My Happy Ending Part 1, page 12
I touched my forehead absentmindedly, wondering if she had the house bugged as I lied, “No, it’s not, and I’m not.”
“Whatever. What box are you looking for?”
“It has paperwork.”
“Oh, that’s real specific.”
“My school paperwork, transcripts... um, and the kids’ baby books, and... stuff.”
“No, I sure didn’t,” she said, and I smiled as I heard Pete’s voice in the background. How wonderful it must be to have that normalcy of family life... I missed it so much...
“I must have left it,” I mumbled, making a mental note in what was left in my mind to search for it at the house during Emily’s party.
Oh, I could just hear it now, him going off about how I could lose something so important.
And of course, it bothered me all day.
It bothered me as I left a message at the lawyer’s office for someone to get back to me, praying that they called in time.
It bothered me as I repeatedly ignored my screaming curiosity that kept telling me I wanted to look online, check Celebrity Gossip, check any gossip paper I could find.
“Are you okay?”
I jumped as Paul... Dr. Coffman walked past me in the hallway.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah... yeah, I’m just busy today is all...” My voice trailed off as a couple of young nurses walked past, their conversation ceasing as they both stared at me, one with contempt, the other pity. Just as soon as they passed, they turned to each other, chatting again in their hushed tones about whatever it was that held them so intrigued.
“I just wanted to check,” he said with a grin.
“No, I’m...” Another group of employees walked by, eyeing me before returning to their conversation. “Okay, this is not a coincidence.”
“Talia,”
“And you apparently know what’s going on, too, so...”
“No, listen... I’m sorry, I thought...”
I couldn’t hear what the rest of his explanation was because I had picked up my pace, pushing past people in the hallway and going back to the clinic where my office sat down the middle of the first hall. To hell with staying away... if people were going to point and stare and...
My cell phone was buzzing in my pocket, and I hesitated.
Jase.
No. No, I had to know first, before I talked to him, I had to know what everyone was so wrapped up in, and...
He left a voicemail. Well, good for him; I’ll be sure to listen sometime after I found out what the hell was going on.
“Talia,” Amy, one of the medical assistants, said as she stuck her head in my office, “your husband has been trying to get ahold of you.”
“My...oh.” Seriously? Did I just have some kind of a brain flux where I couldn’t figure out who she was talking about?
“Yeah, he wants you to call him right away,” she continued, standing in the doorway, popping her gum as I hit the button on my computer, cursing that it had actually been turned off. “Maintenance,” she explained, still standing in my doorway.
“Thank you,” I murmured, rolling my eyes as my phone buzzed again, this time indicating a text.
“He’s called, like... ten times or something crazy like that.”
What do you know? The text was from Jase.
Please call me.
I could feel the tension, the anxiety building as my computer finally finished booting up. I clicked on the button to bring up the internet as my phone began buzzing in my pocket again. I pulled it out, determined to click on that silence button until I noticed it was Sherise Adler’s office calling.
“Hello?” I said, as friendly as I could.
“Hello, Talia?”
“Hello, Ms. Adler,” I said, hearing my lawyer’s voice through the phone.
“Oh, please, call me Sherise.”
“No, I... um... I...”
“Is there something you needed, Talia?” she asked, her voice thick and saccharine sweet.
But I couldn’t answer.
No, see, because staring at me on the front page of Celebrity Gossip, were pictures... oh, the pictures...
She was in his arms.
“I was wondering about this message you left, saying you needed to talk with me.”
I did?
Oh, right.
Because like a fool I’d almost fallen for that smile, that charm all over again. But, no... no, now I could see... oh, look more pictures. My, how cozy they looked on that plane. Elizabeth had said he had to go somewhere...
“Talia?”
“Have the papers been delivered yet?” I asked, snapping out of my trance.
“No, not yet. Would you like to be informed when they do?”
One tear escaped, running down my cheek as I clicked that little red ‘x’ at the top. “Yes,” I said with a sigh. “Yes, please.”
“Will do, then. Is there anything else you needed?”
“No,” I replied, thanking her for her time before I hung up the phone, which immediately buzzed in my hand.
Another text from Jase.
Talia, it’s really important. Please call me.
Call you, you say?
Fuck you, Jase.
Fuck. You.
JASE
I DON’T HANDLE STRESS well. I never have; that’s one of my vices, if you will. Monday had been one of the most stressful days of my life, and Tuesday wasn’t starting much better.
“I won’t be on the same fucking airplane as her again,” I said to Chris as I walked through the terminal, all eyes seeming to be on me.
“You’re not, Jase, but I tried to tell you...”
“Just handle the fucking spin... the damage control... the... whatever, okay?” I cut him off.
“Alison and I are working on it,” he replied, a little too calmly for my tastes. “Have you talked with her?”
“Why the hell would I talk with that...”
“Talli, Jase. Have you talked with Talli?”
I swore under my breath, my frustration overwhelming. “No.”
