Round N Around We Go (Has Cupid Gone Mad?)

by Belinda Elkaim

  “Thank you everyone.” Conrad shouts at the stage, “Sylvester, I need you to stay on and do a duet with Amber. Act six, scene four. You have fifteen minutes to prepare.”

  Conrad softens and looks at Amber, “Let’s put your stage chemistry to the test. Why don’t you take a few minutes to warm up and we’ll wait for you.”

  Amber turns and mesmerizes Conrad with her charming smile, “Sure boss, from now on I’ll be a good girl and listen to you.” Unexpectedly, she leans over and kisses Conrad on the lips for the first time in fourteen years of their friendship. “I think it’s time that we put ‘us’ to a test as well, or will that be too risky?” She teases him, picks up her black toe shoes and heads off the stage.

  Stunned speechless, Conrad freezes and is unable to react to her spontaneous shower of affection. Having waited around for her for his entire life, he realizes that his moment has finally arrived and that he must seize it before someone else sweeps her away again. He watches her walk onto the stage and feels aroused by simply watching her.

  Maintaining composure and controlling the exceedingly immense joy that is brewing inside of him, he fixates his focus on the act and plans to serenade her over a romantic dinner. Casa Tua comes across his mind and he deems it the perfect setting to wrap up a beautiful evening. Hoping to make this the first day of the rest of their lives together, he logs onto his cell phone and makes an online reservation while waiting for her to warm up.

  Sylvester’s stage presence isn’t quite as powerful as Neyo but Conrad detects a star in the making. He is assured that after a one week intensive training, he can help unleash his dormant potential. Stage chemistry is present and Conrad sees that Amber is willing to connect. Relieved of the huge burden, he is content to have found Sylvester at the last given moment. The show will go on and he is convinced that the second season will be equally if not more successful than their first.

  The audition concludes on a positive note and their new lead man is found. Gentlemanly, Conrad suggests that Amber waits by the entrance while he fetches the car and blissfully she agrees. Sylvester insists politely to accompany her until Conrad arrives and while engaging in an interesting conversation, she fails to notice that she is being watched.

  Across the street and adjacent in the background, Neyo sits irately in a black sedan and watches her every move. He is award of the audition and knows instinctively that Sylvester is his replacement. Angrily and restlessly, he reaches into his pocket and brings out the very same brown bottle of prescription, dishes out two small tablets and swallows it. He watches her silky locks flow with the wind and tosses the bottle onto the passenger seat.

  The label reads LATUDA, prescribed to treat his severe bipolar symptoms. Attempting to control the boiling rage and the jealousy lurking within him, he narrows his eyes and murmurs spitefully as if speaking to her. “I’m not done with you yet Amber. We’re not done, do you understand?”

  ************

  Hungrily devouring her favorite flat noodles from a take out box from Gigi’s in midtown, Karina finds an unexpected guest at her door.

  Karina has never seen Taylor looking wary and confidence depleted. She sees Taylor’s shattered spirit lugging on to a burgundy colored carry on suitcase and quickly welcomes her in with open arms.

  Energy deprived, Taylor remains extremely quiet and refrains from conversation. Karina has been in the same disheartening situation before and understands Taylor’s pain without the need for explanations.

  Taylor has taken care of Karina during her darkest moments and has unconditionally nurtured her back to life upon Alex’s death.

  Karina understands that now is the moment when she will shower her support and reciprocate the love and generosity that Taylor has given her in the past.

  Karina makes two cups of tea and turns on the TV for distraction. From her bed, she watches Taylor curl up on the sofa and drifts off silently. Tipping toes and quietly moving around her loft, her thought drifts back to the days of her own dismay, and remembers how painful it feels to be brokenhearted. She sympathizes on Taylor’s agony, turns off everything and climbs into bed.

  Twisting and turning throughout the night and unable to soothe her insomnia, Karina has much on her mind and lays wide awake gazing into nothingness. She slips out of bed by the crack of dawn with an emerging headache and prances silently into the kitchen to find Taylor already awake.

