‘We’re from Ireland,’ Greta said. ‘In fact, my name is Greta Gale. Like yours.’
‘You’re joshing me.’
‘No, honestly, I’m not pretending. I really am called Greta Gale.’
‘Well ain’t that a hoot? Come here and give me a big squeeze, darlin’.’
Ray had to push Greta forward again, because all of a sudden she seemed to have lost the use of her legs.
‘You’ve really come all this way from Ireland to see little old me?’ Dr Gale asked, as she embraced Greta.
‘Yes. I’m your number one fan. I bet people say that to you all the time.’
Dr Gale nodded, for it was true. She was beloved.
‘Sometimes it’s as if your Instagram posts speak to me. They’ve kind of saved my life more than once,’ Greta added shyly.
‘Oh darlin’, that’s so kind of you to say.’
‘And I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for my Uncle Ray. He organized everything. He booked the tickets and here we are—’
‘Well isn’t your Uncle Ray a darlin’ too.’
Now it was Billie’s turn to push Ray forward. He stood in front of Dr Gale and gave a little bow, blushing bright red as he did.
‘Gosh, I never knew the Irish were so formal with all your bowing and curtsying. I thought that was just in England for the Queen!’ Dr Gale glanced in Dylan’s direction so he thought he’d better bow too.
Billie held her hand up. ‘I’m from Kansas. So don’t be expecting any of that from me.’
This made Dr Gale laugh and even Brad was smiling.
‘Is there something you want to ask me?’ Dr Gale asked.
‘Are you happy? Or just Insta happy?’ Greta asked.
‘I am. Not every day. But most. I have a good life. I work hard and I try not to sweat the small stuff. I have to clean my cupboard out every now and then. But I told you that earlier in my show.’
‘I’m glad you’re happy,’ Greta said.
‘Thank you, darlin’. As for Instagram, you know that’s all smoke and mirrors, right?’ She pointed to her wig. ‘It takes hours to get me show-ready. I’m not a natural beauty like you are.’
Had Dr Gale called her a natural beauty? Greta grabbed hold of Ray in shock.
‘And what about you, Greta, are you happy?’
‘I’ve had some stuff in my cupboard that fell out recently,’ Greta admitted.
‘We all have,’ Ray said, and Billie and Dylan nodded in agreement.
‘Well, you’d better take a seat and have a visit. Tell me everything. Brad, don’t just stand there, go get us all a cold drink.’
Greta told her about the cyclone of addiction she’d been in, her stint in rehab, the hooded man who terrorized her nights and her quest to find herself. Ray told her that his life lacked colour in Ireland, because he’d been stupid enough to let opportunity and love pass him by. Billie told her that she was afraid to open her heart to love, because of the aftermath of her father’s death. Dylan admitted that he was scared to follow his dream to be a singer and songwriter, letting his stutter hold him back, ever since his dad died. And between them, they told her about their epic road trip, across six states, which led them to her.
‘Oh my,’ Doctor Gale said. She stood up and began to pace the floor. ‘You’ve all been on quite the adventure. But you know, the greatest adventure of our lives is finding out who we truly are, on the inside.’
She stopped in front of Dylan. ‘I think when you travelled to the other side of the world to support your friend, it showed great courage. You are braver than you give yourself credit for. Yes, sometimes terrible things happen for no reason. But I have a suspicion that if you allow yourself to follow that dream of yours, if you find the courage to sing again, something wonderful might happen.’
‘I’ll tttry,’ Dylan said.
‘And you Billie. What a strong woman you are. Not just in those splendid muscles you have, but also here.’ She tapped Billie’s chest. ‘You said you are afraid to open your heart again. It’s already wide open, darlin’. Just look at how you take care of your mama and your friends here. You have nothing to fear from love. Embrace your vulnerability.’
‘I’ll try to,’ Billie promised.
‘And you sir,’ Doctor Gale said. ‘I think you are the cleverest of them all, aren’t you? You know, I’ve met many learned people, with degrees and doctorates, but they don’t have a single bit of common sense between them. Just listening to you share your story, and hearing what your friends and niece have to say, shows me that while you may not have gone to university, you are graduating life with top marks. I think you need to move past the fear of judgement you have. Get out of your own way and start believing in yourself. It’s time to come out from the shadows into the sunshine.’