It wasn’t for lack of trying, either. I’d lost count of how many times I’d called, how many messages I’d left, how many different placed I had tried to reach her at. The longer she avoided talking to me, the more convinced I was that she’d seen the picture.
And the show hadn’t even aired yet.
When that happens, when that gets back to Talia... oh, God...
I had my headphones on while I was on the plane, trying to stay calm, focused. Instead, all I could see were those pictures popping up on that monitor backstage as I was getting ready to leave, followed by that smug look on Bree’s face.
“Don’t worry ‘bout any of those ‘boos,’ hun. I can always have them edited out,” Stella said as the crowd showed their displeasure.
One of the girls close to the front row yelled out, “Homewrecker!”
And Bree... that eyebrow of hers raised up, that fucking smirk still on her face as she said, “There would have to be a home to wreck, sweetheart.”
What. The. Fuck?
She was saying some bullshit about pictures being worth a thousand words as I struggled to get back down that hall and out on that fucking sound stage. Of course, Bubba the Bodyguard stopped me from entering, stating that they were taping so no one was permitted through.
Seriously?
And I knew... I knew they’d edit this just so, spin it even more. And one or both of the songs would air after Bree’s interview portion, even though they’d both been taped before.
“And that song, ‘Everything’?” Stella asked, gasping and placing her hand over her heart. “What a beautiful love song!”
I was cursing under my breath as Bree merely smiled, crossing her slender tanned legs.
If I hadn’t been raised right, I wouldn’t think twice about slapping the shit out of her over this.
See, that was a song I’d written one night in Memphis, in that motel room right after Talia had called with the news that Emily was sick. That was the first time she’d made that call, so while I was disappointed, I wasn’t angry. I hadn’t realized that this was just the beginning, that Talia was pulling away from me... but, I had this inspiration to tell her how I felt, what she meant to me.
And Bree fucking knew it.
It wasn’t a song I was going to have on my album, even though I planned on recording it someday. But Bree had convinced me to let her record it, having me on backup vocals, and the result, I have to admit, was beautiful.
So I let her put it on her album.
And now I was adding that to a list of regrets that I had that has reached at least a mile long.
Now Bree is insinuating this is about her...
The beginning, where I wrote about falling in love with a voice on the phone... and there Bree sat explaining how we’d talked on the phone for a couple of weeks before we met in Memphis.
Please... please, Talli, remember us. You have to know this song is about you...
But the public... they don’t know that. They knew we’d met as teenagers, and then found each other years later. They just didn’t know how.
And then, the lines in there... damn it... the lines about how I’d been so sure about what I wanted until she walked into my life...
No... please, please don’t think that, Talli, please...
Of course she would play this game. She knew her album sales were liable to jump, she knew her name would be googled more often once this aired than it was on a normal basis. And would she care what would happen when Talia saw this, when she watched how much passion I put into that song?
Of course I would.
Because I believe that song with everything in me, because that’s what she is...
Everything.
And she has to listen to me. She has to answer the phone.
She has to talk to me.
JACKIE WAS CALLING nearly the moment I turned my cell back on when I was walking into the terminal at LAX. “What’s up?” I asked as I answered the phone.
“Same old same old,” he replied. “I hadn’t gotten the call; do you need me there when you get home?”
“I think Chris and Alison got the damage control,” I said, hoisting my bag over my shoulder.
“I wasn’t talking about damage control.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath. “I appreciate it, Jackie, I just don’t think I’ll be very good company.”
“Are you sure?”
I growled, holding back a curse as the vultures descended, their shutters clicking.
“Positive, Jackie. But thanks.”
It was a fight to get past the paparazzi, but luckily a couple of security guards helped me out to my car, wordlessly standing by as I closed my door and revved the engine. I blasted the air conditioning hoping it would cool down quickly. July in California was sticky, hot, humid, thick, and it didn’t help my throbbing head.
Were they harassing Talia, too?
Please... please no. They wouldn’t care if our children were there or not. Trying to reason with them about the kids would only fan the flames, so I stayed silent.
No matter how much it was killing me.
I hooked up the headset to my cell, preparing to listen to the messages left while I was in the air. I should have known better than to wish that one of them would be from Talia, at least acknowledging that she had received my messages. Of course, she hadn’t called.
First, there was Chris, telling me when he’d be at my house. He kept droning on about how he was unsure I should say the song was written for Talia without being asked the question directly. I made a mental note to tell anyone who would listen, regardless of the consequences.
Next was my Nan, telling me she wished I’d talk to her.
Then there was Pete. I was half expecting a shitty message, but he sounded tired more than anything, asking me to call him. And I needed to, I know that.
Alison was next, telling me a copy of the statement would be sitting in my inbox, and asking if I could have Talia contact her also. I almost laughed at that. Hell, Alison, I can’t get her to call me back!
Damien wants to make music.
Tom is working on a surprise that I’d planned months ago, and I just didn’t have the heart to call and tell him it wasn’t necessary anymore.
