by Marsh Brooks
“I am really sorry, I was not there for you. Click, click, click.
“The truth is I never stopped loving you and would trade everything to have you back,” Stacy said as she sobbed. Click, click, click. Phil didn't respond. All Phil could think about was how bad a person he was for letting Stacy down, for not being there when she needed him the most. Had he been present during her photo shoots, maybe she wouldn't have fallen, maybe their child would be alive today.
A great performance dictated that an actress abandon part of herself and become the character that she was playing. As Phil was holding her, Stacy knew she nailed it when she felt as if she had really lost a baby.
##
Not too far away, Vanna was packing her camera. She couldn't wait to talk to the tabloids. She was going to get some good money for this.
##
Phil and Stacy returned to Miami early on Monday morning. Stacy, marveling at her progress in her quest to get Phil back, and Phil, content to have gotten away from Miami and everything that reminded him of his love for Isabel. Unlike Isabel, who was required to attend daily therapy sessions during the week, Phil no longer had therapy sessions on Mondays. Sometimes he would go just to use the exercise equipment at the Center and to see Isabel. But no more. He was going to stay in his office from now on. No more Isabel.
He was still in his office in the afternoon, when Stacy called him.
“Phil, I hope you can forgive me. I didn't know you were at work and I went to the Center looking for you,” Stacy explained.
“What is it?” a concerned Phil asked.
“Apparently, when we were on the beach, some paparazzi followed us and took pictures of us that will be published tomorrow in one of the tabloid magazines. Someone just gave me an advance copy.”
“What does it say?”
“They have pictures of you and me hugging on the beach, asking who the new man in my life is,” I'm sorry, Stacy said, her voice cracking.
“Don't be sorry,” Phil said. “It's not your fault.”
Stacy was relieved.
“Apparently, they found some witness who said they saw us kissing,” Stacy said. Whatever the concierge had paid the witness was worth it, Stacy thought to herself. “You're not mad at me?”
“How can I be mad at you?” Phil said. “I hope that being with me does not ruin your career,” Phil jokingly said.
“I don't care about my career. I just wanted to be with you,” Stacy said, mixing lie and truth in the same sentence.
“I'll be OK,” Phil said. “Don't worry. Besides, no one reads those tabloids anyway.”
You could not be more wrong, Stacy thought as she hung up.
##
One hour earlier, Stacy with the magazine in her hands, had gone to the Center looking for Isabel. As she had stood by the empty bench, a young pretty woman had come to talk to her.
“Hi. Ramon said you have been looking for my sister,” Rebecca said.
“Ramon?
“Ramon is our landscaper. I am Rebecca, Isabel's sister.” Stacy's mind was racing. She didn't expect this. How could she be so lucky? “Nice meeting you Rebecca,” Stacy finally said.
“Wait a minute. You look like the actress in a movie that I saw last year.”
“Maybe. Actually, I was not looking for your sister. I was looking for my fiancé that day and they told me that he was talking to Isabel and I wanted to know where he was.”
“Your fiancé?”
“Yes, Phil.”
Rebecca's eyes widened. “Phil is your fiancé?”
“We'll, yes,” Stacy said, and with a wink she added, “We had some tough times lately and I wanted to make it up to him. But don't worry I found him that day. Tell me, is Phil here today?”
“I started to work here only yesterday at the front desk. I don't know the therapy session schedules yet. But I’ve not seen him.”
“He must be at work. He wasn't at the house. I have to talk to him about the news.”
“The news?” Rebecca asked.
“Actually, some paparazzi took pictures of us together when we were spending some quiet time on the beach and I wanted to warn him in case the press came to ask him questions,” Stacy said as she handed the magazine to Rebecca.
Rebecca looked horrified as she saw Stacy's picture on the cover, in a slim bikini in Phil's arms on the beach. “Should I tell Phil you were looking for him, if I see him?”
“Don't worry, I’m going to call him now. Thanks again. It was nice meeting you,” Stacy said as she left. Rebecca kept the magazine and Stacy pretended that she had forgotten it. Stacy's plan had worked perfectly.
##
Weeks ago, when she planned to return to Miami to get Phil back, Stacy didn't know that Isabel existed. Once she found out, she had to think carefully about how to get rid of Isabel. She was planning on confronting Isabel and letting Isabel know that she and Phil were still together. She never imagined things could work out better than that. Looking back at what she had done so far, “it's good to have money,” she said to herself. Her plan had so far gone extremely well. She reviewed her plan and everything on the list had worked to perfection, especially when luck had intervened:
Flown to Miami. Check.
Hired Phil's secretary to send messages to Phil. Check.
Created the miscarriage story. Check.
Carried off a great acting performance on the beach to make Phil believe the story. Check.
Hired Vanna to take pictures of her in Phil's arms. Check.
Paid a witness to say that they were kissing. Check.
Got rid of Isabel through her own sister. Check.
