cigarette trembling a bit between Helen's fingers, and that her eyes were misting over.
"And then he died, Susan. He gave me his love one last time, and then collapsed on top of me. I was pinned under my husband's dead body, and he was still inside me." Tears began to trail from her eyes. "The guards were used to me being loud in the bedroom at that point. By the time they noticed I was screaming for help, I'd just managed to push Vincenzo off of me and get a blanket over him, so at least they didn't find him that way.
"And I was alone again, but now I was expected to rule a country. Maria was sixteen; she was nowhere near ready. And I won't go into just how on fire this country would be if one of those 'Sackville San Finziones' we keep over on the business side ever took the throne, so it had to be me. So I did, in the end, use The Thing to assume control, at the meeting with La Familia's lawyers. But I did it for Vincenzo's sake; to uphold his dream as best as my twisted, criminal mind could interpret the idea. Troy and Julie got the Happily Ever After; I got the crown, the castle and the world coming to me with problems and expecting answers."
Although she hadn't been asked, Jeanne had brought a box of tissues with the tea. Susan took some out and handed them to Helen. She wiped the tears away, but more were coming.
"I was too busy trying to figure out what the hell I was doing here to get away, when Troy called to tell me that Propappou was in his final days. He could barely speak by then. I asked Troy to bring the phone up to his ear so I could tell him I loved him. I couldn't quite make out what he said, but I'm pretty sure there was a 'S'ayapo, Petalouda Emay' in there. That... means..."
Susan filled in the gap while Helen sobbed.
"'I love you, My Butterfly,' yeah. They don't use it around the house often, however, I've picked up that much Greek from them; and Troy and Julie have told me some stories about you and Propappou now. They said that's what he called you."
"They didn't tell him about Vincenzo passing three months before him. He died not knowing he was leaving his little Petalouda alone in the world. I'll owe them forever just for that. And I couldn't let them see me alone again. Is Julie any good at concealing her emotions? No. Troy was losing his great-grandfather, Julie was too, and I was losing my father. I wanted to scream to Troy 'I've slept on the Throne and in different rooms every night for the past month, because I can't go back into the bedroom where my husband died! I'm starting to miss the smell of cocaine; and while I've got you on the line, how the fuck do I balance a National Budget?'"
Helena took another deep breath.
"I know, I could have picked up the phone or logged into Skype at any time, and all the personal shit going on between the three of us would've gone and fucked itself. They'd have been right here; just like you all are now. I couldn't bring myself to go running scared to them the way I had my whole life. That reminds me, I heard about how you kept those two together on the way here; thank you for that too. And no, you don't have to call me Contessa or worry about getting drafted for accepting the offer."
Susan nodded and drank her tea. Helen's tears began to subside as she continued.
"I couldn't face them that way: Sad, scared Helen Parker, in trouble and needing their saving once more. I would have rather they thought of me as an evil, power-hungry bitch; happy to fuck my way to the throne, than look at me like that again. I never expected to be invited to the wedding, and I was still worried that they'd see through the money and the clothes and the power that I'd learned to adjust to by then; so, I laid it on thick. And you paid the price.
"So, that's who I was when we met; when Contessa Helena de San Finzione disregarded you as a person, Susan. And every time I've learned a little more about you, about how much more special you are than you can possibly guess, I've felt the Hammer of Guilt pound down on me with 'You Wronged This Woman!' The only other person who can make me feel that," She felt another tear coming and dabbed it with the tissue. "Calls me 'Great-Grandmama' now. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what I did to her." She looked Susan in the eye and gave a weak smile. "Fortunately, I've already learned what a mistake it is trying to buy the forgiveness of someone who truly matters to me."
Susan set down her cup.
"Well, let me start by saying that I accept your apology, Helen. I won't make you wait for that part. Living with Troy and Julie, I've seen how much This Thing We Do is a part of them, too. Julie's never gotten a ticket in that Ferrari, and when we get back, I know that all of Troy's professors are going to have no problem letting him make up any tests he's missed. And a few of the lessons they've taught me consisted of 'Here's something Helen did with it. Now, don't do that.'"
Helen lit another cigarette. She'd been taking puffs and drags during the conversation, but had mostly let the last one burn away as well.
"I come from a long line of bad examples." Helen said with a sheepish grin, nodding to the cigarette as if offering it as proof.
"And the first time I saw you..."
Susan seemed to have trouble putting the thought into words. Helen offered to assist.
That's what motivated me to call you that first time. I had never seen either of them worry about anything until they got home."
"You were protecting your family." Helen agreed. "I was some bad influence from their past who'd hurt you and managed to buy my way back into their hearts, like I tried to buy my way into yours. Again, I find myself unable to blame you at all."
"That night, that's what I thought I was doing; protecting them. When I moved in, Monday through Thursday were 'Just Us Time.' I was happy to give it to them; still am. I was... staying with some friends for the weekend when I got the news about you. They've called it 'Just Us and Susan's Always Welcome to Join Time' ever since."
Helen beamed to hear that.
"I truly envy you, Susan. Both of them were my first love, back when even suggesting that they get together was always met with an 'eww' from both parties. And the night we had when they were here last time was positively magical."
The cigarette had burned out again, so she lit another and leaned in conspiratorially. Moving her lower back to bend didn't hurt as much.
"Before that night," she whispered to Susan, making her think of how she'd acted on the video during the drunk bit. "I hadn't gone down on a guy since..." Helen felt the vibe that it was too early for 'girl talk,' and backed out of the sentence, taking a drag of her cigarette. "Ok, you probably don't want to hear the GOOD parts of my sex life with Vincenzo either."
