Changes One
By: Agent Newbeau
Note: Before I start I would like to say I don't know if Tallulah
Bankhead and Bette Davis ever made a
movie together. Also, in the real world, Tallulah Bankhead's last movie
was in 1965. She died some
time in 1968. I decided to use her in this story because I admire her
work and she's my cousin. I also
admire Bette Davis's work, but she's not a relative of mine. See my
notes for movie recommendations.
This story takes place in mid-November 1967, shortly before
Thanksgiving.
And now on to the story.
It had been a month and still Ellen couldn't get used to sleeping
alone. She missed being with
Mike, falling asleep wrapped in his arms, waking up to his gentle kisses
and soft caress on her face, her
neck, her breasts, all over her body. She wanted to be with him more
than anything in the world. The
two weeks after they got back from San Francisco he had spent every
night with her and it had been
wonderful. But now she was in Arizona filming a movie and he was back
home in California busy with
the band. She idly wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him.
She called when she had a
chance, but he was rarely alone when she called and he was not the type
to talk about intimate things
when his friends were listening. The movie would be done within a week
and then she could go back
home to Mike. The day couldn't come soon enough for her.
Outside the crew was setting up for the day's shooting and she
could hear Tallulah Bankhead talking
to the director. Glancing at her clock, Ellen noticed she was due for a
makeup session in half an hour.
Today they were filming her big scene where she tried to convince her
aunts to sell their house. If she
did this scene well, then she was almost guaranteed to get more movie
roles in the future. This was what
she wanted. She just wished she didn't have to spend so much time away
from Mike.
She slowly sat up, fighting the nausea. Just her luck, her first
movie, she was co-starring with
Tallulah Bankhead and Bette Davis, and she was sick. She hadn't told
anyone, especially Mike. She
didn't need him worrying about her and she didn't need the director to
find out. She needed this job.
She would go to see Dr. Cole as soon as she got home if she wasn't
feeling better. Once she got going
for the day she usually felt better, but she was tired at night.
She made it to the bathroom just in time. She was just finishing
when she heard the door to her
trailer open and someone came in. "Miss Farnsby? Dahlin, where are you?"
She recognized Ms
Bankhead's distinct voice.
"Perhaps she's already gone to get makeup done," another voice
said. It was Ms. Davis.
"No, they sent us to look for her. I don't know why. I'm a star,
not some lowly techie," Ms.
Bankhead said.
"Tallulah, calm down," Ms. Davis said. "She's probably here and is
listening. She'll think you
don't like her."
"I never said I didn't like her, dahlin, I just feel it's not my
job to find her."
Ellen washed her face and exited the bathroom. "I'm sorry I haven't
gone to makeup yet," she
said. "I just got up. I'm afraid I'm not feeling well. I don't think
it's anything too serious, though."
"Of course it's not," Ms. Bankhead said. "It's something women have
been dealing with since
the beginning of time, dahlin."
"Oh, no, it's not that," Ellen said. "It's not that time."
"I don't think that's what she meant," Ms. Davis said.
Ellen felt faint as she realized what they were talking about.
Could it be possible? She thought
about the symptoms she had been having, fatigue, nausea, her period was
late. Oh god, how would she
tell Mike? Was this what Madame Rose had meant when she said there was a
big change about to
happen?
"I'll make an appointment with my doctor for you later," Ms. Davis
said. "Do you feel up to
filming today?"
Ellen nodded. "Please don't tell the director," she said. "I need
this job."
"Don't worry, dahlin," Ms. Bankhead said, "we won't tell anyone."
************************************************
Ellen sat on the examining table at the doctor's office, anxiously
awaiting the results of her
examination. Chances were she was pregnant. How did she feel about it?
How would Mike feel about
it? A baby was a big responsibility. Were they ready to make a
commitment to each other and a child?
She loved Mike more than anything in the world and this baby was a
product of that love. It was part of
them, something they had created together.
What kind of father would Mike be? From various comments he had
made over the course of
their six month relationship, she had pieced together his childhood. He
had been five when his parents
divorced and he hadn't seen his father since. He hadn't spent much time
with his father before the
divorce, either. Could he be a good father?
Maybe she wasn't pregnant and all the worrying was for nothing.