Only the last leg of her plan remained, which was to have Phil fall all over for her again. They had already started spending time together. She knew she was beautiful with a voluptuous body that intimidated the strongest of men. She knew that Phil could not resist her forever. It was only a matter of time before Phil would be caught in her web.
##
Isabel was working at home this Monday afternoon. She had made the center switch her therapy session to the morning, in an effort to avoid Phil. It was now time to make the call that she had been dreading. Richard picked up on the third ring.
“Richard?”
“Hi Bella. Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you.”
“I'm sorry, I should have returned your call sooner.”
“Are you OK?” Richard asked. He knew what the problem was but couldn’t tell Isabel because Isabel would know that Rebecca had called him.
“Well, do you remember the man who was talking to me by the lake at Tia Marcia's place?”
“His name was Phil, I think?” Richard said, pretending to vaguely remember. He didn't know what to say. For one moment he could not swallow anything as if a knot had formed in his throat. Did Isabel call to break up with him?
“Yes. That's him,” Isabel said. She wanted to tell Richard everything but it was very hard. How do you tell your fiancé that you have been cheating on him and ask for forgiveness?
“What about him?” Richard asked.
“He said that he wanted to see me and I invited him and his friend to the house for dinner Friday night.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I don't know, and I was calling to say that I'm sorry. Rebecca accused me of cheating on you. I hope that you can forgive me and I promise that I won't see him again.”
After blurting this out, Isabel exhaled and waited.
“What did you do at the dinner?”
“Nothing. Phil and his friend left early. I called him later and I told him that I didn't want to see him again.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” Richard finally said. “You made a mistake and everyone does. The important thing is that you love me and still want to marry me,” Richard said. He hoped to remind Isabel that he had forgiven her when he told Isabel about Kristin and his baby girl in the future.
“Oh, yes,” Isabel replied. “I want to
marry you.” She didn't address the first part of Richard's remark about love, and Richard didn't notice.
“I wanted to surprise you. But since I'm talking to you, I wanted you to know that I'm coming tomorrow,” Richard said.
“I thought you were busy with the job?” Isabel asked.
“I found someone to help me when I'm not there,” Richard said. He wasn't completely lying to Isabel. The job was to help Kristin with the baby, and Richard's mother had flown in the day before from Arizona and was going to stay at the house for the next few weeks, helping and freeing Richard to come back to Miami.
“I am glad you found some help. What time will you come to the house?”
“As soon as my plane lands. We have a wedding to plan,” Richard said before they hung up.
##
Isabel was still thinking about Richard's last statement when the front door opened and Rebecca came in. She had a look on her face as if she had just gotten a new gift.
“Are you OK?” Isabel asked.
“I was right about him,” Rebecca said.
“About who?”
“About Phil.”
“Can we not talk about him? We've already had this conversation.”
“You’ll want to see this,” Rebecca said as she dropped the magazine in front of Isabel, on the kitchen table.
“What's this?”
“This is Phil and his fiancé spending last weekend in the Keys together.”
“How do you know it's Phil?” Isabel asked, trying her best to look uninterested, while looking at the picture of Phil holding someone else in his arms.
“Spare me, Isabel. I talked to Phil's fiancé this afternoon at the Center. She was looking for him and didn't know how he would react if he saw these pictures. I'm telling you. This guy is a creep.”
“Everything has an explanation,” Isabel said. She didn't have one and didn't believe in her own words. “Besides, I just talked to Richard about the dinner and told him that I was not going to see Phil anymore.”
“Good for you,” Rebecca said before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Isabel more distraught than ever.
##
Andy Marshall was a perfect example of a one-hit wonder mixed with bad luck. Born in a small place called Piney Creek, in North Carolina, he began getting some small modeling jobs when he was sixteen years old. People always told him that he looked like a young Paul Newman, and when he was eighteen years old, he left Pine Creek to pursue an acting career in California.
During the first seven years, he survived on modeling and bartending gigs. His first break came when he was offered a small role in a television movie. Two years later, his big break came when he was offered top billing in a big screen movie about a politician in Washington called “The Technocrat”
At that time, he had already started dating Stacy, and they married the day after they received the news that he had gotten the part. It took him three months to shoot the movie, which was also the duration of the marriage. The movie flopped at the box office and his career took a nosedive.
Six months after his divorce, he was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It was a rare, fatal brain disease that caused rapid, progressive dementia and death. He was given eighteen months to live and now he only had six months left. He was broke, having spent all of his money on medications to keep him sane as the disease progressed. Several months ago, he had learned that a doctor in South Korea had conducted an experiment on some patients that slowed the progression of the disease and prolonged the lives of the patients for more than twenty years. While the experiment was free, most of the patients who were accepted for the experiment were advised to donate at least $100, 000 to the private Institute where the research was being conducted. Patients who didn't provide any donation usually had their acceptance into the program rescinded. Two days ago, he had learned that he was accepted. He needed $100,000 fast in order to save his life.
