No one ever knows what destiny has on its hands for people and they just have to wait for it to happen or for a sign to show it. Something Mildred Ratched never thought would happen or she would actually admit after a while, was that she was in love with a woman, and that woman’s name was Gwendolyn Briggs. She had tried to fight back her feelings for her and how tried to push them back by either ignoring them or using that disgusting man she had met back in the hotel. Also, what had happened to Ms. Cartwright had been somehow traumatic because she thought that if they found out about it, she’d end up in the same way as them and she didn’t want to go through that horrible thing.
Also the thought of being judged for loving a woman wasn’t a pleasant idea, even if she didn’t care about what they thought about her, this was different because destiny decided to put her in times that it wasn’t well seen and it was actually a sin or a sickness to be this way. She knew she had met people like this before, but she had never felt this way for anyone, so yes, Gwendolyn Briggs decided to change it all, in a good way.
Even if she was happy and proud of being with Gwendolyn, she wasn’t sure who she could trust this to, it was still a hard time where people didn’t accept this kind of thing and it wasn’t like Mildred had many friends around her to talk to or gossip about. There was this certain person that maybe would be good to talk to, but the fact that she had agreed to do hydrotherapy was also stopping her from talking. So maybe little by little, she could confess that she was dating a woman.
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“Oh, Mildred! I was not expecting you to come today, what a surprise!” Betsy received her with a weirdly but nice hug.
“Well, what can I say? I can’t stay away for long.” She joked as she followed Betsy to her now office. “How does it feel like to be in charge again?”
“Oh, Mildred, it’s wonderful! You see…I don’t know how dumb doctor didn’t want me here, I’ve been in this hospital even before him and I know everything perfectly, so everything is now so perfect.” She smiled as she sat down on the couch, followed by Mildred.
Mildred smiled softly as she nodded, looking around as many patients were around and everyone just looked so happy. “I can tell, they have a perfect nurse in charge.” She chuckled.
“What brings Mildred Ratched here?” Betsy asked sweetly as she smiled and lighted up a cigarette.
“Well, you see…I’m going to leave soon, and I thought maybe you’d like to meet up some day this week, just you know…just for us to meet before I go.” Mildred nodded softly as she but her lip.
“Oh, that would be wonderful! I love ladies’ night! It’s fun to drink with Louise but…sometimes it’s good to go out with more friends.” She clapped happily as she nodded. “I’d love that.”
“Great! Well, you just let me know when you can, you know I’m now free but you’re a very busy lady.” Mildred chuckled softly as she joked.
“Always been.” She winked at Mildred as she laughed and continued the talking.
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Even if Betsy Bucket loved her job, she couldn’t deny that sometimes she needed a little break from the hospital; being all day there tired her sometimes since she was now in charge. But with the help of the doctor, everything seemed so be a little calmer since she was a great helper. So, without giving a call, she decided to surprise Mildred on her, what seemed new apartment and bring some food and wine to have their early ladies’ night. Since Mildred had been the one suggesting this, she knew she wouldn’t mind if she just appeared on her door. After all it would be a fun night of talking, eating and drinking, maybe some dancing if Betsy got herself drunk, which she planned on doing.
She made sure everything on the hospital was in a good condition before leaving, leaving some orders so she could happily leave and get home to pick up some stuff and change. There has always been a funny side on Betsy, one that she normally didn’t show but now that she had gotten closer to Mildred somehow, she knew that she wouldn’t mind at all if she acted crazy as they enjoyed their wine. It would be a night to remember before she left.
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“So…you and Betsy really ended up being friends, huh?” Gwendolyn asked as she buttoned her shirt and looked back at Mildred.
“Jealous?” She teased softly as she focused back on her actions. Mildred was already dressed and was doing her hair in front of the mirror, nodding softly. “Well…I ended up telling her the truth and she didn’t react in a bad way even if she had the chance of destroying me.” She said softly as she turned to look at Gwendolyn as she smiled.
Gwendolyn tilted her head softly as she finished fixing her clothes. “I’m glad. You do need to vent sometimes.” She walked softly to where Mildred was and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “Those clothes good look on you, who would’ve thought that Mildred Ratched would be wearing pants?” She smirked softly as she pecked her lips.
Mildred smiled against her lips. “Well, sometimes we need to try new things.” She whispered softly as she wrapped her arms around Gwendolyn and kissed her back a little deeper this time.
