The alarm clock rang shrill and loud. Fenny smashed it with one fist and then dropped it to the floor. It was seven o’clock. She’d gotten to sleep at 3:30, and even then it was a troubled sleep and she didn’t feel at all rested. She had spent all night wondering if she really was selfish, wondering if it really was over, wondering why Brad had left his own apartment, wondering if he had gone to Ella’s. As much as she wanted to, Fenny couldn’t hate Ella or Lilly. It wasn’t their fault Brad was an asshole. Brad had told Fenny he loved her, that he wanted to be with her, but they hadn’t been together in any meaningful way for weeks, he was always with his kid. And yes, it was selfish of Fenny to want him, but she had gone from being the most important person in his world to someone he seemed to consider a liability, someone to make excuses to and lie to in order to keep himself out of trouble, and she hadn’t even noticed.

There had been times in Australia when Fenny would think about all the trouble that went into her relationship with Brad. Most men, after finding out they had been cheated on, would have had nothing to do with her ever again. But Brad had allowed himself to be fought for. And, even though things had gone disastrously wrong with Ritza and her pregnancy scare, he had come to fight for her, and it had been a real fight. He had put his life on the line for Fenny. At the time, Fenny had amused herself by thinking that maybe they were soul mates, destined to be together, and that was why no matter what hardship arose they always seemed to overcome it. Her newest theory was that the gods were trying to tell her that she and Brad should never have gotten together in the first place and it was only by sheer asinine determination that they’d managed to stay together as long as they had.

She let out a yawn and reached for her glasses, pausing a moment to stretch before getting out of bed to get ready for work. The beautiful thing about having such a demanding job was that it was so easy for Fenny to lose herself in her work, and that was just what she needed.

Paul gazed over at Gina, admiring her sleeping form as he waited for her to wake. It seemed like ages since he’d woken up next to her, watching as she smiled in her sleep, and he decided he missed it, and didn’t want to wake up alone ever again.

The television clicked on in the living room, and Paul figured he should get up and check on Fenny, see how she was doing after the previous night’s disaster. Gingerly he slipped out of bed and into a pair of pants, grabbing a shirt to pull on along the way as he pulled his fingers through his hair.

“Hey Fenny,” he greeted her as he found her sticking her head into the refrigerator.

She jumped a mile into the air and she clutched a hand to her heart. “Scare me to death,” she chided, then retrieved the milk from the fridge and smiled at him.

“Sorry,” Paul laughed.

“No you’re not. Good morning, anyway. How’d you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” he grinned. “You?”

“Best not to ask questions like that,” she grumbled.

“I heard,” Paul said carefully, “you and Brad, the kid, how he stormed off. I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” she mused as she reached into a cupboard.

“Wanna talk about it?” Paul suggested kindly as he noticed the tea kettle sitting empty on the stove.

“No, not really.”

He shrugged, knowing her well enough to expect that answer but not well enough to do much about it. She pulled a box of Apple Jacks out of the pantry and turned to face him as he filled the kettle with water from the faucet.

“Oh, you probably want to use the filtered tap for that, the LA aquifer’s not known for its sparkling purity,” Fenny mused.

“Filtered tap?” Paul asked as he turned to her.

Fenny opened her mouth to explain, but quickly shut it again. His unbuttoned shirt splayed open across his chest caught Fenny’s attention, and once she realized she was staring, she turned away, fighting a blush.

“Why Miss Grey,” Paul began, “I do believe you were admiring my stellar beauty!”

“Was not,” she giggled.

“I don’t mind, I get this all the time, shall I take off my shirt for you? I could remove my pants, but that would cost you the standard twenty-dollar fee. Oh fuck it, you’re a friend, I’ll knock it down to fifteen.”

“Get over yourself,” Fenny chuckled as she took the kettle from him to fill it from the small filtered tap. “It’s just been a while since I’ve seen a nice piece of bare male flesh, and I’m to the point now where I’ll settle for a glimpse of your scrawny body.”

“Scrawny,” Paul scoffed. “Better than Greg’s paunch and Brad’s—”

“Am I missing out on the party?” Gina yawned as she wandered into the kitchen.

