A Taste of Fame

by Linda Evans Shepherd

  There were a few giggles, but I slipped my arm into Jack’s and whispered in his ear, “I don’t want you to go.”

  He turned to me and kissed my cheek. “I’d love to stay forever in this city with you, Goldie. But school starts soon, and I’ve got football camp coming up.”

  I broached a subject I’d left unsaid in the privacy of our hotel room. “Is that what’s wrong? Is the team on your mind?”

  “What do you mean?”

  I was grateful for all the conversation going on around us as I whispered close enough for just him to hear, “Jack, not once since you’ve been here have we … you know …”

  Jack blushed fully then turned pale. “We’ll talk later.”

  I pressed my lips together. Something was wrong. A wife has a way of knowing these things. Was there now another woman— again—in Summit View? Or Denver or Breckenridge? Or any of the other number of small ski towns dotting the map around our town? Had I been gone too long from our bed? At our age, one would think a wife and husband could be apart for a few weeks and be okay, but Jack’s libido had always been that of an eighteen-yearold boy’s. Maybe our couple’s therapy hadn’t been enough. Maybe nothing I ever did would be enough. Maybe …

  “It’s not what you think.” Jack’s words were spoken low but with certainty, but I wasn’t so sure.

  “What do I think?” I kept my eyes locked with his.

  He looked pained. “Goldie,” he whispered. “After all these years, I know you better than you know yourself.”

  This time I pinked, then turned from his gaze and focused on the chatter at the table. I took a deep breath and sighed. I had one more night with my husband here in New York. I’d best make it a night to remember.

  Well, at least I tried. I took a long, hot soak in scented water, slipped into a pretty nightgown, and stepped out of our bath with all the sultriness of Rita Hayworth I could muster. Jack was sitting up in bed, several pillows at his back and head, with an open book before him. Though he appeared to be reading, I could tell he wasn’t paying attention to the words on the page.

  “Jack,” I said, keeping my voice low.

  He glanced up from the book and smiled. Then—just as quickly— frowned. I felt my brow furrow. He patted the bed beside him and said, “Come here, Goldie. Come sit down.”

  I did.

  Jack took a deep breath and then released it as he closed the book and placed it on the bedside table. Then, turning to me, he took my hand and said, “Goldie, I’m not going to lie to you.”

  “It’s someone else,” I said, jerking my hand from him.

  “Don’t go there,” he said. “Because that’s not it. That’s not even close.”

  In the past, Jack’s affairs had all been a matter of the physical. He’d felt little to no affection for the women he’d bedded. Our therapist and pastor had confirmed the reality of this claim. “Men who have sexual compulsions,” Pastor Kevin had explained to me during one of our sessions, “are rarely in another woman’s bed because of love, Goldie. They turn to others out of … well … compulsion. Which is why Jack came to me, to find help.”

  The help—I thought—had worked. Now I had to wonder. What was Jack getting at? Was he actually in love this time? With someone else? He hadn’t shown me a lack of attention since he’d been here, but he hadn’t shown me any physical interest either.

  “Does your heart belong to someone else now?” I blurted my thoughts.

  Jack appeared genuinely shocked, then chuckled. “You could say that.”

  My mouth fell open. “How can you laugh?”

  My husband shook his head. “I’m not laughing, Goldie. I’m … I’m trying to tell you that I’ve not been well lately and … my heart … well, it belongs to Dr. Kelleher.”

  I grabbed my husband’s hand. “The team doctor? What do you mean, you haven’t been well? Jack?”

  “Remember when you asked me to see him about my chest pains?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, I did. And then I went to see another doctor in Denver, a Dr. Luma.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “And interrupt what you have going on here? No way. Dr. Luma assured me the surgery could wait.”

  “Surgery?” my voice squealed.

  “Right after you left I saw Dr. Kelleher. The next day I saw Dr. Luma—”

  “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me.”

  “Just listen.”

  “I’m listening. What did this Dr. Luma say?”

  “He did an EKG while I was in his office, then ordered a stress echocardiogram, which I had about two days later.”

