In he walked, blushing fiercely. Catalina handed him a glass of champagne and stepped out of his way.
“Hi ladies,” he said. He cleared his throat and took a sip of champagne. Then he took another. And another. He cleared his throat again. “Can you tell I’m nervous?” he said. We all politely laughed or sighed or made little It’s okay type sounds. Even Shar and Nickie resisted from screaming out. I noticed that Nickie’s head was getting puffier and puffier, and she had rearranged her hair to try to hide the damage. She actually seemed to have been shamed into silence.
“I am humbled to see all you beautiful women here, for me. Like Catalina said, I’m ready to find love, settle down, and start a family. I hope you’re all serious about this journey we are about to embark on. Now, that’s enough serious talk. Let’s all toast to love and adventure!” He raised his glass and we all did too, clinking with whoever happened to be nearby. I was next to Shar and I could smell her sweaty armpit. I avoided hitting her glass. Even that felt like it would have been more charity than I was willing to throw her way.
“I will try to talk with all of you tonight, but if time is going by and I haven’t spoken to you yet, please come find me. Okay?” he said to all of us. We all nodded.
Catalina Cartwright stepped back in and took control of the conversation again: “Our entire season has been generously sponsored by Deluxe Jewelers. That means that each episode you don’t get eliminated, you will also be receiving gorgeous jewelry!”
We all clapped and squealed. Cue cards didn’t have to tell us to do so; we couldn’t help ourselves.
“Two of you will receive gold bracelets from Deluxe this evening, during this cocktail party. Bellamy will give them to the two ladies who make the biggest impression on him. If you receive a bracelet, you will be safe from elimination. At the end of the evening, there will be an elimination ceremony. Anyone not receiving a bracelet by that point will be going home. Three of you will be leaving tonight. Alright! Let’s get this party started!”
Shar wrestled her way through the crowd and took Bellamy’s arm. Vanessa and Shyla were on either side of me. We watched Bellamy and Shar disappear towards the pool.
“I am so drunk,” whispered Shyla.
“Me too,” I admitted.
“Me too,” said Vanessa.
“Did you see Nickie’s head?” I asked them.
“Which one is Nickie?” asked Vanessa.
“I’m not sure where she went… She was in the limo with me. She crushed a beer can on her head when she first met Bellamy,” I said.
“Tell me that kind of thing doesn’t impress him,” said Shyla.
“Speaking of Nickie, I think she might be going home already,” said Marissa, appearing in front of us with a worried look on her face.
“Really?” asked Shyla.
“Yeppers,” said Marissa. She flashed her teeth in a nervous, equine smile before turning serious again. “She was barfing in the bathroom and they think she might have a concussion, so they took her away.”
“Oh, cool,” said Shyla.
“That’s great news,” said Vanessa.
“I’ve gotta use the little girls’ room. Tootaloo,” said Marissa. She wiggled her fingers and ran away with her knees pressed together as if she might have an accident.
“Is it the dress or do you think she’s going to wet her pants?” I wondered aloud.
“It’s probably just that her dress is too tight. Have you noticed that her teeth are taller than she is,” said Shyla.
“Shhh! Stop being stupid, y’all! Here comes Bellamy,” said Vanessa.
“Hi ladies,” he said.
“Hi,” said Vanessa and Shyla. I just smiled a pitiful, crooked smile, having suddenly lost my confidence. Now, standing before us, he suddenly looked taller and more like the Bellamy of my dreams. Intimidating. Out of my league. I began to sweat. He was looking right at me. “Would you like to take a little walk with me, Emma?” He held out his hand.
“Sure, I’d love that,” I said. I was shocked that he was choosing me.
“How are you doing?” he asked, leading me away.
“Good. What about you?” I asked. He was holding my hand. This guy, the same guy I had just been watching on Betsy’s tiny television, was now holding my hand and we were walking along, being filmed, creating a television show of our own. I thought I might hyperventilate.
