Selling the Drama

by Theresa Smith

  Toby stroked her hair as she cried against him. "I don't understand it either."

  Iris was sitting on the couch in her bedroom staring out of the window with a glassy expression. Toby took a seat beside her, reaching over to grab a hold of her hand. He squeezed it gently in order to get her attention.

  "Hey, look at me, Iris," he coaxed. She slowly turned her head towards him but said nothing as her eyes met his. "It's just you and me here right now. Charlotte is downstairs getting ready for us to leave. You remember that we're leaving today, don't you?"

  Iris nodded.

  Toby pressed on, concerned he might get busted for this at any given moment. "While it's just you and me, I want you tell me why Royce left." Toby was not convinced in the slightest that Iris had no idea about Royce's motivations. Charlotte might be reluctant to press her mother for details, but Toby had no such inhibitions.

  Iris just shook her head though, tears filling her eyes. She tried to pull her hand out of Toby's grip, but he held on firmly.

  "Iris, why did Royce leave? I don't believe you don't know."

  She shook her head again and Toby began to lose his temper. He had neither the time nor the patience for this act. Yanking on her hand, he leaned in, putting his face closer to hers. "Cut the crap. Charlotte isn't around right now. Tell me what you know."

  "I don't know anything," she whispered.

  "I don't believe you."

  There was a silence between them then, long and heavy. Toby stared at Iris, releasing her hand before standing, his frustration mounting. "Charlotte will ring you when we get back home. Make sure you answer the phone. She doesn't need the distraction of worrying about you while she tries to finish off her exams."

  "What about you, Toby? Will you worry about me?" She looked up at him with one of those unreadable expressions she liked to arrange her face into.

  Ever the manipulator. Toby looked down at her dispassionately. "No, Iris, I won't worry about you. I think you've got it all under control." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, his fondness for her over riding his irritation for her antics. She grabbed a hold of his wrist as he made to leave.

  "It's because of Jenna," she whispered. "It's always because of her. She's a curse."

  Toby straightened up, pulling his wrist out of her grasp. "Iris, you're under a lot of strain. I think you need to maybe see a doctor."

  She smiled then, a twisted sort of grin that did nothing to diminish his alarm. "Goodbye, Toby. You take care of Charlotte for me. This will be hard for her. She always was a daddy's girl."

  Toby left her then, eager to be gone from that room and the sadness she was wearing like a second skin. He met Charlotte at the foot of the stairs.

  "I was just coming to say goodbye to her." She put a foot forward, making to nudge past him on the stairs.

  Toby took a hold of her elbow and shook his head. "She's asleep. We should just go."

  "Oh, well I'll just check on her before we do."

  Toby tightened his hold and began to steer her back to the hall where their bags were waiting. "I tucked her in, made sure she had some water beside the bed and turned the fan on. We should just go."

  Charlotte stared at him. "Do you think she'll be alright on her own?" Her eyes filled with tears again.

  "Yeah, I think she'll be okay. Come on, I just heard the taxi pull up." Threading his fingers with hers, he steered her towards the front door. "You head out so they don't leave and I'll just check that everything is locked down here."

  Charlotte nodded, hoisting up one of the lighter bags and picking up her handbag before heading out the door. Toby gave the downstairs a once over before following her out. As he loaded their bags into the boot, he looked over at Charlotte, effecting a casual tone. "You didn't ring Jenna to suggest she come up, did you?"

  She shook her head. "No. I didn't think it was such a good idea in the end. Jenna stresses Mum out too much."

  Toby nodded as he shut the boot. "Good call."

  Toby waited until Charlotte was in the shower before calling Jenna. He was under no illusions that this was probably a dead end, but there would be no satisfaction until he had at least covered all of the bases available to him.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey, it's Toby."

  "What do you want?"

  "Nice to talk to you to," he interjected. "I'm well, thanks for asking." His sarcasm generated a light laugh from Jenna.

  "Yeah, yeah, all that with a cherry on top. Now what do you want?"

  "So, you heard about Royce?"

  "Who's Royce?"

