Two-Way Monologues

“Anya, did you finish the packet of reader questions?” Anya stood off to the side of her Madeline Rousseau’s desk with a note pad waiting patiently for her next set of instructions. It was how she started each day at Simplicity. Madeline was the magazine’s fashion editor. Anya watched her boss with rapt attention; the tall, leggy, blonde woman who always wore a sugary smile but whose voice strong with authority, was everything Anya aspired to be.

“I did, and I sent them to Rachelle like you asked. She wants to know if we’re going to be using all of them for a special or just a couple. Rachel says you stop by her office to discuss them any time after lunch.” Anya felt self-conscious standing in front of the older woman. Madeline was dressed immaculately in a Marc Jacobs dress and coordinating heels. Anya’s clothes, while they expressed her eclectic style, were not nearly as high-end.

“Great, thank you. Can you pick out four of the questions and responses that you like the most and run it by her?” Madeline gave Anya a smile. “I do it myself but I’m not really in the mood to deal with Rachelle. What’s your opinion of her?”

“Oh, I don’t know her very well.” Anya shifted, trying not to show her discomfort although she was very pleased to see that Madeline was trusting her with more responsibility in the office as well as with side comments.

“Good answer. You’re going to want to stay diplomatic about people in this business.” Madeline motioned for Anya to take a seat on her couch. “You know Anya, I’m very impressed with your work so far. I was hoping we could have a moment to talk about what your goals are.”

“Thank-you Madeline.” Anya beamed. “I’m really having a great time here; I’m learning a lot about how the magazine functions.”

“What are you most interested in?” Madeline leaned back in her chair.

“Well, I’m interested in all of the aspects of the magazine but since I’ve been working here I have to admit, I think being a fashion editor combines all of my interests.”

“What about it interests you, and don’t worry darling, this isn’t a pop quiz. I’m genuinely curious.”

Anya relaxed a little. “I love fashion, art, and writing. I love the idea of getting to see all of the clothes for the next season and having creative control over how it’s presented.”

“That’s what I love as well. You know, the spring fashion shows are coming up soon and I’m looking for a personal assistant. I think that you would be perfect for the position. I love your passion about the magazine and you have great attention to detail.” Madeline complimented her. “So, is this something that you would be interested in?”

“Of course!” Anya’s smile was bright. “This is such an amazing honor.”

“Great, this is perfect.” Madeline stood up and handed Anya a leather- bound portfolio. “Every day I’ll have a list of things that I need you to take care of. The first section is a list of things that need to be done for that day. The second section is a list of things that need to be done by the end of the week, understand?” Anya nodded. “If I have specific instructions about any of the tasks, I will put them in the third section. I need you to follow the instructions precisely Anya; if you don’t understand one of your tasks, you should first ask Tanya for assistance, if you still do not understand then come and ask me. The goal is for you to be as self reliant as possible, okay?”

“Yes, I promise I won’t let you down.” Anya held the portfolio as though it were sacred.

“I trust that you won’t.” Letting down Madeline Rousseau really wasn’t an option.


*

“Hello?” Anya answered her cell phone as she walked down the street. She was carrying three Chloe dresses that needed to be returned to a showroom across town and at the moment she couldn’t seem to get a single cab to stop for her. It was her first assignment for Madeline and she was anxious to complete it.

“Hey baby, are you busy?” Adrian asked. He was taking a break at work and had decided to check in with her.

“Only sort of.” Any groaned as another cab sped past her without stopping. “I can’t get a fucking cab to stop for me, it’s ridiculous.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m running an errand for my boss. Oh, I’ve got some good news, I was promoted today. I’m now the assistant to Madeline Rousseau. THE Madeline Rousseau.”

“Um, is that a name I should know?” The name didn’t sound familiar to Adrian.

“If you cared about women’s fashion magazines, which you don’t.” Anya laughed. “She’s a brilliant fashion editor. She’s my idol, the whole reason I spent forever trying to land this internship.”

“Oh, well in that case, I do care about women’s fashion magazines, and I’m extremely excited for you.” Adrian told her. “We’ll have to celebrate.”

“Well thank you baby.” Anya held her hand up for another cab and it started to slow down for her. “I gotta run, but I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah, I’ll be over kind of late. We’re rehearsing.” He told her.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Anya.”