“I’m great. This is all pretty overwhelming, but I can’t complain,” he said. It seemed like we were having a normal conversation, but we weren’t. It was hard to ignore the camera people who were walking backwards in front of us as well as off to our side. One of them stumbled over a rock and fell on his butt, and we just kept walking like none of it was happening. “Let me tell you, Emma, you made quite the first impression!”
I smiled at Bellamy, unsure what to say. It was so much harder to talk with all these cameras on us. “I can’t take all the credit for that. Really, I can’t take any credit for that,” I added, laughing.
“But you handled it so well.”
“Oh really? Well, thanks. Um, so, did you like Patches? He can be a little intimidating when you first meet him. But he’s a real sweetie once he warms up to you.”
Bellamy laughed. “Patches? You are so funny! I think he would get along really well with my dog, Smurf.”
“Smurf. What a clever name,” I lied.
“Thanks,” he said, nodding enthusiastically.
“Patches goes by the nickname Smurf sometimes,” I said. “How will we keep the two of them straight?”
At that, Bellamy laughed and laughed some more. He stopped walking so he could focus on the laughter. Eventually he said, “Mine is a Schnauzer. I think we’ll be able to tell them apart.” I wasn’t sure why he was finding me so delightful, but at least he was.
“That’s a relief. I’d hate to put Smurf’s sweater on Patches, or vice versa,” I said. Bellamy laughed some more. I laughed too because I didn’t know what else to say. I felt like a total fool and was ashamed that this was all potentially going to be on TV. I pictured Rachel deleting me from her LinkedIn contacts as I tipped into the category of personal liabilities.
As Bellamy’s laughter finally tapered off, I was beginning to wonder what else he and I might find to talk about when suddenly a rectangular velvet box appeared. “Emma,” he said, “I knew right away that I wanted you to have this.” He opened the box and immediately three cameras were upon us. Inside the box was a gorgeous gold bracelet. Uh oh.
He was taking it out of the box. He was fumbling with the clasp. This went on and on. And on. He was putting it on my wrist. It slipped off my wrist and fell onto the ground. “Darn it all,” he mumbled, then looked up at me and smiled. Now he was returning it to my wrist and trying to hold it with his thumb while fastening it. Should I be helping him? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted it! Then again, it was a really nice bracelet. Now he was sweating. And fumbling with the clasp some more. One of the producers stepped in and attached it to my wrist. “Don’t worry, we’ll edit this part out,” she told us.
“Okay, thanks,” said Bellamy. He now looked very serious. “Emma, I knew right away that I wanted you to have this. Would you accept this Deluxe bracelet and continue on with me on a journey to love and happiness?”
What choice did I have at that point? “Of course I will, Bellamy,” I said.
Chapter 13
“It’s almost five o’clock,” Shyla whispered. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked like hell. She and Vanessa were sitting beside me. The rest of the girls were avoiding me. Vanessa, who had been similarly shunned when she received a bracelet, was on my left, chatting about vaccinations and how parents no longer wanted to give them to children. Neither Shyla nor I were really listening to her. She didn’t seem to care.
“Is this evening ever going to end?” asked Shyla.
“Please join me in the atrium,” said Catalina Cartwright, reappearing before us. She had changed into an orange one-shoulder gown with
a little train. She looked fresh and pretty. I suspected she’d been off some place sleeping for the past few hours. We all filed into the atrium, with Vanessa and me taking our places over in the safe zone away from the others. I tried to ignore the jealous glares. I wondered how Bellamy was going to fasten bracelets to all these wrists. It could take days.
He came in the room, catching my eye and smiling. Despite myself, I felt a little flutter of flattered excitement at the attention. The drunk, sleepy crowd had sprung back to life. There was a great deal of buzz over Nickie’s disappearance. Did this mean just two girls would be going home?