  She whips up a fresh brew of espresso and brings it over to Taylor. Giving her best friend the warmest hug, she smiles empathically and assures that everything will be alright.

  Taylor is still silent and refuses to admit defeat. Stubbornly she puts on a strong front and hides from her true emotions. She is embarrassed to tell Karina of the ninety days bench time that Ivan has given her and disguises her ego by pretending not to care.

  “It’s alright Karina, Ivan and I just need a few weeks of separation. It’s good for both of us.” Taylor assures Karina that she is fine and urges her to tend to her affairs. “I’ll be fine.”

  Reluctantly, Karina heads out to pick up Theodore’s canvas from the art framer. While driving, she calls Amber and shares the news of Taylor’s ordeal.

  Both know that Taylor may appear strong and confident, but beneath the iron cast armor she is simply as vulnerable as either of them.

  Feeling more at ease that Amber volunteers to spend the day with Taylor, Karina stresses her concern before she exits onto highway I95, “Please keep an eye on her; I have been there so I know how it feels. Please don’t let her do anything stupid like I did.”

  Maneuvering the gallery’s SUV through downtown traffic, Karina pulls up at the parking lot behind the art framer’s warehouse and knocks on the back door.

  Pedro the art framer shows her in and leads her to the blank canvas spread across the wooden table in the middle of his workshop.

  Karina looks at the canvas for a few seconds, tilts her head and questions Pedro, “Is there anything wrong with the canvas that you can’t stretch or mount it?”

  He studies her expressions and asks, “Miss Sebastian, does this canvas belong to you?”

  “Yes, it’s a gift. Why?” Karina is now curious.

  He points at the edges of the canvas and brushes his fingers lightly on top of it. “See how it’s fraying?” He continues, “I should have known by the way it smells. This canvas is hand loomed in a technique that is obsolete today. Frankly so, I have never seen any canvases like this before and can’t tell you much, except for a fact that I know it’s old, and I’m talking about anciently old. It is way too fragile to be stretched, it will tear. Whoever gifted this to you must have found it in granny’s attic.” He rolls up the canvas and inserts it back into the tube. “It’s better off unframed.” He hands the tube to her and adds, “My apologies that I can’t be of assistance.”

  As if a revelation reveals itself, part of the mystery is nearly solved. Karina is now aware of the unapprised value of the canvas and what Theodore meant by ‘the canvas has a history.’ Still baffled, Karina wonders why Theodore has given it to her in such a bizarre manner.

  Perhaps it is an heirloom? She still can’t figure out the total picture. Curiosity driven, she plans to do exactly what is asked of her and intends to paint on it when inspiration presents itself.

  ‘When time comes,’ as he says, she will know exactly what to do as she is meant to.

  Feeling worried about Theodore again, she attempts to contact him once more over the phone. To no avail she reaches his voicemail and leaves yet another message.

  “Theodore,” Karina mumbles into the phone inside her car, “Where on earth are you?”

  Chapter Six.

  Seated across the votives lit table, he reaches for her hand and holds them gently. Flickering flames from the wicks of the scented oils dance magnificently and lure them closer to each other. Amber is tired of being alone and is touched by Conrad’s relentless pursuit. Surrendering to his perseverance and no longer able to defy his unfaltering love,
she is keen to put their love to test and is eager to give him a chance.

  After fourteen years of separated paths and each their own set of failed marriage, he is not shy to admit that he has loved her since the first time they met and has never loved any one the same way as he has always loved her.

  The triumphant day calls for a dual celebration as they toast to an anticipated successful season.

  Neyo has been replaced and Amber has finally accepted the idea of attempting a long term relationship together. There is nothing more that Conrad could possibly wish for.

  As if teenagers in love, they hold hands through the drive to her home and entangle in the most delectable kisses on the circular driveway of her building.

  Utterly disregarding the onlooking valet attendants and paying no attention to car honking from behind them at the valet line, he continues kissing her until the attendant taps on his window.

