Worth the Weight

by Eileen Palma

  “I want to see my dad.”

  “I’ll take you,” said Jack. “I just need a day or two to get us tickets and straighten out this mess.”

  Lauren tucked her head into her knees. Her auburn waves of hair fell forward, looping over her legs and trailing on the dirty sidewalk. Her shoulders moved quietly.

  Jack sat down next to her and rested his arm across her shoulders. She shook it off. Lauren had her father’s strong resolve. She cried it out for a minute or two and brushed herself off—ready to head back home. She stood up, wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her hoody and grabbed Diesel’s leash without a word.

  They snuck back through a small alley between two buildings on 19th Street where they could access the back of Jack’s small yard. Jack hoisted Lauren up and she pulled herself over the wooden fence. Lauren was so small and muscular it was like heaving up a bag of bricks. Then Jack dangled Diesel over the edge till he felt Lauren grab the wriggling dog.

  Then it was Jack’s turn to get over the fence. He got a leg up on an old aluminum trashcan and was able to pull himself over the edge. He got his right leg over the wooden fence just fine with the exception of a thick splinter of wood that lodged in his thigh when his jeans got hiked up. But when Jack tried to get his left leg down, the hem of his jeans got stuck on the top of the fence and he landed in an awkward heap on the brick patio.

  “OMG! Are you okay?” Lauren whisper shouted.

  Jack nodded and held a finger to his lips. But when he stood up and put pressure on his foot a sharp pain radiated from his pinky toe to his ankle. He exhaled sharply and had to restrain himself from slinging a string of curse words.

  Lauren put Diesel on the ground and walked over to Jack. She put her arm around his waist and motioned for him to lean on her as they walked across the small yard. As soon as they were in the kitchen, she helped Jack to the chair so he could collapse.

  “Thanks.”

  “This doesn’t mean I like forgive you or anything.” Lauren pulled a bag of frozen peas from the fridge and tossed them to Jack. She had sat in the same chair with a frozen bag of veggies resting on a gymnastics injury more than once over the past few years.

  “Lauren,” Jack started.

  “Whatever. I don’t want to talk.” Lauren turned swiftly on her heel and headed upstairs.

  Jack leaned back in the old wooden dining chair that had been his mother’s favorite. The scratched blond wooden rolling chair didn’t exactly go with the rest of the apartment, but it felt like home to him. He wheeled himself over to the junk drawer and grabbed a roll of duct tape. He ripped off a long piece using his teeth and MacGyvered a make shift ice pack around his ankle.

  Jack almost fell backward in his chair a second later when the glass patio door opened and Matt walked in.

  “You scared the shit out of me. How’d you make it past the reporters?”

  “How many times did we sneak in past curfew? I can hop that fence in my sleep.”

  “I clearly lost my skills.” Jack gestured to his jerry-rigged ankle.

  “You did the same thing that night we snuck in after Tommy Rizzo’s party. Hopefully it’s not broken this time.” Matt opened the fridge and grabbed two beers. He handed one to Jack and kept the other for himself.

  “What the fuck? You don’t answer your phone?”

  “Ringer was off. My cover’s blown, huh?”

  “Shut the fuck up! You’ve got reporters camped out on your front stoop and you don’t Google yourself?’

  “I was just about to. I had some major Lauren drama to deal with first.”

  “Here’s the lowdown. The press figured out the fem-bot was slumming with you. They did a feature story about you guys on The 411 and it hit all the gossip sites. This is going to make the front pages of all tomorrow’s papers.”

  “Fuck!” Jack held the cold beer bottle against his head and rolled it over his temples.

  “We’ve had over fifty thousand hits on our website in the past half hour.”

  “I have to call Kate.”

  “First, let me show you the Gossip Matters site. They did a huge story and mentioned the new stroller.”

  “I can’t think straight till I talk to Kate.”

  “Not so fast, Romeo.” Matt looked up from the laptop, the screen casting a blue haze over his face.

  “Just so you know I’m eating stale crackers and mint jelly for dinner since we have no food in the house!” Lauren’s voice carried from the top of the stairs.