*
It had been three days and Anya hadn’t had “the talk” with Adrian; it seemed as though every time she started to talk to him about it, Adrian would distract her. He was very, very, good at distracting her. Anya feared they were setting a pattern for themselves: Anya would come home from work and shower, if Kendra wasn’t working or in class, they would have dinner together, after dinner Anya would do some work to prepare for the next day, Adrian would come over and almost immediately they would be in bed. It was starting to exhaust her and they hadn’t even been “dating?” for very long. Anya wondered if Adrian considered them to be in a relationship.

“Well, he says he loves you right?” Kendra asked when she came home from work. They were sitting at their kitchen table eating and catching up.

“All the time, but we’ve always said ‘I love you’. I can tell it’s different now, you know? But, we haven’t actually discussed it.” Anya explained. “We haven’t talked about being together since the first time we had sex.”

“This is clearly starting to bother you Anya, you’re gonna have to talk to him about it.” Kendra suggested. “Think about the relationships that he’s been in, they’ve been all about the sex. Maybe he just needs to be reminded that all sex and nothing else just isn’t going to cut it.”

“Do you think that’s it?” Any bit her lip. “I mean, if that’s what he wants-“

“Doesn’t matter.” Kendra shook her head. “It’s not what you want and besides, it’s not healthy. Trust me, when I was with Gwen it was all sex and look how that turned out.”

Anya nodded her head. Kendra and Gwen’s relationship came to a crashing halt when they cut back on the sex and tried to focus on the other aspects of their relationship. “I’m not sure if that’s the encouragement I need to get me to talk to him.”

“If you talk about it now then you won’t wake up two months from now regretting all the time you’ve spent with him. Besides, it’s you and Dre. You were friends first, you guys already have the foundation for the other stuff.”

“You’re right.” Anya took a deep breath. “You’re right, I’m going to be mature about this and talk to him. Tonight, no matter how he tries to tempt me.”

“God, if only I had your problems.” Kendra rolled her eyes. She took her plate and put it into the sink. “I’ve got to get ready for class, are you planning on sitting here over thinking this until Adrian comes over?”

“No, Kendra.” Anya pretended to be bothered by the comment. “I actually have a few things that I didn’t finish taking care of today. That little adventure going to Brooklyn with those dresses really threw me off.”

“You just got your promotion and you’re already behind?” Kendra arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’s great, I just need to get used to it.” Anya said confidently. “This is such an amazing opportunity.”

“Alright,” Kendra smiled. “I’m happy for you, I just don’t want to see you getting too burned out.”

“I’m fine, thanks Kendra.” Anya gave her friend a playful shove in the direction of her bedroom. “You’re going to be late again.”

*
At ten o’clock Anya’s eyes were starting to water from starring at her computer screen for so long. Sending the email she was working on, Anya finally completed her list of daily tasks. Adrian still hadn’t come over and Anya was actually grateful for that. She was going to have to work harder on her time management skills. Sliding off of the stool and closing her laptop, Anya stretched before grabbing her cell phone and calling Adrian.

“Hey, it’s Adrian, leave a message.” Anya listened to the familiar voicemail message.

“Hey Dre, it’s me. It’s after ten and I’m exhausted.” Anya paused for a moment, wanting to choose her wording carefully. “You don’t have to worry about coming over tonight, I think I’m just going to crash. Okay, talk to you later baby. Love you.”

“That was simple enough.” Anya said to herself. I’ll talk to him tomorrow, yes, definitely tomorrow.

*

Adrian had always suspected that Anya and Kendra had decided on their apartment because of the bathroom. It was more spacious than it should have been; and in keeping with the rest of the apartment everything in it had a vintage feel. Anya’s favorite piece was the bathtub with feet. She said it made her feel like she was in an old movie. She certainly looked like a starlet as she soaked in a tub full of bubbles and only candles to light the room. Her hair was pilled on the top of her head in a bun and she had her eyes closed.

“How was your class?” She asked hearing the bathroom door creak open.

“It’s me. Kendra let me in.” Adrian told her. Anya’s eyes automatically flew open and she sat sunk lower in the tub trying to hid under the mountain of bubbles. “Anya, I’ve seen you naked before.” Adrian reminded her, taking a seat on the clothes hamper that was next to the tub.

“I know…” Anya said, still blushing. “I just wasn’t expecting you to come in here.”

“Sorry.” Adrian shrugged. “Having a good time?”

“Yup.” Anya sighed happily. “I just needed to clear my head for a little while, it’s been a long day.”

“Good or bad?”

“Just long.” Anya looked up at him; Adrian looked tired and she wondered if something was bothering him. “What about yours?”

“Bad.” He shrugged his shoulders again. “Rehearsal was a bust.”

“What happened? Did you guys argue about stuff?” Anya knew that although the guys were the best of friends when they were stressed out about their music they could get into epic arguments.