Although he resented it, he knew he didn't have any choice but to call and ask Stacy for it. She was the only one who had the money and could help. After all, Stacy had fled with most of his life savings, and on top of it all, he knew one secret about Stacy that he knew Stacy would never want him to reveal. In spite of the way Stacy treated him, Andy still loved Stacy and would never consider airing Stacy's dirty laundry in public. Threatening to sell Stacy's secret would be a last resort.
But as he picked up the phone to call Stacy, he hoped that it would not reach that point. If it did, he hoped Stacy believed him when he threatened to sell the story to the tabloids. As the phone was ringing, he was already feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of threatening to say anything that would hurt Stacy.
##
Stacy had already reached her hotel suite, when her cell phone buzzed. She didn't recognize the number but picked up.
“Hi Stacy, this is Andy.”
“How did you get this number?” Stacy asked.
“How about, Hi Andy how have you been?”
“OK, I'm sorry Andy. How have you been?” Stacy said, still wondering what he needed.
“I am dying and I need your help.”
“Are you sure? What are you dying from?” Stacy sounded concerned to Andy. There was hope after all.
“I have a rare disease and I've only been given months to live.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. What can I do to help you?”
“I have been accepted into an experiment in South Korea. If it's successful, it will delay the progression of the disease and extend my life span up to twenty years.”
“I see, and what I can do for you?”
“I need to pay them $100,000 and I don't have it.”
“What happened to all your money?”
“What money, Stacy? You took most of it when you left, and the rest has been spent on medications to delay the dementia that the disease causes.” Stacy didn't respond. She did take most of his money to get into the movie investment business. That money was due to her anyway. She had given him three months of married life.
“What's the rate of success?” Stacy asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Andy, not understanding the question.
“What are the chances that the experiment will be successful?”
“There is a forty percent chance, why?”
“Andy, you expect me to invest $100,000 on an experiment with only a 40% chance of success? I didn't get where I am by doing that. If it's not successful, you won't be around to pay me back. I can't help you Andy.”
“This is my life you're talking about,” Andy implored.
“And a bad investment,” Stacy said, interrupting Andy. “It hurts me to tell you this, but you haven't worked in a long time and I don't see how I would get my money back.”
“This is how you treat me after all we've been through together?” Andy said.
“We were only married for three months, Andy.”
“That's not what I'm talking about, Stacy. You know it.”
“Are you threatening me, Andy?”
“I'm not threatening you and I don't want to go to the tabloids with your story. But I do really need the money for the treatment. I promise that I will work for free in your movies to pay you back.”
“No can do, Andy. If you ever try to publish it, I will deny it. You're a has-been. No one would believe you.” The line then went dead, leaving Andy to wonder how such a beautiful woman could be so cold-hearted.
“Did she say she was going to help you?” asked Stephanie, Andy's younger sister who was watching him on the phone. Stephanie had come from California to help Andy, and had been staying with Andy in his one bedroom apartment in Harlingen, Texas, the past three months.
“No. She said I wasn't a good investment,” Andy replied.
“That bitch. After all you've done for her,” an angry Stephanie said. Stephanie loved her big brother. In better days, when he was working, he had paid for Stephanie to get through nursing school.
“Don't talk about
Stacy like that. She is usually nice. It has been very hard for her to make it in Hollywood,” Andy replied.
“Don't be a fool,” Stephanie said. “Are you going to sell the story or not?”
“No. It wouldn't be fair to her. Promise me that you won't go to the tabloids with this when I die.”
“Please don't talk like that. You're not going anywhere. I want you to stay here with me,” Stephanie replied. Andy didn't notice that Stephanie didn't make any promises. The truth is that Stephanie didn't want to lie to her big brother.
##
Stacy was angry when she hung up on Andy. Stacy never believed that Andy would threaten to reveal a secret that she was forced to share with him because she needed his help. If her secret got out, her plan with Phil would unravel. Although she didn't believe that Andy would do it, she wasn't completely sure. She wasn't the type to take any chances. The only way to ensure that it didn't happen was to make sure that Andy's acceptance into the treatment program was rescinded. She knew exactly the person who could make it happen. She then picked the phone and dialed a New York City phone number. A couple of hours later, she got a call back.
“They want you to appear in a commercial promoting the Institute in exchange for this,” Stacy’s powerful agent said on the other line.
“Fine,” Stacy replied. “Take care of it.” No one threatens Stacy.
##
Andy was at the end of his rope with no options in sight. Stacy had refused to help and he had run out of money months ago. He tried to call Stacy back, hoping that he would change her mind but she had not picked up.
“What's the use? She already ran out with your money, she’s not going to help you,” Stephanie said.
“I know Stacy. Give her a couple of days. She might change her mind,” he said, no longer believing his own words. Stephanie was going to respond when, suddenly, the phone rang.