  Amber smiles and pulls away. Girlishly she bids him goodnight and waves as he drives away in contentment. Watching his car turn into the side street, she fails to notice that Neyo is still following her and is stationed across the street in his black sedan.

  From across the street, Neyo watches Amber walk inside the building and hurries over. He waits until she has entered the elevator then steps into the lobby as he usually does. Waving hello to the security guard whom he has befriended over the past year, he walks in casually as if nothing has ever happened.

  Unsuspecting misdemeanor and fowl play at hand, the security guard returns his greeting with a nod and lets him in.

  Amber is just about to step out of her clothes and is ready to head towards the shower. Thinking that it’s a neighbor knocking on her door, carelessly she opens to find Neyo standing there with the queerest expression on his face.

  Shocked speechless, she reacts spontaneously and gasps loudly. Hurriedly she tries to close the door quickly but he forces his way in.

  There is virtually no way that she could fight against his roughness. Panic stricken, Amber screams stridently and backs away from him. Swiftly he closes the door behind him and walks slowly towards her. “Please relax Amber, I only want to talk to you, please stop screaming!” He attempts to calm her hysteria.

  “How did you get in here? I left a note at the office to remove your name from the permanent list.” Amber continues backing away from him. “Stop right there. You’re out of control!” She demands loudly, “Stop right there or I’ll call the police.” She continues demanding, “I want you to leave now. I mean it Neyo, you need to leave now!”

  She turns around and runs towards the phone but is grabbed at the waist and lifted off her feet. He silences her and covers her mouth with one hand.

  “Shhhh.” He whispers into her ear slowly and pithily. “Calm down, I don’t want to hurt you, I only want to speak with you.”

  He tries to hold her still but she continues to struggle and tries to free herself from his grip. Kicking his shin with her sharp stiletto heels, he yells in pain and looses his grip. She frees herself and pushes him as hard as she could then runs towards her bedroom.

  Tripping backwards, he falls onto the coffee table and knocks down the perfectly lined frames of assorted sizes.

  Tumbling onto the floor, he doesn’t realize that his prescription bottle of Latuda has fallen out from the back pocket of his jeans. He dashes after her and stops her from locking the bedroom door.

  He shoves the door wide open with such force that pushes her backwards and she falls onto the floor. He grabs her by the ankles and while struggling to free from his grip, she screams as loudly as she could, “Help!” He pulls her up, tosses her onto the bed and silences her scream by choking her.

  Sitting on top of her, he slaps her across the face and holds her down by pulling onto her hair.

  Tearing in pain and sobbing in fright, she watches him pull out an army type pocket knife from his pocket. She stops crying and becomes silent as she watches him flip open the knife.

  “Amber I seriously came to talk to you.” Neyo stutters in a psychotic manner and appears exceedingly restless. “I didn’t come to hurt you but I will if I have to.” Just to scare her enough so she will cooperate obediently, he points the tip of the sharp knife on her neck and presses lightly and carefully into her delicate skin without piercing through.

  “I need you to be a good girl and to obey me. Is that understood?”

  Amber shuts her eyes tightly and trembles without muttering a sound.

  “Open your eyes, look at me and answer.” He commands in total domination, “Do you understand?”

  Amber sobs fearfully and replies timorously. “Yes I understand. Please don’t hurt me.”

  His eyes gleam in contentment for her submissiveness. “Baby girl, I’m crazy about you. I promise I won’t hurt you if you obey. I promise.”

  Amber continues to sob in terror. Terrified by his sadistic laugh, she begins to quiver fearfully. Unsure of what has triggered this drastic change in his personality, she understands that the least she speaks, the safer she will be. Sitting on top of her, is not the Neyo that she knows. The only thing that she is certain of is that this vicious incidence will not play out well.

  ************

  “Knock, knock” Samantha Ruben announces her presence playfully while peeping through the slightly opened glass door of his office.

  Ivan stops typing on the keyboard and looks at Samantha. “Yes?” He does not welcome the interruption.

