The Intervention

SCENE OPENS on Mary Anne, as she opens the back door of her house and walks into the kitchen, carrying a load of groceries. Dressed in a pastel pink sweater, cross, and jeggings, the conservative-looking woman has gone through a lot to get to this position in life. Married twice, her last husband left her two things in the settlement: this house and his now 18-year-old daughter, Charlie, who has continued living with her step-mother for several years. Mary Anne has always considered Charlie to be like a real daughter and, in the wake of her divorce, she became very protective over her. Almost too protective. Why should she live somewhere else when Mary-Ann takes perfectly good care of her here? Certainly, a better environment than with her father! As she puts the groceries away, she hollers out to her daughter to come and help … but there is no response. Finally, she stops what she’s doing and goes to find her. She sees her daughter’s sneakers and backpack by the front door but still gets no response, so she walks up the stairs to Charlie’s bedroom. When Mary Anne opens the door, she is shocked to discover her daughter lying in bed topless and kissing another girl! Charlie barely has a chance to look up before Mary Anne slams the door in disgust. What the hell was that?! She composes herself for a moment before barging back into the room and yelling at Charlie, as her and her girlfriend struggle to put their shirts back on. Charlie begs for her mom to calm down, but Mary Anne is beside herself. Is her daughter a lesbian? Under her roof? That’s an abomination! She didn’t raise her to be like that. The step-mother starts flying off the handle at the other girl, telling her to get out and never come back. They vote conservative in this house! There are no gays allowed! Charlie is outraged by her mother’s behavior and tells her girlfriend that she’ll drive her home. Mary-Anne chases them down the stairs accusing her daughter of being brainwashed. Charlie tells her mom that it’s 2018. Same-sex marriage is legal. She’s an adult, she just turned 18. She can do what she wants. Charlie barges through the front door with her girlfriend and slams it in Mary Anne’s face.

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That evening, Mary Anne paces back and forth in her bedroom while Steve, her boyfriend, watches TV and eats chips. Steve is a low-life car mechanic who Mary Anne met at a church community program, not because he is religious but because he was obligated to attend as part of a court order. They are a bit of an odd couple. She looks very wholesome and he looks messy and gregarious, in a baseball cap, flannel shirt, dirty work pants, and boots still on in bed. As Mary Anne complains about what happened, Steve half-listens. He tells her not to stress, she holds the purse strings. Charlie’s big college plans in the fall are completely dependent on her. The girl can’t move out on her own. Mary Anne keeps fretting and pacing, arguing that Charlie has never disrespected her like that before. Slamming the door in her face like that! What she needs is an ultimatum! Steve jokes that what her daughter really needs is some dick. One time with a real man would put a stop to her dyky behavior. This makes Mary Anne pause. ‘You’re absolutely right,’ she slowly says as they both hear the front door open and Charlie come back home.

CUT to Charlie walking up the stairs cautiously. It’s been hours since she last saw her step-mother and she isn’t sure what to expect. Despite being completely appalled by her reaction, Charlie still honors her mother and even fears her a little. After all, she is the one fully supporting Charlie. Mary-Anne is waiting, arms folded, by her bedroom door. The two women stare at each other for a moment before Mary-Anne tells her to come in. They need to discuss what happened earlier. Charlie nods and walks past her, as Mary-Anne shuts the door.

Charlie is somewhat surprised to see Steve there but, considering the boyfriend practically lives at their house now, she does what she normally does: ignores him. This is supposed to be between her and her mother. She takes a deep breath and starts to explain that the girl Mary-Ann caught her with is her girlfriend. They are in love and she has been trying to figure out how to tell her mom about it for months, but she was too afraid of her reaction. Mary-Anne cuts her off coldly and tells her to sit down. This is an intervention.