‘I give you my word that I will,’ Ray said.
‘And now my Irish namesake. First and foremost, you need to stop being afraid of the darkness. If you wait long enough, the sunshine always comes. I think you know already that you don’t need pills to help you sleep. As for working out who Greta Gale is? Well, darlin’, you are on the right path to finding that out already. Stay true to your authentic self. Be kind to yourself. Follow your dreams. Surround yourself with people who love you. Know your own worth. Learn from your mistakes. And remember that you only have one precious life. Make it the very best version you can. From what you’ve told me, you’ve been doing just that over the past few weeks. You don’t need my help, darlin’. You’ve had the power within yourself all along.’
Chapter 36
With books signed, photographs taken and promises of further meet-ups if Doctor Greta Gale was ever in Ireland, they said their goodbyes to their heroine. Then they went back to their rooms to get ready for dinner, each of them thinking about the doctor’s advice.
Greta smiled all the way through her shower. She had the power herself. Just like Dorothy had.
But that wasn’t true. Yet. She had to do something first of all.
With a bath towel wrapped around herself, she pulled out the box of sleeping aids from her handbag, placing the pills in the sink, one by one. Then she turned the tap on. It was time to melt her Wicked Witch of the West. She held her breath as the water dissolved them to nothing.
Ding Dong the witch was finally dead.
She had never felt so powerful in her whole life. Tonight was going to be a celebration. She didn’t need drugs or alcohol to have fun. She just needed her friends.
Greta decided to wear the dress she bought in Manhattan the previous week. It was silver grey midi tea-dress, with cap sleeves. There was a tiny dove print in white that almost looked like a polka dot. She hadn’t had the courage to wear it up to now. She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself, turning sideways and twisting around so she could see her bum.
She wasn’t thin. She never would be. But having seen dozens of super-thin, sculpted women on stage at Billie’s bodybuilding competition, she realized she didn’t want to be like that either. On the other hand, she knew that she couldn’t continue her self-sabotage of the previous year. As Susan said, she needed to find her middle ground between the two extremes of the Haley women. She wanted to live. And right now, she felt like that was possible.
She thought about Dylan. Did he like-like her, as Ray suspected? Or did he just like her? She wanted to find out. And if they were meant to be just friends, that was OK. Because she knew now that she was ready to let someone into her life. Every time someone showed any interest in her, she always pushed them away, letting cruel thoughts dictate.
He must only like me because he has a fetish for big girls.
He’ll run for the hills if he sees me naked.
If we have sex, I’ll probably squash him to death.
And then she saw it. A large green pear sitting at the top of a fruit bowl on the table by the window. Its skin was almost perfect. But it had a small brown blemish near the single stem on top. She touched it and realized that despite thi
s imperfection, it was still quite beautiful. In fact this blemish gave it character. Only a few months ago she’d looked at another pear in a hotel room in London, feeling wretched, despondent, desperate. So much had changed since that day. Greta had learned on this yellow-brick road trip to her, that sometimes the best moments in life came when things had gone a bit pear-shaped …
Greta stood in front of the mirror and spoke in a loud, clear voice, slowly, letting the words bounce around the room. ‘I can’t put off loving myself until I reach the perfect size. Because that doesn’t exist. But I exist. I’m here. And I promise to love all of me. Every perfectly imperfect pear-shaped bit of me. I am enough. Just as I am right now. I am worthy of love.’
And then she left the room. She was ready to meet Ray, Billie and Dylan. The days of hiding in hotel rooms, while the rest of the world partied, were over.
‘Wow, you look fancy,’ Billie said when Greta met them in reception.
‘I felt fancy tonight,’ Greta said with a smile. ‘I even put on lip gloss.’ She did a twirl.
‘You look beautiful. Both of you do,’ Ray said. ‘I don’t know how I managed to snare two of the prettiest ladies as dates …’
‘Such a charmer,’ Billie teased, but she gave him a kiss of appreciation.
