The Road To Bliss

by Denise N Wheatley

  “I’m sure you two will be friends again. You’ve been through so much together, and so much of it was good. And like I always say, you both still love each other.”

  “I don’t know about all that.”

  “I do,” Eva said assuredly. “And on that note, I need to get going. Tonight Cameron is taking me to the premiere of that short film he shot in L.A. Congrats to you again. I am beyond ecstatic. And as always, let me know what I can do to help.”

  “You know I will,” Timber said. “Thank you, and have fun.”

  “Bye!”

  Timber hung up the phone and thought about what Eva had said about her and Brian. She’d been so hurt by the breakup that she never really thought about whether she still loved him.

  But then, as she went online to search for ideas on how to develop a professional line of products, Timber just couldn’t seem to shake the persistent feeling in the back of her mind, telling her that she did….

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The next afternoon, Timber was back down at her computer, checking email and voicemail messages. She’d collected tons of information on professional product line development that she needed to read through, and she wanted to finish reviewing the rest of the résumés and process her new orders. While she was also anxiously awaiting her realtor’s phone call to find out whether or not she’d gotten the space, she had already claimed it to be hers. That location was perfect for Soothing Bliss and exactly where it belonged.

  There was one more call that Timber was anxiously awaiting. Alex’s. He hadn’t returned her call yesterday, and today when she tried his cell phone, it was off. He hadn’t left her a message on her cell or business lines, nor had he sent her a text or email. But Timber wasn’t worried. At least not yet. Because things had been too good between them for him to go and mess up now. There were a slew of things that could have prevented him from contacting her. So many that she refused to run through them all. Instead she grabbed her stack of résumés and began looking them over while patiently waiting for her phone to ring.

  * * * *

  Six hours had passed. Still no word from Alex. This wasn’t like him. Timber was beginning to worry. She tried his cell one more time, but it was still off. So she looked up the phone number to his hotel room and tried it.

  The phone rang several times. Then finally it picked up. Timber sighed, relieved that everything was okay.

  “Yes?” a female voice answered curtly.

  “H-Hello?” Timber stammered confusingly as a feeling of dread overcame her.

  “Yes?” the female voice repeated, a little snippier this time.

  “I’m sorry, I must have the wrong number,” Timber said before slamming the phone down. She jumped up out of her chair and began pacing the floor rapidly. This could not be happening. Alex could not have a woman in his hotel room, answering the phone no less.

  Timber fanned her face vigorously and willed herself back over to her desk. She had to call the room again. She must have dialed the wrong number. Or maybe Alex had checked into a different room and this woman was a new guest.

  She picked up the phone again, slowly this time. She counted along with her breathing as she dialed the number. The phone began to ring. Timber closed her eyes and gripped the side of her desk until her knuckles were white as she waited for Alex to answer.

  “He-llo,” the same female voice said again.

  Timber suddenly felt cold and clammy all over. She was on the verge of hyperventilating. She forced herself to open her mouth and say something.

  “This is Timber. I’m looking for—” Before she could finish, she heard Alex’s voice in the background.

  “Alana! Did you use my razor again?” he yelled. Then his voice got closer. “I thought I told you to stop using my—what are you doing? Did you answer my phone again?”

  Timber heard the phone shuffle. “Hello?” Alex said into the receiver. She slammed the phone down, grabbed the sides of her head and leaned onto the desk. She felt sick to her stomach. Two minutes later her phone rang. She knew it was Alex. So she turned it off, crawled upstairs, and threw herself face down onto the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Timber!” she heard as someone shook her body violently. Timber jumped up and looked around the room. She was at home in bed, and Eva was standing over her.

  “What is going on?” Eva asked, opening the curtains and windows. “Do you realize that you’ve been in here for the past three days with all of your phones turned off?”

  “Oh…no. Yes. Maybe. I can’t remember….” Timber moaned, rubbing her head.

  “Are you okay?” Eva asked, pushing back the comforter and pulling her up.

  “I guess…I don’t know....”

  “That’s it. Get up. Let’s go,” Eva said, helping her to the bathroom. “First things first. You need a bath.”

  Eva ran the bathwater, added several capfuls of lavender oil, gave Timber a fresh robe and towel then went into the kitchen. Once the tub had been filled, Timber climbed in and leaned back, allowing the soothing water to relax her. She closed her eyes, and then suddenly, the memory of a woman answering Alex’s hotel room phone came rushing back to her. But before she could break down over it yet again, Eva knocked on the door, opened it a bit and spoke to her through the crack.

  “When you’re done, meet me in the kitchen. I’m afraid to even ask when the last time you actually had a meal occurred. I’ve got some tea, toast, and melon waiting for you. Oh, and I’m glad you were excited enough to give your realtor my phone number just in case she wasn’t able to reach you about the lease. When you didn’t return her calls, she called me. You got the space.”

  “Great,” Timber said quietly. Had it not been for the disastrous situation going on with Alex, she would’ve been ecstatic.

  “And I checked your calendar before I woke you up. You’ve got three interviews scheduled for this afternoon. The first one is with a woman named Anne Oliver, and it starts in an hour. I’ll conduct them. You just sit on the sidelines and act like you’re hoarse.”