  “Is that like a stress test?” My shoulders ached from sitting so straight.

  “Something like it.”

  “What did that show?”

  “It showed a few problems, so the doctor ordered an angiogram, which showed some blockage.”

  “Blockage? Oh, Jack!” I felt tears burning my eyes, then spill down my cheeks.

  Jack wrapped me in his arms. “Shhh … Goldie,” he said. “Don’t cry. If the doctor had thought I was in any real danger, he wouldn’t have let me come all the way to the East Coast. He put me on some meds, told me to watch my diet, and when I go back we’ll talk about bypass surgery. I told him I didn’t want your opportunity out here thwarted, and he said I should be fine.” He drew back. “But I tire out easily, as you can tell, and quite frankly, with this medication, sex is the last thing on my mind.”

  I slipped off the bed and walked toward the closet.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “I’m going to start packing. I’m going home with you tomorrow.”

  Before I could pull the closet door open, Jack was scrambling out of the bed and heading toward me. “Oh no, you don’t. If you get on that plane, I won’t. I will not be responsible for you not seeing this contest through.”

  I felt my shoulders sag. I stomped a foot and balled my fists. “Jack!”

  Again he wrapped me in his arms. “No, Goldie. I’m fine. I am. The doctor said so.”

  I slipped my arms around his broad shoulders and squeezed. “Jack, don’t you dare leave me. Not now. Not after all we’ve been through and all we’ve done to get it right.”

  He chuckled again. “I’m not going anywhere. Well, I’m going back to Summit View.” He leaned back, kissed my pouting lips while holding my face between his hands. “And I promise I’ll take care of myself.”

  I nodded.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded again.

  “Okay. Let’s go to bed.” He took a few steps, pulling me with him. “And sleep.”

  That night we lay like spoons, his arms tight around me, my hands gripping his, his heart beating steadily against my back.

  And we slept.

  The next day our men—and fortunately for Donna, Faye Gage— left New York City amid tear-filled “I love you’s” and “good-byes.” I held on to Jack for as long as I could, then said to him, “You’d better call me the minute you land in Summit View.”

  “We have a layover in Chicago,” he said. “And we’ll be home sometime around seven or eight your time tonight. I’ll call you around nine.”

  When we’d returned to the hotel—with not a minute to spare for any dillydallying—we quickly moved our things back into our original rooms then went to our Great Party Showdown kitchen to discuss our plans for the fund-raising event. A cameraman followed us in, appearing almost magically. Truth be told, I was getting used to the little buggers. They were like a third arm or a second thumb.

  I admit, I was only half listening as Lisa Leann quoted prices and places for purchasing what we needed. At one point Lizzie leaned over and said, “Are you okay?”

  I merely nodded. Jack had made me promise not to say anything to anyone, and I’d complied.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m fine. I just miss Jack already.”

  She patted my hand.

  Lisa Leann gave us our as
signments, and I was grateful for her take-charge attitude. If I’d been the one to organize this soiree, we’d be in sad shape for sure.

  “Goldie,” Lisa Leann was saying to me. “Are you with us?”

  I jerked a bit then said, “Yes. I’m just missing Jack.”

  Lisa Leann sighed. “I know how you feel.” She handed me a piece of paper with typing stretched from top to bottom. “Here’s a recipe I want you to look over. I don’t want to take any chances, so let’s all go out and get what we need for our prospective dishes, then come back, prepare the dish, and we’ll have a taste-off. I’m not serving anything that’s not absolutely fabulous. Fortunately, this event is a dessert-only affair.”

  I looked at my recipe for banana pineapple delight. “So what do we do? Go out, buy what we need, and come back here?”

  Lisa Leann looked at me as if I had three heads. “Isn’t that what I just said?” she asked. “I talked to Mr. Goodman—London Goodman—this morning before we went to the airport, and he said the event will be held at the Sofitel on 44th near 5th. I’m heading there now to check out the banquet room we’ll be using and all that.”

  “What do you know about this place?” Nelson asked.