Maybe it was just stress or a
cold. Maybe she wasn't pregnant.
But chances were that she was. They hadn't been careful that last
month they were together.
Every night most of the month, most times more than once a day. She
could have conceived at anytime,
her birthday, when they were in San Francisco, after that.
Where was the doctor? She needed to know if she was pregnant. Then
she would think about
how to tell Mike, her friends, her family. Her mother. Her mother would
not be happy. She still refused
to accept Mike. This would just make things worse between them. And what
about Mike's family and
friends? How would they react to the news? Would they insist that she
and Mike get married? Where
wold they live? Her apartment was small and the lease would be up soon.
Mike's house had more
room, but how would Micky, Peter, and Davy feel about her living there?
And how would they feel
about a baby living there, too?
But what if she wasn't pregnant? Then she wouldn't have any reason
to worry.
The doctor came in, holding a manilla folder in his hand. He pulled
his glasses out of his pocket
and put them on. He read the paper in the folder. "Miss Farnsby, I have
the results of your tests. I can
say almost without a doubt that you are at least two months pregnant."
The word echoed in Ellen's mind. How would she tell
Mike? She suddenly felt
weak and closed her eyes. She felt the tears start and didn't attempt to
hold back. No matter what, she
would always have a part of Mike in their child, she thought as she
held one hand on her stomach. She
was going to have a baby, Mike's baby. She realized this was what she
had wanted most in her life.
End Part One
Part Two
"I know I'm not your regular doctor, but I need to ask you some
questions," the doctor said.
"I'm not married," Ellen said, opening her eyes. She wiped away her
tears.
"I didn't think so," the doctor said. "Do you at least know who the
father is?"
The way he said it made Ellen feel as if she were wrong for doing
the things she had with Mike. "Of
course I know who he is," she said defensively.
"You'd be surprised the number of young women I get who don't know
who the father is," the
doctor said. "It's become even more common these days with the hippies
and all that. There are ways
to prevent pregnancy. You are aware of that, aren't you?"
"Yes, sir, it's just that, well, we never talked about it, it just
happened. I just don't know how
to tell Mike."
"That's your boyfriend?"
"Yes. He's wonderful and I know he loves me, but we've only been
together for about six
months."
"You do have options, Miss Farnsby. You could always give the child
up for adoption. Or
abortion. It's not legal, but I know a doctor who does them and I trust
him. I could give you his
number."
Ellen couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was actually
suggesting she give up her baby,
get rid of it. "No, doctor, that won't be necessary. This is my child,
mine and Mike's and we will be the
only people making decisions about what to do."
"Okay, calm down. I just wanted to let you know your options. If
you do have to raise the child
on you own, it will be very rough. You're young, healthy, you have
plenty of time to have other
children. I hope things work out well for you."
"They will," Ellen said.
"You'll need to make an appointment with your doctor when you get
home. I can give him a
call and tell him what is going on and have him contact you if you would
like."
"Yes, please do so," Ellen said. "His name is Thomas Cole. His
phone number is 212-555-7834. He knows how to contact me."
"I'll give him a call today. Please take care of yourself, Miss
Farnsby, at least for the sake of
the child. My nurse will give you some information on the way out."
"Thank you," Ellen said and left. The nurse gave her several
pamphlets on health. She decided
to read them later.
That night she lay awake in bed thinking about how she would tell
Mike. She decided to wait
until she got home. News like that should be told in person.
she wondered.
She drifted off to sleep and began to dream of another time,
another place when something
similar had happened. He had loved her then, hadn't rejected her. They
had made plans, but their
happiness was not meant to be. This time things would be different. She
was sure of that.
End Part Two
Part Three
Mike was dreaming again, but this time it was different. He was
living in some dusty little desert
town. There wasn't much to do in the town since the saloon had burned
down and the "ladies" had left
shortly afterward. That didn't bother him at all. He had his own girl, a
sweet little redhead named Jenny.
He was waiting for her. They had to wait until dark to see each other
because her father didn't
approve, but it was worth it.
Everything had been okay until the day before when he had received
word that Henry was
coming to town and planned to challenge him to a gunfight. He couldn't
run, not again. Henry always
caught up with him. He just had the feeling that this time it would end.
He was tired of fighting. He just
wanted to settle down with Jenny and raise a family.
