by Marsh Brooks
“Stacy doesn't have anything to do with it. This is between you and me. You couldn't make up your mind, and when you did, you chose Richard over me. I'm afraid it's too late for us now,” Phil said. Phil's words felt like a knife in Isabel's heart.
“So you're not giving us a second chance?” Isabel asked.
“What chance? We never had a first chance. In fact, the only reason you are calling me is because you and Richard have broken up. Otherwise, you would be planning your wedding with him.”
When Isabel remained silent, Phil then added, “Good luck Isabel.”
After Phil hung up, Phil realized to his horror that he had just done to Isabel the same thing Isabel had done to him. Isabel had chosen Richard over him because of a promise she had made to him, and now he had chosen Stacy over Isabel, because he had made a promise to himself to give Stacy a second chance. Now, thinking about the sadness that he sensed in Isabel's voice when he said it was too late, he hoped that Isabel did not feel the pain that Phil was feeling at the thought that they might never be together.
##
The next three and a half weeks were uneventful. Isabel kept replaying in her head her last conversation with Phil. It didn’t go well and still, Isabel couldn't get Phil out of her mind. She had even gone to church to pray to God to free her from her sinful thoughts about Phil. So far, that had not happened. She heard that Phil was still coming to the Center in the afternoons, but he would soon stop, as his ankle had almost healed. She knew it was only a matter of time before their paths ceased to cross, and the thought of not ever hearing Phil’s voice or seeing him again was taking a toll on her. She didn’t remember when the last time was that she had a good night’s sleep.
That’s why she was happy to leave the house when Lucy called one day to propose that they go to a restaurant that evening.
When Lucy came to pick her up for dinner, Isabel was walking without a walker, which amazed Lucy. She had leg braces and was supported by a cane.
“Well, look at you,” Lucy said. “Are you sure it's a good idea?”
“It's about time,” Isabel said. “The daily treadmill exercises are horrible but, as you can tell, I'm happy with the results.”
“I can see that,” Lucy replied.
They dined at a restaurant that served Caribbean-style food and drinks. Lucy had just finished talking to Isabel about her upcoming cruise, when she asked, “How is Rebecca?”
“OK, I guess.”
“Don't you think you should try to repair your relationship with her?”
“I'm trying,” Isabel said.
“She seemed genuinely sorry about the whole thing. Besides, Richard is more to blame, Rebecca could be his daughter. Well, almost,” Lucy said.
“Rebecca is as equally responsible as Richard. I've forgiven her, but it's very hard to forget what happened. I raised her as my daughter, but she lied repeatedly to me,” Isabel said.
“Think about it, she could not come out and say that she had slept with your fiancé,” Lucy added.
“I guess you're right. I'm trying,” Isabel replied. In reality, Rebecca tried her best to make it up to Isabel, preparing Isabel’s favorite dishes when she was at home, and surprising Isabel with an album of pictures of her and Rebecca at different stages of their lives. Isabel had been moved by Rebecca's efforts.
“By the way, did you receive the test results?” Lucy was asking about the paternity test that was done the week before.
Exactly a week ago, Mark's mother called Isabel to tell Isabel she was sorry about how things had gone between the two of them. When Isabel realized that there was some truth to what Melinda had said at the restaurant, she had understood Melinda's reaction, and discovered that she was beginning to like Melinda after all.
“We are going for an ultrasound tomorrow, and they also said that they would do the DNA testing. Can we get a lock of Mark's hair for testing as well?” Isabel had asked Melinda.
“No problem,” Melinda had responded. The following day, Melinda not only brought the hair sample, but she even went with Isabel and Rebecca to the ultrasound exam. By the time they left the doctor, everyone was happy to see the baby's heart beating and to learn that everything was normal.
“The DNA result should be here any day now,” Isabel replied, continuing her conversation with Lucy.
“By the way, did you ever do anything with Richard's ring?” asked Lucy.