“As you know,” said Catalina Cartwright, “we already lost one contestant. Nickie was not feeling well and went home, and she will not be returning. Three more girls will be leaving tonight, leaving just sixteen of you.” Vanessa and I were happy to hear that, but everyone else’s face fell. Catalina smiled and turned to Bellamy. “Bellamy, go ahead please.”
“Hello,” he said. “It’s been great getting to know you all tonight. As you know, some of you are already safe.” He nodded over at Vanessa and me. We smiled. “Now I’m ready to choose which of the rest of you I would like to get to know better. Starting with Cashmere. Caj, would you accept this Deluxe Jewelers gold bracelet?”
“I will,” she said, smiling and stepping forward.
The producers must have anticipated that watching Bellamy fumble through bracelets would not make good television. They solved this dilemma by allowing him to simply hand boxes to the girls, who would then have the bracelet fastened off camera by a nimble fingered assistant.
“Jessica,” he said to the adorable red-headed Aussie, “would you accept this Deluxe Jewelers gold bracelet?”
“Absolutely,” she said in her cute accent.
“Shyla, would you like to accept this Deluxe Jewelers gold bracelet?”
“Yes!” she said. I was relieved that she would be sticking around.
Bellamy continued on, choosing Angélique next, then Mylar, then Amy, and, to my disappointment, Shar. He whittled down the competition until just four girls remained: Marissa, and three others I hadn’t spoken to. I didn’t think Marissa had a chance, but then, to my amazement, he gave the final bracelet to her, sending home three much prettier women. We were all impressed with his nonsuperficialness.
“Great job, ladies,” said Catalina Cartwright, stepping back out into the room. We looked around and Bellamy was gone. Production people began cleaning up the glasses and empty champagne bottles that were littering the room. I felt like we ought to be helping them, but none of the other contestants seemed to be thinking this so I refrained from doing anything.
“When you get back to your mansion,” said Catalina, “you’ll want to get as much sleep as you can. We’ll be back in action before you know it.”
An assistant opened the door and waved her hand at us. “This way! Over here! Come on!” We followed her outside where a big bus was waiting to take us home. “Pile on,” she said.
It was morning. We all looked ragged in the clear, pink light. With little to say we got on the bus and were delivered back to the ranch house. This time we were dropped off at the front door. We wandered around, trying to find where to sleep. I found a room with an empty bed and passed out on it, in my dress. Everyone else did the same. There were enough beds for everyone and we were all too tired to argue about where we ended up sleeping.
I was awakened periodically throughout the morning by the sounds of retching. None of us were doing well when Catalina Cartwright stopped by at two in the afternoon with a gold foil, embossed invitation. “Special delivery for the fab young ladies of Bellamy’s Redemption,” she said, smiling. She was wearing a pink mini-dress and bright purple Gladiator high-heels. They had gold buckles and went up over her knees. In my hung-over state, she looked garish and crazy. I’d been hoping when I heard the bell that she was a pizza delivery guy.
“Ooh! Open it, open it,” said one of the girls I hadn’t met yet. We were all now wearing casual clothes like yoga pants with tank tops or cut-off jeans with t-shirts. Half the girls seemed to have forgotten that we were always being filmed and looked downright ugly. Despite my pounding head, I hadn’t been so careless. I had on a cute little top and jeans, and just enough makeup to look pretty but natural. I also noticed that only a handful of us were still wearing the bracelets from last night. To me, this seemed like a bad move. Unappreciative. Even a little bratty, perhaps. Mine was on my wrist and I made a point to admire it now.
Shar grabbed the envelope and ripped it open. “Angélique,” she began, and then frowned. “I don’t want to read this.” She threw it down on the floor and went into the kitchen.
“I’ll read it,” I said, stepping forward and picking it off the floor. “Angélique, Paris may be the city of love, but I think we can find love here as well. I will pick you up at 6 pm. Look stunning (I know you will). ~ Bellamy.” I handed it to her. “Congratulations, Angélique,” I added.