He heard her footsteps outside his door, heard her knock. He let
her in, greeting her with a
kiss. "I heard about Henry," she said, tears in her eyes. "What are you
going to do?"
"What can I do? I can't run, people will say I'm a coward."
"I don't want to use you, not now. I'm going to have a baby, your
baby."
He didn't know what to say. A baby.
He heard more footsteps, the door opened. Henry. Gunshot. "Jenny!"
Mike could feel someone touching his shoulder. He slowly opened his
eyes to find Peter
standing beside his bed. "Another bad dream?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Mike said, sitting up. "What time is it?"
"Five," Peter said. "Who's Jenny?"
"Huh?"
"You said something about somebody named Jenny," Peter said. "I was
just wondering who
she was."
"Nobody," Mike said, getting out of bed. "It was just a dream."
"Where are you going?"
"For a walk."
"At this time of morning in your pyjamas?"
"I'll change clothes and then go for a walk," Mike said, grabbing a
shirt and jeans out of the
closet. "I'll be back later." He shut the bedroom door behind him.
Peter stared at the door for a minute, wondering to himself if he
should follow Mike or just go
back to bed and forget what happened. He knew there were more to the
dreams than Mike would
admit. This wasn't the first time something like that had happened. And
he knew Mike missed Ellen a
lot. But she would be back in a few days. Maybe then things could get
back to normal. Peter finally
decided that Mike could take care of himself so he went back to bed.
Mike knew exactly where he was going. He was going to Ellen's
apartment. She had asked
him to keep an eye on the place and take care of her plants while she
was gone. Sometimes he just
stayed for a few minutes, sometimes he stayed for hours. It all depended
on his mood. This morning he
missed her more than he had lately. He just needed to be near her in
some way.
He got her mail and stacked it with the rest. He noticed a postcard
from her mother and
glanced over it. Are you still with that long haired musician?' Judy
hadn't even bothered to address him
by his name. How would she react if she knew the whole story about their
relationship? How would
she react knowing that he was the one to take her daughter's virginity
when she was 18? That it had
been a mutual thing would probably not matter much.
He put the card back in the stack and went to check on the plants.
They looked okay, but he
decided they needed to be watered. As he did this he noticed how empty
the apartment seemed to be
without Ellen. She would be home in just a few days. He couldn't wait.
He just wasn't the same without
her.
He finished watering the plants and walked to the bedroom. The
memories, that's what had
kept him going the last month. He sat down on the bed and traced the
pattern on the comforter with
one finger. How many nights had they spent together in this bed? Too
many to count. He laid down and
reached for her pillow. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume
even though she hadn't been there
in a month. Strange how some things linger for so long. Clutching the
pillow he drifted off into sleep,
dreaming of Ellen.
He was awakened several hours later to the sound of the phone
ringing. It took him several
seconds to remember where he was. Who would be calling Ellen? Everybody
knew he was out of
town. Maybe it was Micky or Peter, just checking to make sure he was
okay. He made his way to the
phone, hoping the person hadn't hung up already. "Hello?"
"I'm trying to reach Ellen Farnsby. Is she there?" a male voice
asked.
"This is her number, but she's not here," Mike said. "She's out of
town until Friday. I can take
a message, though."
"That would be wonderful. This is Dr. Cole. I'm just calling to
give her the name of the
OB/GYN I recommend."
"OB/GYN? What's that?" Mike asked.
"That's short for Obstetrician/Gynecologist. A woman's doctor," Dr.
Cole explained.
"Is there something going on with Ellen that I should know about?
I'm her boyfriend."
"Well, because of doctor/patient confidentiality, I can't tell you.
Just give her this message. I
recommend Dr. Jonathan Diehl. He's a good doctor. His office number is
555-3894. And tell her to
make an appointment with me when she gets back to town. It's very
important."
"I'll do that, Dr.," Mike said, trying to remember what and
Obstetrician was.
"Thank you. Goodbye," the doctor said and hung up.
Mike hung up the phone. He felt faint as he suddenly realized what
an Obstetrician was. A
baby? Was Ellen going to have a baby? This meant one thing. He had to
find that ring he had bought for
her in San Francisco. This was the right time to ask her to marry him.