  Lisa Leann smiled at her son. “Nothing, so why don’t you come with me?” she asked. “I understand we’ll be in the Grand Ballroom. Mr. Goodman said it has stunning windows that stretch two and a half stories high.” She practically beamed as she added, “This is going to go well with our King Kong theme.” She turned toward Wade and David, then whipped out a card and handed it to Wade, who was standing closest to her. “Here’s the address of a costume rental place. You’ll want three gorilla costumes.”

  Wade shook his head. “Look, Lisa Leann, I’ve been thinking about this thing. I mean … I have a reputation to uphold and …” He cut his eyes to the cameraman, who had the lens of his camera pointed directly at Wade.

  “Come on, cowboy,” David said with a laugh, no doubt realizing the hilarity of the moment caught on tape. “Surely you aren’t afraid of a little monkey business.”

  Wade glared at the camera. “I am nobody’s monkey.”

  Donna moved over to him then, locked her arm with his, and batted her eyelashes like an overdramatic actress. “Oh, come on, Wade. For me?”

  Wade narrowed his eyes. “I’ll make you a deal. You dress like Fay Wray and I’ll dress like Kong.”

  Donna blushed, David shifted uneasily, and Lisa Leann practically cheered. “Yes! What a fabulous idea!”

  It was then Lizzie’s cell phone rang. She pulled it out of the front pocket of the beige capris she was wearing, looked at the face, then said to everyone, “It’s Samuel. They must have landed in Chicago.” She flipped the phone open. “Hello?”

  We stood and watched as her smile faded and her face grew pale. “When?” she asked, followed by, “Okay … okay … I’ll take care of it … okay.” She swallowed hard. “Is he … okay. Okay … I love you too.” She closed the phone and looked at me.

  I felt myself grow weak. It was Jack. I knew it. I just knew it. “Jack?” I said.

  “What’s going on?” Evangeline asked. “Lizzie Prattle?”

  Lizzie took a deep breath, glanced at the group, then brought her attention back to me. “It’s Jack,” she said. “He had a heart attack on the flight and—”

  I screamed and felt myself go limp. David, who was a couple of people away, darted toward me. I was vaguely aware of his arms catching me, of him saying, “Get some water,” and of the sudden movement around me as he eased me to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut, then reopened them. “Is he …” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word. I focused solely on Lizzie. “Is he?” I screamed at her.

  Donna appeared with a glass of water, which she handed to David. Vaguely I saw the cameraman directly over her shoulder. Jack … the whole world will know …

  “Here, Goldie,” David said. “Sip on this.” He eased the rim to my lips, and I took a swallow as Lizzie leaned over me.

  “He’s alive, Goldie. He’s alive.” She straightened, looked at Lisa Leann. “We have to get Goldie to the airport,” she said. “Call Kat and see what we can do to get her to Chicago tonight.”

  “I’m on it,” Lisa Leann said. I heard rather than saw her scurry to another side of the room to make the call.

  “Gather round,” Lizzie said. “Let’s pray.”

  Lizzie

  28

  Heart Beats

  After we’d prayed I helped Goldie from the floor and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lisa Leann approached us and touched my arm to gain my attention. “Kat said she’ll handle everything. All you have to do is get Goldie to the hotel and then someone will contact you in your room as to the details of her flight.”

  I nodded. “Got it. Did she say anything else?”

  Lisa Leann shook her head. “No. Only that she’s very sorry to hear this and can the rest of us go on without Goldie.” The words brought a grimace to Lisa Leann’s face, as though saying them in front of Goldie was more than she wanted to do.

  “Of course we can,” I said, giving Goldie’s shoulders a squeeze. I looked at our friend. “It won’t be the same, but don’t you worry about a thing, you hear me? Think about nothing but getting to Jack for right now. God is in control.”

  The rest of our team, still gathered around, acknowledged my words.

  Minutes later, Goldie and I were piling into a yellow cab and heading toward the hotel. We took the ride holding hands but saying nothing. Goldie cried silently while I mostly stared straight ahead, not knowing fully what to say. A dozen questions were going through my mind, none of them with any answers better than “God is in control.”

