Infinity + One

by Amy Harmon

  The echoing mirror image was no longer scary. It was terrifying.

  WE ARE LIVE at the red carpet at the Academy Awards, and we’ve seen everyone who is anyone make their way into the Kodak Theater for tonight’s big awards show. The dresses have been breathtaking, the stars stunning, but the big news tonight was the shocking attendance of country singer, Bonnie Rae Shelby, and her new husband, Infinity James Clyde.

  About twenty minutes ago we received word that Bonnie Rae Shelby had just arrived at the theater. Some of our viewers might not be aware that Bonnie Rae was nominated for the Best Original Song category for “Machine,” the title track from last summer’s blockbuster movie of the same name. We all knew she had been nominated, but in light of recent events, no one expected her to be here.

  The news started spreading through the assembled press, and the cameras were all trained on her, as she and Infinity Clyde, the ex-convict rumored at one time to have actually kidnapped Bonnie Rae Shelby, made their way to the entrance of the theater.

  The whole nation has been riveted on this story. The young singer apparently walked off the stage at a concert just over a week ago, and her inner circle started putting out the story that she had disappeared. Her manager even claimed there had been a ransom demand. Then tonight, to see her walking the red carpet, glowing like a new bride, looking absolutely stunning and quite changed with a new hair color and style, was jaw dropping, to say the least. She and Clyde made a striking pair, and most people can see from the images captured tonight, America’s sweetheart is all grown up

  When asked where she’s been and if she was aware of the national attention she’d been garnering, Bonnie Rae simply laughed, shook her head like it was all ridiculous, and then proceeded to smile and wave to the crowd all the while holding tightly to her new husband’s hand. As for Infinity Clyde, the man whom so many wanted to hate, he stayed by her side, a hand at her back, and didn’t answer any questions, as the two of them traversed the famed carpet.

  The questions being directed at attendees before the surprising arrival of Bonnie Rae Shelby had all been about which designer an actress was wearing, or trivial questions about nerves or excitement over a nomination. When Bonnie and her infamous Clyde walked the carpet, those questions changed dramatically. We had fashion reporters and entertainment correspondents shouting questions about abduction and shot-gun weddings.

  Regardless of the questions being asked, the only question that Bonnie answered was a question about her dress, an elegant white sheath that complemented her skin and figure beautifully. She informed the reporter that the dress she was wearing was her wedding dress. This drew quite a reaction from all those who heard her response, and more questions were raised, at which point Bonnie introduced Infinity Clyde as “her husband, Finn.”

  The folks here tonight saw entertainment history in the making. The two newlyweds seemed very intent on one another, and though it is customary for attendees to pose for some pictures separately, the two did not do so, declining requests for such shots as they made their way through the throng. As a result, every shot taken has them with their arms around each other or holding hands, and it is quite apparent that the rumors of kidnapping are fiction. You can bet when word spread to news affiliates about the appearance of this wanted couple at the Academy Awards, law enforcement must have been scratching their heads, along with Bonnie Rae’s own management team, who has continuously floated rumors of ransom requests and tried to squash reports of crime sprees. The couple we saw tonight told a very different story.

  Unlike most celebrities, these two were not escorted by a publicist. They exited their limo just like other attendees and walked hand in hand through security and up onto the carpet. They were a last minute arrival, which usually means less press time, since everyone is in a hurry to get into their seats, doors are getting ready to close, and people are being directed away from the event because it’s about to start. Most of your biggest celebrities come right at the end, like Bonnie Rae did, just to avoid waiting a long time for the show to begin inside. But I can guarantee, regardless of their arrival time, Bonnie Rae Shelby and Infinity Clyde will be getting all the press coverage tonight.

  I WAS CONVINCED we’d done it.