“I tried to mail it to Richard but he was no longer living at the Miami address, so I gave it away to charity. I also learned from Tia Marcia that Kristin didn't take him back,” Isabel replied.
“His fault,” Lucy added.
“Yes, you're right.”
Lucy thought for one second before asking,“What if the baby is Richard's? How are you going to locate him?”
“Me? It's not my baby. I'll let Rebecca worry about that,” Isabel said.
“I guess she still will have to take responsibility for some things,” Lucy said.
“You know what's lost in this pregnancy situation?” Isabel asked, looking pensive.
“What is it? Zen master,” Lucy asked in a teasing tone.
“While everyone talked about whose baby it is, not one person said that Rebecca shouldn't be having premarital sex in the first place,” Isabel said.
“Don't be so old fashioned,” Lucy responded. “We're not living in the Middle Ages, you know.”
“That's the problem. Isn't it?” Isabel said. “Everyone thinks that abstinence is old-fashioned.”
“I'm not getting into an argument about abstinence versus protection with you,” Lucy said, thinking about her own pregnancy when she was still a teenager. Then, changing the subject, Lucy asked, “What about Phil?” have you heard from him?
“Not really. I heard he is almost done with his therapy,” Lucy answered.
“How do you feel?”
“I miss him, but what can I do? He thinks that I wouldn't have called him if it wasn't for the fact that I broke up with Richard,” Isabel said. “You know, he might be right.”
“That's not true. I think that sooner or later, you would have realized your mistake. You love him and that counts for something,” Lucy said.
“Let's talk about something else,” Isabel said, as she asked the waiter for the check.
##
The last few weeks had also been hard on Phil. Stacy had a business emergency and had to return to California. It had been ten days since she left. He wanted to go to California to surprise her, but he needed to complete his therapy. He was almost finished. Stacy's absence reminded him how much he missed Isabel. When Stacy was there, his days were filled with activities to keep his mind busy. Now that Stacy was gone, his days were filled with thoughts of Isabel. Deep inside, he wished that Isabel had chosen him in the first place. There wouldn't have been any Stacy or issue about playing second fiddle to Richard. But life is what it is. As Jeremy always said, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and add vodka to it. Hearing Isabel say that she loved Richard was his lemons. Stacy was the vodka that made the lemonade at least taste better.
As Phil was feeling stupid and sexist for comparing women to fruits and drinks, his kitchen phone rang. When he heard Jeremy on the line ask about Isabel, he realized that he had not spoken to him since Jeremy left Miami, after the dinner at Isabel's place.
“How have you been, buddy?” Jeremy asked.
“Fine. Michelle?”
“She is Ok. She's getting ready for a surfing competition.”
“Good,” Phil replied. “I didn't know that you two still surfed.”
“She does. How is Isabel? Michelle told me that you've been going out with Stacy lately.”
“Word travels fast,” Phil replied. “Actually, a lot has happened since you left. Richard and Isabel broke up.”
“Way to go, buddy,” Jeremy said. “Are you going to make your move?”
“No, I'm seeing Stacy,” Phil answered.
“You're confusing the heck out o
f me, Phil,” Jeremy said.
“What do you mean?” Phil asked.
“First you told me how much you loved Isabel. Now that she's free, you're telling me you're seeing your ex-fiancée who left you several years ago?”
“It's not like that,” Phil said.
“Tell me how it is, Phil. When you told me that Isabel was engaged, I flew all the way down there to restore sanity to your head. Then I met and liked her, and thought she was good for you...”
“You didn't come to see Isabel, you really came down on business,” Phil said, trying to change the subject.
“I could have done everything by phone. What I don't understand is how you've managed to ignore fate when it intervened.”
“What are you talking about?” Phil asked.
“Weeks ago, when I told you about all those tragic love stories,” Jeremy continued, “you seemed headed the same way. Now that you told me Isabel and Richard broke up, fate intervened and gave you a chance, and you just ignored it.”
“You don't believe in fate, Jeremy,” Phil said.
“Call it fate, opportunity. Whatever it is, you didn't seize it when it came knocking,” Jeremy said. “Anyway, tell me what happened to make you change your mind about Stacy.”
“Stacy had a miscarriage and lost our baby,” Phil admitted.
“What? Are you sure?” Jeremy asked. “So why didn't she contact you?”
“She was depressed and felt bad about it,” Phil said.
“She felt so bad about it that she married someone else?” Jeremy said skeptically.
“He was helping her and she was depressed,” answered Phil.
“Phil, I'm not saying she didn't have a miscarriage. All I'm saying is that it's weird for her to marry someone else and not contact you for three years,” Jeremy said. “What about Isabel? What happened between her and her fiancé?”
“I don't know.”
“Have you heard from Isabel?”
“I saw her and she called me couple of weeks ago.”
“What did she say?”
“She wanted us to see each other,” Phil said.
“Let me guess,” Jeremy said, “you said no to Isabel whom you love, so that you can be with Stacy. Does this sound right to you?
When Phil didn't respond, Jeremy added, “Looks like I may have to spend money on another plane ticket to Miami. Talk to you later, buddy.”
##
The next day, after her therapy, Isabel was sitting on the bench, when Marcia joined her and said, “Rebecca, just called me. She wanted to talk to you, but you were already in your therapy session and I told her that I would give you the message.”
“Is it about the paternity test?” Isabel asked.
“Yes,” Marcia answered. “She got the result this morning.”
“Can you tell me who the father is?” Isabel asked, with a look of anticipation on her face.
“Well I have some good news and some bad news,” Marcia said. “What do you want to hear first?”
“Come on, Tia Marcia, just tell me.”
“OK,” Marcia answered laughing, “the good news is that the baby is not Richard's.”
“What's the bad news?” asked Isabel, uneasily. “Don't tell me that the baby is not Mark's either.”
“The bad news is that you will be seeing Mark's mother more often than you wish to.” Then they both laughed.
Chapter Fifteen
Stephanie and Andy had always been close. When Andy moved to California to pursue his acting career, as soon as he got his first job, he had sent for Stephanie, his baby sister, after the death of their parents. He wanted for Stephanie to have a future, the opportunities and the schooling that were missing in their small town.
When Stephanie graduated from college, it was Andy who was in the front row. When Stephanie completed her training in nursing, as a gift, Andy bought her a new car, the first new car she ever drove. When she got sick, it was Andy who would give up job gigs, just to take care of Stephanie. When Stephanie married and divorced her husband, Andy was always there in times of joy as well as in times of sadness. If there was ever a saint, to Stephanie, it was Andy.
So, when Andy met Stacy in an acting audition, Stacy had just come from Miami and didn't know anyone. Stacy could tell how infatuated Andy was. Who would not be? Everyone was talking about Stacy as the type of erotic beauty that only exists in a man’s fantasies. Except that Stacy was as real as she was deceitful.
When Stacy won the audition and got the leading role, she needed Andy's help to keep the part. Something Andy had regretted doing afterwards until his death.
Stephanie was re-reading the letter when Vanna called. The story was going to be published, and she had promised that she would fax Vanna the letter that Stephanie had told Vanna about. The one that Stephanie said Andy had written to Stacy but was never delivered. The letter was going to tell the story of the real Stacy, the story that Andy thought he took to his grave with him.
“Do you think that Stacy will be able to stop the story from being published?” Stephanie asked Vanna.
“Not a chance.” Vanna replied. “She tried already, but the magazine refused. I heard that she even paid off the witnesses to deny it.”
“Andy didn't tell Stacy who I was, but I was there and know what happened. I recommended the place to Andy,” Stephanie said.
