Chapter 35
I DON’T WANNA BE MABEL
My phone rings, but it’s currently lost in a sea of used-up tissues. I run my hands beneath the pile of snot rags, and find it, seeing DEVIN on the caller ID.
Devin dumped me over the phone.
I know how that feels.
“Quinn, you damn genius.”
I scratch the clump of uncombed hair on the side of my head. “What?”
Devin’s voice has no effect on me anymore, and so when he laughs uproariously, I pull the phone away from my ear and wince. Crying nonstop has the same effect as being hungover. My body aches, my head is killing me, and I kind of want to curl into the fetal position and sleep endlessly.
“I watched the first cut you sent in last night,” he says.
I edited through my heartache and submitted the film to the scoring department last night. I didn’t think Devin would watch it all the way through until it’s scored, so his call is surprising.
“You… It’s not scored yet.” I rub my eyes again and peer down at the phone screen. It’s nearing ten in the morning.
He laughs again. “You’re right. You know me, Quinn.
I don’t usually watch the film before it’s scored.
Music adds so much to the storylines, but I caught the first few frames, and wow,” he sighs.
“You really made quite the film about Landry Vaughn. And the two of you,” he says, a smile in his voice that sets my spine on edge.
“You two add so much. The viewers will love it. And when you dump him, his career will really skyrocket.”
“What?”
“Women love heartbroken hunks. They’ll eat him up, and maybe we can milk a part two out of this thing.” He thinks aloud, humming. “Maybe The Comeback Rider is the first one, and the second one is The Comeback Cowboy.”
I swing my legs out of the bed and get to my feet. “I’m not… No, there’s not going to be a second movie,” I breathe, getting to my feet, pacing the room.
He continues to tell me how great my work is, but now? I don’t care. I know it’s a good film. I know that I didn’t let those calls from Jenna affect my work. I rose above. I made a wonderful film despite it all. Who cares what Devin thinks?
“Do you know when the premiere in Sable Sky is? I’ve been asking for weeks. I want to get ready for it.”
He clicks around, and I envision him in his chinos and blue collared shirt, behind his desk, the San Francisco skyline eating up his large windows. He doesn't deserve an office like that.
“I sent the email over. And I sent another one, too. I think you’ll be pretty happy.” He wants feedback, I can tell, because Devin is always someone that needs his head patted. “Open your email now, I wanna hear your reaction.”
My laptop has been on the charger since I finished editing the other night and I don’t feel like getting it out, so instead I pull my phone away from my face and tap the mail app.
Two new emails rest at the top, both from Devin.
My eyes scan every word of the first email. I glance back at my closed bedroom door, wondering why Mabel never said a word to me about this. “The premiere is at the Sable Sky Inn?”
Devin confirms. “Yep. I think the local barbeque is catering. The equipment is overnighted and should be there tomorrow.”
I swallow against the knot in my throat, and keep scrolling until I see— “It’s in three days? Will the scoring and titles be done? That feels so soon.”
Devin laughs. “I never did understand you, Quinn.” Uh, no shit. “You’ve been wanting to know when the local premiere is, and I’m telling you.”
“It just… feels rushed.” I tread toward the window and tug the gauzy curtain back. I hadn’t noticed because I’ve been in my own head but… the inn is cleaned up. Weeds are cleared, succulents are repotted, awnings are out. The place looks quaint but beautiful.
“We gotta get your local premiere done so we can get you to the Indie Film Festival.” He pauses, and I run his words back because I’m so distracted.
“I don’t know if I’m in yet.”
“You’re in. I shared the clips you’ve been sending the last few months and they loved it. After I finished watching last night, I sent a few more clips in. The Comeback Rider is officially a selection to be entered into the Indie Film Awards.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Now, I have brunch plans but check out that second email.”
I exit the first and click the second, seeing a routing number and account number, along with a congratulatory email. “Your bonus,” he says, as my eyes land on the eight-thousand-dollar pay out.
“Thank you,” I reply as I stare at that number.
Before all of this, I thought about buying something fancy for myself, as a gift, as a way of proving to myself that I make good films and don’t need a man to tell me that.
But after falling for Landry, I told myself that if I got a bonus for this film, I’d help Landry’s ranch back to life.
“Peep that subject line. It’s a joke, but still, I thought you’d like it.”
My eyes lift to the subject line where I read, ANNULMENT BONUS.
Those two words make bile leap up my throat and sting my tongue. “That’s not funny, Devin.”
He laughs. “Oh, lighten up.”
There’s a knock on the door, and since it’s just me and Mabel here, I make the choice to end the call with Devin in favor of Mabel.
“I have to go. I’m… glad you enjoyed the film. Thank you for submitting me to the awards. And… I’ll let you know when the film, screen, and equipment arrives.”
“Great.”
We don’t even say goodbye, and I’m not sure either of us even care.
“Come in, Mabel.” Taking a seat in the tissues on the edge of the bed, Mabel enters wearing an apprehensive smile.
“Hiya, honey.”
“Hi.” I flop back on the bed and blink up at her. “Thanks for hosting the premiere.”
She smiles. “I wanted to tell you but… you’ve been working so much.” She tips her head sideways a touch, taking in the litany of Kleenexes scattered about. “Looks like you’ve been cryin’ as much as you’ve been working.”
I nod, my chin growing wobbly at just the mention of my situation.
Mabel shoves the tissues aside and sits next to me, and she even goes so far as to flop onto her back right by my side. We watch the ceiling fan spin lazy circles for a few minutes.
