She Sins at Midnight

by Whitney Dineen

  Quietly Oscar asked Jessica, “How do you know Lila and Creigh?”

  She answered, “I went to grade school with Lila and Creigh happens to be the man that Lila loves.”

  Creigh smiled when he heard those words. The truth was he loved Lila, and now that Oscar was dumping Melinda, there was no reason they couldn’t go public with their feelings.

  Oscar asked Creigh, “So where does Cynthia Flynn fit into all this?”

  Creigh answered, “She’s Lila’s friend from L.A. And Oscar, I should tell you, while Cynthia really is an agent at Quest, she has no intention of taking Melinda on as a client.”

  After a few excruciatingly silent moments, Oscar burst out laughing. “You see what I mean? You’re the kind of people I want in my life. Do you think that Melinda would have ever put herself out for anyone like this? But here the three of you are going to great lengths to help somebody you care about.”

  Tentatively, Jessica interrupted, “Oscar…”

  But he wouldn’t let her finish, “Jessica, have you lied about your feelings for me in order to help your friend?”

  Shocked, she exclaimed, “Never! I care for you very, very much.”

  He smiled at her, “Then there’s no problem is there? Everything has turned out for the best.”

  Jessica couldn’t believe how well Oscar was taking their subterfuge. If nothing else, it confirmed that she wanted to spend her life with him. He was an exceptional man. She announced, “Oscar, I have to go back to my house today. My divorce attorney advised that I go right away so that Charles doesn’t try to lock me out.” After a deep breath, she asked, “I don’t suppose you want to join me?”

  Oscar asked Creigh, “Would that complicate the divorce proceedings?”

  Creigh shook his head, “Jessica has proof that Charles has had several extra-marital affairs and she won’t be suing for alimony. So the only danger would be if Charles decides to become violent.”

  That settled it for Oscar. “I’m definitely going with you. If that bastard wants a fight, I’d be more than happy to kick his ass.” He gave Jessica’s fingers a light squeeze and said, “Come on fair lady, let’s go reclaim your castle.”

  Creigh asked, “What do you want me to tell Melinda when she comes back?”

  Oscar answered, “Don’t tell her anything. Jessica and I will be back tonight after we get her locks changed and I’ll tell her myself.”

  Creigh remembered what he and Lila had discussed on the train home and said, “Be here by seven then. Lila and her parents are coming over. She has something she wants to tell everyone.”

  Oscar said, “I don’t even know Lila yet. Are you sure you want me here?”

  Creigh smiled, “You’re part of the group now, Oscar. So the answer is yes, we want you here.”

  As soon as the love birds left, Creigh picked up the phone and called Lila. She answered after the first ring, “Montgomery residence.”

  “You sound like you were sitting by the phone waiting for my call.”

  She laughed, “I was.”

  He asked if she had talked to Jilly and Jessica yet. She said that Jilly was definitely coming and that she left a message on Jessica’s cell. She confessed, “I’m terrified, you know?”

  He consoled, “There’s nothing to worry about. Everyone coming loves you as much as I do and they are going to be delighted for your success, unconventional as it may be.” Before hanging up he told her how proud he was of her and then mentioned he had a full bar at his house should she need it.

  Lila laughed nervously, “Six or seven kamikazes will definitely help, thanks.”

  When he hung up, Creigh went out to the guest cottage to fill Cynthia in on all of the new developments of the day.

  She was lying on the couch when he knocked on the door, “Cyn, can I come in?”

  Lazily, she replied, “Of course. What’s going on?”

  He sat down on a chair and informed her, “Oscar is breaking up with Melinda and Lila and her parents will be here at seven for dinner.”

  Cynthia nearly cheered at the good news, “Oh thank god it’s finally over! Lila will be so happy to have all of this behind her. And you’ve been her knight in shining armor the whole time. What’s going to happen with the two of you?”

  Creigh assured her that he and Lila were in love. Other than that, he wasn’t willing to say what their future held.