  "Jenna!" He shook his head at her even though she was unable to see him. She would likely drive a person insane if they ever spent any length of time in her company.

  She laughed again. "Okay, sorry. Of course I've heard about Royce. Tragic. I'm still in shock."

  "Yeah, you sound all torn up. Do you have anything to do with why he left?" Toby was straight to the point. He could still hear the shower running, but Charlotte was known to veer from five minutes to twenty five under the spray and he wanted this conversation over with before she got out.

  "Excuse me?" There was a haughty tone to Jenna's voice now that Toby did not miss.

  "Did you sleep with him or something? Is that why he left?"

  Silence. Toby waited, yet the silence stretched out into that place of discomfort that exists between two people when one person says something to the other that they really shouldn't have. He knew she was still on the line, yet she was giving him nothing. "Jenna?"

  "Did she say that to you?"

  The 'she' in this, clearly being Iris. "No. I'm just going through the possible scenarios." He hoped Jenna would be satisfied with that lame response because that was about all he could come up with.

  "And me, sleeping with my brother in law, who is eighteen years older and let's be honest here, not all that hot anymore, is a viable scenario?" Her tone was filled with incredulity.

  "No. Sorry. Forget I even brought it up. But hey, it's good to have that one struck off the list." He winced in preparation for her backlash, yet all that came instead was a heavy sigh, the sadness within evident. He felt awful then for even buying into the suspicion. Iris was full of crap and Jenna copped far too much of it as it was. "Hey, I really am sorry."

  "Sure. Whatever. Why should I expect anything different from this family?"

  As sorry as he was, he was not interested in a poor me session with Jenna right now. "Do you have any ideas on why he left?"

  "Well, aside from his affair with me," she retorted, and Toby could not help but smile at that, because for all of her shortcomings, she was not without a thick skin. "I think that he's been stuck up there on his own with Iris for a few years now since you and Charlotte cleared out and the thought of another wet season rattling around in that house with just the two of them was enough to do him in so he took off. First smart thing he's ever done."

  Toby paused. "You think he left because of the weather?" This suggestion was a classic example of why he never indulged in deliberate conversation with Jenna if he could help it.

  "No, I think he left because my sister is a bitch." She laughed then, with genuine mirth. "I just threw that bit in about the weather so I didn't sound quite so callous."

  Toby smirked into the phone. "Yeah, well, whatever his reasons, it's harsh for Charlotte."

  "Yes it is. But Royce is a weak man. He always was. It's how he lasted so long with someone like Iris." For once, Jenna sounded as though she could be possibly on the verge of making sense. "In the end Toby, weak men cave. They hurt the people they love because they're too weak to stand up and fight for them. They bow out."

  "Deep philosophising right there from you," Toby remarked, mildly surprised.

  "Well, I've become something of an expert on men lately, given how many of them I've gone through."

  He laughed at that. So true. He had lost count now how many men she had let move in with her over the last few years, only to have them move out and be r
eplaced before you even had a chance to remember the current guy's name.

  "How is Charlotte, anyway?" Jenna's voice was laden with concern. Charlotte was probably just about the only person Jenna actually gave a damn about. Toby supposed though, that from Jenna's point of view, Charlotte was probably the only person who gave a damn about her.

  "She's really upset. She doesn't understand how Royce could have left her with no explanation. She doesn't want to believe he's not coming back even though all the signs point to that very conclusion. She's worried about Iris, naturally. Sometimes it's hard not to," he replied dryly.

  "I wasn't talking about that. I expected her to be crushed about Royce. I meant, how is she after her surgery? I haven't spoken to her since she had her neck done. Is it all good?"

  "Oh, yeah. It's perfect." Toby had finally been able to make good on his long ago promise to Charlotte, and she had gone into the hospital to get the scar on her neck fixed a little over three weeks ago. "It's just about all healed but you can tell the mark is all gone. You'd only know there was ever something there if you knew to look for it. I just wish I hadn't had to wait until I turned twenty one to be able to fix it for her."

  Jenna laughed out loud, an undignified snort coming down the line. "Listen to you! You'd think you'd done the surgery yourself the way you go on! I have never come across someone with a greater God complex."

