Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

by Francine Pascal

  “Well…”

  “Don’t go cheap on me.”

  They both laughed, and the dinner was delightful, so delightful that they went back to her apartment afterward because she didn’t need an escape.

  Maybe it didn’t need to be over-the-top. Maybe it was just a nice New York experience that people have when they like each other.

  Friends with benefits.

  She’d always thought that was only a cute joke. She was surprised at how well it fit.

  20

  New York

  Elizabeth’s interview with Will was a success. Instead of cutting her story, David, the editor, let it run fifteen hundred words and everybody loved it. In fact, he wanted her to do a follow-up after the show opened.

  She received compliments left and right. Especially from Will and the producers. When she walked into rehearsals the next day, it was worse. She was a star and had to sit down front with them.

  And there was more good news. Right after the piece came out, she was contacted by Time Out, a slick magazine for events in New York. They were offering a freelance job that guaranteed at least two articles per month for an amount much closer to real money than Elizabeth had been making at Show Survey. The best part? It wouldn’t interfere with her work there. She said yes immediately.

  Now she would be able to afford to stay in New York as a writer. Maybe even a journalist.

  Elizabeth also included the piece in a letter she sent out to half a dozen New York media sites asking if there were any openings for a job. Though she hadn’t heard from any of them yet, she was hopeful.

  Actually, for the first time in many months, she was all-around hopeful.

  And that’s the way she was when she started to get dressed for Will’s opening. She hadn’t seen him in the last week because he was at the theater all the time now, every night for previews, plus rehearsals in the daytime. Elizabeth had stopped going to the rehearsals since the next article was about opening night and reviews.

  It was a very different relationship from any she had ever had before. Of course, so much of her dating life had been spent with Todd that she really didn’t know how relationships evolved. Fundamentally, she was still thinking teenage. Even worse, going steady.

  The first nice thing about her relationship with Will was that there was no need for excuses. They talked on the phone and texted, and it was very comfortable, without the intensity of constant communication.

  She wasn’t sure it was love. The wasn’t sure part made her pretty sure it wasn’t. She didn’t think it was for him, either, and she hoped she wasn’t misleading him.

  After fifteen minutes, her bed, every chair, the dresser, and the radiator were covered in rejected opening-night outfits. When she finally decided on one, it was her little black dress. She and Jessica had always laughed when their mother talked about her little black dress, but in New York, you needed one. It was always safe.

  In some ways she would always be the same Elizabeth, but in a bow to her new persona, she’d had her little black dress made littler.

  * * *

  It was a cool, dry, late August night that could easily have been mistaken for fall. The plan was to meet Will outside the theater. He was there when she arrived, pacing like an expectant father.

  A play is like a new baby except that with a baby, no matter how ugly it is, no one dares to comment. Whereas with a play, reviewers delight in telling you and the world what a little monster you spawned. The uglier, the better.

  “Will!” Elizabeth called out.

  He heard her and turned to look but almost without recognition, so frantic was he.

  She smiled and walked over to him. “How about a little Valium?”

  “Or a truckload. You may have to sit alone. I don’t think I can make it through sitting in one place. I need to pace.”

  He dug in all his pockets before he came up with her ticket.

  “Not to worry,” Elizabeth said. “What about your parents? Do you think they’re coming?”

  “I don’t know. I sent them the information, but I haven’t heard.”

  “I hope they do.”

  “I don’t know. They’re pretty angry.”

  “I’m going to sit down so you can pace in peace.” Will stood still long enough for Elizabeth to give him a quick kiss. “See you at intermission.”

  That felt natural, she thought, a kiss on the cheek. Without noticing, they had drifted into a warm and caring friendship, but maybe not an intimate one anymore. She didn’t know how she knew that, but it was okay.

  Elizabeth went into the theater with fingers crossed for her friend.

  * * *

  The audience seemed to like the play: They laughed in the right places and kept a respectful silence in the serious moments. Elizabeth could feel their involvement, which was all for the good. It was working.

  If she had to make a criticism, it would be that the Boswell character and Mrs. Thrale weren’t sexy enough together. Maybe it was something she felt knowing that offstage, the actors despised each other. The audience might not have realized that; they were both professional actors, after all, but the audience would miss the warmth between them and blame the play. That could hurt Will.

  In the intermission she looked for Will, but he was nowhere to be found. She asked an usher, who told her that Will had left before the end of the first act. Fled, more likely.

  Elizabeth searched the crowd, looking for his parents. Not that she knew what they looked like, but she thought she might see people with a resemblance to Will. She didn’t. And she didn’t hear any conversation about the play, either. The people milling around in the lobby talked only about how much the M&M’s cost and all kinds of unrelated subjects. The closest she heard to a comment was that it was too cold in the theater—her own constant complaint.

  The lights flashed, warning that the intermission was nearly over. Still no Will.

  Elizabeth went back to her seat. And there he was, sitting in the seat beside hers.

  “It’s good,” she said. “Are you okay with it?”

  “No, but then I never am. I think the audience is okay, though. What do you think?”

