Before It Stains

by R. E. Bradshaw

  “Well, her bedroom doesn’t stay very empty. You should see the one she’s been dating. She looks like Charlize Theron. She’s a veterinarian. Lives in the southwest, I think, a long distance relationship. That appears to be the way she likes them, at a distance. Still pining for her first love, you.”

  “That’s your fantasy, Randy, not hers. If I was single, I would probably be the same way.”

  Randy patted her hand. “Ah, but you are single, at the moment anyway. Give it a whirl, it might be fun.”

  “I’m not going to sleep with Molly to get back at Mo. That is not a very mature way to handle things.”

  “You don’t have to sleep with her, but if you tell Mo you’ve seen Molly, she’ll snap to attention, that’s for sure.”

  “You’re the one that always brings Molly up around Mo. You do it because it drives her crazy.”

  “I think Mo needs to be reminded on occasion that you had other options. Since you don’t seem to be capable of that, I do it for you. I bet she is climbing the walls right now. I just sent her a picture of you hugging Molly.”

  “You didn’t!”

  Randy smiled mischievously. “I most certainly did. Don’t tell me you don’t want her wondering what you’re up to. She texted me just before you got here, wanting to know what female lawyer was taking you to lunch. Now, how did she know that unless you told her? I know you, Steph. You didn’t have the guts to tell her outright. You told her you were seeing a lawyer, but stopped short of saying it was Molly. Chicken shit!”

  Randy’s phone vibrated on the table. “Ah, and here comes the reply.”

  Stephanie leaned over trying to read the message on the screen. Randy moved the phone so she couldn’t see.

  “What did she say?” Stephanie asked, more interested than she thought she’d be at Mo’s reaction.

  “I believe she’s telling me to kiss part of her anatomy and then she would like to have sex with me.”

  He turned the phone around so Stephanie could see. The picture had done its appointed duty. Mo was livid.

  Mo wrote, “Kiss my ass, Randy. FUCK YOU!”

  Randy put his finger to his chin and looked up at the ceiling. “Hum. How should I respond?”

  Stephanie had to admit she was glad Randy had done what she wanted to do, make Mo worry. She delighted in Mo’s reaction to the picture, but tried to hide it.

  “Tell her it’s just a meeting to go over her contract.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Randy said, a little too loudly. Other patrons turned to look at them. He lowered his voice. “She needs a dose of reality and if you’re not going to give it to her, I will.”

  He started typing fast. Stephanie couldn’t see his response, but with his wit, it was sure to be a stinging retort. He hit send, laughing.

  Stephanie was almost afraid to ask. “What did you say?”

  Randy showed her the message on the screen. “They always did make such a cute couple. Look, even their hair color matches.”

  Mo’s answer popped up, before Randy took the phone away. “Tell her to answer the phone. I know she’s there with you.”

  Stephanie’s phone started vibrating. She pulled it out of her pocket and once again declined the call.

  “Good girl,” Randy said, and then read aloud as he typed into his phone. “Sorry, no cellphone calls in the dining room. I can send more pics if you want.”

  Stephanie laughed. Randy brought out a devilish streak in her and encouraged her to do and say things she wouldn’t normally, like now, when she held up her middle finger and said, “Hey, send this.”

  “Now, we’re talking.” Randy snapped the picture and sent it, just as Molly walked back to the table.

  “I see you two have not changed in the least,” Molly said, as she took her seat. “Let me guess, you’re antagonizing Mo. I don’t know how she survived all these years with the two of you ganging up on her.”

  Randy waved a hand in the air. “She’ll live. It’s nothing she doesn’t deserve, at the moment.”

  Stephanie suddenly wondered how much information Randy had relayed to Molly. Her answer came with Molly’s next statement.

  “That brings us to why we’re all here. First of all, Stephanie, I’m sorry. I never imagined this would happen to you and Mo. I hope things work out for the best. Now, about this contract with the agent, I made a few phone calls. I don’t think there will be any problem getting Mo out of it.”

  “What makes you say that?” Stephanie asked, forgetting that Randy had discussed her personal life with, of all people, Molly.

  “I Googled this woman and found out who her father is. He’s a big time agent with a huge clientele. The last thing he wants is a sexual harassment suit against his daughter, not good for business. At least, that’s what one of his lawyers told me, in confidence. We went to law school together. It pays to know who you’re dealing with.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  Randy reached under the table, picking up his briefcase. He opened it, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Stephanie. “This letter went out to Michaela, today. It was also faxed to her father’s office, as he has interest in her vanity agency. It appears the business is a way to keep Michaela out of Daddy’s hair.”

  Stephanie opened the envelope. On Kincaid Law Firm stationary, the letter stated Mo’s intentions of suing Michaela for the entire amount of her studio contract, as well as asking for damages caused by the stress Michaela put Mo’s family through. Molly had signed the letter.

  Molly waited for Stephanie to finish reading. When she raised her eyes from the paper, Molly spoke.