“Pretty much. The guy from the record company wants to hear some new stuff from us but we can’t seem to agree on anything. Tom kept getting really pissed at Carter and so then of course I tried to stand up for him and then Lucas started getting mad at me. It was a bad scene.”

“I’m sorry baby.” Anya said honestly. “You look tired, why don’t you get in bed. I’m almost done in here.”

“Mind if I sit here?” Adrian asked. “It’s relaxing and besides I don’t think I could move right now.”

“Sure.” Anya leaned back again and closed her eyes, enjoying their comfortable silence.

“Hey, I almost forgot, you have to tell me about your new job.” Adrian said apologetically.

“Oh,” Anya smiled. “I’m Madeline’s assistant now. It’s kind of the same job, except instead of doing random stuff for everyone in the office, I only work for Madeline. She’s letting me make some choices for the issue we’re working on, which is incredible. And today I got to see return some dresses to the Chloe showroom; I know you don’t understand but it’s like my Mecca.”

“Wow, I’m really excited for you baby.” Adrian leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

“Thank-you.” Anya beamed. “I’m really excited about it; the only thing that worries me is that although I’m only working for Madeline there is a lot more for me to do now. I didn’t finish everything at the office, I had to bring a bunch of stuff home tonight.”

“Well, it’s the first day. I’m sure you’ll get a rhythm going soon.” Adrian said confidently. “You’re good at stuff like that.”

“I knew there was a reason we’re friends.” Anya laughed. “You’re full of compliments.”

They lapsed back into silence for a few minutes before Adrian abruptly broke it. “Friends? Are we friends ?”

Anya sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest to hide some of her nakedness. “Of course, but are we more than that?” Anya asked turning the question back to him.

“I hope so.” Adrian met her gaze.

“Me too.” Anya nodded. “So, we’re like dating, or something?”

Adrian laughed at her phrasing. “Um, yeah, like, totally.”

“Shut up.” Anya flicked some water at him. “It’s not nice to make fun of your girlfriend.”

“I like the sound of that.” Adrian grinned.

“Can I ask you something?” Anya asked seriously, her gaze focused on the dissipating bubbles.

“Sure.” Adrian leaned forward and rested his head in his hands as he stared at her.

“You don’t just want to date me so we can have sex, right?” Anya asked bluntly, looking up at him quickly before looking away again.

“Yeah.” Adrian said quickly. “A man has needs you know.”
Anya looked up at him in surprise but didn’t say anything.

“Anya that’s the stupidest question you’ve ever asked me.” Adrian shook his head. “Do you think I’d just wait around for the last few years, secretly pinning away for you, with the sole desire to get you in bed?”

“I dunno.” Anya laid her head on her knees. “It’s just that it seems like all we’ve done since we got together or whatever is have sex, we don’t even talk like we used to.”

“I’ll admit baby, I really like having sex with you.” Adrian’s comment earned him a small smile from Anya. “But that’s not why I want to be with you. I love you.”

“Well, the other night when you came over it just seemed like all you wanted to do was have sex and go to sleep.” Anya told him her fears.

“Hey, that’s only because you were wearing those shorts.” Adrian told her. “I’m not blind.”

“Well, what about the night before that, or the night before that?” Anya asked. “I just don’t want us to get caught up on the sex, you know? I know you’re used to being with girls who are more experienced and I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

Adrian’s eyes grew wide and he cut her off. “Baby, how could you ever disappoint me? Yeah, we’ve had a lot of sex the last few days and maybe on some level, I want to make up for lost time but you have to know that there is no comparison between you and any other girl, I’ve ever been with. You’re my best friend, you know me better than anyone else does, probably better than even Lucas, I would never think of just using you for sex.”

Tears were in Anya’s eyes as she listened to his words. “Was that what it was like with the other girls?”

“Those girls were distractions Anya.” Adrian sighed and moved to kneel in front of the bathtub. “You don’t realize that I have wanted to be with you for so long. Watching you with Bryan tore me up inside and I did a lot of stupid shit to try to ignore what I was feeling. That’s the past though and I regret that stuff. I wish I could have been honest with you sooner.” Adrian cupped her face with his palm. “I never want you to make you feel anything less than loved and respected.”

“I love you.” Anya turned her head so she could kiss his palm. “I’m sorry for being so silly. I should have known the answer to my question.”

“Yeah but I should have told you what I was feeling.” Adrian leaned in to kiss her softly. “Let’s go to bed… I’m tired.”

“Me too.” Anya smiled.