  “Definitely with it. Did you look for your parents?”

  “No, I was backstage. I could have asked at the box office, but I didn’t want to know.”

  The second act sped by. The audience was truly enraptured. Second acts used to be a weak point when they were middled, but now with only two acts, all the preparation was done in the first act and the second act was the payoff. And in a good play, it was very satisfying.

  Will’s play was good. Maybe not perfect, but very good.

  Good enough to get a standing ovation, which for a straight play might happen only on opening night and not all the time. Musicals almost always got standing ovations, Elizabeth thought, but it was special for a straight play. Elizabeth could see Will’s pleasure.

  Before the applause stopped, he slipped out.

  “See you in the lobby,” he said as he left.

  The crowd slowly exited, jamming the aisles. By the time Elizabeth got to the lobby, Will was surrounded by well-wishers. She noticed three people waiting just outside the group around Will. She could actually see the resemblance. But not on the third person, a young woman she knew in her heart had to be Wendy.

  Elizabeth watched, waiting for Will to notice them. And then he saw the older couple, and the happiness on his face was wonderful. But what happened to his face when he saw Wendy said it all.

  It certainly explained why she and Will could never have been more than friends. Well, she thought, there go the benefits. But it didn’t hurt. Something had been missing, though she wasn’t really aware of what it was, probably because she didn’t need it. For that reason she felt nothing but joy when she saw the love in his face for Wendy. And Wendy’s face matched his in delight.

  Will was wrong. He did love Wendy.

  At that moment, Elizabeth decided that no one needed the convo
luted explanations, as harmless as they would be, about who she was.

  She would call Will first thing in the morning. Tonight she would get as many reviews as she could and start to put her story together. Even before she started, she had her ending: Wendy and Will into the sunset.

  * * *

  Will called Elizabeth before eight the next morning.

  “What happened? I looked all over for you. My parents came.”

  “I saw.”

  “And they brought Wendy.”

  “I saw her. She was standing by herself and just from the way she was looking at you I knew it had to be Wendy.”

  “You should have stayed.”

  “There’ll be lots of time for our friendship.”

  “I’m taking that as a commitment, and I know how sick you are about keeping commitments.”

  “So what did your parents think?”

  “My father was impressed. I don’t know what he thought I was doing all this time, but now that he sees my work, his attitude is different. He’s beginning to take me seriously. They all seemed to like it. My mother had a few suggestions on how to improve the play. Fortunately, I was too happy to rap her in the teeth.”

  “So what about the reviews? The two I heard on television were pretty good. I saw the Times and News online. Brantley liked the play, but he didn’t like Mrs. Thrale so much. He wrote he thought you were a talent to watch. That’s pretty good, huh?”

  “Yeah. But some of the others were a little mixed. A couple of raves would have been nice.”

  “I thought it was wonderful, especially the second act. It was so powerful. You really are talented. The audience was mesmerized. Will it run?”

  “It’s only a six-week engagement, so it will certainly do the six weeks. After that I don’t know. But the best news was totally unexpected.”

  “What?”

  “Universal wants to option it for a movie.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “And with me writing it. I’ll have to go out to L.A.”

  “My country. And Wendy?”

  “She’s going to go with me.”

  “Why am I not surprised? I saw your face when you first spotted her.”

  “Weird, huh? When you and I first met and you asked me about her, I was being honest. I really didn’t think I loved her enough. But when I saw her last night … How can that be?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you just had to get away. From everyone. Even the ones you loved.”

  “Maybe it was the same for you.”

  “Maybe.”

  “We’re okay, aren’t we?”

  “Better than that. I’m really happy for you.”

  “It’s looking up for both of us, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I got a freelance job with Time Out.”

  “Fantastic! Tell me.”

  “I can’t. I’m rushing out. I leave for Sweet Valley at noon. I’m the maid of honor, you know.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m doing it, aren’t I?”

  “Will you call me? And don’t worry about the time. I want to hear everything.”

  “I will. Now can I say good luck?”

  “Right on. And for you, too.”

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  Elizabeth hung the phone up. Surprisingly, even to herself, she really did feel the way she’d said.

  But she still wasn’t ready to open Todd’s letter.

  21

  Sweet Valley

  On the twenty-fourth of August, the day after Will’s opening and the day before Jessica’s wedding, Elizabeth flew out to L.A. She arrived at two in the afternoon, and Bruce picked her up at LAX and drove her to her parents’ house.

  “I know most of what’s happened in the last two weeks, but maybe, being on site, you know more. So, tell me,” she said.

  “Do you want Caroline Pearce’s story or the truth? Fair warning: The truth is not nearly as interesting.”

  “I’ll start with the truth.”

  “Well, first of all, Todd went nuts when he found out that Jessica’d left him. You know how cool he can be? This time he just lost it. He wouldn’t consider anything but getting on the first plane to New York. Whatever happened in New York, he wasn’t going to talk about it, but whatever it was, they came back here together.

