25. Brooke
25
brOOKE
I take a deep breath and inhale the smell of paint as Brenda and I work on creating a Mediterranean courtyard. I’m dabbing pink and red paint on a wooden pine backdrop to create roses climbing trellises.
I can’t do this when I go back to the real world, so I might as well enjoy doing it here. Sort of like I enjoyed doing Lucas while we were here.
Will we ever get back to the real world, though? I don’t know how, because I’m too furious at Lucas to even speak straight. I can’t go through the motions of the various plot points when all I want to do is punch him in the face.
“This looks so much better than what I was trying to do.” Brenda looks over our backdrop and nods with satisfaction. “You’ve given me some really good tips, too. I hope you stay here so you can work with us on our next plays, if there are any.”
“I’m sure there will be. I don’t think anything’s getting torn down. You must have heard that Jasper said he’s changed his plans? ’
She shrugs. “I heard that, but he’s still in town, and so is his creepy assistant and the muffin lady.”
“Yeah, Carmel.” I smile. “I know she’s kind of weird, but those muffins, am I right? Can’t get enough of them.”
A loud buzzer sound makes me jump.
“I’ll be right back; that’s the doorbell,” Brenda says, climbing to her feet. She pauses to look admiringly at what I've painted and then hurries off.
When she returns a minute later, she’s shaking her head.
“You’re never going to believe who’s here at the door,” Brenda huffs.
“Lucas again?”
“No, it’s that blonde ho from Soho.” Brenda looks quite pleased with her wordplay. Then her smile fades. “It looks like she’s been crying.”
“Good.” I glare. Then I heave a sigh. I can picture my mother’s face—my real mother, not Susie McGillicuddy’s mother—and that face has a disappointed look on it. “I guess it’s not good that someone’s been crying. Damn it, though, why do I have to be nice to her? She hasn’t been nice to me. She’s been banging my boyfriend behind my back, or I’ve been her fiancé’s mistress without anyone telling me, depending on which story you believe. And she slapped me upside the head. And she’s actually daring to blame me in all this?” I know I’m pouting. “I feel like I have to go deal with this and be civil to her, but I’m not sure why.”
Brenda chews her lower lip. “Our pastor would tell us to treat other people how we’d like to be treated.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Damn it, I hate being the bigger person.” I quickly put the lids back on the paint cans and give the brushes a quick rinse and lay them down to dry.
Then I make my way through the theater to find Pri-Annelise.
Pri-Annelise is standing by the door waiting. Her makeup is smeared, her eyes are puffy, and despite it all, she’s still so gorgeous that it almost hurts to look at her. How is that fair? Also, her streaming blond locks look perfect; you can’t even tell where I yanked out one of her extensions.
“Hello,” she sniffs when she sees me.
I fold my arms across my chest. I’m not slapping her, and I think I deserve major karma points for that. “You wanted to talk to me? Talk.”
“Well, it’s just that... it’s just that...” Tears stream down her cheeks and she bursts into sobs.
With a sigh, I pull a handkerchief from my purse and hand it to her. Then I reach out and awkwardly pat her back.
She throws her arms around me and crushes me in a surprisingly strong hug. I allow it for about five seconds and then struggle free, stepping back away from her.
“It’s just that you were right all along!” she wails.
“Uh . . . I was?”
“Yes, Jasper is a complete bastard!” She sobs again and then hiccups loudly. Is it wrong of me to be delighted that there’s at least one single thing she’s done that’s less than exquisite?
“So, what’s he done now?”
“He’s cheating on both of us. Can you believe it?” She lets out another hiccuping sob.
Well, that was not how I expected this conversation to go. “He is? With whom?”
“Come with me! If we hurry, we might catch him in the act!”
“He... you... what?” I splutter. I’m not sure I actually want to catch him in the act, but then again, I do need to settle this once and for all. He’s been sending me messages through everyone in town saying that he has never dated Pri-Annelise, acting all wounded and innocent. I was starting to come around. If he’s cheating and there’s proof, it will hurt, but at least I’ll know.
I turn around and call out into the darkened theater .
“Brenda, gotta go!” I yell.
“I’m right here.” She was lurking right down the hallway the whole time.
“Were you eavesdropping?” I demand indignantly.
“Of course I was eavesdropping. I’m from Green Acres; it’s our town sport. And I’m a waitress, which means I’ve got a gold medal. Is there anything better than gold? Platinum, maybe? Anyway. Let’s go catch the bastard in the act before he’s done.” She looks at us speculatively. “How long does he usually last?” she asks, as we start speed-walking.
“Hours,” I sigh in reminiscence, while at the same time Pri-Annelise says, “All night long.”
“Wow.” Brenda’s eyes widen.
“It's not just the act itself. He does other things.” I go misty-eyed in memory.
Pri looks at me and bursts into tears. “Damn it. He really was having sex with you.”
