“Yes,” she said. “I couldn’t be sorrier.” She went to him and kneeled down next to him. “I love you. I betrayed you. Forgive me.”
Wesley still wouldn’t meet her eye. “Does everyone know? Am I a laughingstock, the cuckolded husband, the last to know?”
“Everyone doesn’t know…” she said lamely. “Victoria, Eliza, and Leelee, but that’s it.”
Wesley started laughing sarcastically. “Oh, that’s it. Just all your girlfriends.”
“They won’t tell.”
“Right-o,” he said. “So your girlfriends won’t tell anyone, therefore it can all be forgotten.”
“Anson Larrabee knows and he’s been blackmailing us. That’s why I have to pick him up and take him to Eliza’s party. He wants us to be friends so he won’t tell anyone.”
“Anson knows…Now it all makes sense…the screenplay—of course. I’m a fool.” He rubbed his eyes with his hands.
“You’re not a fool,” said Helen, going over to him. Her voice and face were even and composed, but she felt she was cracking inside. “I love you. I made mistakes, huge mistakes. I forgot my touchstones. Please forgive me.”
“I can’t take this anymore, Helen,” said Wesley.
“Please, Wesley…” She burst into tears. “Let’s forget it happened. Let’s make it all go away.”
“Right, that’s what you need me for always, to make it go away. To clean up your messes.”
“I don’t expect you to clean up my messes! I can take care of Anson myself. I’ll get those tapes somehow and I’ll take care of him.”
“Right, the way you did with Dirk?”
Helen collapsed into the chair. “Right. I guess I need you more than I realized. I know that now. I forgot…”
“Well, this time is different,” he said, calmly rising and walking to the door.
“But what about Lauren?” she said softly. She had curled up into a ball and was clasping her knees.
Wesley paused by the door and she saw his shoulders sink. It appeared as if he was about to say something but he changed his mind. He walked out the door but suddenly reappeared.
“I’ll always take care of Lauren,” he said, and then turned and left.
•• 41 ••
Leelee was still incessantly calling Brad on his cell phone and at work, and he wouldn’t answer. She felt disgusting. What if Brad left her? She would have nowhere to go. Ugh—how did he get her into this situation? Of course, she shouldn’t have written a good-bye letter, but God! She did not want to go to Eliza’s cocktail party at all, but she knew she had to because of Anson. That was the deal. They would all get up his butt and act like sycophants to kiss his pansy ass because he had all those tapes that he could flash to the world! If only she could ride off into the sunset with Jack. He used to be her hero. What an asshole he was. There was no one to save her now. She just had to put on a cute outfit and a fake smile and go try to save her life.
“You’re late,” said Victoria when Justin came home.
He didn’t even stop to talk to her, instead made a beeline upstairs until she heard the bathroom door close. God, what an ass. You’d think that at least for their last hurrah he could show up on time. All he had to do was go to the party and then they were done. Victoria waited fifteen solid minutes for Justin to come downstairs, during which time she bit off all her nails. She had ripped them off one hand earlier when they fought, and since she didn’t have time to get a manicure she thought she’d just chew them off the other hand, down to the quick. She knew Justin hated that, when a woman’s nails were jagged and bloody. The first thing he always looked at was a lady’s hands—he always said that. “Well, have a good look at these babies,” Victoria said out loud, holding up her hands. She couldn’t imagine what was taking him so long. He definitely was Mr. Product and Mr. Fashion, but usually he didn’t need that much time to get ready. Especially when they were going somewhere with her friends. He was probably doing it to piss her off. When he finally trudged down the stairs, she was about to get angry but refrained. It wasn’t her problem anymore. He wouldn’t be her problem anymore.
“Let’s go,” he said, walking out to the street.
“You changed,” she said, looking at his outfit. He had worn the dark Zegna this morning and now he was in the striped Armani.
“Spilled something,” he said. “Are we walking or riding?”
“It’s two blocks. I think we can walk.”
“Fine.”
They strode together in silence, Victoria walking slower than usual due to her high heels.
“Anyone good going to be there?” asked Justin finally.
“Good? You mean, like famous? Or in the industry? I doubt it,” she said.
“You don’t have to be such a bitch. I’m going, aren’t I?” he asked.
“Yes, thank you, THANK YOU FOR THAT!” she practically screamed. What a martyr.
“Shut up,” he snapped as they got to the front door. “You don’t ever have to talk to me again. I should be at Koi with Tad, but I’m doing this for you. One last time.”
“You’re such a great guy,” she said, ringing the doorbell.
“Hello!” said Eliza, opening the door.
“Hi,” said Victoria.
“Come on in,” said Eliza, taking their coats and leading them into the living room.
They were all stressed and awaiting Anson’s arrival with anxiety. Leelee was also on the lookout for Brad, whom she still hadn’t heard from. Would he come? Did he even remember that there was a party tonight? Please let him come. Please let him come, she prayed.
Suddenly, across the room she noticed him enter. She was making idle talk with the bartender when she saw Brad greet Eliza, Victoria, and Pam. He came! It seemed like a million years before he extricated himself from her friends and made his way over to her. She beamed when she saw him.
