Page 110 of The Charm Offensive
“And what problem is that?” Mark Davenport asks leadingly.
Daphne sighs, and there is the faintest hint of tears in the corners of her blue eyes. “I grew up in a deeply religious family. That’s not to say my family isn’t tolerant and supportive—” The show inlays a small box in the corner of the television screen, showing Daphne’s adorable Southern family cheering her on from a greenroom. “It’s just, since I was a little girl, playing with Barbies and watching Disney movies, I always thought my future had to be me walking down the aisle toward my prince. I pursued that future, and I dated men, and I never let myself question why none of those relationships ever felt right.”
Daphne sighs again, and the audience hangs on her every word. “Then I came on this show, and I met so many people who come from different backgrounds, and have haddifferent life experiences, and I started to suspect maybe there was a different kind of love story, too. Something I hadn’t let myself consider. When Charlie tried to come out in Macon, it all sort of…clicked. The truth I’d been hiding from myself. I’m a lesbian.”
A very raucous group of butch women in the front row scream in wild approval, and Daphne smiles shyly. “I came out to my family, and I feel like such a weight has been lifted off me. I don’t think I ever would have gotten to this point without my journey on the show.”
“Honestly, who even cast last season?” Dev asks from their couch. “Was the networktryingto make it a queer party?”
“I do not remember it feeling like a queer party when we were filming it,” Charlie says, and Dev prepares himself to be outraged. “Except for you, love. You are always a one-man queer party.”
“Damn right I am.”
The show cuts back to the castle, to Mark Davenport standing by the east gate in a prepackage. “Fairy-Tale Family, without any further ado, allow me to introduce to you our new star: Daphne Reynolds!”
Daphne comes riding onto set atop a white horse, her posture perfect in the saddle. She’s wearing tan riding pants, black boots, and a billowing white shirt like a real-life goddamn prince. Daphne takes off her helmet and shakes out her long blond hair.
Charlie squeezes his hand tighter. “Do you wish you’d been there?”
Does he wish he were part of the first (intentionally) gay season ofEver After? Of course, he does. Part of him will always loveEver After. Love the magic, the energy, the way romance plays out in front of the cameras. He loves a perfect make-outsession against a brick wall. He loves the drama, the heartbreak, the tears, the music, the first kisses.
And yeah: the show is kind of trash. It asks people to compete for love. It sometimes exploits them at their most vulnerable moments. It heightens everything to absurdity. But isn’t that kind of the point? Isn’t that why people watch reality TV? To escape from reality?
Without Maureen, the show will be a lot more progressive, but it’s stillEver After, and Dev is happy to be watching it play out right here, from the comfort of his couch, with Charlie sitting beside him.
“No, actually.” Dev leans over and kisses Charlie. “I think I’m good.”
Charlie opens his arms, and Dev settles in against his chest.
Mark Davenport smiles directly at them from the television screen. “Over the course of the next ten weeks, Daphne will embark on a Quest to find her fairy-tale princess. Are you ready, America?”
Dev is so ready.