“For heaven’s sake, I never said he wasn’t. I just didn’t know you existed.” I mean, she didn’t exist until he somehow magicked her into this reality by making up that ridiculous name when we first got here.
And apparently that plot point worked for this universe, so... here she is.
But, like everyone here, she seems like a real person, so I have to believe that she has real feelings and I have to treat her decently even though I also want to claw her eyes out.
I have to break into a jog to catch up with her as she power-walks away. She’s got the longest legs I’ve ever seen on a woman.
About ten minutes later, we reach the town cemetery.
“Where are we going?” Brenda asks Pri-Annelise, looking puzzled.
“Here. Obviously.” Pri hurries into the cemetery and we follow .
“He’s cheating on her in the cemetery?” Brenda cries out, appalled. “Has he no shame? Oh, my Lord. The pastor’s going to have a stroke. We need to call the police. This is a public act of indecency. Is he naked? How naked is he?”
“Shhh!” Pri-Annelise hisses. She sidles behind a row of hedges and we follow her, stealthily making our way through the cemetery until we spot Lucas.
He’s standing by the gravestone where Herman Whitfield is buried, pacing back and forth, talking on his phone. He’s not naked, of course; he’s wearing yet another of Jasper’s beautiful hand-tailored suits. He pauses to look around as if to see if anyone’s watching him, then resumes talking.
“You see?” Pri-Annelise says triumphantly. “You see what he’s doing? He’s talking to one of his girlfriends. He’s so busted!”
I can feel my thundering heart start to slow down again. I clasp my hand to my chest. “Whew.” I had genuinely been afraid I was going to see Lucas desecrating a grave with some new bimbo.
“I thought you said he was cheating on both of you and we were going to catch him in the act.” Brenda sounds disappointed. I’ve got to admit, this is pretty anti-climactic.
“Be glad we didn’t catch him buck naked on a gravesite,” I tell her.
From the look on Brenda’s face, I can’t tell if she’s relieved or let down. Probably a little of both.
“Well, obviously he’s on the phone with a woman. A woman that he’s screwing. Why else would he be trying to hide it?” Pri-Annelise huffs.
I can’t deny that Lucas is acting stealthy, but... “Does that conversation look romantic to you?” I ask her. “He looks angry and worried.”
“Worried that she’s going to come to town and find out who else he’s been cheating with.” Pri-Annelise bursts into tears again. “You rat bastard!” she shouts at him.
Lucas spins around and stares at us. Quickly, he shoves his phone into his pocket and storms over to us.
“What the heck are you doing here?” he demands, as we sheepishly step out from behind the hedges. “Can a man get a little privacy in this town?”
“No, obviously,” Brenda says. “Have you met people from this town?”
“Don’t you give me attitude, you cheating man-ho,” I snap at him.
“Excuse you, Jasper? We’re the ones who are being wronged here!” Pri-Annelise cries out, clasping her hands to her chest dramatically. “You’re cheating on both me and your mistress! Have you no shame? No decency? How could you do this to us? We’re heartbroken!”
“Okay, I’m out,” I say, and I turn and spin on my heel to stomp off.
“Who is she?” Pri-Annelise yells. “How many of us are there?”
“Brooke—I mean Susie—wait!” Jasper yells.
“Why are you chasing after her? I’m your fiancée. You pledged an oath to me!” Pri-Annelise shouts. “You bought me this ring!”
A wave of dizziness rolls over me, and I break into a run.
Who even is Brooke? Another one of his girlfriends? This is unbelievable. When I was growing up, everyone told me to stay away from Jasper. I thought they were wrong. I thought they were being judgemental and prejudiced about him because of his drunk, useless father.
Turns out I was the one who was wrong. How could I have been so blind?
I can hear Jasper’s shouts behind me as I burst out of the cemetery and run down the block .
Up ahead of me, I see Serena, the woman whose grandparents founded the hotel here. She looks strange. Her lipstick is a glaring red and clashes with her pink evening gown. Why is she wearing an evening gown in the middle of the day? Why is her blush orange?
“Brooke!” she snaps at me. “Hold up a minute!”
“Who’s Brooke?” I ask in bewilderment. “Jasper said that name too. Is that another one of his girlfriends? Seriously, how many does he have?”
Her hand lashes out and slaps me on the cheek. I stumble back, gasping in shock.
“Brooke!” she repeats.
I clasp my hand to my stinging cheek. “What? Why did you hit me?”
“Because you forgot who you were.”
I blink hard, and the fog clears from my brain. She’s right. I was completely in Susie’s head. A wave of terror rolls over me, and I suck in a gasp.
For a long minute there, I literally had no idea who I was. I wasn’t struggling with someone else’s memories; I was gone. I was Susie McGillicuddy through and through, with no trace of Brooke.
“Serena, what the hell?” Lucas is running up behind us, and he screeches to a halt. “Why did you hit her?”
“Because you weren’t available,” Serena says snidely. Then she fixes both of us with a ferocious glare. “We need to talk.”