“You came!” she said.
Brad looked puzzled. “Of course I came. I’m just surprised you left without me.”
“I was calling all day! You weren’t at the office, I didn’t see you before you left for work this morning…”
“I told you, I had to go to Irvine for a conference all day. And my cell phone is out—that’s why you didn’t hear from me. But where were you when I left this morning?”
“It was really strange, but I got sucked into the television and then I didn’t want to wake you, so I slept on the sofa.”
“Huh. I guess I didn’t notice you when I crept out so early,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said quickly. “But I am thrilled you are here!”
She gave him a hug, which surprised him. Then Helen arrived and her friends called her away into the pantry to inform her that Anson was dead. The plan was to meet after the party outside of Anson’s house and check out the scene. No one should say anything. Everyone should act natural.
When Leelee and Brad got home after the party, before she went to meet her friends, she waited until he went upstairs to change before she scanned the foyer for the note. She looked on the floor and under the sisal rug, but it wasn’t until she pulled out the commode that she found the letter. That gust of wind when she left! It must have blown the note away. She quickly went into the kitchen and lit a match to burn it. She let all of the pieces fall into the sink before she turned on the garbage disposal. She let the water run and flushed them out of her life forever.
•• 42 ••
It was now three days since Anson’s death. There was a memorial service rumored to be scheduled for the following week, but with no close relatives around, there was no confirmation one way or another. No one knew if he had been murdered or died of natural causes, but people were leaning toward the more salacious idea. It was just a question of who, and many theories abounded. Eliza, Victoria, Helen, and Leelee all held their breath that they would not be pulled into it, and most of all, that no one they knew had committed the crime. But they couldn’t help but be suspicious of one another, which added wa
riness to their tenuous dynamic.
Wesley finally returned. Helen came downstairs early in the morning and found him sitting in the darkened kitchen. He startled her so much that she let out a yelp.
“Wesley!” she said.
He turned and looked at her and didn’t say anything. His eyes looked sad and older, as if the past few days had taken an extreme toll on him, and she felt bad.
“Are you okay?” she asked. The tile floor felt cold under her feet, and she wished she had remembered to put on her slippers. In fact, the whole house seemed chilled. She was going to have to turn up the heat.
“I want us to be a family,” he said quietly.
“That’s fantastic!” she squealed and rushed to him. He put up his hand to stop her.
“But you have to do it my way now. No more lies, no more cheating, no more solo trips to go find yourself. I want you to find yourself here. I don’t want you to leave this family, emotionally, sexually, or physically and embark on a journey of self-discovery. We have to be partners if we are going to make this work. That is the only way I’ll have it.”
For the first time ever, really, Helen felt a bolt of love for Wesley. He was a man. He took care of things. He was what she had been looking for all along. He was home.
“I love you, Wesley,” she said, running and hugging him.
“I love you, too,” he said.
Later that day, all the ladies converged at Victoria’s to help her pack up Justin’s clothes. It was heartbreaking to look at Austin and Hunter and know that their lives were about to change, but it was for the better. The atmosphere between their parents was too toxic to sustain.
“Where do you want us to put these boxes?” said Eliza.
“Geez, the man has serious duds. His closet is bigger than yours!” said Helen.
“I know. He’s such a girl,” said Victoria, who was on her knees, pulling out fancy loafers and suede cowboy boots from the back of the closet.
The continued packing the boxes in silence. Even though they had all declared their innocence the night Anson was found dead, each wondered about her friends. It was just too neat, too clean, that Anson had died. All of their problems were over, and it was as if it had never happened. None of them could really believe that any of the other friends was capable of murder, although…they did agree that Victoria would not react well to being ostracized by the neighbors for inappropriate behavior. If she was put into a position where she was deemed a laughingstock, her rage would be uncontrollable.
“Wow, I invited you guys over so it wouldn’t be gloomy. Come on, people, why so silent?” asked Victoria. She stared at her friends’ faces and had the strangest sensation that they weren’t meeting her eye. What was going on?
“Do you losers think I killed Anson?” Victoria demanded.
No one said anything for a beat too long. “Of course not,” began Eliza and Helen at the same time.
But Eliza and Helen weren’t that certain. They’d had a brief discussion about it before they both started to feel too guilty for thinking it and changed the subject. She wouldn’t kill anyone over a slight. It was stupid to think that. But now it was out there.
“Liars,” said Victoria, rising and putting her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you people.”
“Victoria, we didn’t say anything,” protested Eliza.
“But you thought it,” said Victoria with anger. “So just for the record, I want you to know that I did not kill Anson. Remember, I’m the one who didn’t care what he had on us. Look around you—would I really have cared that he had tapes of me cheating? I mean, yes, it’s unpleasant and it could jeopardize my divorce settlement, but I don’t care anymore.”
They believed her.
“This is stupid. We’re all just on edge,” said Leelee.
“You’re right,” said Helen quickly. “Now where should we put these boxes?”
“Let’s put them in the garage.”
They all carried them out to the garage and were standing outside loading them in when Leelee pointed at someone.
“Here comes Imelda,” Leelee said.
They all looked and watched Pancake Face in her Juicy sweats approach them, obviously in a tizzy. “I don’t care what they say! You ladies did it! You killed Anson!” she screamed.
“Whatever,” said Victoria.
“Calm down,” said Helen.
“Put a cork in it,” said Leelee, laughing.
All of the girls dissolved into giggles, which enraged Imelda even more.
“You ladies!” she said, wagging her finger in their faces. “You killed him. I never should have told you about the tapes. Never.”
“Imelda, we know you’re upset…” said Eliza, trying to put an arm around her. Even though she loathed Anson, she felt genuinely bad for Imelda. It would be harsh to lose your close friend like that.
Imelda squirmed away. “The police are wrong! It was not an accident.”
The ladies stopped laughing. “The police ruled it an accident?” asked Eliza.
“It’s lies!” said Imelda.
Eliza, Victoria, Helen, and Leelee all looked at one another. Then they ran into the house, where Victoria placed a call to the police station. They put the phone on speaker so they could all hear.
“Yes, the coroner’s report deemed that the level of alcohol and prescription drugs in his blood was so high that the probable cause of death was either accidental or suicidal. Most likely he tripped down the stairs and knocked into the porcelain flowerpot, which smashed on his head,” said the officer on the other end.
“So that’s that, then?” asked Victoria.
“Case closed,” said the officer.
“Thank you, officer!” the ladies all squealed in unison.
As soon as they hung up they jumped up and down, hugging each other and screaming. Victoria brought out a bottle of champagne, which spilled all over the rug when they popped it, but they didn’t care. They were ecstatic. It was over! It was finally over!
“To think, all that stressing for nothing!” said Leelee.
“I am elated, positively elated,” said Helen.
“It’s like, he’s dead and we’re free,” said Eliza.
“Well, except for all those unanswered questions, like where are the tapes, what was that about all those files that he kept on us, and where are they, and everything else that may end up in the Palisades Press tomorrow. If he really did write a column like Imelda said,” Victoria reminded them.
The women stopped celebrating. “Why’d you have to put a damper on it?” asked Helen.
“You know what? We could worry forever. I’m going to move on. I think we all should,” said Leelee.
“Cheers,” said Eliza, and they all clinked glasses.
•• 43 ••
They went to the memorial service. Imelda glared at them and whispered something to the anorexic with a face-lift who was sitting next to her, and she turned and looked at them all, sitting in the fourth to the last pew, but they didn’t care. They had come to pay their respects. (Although Leelee had laughingly said that they really came to make sure he was truly dead.) After the five o’clock service, Eliza, Victoria, Helen, and Leelee all linked arms and walked together to Vittorio’s, having agreed in advance to forgo the reception held in the community room at the church. They’d pay their respects—but they only had so much respect to pay. Besides, they needed a drink. It was time to move on.
“So what did we decide?” asked Eliza when they were seated in the outside patio and the waiter had opened the bottle of Chianti. “Was it worth it?”
“Ask me later,” said Leelee.
“No,” said Helen hastily.
“If it were done differently…” said Victoria, who then stopped abruptly. “I guess, no.”
They all momentarily got lost in thought while they took a sip of their drinks.
“You know,” said Helen. “Anson’s article that Imelda promised never did come out in the Press.”
<
br /> “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” said Victoria. “They pulled his column when he died. I ran into Susan, who covers the Happenings section, and she said it would have been too creepy to do a postmortem piece.”
“You could have told me that!” said Helen. “The last thing I want is for this to be stirred up again. Wesley has finally started to talk to me again.”
“God, I’m glad this is over!” sighed Eliza as she leaned back in her chair and gathered up her hair, which she knotted into a casual ponytail.
“Shut up! You didn’t do anything,” said Leelee.
“I know—I did and I didn’t,” she said. “I entertained a thought and luckily didn’t act on it.”
“I’m not unhappy that we did this,” said Leelee. “It was an itch I needed to scratch. It didn’t have the happy ending that I hoped I would have, but at least I got Jack Porter out of my system.”
“Well, what are you going to do now?” asked Helen.
“I don’t know,” said Leelee. “I guess stay with Brad. I guess I should learn to appreciate him a little more.”
“Recognition is the first step,” said Victoria. “See, a few months ago you never would have admitted that anything was wrong.”
“You’re right,” agreed Leelee. “I guess I wanted a superhero and all I got was an average guy.”
“Hey, don’t knock average guys,” said Eliza. “The truth is, there’s nothing better.”
“Okay, so in conclusion, I’m getting divorced, I think…” said Victoria.
“You sure?” asked Helen.
Victoria nodded and swirled the wine in her glass. “I think that though I am sometimes obsessed with my husband—for example, currently, because he moved out—it’s just too much of a sick relationship to continue. Especially as the boys get older.”
“Well, don’t decide anything now,” said Helen. “You never know.”
“Oh, I know,” said Victoria. “But it’s all good. Already I feel I can honestly and openly look around at other men and there’s a lightness to me. I can pick and choose this time.”
The Infidelity Pact Page 23
