“Mind if I steal him away?” asked Tamika, appearing before us holding two glasses of champagne.
“If you can wake him up, he’s all yours,” said Vanessa.
“Hey Sexy,” Tamika said to Bellamy, dribbling champagne down his belly. He continued to snore. “Hey Sexy, it’s me, Tamika,” she said louder. He rolled over and managed to curl up in the fetal position without falling out of his lounge chair, still not waking up. Tamika set one of the glasses beside him and wandered away looking embarrassed.
We went inside and were rummaging through the cupboards when there was a knock at the door.
“Maybe it’s a date card,” said Klassie. She hopped off the couch and roller skated over to the door. “Ooh! I was right,” she said, picking up the large, square envelope from our front step. She skated in circles, scraping up the herringbone teak floors, waving the card around. “Get everyone together. Hurry!”
When we were all gathered around her she tore it open with one of her long, orange fingernails. “It’s not a date card! It’s something from Catalina Cartwright! Here’s what it says: Attention Lovely Ladies, Tonight there will be no cocktail party. Bellamy has already made his decision about who will be going home, and sees no reason to postpone his decision. As always, formal attire is required for the upcoming elimination ceremony. Tonight’s ceremony will be held here, in the back garden. If you have already received a Deluxe Emerald necklace you may or may not be safe from elimination, and your presence is still required. Sincerely, Catalina Cartwright.”
“What a twist,” said Vanessa. “Since when can someone who is already safe be sent home?”
“Yeah, what do you think that’s all about?” asked Shyla, touching her necklace.
“Oh my goodness,” said Marissa. “Here we go again! I’m done here. I’ve got to talk to him and change his mind.”
Jessica glanced out the window to the pool. “Sorry, mates. He’s not out there any longer. He’s gone home, I’m afraid.”
“Well then,” said Marissa, “I guess there is nothing I can do. I just know tonight’s the night that this is all going to end for me. I feel it in my bones. I’m like a turkey on the night before Thanksgiving.”
“Okay, ladies,” said one of the producers. “Get into your gowns. We’re heading to the elimination ceremony in about thirty minutes.”
I put on a streaky, black and chocolate brown dress with a slit up the side that went all the way to my hip. It had one shoulder and a long bell-shaped sleeve. I liked wearing it; it made me feel like a vampire, or at the least like a blonde Morticia Addams. I pulled back my hair into a bun, and wore the navy lipstick that Maggie the clothes-thief had affixed to the hanger in a sandwich bag alongside a note that said ‘Trust me, this works, especially if you wear the navy heels. ~M’
I was sitting on our front step, waiting for the rest of the girls to get ready and enjoying a moment alone, delicately eating an apple and trying to keep my lipstick off it, when a limo pulled up in front of me. Of course I wondered who it could be. I thought at first it might be Bellamy. Then I had the fleeting, unreasonable thought that maybe Pete had come all the way here, to the mansion, to see me. Or perhaps it was the president!
The driver got out, opened the door, and bowed a little. I ran my tongue over my teeth, preparing myself to meet someone important. I wondered if the navy lipstick was a mistake, considered wiping it off with the back of my hand, and quickly decided it would have to stay on my mouth.
I set down my apple, no longer hungry. I was watching, waiting. Was the limo driver actually nervous? He seemed a little shaky. It must be someone terribly important.
First I saw her hand, and then her dark, shiny hair. And then there she was, in the flesh. Alanna Rutherford had returned.
Chapter 17
I’ve got to admit, it felt a little unnerving to be on the chopping block with the other girls during an elimination ceremony. Especially when Alanna Rutherford, in all her elegance and gorgeousness, was standing right next to me.
“Ladies,” said Catalina Cartwright, smiling brightly and clinking a glass of champagne. No one at home would ever imagine the chewing out we’d gotten from her the other night. “I’m sure you all remember Alanna. It seems that Alanna has had a change of heart and would like another chance at love with Bellamy. She realized she made a terrible mistake, realized that Antonio is not the one for her after all, and contacted us to see if she could try to once again win the heart of Bellamy. Some of you may not think this is fair, but really, as they say, all is fair in love and war. Especially in love!” Catalina raised her glass to the camera. “And now… I present… Bellamy,” she said, as he entered the room.