And last...
“I don’t see why you won’t talk to me.”
That’s okay, Bree; I don’t see why you don’t comprehend that I don’t want to.
“I was defending myself, and you would have done the same thing in my shoes.”
Would I? I’d like to think I wouldn’t.
“Besides, I mean... I miss you, you know? We were really close, and I miss that. And I can’t help but wonder what if, you know? What if the situation was different?”
Well, it’s not. And do you really have to say you know all the fucking time?
“I do love you, and I’m sorry I’ve made you angry.”
That’s not love, and angry doesn’t begin to cover it.
“So, you know...”
There it goes again.
“You preach about forgiveness and... I’m hoping you have some left in your heart for me.”
Way to throw my words back in my face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, when we fly out for Thursday’s taping.”
Not on your... wait. What? Tomorrow? Taping? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Didn’t my team get this shit canceled? I have to pick up my kids tomorrow... tomorrow is Wednesday, and after all of this, Chris and Alison had to find me a way out of it. I just... I couldn’t, not after everything else that had happened. And I couldn’t tell Talia that I wasn’t picking up the kids... not now. Please, please not now.
I was even more of a wreck by the time I got home, knowing that stupid fucking show was already on. I can just imagine if Talia sees it before she talks with me...
Chris was already there waiting for me in my office, where he’d gone after Linda let him in. He was sitting in the office, rubbing the back of his neck as he glared at the television, where the interview was airing. “They’re apparently airing ‘Everything’ after they air this garbage,” he said, gesturing towards the screen.
“I should have listened,” I admitted.
“I should have gotten you out of it,” he countered, then he glanced over at me. “Have you reached Talli?”
I sighed, dropping my bag to the ground. “No.” I rolled my eyes at the screen, asking Chris, “Can you get me out of the taping that we have tomorrow?”
“You actually signed that contract, Jase,” he replied. “I’m so sorry.”
“Chris, my kids,” I pleaded.
“Maybe after this it’s best for you and Talli to keep your distance...”
“No, it’s best for me to not be anywhere near THAT bitch!” I yelled, pointing at the screen.
“You know how T gets when she’s upset,” Chris tried reasoning.
“I know that she needs to listen to me, okay? How am I supposed to tell her I can’t come pick them up after... after that?”
More pictures were shown on that screen, one of Bree holding my hand, another of us asleep with my arm around her. This just... this can’t get any worse...
“Mr. Warner?” Linda said as she came to the doorway.
“Please don’t Mr. Warner me, Linda,” I mumbled.
“There... there is someone at the front door.”
“No...”
“Not press... not paparazzi.” Linda looked so troubled as she stood there, wringing her hands.
“Do you need me to get this?” Chris asked, and I shook my head.
“I can do this,” I answered. I sighed slightly as I left the room, thankful to get away from that broadcast, pulling out my cell and dialing Talli’s number as I bounded to the front door. Was it some kind of sickness that made me want so badly to get in touch with her? Her line was ringing as I came up to the front door, standing in the frame and looking outside at the gentleman standing there wearing a suit and a pair of wire-rimmed sunglasses. “Can I help you?” I asked, clicking the end button on my phone when it went to voicemail.
“Mr. Jason Michael Warner?” he asked, completely business-like.
“Yeah...”
He pushed his arm forward, shoving an envelope into my hand. He muttered his thank yous as he walked away, leaving me bewildered, staring after him as if he’d grown a second head.
Whatever.
I scrolled down, redialing Talia’s number for the millionth time as I tore open that envelope, its contents thick, folded, on a heavy paper that...
Oh...
Fuck...
No. No, no, no, no, this wasn’t happening... I thought, I really thought that we had a chance to...
“What?”
I jumped when Talia finally answered her phone, her voice constricted, the telltale sniffles giving her tears away.
One glance at the screen showed the pan across me and Bree as we sang an acoustic version of ‘Everything’.
And I could hear it in the background of the phone...
“What?!” she demanded more forcefully. “What the hell do you want now?”
My eyes scanned over the papers in my hands, where she had filed for divorce from me, my heart laying in shards at my feet as the words on the pages blurred. I clicked the end button without saying a word, without even being able to tell her I was sorry, without saying everything I had meant to say...
How could I tell her I love her?
How could I tell her I was sorry?
How...
“Jeeeeezus.” Chris Pete the word out as he walked up to me. “Jase... are those...”
I shoved the papers at him, walking away as I hastily wiped my eyes, remembering all the times I’d promised her she’d never be alone, she’d never have to worry about anything, I would make sure that they were safe, they were secure...
“Jase...”
“Give her whatever she asks for,” I choked out, grabbing my keys and heading to my car.
“Jase...”
But I didn’t hear the rest of what he had to say.
I just had to get the hell out of there. I had no idea where I was going, no idea what I was doing, no idea how I could make it another day without my wife, without our kids, without my family that I’d tried so desperately to keep together.