  We arrived at the hotel and went to our room. I checked the phone to see if the red message light was blinking, but it wasn’t. Goldie began packing while I called Samuel on his cell phone. As it rang I broke the silence by saying, “They’ve taken Jack to a hospital in Chicago.”

  Goldie only nodded as she folded clothes and placed them in the luggage spread wide on her bed.

  Samuel’s voice mail message came on. I pushed a key to bypass it and then spoke into the phone. “Samuel, call us and let us know what’s going on. Goldie is packing, and I’ll get her to the airport. We’re waiting to hear from Kat now—”

  The room phone rang. Goldie jerked as she looked over at it, then turned to me. “You get it,” she said.

  I hung up on the message to Samuel and then answered our room phone. It was Kat. She gave her blessings to Goldie. “I’ve got Goldie flying out of here around seven this evening,” she said, then gave me the particulars. I wrote the information on the small pad of paper near the phone, then thanked her.

  Just as I hung up, my cell phone rang. I ran to it, glanced at the face, and saw it was Evangeline. “Hey, Evie,” I said.

  “How is she?”

  “She’s packing.” I glanced toward Goldie and smiled. She didn’t smile back.

  “I didn’t ask what she’s doing, Liz. I asked how she is doing.”

  “It’s hard to say,” I admitted. “I just got off the phone with Kat. They’ve got her flying out at seven this evening. She won’t get into Chicago until nearly midnight.”

  I heard Evie sigh just as Goldie said, “Midnight?”

  “I’ll have Sam pick you up, Goldie. He’s staying with Jack.”

  Evie continued, “I’m in charge of Goldie’s banana dessert and Vonnie is taking over yours,” she said. “I just didn’t want you to worry about anything extra.”

  Worry about it? I’d actually forgotten about my recipe for banana nut cheesecake, which—upon my first and only glance—looked pretty yummy. I was grateful for Vonnie and Evie being willing to step in, and I said so.

  “Keep us posted,” Evangeline said, and I told her I would.

  An hour later, Goldie sat on the edge of her bed. Her luggage was neatly arranged at the door. We had the television turned on to Animal Planet, and though we pretended to watc
h, we weren’t. Goldie had hardly spoken two words since the news had come about Jack’s heart attack, and I wasn’t sure how to broach any questions I had. I finally decided to just ask.

  “Goldie, did you have any idea Jack might be heading for this?” I was sitting in one of the room’s chairs that sat catty-corner near the window. Beside me, outside, the weather had turned gray and rainy. Splatters of raindrops hit the glass and then made rivulets to the sill.

  “He didn’t want me to say,” she answered. “But yes. He’s not been feeling well, he’s had some tests, but the doctor in Denver said he’d be okay to travel.”

  I sighed and nodded. “Goldie, if the doctor said he’d be okay to travel, then I’m sure this is just a mild attack.”

  Goldie began to weep again. I walked over and sat next to her, wrapped her in my arms, and allowed her to cry to her heart’s content. We stayed like this for several minutes until Samuel called to say that Jack was resting comfortably at Cook County Hospital. “The doctor here says he had a mild heart attack. He should be released within a couple of days for transfer to the hospital in Denver, where they’re going to do bypass surgery.”

  “Bypass?” I spoke out loud before I could catch myself.

  “Bypass? Already?” Goldie jumped from the bed. I looked at her; she was clutching her chest.

  “Hold on, Samuel,” I said. Then to Goldie, “Are you okay?”

  “He said the doctor would talk about a bypass. Is it for sure now?”

  “I don’t know,” I told her. “But we’ll know something soon enough.” I turned my attention back to Samuel. “Can Jack talk? I think it would do Goldie good to talk to him.”

  Goldie was approaching me now. “Hand me the phone,” she said.

  I held up a finger as Samuel said, “He’s asleep. I’m just down the hall in the waiting area. Tell Goldie I’ll pick her up from the airport and bring her straight here. I won’t leave Chicago until Jack’s ready to leave too. I’ll be right here with the two of them the whole way.”