“Thank you Catalina,” said Bellamy. “Hello, ladies. Hello, Alanna. I… Well, I don’t know what to say. Alanna, I never thought I’d see you again. Well, maybe on magazine covers when I was at the grocery store, and maybe on television, or, I don’t know. But in person, no, I didn’t think we would meet again.” He drew in a deep breath and shook his head. “Alanna, you have given me a lot to think about.”
“I know,” she said sweetly. “I’m sorry I hurt you.” One perfect tear rolled down her cheek. It was enough to show how sad she was without wrecking her makeup. I think all the rest of us, even Vanessa, felt like packing up and heading home.
“Bellamy, are you ready to begin your selection process?” asked Catalina.
“Yes,” he said.
“Even though we have allowed Alanna to join us, you have the same number of Deluxe pendants to hand out, so please keep that in mind as you make your choices,” said Catalina, still grinning like a fool. Then she turned to us. “Bellamy asks that those of you who already received necklaces please stand with the other girls. You may keep your necklaces, regardless of what happens, but if your name is not called, your time here will be over.”
There were audible gasps. We all knew he would be keeping Alanna. That meant four of us were going home tonight.
“Well,” said Bellamy, “because I’d like to hear what she has to say, and because I believe in second chances, I’d like the first necklace to go to Alanna. Alanna, will you accept this Deluxe emerald and diamond pendant on a solid gold chain?”
“I will, Bellamy,” she said, stepping forward and hugging him for a long, long time.
Next he chose Vanessa, and then Deb. Tamika came next, and then Amy. Jessica, followed by Shar and Mylar. I began to feel lightheaded. It had never occurred to me that I was going to go home tonight, and I’d thought that when it happened I wouldn’t mind so much anyhow. But now here I was, practically hyperventilating. What about the trips around the world that were coming? What about the jewels and poolside lounging?
“He just said your name,” hissed Marissa.
“Huh?” I said. “Oh! Oh, whew! Thank you,” I said, going up to claim my necklace. I remembered to give him a hug of appreciation as well, before joining the other girls who were safe.
Finally it was down to Klassie, Chloe, Shyla, Marissa, and Aubrey. Shyla was covering her face with her hands, trying to hide the fact that she was sobbing. I felt terrible for her.
“This is not an easy decision,” said Bellamy. “I think you’re all great girls, but they girl I would like to continue on with is Klassie. Klassie, will you continue on this journey with me?”
“Yes, Bellamy, I will,” she said, skating up to him, doing a little spin, and then giving him a wiggly, rabbity Eskimo kiss. The rest of us looked at one another in confusion, wondering if Eskimo kisses were the new thing or something. Bellamy looked puzzled too. He handed her an empty necklace box since she’d already received her prize earlier on their hiking date.
“Awesommme,” she said, noisily skating over the stone patio to us, waving the box like a trophy.
“Chloe, Shyla, Marissa, Aubrey, I’m afraid it’s time for you to say goodbye,” said Catalina Cartwright.
Chloe and Aubrey seemed fairly indifferent. They each gave Bellamy a little kiss on the cheek a
nd were on their way. Marissa and Shyla were on the opposite end of the spectrum. Marissa was livid. “Can I have a word with you?” she said to Bellamy.
“Uh,” he looked at the producers like Do I have to? Then he and Marissa took a walk down a hallway together. I could hear Marissa asking in a pained, nasal shriek, “Why did you give me those clip-on earrings? They made me think you loved me!”
“Huh?” asked Bellamy.
“Forget it. I hate you! Why did you even keep me around this long? You knew you’d never love me! Why couldn’t you love me? What’s wrong with me?”
I went over to Shyla to try to cheer her up. She was outside on a marble bench, weeping. She seemed inconsolable. “All but one of us will go through this,” I told her.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she asked.