  Cynthia didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know something big was afoot. She was so thrilled her friend finally met a man worthy of her. Now, if only she could find her own prince. A brief image of Barry Stratton popped into her head but she banished the thought. She was not going to wind up with a preppy, rich boy for anything in the world.

  * * * * *

  Lila sent her parents off to Creigh’s promising to be right behind them. They told her there was no reason for her to bring her own car, but Lila claimed she was picking up a surprise for everyone on her way. As soon as they left, she ran up to her room and started getting their surprise ready. It took her ten minutes longer than she expected but she chalked that up to nerves. After all, once she showed up at Creigh’s there would be no going back.

  Chapter 35

  Creigh’s living room was full of Lila’s family and friends. Jilly and Bill were there along with their three children. Jilly’s mom, Libby, was there so that she could take the kids home right after dinner. Jessica and Oscar were cuddled up on the couch and Cynthia was pacing around in great anticipation of seeing her friend again. There was still no sign of Melinda, but that was actually good, considering what was about to happen.

  When the doorbell finally rang, Bitsy declared, “Thank goodness she’s finally here. She said she was right behind us.”

  Will announced, “She did say that she had to pick up a surprise first. Maybe it took longer than she expected.”

  Instead of sitting in the living room and waiting for Lila, everyone followed Creigh into the entry hall while he answered the door. To their astonishment, Jasmine Sheath walked into the house larger than life with her red hair, rose colored sunglasses and four inch heels.

  Bitsy ran forward and exclaimed, “Miss Sheath, what a wonderful surprise! How in the world did Lila get you here?” Then she peaked around Jasmine looking for her daughter and asked, “Where is Lila anyway?”

  Jasmine drawled in her slow southern accent, “She’ll be along any ole minute.”

  Jilly, Jessica and Cynthia gathered around the novelist next and welcomed her to their little party. Lila was so surprised to see Cynthia that she almost broke character and asked what she was doing there. Then she saw Oscar Solomon. While she had never actually met Oscar Solomon, she certainly knew what he looked like. Then she noticed that Oscar had his arm around Jessica in a proprietary way and she wondered what was really going on here.

  Just as everyone began moving toward the living room, the doorbell rang again. Creigh said a silent prayer that it wasn’t Melinda and answered. Barry Stratton walked in carrying an arm load of flowers and said hello to everyone.

  Cynthia demanded, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Barry strode over to her, handed her the flowers and answered, “My good friend Jessica invited me.” Then he sent Jessica a wink. When Barry discovered that Jessica was Cynthia’s sponsor at the club, he immediately called her to find out where Cynthia was staying. Jessica decided to invite him over to join their little party. After all, Cynthia deserved a happy ending too.

  Barry said hello to Jilly and met her husband and kids. He greeted Lila’s parents and Libby and then he turned to Lila and held out his arms to her. “And look at you, Lila! WOW! I love you as a redhead!”

  The entire entryway got so quiet that you would have thought someone farted in church. But before Lila had a chance to explain, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Melinda and she wasn’t alone. Melinda walked in with yet another one of their classmates. Jim Farrel smiled when he saw his old classmates, “Hi everyone. I didn’t know it was g
oing to be a party.”

  Jim saw Jilly and Jessica and greeted, “I didn’t think I’d see you guys until the reunion. He proceeded to give them both a warm hug and then he noticed Lila. “Holy Cow, Lila, you look hot as a redhead!”

  All hell broke loose at that moment. Melinda screamed, “Jim, how do know these people?”

  He answered, “They’re my friends from high school.” At the same time Bitsy looked at Lila and demanded, “Lila Elaine Montgomery, is that really you?”

  Jilly, Jessica and Cynthia huddled around their friend and demanded answers as well. Cynthia didn’t go to the book signing so she had no idea she was standing in the presence of the great Jasmine Sheath. She just wanted to know why Lila was dressed the way she was.