  “Fine.”

  “And Timber, I know what happened with Alex. I’m so sorry. He called Cameron because he couldn’t get in touch with you and was afraid to talk to me. He’s been trying to come home to see you, but he can’t get away from the set. I’m sure you don’t care though.”

  “I don’t.”

  “I just…I wish I would’ve encouraged you not to believe all those lies he told about being faithful. I guess I didn’t think he had it in him to be so callous and dishonest.”

  “It’s not your fault, Eva. I made my own decision. I chose to believe him and stay with him. But in the back of my mind, I never really thought that he was telling the truth. And I also knew there was some truth to Angela’s story. I just chose to ignore my intuition because I really loved and wanted to be with him.”

  “I know you did,” Eva said quietly. “And hadn’t you two both agreed that this was a committed, monogamous relationship the last time he was home?”

  “Yes we did.”

  “Wow. That is beyond heartless. But look on the bright side. Things are going so great for you now. With the Soothing Bliss store and spa, you’re going have men trampling over each other trying to get to you.”

  “I think I’m going to just be alone for the rest of my life,” Timber said as she climbed out of the tub, toweled off, slipped on her robe and opened the door.

  “Come on, don’t say that,” Eva insisted. They headed to the kitchen and sat down at the table. “After you’re done eating, we’ll go find something for you to wear. Are you sure you’re up to this? Because I can do the interviews by myself if you want.”

  “No, I can sit in,” Timber said, managing a slight smile. “Thank you so much for this. For everything….”

  “Don’t mention it” Eva replied. “If nothing else, you know you can always count on me.”

  “I know. And I love you for it.”

  “Ditto. After you g
et dressed, why don’t you call Sue and have her email the lease over to you so that you can get it signed and sent back?”

  “I will.” Timber sighed, not ready to face reality just yet. Because in reality, Alex had broken her heart, and she was still devastated by it.

  Timber ate, then went into the bedroom and started on her hair while Eva shuffled through her closet. Once her hair was securely fastened into a neat bun, she applied a minimal amount of makeup and slipped into the skirt, blouse and pumps that Eva had laid out for her. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror then turned around.

  “So, how do I look?”

  “For a girl who’s supposedly distraught, you clean up very nicely.” Eva smiled. “You look great.”

  “Supposedly? Believe me, I have totally come undone. I didn’t even go through all of this after my breakup with Brian, and he was my first love.”

  “To be honest with you, I think that you’re hurting this badly as a result of both Dad and Alex.”

  “I think so, too. I feel terrible.”

  “I know you do, but things are going to get better. I promise you they will,” Eva assured her right before the doorbell rang. “That must be Anne,” she continued, glancing down at her watch while heading to the door. “And she’s early. I like that.”

  “Same here,” Timber said. She headed to the basement while Eva answered the door. Timber had forgotten about the mess she’d left in her work area and hurried down the stairs to try and clean up as much of it as she could before Anne walked in. But when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that Eva had already done it.

  Timber just shook her head and smiled in amazement, convinced that she had the best friend in the world. A few moments later, a smartly-dressed older woman with perfectly-coiffed hair and a welcoming smile followed Eva downstairs and walked towards her. Eva introduced the two, and Timber liked her immediately. Anne shook her hand firmly and told her that she’d been using her products since the day the website launched. Timber thanked her and told her to have a seat, then sat down behind the desk and began the interview. Eva smiled and quietly slipped back upstairs.

  * * * *

  “I liked them all,” Timber told Eva after the third candidate left. “But right now I’m only looking to hire one person until the store opens, and I like the first candidate the best. Anne.”

  “Yes, she was fantastic,” Eva agreed. “Very polished and professional. She seems like one of those rich women who works because she wants to and not because she has to.”

  “And her product knowledge! You should have heard her run down the list of everything she knows about the products and everything she’s used. It was amazing.”

  “You know I was eavesdropping at the top of the stairs,” Eva laughed. “And she was really good. Definitely my favorite as well.”

  “I think I’ll hire her first, and put the other two on hold until the store opens.”

  “That sounds like a great idea. Did you call Sue?”

  “I did. She’s emailing the lease to me, and once it’s signed, I’ll be all set. Now I need to order the furniture, meet with the designer who’s making the product containers, then the manufacturer, and I need to figure out what equipment I’ll need for the basement since I’m still going to make and package some of the products myself. I also need to meet with the plumber, the electrician….” Timber continued, taking notes as she spoke.

  “Doing what you love has managed to get you through some really challenging times, hasn’t it?” Eva asked.

  “It really has,” Timber said thoughtfully.

  “Isn’t it nice to have a passion?”

  “It is. Most definitely.”

  “Passions go way beyond just something to do. They allow you to get lost in something you care about, and they feed your soul. When all else fails, you always have that to fall back on, which is nice. And you do see how all this fell right into place for you at just the right time, don’t you?”

  “I do see that,” Timber said, smiling genuinely for the first time in days.

  “You haven’t even given you-know-who a thought since you’ve been so wrapped up in Soothing Bliss this afternoon, have you?”

  “Now that you mention it, no. I haven’t.”