“Yes. But Andy was your brother. Stacy would say that you're lying because you have a beef with her. As I told you earlier, the most powerful evidence we have is Andy talking from his grave, the letter that you have.” A few days after Andy received the bad news from the Institute, before the dementia started taking over his mind, Andy had asked Stephanie to type several letters for Andy's signature. Some of the letters were asking for financial help from old friends for his burial, others were simply saying goodbye to family members. In addition to the letters that Andy asked her to type, Stephanie added a letter that she typed and addressed to Stacy. Andy had signed all of the letters typed by Stephanie, not noticing that the letter to Stacy was included. Stephanie had kept that letter ever since, biding her time. Stephanie had hated misleading Andy. However, someone had to stand up to Stacy. If someone truly loved Andy, it was his little sister Stephanie, and Stacy was going to pay for what she did to him.
##
Phil had just gotten home from the Center, when Stacy showed up.
“I'm glad to see you, it's been several long days,” Phil said.
“Me too,” Stacy said absentmindedly. Stacy knew it was a matter of days before the story was published. Although she had managed to pay off every witness to deny it, she wondered whether she had covered all her bases.
“Are you Ok?” Phil asked.
“I'm just tired. I'm going to the hotel. You're coming?” Stacy asked.
“Why don't you stay here tonight?” Phil asked.
“I have something to take care of at the hotel tonight.” Phil could sense something was bothering Stacy. He tried to pry, but Stacy didn't want to talk about it.
When Stacy got to the hotel, her publicist and her concierge had both left messages for her. She then called her publicist.
“The story is being published tomorrow,” the publicist confirmed.
“Have you come up with a plan yet on how to deal with this?” Stacy asked.
“Yes, and we have set up a press conference in two days for you.”
“What's the plan?”
The publicist then told her.
“Good,” Stacy said. “I'll be there.”
Stacy then called her concierge. “You left me a message?”
“Yes. Your publicist called me and I just wanted to tell you that we have chartered a plane for you to California.”
“Thanks,” Stacy said.
She seemed concerned. Are you OK?” the concierge asked.
“Of course,” Stacy said. When the time comes, I will be ready.
##
Phil left early for work the next day. He was only at wor
k for about thirty minutes when Jeremy called.
“What is it?” Phil asked.
“Michelle just read this story that just came out this morning about Stacy. It's all over the internet. I think you need to read it.”
“What is it?”
“Well, here is the link. Read it for yourself,” Jeremy said and hung up.
Phil was shocked. He had to read and re-read the story again. Then he grabbed his jacket and headed out to Stacy's hotel.
When he got into the suite, Stacy, who was sitting in front of the computer, had already read the story as well.
“Did you really do that?” an angry Phil asked Stacy.
“Don't you understand?” Stacy pleaded. “I didn't have any choice.”
“I can't believe you're defending your actions. On top of that, you came and tried to make me believe this horrible miscarriage story.”
“What did you want me to do? I love you and I wanted to have you back,” Stacy pleaded.
“I don't think I've ever truly known you,” a furious Phil said.
“Give me another chance. I love you,” Stacy said.
“Love me? You don't know what love is, Stacy,” Phil said, as he opened the front door. “You are pure evil.”
“Wait, Phil,” Stacy screamed.
It was too late. Phil had already slammed the door behind him, leaving Stacy in front of the laptop, with the article still on the computer screen
----------BREAKING NEWS----------
In a letter written by the late Andy Marshall to his wife Stacy Marshall prior to his death, the actor asked his wife for forgiveness for helping her carry out what the actor considered to be the biggest mistake of his life.
In the letter, which was acquired by our magazine, the actor explained that he had met his future wife at an audition for a romantic comedy movie called “The Lost Prairie.” Ms. Marshall, who had won the part playing the leading role only a few days after flying from Miami to California, didn't divulge to the producers and the directors of the movie that she was pregnant with her fiancé’s baby. In order to keep the part, the late actor, at Ms. Marshall's request, located a discrete and competent abortion provider where Ms. Marshall terminated her pregnancy.