  Jilly and Jessica, on the other hand, knew that this was Jasmine and they couldn’t quite put two and two together and grasp that their friend was also their new favorite author. The men huddled together exchanging greetings and once again Melinda stood all by herself with no one paying any attention to her at all. Looking disheveled and drunk, the starlet screamed at the top of her lungs, “What in the hell is going on here?” Then she notice Jasmine and said, “And you! I can’t believe you signed my book like that. You don’t even know me!”

  The buzzing noise of the entryway came to a slamming halt as Oscar approached Melinda and asked, “Who’s your friend, Melinda?”

  Jim stepped forward and offered Oscar his hand, “Jim Farrel. I went to school with the girls and Barry.”

  Oscar stopped to shake Jim’s hand and introduced himself as well. Then he said to Melinda, “You look like you’ve been sleeping in a gutter. Where have you been?”

  Melinda screeched, “Oscar Solomon, is that anyway to talk to your fiancée?”

  In shock, Jim asked Melinda, “You’re engaged? God Melinda, I would have hardly spent the afternoon in bed with you if I knew that.”

  Libby quietly hustled the kids into the other room and Oscar declared, “You are such a slut. To think that I ever considered marrying you.”

  Like a raving lunatic, Melinda threw her hands out in front of her like she was about to bust a kung fu move. She kept turning from one person to another looking for an ally when she finally realized that she was on her own.

  In a ditch attempt to salvage something from the evening she looked to Cynthia and asked, “You’re still my agent, right?”

  Cynthia replied, “I don’t think it’s going to work out between us, Melinda. I mean, sure it’s Hollywood, but I need to at least have a tiny bit of respect for my clients.”

  Melinda pulled at her hair and screamed, “This is not over! Do you all hear me? This is not over!”

  Jim stepped forward and took Melinda by the arm, “Come on Melinda, I’ll take you back to my place.” Then he looked at Lila and said, “My number’s in the book, Li. Call me and I’ll come over and pick up her stuff later.”

  No one could quite figure why Jim was being so nice to Melinda, but they were greatly relieved when he finally dragged her out the front door. As soon as they were gone, everyone turned to look at Lila.

  She awkwardly smiled at them, “Come on. Let’s go into the living room. I think I could use a drink before I explain.” Once she had a fortifying gin and tonic in hand, she announced, “I didn’t want to tell you guys like this. In fact, I didn’t want to tell you at all, but then the book got nominated for a RITA award and Josh found out and Creigh found out… and well, I just figured that too many people knew for me not to tell all of you.

  Jilly was the first to find her voice and she declared, “Holy hell, Li. You’re a great writer. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us sooner.”

  Jessica and Cynthia expressed their admiration as well. Then Lila looked to her mother expecting the worst. But Bitsy merely started to laugh her head off. Surprised by her reaction, Lila said, “Mom, I know this is a shock. Are you okay?”

  With an enormous grin on his face, Will announced, “Well, I guess the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, does it?”

  Lila looked at her dad, confused by his comment and asked, “What are you talking about?”

  Bitsy still hadn’t regained her composure. In fact, tears were streaming down her face as she rounded the corner of nearly insane laughter. She made a gesture toward her husband to keep talking so Will said, “Jasmine Sheath, I’d like you to meet Bodacia Charms.”

  Lila stared at her mother in shock. “But she’s my favorite author!” She stared at her mother and asked, “You’re Bodacia Charms?”

  Bitsy finally calmed down enough to talk, “I sure am.”

  Astonished, Lila asked, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  Her mom answered, “Well, when you and your brother were little, there was no way that you could have known. And then there was your dad’s law practice. Wives of successful litigators don’t write smut, you know? And then when you grew up, you were so prudish I didn’t think you’d understand.”

  Lila asked, “Prudish? I always thought you were the prude! I can’t believe you never told me.”

  Bitsy answered, “Darling, I was sure the news would kill you if you ever found out. I was worried that you’d be ashamed of me.”

  Lila declared, “But that’s why I didn’t tell you about Jasmine. I always thought you were such a lady that you’d be horrified to learn I wrote a steamy romance novel.” She briefly started to catalogue some of the work of Bodacia Charms and declared, “Mom, you write the filthiest stuff out there!”

