Cece and Janey

CECE AND JANEY

“I think I’m in love with her,”

“Who? That wishy-washy woman sticking around for your money?”

“Oh, don’t be like that, Janey. Margaret said she loves me,”

“Cece, I love you. You’re my best friend, but that woman is nothing but trouble,”

“Janey, have you seen the woman?”

“I have, Cece. And she is most certainly the wrong person. That’s a fact,”

“Like you’ve ever met her,”

“Maybe because a certain someone never let me introduce myself,”

“Oh, come now, Janey. Don’t go throwing the blame on me,”

“Cece, this entire thing is your fault!”

“How is it my fault for loving someone?”

“Honey, she doesn’t love you! You have to understand that, Cece,”

“I don’t have to understand anything, Janey. I know what I want and how I’m going to get it,”

“Sure, why don’t you marry her right now? I can picture it perfectly. She’ll love you and love you and love you, and then one day, you won’t have the same money you had at twenty, twenty-five or thirty, and she’s gonna up and leave!”

“You’re absurd, Janey. Can’t you be happy for me? How is this any different from my previous relationships?”

“It isn’t; that’s what I’m saying! You have this nasty habit of attracting all the wrong sorts of people, especially people who love money,”

“Everyone loves money, Janey,”

“So you’re aware of it. That’s a problem, Cece,”

“Now, what are you on about, Janey?”

“If you’re aware people love money, why do you date greedy people?”

“Well, everyone has to be a little greedy sometimes,”

“If everyone in the world succumbed to their greed, there wouldn’t be a world left!”

“There’s no need to shout, Janey. There are other people in the parlour,”

“Damn the parlour, Cece! We’re talking about your life,”

“My life is complete, Janey. That is final,”

“No, it’s not!”

“Since when did you get to decide that?”

“Since the day you were heartbroken by Claudia!”

“Don’t you dare say her name, Janey. You know better than that,”

“I know better? You should know better! Margaret is a two-time, backstabbing little- Cece! Cece, come back!”

“I have nothing more to say to you, Janey,”

“Well, I’m not done!”

“Stop following me!”

“I won’t!”

“You will, this instant!”

“Cece, when will you get over her? She’s dead, Cece. Dead!”

“Must you disgrace her like that?! I loved her, Janey. What more do you want from me?”

“I want you to stop deluding yourself into some twisted fantasy that she’ll be back. You’re not the only one who lost her, Cece. Quit being selfish for a second and learn to realise I loved her too. Not in the way you did, but she’s gone from my life every bit as she is from yours. Don’t think for a second you are the only person Claudia knew or cared about,”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up! You don’t know anything about Claudia!”

“Did you not hear a single word I said?! You cannot love Margaret when you’re obsessing over a dead woman!”

“I’m not, Janey! I’m fine. I love Margaret, and you have to respect that,”

“It sounds as though you only care for a woman in a grave,”

“Oh, please. I have more dignity than that,”

“Do you? You won’t even believe me when I tell you the things Margaret has done behind your back,”

“Why would I? Margaret would never do such things,”

“Why wouldn’t you? I’ve known you and cared for you longer than she ever will. I am right here, Cece,”

“Get out of my sight, Janey. First, you diminish my love for Margaret, and now you bring up Claudia? You must be desperate to go to such measures,”

“So what if I am? You won’t be happy with her, Cece. I want you to be happy,”

“Then let me! Let me love Margaret like I loved Claudia, and leave me alone,”

“I’d sooner die than leave you,”

“Then stop prohibiting me from a love destined to be mine,”

“Destined? What do you know of destiny, Cece?”

“More than the likes of you,”

“Take that back!”

“Never!”

“Do you want me to recite the list of crimes your dear, beloved Margaret has done? She is trouble, Cece. Claudia would have told you the same,”

“Speak about her one more time, and I’ll-”

“Go on then! Leave me! Is that what you want?”

“Janey, everyone is staring at us,”

“Let them! Cece, I won’t let you ruin your life like this. If you’re going to do it, don’t do it like this,”

“Charming, Janey. You believe I’m going to ruin my life, regardless?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, Cece. Please, darling, can you just listen to me?”

“You’ve crossed a line you shouldn’t have, Janey,”

“So, knowing you for my entire life can’t warrant some concern?”

“You know this is more than just ‘some’ concern. You’ve gone overboard,”

“Claudia would have agreed with me,”

“Don’t talk to me like you knew Claudia as I did!”