  We’d gone to the Oscars together, dressed in our wedding clothes, as Finn had called them. And the response had been perfect. Cameras flashed, and every camera and all the attention was riveted on us. I almost felt bad for the people who got there at the same time, because they were ignored, and Hollywood stars don’t spend hours getting glamorous, starving for days so they aren’t bloated, picking out the perfect dress, only to be upstaged by a hillbilly and an ex-con.

  I certainly hadn’t meant to upstage. I had just wanted everyone to see Finn and to acknowledge him. Not Infinity James Clyde the ex-convict. Not Infinity Clyde, the villain who stole America’s country bumpkin, but beautiful, smart, innocent, Finn Clyde. My Finn.

  And I was pretty sure they had. The women had gaped. The men had paled in comparison, and because I was with him, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the room.

  The truth of it made me giggle. We’d been up all night, so we’d slept all day, and we’d had to rush a little to get ready. I got ready for the Oscars in an hour. I was sure that was also a record. I was bathed and shaved, moisturized and perfumed, made up and done up with very little fanfare. But even without a team of people making me look like a movie star, I felt amazing. And because I felt amazing, maybe I looked amazing. Finn certainly did. He looked so handsome that I had wondered how I would make it to the theatre and keep my dress on.

  However, resisting the urge to seduce my husband in the limo didn’t turn out to be as difficult as I thought it would be. Finn was tense and ill at ease, and the closer we got to the venue, the more nervous we both became. Finn was vibrating, his left knee shaking up and down as I pressed my hand to his thigh and promised him it would be okay. He’d just looked at me and told me I was beautiful, but he didn’t relax.

  “When this is over, we’re going to go back to the Bordeaux. We’re going to stay there for a week. Maybe two. I’ve already reserved our room, indefinitely. They know where to bill me. And we are going to have a true honeymoon. We’re going to make plans, make love, and make bacon.”

  “Make bacon?”

  “I’m hungry.” I shrugged. “When was the last time we ate?”

  “Yesterday, in Las Vegas.”

  “Holy cow! I’m a terrible wife. A man like you can’t go that long without nourishment. I’m used to starving. Gran watched every damn bite I put in my mouth.”

  “All right then. We’ll order bacon and eggs and a pile of potatoes. We’ll eat when we’re done tonight. We’ll celebrate. And I promise you can eat as much as you want, whenever you want, and I won’t mind.”

  I laughed, and Finn took a fortifying breath, and with meat on my mind and a man on my arm, Finn and I had stepped out of the limo and taken on the red carpet.

  I didn’t win the Oscar and I was relieved. I made sure I was snuggled into Finn when the camera panned to me as my name was read, and I had smiled brightly and given America a little thumbs up. But I had been thrilled when the award went to someone else. I’d probably clapped a little too enthusiastically, but had I won I was liable to go up on stage and say something I would have regretted—something that wouldn’t have played well in the media. Something like, “I love Jesus and I love singin’, so I’m thankful for the voice He gave me to sing this song. But I hate all you fake-assed people with your plastic boobs and messed up priorities.” And then I would have looked into the camera and said. “And yes, Gran. I’m talkin’ to you.”

  And my drawl would have made them all think I didn’t have a brain in my head, and people would have laughed at me, and Finn would have said “Bonnie Rae,” in that voice he used when he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at me, love me, or lose me. So it was good that I didn’t win.

  Finn and I slipped out of our seats after that, and I cal
led for our limo to return for us. We’d done what we needed to do, and it was time to eat bacon at the Bordeaux.

  THE LIGHTS FLASHED behind us. Then there were lights in front of us, and lights to the side of us too. Not flashbulbs any longer, but blue lights, spinning. And the sirens wailed.

  The window between the driver and the back of the limo slid down, and the driver informed us in a few panicked words that he was pulling over. We were only two blocks from the Kodak Theatre. They’d been waiting for us to come out—that much was obvious. Maybe they thought we were armed and dangerous and wanted to get us away from the crowds. Had Gran created this mess? And why did they want us at all? We’d carried out our plan to show the world we were together. But apparently the police had gotten the breaking news bulletin from E Buzz.