  “Oh I haven’t seen Taylor at her office for a few weeks, is she alright?” Samantha pretends to be concerned.

  Ivan does not see the need to justify and his private life should remain private. Politely he covers up the truth, “Taylor is taking a short vacation to visit family up north. She’ll be back in a few weeks. Do you need her help with anything in particular?”

  “Yes.” She replies as a matter of fact. “I’m a little stuck with the formatting and was hoping that she’d help me with it.”

  “Check with Cindy, she’s covering for Taylor during her absence.” He tries to disengage from further conversation to focus on his task.

  Cunningly, Samantha pushes. “I am hoping that perhaps you could help me instead.”

  Impatiently, Ivan instructs her to wait until he becomes available. More content with this option, Samantha closes the door and plans to return at the end of the day to discuss this over dinner.

  With Taylor on vacation and Ivan left alone, Samantha sees the perfect opportunity to get closer to him. She nearly had him once and if Taylor hasn’t barged into the picture a year ago to steal him away from her, she is convinced that she would be the one that he loves and not Taylor.

  “This is perfect!” She mumbles blissfully and heads back to her cubicle.

  Focus distracted by Samantha’s interruption, Ivan sinks into his chair and involuntarily thinks of Taylor again. He regrets his actions and is remorseful for his nastiness. He does not mean to break up with her over nonsense, but at the spur of a heated argument, angry words were exchanged and he made a mistake. Ego struck and too proud to admit his fault, he desperately awaits for the end of ‘ninety days break.’

  He isn’t always right and infrequently depends on her to set him straight. Waking up in the mornings without her by his side, he feels empty and realizes that she has become an integral part of his existence that he is not willing to live without.

  Too pompous to cave in, he chooses to wait for her return while missing her tremendously, rather than calling her to beg for forgiveness.

  He will reach out to her in a few weeks to check on how she is doing. After all, her belongings are home and couldn’t have gone too far. He figures that she is either staying with Amber or Karina and will be under the care of her best friends.

  Samantha stops at his office again at four thirty p.m and tempts him with happy hour over his help with formatting.

  He looks at her Barbie doll face, watches her twirl a lock of golden curly hair around her index finger and smiles, �
�Samantha.” he pauses briefly to select the right words. “Just because Taylor isn’t home does not mean I would go out with you. That is not going to happen again. If it is work that you’d like to discuss, check with Cindy in the morning.” He smiles again and gestures her to close his door. “Have a great evening.”

  She appears to be honestly surprised. “How insensitive!” She jokes to conceal the embarrassment. “I am just trying to be friendly.”

  “Samantha, you don’t have to try to be friendly, please remember you work for me. That’s all.” He resumes typing on the keyboard and disengages from the conversation.

  Politely, Samantha closes the door and leaves him alone. “That is quite alright,” she assures herself, “there’s time. I will get him.”

  ************

  Mulling over the idea of seeking another publisher to start her own novel series, Taylor tries to distract herself from the broken heart and focuses on her career. Carefully evaluating all the pros and cons, she looks for the number of a publisher whom she has met in one of the trade fairs that she has attended in the past.

  She finds his business card in her agenda then dials his office number and asks the reception to connect her with Rafael Levine.

  After a brief moment of clicking sounds over the phone, he answers her call and remembers her instantaneously. He has always been fond of her work and finds her exceedingly attractive. Pleasantly surprised by her call, they exchanged a few ideas and he asks for a digital copy of her manuscript. He promises to review it over the weekend and before they meet personally on Monday to discuss possibilities.

  Content with the outcome of the conversation, Amber eagerly complies and emails a copy of the digital manuscript to Rafael. Carefully arranging the transition, Taylor is determined to make it to the best seller’s list with or without Ivan by her side. Regardless of how she truly feels, she realizes that her career has to be incontinent upon their relationship. After all, she is unsure of whether their relationship still exists. Regaining autonomy seems the most appropriate thing to do and should be set as a priority. Amber is right, she should never lose herself or forget who she truly is.