#midgemaisel

I’m sorry.

This is a fight. This happens after New Year's Eve, when the newspapers talk about a flirt between Midge and Gordon. Midge and Lenny had not seen each other since a very sad day at the airport where he simply told her that he could not stay and that she will miss him, but Kitty needed him in LA.

One night she sees him. He talks to a girl. He laughs with the girl. The girl touches him. The girl kisses him. He smiles, the girl goes to the bathroom, he sees her.

They look at each other, motionless, Midge clutches her bag a little tighter, turns around and leaves the club. The tears she is trying to keep in struggle to stay in. She walks quickly as she hears someone running behind her

"Midge...wait!"

"It's okay, leave me alone Lenny."

Lenny sighs and touches her to stop her, finally succeeding.

Midge wipes the tears from her face before turning around "you were having fun! What are you doing here! Go back inside!" She says it in a tone louder than she should, bright eyes that don't go unnoticed.

She looks at him, the cigarette in his hands trembling a little as he drops the ash on the ground, brings it to his lips touching his eyebrow nervously, a nervous laugh escapes him

"What did you expect?"

Midge looks at him and is speechless, Lenny is nervous, agitated, the cigarette keeps shaking in his hands.

“I’m sorry, what?!” She said.

"We didn't say it was an exclusive relationship ours, and I got confirmation of that by seeing the papers how they talk about you and Gordon and your fucking kiss on the ice!"

Midge sighs nervously "there's nothing going on between me and gordon."

"Sure! There's nothing between me and who I sleep with, either if that's any consolation...I didn't sign any contract by sleeping with you"

Midge's eyes fill with tears, she tries to hold back from talking and breathe by calming herself down, Lenny is not even looking at her face and starts pacing back and forth giving two puffs to the cigarette now and then, she can notice the trembling hand. He looks just as agitated as he did that morning at her house.

"I'm not a good guy, I'm not what you want, you..you need to be with someone like Gordon! I….I would only hurt you Midge."

Midge instinctively takes a step backward, the sound of her heel makes Lenny look up and remain broken by the sight, tears are streaking her face, she is pulling at her lips not to burst

"I...Midge..." he reaches out to grab her arm but Midge pulls him away

"Don't touch me Lenny Bruce...you, you're used to making decisions for everyone, you don't care about anyone's opinion, you can have opinions and yell at me as many times as you want apparently, but if I see you flirting with another woman and find you drunk, and probably high, I can't say anything to you."

Her trembling voice leaves Lenny completely paralyzed, but she continues, "I don't want my former life! I don't want to be a fucking lady from the Upper west side! I want to be a comedian, I am!!! And as much as you can't stand it, it was you who pushed me here too! Forgive me Lenny, I didn't know you had the exclusive, I didn't know you could worry about other people's careers and health and I didn't!!!" She cried out.

Lenny sighs "we made a mistake."

Midge shakes her head "oh no...you don’t do that, it wasn't a mistake and you know it" she points her finger at him "look me in the eyes and tell me I was never anything more to you"

Lenny looks at her, sighs "you...you midge.."

He brushes her arm causing her to lower her finger, she remains still, now it is he who is fragile, tears in his eyes "you...you are the most incredible person I know. You are Marvelous. If only I could really fucking do this...I, I would love you every day of my life, but, I'm a mess, and in fact look now at how bad I'm hurting you, I could only get worse."

Midge remains incredulous at those words "you would love me..."

Lenny brings two hands to his face to rub his eyes and recover, a nervous laugh sweeps over him "God, fuck...I can't control myself! I can't have you, I would destroy you!!! Please Midge understand that."

Midge looks at him now with a determined look, and really, really angry "I decide, I've always decided Lenny"

"You can't decide that too. I am a bad person!!! I've fucked women whose faces I can't even remember! I...I am terrible." Lenny cried out.

"Remember My of face...remember my of face that night Lenny? Do you remember?"

Lenny smiles and runs another hand over his face "Oh, Midge please"

She reaches over and tugs at him "so what! Answer me!!!"

He looks her straight in the eye "how, how could I forget that night? I remember your face every time I thought..."

"What? What did you think?"

"I thought that..you were perfect..."

He caresses her face at that moment "I remember all the times I should have kissed you and didn't."

Midge remains lost in that gaze "it's...enough for me...enough for me not to be all the others."

Lenny moves a lock from her face "no..you are unique, how could I confuse you?"

Midge lowers her face "someone might think this is love"

Lenny lifts her face back up "probably even a blind man would notice.."

Midge smiles, their eyes catching as always "will you remember this moment too?"

"I will remember it as the moment I kissed you..."

I think this is the perfect essence of “MIDGELENNY”