  “All he would say was that they both had changed. I know it sounds impossible, but everyone could see something was different. Jessica was calmer and happier. Even your brother and Aaron had to admit it, and that’s saying a lot. However you did it, she and Todd came out better than ever. The question everyone wants to ask is, What kind of magic did you perform?”

  “None. It really was all Jessica…”

  “Whatever you say.”

  “… and Todd, too. They just let love take over. Don’t ask me to explain. It’s like hope, you can’t explain it.”

  Bruce turned onto Calico Drive and pulled up at the Wakefield house. “Look,” he said, “I’ve got a problem and I need your help.”

  “Sure, anything. Tell me.”

  “I can’t now. Meet me tonight at my house about seven. Can you do that? And by the way, it’s not bad news.”

  “Done. I’ll be at there at seven.” Elizabeth got out of the car, but before she closed the door, said, “Bruce?”

  “What?”

  “You’re in love, you’re getting married, you’re moving to Europe, you’re—”

  “Enough.” He cut her off. “Tonight at seven.”

  “Thanks. Love ya.” She smiled and closed the door.

  * * *

  At three in the afternoon, her parents came back from their respective offices. Steven and Aaron came over and so did her grandmother. It was a glorious welcome home. Just the way her family had always been. Around five, Jessica and Todd arrived.

  It was harder with Todd, and awkward. But Elizabeth didn’t feel the hostility she expected. In fact, it was strangely anticlimactic. Was it possible that there really was no other feeling behind the anger, and once that was quieted, it was really over?

  Perhaps they were both adapting, though they managed not to look at each other, even when the conversation called for it. Maybe it would never be perfectly comfortable, and that would have to be good enough. Lots of rooms had elephants in them.

  After an hour or so it was a little easier. And seeing how much Jessica and Todd loved each other softened Elizabeth’s heart somewhat.

  “I want to do something,” Elizabeth said, and took off her lavaliere. “I want you to wear mine, with my initial on it. And I’ll wear yours and then, no matter what, we’ll always be joined.”

  Elizabeth held out her hand with the little gold-and-aquamarine lavaliere with an E written on the back.

  One look and Jessica burst into tears. Todd reached out to her and then stopped and allowed the sisters to hold each other. He realized he was in for a lifetime of that. It would never change again.

  Jessica wiped her tears and, reaching behind her neck, took off her lavaliere and handed it to her sister.

  It was like a beautiful ceremony, the exchange.

  “Don’t worry, Jess, I’m ready.” And then to Todd Elizabeth said, “Really, it’s going to be all right.”

  “I want it so much to be all right, Lizzie.” Jessica took her sister’s hand. “I know I want more, but I’ll wait.”

  “Me, too, Liz,” Todd said. “You know you’ll always be special to me.”

  Elizabeth knew he meant it, but she also knew it would take time. Loving her sister as she did, though, would make the wait worthwhile.

  Later, as they were leaving, Elizabeth was able to kiss Todd good-bye on the cheek. It was weird, but she made up her mind to get used to it. Turned out that along with Jessica, Elizabeth had changed, too.

  Enough that she was also able to take her suede jacket right off the new Jessica’s back.

  And she knew she was ready to open Todd’s letter.

  The contents of the letter would m
ean little now, but her readiness to open it meant everything.

  * * *

  Jessica and Todd walked out of the house holding hands. Todd stopped and turned to Jessica.

  “You are truly fantastic. How you ever accomplished that, I mean with Elizabeth, I’ll never know. You are brilliant and amazing and beautiful and I love you. Forever.”

  “And I love you, too,” Jessica said, smiling, “and I want to live here always.”

  “Sweet Valley?”

  “No.” She hugged him. “In the eyes of the beholder.”

  Todd laughed. “You got it.”

  And arm and arm they walked into the sun, which just happened to be setting.

  * * *

  Bruce’s house was twenty minutes outside of Sweet Valley. Just before seven, Elizabeth borrowed Alice’s car and drove there.

  Bruce had built the house four years earlier and though he hadn’t mentioned anything to her, Steven told her that he’d just sold the house a couple of weeks ago and was moving at the end of the month. Where, Steven didn’t know.

  That was so strange, Bruce not mentioning anything to her. Despite Bruce’s assurances that whatever he had to say wasn’t bad news, Elizabeth was concerned. He was, after all, her best friend. Why hadn’t he told her about the house or anything else lately? All their conversations had been about her problems.

  For a long time now, at least since the debacle, he was the only person Elizabeth had confided in. She was very open with him, though for some reason, she had held back on the details of her relationship with Will.

  Elizabeth felt terrible about being so self-involved that she hadn’t even noticed big changes were happening in Bruce’s life. Some friend, huh?

  But why was he intentionally keeping it from her?

  By the time she arrived at Bruce’s house, she was a cross between upset and worried.

  Bruce’s house was too well furnished to have been done by a single man with very little interest in decorating. Fortunately, he had money and the good taste to hire a professional. The result was an impeccable home done in primary colors, always the favorite of bachelors, and good enough to be featured in a style magazine.