“How’d your boss like the first cut of The Comeback Rider?
” Mabel asks, because while I’ve been holed up crying and only sneaking out to hang with my favorite six-year-old, I’ve also been fed and had my clothes laundered by Mabel.
Not to mention she pops her head in every so often and checks on me, and makes sure to keep the devil rooster far from my door.
Mabel is like my mom away from home, though if I told my mom that, she’d run out and get Botox, no doubt.
“Absolutely loved it. Sent it to scoring right away.” I twist my head and bat at a few tissues that stand between our faces so I can see her. “Scoring is music.”
She rolls her eyes playfully. “I know that.” She nudges me. “Honey, I’ve been trying really hard to give you your space but… what in the world is going on with you and Landry?”
I stare at the ceiling fan again, wishing for a second I could be an inanimate object that feels no heartache, no confusion, just spins blindly for all of time.
I let out a sigh that sends some tissues to the floor.
“You know I married him to help him out, but everything turned very real between us.”
“Oh, I called that on day one.” Outside, Mr. McCharger has finally realized Mabel is missing, and begins squawking angrily in the halls. “Ignore him. Come on. Tell me the rest.”
I don’t know exactly where to start, and I’m not comfortable vilifying him because I don’t feel that way. I’m hurt but I don’t hate him. I’m confused, not over him. Instead of semantics and preamble, I cut to the chase.
“Some woman named Jenna wants to bang his brains out. I went out the other day to get him heating wraps for his neck and when I came back, Jenna was there and she was all flirty with him. Landry has assured me that he is not attracted to her, and that’s why they only ever went on one date.
” I sit up, cross my legs, and tuck my hair behind my ears.
“But my gut was just… unhappy. So… I went through his phone.”
Mabel sits up and squints. “That doesn’t seem like you, Quinn.”
I shrug. “I know, I just… had this weird feeling.”
Mabel waits, and I get the courage to tell her what I found. “There were all these call logs between Landry and Jenna and… he was calling her. Every time.”
When she brings her hand to her mouth and her eyes widen, that’s when I really feel bad. “And then when I confronted him, he didn’t explain himself. He just asked that I trust him.”
Mabel blinks, but her hand falls away from her mouth, and her confusion smooths into something like blurry understanding. “And you said?”
I shake my head. “I needed to know why he was calling her behind my back and he couldn’t tell me. I left. I came here.” I catch my head in my hands and manage another bout of tears, even though I’m certain there cannot be many more left inside me.
Mabel strokes her hand down my hair. “I can’t wait to see your film.”
I bob my head and sob.
“Hey, hon,” she says softly, urging my gaze up to hers. I swipe an errant tear and blink into the eyes of one of the nicest people I’ve met. Her smile is slow. “Can I take you to the kitchen for a minute?”
“Oh, I’m not hungry at all, Mabel,” I tell her, “but thank you, though. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
She waves me off. “None of that. C’mon. It’s not about food. It’s about your cowboy.”
Somehow, that gets me on my feet and into the kitchen—but only after Mabel goes out first, letting Mr. McCharger into the coop to leave my poor ankles alone.
In the kitchen, there are wildflowers in vases everywhere, a card attached to each. My eyes sting, and I look at Mabel, who's watching me. “He came by three times a day, all week, just leaving you flowers and notes, in case you decided to come out.”
My chin wobbles. “But… Why was he calling someone else?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t tell you that. I don’t know. I do know that Landry Vaughn loves fiercely, and I’m not bribing you to forgive that man if you’re not ready, or if it’s not right. But I am thinkin’ that a man who doesn’t care about someone doesn’t behave this way. You know?”
I bob my head. “I know. But he called her so many times! And Doris lost her man to a buckle bunny and—”
Mabel’s lips form a thin line as she stops me with a halting hand. “Doris? Do you mean Doris at the market?”
I nod.
Mabel rolls her eyes. “She just won’t shut the hell up about it already. It was twenty years ago! I wasn’t a buckle bunny— Norris was my high school sweetheart! I had him first!”
My brain spins. “Norris was your great love?” I press a shocked hand to my chest since I didn’t bring clutchable pearls. “And you had an affair?”
“An affair!” Mabel smacks the dinner table with her palm, making flowers rattle in their vases. “Did she tell you that?”
I wobble my head. “That was the insinuation if I remember correctly.”
“They weren’t married. Norris and I were together for years, then we had a little hiccup. We broke up for, I don't know, maybe a month? And in that time, she weaseled her way into his life. But he never stopped loving me.”
“So wait, they’re not together, but you two aren’t together, either?”
Mabel starts pulling cards from the vases, and I trail after her, collecting them as she hands them back to me.
“When we broke up, I didn't start a romance with someone else. I took time to think about what I wanted from life. When he didn’t do the same, I figured he wasn’t the one for me after all. ”
I open one card, and all it says inside is “I miss you, come home.” I shove it under my arm and keep following her, ignoring the sudden tightness at the back of my nose, and in my chest too.
“Were you right?”
She lowers a vase of peonies and lilacs to the side table. Her eyes are more serious than I’ve ever seen them when she looks at me. “No. I was wrong. He was wrong. And we were both too stubborn to admit it. So now I run an inn with an ugly rooster and play Cupid when I get a guest.”
“Oh, Mabel,” I sigh, shaking my head. Then we hug in the kitchen, surrounded by flowers from a man who I love, while a rooster who I hate loses his little mind outside.
And I decide, right then and there, to talk to Landry.
Because I love Mabel, but I don’t want to run an inn and live with a devil chicken.