End Part Three
Part Four
Filming had ended and Ellen was getting ready to go back home, back
to Mike. "Have you thought
about how to tell him?" Ms. Bankhead asked her.
"I don't really know," Ellen said. "I have to tell him, he has a
right to know, it's his child, too."
"Were you on good terms when you left?"
"Yes, but I don't know how things have been since I left. He's been
fighting with his friend, he
doesn't have much money. This isn't exactly the best time to tell him
I'm pregnant."
"You have to tell him," Ms. Bankhead said. "And please let me know
what happens."
"I will," Ellen promised.
Meanwhile, Mike had found the ring he had bought for Ellen in San
Francisco. He had bought it
knowing he would not give it to her right away. He would have to wait
until the right moment and that
seemed to be now. He would wait for her to tell about the baby first.
But what if it was something else,
what if she wasn't pregnant? Would he still ask her to marry him? It
didn't take him a lot of thinking to
answer that question. No matter what, he was sure this was the right
time, they were ready to get
married, baby or no baby.
Ellen got back late that afternoon. She stopped by her apartment
first and dropped off her
luggage. Her mail was piled on the table and her plants looked healthy,
evidence that Mike had been
there. She went to the bedroom to change clothes and noticed the bed was
messy. Evidently Mike had
spent some time there, too. Should she call him and tell him she was
back or should she just go see
him? She decided just to go see him. She wanted to tell him as soon as
she could about their baby.
He was alone when she arrived at the pad. He was sitting on the
couch, playing his guitar,
totally oblivious to the rest of the world. She didn't recognize the
tune, but she liked it. She stood
quietly in the doorway just taking in the sight. His hair looked a
little longer, curling around the collar of
his shirt. It was the white one, the same one he had worn on their first
date. His eyes were closed in
concentration. She loved watching him play whether with the group or by
himself like he was now. In
her mind she could see how things could be in a year, watching as he
sang a lullaby to their child.
He finished playing and she began to applaud. The sudden noise
startled him and he looked up
to see her standing in the doorway. He smiled and set the guitar down.
"When did you get back?" he
asked, walking up to her. He pulled her into his arms and held him
close.
"I got back about half an hour ago," she answered, slipping her
arms around his neck. "Did you
miss me?"
"Oh yeah," he said, leaning down to kiss her. One kiss quickly
drifted into another.
"We're all alone," he whispered against her lips. "Wanna go
upstairs?"
"Actually, I'd like to go for a walk. I need to talk to you about
something," she said, slipping
out of his embrace.
"And then we can go upstairs?" he asked hopefully.
"Maybe," she said, smiling.
He grabbed his jacket and hand in hand they left. "How was the
movie?" he asked.
"More work than I thought it would be," she said. "But Ms. Davis
and Ms. Bankhead were
real nice to me. They really made me real comfortable."
"Did you get their autographs?"
"Of course. You'll go to the premiere with me, won't you?"
"Sure. I love a good party," he said. "Is that what you had to ask
me about?"
"Some of it," she said. How would she tell him?
They were passing a playground. A man was pushing a little boy on a
swing. "Lucky kid," Mike
said.
"What makes you say that?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking out loud," he said. "That kid's probably
about the same age I was when
my father left."
"That still bothers you sometimes, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, sometimes," he said.
Now was the time. "Have you ever thought about having children?"
"I don't know, maybe someday. I
didn't exactly have a prime
example growing up. Yeah, I'd like to have children someday."
Taking a deep breath she said, "How about June?"
"Doesn't it usually take longer than that?" He wanted to hear her
say the words. Then he would
know it was true.
"I'm pregnant, Mike. I found out a few days ago. It most likely
happened on my birthday."
She wasn't sure how to expect him to react. Shock, denial,
happiness, anything would have
been better than what happened. Mike fainted. Micky had told her he'd
had the same reaction when
they told him they had asked her to dinner.
She knelt down beside him. "Mike, please wake up. I didn't think
you would react like that."
Mike slowly opened his eyes. "Urgent Answering Service, don't do
it," he said.
"Don't do what?" she asked, helping him up off the ground.
"I don't know. Did you just tell me what I think you did?"
"Yes, it's true," she said. "We're going to have a baby."
"What are we going to do now?" he asked.