  “And you couldn’t have chosen a better name for your company. Because through yet another storm, Soothing Bliss has kept you calm and happy.”

  “That it has.”

  “So what’s next for today?”

  “That’s it. You came all the way over here, put me back together, and got everything in order. So your work is done. You’re a phenomenal woman, my friend.”

  “I know you’d do it for me,” Eva said.

  “In a heartbeat. But I know you’ve got a long ride home and work to do and a man to see, so you can go. I’ll be okay.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m not going anywhere. I’ve cleared my calendar as far out as I could. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily.”

  “Eva. You did?” Timber asked before she jumped up and hugged her. “Thank you thank you thank you! I didn’t want to impose, but I was hoping you’d stay.”

  “Of course I’m staying. And it’s no problem whatsoever. Now, what are we going to eat?” she asked as they headed upstairs to the kitchen.

  “I don’t know, but we’ve got a lot to choose from. The fridge is packed, so help yourself.”

  Eva began pulling food out of the refrigerator while Timber took a seat at the table. She willed herself not to start thinking about Alex, and felt beyond grateful for having such an amazing friend in Eva.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Timber was down in the basement in front of her computer feeling totally overwhelmed. Eva had just left. She’d been with her for over three weeks, driving into the city whenever necessary but running most of her business out of Timber’s house.

  Timber had tried so hard not to cry when Eva drove off. She’d gotten used to her best friend’s constant companionship and support. Now that she was gone, Timber felt empty and lost. She had yet to really face the situation with Alex alone, and the minute she closed the door behind Eva, the grief overcame her.

  Business couldn’t have been better. Anne had been coming in a few days a week and was working out well. The other two future employees were eager to start work in the Soothing Bliss store once it opened. The designer of the containers had created sleek and elegant bottles and jars for her products that she loved. She’d emailed the ingredients lists and instructions to the manufacturer, who was ready to move forward and begin mass production just as soon as Timber gave him the word. Phase one of the store, which consisted of ordering furniture and equipment and getting the sales aspect of Soothing Bliss up and running, was already in the works. Phase two, which consisted of getting the spa together, would begin after phase one was well under way. So everything was moving forward.

  As for Alex, filming on his movie had finally wrapped, and he’d gotten home last week. But Timber refused to speak to him. He’d been calling Cameron constantly, who was passing messages to her through Eva. Alex had even tried calling Eva, but she’d made it more than clear that she didn’t want to speak to him. He came by Timber’s house a few times, but she didn’t answer the door.

  Timber closed out of her inventory spreadsheet and pulled up the internet to check her email and the recent orders that had been placed. She forwarded several orders to Anne and asked if she could pick the products up from her and deliver them to the local stores and salons later on in the week. Then she printed several invoices and got up to check on her supplies.

  But then, Timber stopped and sat back down. Out of curiosity, she logged onto a few celebrity gossip blogs just to see what was going on in the world of entertainment, or rather what was floating around out there about Alex. First she checked out Celebrityhookups.com. Nothing there. Then she went to Dirtcentral.com. Nothing there. Then Hollywoodhotline.com. Nothing. Scoopdiggers.com. Nada. Maybe Alex wasn’t as popular as she’d thoug
ht. But wasn’t Alex always worried about the blogs reporting unflattering things about him? And hadn’t Brian seen some gossip about him online awhile back? Where was it all?

  This is stupid, Timber thought. Why was she even doing this to herself? Hadn’t she gotten enough proof of what Alex was doing first hand? Why torture herself by looking for more?

  Because I can’t help myself, she thought as she saw a link on Scoopdiggers.com that led to Celebritysightings.com. She clicked on it, and hundreds of thumbnails of celebrity photos popped up. Timber clicked on the search engine and typed in Alex’s name. To her surprise, 50 pictures of him popped up. There were photos of him walking down the street carrying coffee or bags of groceries. Innocent enough. Then there were photos of him posing on the red carpet at various events. To be expected. There were a few photos of him and Rita at the Absolutely Nowhere premiere, which Timber rolled her eyes at. Then she scrolled down to the bottom of the page. Bingo. Timber double-clicked on a photo of Alex walking down the street with a woman. When she enlarged it, she saw that their arms were wrapped tightly around one another. They were both laughing hysterically. There was a caption underneath the photo. It read:

  “Hot new couple alert! Alex Witherspoon and Alana Jacobs on the set of their new movie, A Cushy Life, currently filming in Australia.”

  Timber’s entire body went numb. This was the woman who’d answered his phone. Her trembling hand could barely control the computer’s mouse as she clicked back to the page of thumbnails. The next four photos were also of Alex and Alana. They were kissing in some, hugging in others, and looking to be in love in all of them.

  She scrolled further down the page. Photo after photo showed Alex with different women. She double-clicked on another random thumbnail and enlarged it. When she saw who he was with, Timber gasped and fell against the back of her chair so hard that it slammed into the wall. She took a few moments to regroup, then gripped the sides of her desk and slowly rolled back towards it. She squinted her eyes and leaned into the computer screen to take a good second look. Her eyes hadn’t deceived her. There it was. The photo caption read: