"Hey Gracie." Will greeted as he walked into Grace Adler Designs. He came with the intent to take her to lunch, but quickly forgot about that when he saw her working frantically. She had pencils in her hair and blueprints strung out all over the place.
"Hey Will. I can't go to lunch. This new couple is a pain in the ass. They want me to work this whole next week. I don't know where they get off thinking I only serve them. Who do they think they are?" She began to rant.
"Wait, you're working this whole next week?" Will asked sadly. "Who's going to go to my cousin Alan's wedding with me. You promised you'd be my date." He whined.
"Will, I have a lot of work to do. Take Jack or something." She said, never taking her eyes off her task.
"No, he decided to come up with another one man show. He thought that 'Just Jack' didn't fully capture his spirit." Will explained. "That and I don't want to bring a man with me. My aunt and uncle are still a little freaked out about the whole gay thing."
"Still, even after all these years?"
"Yeah, they just don't think it's natural." He said. "Well who else am I going to get to go with me? I have to leave tomorrow."
"Why don't you take Karen?" Grace suggested, eliciting a death glare from Will. "What, she isn't so bad. She's a lot different when you're alone with her. I'm sure you two would have a great time."
"Are you kidding me with this? Karen is…Karen." He replied while sitting on Grace's stool next to the swatch room.
"And what's so wrong with her?" Grace asked, finally taking her eyes off of her work.
"What's wrong with her? She's a bitter drunk with a cruel sense of humor. She calls me Wilma. She pops pills like they're tic-tacs."
"Okay so she has a few flaws. Just ask her. You need a date and she is most likely not busy."
"No, I'm not doing it. Besides, who says she'll even agree to go?" He kept coming up with excuses. He and Karen had never gotten along. Why was Grace pushing them to start now?
"Will it's just Karen. Would you stop being such a mo and ask her?"
"Ask me what, honey?" questioned a high-pitched voice returning from lunch. Karen walked in and sat down at her desk, putting her purse down and taking her coat off.
"Go ahead Will, ask her." Grace encouraged. Will gave her a look, but knew that if he didn't ask, Grace would.
"Well," he began as he stood from his seat. He walked in front of Karen's desk. "My cousin is getting married this Tuesday and his rehearsal dinner is on Monday. I was just wondering if you would like to come with me as my date."
Karen thought for a moment. Was he serious? He had always had a strong dislike for her. Grace must have put him up to this. Still it would be nice to get out of the house for a while.
"How long are we talking, Wilma?" she asked.
"We have to leave tomorrow morning and we'll get home on Thursday." he replied. Was she really considering going with him?
"Sure honey, I'll go with you." She said stunning both Will and Grace. Karen, however, didn't notice the shock. She was too busy beginning to paint her nails.
"Great, I'll pick you up at your house tomorrow at noon. Sound good?" Will asked as she continued painting.
"Why don't we make it ten and you've got yourself a date." She said. "I want to get out of that manse as soon as possible. Stan's back from his business trip and he's driving me crazy."
"Okay, see you tomorrow at ten. And Grace, see you at home." He said before he went to lunch, alone.
"Karen, are you sure you want to go hang out with Will's family? They're pretty extreme, especially his aunt." Grace asked once she was sure that Will was out of earshot. She wasn't sure how they were going to get along. They couldn't stand each other.
"Of course, honey. From what I understand, they drink a lot. And I am totally supportive of that. Besides, who'd miss the chance to see Wilma in her natural born habitat?" She replied, causing Grace to giggle.
"Just don't hurt each other."
"Oh it wouldn't be any fun if we didn't try." Karen replied before going back to her nails.
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Later that evening, Karen was back at the manse packing her clothes for her trip with Will. She still couldn't believe he asked her to go with him. She supposed it really was Grace who gave him the idea.
Just as Karen was finishing her packing, Stan walked into their bedroom with a ham sandwich in his hand and whiskey on his breath. He cleared his throat. Karen turned around and softly smiled at him.
"Hi Stanley." she greeted, warmly.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked with a hint of annoyance while he closed the door.
"Oh, I wanted to talk to you about it, but you were still at work when I got home." She said while putting her shoes in another suitcase. "Will asked me to go to his cousin's wedding with him this week. We're leaving tomorrow and getting back on Thursday." She said, not noticing the anger written across his face.
"So, you decided to go without even asking for my permission?" He asked. Now she heard the anger. Her warmth toward him quickly turned into rage of her own.
"Permission? Why would I need permission? You don't own me." She said, turning to face him.
He finished his sandwich and wiped his hands on his pants. She glared at him, disgusted. Then she caught the trace of whiskey in the air. He had been drinking again. She panicked and quickly tried to backtrack.
"Stan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"
"I do own you!" he shouted. "I own you and the expensive alcohol that makes you!" He began walking toward her. "And if it weren't for me, you would just be some whore trying to bilk another man out of his hard earned money!"
"Honey, you're scaring me." She said as she backed away from his angry eyes. He grabbed her upper arms and began to shake her as he spoke.
"I'm scaring you, huh? I thought Karen Walker wasn't afraid of anything!" he shouted in her face.
"Stan, stop it!" she shrieked, pushing him off balance. She began to run to the door, but he grabbed a fist-full of her hair. She let out a quick yelp of surprise and immediately attempted to get away from him. This caused him to only pull harder.
"Where are you going?" he questioned with a shout. "We're not finished here!" With that he threw her to the ground. She struggled to get to the door once again, but this time he pushed her forward, causing her to slam into the door. She recovered from the shock quickly and began to fumble with the lock.
Before she could turn the handle, he was right on her. He spun her around and struck her cheek. He lifted her by her upper arms and shoved her into the door again. She winced in pain as the doorknob slammed into her lower back. He now had her chin in his hand and was shouting in her face.
"You're a whorish bitch, Karen! Without me you would be nowhere! You are nothing!" He shouted. And with that he threw her to the ground and kicked her out of the way so he could retire to the guest room.
Karen lay on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She didn't realize how angry she was making him. She didn't know he'd been drinking until she had already mouthed off. How could she have been so stupid?
She got up off the floor and locked the door. He had gone to the guest room, like he always did after this happened. She was thankful that he couldn't face her. She wasn't sure if she could face him.
She walked over to her night table and pulled a bottle of vodka out of the drawer. She took a long swig, feeling it burn all the way down. She knew she should numb herself before the tears fell. She carried the bottle by the neck and walked into her bathroom. When she looked into the mirror she gasped. He hardly ever hit her in the face. Now she knew why. How was she ever going to explain this?
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