  Finn looked at me as if he’d known it was coming. And he kissed me, quickly, almost desperately, as the limo came to a stop at the side of the road. I kissed him back frantically, and clung to him, wondering momentarily if there was still a way out, as if we could outrun the police that now surrounded us. There were police cars everywhere.

  “It was worth it, Bonnie. Every second. It was worth it.” His voice was soft, and his eyes were grim, and I flinched as we heard a voice demand over a loudspeaker:

  “Step out of the vehicle with your hands in the air.”

  “We’re going to do exactly what they are telling us to do, Bonnie Rae. We’ll clear this up, and it’ll be over.”

  “I’m so sorry, Finn! I’m so sorry! All of this is my fault. ”

  “Step out of the car with your hands in the air!” The voice over the loudspeaker came again, adamant.

  Finn opened his door, lifted his hands, and climbed out of the car. I couldn’t see exactly what happened next but beyond the opened door I could see guns drawn and cops creating a bit of a perimeter around us.

  It was like we were the true Bonnie and Clyde, in our own ambush, and my heart raced at the memory of the bullet-ridden car.

  I stepped out behind him, since I was closer to his door than my own. I saw him being pushed to the ground, even as I registered that the same thing was happening to me. My heel caught in the back of my dress, and I felt a tug and something tear as I faltered and lost my ensnared shoe. I fell hard and found myself face first on the ground, my hands wrenched behind me, and I lifted my head, spitting at the gravel that had found its way into my mouth. My dress would be ruined—the dress I had wanted to cherish, the dress I’d been afraid to touch for fear of messing it up. It’s funny the things you think about when you’re being handcuffed.

  My face stung, and I shook my head, trying to shake off the dirt and bits of debris that clung to my face. I felt something wet slide down my forehead and drip down the left side of my face and realized my head was bleeding. I struggled to see Finn through the legs of the officers surrounding me and found him, head lifted, straining to see me too. His eyes met mine, and I saw his mouth move around my name. I couldn’t hear him though his head was only ten feet from my own. But I held his gaze for as long as possible, needing the contact in whatever form it took.

  Hands slid up my body, between my legs, over my arms, patting up and down, and I shuddered and flinched and had to look away, the pat down all the more personal and invasive because I was sore in the way new brides are sore, tender in the way women are tender, and the hands that moved over me now were a rude parody of something that had brought me so much pleasure only hours before. I shivered, the damp of the evening seeping through the thin material and clinging to my bare arms, making me feel even more exposed. And then I was pulled to my feet and led toward a police car, away from Finn.

  “What the hell is going on? Why is she being arrested?” I heard Finn shout, his calm completely abandoned, and then he was gone, shoved into the back of another police car, the doors unceremoniously shut on his outraged voice.

  BREAKING NEWS: INFINITY James Clyde and Bonnie Rae Shelby, seen earlier tonight at the Academy Awards in an appearance that shocked the nation and rallied law enforcement, were detained after the Awards and brought separately to the LA County jail. Onlookers claim the newlyweds were in their limo, only blocks from the Kodak Theater, when they were surrounded by police and again, bodily detained and handcuffed. No charges have been filed yet, although warrants are said to be forthcoming. It is believed that Clyde will indeed be charged with kidnapping, though that seems difficult to substantiate, given what we saw earlier tonight. It is also likely that he will face attempted murder charges and car theft, in addition to several more related charges. We have no word on what, if anything, Bonnie Rae Shelby will be charged with, but she, too, has been detained and is currently at the LA County Jail.

  HE’D BEEN THROUGH it before. He knew what to expect. But they’d arrested Bonnie too, and taken her someplace else. She would be feeling as scared and humiliated as he’d felt the first time, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to save her from it. Her face had been bleeding, and her dress was torn. He’d seen her fall as his face was forced into the dirt. And the sight of her wide eyes, trying to meet his as they patted her down had made him want to howl with fury.