  “What’s up with the kid?”

  “Some motherfucking reporter whose ass I would love to kick let the cat out of the bag about David.”

  “I told you there’s nothing more dangerous than a pissed off woman. How do you think the reporter found out about David?”

  “Summer flings never make it past August because that’s when all your asshole friends come back from vacation and hate your new girlfriend.”

  Alex Lombardi, The True NJ

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “We’re not in California and medical marijuana’s only legal if you have a script for it.” Dana grabbed her heels from under the breakfast bar and grimaced when she wedged her blistered heels in.

  “Do any of your jerk-off friends actually have a script?” Dana held the phone with her left hand and used the right to untie the scarf that had been wrapped around her hair. She shook her dreads loose so they fell down her back in thick cords of chai.

  “Was he actually in the car with you when you got pulled over? No? Then how does that help?

  “I’m on my way. I’ll call a lawyer from the cab. Just keep your mouth shut till she gets there.” Dana hung up the phone and shoved it in her bag along with her laptop.

  “I’ll be back in a few hours. In the meantime, work on clearing tomorrow’s schedule. We have some major PR damage control to do.”

  “Shit! I’m supposed to film with Lauren tomorrow.”

  “Push it back a day. But don’t cancel it altogether. She’s our cover for you spending time with Jack.”

  “Poor Lauren’s been really looking forward to this.”

  “And don’t call Jack directly. Just send the kid a text.”

  “I have to talk to him sometime.”

  “Not until I can figure out what you’re going to say.”

  Dana was gone in a rush of perfume, a quick slick of lip gloss and an extra swig of her drink.

  “Stay.” Kate pointed a finger at Sarah Jessica Barker and stared her down when her doorbell rang five minutes later.

  “It’s probably Dana. And you know how she feels about you jumping on her.” The dog responded with an eye roll and a yawn.

  “What’d you forget?” Kate threw the door open and found a delivery man standing in her doorway, his black NY Burger Co. baseball cap shielding his face.

  “I didn’t order. It’s probably for 3G.”

  “Turkey burger, no bun, fries and a chocolate shake.” The rim of the baseball hat lifted and Kate found herself looking right into Jack’s bloodshot and swollen eye.

  “Are you insane?” Kate hissed. “The reporters camped out front are waiting for a shot like this.”

  “Hence the disguise.” In addition to the deliveryman’s hat, Jack wore a black long-sleeved New York Burger Co. shirt over his jeans. He propped a road bike complete with a thick industrial strength metal chain against the wall. “But if you’re really worried, you should let me in.”

  Kate tried to slam the door, but it bounced off his leg.

  “Fuck!” Jack fell to the ground and grabbed his ankle, without moving it from the doorstopper position.

  “Seriously?! Like I’m stupid enough to fall for that?” Kate knew she hadn’t shut the door that hard. There seemed to be no end to Jack’s bullshit.

  Jack groaned. “Paparazzi injury.” He pulled up the worn hem of his jeans to reveal a swollen ankle wrapped haphazardly in an ace bandage.

  “That�
��s nothing compared to my paparazzi injury!” Kate pushed against the door, but Jack showed no sign of budging. “At least your ankle will heal, unlike my career!”

  The nosy hedge funder from across the hall poked her head out her door. Her recently filler pumped cheeks made the woman look like a squirrel with a mouthful of acorns. “You okay, Kate?”

  Jack raised his eyebrows and whispered, “Might wanna let me in.”

  “Everything’s fine, Alison. The delivery guy just tripped on his way in.”

  “Let me know if you need anything.” Alison lowered her voice. “You know. With everything going on.” She flashed what was supposed to be a supportive smile, but Kate was no fool. She knew the woman would sell her out to The 411 without a second thought.

  “Thanks Alison. I will.” Kate grabbed Jack’s arm and helped him up, glad he fell with his back to Alison’s door.

  Jack stood up gingerly, putting all his pressure on his right side. He loped in through the door, doing a cross between a hop and hobble.

