Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Dancer
(A different take on the episode Lucy Is Jealous of Girl Singer. Also, I don't own any of these characters, except David Harris.)
"You can trust me."
Lucy heard Ricky's sentence echo in her mind all day. Of course she could trust him. He had never given her any reason not to, so why should this situation be any different? That article in the newspaper just hit her in her core and gave her a sick feeling. No matter how long Lucy and Ricky have had their marriage, there was something about seeing those words in print that she just couldn't handle.
Of course, after she had accused him of being involved with Rosemary that morning, he had done an excellent job of convincing her that there wasn't anything going on between them. That kiss was brief, but powerful. It told her everything, but then it really didn't help cure her disbelief in the article. Ricky offered her to come by during rehearsal to see for herself, but Lucy knew that if she gave in, it would show that she didn't trust him and what kind of marriage would they have if they didn't have trust?
After Ricky had gotten dressed and gone to rehearsal, Lucy got ready herself and made her husband their favorite meal for lunch, which was chicken and rice, or as it was better known to him, arroz con pollo. She had taken out the table and set it very nicely, as sort of an apology for doubting him, although she still had that nagging feeling in her stomach that something may not be right. She decided to ignore it and keep going with her romantic lunch.
Lucy came in with the plate of chicken and placed it on the table. All of sudden, she felt a pair of strong arms go around her waist and felt a pair of the softest lips on her neck. She knew who it obviously was, but decided to play around a bit. Playfully questioning who it was, the two of them had a good chuckle.
"Arroz con pollo! What did I do to deserve this?" asked Ricky.
"Well, it's an apology for my silliness this morning. I know it's your favorite meal and I thought we could enjoy it together as sort of a romantic lunch," said Lucy.
"Aww, what a sweet thing to do, but you really didn't have to do that sweetheart. I've been thinking about it all day and I think we need to talk about this."
Lucy sat down and was ready for an entire speech from Ricky how if they didn't have trust in their marriage, then what kind of marriage did they really have and so on, but what he said, surprised her very much.
"I could barely concentrate at rehearsal today because of what happened this morning. I mean, besides the fact that I wanted to go farther with that kiss that I started," said Ricky, smiling his mischievous smile at his wife, "but I also couldn't concentrate because publicity stories like that are always going to be around as long as I'm in this job. There is no stopping them, but I was thinking if we ever see a story about me that worries us or has you doubting me in any way, I want us to talk about it and we'll work through it. How does that sound?"
By the time Ricky was done telling his idea to Lucy, he looked up and his wife had tears in her eyes. He got up from his seat and rushed to wear she had been sitting across from him.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"I know you want me to tell you when I'm worried about a publicity story I read, but I don't see how that could fix how I'm feeling."
"Well, talking about it could help. We won't know until we try," said Ricky as he wiped his wife's tears.
"I guess," said Lucy, still unsure about her husband's plan.
Ricky planted another heart stopping kiss on his wife's lips. It was warm and soft, just as he intended it to be. He started to deepen the kiss, which Lucy quickly responded to. She put her arms around her husband's neck as he put his around Lucy's waist. The two parted and found each other to be breathing heavily.
"Ricky," said Lucy, breathlessly.
Ricky went back in for another round of passionate kissing like before, but as quick as she could, Lucy backed away from her husband.
"What's wrong?"
"This won't solve our problem. Making love isn't going to help us in this situation. We'll spend the afternoon together, loving each other, but then, eventually we'd have to get out of bed and our problem will still be outside of that door and down at the Tropicana especially, waiting for us. I'm not going to put myself through that."
"Are you kidding me? I dun't know what problem we have. Rosemary isn't a problem, but I guess we do have some issues. You dun't trust me and I'm starting to wonder if you ever did."
"Well, Ricky Ricardo, I'm wondering if I ever really did, either!"
"I say, if you dun't trust me, you come down to the club tonight and see for yourself."
"Why? So you and Rosemary can be on your best behavior around me? I don't think so."
"Well, fine, come, dun't come. See if I care, but if you think I'm going to come home tonight after the show, I'm not. I dun't want to be around someone who doesn't trust me. I'll sleep on Fred and Ethel's couch, instead so when you want to apologize about not trusting me, you know where to find me."
With that last statement, Ricky grabbed his coat, walked out and slammed the door. Lucy just stood there and the tears welled up in her eyes for the second time in five minutes. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Moments ago, he was kissing her neck and telling her that they would communicate their worries and doubts to each other. Now, he was slamming doors saying that he wasn't coming home and she was standing in their living room, wiping her tears.