"I don't know. Are you mad at me?"
"No, because I'm just as responsible as you are. We made it
together." He paused for a
second, thinking. "Your mother isn't going to be happy about this. Have
you told her yet?"
"No, the only people who know are Tallulah Bankhead and Bette
Davis."
"Great, they knew about it before me. Why didn't you tell me
before? You should have told me
first."
As soon as he saw the look on her face he knew he had said the
wrong thing. He hadn't meant
it to be taken the way she had. "I wanted to tell you in person," she
said. "I wanted you to be happy
about it." She turned and ran away from him, not even attempting to stop
her tears.
He wanted to run after her, tell her he was sorry, but he knew she
didn't want him around then.
Maybe in the morning things would be better. He would go see her, tell
her he was sorry, give her the
ring. Maybe then things would be better. He went back home.
Peter and Micky were there when he got back. "Where have you been?"
Micky asked.
"Uh, Ellen was here, we went for a walk," Mike said.
"Where is she now?" Peter asked.
"She went back to her place, I guess," Mike said. "I'm gonna go
upstairs."
"Mike, did something happen?" Peter asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Mike said, going upstairs. He shut
the door behind him and sat
down on his bed. He'd go see her in the morning. Things would be better
then. It was just hormones.
So much was going on, she was just sensitive right now and he would have
to be careful.
The Next Morning
He got up before anybody else and fixed himself a bowl of cereal
for breakfast. He ate quickly
and dressed. Making sure he had the ring, Mike left to go to Ellen's
apartment. This was the right thing
to do. He loved her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He arrived at her apartment and knocked on the door. No answer. He
rang the doorbell. Inside
he could hear her footsteps. She opened the door. She was wearing her
robe and it was obvious she
hadn't been awake long and that she hadn't slept well at all. Her eyes
were red and puffy from crying.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
He didn't say anything, just stepped inside and took her into his
arms. He kissed her, a slow,
deep kiss. At first she didn't respond, but then her arms wound around
his neck. She ran her fingers
through his hair and kissed him back with the same passion. He felt her
tremble as he deepened the
kiss, slowly parting her lips with his tongue. She met it with her own
and he felt himself tremble with
desire. If he didn't end the kiss soon he wouldn't be able to stop
himself. He wanted her more than he
thought possible. But there would be more time for that later. He had
come there for a reason.
He reluctantly ended the kiss. She sighed in protest. He reached in
his pocket and pulled out
the ring. He held it out to her, taking her hands in his. "Ellen, I love
you and I know you love me, too.
Will you marry me?"
End Part Four
The End, at least for now.
Author's notes:
Sorry, folks, gonna leave it there for now. I don't know when I'll get
around to writing the next part,
but I won't make you wait too long.
I know this one is kinda short, but I needed a break after The Visit.
The next stories are going to be
longer and more detailed. I don't know when I'll get them written. I
might take a little break after the
next story to work on some other stuff. I don't know yet.
I hope you the readers are enjoying reading these stories as much as I
am writing them. Your feedback
is greatly appreciated. As always, thanks to Lan and Lady Redlum for
putting up with my ramblings
about the stories and for their help with ideas. I appreciate it very
much.
If you are interested in seeing some of Bette Davis's or Tallulah
Bankhead's movies, I recommend the
following.
Bette Davis
Whales of August (her last movie, also staring Lillian Gish, Anne
Southern, Harry Carey, Jr, and
Vincent Price)
Hush Hush Sweet Charolette (one of my personal favorites. The scene on
the staircase is Bette at her
psycho best.)
The Letter (I've never seen this, but Richard Dawson does a scene from
this in an episode of Hogan's
Heroes. Besides, I've heard it's good.)
Little Foxes (Written by Lillian Helman. Enough said there.)
Tallulah Bankhead
Die Die My Darling (Her last movie. She plays an evil mother in law.
Also staring Stephanie Powers)
Lifeboat (An Alfred Hitchcock movie. Try to spot him in this one.)
A Royal Scandal (Tallulah at her campy best, supposed to be a drama, but
more like a comedy)
The Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour (I highly reccomend this.)
Thanks for reading. Next story, Changes Two, picking up with Ellen's
answer.
(
geocities.com/televisioncity/set) (
geocities.com/televisioncity)