  Kate shut the door firmly before hissing. “It’s so easy for you to lie, isn’t it?” She poked at the NY Burger Co. logo that stretched across his chest.

  “I had to see you.” Jack reached for Kate’s hand but she yanked it away. He leaned down to pet Sarah Jessica Barker, but she scrambled over to Kate and hid behind her legs. “Great. Even the dog hates me.”

  “She knows what loyalty is. Unlike you.” Kate felt a spray of spit fly out of her mouth.

  “You never would’ve given me a chance if you knew who I was.” Jack put the grease-dotted brown paper bag of food on the small table by the front door and took a small step towards Kate.

  “You’ve been lying to me since day fucking one! You’re the one who didn’t give me a chance.” Kate took a step back and almost tripped over Sarah Jessica Barker.

  “This is not what it looks like.” Jack winced and leaned down to rub his ankle.

  “Really? Because it looks like you lied to get in my pants while you were plotting with that disgusting business partner of yours to take me down.”

  “I didn’t lie to get in your pants. And from what I recall you were just as eager to get into mine.”

  “That’s because I thought you freelanced for dot-com startups!”

  “So that’s what turned you on? Now I know what to use as my new pick up line.”

  Kate grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and chucked it at Jack. But he ducked and it hit the wall and slid to the floor in anti-climactic silence.

  “Getting the media to out you as my mystery man the same day my article comes out! Good play Jack!”

  “You mean the article where you compare my company to big tobacco and blame Matt and me for all the pediatric cases of Type II Diabetes?”

  “I wasn’t attacking you personally. I had no idea who you were when I wrote that!”

  “Exactly—what kind of research did you do for this so called article? Do you really think New York Today would’ve run your story if you didn’t have a hit TV show?”

  “I did enough research to know that childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed since you started making your strollers!”

  “Enough about the damn strollers! You and I have something separate from all this other bullshit.”

  “Bullshit? You call everything I worked my ass off for bullshit?”

  “We can figure all this out.”

  “You stay busy figuring it all out while my sponsors jump ship and my show gets cancelled.”

  “Dana won’t let that happen.”

  “Paula Deen’s last cookbook never saw the light of day even though pre-orders had already landed it on the bestseller list.”

  “Are you saying being with me makes you as bad as being a racist?”

  “Being with you makes me a liar and a hypocrite.” Kate grabbed the galley proof of Mini-Munchies II.

  “My manuscript was a waste of the last six months of my life because it’s never getting published now.” Kate tried to rip the papers but the stack was too thick and her hands had always been embarrassingly weak.

  “Need some help there—tough guy?” Jack grabbed the papers from Kate’s hands and shoved them on top of the fridge where Kate couldn’t reach. “Do you seriously think your cookbook won’t get printed?”

  “Random House officially delayed going to print.”

  “Well, I’m sure they’ll rush to print once Dana and my PR reps figure out a game plan.”

  “They all could have thought of a plan a hell of a lot sooner if you had told me who you were!”

  “I tried, Kate. I was too scared of losing you.”

  “Well, now I could lose everything because of you!”

  “This will all blow over as soon as the next post-adolescent Disney star gets arrested.”

  “My career is in shambles and you’re cracking jokes?”

  “This is not what I wanted.”

  “Then what do you want? Huh, Jack? What do you want?”

  “You know what I want.” Jack made it across the room in two clumsy hops, his eyes locked on Kate’s the whole time.

  “Don’t do this, Jack. Just take your ridiculous bike and go home.” Kate stood there for a minute with her eyes closed, thinking that when she opened them again he would be gone, an apparition ordered to disappear.

  But Kate didn’t protest when she felt him reach for her. Jack’s hand covered her entire lower back from one side to the other as he grabbed her and pulled her into him. He trailed his hands up her back until his hands got lost in her hair. Kate kept her eyes closed and Jack sunk his lips into hers at first timidly, searching for her tongue with his, then more greedily. And in that moment, the only thing that mattered was being with Jack.