“I guess not. Sorry,” I said.
“Hi Shiloh,” said Bellamy, returning with a small red hand print on his face. “Could I walk you out?”
“It’s Shyla,” she said, dissolving further into a heap of tears. “I thought I was safe! I thought maybe you really liked me, but you don’t even know my name.”
“Sorry. There are a lot of names to remember. Let me walk you out, please?”
“Fine.”
“I want you to know, if Alanna hadn’t come back you would have been safe.”
“That makes me feel terrible,” she said.
“It does?” asked Bellamy. “Forget I said it.”
I wanted to say goodbye to Shyla, but she clearly was in no mood to speak to me or anyone else. The other girls were gathering around Alanna Rutherford. Some were bitter that she had barged back in, but others seemed starstruck and delighted to actually meet her. They fawned over her more than any of us fawned over Bellamy.
I went back out to the front step to finish my apple but it was gone, so I removed my emerald pendant and took a closer look at it. It was very pretty. A teensy gold tag hung from the clasp with the Deluxe D engraved on it. There was a time when I never thought I’d own one piece of Deluxe jewelry. I would have been happy to have an empty velvet box from Deluxe. Now I had a bracelet, earrings, and a necklace. I was on television wearing glamorous designer gowns and shoes. It wasn’t sure why all of this was happening for me. I’d never thought of myself as very special. I sighed, wondering why I wasn’t more excited about it. I kicked at a crack in the bench with the toe of my Luiz DiAngelippo twelve hundred dollar sandal.
“Hi, Emma,” Bellamy said, sitting down beside me.
“Hi,” I said, jumping a little. I hadn’t noticed him sneaking up on me.
“Are you doing okay?”
“Yes, I’m good. What about you?” I asked.
“This is harder than I thought it would be,” he said. “I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings.”
“You don’t, do you?” I asked. I never felt that guilty about lingering on, except when I actually had to be near Bellamy. Then I kind of hated myself for wasting his time.
“Would you come with me?” he asked, standing up and holding out his hand.
“You don’t want to see Alanna?” I asked.
“There’s too much chaos going on in there. Let’s go for a drive.”
“Really? Just us?” I asked. A drive sounded great. And against the rules.
“Yeah. Follow me,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to his limo driver who was waiting down the hill. The driver opened the door and let us in. I looked to see if any of the girls were watching but they were all inside kissing up to Alanna Rutherford.
The driver took us the short distance to Bellamy’s mansion and let us out at the front door. I was a little disappointed that this was the extent of our big escape, but then Bellamy surprised me some more. “Come on,” he said, smiling and taking my hand again. I followed him up a curving cobblestone driveway to where a line of fancy cars were parked.
“Let’s take this one,” he said, getting into a tiny convertible that seemed like something out of an old James Bond movie. A cameraman squeezed into the backseat with us, of course. Others appeared on the scene a moment later, tailing us in a Ford Focus. I didn’t care; it was great to be out of the house, away from the other women, and doing something completely unexpected.
We drove down the hill and kept going until we’d reached the ocean. Bellamy pulled over and put the car in park. He smiled at me. “Nice, isn’t it?”
“It sure is,” I said. The ocean air swept across my face and through my hair. I closed my eyes for just a second to enjoy it and when I opened them the crewmembers were all pulling in behind us.
“Do you want to go swimming?” asked Bellamy.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
We got out and ran to the beach, stripping down to our underwear on the way. Then, in a moment of the most extreme liberation, Bellamy threw his microphone on the sand and I did as well. We jumped into the water and started swimming far, far away from the cameramen and all their assistants. As the shoreline receded, a feeling of authenticity poured over me. I felt present in a way I hadn’t for weeks.
“We’re not supposed to do anything like this,” Bellamy said, when we were far away from everyone. The water was inky black with ripples of silver where the waves caught the moonlight. Back on shore the cameramen were filming us, cutting to shots of our clothes and footprints, cutting back to us. “Ignore them,” said Bellamy.