  When he’d been booked into jail the first time, he’d been terrified, but he had also been in shock, the shock numbing him to the humiliation of the fingerprinting, the mug shots, the strip search, and eventually, the bars that closed behind him. Eighteen years old wasn’t very old at all, and mostly he’d wanted to cry like the child he was.

  He’d been arrested at the hospital, his brother on a gurney beside him. He hadn’t known where else to go. He’d driven to the hospital with Fish laying across his lap, not breathing. Not blinking. Blood everywhere. And he’d run through the emergency room doors soaked in it, yelling for help. They’d rushed Fish inside, but he was dead. And there was no saving the dead. Then the police had been called. His mom had been called too. And when they’d arrived, Finn had told them everything that had happened, his voice dull and emotionless. And they arrested him. His mother had been left with one dead child while another had been taken away.

  He didn’t blame her for staying with Fish. She couldn’t come with him anyway. He’d been eighteen years old for all of three days—legally old enough to be charged as an adult, questioned without his parents present, and old enough to go to prison.

  This time around they didn’t book him right away. Apparently, he was only being detained. Arrest warrants were on their way, according to the detective who brought him a glass of water and placed a yellow notepad and a pen on the table, cuffing his hands in front of him so he could write.

  “You have the right to remain silent and to refuse to answer any questions. Whatever you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” But Finn didn’t want to remain silent. He was going to talk and talk and talk. He was going to tell them every damn thing they wanted to hear and a few they didn’t. They had put him into a holding cell for an hour when they’d first arrived—ostensibly so he could calm down. It was cold, the size of a bathroom, nobody there but him. It felt weird to be completely alone. He had been with Bonnie almost every second of the day since he’d found her singing in the park in the middle of the night and had known he never wanted to be apart from her again.

  “You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford one, one will be appointed to you.” He couldn’t afford one. But Bonnie could. And that was more important anyway. He hoped she’d been able to make a call, and Bear and her grandmother had come swooping in to whisk her away. They hadn’t given him a phone call. He’d kind of lost that privilege when he’d lost his temper when they’d put Bonnie in the back of a police car. It didn’t matter anyway. He wasn’t going to call anyone.

  “Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you?”

  Finn understood. And he didn’t have much faith that understanding them would help him at all. Somewhere between Massachusetts and LA, his world had been turned upside down and shaken, loosening the change from hi
s pockets, scrambling his brains, and leaving him dizzy, dazed and disoriented.

  “Name?”

  “Infinity James Clyde.” The detective knew his name. It was on the paper right in front of him. But he asked it with a note of incredulity in his voice, like he couldn’t believe what he was reading.

  There was a raise of the eyebrows and the slightest smirk, which Finn ignored. I have a stupid name, douche. Grow up, he thought. But he didn’t say what he was thinking out loud.

  “And why do you think you’re here, Mr. Clyde?”

  Finn stared stonily at the man across the table from him. He’d introduced himself as Detective Kelly, “I honestly don’t know, Detective.”

  Another smirk.

  “Says here you’re wanted for kidnapping, extortion, theft, grand theft, assault, and attempted murder. That ring any bells?”

  Finn stared at the detective in stunned stupefaction. He kept waiting for the punch line, but there was none forthcoming.

  “What did you say?” he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.

  “Kidnapping, extortion, theft, assault, grand theft, and attempted murder,” the detective rattled off once more.

  He didn’t understand any of it, except the kidnapping part, which was easily explainable. He focused on the most horrifying first. He tried to keep his voice steady, but the blood had been pounding in his veins since they’d dragged Bonnie Rae off like she was trash, and his outrage returned with a heady rush. With every question his voice increased in volume.

  “Who did I attempt to murder? What the hell is grand theft? Who did I extort, and who did I assault? I’d really like to know.”