The door bell interrupted their sweet and passionate kiss, making both women stare at each other in confusion as they weren’t expecting anyone, not that they had many people to come over.
Gwendolyn furrowed her brows as she pulled away slowly from Mildred. “Do you think it could be…?”
“But she didn’t call.” Mildred said nervously as she cleared her throat. “I don’t think there anything wrong about her being here today. Its…ladies’ night.” She shrugged softly as she pecked Gwendolyn’s lips one more time before leaving the room and going to open the door.
“Mildred!” Betsy yelled excitedly as she extended her arms, bottle of tequila and a bag of food on her hands. “Did I surprise you? I’m sure I did.” She laughed as she walked in without even Mildred saying anything.
“I’m…yes, you sure did.” She chuckled softly as she closed the door.
“You know, I thought about bringing some wine, but I said…it could be the last time I see Mildred Ratched and I thought…tequila it is!” She said happily as she put down the stuff on the small table in front of the couch.
Mildred laughed a little nervously as she licked her lips. “Well, tequila is always the right choice, isn’t it?”
“Of course yes and-“ Betsy stopped herself as she looked at Mildred. “We you napping or something? Your lipstick is all over your face, honey.” Betsy giggled softly as she sat down.
Mildred’s cheeks went red as she had forgotten to fix her makeup. She laughed nervously as she shook her head. “I was…yes, I took a bath and I completely forgot to take my makeup off and…” she laughed. “…here are the results.” She cleared her throat as she walked rapidly to her purse and got her lipstick out.
“Are we ready to start- Oh! Betsy! You’re already here! I was going to ask Mildred if you were coming later.” Gwendolyn said happily as she went on to hug Betsy.
“Oh you’re here too! I thought I was Mildred’s only friend, but you were there…that night at the dance. Great! More women for ladies’ night!” Betsy did a little dance as she opened the bag of food she had brought.
Gwendolyn looked up at Mildred as she fixed her lipstick in front of the small mirror they had on their living room. She laughed quietly as she looked back at Betsy. “I’ll bring some glasses and limes for the tequila.” She stood up from the couch and went on to the kitchen.
“And don’t forget the salt! Let’s get started!” Betsy looked back at Mildred as she smiled.
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“And then…” Betsy laughed harder. “he just left! Just like that! How incredibly rude, right?” She laughed again as she took another sip of her tequila.
“Typical men.” Gwendolyn said as she laughed along Betsy.
“Right? And who needs them anyway?” Betsy rolled her eyes as she left her glass on the table.
After two hours, Betsy seemed to be already drunk, unlike Gwendolyn and Mildred who didn’t really like to get drunk, but they couldn’t say no to drinking when Betsy seemed to have so much fun. Though Gwendolyn decided to skip it since she was in treatment and she was soon to start a new one. Mildred didn’t think they’d have so much fun and she really didn’t believe how well Gwendolyn and Betsy had gotten along. She trusted Betsy now after what she had done and how she had kept all her secrets with her, so maybe soon that important part of her life could be out to her.
There was a moment where Betsy looked at Mildred and furrowed her brows. She looked up and down at her and tilted her head. “Mildred…since when do you wear pants? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with pants. Have we, Gwen?” She then looked at Gwendolyn with a curious look.
Mildred froze at the question and looked at Gwendolyn, not knowing what to answer. “Well…I-“ Betsy seemed to be more drunk than she thought.
“And…I am sure that I’ve seen those clothes in someone.” She squinted her eyes softly as she thought. “I may be getting old, but Betsy Bucket never forgets anything!” She then looked back at Gwendolyn and for a moment she went quiet.
Gwendolyn and Mildred looked at each other for a moment, this was a really awkward moment now, a situation they didn’t expect to be in. How could they be saved from this? Mildred now knew that Betsy really didn’t miss anything and well, maybe now that important part she was thinking about had to be out sooner than she thought.
Betsy looked back at Mildred and then raised her brow. “Do you two live together? Cause I am sure I’ve seen Ms. Briggs with those clothes.”
Mildred placed her glass back on the table as she felt Gwendolyn’s eyes on her. She cleared her throat softly as she smiled to Betsy. “Well…I think it’s time I confess something else to you.” Betsy raised both of her brows as she waited patiently for Mildred to speak. Mildred licked her lips softly as she smiled. “Gwendolyn and I, well…we are a…we are together.” She said simply and quietly.