  “It won’t be long, now. We’ll be hearing back from them very soon. They’ll want to stop us from actually filing the suit, to keep it out of the media. I was assured that once Daddy saw the letter, Mo’s contract would be null and void, probably with a healthy offer to hush Mo up. I wish Mo had come to Randy, before it went this far. We could have ended this a lot sooner, but I’m sure she had her reasons for using a different law firm.”

  Stephanie smiled. “Yes, she had her reasons.” She and Molly exchanged looks of understanding. “Thank you, Molly. I don’t know how to repay you.”

  A grin lit up Molly’s face. “No repayment necessary, but if things don’t work out with Mo give me a call.” Molly winked and then stood up. “I have to go, now. It was really good to see you.”

  “You’re not staying for lunch?” Stephanie asked.

  “No, I have some business to take care of in Texas. I should have left this morning, but I wanted to see you.”

  Stephanie stood and hugged Molly tightly.

  Molly returned the embrace and then whispered into Stephanie’s ear, “I should have fought harder for you. Tell Mo she has every reason to be jealous. I’d take you back in a minute.”

  Molly walked away without another word, signaling to the waiter that it was time to approach the table. Stephanie slowly retook her seat after watching Molly leave. The waiter asked for their order and sensing Stephanie’s current confusion, Randy ordered summer salads for them both. After the waiter left, Randy leaned forward, taking one of Stephanie’s hands in his.

  “See, I told you. Mo’s not the only woman out there who wants you. Molly, for one, is still in love with you.”

  Stephanie looked at the letter, lying open on the table in front of her. “That must have been hard for her to write that for Mo.”

  Randy smiled. “She didn’t do it for Mo. Quite frankly, I think she’s hoping you throw Mo out on her ass, but Molly doesn’t want to see you hurt by this contract. She was protecting you, not Mo.”

  “That was really sweet.” Stephanie said, while folding the letter and placing it back in the envelope. “I hope Mo appreciates it.”

  “I hope Mo appreciates you. It was your idea to go after Michaela for sexual harassment. After we talked last night, I approached Molly this morning. She said you were a smart girl.”

  Stephanie blushed from Randy’s statement and the realizati
on that Molly really did admire her, did respect her, maybe even still loved her. She glanced at the path Molly had taken out of the room.

  “Molly’s a smart girl, too,” Stephanie said. “She knew when it was time to walk away.”

  Randy asked, “Then or now?”

  Stephanie sighed and gave a one-word answer. “Both.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Colt was with his teammates at the coach’s house. Stephanie had nothing to do until time to go to the ballpark. After lunch, Randy made her promise to do something for herself with the rest of her day. All Stephanie wanted to do was go home and take a nap. That was something she rarely did and considered it a treat to have the time alone to do it. All the way home she fought the urge to think, what if? What if she had picked Molly over Mo? She spoke to her reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “Don’t go there, Stephanie.”

  Just as she unlocked the front door, the vibration in her pocket made her stop and pull out her phone. It might be Colt, so she had to look.

  It was Mo again, texting this time. Her message, “Please, please, check your email.”

  “Dammit, Mo! I just don’t want to talk to you right now,” Stephanie said aloud.

  Stephanie’s hurts were turning to anger. She was swiftly moving through the stages of grief. Slamming the front door behind her, Stephanie stormed into Mo’s office. They shared it, but it was mostly Mo’s, filled with editing computers and the trappings of Mo’s profession. Books lined the walls from the classics to textbooks. Stephanie had her own laptop and preferred to sit in the den to work, but she occasionally used the desktop computer, as she had yesterday. The napkin still lay inside the file folder where she placed it on the desk. She lifted the folder without opening it, crossed to the safe in the corner, and put the file inside. Molly may have confidence that Michaela was done, but Stephanie wasn’t taking any chances.

  She turned on the computer and left to change clothes. Returning in flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt, she felt more relaxed and less angry at Mo’s insistence that she speak with her. She typed in her password and the home screen appeared. After waiting to let the computer finish the boot up, she hit the email button. Stephanie checked and cleared the inbox this morning that was now showing five messages from Mo, all sent in the last few hours. The subject line of each message read, “Please, talk to me.”

  She went to the earliest message on the list and clicked on it. The email was sent right after Stephanie’s text messages from the pond.

  Steph,

  I deserve your anger, but please don’t do anything until I get home. I need to talk to you. I need to know you’re all right. Amber said you took off work until next Tuesday. I’m worried. I hope you just need the time to think. I know you’re trying to make sense of all this, but please wait for me. I’ll be there as soon as I can get away from here.

  I love you.

  Mo

  Stephanie snorted her displeasure. “You think I give a rat’s ass, if you’re worried?”

  She clicked on the next email, which would have arrived about the time she entered the Inn.

  Steph,

  I have an idea who you’re meeting and I really hope it’s not her. I don’t stand a chance of keeping you, if she gets involved. Just remember you chose me once. You must have had a reason.

  Mo

  “Ooo… I bet that picture really hacked you off after that, huh?” Stephanie taunted the screen, before clicking on the next email, which had arrived at the time she was talking to Molly.