‘Where’s Dylan?’ Greta asked, looking at her watch. It wasn’t like him to be late.
‘He’s around. He said we should meet him outside at the fountains,’ Ray said.
‘Oh, good idea. I can’t wait to see the fountain show with all the lights of the Strip,’ Greta said.
They walked outside and found a spot in between a group of tourists.
‘The show happens every thirty minutes, so the next one should be soon,’ Billie said.
‘Make a wish,’ Ray said, handing each of them a fifty-cent piece.
‘How many people make wishes at this fountain, only to have them sink to the bottom of the concrete floor never to come true?’ Greta asked.
‘I think that for some, no matter how many coins they throw in the fountain, or how many fingers they cross, if it’s not meant to be, it just won’t happen,’ Billie replied.
‘Well on that cheery note …’ Ray said. ‘Actually, hang on a minute. Rather than think about the ones that don’t come true, why don’t we focus on the ones that do? Close your eyes and make a wish, both of you. Go on, give it a try. Goodness knows it’s about time one of us had our turn.’
Greta closed her eyes and felt like a child once more, blowing out her candles or throwing coins into a wishing well. Ray was right. She flicked the coin into the water and wished that Dylan …
‘Hhhhello.’
‘Holy shit this fountain is good,’ Greta whispered, opening her eyes and seeing him standing before her.
‘You lllook beautiful, Silver Lady. Nice dress.’
She felt a blush go from her forehead down to her neck.
They inched closer.
Dylan took a deep breath and tried to steady his mind. He knew what he wanted to tell her. What he had travelled thousands of miles to say and practised in his head dozens of times. But wanting to say something didn’t always result in him actually spitting it out.
He was in love with Greta Gale and had been for nearly two years. He was pretty sure she had no clue about this fact. He was good at keeping secrets. The moment he realized he loved her was during rehearsals for the Grayson Castle Midsummer Murders show. She was playing the part of the vicar’s wife. And in the middle of a scene, she tripped and fell. Everyone went quiet, shocked. But Greta sat up, and she laughed with her whole being. Her eyes, her body, every part of her just filled with mirth, and it was infectious. Everyone in the room roared along with her until they all held their sides, they were bellowing so much. And Dylan thought to himself, I want to hear that laugh for the rest of my life.
Dylan had fantasized about telling her how he felt so many times. But something always kept him back. Someone like Greta would never go for someone like him. He was a tall skinny guy, with a nose that was too big for his face and a mop of curls that refused to be tamed. Whereas she was beautiful, bubbly and funny, and everyone liked being around her. She shone.
‘I thought iiiit was time for an Ultimate Ro-ro-ro …’
Greta tried to convey in a smile that she was happy to wait as long as Dylan needed to say his words, without interruption.
‘Ro-rromantic Gesture!’ Dylan finished with a grin.
‘If this is a Forrest Gump URG, like the time Jenny and he jumped into the lake in Washington, you can forget about it,’ Greta said. ‘Just to be clear, I’m not getting into that water.’
‘Noted. Plus we might ggget arrested if we did.’
They took another step closer.
‘Friends who are in love make the best Ultimate Romantic Gestures. It’s a well-known fact,’ Dylan said, without a single stutter.
‘Friends who are in love?’ Greta whispered.
‘That’s what he said,’ Ray jumped in, trying to be helpful. Billie clutched his arm in delight. She was practically hopping up and down on the spot with excitement.
‘So what’s the big URG then?’ Greta asked, her heart thumping so loudly she was sure everyone on the Strip must be listening.
‘The fact that the boy flew halfway around the world to surprise you?’ Billie said. ‘Honestly, Greta, what more do you want?’
Dylan smiled and said, ‘Yes. That. But there’s more.’ He pulled a guitar from behind his back.
‘Where did you get that?’ Greta asked.
‘I borrowed it from Big Bad Dddom.’
‘Are you going to sing?’ she whispered.
He nodded. ‘You keep asking me wwww … why I call you Silver Lady. Here’s why.’