Betsy looked confused for a moment, looking back at Gwendolyn and then at Mildred, repeating it for a while as she tried to understand what Mildred was saying. “Together? As in…?”
“Together. As in we are a couple.” Gwendolyn said softly as she smiled.
Betsy looked back at Mildred with wide eyes. “As in…lesbians!” She said surprised as she looked between them, still a hint of confusion washing over her. It wasn’t hard to get what Mildred had confessed her that night back in the hotel but this…this was kind of hard to process. “Lesbians…” she whispered softly as she touched her head.
“Look I- this was unexpected to me too. I didn’t-“ she licked her lips softly. “Please don’t tell anyone. I didn’t know either about this, but when I met Gwendolyn well, everything changed.” She chuckled nervously as she looked at Gwendolyn for a moment, thinking she had made a mistake by talking.
Then they fell into a moment of silence, Gwendolyn and Mildred fearing that Betsy would react in a bad way. After all, she had agreed on doing the hydrotherapy to those poor women and she was against it, plus she was a religious woman who had her beliefs and Mildred was sure she wouldn’t accept them in any way. Mildred looked down at her hands as she waited nervously for an answer, not even daring to look at Gwendolyn just yet.
“Lesbians!” Betsy yelled a little too loudly as she looked back at Mildred, making both women jump.
“Betsy…”
“No I see it! The-the…the dance. Y-you said you were there with Mildred…but not just like…you were together! As in a date!” Betsy looked at Gwendolyn and then back at Mildred. “And you…I knew Huck wasn’t the only one involved in the disappearance of those women, you helped them too! And the pants and the…” her eyes widened a little more. “The lipstick?”
Mildred bit her lip nervously as she nodded slowly. “I’m just…you have to understand that…for my whole life I’ve never…I never felt this way and I am so…so truly happy. She makes me happy and I…I understand it’s not…”
Betsy raised her hand to stop Mildred from talking and looked back at her, the scare on her face said it all. The way she had suddenly softened after that day in the hotel, everything made sense now. And they were right, people were right; there was nothing different on them. They were the same. They just loved differently.
Betsy smiled softly as she leaned over to grab Mildred’s hand, making her jump a little. “Lesbians, huh?” She laughed a little as she looked over at Gwendolyn. “It was right in front of my eyes.” She laughed a little more as she sighed. “And you two are…together! And happy!”
“I…yes. We are happy, the happiest I’ve been.” Mildred said softly with teary eyes. There was a moment of fear where Mildred thought that maybe Betsy would slap her or say mean words to her but also she didn’t know what to expect at this point.
“I get it.” Betsy simply said, drunkenness aside. “I do, I get it it’s not…” she nodded softly. “It is hard to process but…seeing how some treatments are horrible and then how they just…talk about it, how they just…suffer.” She looked back at Gwendolyn and extended her hand so she could grab it. “But…you’re happy. You’re making your new life after what you’ve been through.” She smiled. “That’s better than throwing it all away.”
“So…you’re not like…you won’t say anything?” Gwendolyn asked softly as she smiled a little.
“Of course not, I’m a master on keeping secrets! It’s a thing I still need to process but how can I hate you both or just leave when you two are great? I will never forget the night of the dance how nice you two were with me. You’re my friends.” She chuckled. “My lesbian friends!” She laughed as her drunken side was showing again.
Mildred laughed as she finally let her tears roll down her cheeks, looking in a lovely way to Gwendolyn. “Unexpected but…true love.” Gwendolyn smiled.
Betsy nodded. “Very well…your secret is safe with me, darlings. You two are great friends and I wouldn’t want to lose you.” She finally let go of their hands and sighed. “How about more tequila to celebrate?” She smiled happily as she stood up from the couch. “Lesbians…who would’ve thought…” She then walked to the kitchen.
Mildred moved to sit next to Gwendolyn as they both laughed. “Unexpected, right?” Gwendolyn asked as she wiped away Mildred’s tears.
Mildred nodded softly as she smiled. “Wasn’t expecting that but…it’s good.”
“Very good.” She smiled as she kissed Mildred’s lips sweetly. But trying to keep it short in case Betsy came back.
Mildred knew they were hard times and it wasn’t something easy to process, but knowing Betsy, she wouldn’t just betray Mildred like that, not after they were now friends and apparently, Gwendolyn and Mildred were now her lesbian friends.