“This is crazy. I feel so free. It’s heaven to not be recorded for a moment,” I said, splashing around.
Bellamy reached for me and took me in his arms. I didn’t feel uncomfortable, but I didn’t feel much of anything.
“You look so crazy sexy with that blue lipstick on,” he said.
“Bellamy,” I said. I stopped, unsure how to tell him that I wasn’t feeling it.
He leaned in close, his mouth to my ear. “Do you want me to kiss you?” he asked.
“Umm,” I exhaled. Tears started to fill my eyes. I wasn’t sure if he could tell since we were in the ocean.
“Pretend I’m kissing you. Listen,” he said, his mouth by my ear.
“Okay,” I said.
“Are you feeling anything for me? Emma, be honest. This is your only chance to be this honest.”
“I like you,” I whispered back, “but I’m not sure I’m meant to be your wife.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “That’s okay.”
“Are you upset with me?” I asked.
“No, not at all,” he said. “Laugh, like we’re sharing a joke, okay?”
I giggled and nodded. I had no idea he was clever. Ironically, now I kind of liked him. Now that I’d just admitted I didn’t.
“Do you want to stay anyway?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, surprised.
“If you want, I’m going to keep you around until the very end, okay? If you want. You can travel all over, get all the jewelry, just be my spy. You’ll come in second. Would you do that for me?”
“What?”
“Would you do that for me?” he repeated.
“Um, yeah. I guess.”
“I really am looking for a wife. I want someone on the inside who can tell who’s right for me.”
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this out of you,” I said.
“We should start swimming back. They’re going to get suspicious about what we’re talking about.”
“Okay. But wait. You could tell I wasn’t the one for you? I mean, how did you know I would be okay with this?”
Bellamy spun me around and kissed me on the lips. “This is just for show,” he said smiling.
“Of course,” I said, wishing the unexpected onslaught of butterflies in my stomach would migrate away forever.
“I could just tell. But you’re still the coolest girl here. Forget what I said about the lipstick. You remind me exactly of my sister.”
“Got it,” I said. We swam back to shore and got dressed, pretending for the cameras that we were falling love.
Chapter 18
“I’ll be teaching a yoga class at ten o’clock if anyone would like to sign up,” said Klassie. She stuck a sheet of paper onto the fridge with a magnet, and stood waiting to see what would happen. I was at the sink rinsing a glass, so I took a look. The sheet was labeled Yoga Sign Up with the numbers one through five beneath it.
“Sure,” I said, scrawling Emma in spot number one.
“Why not,” said Jessica. She added her name in spot number two. “Do you actually know anything about yoga?” she asked Klassie.
“A little. I have been in yoga classes. I imagine I can teach it.”
“No worries. I was just asking you, mate,” said Jessica.
No one else seemed interested, so the three of us went outside for our class.
“Okay, I guess there are no mats, so we’ll sit on the grass,” said Klassie. “Let’s start by stretching. Just do what I do.”
“Do you think there is any chance Mylar will be back?” asked Jessica as she twisted to the left, twisted to the right, following Klassie’s lead.
“I doubt it,” I said. Alanna and Mylar were off with Bellamy on a two-on-one brunch date. Only one would be returning.
“I heard tonight’s the night,” said Klassie, standing up. “Now do this,” she said, reaching for the sky.
“Tonight’s the night?” asked Jessica.
“Time for us to start traveling,” said Klassie.
“Seriously?” I said. I jumped up and down. “I can’t wait! Where do you think we’re going?”
“I might have heard wrong, but I think Brazil.”
“Oh no,” said Jessica. “Those women from Brazil are beautiful.”
“So are we,” said Klassie. “Okay, enough yoga. I just wanted to be able to add it to my résumé when I get home. Would you two mind being references for me?”
“Of course not,” we said.
“Cool,” said Klassie. “See you later. I’m going to take a nap.”
Jessica and I were still sitting in the grass when a white van pulled up, a dumpy little man got out, and Mylar’s luggage was taken away. As we suspected, she was going home while Alanna remained.
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