Summing up all her authority, Mary-Anne forbids her daughter from seeing her girlfriend anymore. She does not accept homosexuality, certainly not within her family. No daughter of hers, even a step-daughter, will ever be allowed to behave this way. Charlie starts to break down and, through angry tears, tell her mother that this is how she was born. This is who she is. She can’t stop it. Fighting back tears herself, Mary-Anne continues by telling her daughter that if she does not respect her decision, that she will be forced to kick her out of the house and take away the college funds she had set aside for her. Charlie freaks out, begging her mother to reconsider. She worked so hard to get into that school. She can’t possibly cover the tuition and dorm rent on her own. What does she need to do to prove that being gay is just who she is? Steve, who has been watching TV the whole time in the background, nonchalantly pipes up and asks ‘But … how do you know that you’re really gay?’

Charlie stops and turns to glare at him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she says angrily. ‘I didn’t realize anyone was talking to you, Steve!’ Steve turns off the TV and edges to the end of the bed. ‘But, seriously,’ he continues. ‘How do you know you’re not just confused?’ Mary-Anne chimes in to support her boyfriend, asking Charlie directly if she has ever even been with a man before. Charlie says no. Mary-Anne then challenges how she can know for sure if she’s a lesbian if she’s never tried to be straight. Charlie is shocked by this line of questioning. She argues with her mother that she doesn’t need to do that to know. Well,’ Mary-Anne demands. ‘Until you have proven to me that you aren’t straight, I can no longer support you, Charlie. Maybe if you tried to have normal sex with a man and you still didn’t like it, I might change my mind. But, until then, I won’t tolerate this unnatural behavior!’ Charlie is seething in anger. She points a finger at Steve, who is awkwardly chuckling to himself behind them. ‘And I suppose this is your idea of a man, mom?’ she yells. ‘Someone like Steve?!’

Mary-Anne stares at her boyfriend as an idea crosses her mind. ‘Yes,’ she says, turning back to her daughter. ‘Exactly like Steve. In fact, why don’t we just settle this debate tonight? Steve, take off your clothes!’ Steve puts down the bowl of chips and asks what she’s doing. ‘You heard me,’ she says, through her rage. ‘You are going to fuck my daughter. Right now. Put your dick in her mouth and let’s see how gay she really is.’ Charlie tells her step-mom that she’s insane. Mary-Anne continues, ordering her boyfriend to drop his pants. ‘All it’s going to take is 10 minutes to prove to me that you aren’t straight, Charlie. So, come on, what are you afraid of?’ Charlie stares dumbfounded at her mother. ‘Or … what?’ she demands. Mary-Anne stands her ground and crosses her arms. ‘Or, you leave tonight and don’t even think about me covering your tuition!’ She yells.

There is an eerie silence in the room, as the weight of Mary-Anne’s threats hang over everyone. Steve looks like a deer in headlights, his pants around his ankles. Mary-Anne stands quivering with rage, trying to hold her position. Charlie breathes hard, her eyes not leaving her mother’s. This is the ultimate betrayal. She starts to undo her shirt and throws it in a corner. She pulls off her sports bra and whips it in her mother’s direction. Finally, as she pulls down her pants and her panties, she coldly turns to Steve and tells him to pull out his dick. He asks if she’s she sure. She says yes. If this is what her mother needs as proof, then fine. She can have it. She can have all the fucked-up proof she needs. Charlie drops to her knees, tells her mother that she hates her, and starts to suck Steve’s dick. BGG Sex Scene. Throughout the first part of the sex, Charlie hates fucks Steve and talks down to her mother. Mary-Anne watches but, when she becomes dissatisfied by what she considers to be Charlie’s lackluster effort, she joins in to show her how it’s done. Steve, overwhelmed by the two women battling beneath him, ends up fucking them both and popping on their faces.

After they have finished, another awkward silence fills the room. Steve, grabbing his clothing, tells the women that he is going to leave now. They should probably sort themselves out. He exits, and the two naked, cum-drenched family members look at each other. ‘Are you satisfied?’ Charlie asks coldly. Mary-Anne sputters that she hopes her daughter learned a valuable lesson in all this. She is normal, after all. ‘Yes,’ Charlie says, grabbing her stuff. ‘I’m a lesbian!’ and she storms out of the room, slamming the door.