“Fenny was ogling me,” Paul announced proudly.

“Stop it or I’ll pour hot water over your crotch,” Fenny grinned menacingly as she lit the stove to make tea.

“See, she’s thinking about my crotch,” Paul pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe I should go back to bed,” Gina said sleepily.

“Your husband comes out half naked to prance around in front of what he knows is a sexually frustrated woman and he’s teasing me for glancing at his carelessly exposed skin.”

“She was gawking,” Paul nodded.

“Only ‘cause you’re a skinny little twit,” Fenny giggled.

“Well stay off, he’s my twit,” Gina announced and leaned over to button his shirt for him.

Fenny watched the couple for a moment or two before blinking and shaking her head and returning to breakfast. “I’m just gonna have some cereal, you’re welcome to fix yourselves something more exciting. Well, no, Gina’s welcome to cook,” she smiled.

“Cereal sounds good,” Paul nodded, and Gina went to the cabinet to get two bowls, and soon the three were situated around the table, munching on Apple Jacks.

“So, Fen, how’re you do—”

“I’m fine, Gina,” Fenny sighed. “Please, let’s not talk about it, ok?”

Gina paused to regard her friend closely, then turned back to her bowl. It was obvious Fenny was still confused, and she knew that when Fenny was ready to deal with the things she had to deal with, she would, and pressing her would do nothing but deteriorate the situation further.

“I was thinking, how’d you like some more help at work today?” Paul asked. He remembered last night’s conversation with Gina, when he’d volunteered to watch after Fenny and make sure she didn’t do anything foolish. Gina remembered the conversation too, and realized she had no way of knowing where Brad was to talk with him. He certainly wouldn’t be in the mood to answer his cell phone.

“I’ll come too,” Gina chirped. “It’ll be fun.”

Fenny shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Anything to get finished quicker. See how many more bits of human biology Paul can work into the backdrops.”

“Excuse me?” Gina peeped.

“I’ll show you when we get there,” Paul laughed.

“So, what do you think?” Fenny asked as they made their way to her little corner of the theatre.

Gina’s eyes bugged out. “You let Paul paint a giant penis on your backdrop,” she gasped.

“The director didn’t even notice,” Fenny giggled. “I plan to let Paul loose on the mauve next, see if he can’t work that out and make it sexy at the same time.”

“So what is this play you’re doing anyway?” Gina asked as Fenny pulled her box of supplies off a shelf and the three of them started moving jugs of acrylic paint.

“I dunno, there’s a script in here somewhere,” Fenny mused and rifled around in the bottom of her box.

“You don’t know what play you’re working on?” Gina gasped.

“Well it hardly matters. The director’s changed his mind on just about everything I’ve done,” she pulled the tattered and slightly stained script from the bottom of her box, “and none of his decisions seem to be based on the script. I’m sure it’s shit anyway.”

Gina took it and flopped on the floor while Fenny and Paul began discussing shadow placement and the theory of perspective as it pertains to set designing. By the time the director came around to pester the duo, they were finished with the backdrop, and he spent ten minutes gushing to them, still oblivious to the fact that there was a rather large penis across half of the wall. “Take a break,” he smiled at them, “I’ve got some things to work out before we get back into the mauve.”

Fenny restrained from rolling her eyes as he wandered off, but was satisfied with knowing that was the last piece she had to do, and with Paul’s help, it probably wouldn’t take too long if everyone could agree on exactly what mauve was. What did these actors know about color theory and paint mixing, anyway?

“Ok everyone, act two, scene three, we’ve got the bedroom drop done, let’s get this thing started!” the director called out.

“Come on, I wanna see if anyone notices what we’ve done,” Paul giggled as the props guys pushed the backdrop into the center of the stage, Fenny and Gina following obediently behind Paul and situating themselves in the center of the theatre to watch the rehearsal. People began milling about the stage, flipping through their scripts.

“No one’s noticed,” Fenny whispered.

“Pretty obvious from back here,” Gina said. “Think it’ll get caught before the opening?”

“I hope not,” Paul sniggered.