  Will smiled and put his arm around his wife, “She does, doesn’t she?”

  Bitsy hugged her husband and announced, “You’ve been a wonderful inspiration, darling.”

  Lila looked at Creigh and started to laugh, “I’m the daughter of Bodacia Charms! I don’t think this night could get any stranger.” Then she thought about what Mitzie would say when she heard this news and added, “Mitzie’s going to flip out when she hears this.”

  Bitsy looked at her daughter and asked, “Don’t tell me that you’re repped by Mitzie Feinman?”

  Lila asked, “Not you too?”

  Her Mom answered, “Sweetheart, I’ve been with Mitzie for twenty-five years.”

  Mother and daughter shared a moment as they both remembered how adamant their agent was that they let the world know who they really were. Mitzie knew all along that her two favorite clients were related.

  After everyone got used to the idea of mother and daughter romance writers, it occurred to Lila she still didn’t know how Cynthia came to be there and why Jessica was acting so lovey dovey with Oscar Solomon. Everyone took turns explaining their part in Creigh’s plan and Lila smiled at her night in shining armor, “I really do love you, you know?”

  He answered, “You’d better!” Then as an afterthought added, “We should get some of your mother’s books. I bet we might learn a thing or two.”

  Lila giggled, “I think we might learn more than that.”

  As the party came to an end, Lila couldn’t believe how well everything worked out. She could finally hold her head up high and be proud of her accomplishments.

  Chapter 36

  Melinda woke up the next morning feeling like someone had knitted little angora socks on her teeth. Her head was pounding and her mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert. As she opened her eyes and scanned the room around her, she realized that she had no idea where she was. She was expecting to find herself in Creigh’s green guest room, but instead discovered that she was on a ratty pull out sofa in a disgustingly dingy living room. She slowly closed her eyes and tried to think back to the last thing she could remember.

  She remembered leaving Creigh’s house after the fight with Jessica. She remembered going to a bar and drinking a lot of fruity drinks. Then she remembered the bartender. Oh shit, she realized, she must still be in his apartment after he took her home from the bar. How was she going to explain her absence to Oscar? She had to get up and get back to Creigh’s before they realized she was missing.

/>   When she opened her eyes again, Jim was standing over her asking, “Did you sleep well, beautiful?”

  She mumbled, “Fine, thanks. Listen I had a really great time but I need to get back to the house where I’m staying. My fiancée is going to be worried about me.”

  Shocked, Jim asked, “Don’t you remember what happened last night?”

  As soon as he asked the question, all kinds of images began flooding into Melinda’s brain. She stared up at Jim and gasped, “You mean that wasn’t a dream? That all really happened?”

  He answered, “Yep. Come on, let’s get you a cup of coffee. It’ll help clear your head.”

  Melinda couldn’t seem to move, “You mean that Oscar really broke up with me? Oh my god, I bet he’s with that bitch Jessica, now!” She thought out loud, “Well then, that just opens the door for me and Creigh.”

  Jim shook his head, “I don’t think so Melinda. Creighton Ashwood and Lila are an item.”

  Melinda looked like she was about to scream, but all that came out of her mouth was, “And you went to school with those bitches.”

  Jim replied, “I went to school with them, but they’re not bitches.”

  Melinda cried, “But I was supposed to marry one of them!” Then she remembered Cynthia and burst into tears, “I don’t have an agent either.” Sobbing uncontrollably, she cried, “What am I going to do without an agent?”

  Jim made Melinda eggs and continued to listen to her moan about her life. Never in a million years would he have thought that Melinda Forrester could be such a head trip. He had always thought those Hollywood types had it made. Here was this beautiful, rich, young movie star in his apartment and she was more of a mess than he was.

  But that didn’t turn out to be the worst news. When Jim went out for bagels he picked up the latest edition of “The Countrywide Inquisitor.” He was so disgusted with Melinda’s theatrics, he opened it up and handed it to her. Melinda was astonished by what she read.