Dylan started to strum the guitar.
Things like this didn’t happen to Greta Gale. Not the Irish one, at least, who hadn’t had an interesting thing happen to her since 1995. She looked over to Ray and Billie, who were in each other’s arms, swaying to the music.
‘Can he sing?’ Billie whispered to Ray.
‘I’ve no idea, but I don’t think it matters,’ Ray replied.
Dylan wasn’t sure he could do this. Even as he strummed the opening bars to the song, he was thinking about abandoning his last URG card. But then he looked at Greta in her silver dress, the lights of the Bellagio behind her, framing her face. She looked like an angel. And he thought about how brave she’d been over the past couple of months. He didn’t want to be a coward any longer. He wanted to be fierce and fearless, someone Greta could see as something other than a friend. Someone that she might love.
He heard a “whoop whoop” from Billie. Then a deep bellow of laughter followed from Ray. This was it. He blew a curl from his face and started to sing ‘Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
‘Bloody hell. He’s good,’ Ray said.
‘He’s more than good,’ Billie said.
Dylan’s eyes locked onto Greta’s and, for them both, everyone else faded. It was only them and the words in the song. She’d heard it sung by many different artists, but she’d never really listened to the lyrics properly. And she realized with each line, the song was her story. And Dylan’s too. He was on her side, drying her eyes whenever she was weary. With every word he sung, she knew he was making a promise to her.
In times of difficulty, he would bring her solace.
Then he stopped strumming the guitar, and he sang unaccompanied, his voice strong. The words of the next verse rang out into the night air, promising Greta that her dreams were about to come true. And then she heard Dylan’s name for her: Silver Girl. It was from this song! She brushed the tears away from her face. She was not going to miss this moment with blurred vision! He started to play the guitar again, and by this time the crowd that had gathered began to sing the chorus with him too. When he finished the last note, he took the final two steps towards her. The crowd around them erupted into thunderous applause, but both of them were oblivious to it, only se
eing each other.
‘Your voice … it’s incredible,’ Greta said.
He grinned. Then grabbed her hand, holding it between his. ‘I love you.’
She looked at his tousled curly hair that had grown long and needed a trim, at the start of stubble that had appeared on his chin, and the shirt he wore that could do with an iron.
She felt a jolt. She might as well have been struck by lightning. Greta had been walking around in a trance for years, but at this moment, this perfectly crazy wonderful moment, she was ready to wake up.
‘To make this Ultimate Romantic Gesture work, you need to do one more thing,’ she whispered.
‘What’s that?’
‘You have to kiss me.’
Chapter 37
The four of them spent the evening together. They ate, they gambled, winning and losing until they broke even. They sat together in the bar at the Bellagio, chatting and laughing, listening to the pianist who sang to them. There was magic in the air that night, and they all felt it.
And when Greta checked Instagram and saw Dr Gale’s post, she squealed with excitement.
The photograph she had posted was of the five of them taken earlier, all together in her green room. The doc in the middle of Greta, Ray, Dylan and Billie.
drgretagale Photo of the day. I found my Irish cousins and my namesake. There’s a new Greta Gale in town, y’all! And she’s quite delightful.
#family #allthatmattersisfamily #strength #heart #courage #love #power #home #intelligence #positivethoughts #instaquotes #canIgetahellyeah #strong #mindfulness #inspire #quotestagram
That night Dylan stayed in Greta’s room with her and this time he took off more than his shoes when he got into bed with her. And Greta was awake for every delicious moment. There were no nightmares that night. In fact, she slept in his arms without waking once until seven a.m. when their alarm went off.
Dylan’s perfect execution of an Ultimate Romantic Gesture prompted Ray to grab some of the magic for himself. He’d shared a room with Billie for the past couple of nights and being by her side twenty-four/seven made him feel alive. Unlike any other time in his life. She seemed happy too. So he dared to believe that they had a future together. The only problem was, whenever he tried to discuss what might happen next with her, she shut him down.
My Pear-Shaped Life: The most gripping and heartfelt page-turner of 2020! Page 26