  Dammit Steph! Could you show just a little bit more cleavage? Did Randy set this up? Are you going to pay me back by fucking your old girlfriend?

  “Hum. No salutation that time. Pretty pissed, aren’t you? Good. I hope you think I went upstairs at the Duke Inn and fucked Molly’s brains out. I hope you see it very clearly, because I see you with that bitch every time I close my eyes.”

  The following email had arrived seconds after the last one. Stephanie opened it, her level of anger climbing with each successive click.

  Stephanie,

  I’m sorry about the last email. I wish I could take it back. I would leave here this minute, if it wouldn’t cost us everything, but staying here is costing me more than possessions. I’m caught here, trying desperately to get back to you. I’m talking to the studio about re-working my contract. It’s hard to negotiate without an agent and Michaela is missing in action. I’m working on it, Steph. I’m getting out of here.

  I don’t blame you for wanting to hurt me. Like I said, I deserve it. I have no right to accuse you of anything. I guess I really don’t have any right to say anything at all.

  You said I took you for granted. I know I’ve let you take care of us, our family. I know I’ve let you bear the responsibility for nearly everything in our lives. I know I need to step up. But you have to know I never took you for granted. I guess I didn’t tell you enough how the things you do for Colt and me, big and small, mean so much. I promise you, not another day will go by when you don’t know how much you mean to me. I meant what I said, whatever it takes.

  You say you’ll never forget what I did. I won’t either, but I’m sure telling you it won’t happen again is useless. What if I said I am ashamed and disgusted with my behavior? What if I said I don’t want our son to think it’s okay to betray a trust? What if I said the most important thing in the world to me is my family? Would any of that matter?

  I’m going to call Colt on his cell, so I won’t bother you anymore. I hope that you will call me. I’d really like to hear your voice and know that you’re okay.

  I love you.

  Mo

  PS. I got the pic of you shooting me the bird. I smiled. At least you’re still wearing your wedding ring.

  Stephanie looked down at her left hand. She twirled the diamond around her ring finger with her thumb. She’d never thought about taking it off. It was a part of her and it symbolized so much. Except for her yearly mammogram, when she had to remove all her jewelry, the wedding band and engagement ring had not been off her finger since Mo put them there. Stephanie knew if she took them off, it would be over. She wasn’t ready to take that step, yet. She clicked on the final email. Mo sent it just before Stephanie got home.

  Steph,

  I just received a fax from Randy with the letter to Michaela. I really don’t know what to say. He explained what you did and I am grateful beyond words. I sent Molly an email thanking her. I am now thanking you. Once again, you came through for me, for us. I’m going back into the studio in a few minutes. I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and how unbelievably lucky I am that you loved me for seventeen years. I wouldn’t be here without you, but the thing is, I don’t want to be here anymore. I belong with you and Colt. The rest of this, well, the sooner I’m done with LA, the better. I hope you can love a college professor with time on her hands. I’m done with all this, Steph. I want to come home. I hope I still have one when I get there.

  I love you.

  Mo

  Stephanie reread the message. She blinked back tears. Mo had dreamed of being a movie director her whole life. Mo’s mother told Stephanie, Mo would have made a movie of her own birth, if someone had handed her a camera. Now, she wanted to give that up to save their marriage. Stephanie didn’t want Mo to wake up one day, down the road, and blame her for ending a life’s dream. She hit reply and wrote.

  Mo,

  I appreciate your thanking Molly. I know that was hard for you. You must know it was hard for her, as well. Now that Michaela will soon be out of our lives, I think we can have a rational discussion about our future together. That said, I don’t want you to quit your dream of directing a feature film some day. You’ll resent me later. Our problems have nothing to do with the movie business. You let a touch of notoriety go to your head and I stood around and let you. We both made mistakes. We can’t blame an entire industry for our shortcomings. We were in trouble long before this happened and neither one of us saw it. I see
it now, and I need some time to figure out what went wrong. I’m not talking to you, because I’ve never been able to resist you. I need to figure out what’s best for Colt and me. I will not deny you access to him, but I may have to deny you access to me. Back off, Mo, and give me time to think. I’ll have Colt call you after the game.

  You can’t expect me to just take your word that this would never happen again. Once you’ve done it, there is no saying, “I wouldn’t do that,” now is there?

  Steph

  P.S. They have perfectly good movie studios in Wilmington.

  Stephanie sent the email, closed the program, and shut down the computer. She went to the den and curled up on the couch. Stephanie set the alarm on her phone, so she wouldn’t be late for Colt’s game. Then she closed her eyes and said a soft prayer.

  “Please, may I have a moment without dreams? Can I just sleep here for a while without the pain? I really need a nap. I think my plate is full, so you can stop heaping things on it. And oh, by the way, I am thankful for all I’ve been given and equally thankful for those things I have not had to suffer, but I could use a break here, just so you know.”

  Stephanie breathed an enormous sigh and faded off to sleep.