“If I get fired for this, I’m going to Australia to screw with your backdrops,” Fenny announced.

“Hey, I’ll write you a glowing recommendation,” Paul smiled.

“This script is crap,” Gina mused.

“Is it really?” Fenny asked. “Well, at least the sets are intriguing.”

“NO NO NO NO NO!” the director shrieked. “You’re in love with the man, doe eyes, sweetheart.”

“They’ve been together four years, according to the script,” Gina announced. “I hardly think doe eyes are still practical.”

The director turned on her. “What?!”

“All I’m saying is that the theatre is based on reality. If you’ve been together for four years, you’re past the gooey stuff and into, you know, just being together, if you can manage.”

“Who are you?” the director demanded.

“Gina Coleman. I’m a friend of Fenny’s. I’m also a writer.”

“You have problems with my script?”

“Yes, actually, I do.”

“Here we go,” Paul breathed as Gina got out of her seat and wandered over towards the director.

“Like in this scene here. You don’t have the girl on her knees begging for the guy to come back. He’s just cheated on her for god’s sake.”

“But she loves him,” the director declared, beginning to get confused.

“Right, ok, but, first off, no real woman would ever do that. And secondly, the whole play kinda fizzles out once she takes him back, there’s no build up of tension. We already know that she’s spineless and will accept whatever he does.”

The director frowned at her. “You think you could do better?” he barked.

“Yeah, actually, I do,” she nodded confidently.

“Well sit down, tell me what you’d do…”

Paul looked at Fenny. “This could take a while,” he smiled. “She’s gonna rewrite the last half of this man’s play. Wanna get started on the mauve?”

“Probably a good idea,” Fenny smiled, and they got up and headed back towards the backstage area.

Gina and the director spent forty minutes discussing the main plot irregularities and the lack of character development, both scribbling hurriedly on pads of paper. Then her phone rang. It was another unfamiliar number, and she answered it with the hopes that maybe it was Brad trying to get hold of Fenny. “Hello?”

“Hey Gina.”

Crap. “Hi Greg.”

“Look, I just wormed my way out of a meeting here at the studio, want me to drop by, pick you up, we can grab some lunch or something? Maybe go back to my place for some mind blowing sex?”

She was going to turn him down, but then stopped and frowned at herself. “Meeting, hey?”

“Yeah, for the next live episode of Drew’s show. They’re looking over the script, I don’t have to do much, told ‘em I had plans. I do have plans, don’t I?”

“Actually, now’s not a good time.”

“Gina,” Greg whined, “I haven’t seen you in days.”

“You could use the rest,” she smiled. “Look, I gotta go.”

“Alright, but—“

“Goodbye Speccy.”

“Bye Gina…”

She ended the call and turned to the director. “I really have to go,” she said. “There’s, well, something I have to deal with. Could you tell Fenny I’ll be back soon?”

“Will you be around tomorrow?” the director asked.

“Probably. I’ve given you enough to go on for a while, right?” She smiled cheekily, then slipped out of the theatre and into her car, suddenly grateful Fenny had talked her into driving that morning.

Gina, never one to leave home without her press pass, managed to talk her way onto the studio lot and found the meeting with the help of Wayne, who she ran into as she stalked the halls. “Gina, hey, nice to see you again,” he cooed as they spotted each other. “Sorry to tell ya, but Greg left a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah, I know,” Gina smiled politely; she’d never been close to Wayne and wasn’t sure how to react. “I need to see Brad, actually.”

“He’s right in there,” he said, pointing to a door. “They’re all fooling around, don’t worry about interrupting anything.”

“Oh, I won’t,” she grinned and stepped up to the door as Wayne sauntered off down the hall.

“Stupid door,” Gina heard Wayne mumble from behind her. She turned just in time to see him pull harshly on the handle, the door flying open and throwing him against the floor. He carefully regained his feet and took a moment to adjust his knee and rub his rear as he mumbled under his breath. When he caught Gina smiling at him, his face dropped and he hurried into the room, obviously embarrassed.