She walked quickly to the door and walked down to the Mertz's apartment. She quickly knocked on the door and looked up when she saw Ethel.
"Hi Honey! What are you doing here?"
"Ethel, is Ricky in here?"
"No, why?"
"Oh, we had an awful fight about Rosemary and me not trusting him and he said until I apologize, he won't come home. He said he would stay on your couch until I did. I felt awful how we left things, so I thought maybe he'd be down here, but I guess he's not."
"Oh, sweetie, don't worry about it. You and Ricky have had fights before and this one, I'm sure, isn't any different."
"I don't think so, Ethel. We both acted terrible. I should've just gotten over my insecurities and trusted him. I mean, he's never given me a reason to mistrust him before. Why am I feeling like this?"
"Well, I remember you telling me that you went with a guy when you were younger who was unfaithful, right? You told me you didn't even suspect anything until he got fresh with Marion, right?"
"Yes, David Harris. I thought he was the love of my life, but soon after him I realized that I didn't know what love was until I met…"
Lucy couldn't finish that sentence. She was about to say until she met Ricky. For the third time, her eyes filled up with tears, which ended up slowly running down her face. She was letting her past interfere with her present and future. She wouldn't let that happen to her marriage and to the love of her life.
"Ethel, it's time I let go of my past and fix my insecurities. Ricky told me to come down to the club, but I told him that I didn't want to see his "show" with Rosemary. He's not expecting me to show up, so what if I snuck into the audience? I'll just make sure he doesn't see me, but that I can see him. I just want to find out for myself so we can get passed this."
"Why don't you get a close up and sneak into the chorus line or something?"
"I could do that, but I want to be mature about it this time. This isn't the time for my usual Lucy stunts. I need to face this head on and make sure that I fight for my marriage and fight for the man of my dreams."
Ethel nodded her head and wished her friend all of the luck in the world. Lucy thanked her, ran back to her apartment and started to get ready for the show. She put on her dress that was lacy on top and showed off her curves. She put her hair up and artistically applied her makeup. She slipped on her favorite pair of black heels and put on her good perfume. If she was going to see her husband perform, she was going to look amazing, just in case he did see her.
Walking into the Tropicana, she saw Marco. He offered to go get Ricky, but Lucy told him that she wanted to surprise him and not to point out that she was here. He promised to keep her secret safe and placed her at a table that was off to the side. She took her seat and looked around at the club. She was suddenly overcome with dread and wanted to leave immediately. What if Ricky did see her? What would he think? She didn't want to make their argument worse by having him think she didn't trust him. She could try to play it off that she was coming to apologize, if it was needed, that is.
All of a sudden, she saw Ricky walk out onto the stage in his white tuxedo and Lucy got a chill down her spine. Her heart started to beat wildly just like it always did when she and Ricky were together. She couldn't believe him walking out onto the stage could affect her so much. She hoped that she could save her marriage tonight so they could move on and spend the rest of their lives together.
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for coming tonight. We have a special show for you and we hope you enjoy it. Our first number is one of my favorites and it's called 'Jezebel'. I hope you like it as much as I do."
After hearing the name, Lucy couldn't help, but give a tiny laugh at the irony of the title. The song started off beautifully and her husband's voice filled the room. His voice was so powerful to her that she could've just stood up, walked up to him and given him an amazing kiss in front of all these people, but she wouldn't do that. She would use self control. All of a sudden, she could see Rosemary coming down the stairs on the stage and dance towards her husband in an alluring way. She didn't like how this was going.
Ricky grabbed her into his arms and the two of them began to sway while the chorus girls danced around them. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when she saw another woman in her husband's arms. Those were the arms that were meant to be around her and no one else. She was starting to get that sick feeling again and felt like she was in a nightmare, but she would continue to watch all of this unfold to prove to herself that Ricky was not David. They were two different men who had two different ideas of what fidelity meant.
Ricky continued to sing the ending lyrics of Jezebel and grabbed Rosemary by the back of the head to simulate a kiss, but their lips never met. The song was over and Lucy knew that the rest of his act wouldn't include Rosemary. Lucy decided to stay for the rest of the show and make herself known to her husband afterwards. This time she wouldn't be continuing the fight, but ending it with an apology and begging him to come home.
Around 1am, the show was over and Ricky thanked everyone for coming. People started to leave and she heard a woman's giggle. She looked over and there was Rosemary. She was running over to a tall man with brown hair and hugging him. She then kissed him on the lips, which led Lucy to believe that the man must've been going with her. This gave Lucy a lot of relief and as she stood up, she looked over at her husband.