  There were no little funny comments from either of them this time. On another day Jack would’ve been sure to crack a joke about hooking up with the delivery guy. Instead, it was so quiet you could almost hear the sound of clothes being ripped off.

  Jack’s hands were everywhere as he searched Kate’s mouth for answers. Then he pulled her down to the floor. She could feel the itch of the wool rug scratch her skin while Jack kissed her.

  All she wanted was for Jack to be inside her. Instead he held her wrists as he ran his mouth down the most sensitive inside part of her arm. Kate was ready for him. She jutted her hips forward to meet him but Jack held her down and moved his mouth over to her stomach and then up to the underside of her breasts.

  “Jack. I need you. Now.”

  Suddenly in one hard thrust he was inside her. But it wasn’t enough. Kate needed him as far inside her as he could get. She took control, flipping him over till she was on top of him.

  Kate slid herself down Jack till she felt him taking up all of her. She arched her back and rocked herself back and forth, feeling him move inside of her till she felt herself tremble and quake and release everything at the same time he did.

  “Holy shit.” Jack spread his arms wide and lay there looking completely spent.

  Kate stayed there for a minute with Jack still inside her wrapped in the stickiness of their shared bodies.

  Then, the doorbell rang.

  “Whoever it is, go away.” Jack pulled Kate back into him and kissed her.

  “Kate? Are you in there?” The door pounded again and Kate pictured Dana using all of the strength in her ninety-five pound body to make the thundering noise.

  “Shit. It’s Dana. Get dressed.” Kate whispered, as she climbed off Jack and scrambled to find her clothes.

  “Hold on a minute. I’ll be right there.” Kate found her shirt and bra flung over the edge of the couch. Her yoga pants were under the coffee table. But her underwear was nowhere to be seen. If this wasn’t an occasion for going commando, Kate wasn’t sure what was.

  Jack winced as he shoved his bum leg back into his jeans. “Everything else is bullshit.”

  Jack pulled his hat brim back over his face and nodded to Kate. Sh
e pulled the door open in what she hoped was a nonchalant way. “Sorry, I was just straightening out my delivery order.”

  Dana walked in the apartment. “I finished up as fast as I could with that dingbat client.” She walked in and Jack started to head out.

  “I hope you gave this guy a good tip. He looks like he can barely walk.” Dana nudged her head toward Jack.

  “Oh, I gave him a good tip.” Kate said, as Jack hobbled towards the door. He turned the doorknob and was ready to go when he took one look back at Kate.

  “Wait a minute!” Dana was at the door in a second. She stood on her tiptoes and yanked Jack’s hat off. “You almost had me fooled with that crazy hair of yours undercover.”

  Jack stood there sheepishly with his unruly hat head. “I had to see Kate to explain.”

  “Looks like you did a lot more than explaining!”

  “Dana, be reasonable. We had to talk things out.”

  “That’s why your fucking dog has your thong in her mouth?”

  “Drop that!” It was pretty hard to maintain her dignity while she fished her thong out of her dog’s mouth with an audience.

  Dana rushed over to the window and closed the curtains.

  “You better hope those reporters down there didn’t get a shot of that!”

  “Who knew a guy that designs strollers for fat kids could be so cute? If Kate Richards doesn’t want him—I’m goin’ for it.”

  Jessa Silver, Late Night with Jessa Silver

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “This is un-fucking-believable! I just spent the whole cab ride from Chambers Street coming up with a game plan, while you’re back here fucking the guy who put you in this mess in the first place!” Dana threw her bag down on the armchair as Sarah Jessica Barker scampered behind Kate’s back.

  “In all fairness, I didn’t set out to screw up Kate’s career…” started Jack. He spoke in a low tone like you would with someone in an insane asylum. He found Dana to be the most terror-inducing tiny person he had ever come across.

  “Are you ready to walk away from all of it? The show, the book, the packaged food?” Dana completely ignored Jack and focused all her attention on Kate who was awkwardly smoothing her hair down from the tangled mass of curls sticking straight up in the back of her head.