Gina was still fighting the smirk when she turned back to the door. She had to remember that she was here to deal with Brad. Still, she had no idea what she was going to say, but she had to talk to him somehow, bring him to his senses. She turned the knob and opened the door carefully. When she stuck her head in the door, all eyes were on her, except Brad, who quickly looked away. She stepped into the room, smiling at the familiar faces and the few she recognized only from television, the Drew Carey Show.

“Hey Gina,” Colin piped up. “Nice to see you’re still in one piece, after what Greg and Brad told us about Australia.”

“Nice to see you guys too,” she chirped. “But, I’ve got to talk to Brad for a minute.”

“Really Gina, we’re kinda in the middle of something here,” Brad began to protest.

“You guys can spare him, right?” Gina asked, and everyone in the room nodded as he glared at them. “Up,” she commanded. “Don’t make me grab you by the ear like my Mum used to.”

“Gina,” he began again. She reached for his ear. “Alright, I’m coming,” he growled and stomped out of the room with Gina in tow. He slammed the door and rounded on her in the hallway. “What are you hoping to accomplish?” he demanded. “I know Fenny’s mad at me, which means you’re mad at me. But it’s not my fault Fen can’t cope with the fact that I’ve got a kid.”

“Don’t you understand?” Gina huffed. “It’s not the fact that you’ve got a kid, it’s the fact that she feels you’ve abandoned her. From what I understand, she’s lost you a few times, and now that she thought she had you for good, it looks like she might be losing you for good. Is she?”

“She’s the one that gave me back my fucking ring,” Brad snapped. “It wasn’t my idea for her to freak out. I love her and I don’t want to lose her, but I’m not prepared to give up Lilly for her.”

“I honestly don’t think she wants you to give her up,” Gina sighed. “I mean, you can’t expect her to have figured this whole bloody mess out rationally. It’s gonna take a while for it to sink in that you’ve got a baby. But you shouldn’t be giving up Fenny for Lilly either. I know somewhere under that moron suit you’ve been wearing since I got here there’s a pretty bright guy, you should’ve been able to figure this out a long time ago. You should’ve told Fenny about the child and found a way to incorporate both of them into your life. I’m sure you still can.”

“Oh, like you’re incorporating Greg and Paul into your life, huh?” Brad sneered.

“Don’t start with me,” Gina snapped. “I’m stupid, I know, and I’m trying to fix my mistakes, which is a whole hell of a lot better than you’re doing.”

“I’m fixing my mistake. I’m taking care of my daughter.”

“Well what about taking care of Fenny?” Gina demanded. “Cause lying to her certainly wasn’t doing the trick, and now she’s hurting, and she’s hurting bad. And it’s your fault, and I expect you to do something, because you love her.”

Brad glared at Gina and turned round to throw open the door. Jeff and Chip fell into the corridor and Diedrich Bader stumbled to keep his balance. Gina rolled her eyes at them all as Brad stepped over them to pout in his chair and she bolted down the hallway. A door opened and she slammed it closed as she marched past, and Wayne stepped out into the hall rubbing his nose angrily. “What’d I miss?” he asked as Jeff and Chip were picking themselves up off the floor and everyone was glaring at Brad.

“For starters,” Ryan frowned, looking ready to lunge for Brad’s throat, “Brad’s got a kid.”

“And Fenny found out,” Colin said with a disappointed shake of the head. “Gave back the engagement ring, huh?”

Brad only scowled at the table in response.

“Is it over between you two,” Diedrich asked.

“Dunno,” Brad shrugged.

“What’re you doing with a kid anyway?” Jeff asked.

“Fen was in Australia, I got drunk and lonely, had sex, out popped a kid,” Brad barked. “Look, I don’t really want to discuss this.”

“Gina’s right,” Drew announced. “You can’t abandon Fenny.”

“What the fuck do you guys know?” Brad hollered, knocking his chair to the ground as he jumped up. “You heard one conversation through a door and you know how to fix my problems? Well fuck you!” And he stormed out of the office.

“There goes one seriously troubled man,” Colin announced.

“Well, he’s brought it all upon himself,” Ryan sighed. “Let’s finish this up, I’ve got a wife to get home to.”