"You'd be right, there." Susan said with a smirk.
"I'll just leave it at 'he never needed those little blue pills,' then. He was so... different from all the pretty rich boys and girls that Julie and I had fucked and/or extracted money and gifts from all our lives. Troy was back in America in college then. Without him to reign us in, we both basically took whatever we wanted from the mega-rich party crowd. For all their concern about how I take things too far, I know you've seen Julie's jewelry collection. We both kind of felt Troy over our shoulders, though. Even from Seattle. So, for what it's worth, we never took any of them for more than they could afford to lose.
"And then I met him. A man who knew what it was to have anything he wanted except the person he loved. Contessa Sofia died young, you know. He'd been alone for a long time. And I loved him enough to endure the shouts of 'gold-digger' and 'graverobber' whenever we went out in public. Sometimes I'd do The Thing to someone who got in my face with it, but never in front of Vincenzo."
Susan noticed the cigarette trembling a bit between Helen's fingers, and that her eyes were misting over.
"And then he died, Susan. He gave me his love one last time, and then collapsed on top of me. I was pinned under my husband's dead body, and he was still inside me." Tears began to trail from her eyes. "The guards were used to me being loud in the bedroom at that point. By the time they noticed I was screaming for help, I'd just managed to push Vincenzo off of me and get a blanket over him, so at least they didn't find him that way.
"And I was alone again, but now I was expected to rule a country. Maria was sixteen; she was nowhere near ready. And I won't go into just how on fire this country would be if one of those 'Sackville San Finziones' we keep over on the business side ever took the throne, so it had to be me. So I did, in the end, use The Thing to assume control, at the meeting with La Familia's lawyers. But I did it for Vincenzo's sake; to uphold his dream as best as my twisted, criminal mind could interpret the idea. Troy and Julie got the Happily Ever After; I got the crown, the castle and the world coming to me with problems and expecting answers."
Although she hadn't been asked, Jeanne had brought a box of tissues with the tea. Susan took some out and handed them to Helen. She wiped the tears away, but more were coming.
"I was too busy trying to figure out what the hell I was doing here to get away, when Troy called to tell me that Propappou was in his final days. He could barely speak by then. I asked Troy to bring the phone up to his ear so I could tell him I loved him. I couldn't quite make out what he said, but I'm pretty sure there was a 'S'ayapo, Petalouda Emay' in there. That... means..."
Susan filled in the gap while Helen sobbed.
"'I love you, My Butterfly,' yeah. They don't use it around the house often, however, I've picked up that much Greek from them; and Troy and Julie have told me some stories about you and Propappou now. They said that's what he called you."
"They didn't tell him about Vincenzo passing three months before him. He died not knowing he was leaving his little Petalouda alone in the world. I'll owe them forever just for that. And I couldn't let them see me alone again. Is Julie any good at concealing her emotions? No. Troy was losing his great-grandfather, Julie was too, and I was losing my father. I wanted to scream to Troy 'I've slept on the Throne and in different rooms every night for the past month, because I can't go back into the bedroom where my husband died! I'm starting to miss the smell of cocaine; and while I've got you on the line, how the fuck do I balance a National Budget?'"
Helena took another deep breath.
"I know, I could have picked up the phone or logged into Skype at any time, and all the personal shit going on between the three of us would've gone and fucked itself. They'd have been right here; just like you all are now. I couldn't bring myself to go running scared to them the way I had my whole life. That reminds me, I heard about how you kept those two together on the way here; thank you for that too. And no, you don't have to call me Contessa or worry about getting drafted for accepting the offer."
Susan nodded and drank her tea. Helen's tears began to subside as she continued.
"I couldn't face them that way: Sad, scared Helen Parker, in trouble and needing their saving once more. I would have rather they thought of me as an evil, power-hungry bitch; happy to fuck my way to the throne, than look at me like that again. I never expected to be invited to the wedding, and I was still worried that they'd see through the money and the clothes and the power that I'd learned to adjust to by then; so, I laid it on thick. And you paid the price.
"So, that's who I was when we met; when Contessa Helena de San Finzione disregarded you as a person, Susan. And every time I've learned a little more about you, about how much more special you are than you can possibly guess, I've felt the Hammer of Guilt pound down on me with 'You Wronged This Woman!' The only other person who can make me feel that," She felt another tear coming and dabbed it with the tissue. "Calls me 'Great-Grandmama' now. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what I did to her." She looked Susan in the eye and gave a weak smile. "Fortunately, I've already learned what a mistake it is trying to buy the forgiveness of someone who truly matters to me."
Susan set down her cup.
"Well, let me start by saying that I accept your apology, Helen. I won't make you wait for that part. Living with Troy and Julie, I've seen how much This Thing We Do is a part of them, too. Julie's never gotten a ticket in that Ferrari, and when we get back, I know that all of Troy's professors are going to have no problem letting him make up any tests he's missed. And a few of the lessons they've taught me consisted of 'Here's something Helen did with it. Now, don't do that.'"
Helen lit another cigarette. She'd been taking puffs and drags during the conversation, but had mostly let the last one burn away as well.
"I come from a long line of bad examples." Helen said with a sheepish grin, nodding to the cigarette as if offering it as proof.
"And the first time I saw you..."
Susan seemed to have trouble putting the thought into words. Helen offered to assist.
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