Gloria's Special Guest

“Debbie darling,” Gloria shouted toward the hallway in a terrible fake English accent, “I need your help. I can’t snap the last hook on my bra.”

Debbie came running into Gloria’s suite wearing nothing but a towel and a shower cap.

“Why, Debbie, I hope you’re not going to the studio dressed like that. Seems a bit desperate in getting Pooper’s attention.”

“Oh Pooper, I’ve already got him. He gave me a beautiful solid bright yellow locket for Christmas.”

“You better not go and marry that man. I don’t want to be calling you Mrs. Pooper. And your little baby Poopers—tiny tornadoes in diapers. Whatever you do, don’t name your boys Cooper or Hooper.”

“I don’t know. Cooper Pooper has a nice ring to it, Gloria.”

Debbie lovingly smoothed the back of Gloria’s hair after snapping the last hook on her bra.

The Ride to the Studio

“Mr. Chauffeur,” Gloria asked, “what happened to Paolo?”

“Paolo was promoted to Fashion Archivist within Oliver Olivier Productions.”

“That’s quite a jump from chauffeur to fashion archivist. Who did Paolo have to sleep with?”

“Miss Gloria, Paolo came to the company with experience in the fashion industry. He took the chauffeur job with the agreement that once there was an opening in the fashion end of the company, he would be first in line for a promotion.”

“So, can we expect you to become the next fashion designer in a few months?”

“Oh no, Miss Gloria, I am just a chauffeur. I will be a driver for the rest of my life. I’ve been driving with Oliver Olivier Productions for three years now.”

“Oh, I see. By the way, what’s your name?”

“My name is Ennio.”

“Ahhh, another Italian. Well, you Italians are the hot tomatoes on my bruschetta.”

“You make me blush, Miss Gloria.”

Debbie cut in, “I don’t know about the bruschetta, but your cologne is very nice.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It’s a new line from the Oliver Olivier Collection called Summer Sweat.”

“Now, that’s a manly aroma,” Gloria commented. “Come on over here and give me a hug with some of your summer sweat.”

“You’re too kind, Gloria. But I have a rule of thumb: never stick my pen in the company ink.”

“If you ever get tired of driving, Ennio, I have a few positions open at my house.”

Entering the Studio

“Gloria,” Trixie exclaimed as Gloria and Debbie entered the studio, “we’re shooting early. Sorry for the last‑minute notice. Rafael is on limited time today, so we need to run and get this going.”

Trixie grabbed the wheelchair from Debbie and quickly whisked Gloria away as she went over the details of the show. “We have a very special surprise guest for you today.”

Gloria’s Opening Monologue

“I was told today I am having a special surprise guest. They wouldn’t tell me who it is. So, I’m speculating that it is someone very important. Someone totally hot and exciting. Who could it be? I wouldn’t be so disappointed if it were Tim Blyth. Holy cow, that man can wear a pair of tight blue jeans like no one else. But anyway, I have no business digging around in places that tight anyway. I might just get stuck with no way out. I’m better off with the geriatric crowd like Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But then again, I don’t want to have to get stuck changing some old guy’s diapers on a date.

“I’m pretty sure I know who the guest is. Does the word overhyped give you a clue?

“Usually, I have a name when I introduce my guests, but I don’t this time. So, I am going to welcome them now. I am so happy and proud to welcome my surprise guest. Let’s put our hands together for… Rose Cu… my mother?”

Oliver Olivier escorted the 112 year old Rose Cupidon onto the stage. He guided her gently as she carefully walked with a walker.

“I’m not talking with her. Get that wench off my stage,” Gloria demanded.

“Stop the cameras. Put a commercial on the live stream,” Rafael shouted as he walked toward Gloria to console her.

“Gloria, what’s going on?”

“I hate that lady.”

“But she’s your mom.”

“All the more reason.”

“Gloria, we have a full house today and about two million people expecting your live stream. We must go forward with this.”

“Not with her.”

“I get it. Family relationships can be tough. But right now, this cannot be about family. We all signed contracts that legally bind us to get the show out to the public.”

“Ah, there you go. You guys always use the contract when you want me to do something that I really don’t want to do. OK, I will do this. But we are going to find out who invited her as a guest, and we will be having a talk with them.”

“Agreed.”

Rafael turned to the audience and apologized for the delay, then directed the cameras to resume.

The Show Must Go On

“Mr. Olivier, thank you for escorting my mom out. Please have a seat.”

Olivier guided Mrs. Cupidon to the sofa, then exited the stage.

“Well, Mother, I haven’t seen you in 66 years.”

“Yes, that’s when you gave birth to Rudy.

The room froze and a silence took over the audience.

Gloria sat with her hands clasped on her desk and her head nodded downward as if she were praying. After a few seconds, the audience could hear sniffles through Gloria’s microphone.

“My little baby boy. He was so small and so frail. I miss my baby Rudy.”

“I remember when Rudy died, Gloria. He was only nine years old. My heart was broken.

“Your heart was broken? What do you mean, Mom? You didn’t even make it to his funeral.”

Rose sat quietly as tears began streaming from her eyes. “I wanted to tell you what was going on. But I couldn’t. I was afraid.”

“What? That you were drunk? Dad was the one who always made the phone calls making the excuses for you.”

Rose’s hands trembled slightly as she gathered the courage to speak.

“Oh no, Gloria. He was beating me. I didn’t make it to the funeral because he beat me so bad I was in the hospital.” With tears, Rose said, “I was broken. I was bruised, and all I could think about was you and how much pain you must have felt after losing your little boy.

Gloria sat still for a second. “Oh, Mom,” Gloria said tenderly. “I had no idea. Dad made me believe you were a drunk. You never called, you never visited.”

“That’s what he did, Gloria. He had control over me. He wouldn’t allow me to talk with you. He watched my every move. If I tried to reach out to you or your sister or anybody else, he’d beat me. I snuck out of the house when he was at work to see you and Rudy when he was born. When he found out, he hurt me so bad that I never disobeyed him again.”

“Why didn’t you leave him, Mom?”

“I was scared. He had complete control over me. I had no place else to go — or at least that’s the way he made me feel.”

Tears streamed down Gloria’s face. “Mom, I am so sorry that I had so many bad thoughts about you for all these decades. For such a long time I was deceived. I don’t even know what to think now. But I do know one thing — right now I have to be strong. I’m doing a show, and the show must go on. Trust me, I’ve powered through bigger tragedies… like breaking a freshly manicured fingernail on live TV.”

Rose nodded gently, meeting Gloria’s eyes.

“Mother, welcome to The Gloria Cupidon Hour.”

“It is my pleasure to be here.”

The audience rapidly stood and applauded the mother and daughter as they held hands, signifying the mending of broken bridges.

“Don’t get too excited, folks. My mom’s not out of the doghouse yet, she's still grounded for the next 20 years.”

🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

A Remembrance from Rick Henry Christopher

My character Gloria Cupidon is primarily based on my friend Audrey Cupidon (and a bit on my mom, Isabel). Audrey was born in Jamaica on July 17, 1933. She and I had met in 1993 from our mutual friend Jimi Irving (1925-2006). Jimi and I were best of friends. Audrey and I developed the same sort of bond - a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Audrey and I spoke everyday on the phone. She made me laugh, cry, wonder. She amazed me and helped me see things from different perspectives. She was my friend and one of my spiritual mentors (as was Jimi Irving).

My dear friend Audrey passed away on Monday morning January 5, 2026 at the age of 92 years youthful. I will greatly miss my unique and crazy beautiful friend.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

With Much Love, RHC ❤️