“Can you prove that? I knew her the same way, Cece,”

“No! You didn’t! And if you think dragging up the past will make me change my mind, then you don’t know me as well as you thought,”

“I know the truth, Cece. Would you stop playing these games?”

“How clever of you, Janey. I know you don’t know anything about anyone. You don’t care,”

“Is that right? I don’t care? Who has stayed by your side your entire life that wasn’t for money, Cece? Not Margaret. Certainly not the men and women you brought to your house and claimed you loved. Give up, Cece. We both know the truth,”

“What is this truth you speak of, Janey?”

“Don’t be daft, Cece. The truth you told Claudia,”

“Stop talking about a dead person like she’s still alive!”

“Well, she- Did you just slap me?!”

“I- I am so sorry, Janey. I didn’t mean to do that,”

“Just like how you didn’t mean to tell me, ‘Janey, I’m in love with you!’ Am I right?”

“What? You knew?”

“Of course, I knew! Cece, you are the least subtle person I have ever met!”

“Claudia, she told you before she died?”

“She didn’t need to, but yes, she told me and-”

“It remains true,”

“Pardon?”

“I love you, Janey! I knew you didn’t love me the same way, so I told you I wanted to be with a woman I couldn’t care less about,”

“Cece!”

“What? You were the one who said she’d done horrible things behind my back! Look, Janey. I was afraid. I admit that, truthfully and wholeheartedly. I hated knowing rejection was the likely outcome if a confession were to arise, so I pursued Margaret, knowing it wouldn’t matter to her. I’m sorry, Janey. Please forgive me,”

“I don’t know what to say,”

“Surely you would have figured it out,”

“Well… I guess I didn’t think that far,”

“Then how far did you think?”

“That you loved me?”

“Is that all?”

“Yes?”

“You are the maddest woman I have ever met, Janey,”

“Perhaps I should say that about you,”

“What?”

“Was rejection the only possibility that plagued your mind? Had you not have a scrap of hope?”

“What are you saying, Janey?”

“I’m saying, Cecelia, I am in love with you,”

“What?!”

“You’re impossible,”

“I don’t believe you! You say things because you pity me! I don’t want your condolences, Janey. Take them away,”

“Cece, I just professed my love to you, requited love, at that. Are you delusional?”

“You’re lying to me, Janey. What a bad friend you are. How could you lie?”

“Are you even listening to me, Cece?”

“I’m sorry I confessed, Janey. I shall run to the countryside and never bother you agai-”

“Can you kiss me already?”

“What?”

“Kiss me, you idiot. I love you! What more do you want?”

“Oh…”

“Oh, indeed. You’re a crazy woman, Cece,”

“I suppose that would make me your crazy woman, Janey,”

“I suppose so. You’re impossible,”

“You’ve said that already, dear,”

“Don’t ‘dear’ me now, Cece. I nearly had an aneurysm,”

“Pff, that’s a bit rich,”

“You. Are. Impossible.”

“But yours! Forever and forever! Oh, how lovely it is to be in love,”

“Perhaps I have made a mistake,”

“Come on, Janey. Let us go celebrate at the pavilion, serenading the people in the park that we are happily in love,”

“On second thoughts, I need a drink,”

“Let us go!”

“Cece, is this necessary?”

“Quite! How happy I am because of you, Janey!”

“You’re good at flipping your emotional scale, aren’t you?”

“Love is good at doing such things. Now hurry up, Janey. There are things to do, places to go and people to see,”

“There are?”

“Yes, of course! And on another note, I’m sorry about what I said to you, Janey,”

“I apologise too. I think we went a bit over the top,”

“You can say that again. I promise I’ll never mention it again,”

“Right, same goes for me. I love you, Cece,”

“And I, you, Janey,”

“We could have avoided all of this, you know,”

“Hush, hush. That is all in the past now, dear. We had an... argument, if you will, as friends! But now we are past friendship and trivial things like that,"

"Are you suggesting Margaret is trivial?"

"I thought you didn't like her,"

"Well, no. I don't. But still, that's a little harsh,"

"Okay, I take it back then. We will never speak of Margaret again, and Claudia remains a topic of sensitivity in our deepest, darkest moments when we need consoling,"

"That was oddly specific,"

"I'm a woman of specific taste,"

"Do I fall under that category, then?"

"You're my favourite, Janey,"

"Oh, well, that was sweet. Thank you, Cece,"

"Can we go now?"

“Alright then. Lead the way,”

“With pleasure, Janey.”