Ricky was undoing his tie when he looked through the still departing crowd. He saw his wife, looking as beautiful as ever, with a subtle smile on her face. His face softened and he noticed that she was walking slowly towards him. He didn't know what was pulling him, but he felt himself walk towards her. As he got closer to her, he noticed that beneath her smile was pain that she was desperately trying to let go of. The two met at the edge of the stage and faced each other.
"Let's go home, sweetheart," said Lucy
"Lead the way," said Ricky.
The taxi ride home was quiet as quiet could be. Lucy wondered what Ricky could be thinking and vice versa. She felt Ricky take her hand gently. She looked over at him and saw him slightly smile at her. She put her head on his shoulder because if anything, for the moment, everything was okay. Their time at the apartment is when things would come together.
They passed by the Mertz's apartment and Lucy decided to lighten the mood by posing a questioning look to Ricky. At first, he didn't understand, but then finally knew what she was trying to ask with that look.
As he chuckled softly, he answered, "No, Lucy. I don't think I'll be staying with the Mertz's."
"Just checking, " answered Lucy coyly and off she continued down the hall to their front door.
The couple walked in and the air was different than before. The two of them knew that even though their fight seemed to be over, they still had a few things to talk about.
"Home, sweet, home," said Lucy, as she walked into the apartment and started for their bedroom.
"Lucy, we need to talk before we go to bed."
"Oh, okay. I guess a talk is needed. I have a few things that I need to explain."
"Yes, you need to 'splain."
"Well, first, I owe you an apology for not trusting you. Even though this shouldn't be an excuse, I have a problem leaving the past in the past. I never told you about the beau I had before I met you. His name was David Harris and I thought he was incredibly dreamy. He loved me and I thought I loved him, but the day that Marion Strong came to me and said that he had made a pass at her, my world came crashing down. I was so heartbroken, but my sadness didn't last very long."
Ricky didn't want to hear anymore about this guy that loved his Lucy and then broke her heart, but he knew that for the sake of their marriage, he would keep listening.
"How did you get over it so fast?"
"Well…I fell in love with you."
Ricky's heart swelled with pride and love for his wife that he alone was able to make her forget about this cad that had hurt her with his betrayal. Ricky then thought that these publicity stories weren't helping matters by putting salt in old wounds.
"I have one more confession that I don't think you'll like, but it'll make me feel better. I watched the entire show tonight and I couldn't help but feel jealous when I saw you put your arms around Rosemary. Those arms should only be meant for me."
"Well, Lucy, I have a confession for you that might make you feel better. Every time I do those routines where I have to dance with another woman, I pretend that it's you. I put my arms around Rosemary's waist, but in my mind, it was your waist. We started to sway together and it was you and I who were swaying together."
Today was an emotional day for Lucy because for the umpteenth time that day, she began to cry. Lucy closed her eyes as Ricky stroked her cheek gently and wiped her tears. She kept thinking to herself how she could be so ridiculous. Ricky was ten times the man that David was. After admitting to him about the man in her life before Ricky came into it, was cathartic and made her feel better about everything.
"I will always love you, Lucy. That'll never change, no matter what. I'm not this David character, but he sounds very stupid."
She would never doubt her husband and his fidelity again. She was surprised that a simple admission from her and a loving gesture from him could bring them to this place.
"So, I have a question for you. You said that David loved you, but that you thought you loved him. What does that mean?"
"I thought I knew love back then, but then I realized that I didn't know the meaning of it until I met you."
Ricky's face lit up and he put his hands on Lucy's face and gave her a kiss on her soft red lips. Lucy responded eagerly and she knew this time she wouldn't be pushing him away like earlier.
"I've wanted you in my arms like this all day," said Ricky as he scooped her up in his arms and brought her into their bedroom. Lucy giggled and knew she felt the same way as she kissed her husband.
A couple of hours later, the two of them were laying in their bed and in each other arms. They had finally gotten past the issue of Rosemary and Ricky's fidelity. Lucy finally relaxed for the first time in twenty four hours. She looked over at her sleeping husband and her heart filled with love. She would love this man for the rest of her life and she was finally at peace with that realization.
As she drifted off into sleep, Ricky opened his eyes to look at his sleeping wife. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He thought back to the time when they met. He remembered seeing her for the first time and thought that she had a hint of sadness in her eyes, but as soon as he got to know her, he never saw that sadness anymore. Again, pride filled his heart that he helped her get over that David Harris guy. She was his Lucy forever and his heart was hers until the end of time.