“Sank you,” she murmured, rushing off to get ready.
“So what does this mean for the rest of us?” asked Marissa, slumping down into the sofa. “We’re just going to sit around here, waiting for something to happen?”
“Have you seen the pool? It’s amazing. We could go swimming,” said Shyla.
“It’s too cold,” said Marissa.
“We could sunbathe,” said Shyla. “I brought a ton of cute suits. I think they want us to wear them as much as possible. Right?”
“It’s too cold today,” Marissa snapped. “I’m used to Miami. It’s freezing here compared to Miami.”
“Is it true that we can’t watch television?” asked Mylar.
“Well, look around,” said a contestant whose name I didn’t know. “Do you see any televisions?”
“No,” said Mylar, sadly.
“This sucks,” said Marissa. She stood up and stretched, showing off her jiggly spare tire. Then she self-consciously yanked her shirt back down into place.
“I miss Cason,” said Mylar.
“Is that your boyfriend?” asked Marissa.
“No. Of course not! He’s my son.”
“What’s Bellamy going to do if he finds out you have a son?” asked Marissa.
“He already knows. And as you can see, he kept me around. In fact, I showed him a picture of the little guy and he said he couldn’t wait to meet him.”
“I guess that just goes to show what a great guy Bellamy is,” said Marissa. “Most guys would run for the hills if they found out someone they were going to date had kids. Even if guys like kids, they want their own kids. Not someone else’s.”
“Not all guys are like that,” said Mylar.
“Most are,” said Marissa.
“Maybe, but Cason is amazing. He’s not just any kid.”
“Everyone thinks that about their own kid, but they’re wrong.”
“Whatever! Were you scared when you were picked last?” asked Mylar.
“No way,” said Marissa. “I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going to pick me. He saved the best for last. And you know what else they say? Good things come in small packages.”
“I’m going to make cupcakes, if anyone wants to join me,” said Cashmere. “Delores, do you want to help me?”
“Sure,” said a waif-like girl who looked about nineteen. Her hair was long and so pale blonde it was nearly white. She gave it a twist and stuck a pen in it to hold it in place. The rest of the girls continued complaining and bickering, so I decided to go to my room and take a nap. As I began to doze off, the tantalizing aroma of baked goods filled the house. My mouth began to water. How positively sneaky! I went to my luggage and gobbled up a small packet of almonds to combat the images of dancing cupcakes that were overtaking my brain. There was no way I was going to cave in to that schemer’s scheme! Not when the threat of having to wear a bathing suit on air loomed over us at all times. I returned to my bed and slept for another hour. When I awoke and went out into the living
room, cupcake crumbs and sprinkles were littering every surface.
Caj and Delores were still in the kitchen, hard at work. “We’ve got some red velvet that will be ready in five minutes, and some chocolate I just frosted with cream cheese icing,” said Caj, smiling sweetly at me. “There are a few vanilla funfetti ones left, too, if you’re quick,” she added. Then she broke out in song: “Some say love, it is a cupcake, that soothes, the taste bud’s need…Some say funfetti, is the tastiest, there are three left, give them a try…”
“No there aren’t,” said Shar, cramming one in her mouth and taking the other two into the bathroom with her.
“Oh, bummer. Funfetti is my favorite,” I said. “I guess I’ll have to find something healthy to eat instead.” I looked through the refrigerator, settling on some yogurt and a salad. Caj looked annoyed with my choices. Delores was too busy whisking batter to care what was happening around her. We could hear Shar gagging in the bathroom.
“If you puke those up you won’t get any more,” yelled Caj.
“Oh man! I can hear her. How incredibly disgusting,” said Shyla. She set down her half-finished cupcake in a sea of discarded cupcake liners and champagne glasses.
“Delores, where are you from?” I asked her.
“Oakland,” she said.
Bellamy's Redemption Page 13