RENT - By Any Other Name
My name is Alison Grey.
Well, actually, it’s Alison Grey Coffin, but no one calls me that. Actually, other than Ms. Grey, almost everyone calls me Muffy.
Pathetic, isn’t it? Aside from my mother, who has called me Ally since the day I was born and will most likely continue until the day I die, and my father, who just calls me Alison, the only people who refer to me by something other than my last name are my brother’s weird friends, most of whom have never met me.
Well, actually, there’s also Benny.
Benny, who used to be one of Roger’s "Bohemian" cohorts, who “sold out” to become my “lapdog” (yes, I saw the footage of the protest on the news,) who promised me love and obedience "‘till death do we part"… Benny called me Alison when he was stressed, Ally when he was relaxed, love when he was feeling sappy, honey when he was in trouble, and baby whenever he could.
So I knew I was in trouble when the first words out of his mouth were ‘Alison, honey - ”
Because his friend - Collin, or something like that - called me and told me about this stripper, this Mimi (God, what a stupid, ugly, stripper name.) I didn’t believe him (didn't want to believe him,) but I thought I’d tell Benny, just to get an explanation of why on earth his "friend" was spreading these rumors…
‘Alison, honey - ” he starts, and it takes all my will power not to give in to my body’s demands and collapse onto the floor. Two damn words and my worst fears are confirmed.
“Get out,” I hiss, not letting him try to lie his way out of it. “Get the hell out of my house, Benjamin.”
He flinches at the use of his full name, because he knows that while ‘honey’ is bad news for me, ‘Benjamin’ is a sign of apocalypse-sized trouble for him. Wisely, he leaves before I start screaming. And crying. And breaking everything and anything he ever gave me.
Six months later, I’ve filed for divorce, removed ‘Coffin’ from my name, and almost convinced myself that it doesn’t matter to me that my only nickname now is ‘Muffy,’ that no one will call me ‘baby’ or ‘love’ again.
Almost.
Quote: “I was not only hunting for my liberty, but also hunting for my name.” - William Wells Brown