  "I do not have a God complex." Her unjustified barb further soured his mood. Jenna had a natural talent for pissing people off with the minimum of effort. "I just meant that I promised her I would fix it for her and I wish it hadn't taken so long because she's really happy now it's done."

  "Yes," Jenna replied, laughter still filling her tone. "Well, you have come to the rescue. Thank you. On behalf of my disintegrated family, and the world, I thank you for your heroism."

  "Fuck off."

  "With pleasure. You've kept me on the phone for far too long anyway. Be careful, or people might think I'm sleeping with you as well."

  She was probably never going to let him live that one down. "Goodbye, Jenna." She hung up in his ear with no further response.

  Charlotte graduated with an Arts Degree in Journalism. She applied for jobs all over the city and was thrilled to bits when she was offered a place at the ABC radio station. Jobs such as these were highly sought after, but she had the personality and voice for radio, coming to them also armed with a prestigious University broadcasting journalism prize that spoke volumes for her talent and skill. A celebration was in order, so she and Toby got together with Jake and Ellie for a night out on the town.

  Jake was full of his own importance, having just finished his degree in Psychology and about to take his place at the police academy the following month. Jake armed with a Psychology qualification was amusing to say the least, but it verged more towards irritating as the night wore on. He of course knew, just by looking at a person, their entire psychological profile.

  "You can't know these things about people just from looking at them. If you actually found out anything at all about the people you're sitting here making up garbage about, you'd see how far off the mark you are." Charlotte rolled her eyes at him and shot a grin in Ellie's direction.

  "You're just pissed because I won't do you." Jake was at that loud, just about drunk but not quite there yet, stage of the evening.

  "If I wanted to be psychologically profiled, it would not be by you. So, what are you going to do for the rest of your life? Comb the streets looking for criminals before they commit a crime by reading their minds? And to think, in twelve months' time, you will be loose on the streets with a gun. Do they psychologically profile you at all? Because if they knew you like we do, they might just be inclined to give you a desk job." Charlotte took great pleasure in the look of outrage fixing itself onto Jake's face.

  "My qualifications mean I can be a detective. I'm a highly sought after applicant," he replied in a superior tone, an expression on his face to match. "You won't be able to call me about fixing up your parking or speeding fines, that will be way below me, my friend."

  "I don't have a car," Charlotte replied dryly. "I won't need to call you."

  "You may need to call me when you want the scoop for all the criminal cases. Having a detective in your pocket as a journalist could be a very useful thing. I would probably keep in good with me if I were you."

  "Fucking hell, he's corrupt already," announced Toby. "I hope you have an offshore account Ellie." He sent Ellie a wink as Jake flipped him his middle finger.

  "You lot are just a bunch of arseholes, you know that, right?" Jake grinned as he threw back the last of his drink. "Just wait until your kids want a ride in a police car. Then you'll be all jokes aside, knowing who to call."

  Toby laughed outright. "If anyone's kids are having a ride in a police car, then I think it might be me they'd be calling, not you!"

  "Yeah, yeah, shut up. How about we focus on the ambulance chaser in our midst instead for a while. Leave the guy with the noble career alone."

  "I don't need to chase ambulances. I just listen to police scanners instead and make friends with corrupt cops with the intent of exposing them after I've milked them for all that they're worth." Charlotte winked at Jake with smile before turning to Toby. "Drink run?"

  Nodding, Toby indicated Ellie's glass, still half filled with drink. "You too?"

  "Thanks." Ellie looked at Jake meaningfully. "Go with him."

  Rolling his eyes, he got to his feet and followed Toby. Charlotte smirked at his retreating figure. "You are so bossy," she remarked to Ellie.

  Ellie laughed, her eyes sparkling merrily. "He loves it. So, no more scarves now?" Ellie slid her gaze to Charlotte's neck, now devoid of the ugly scar they had all grown so used to seeing.

  Charlotte beamed, her happiness at being rid of it uncontained. "I don't think I'll ever wear another scarf again. I can't believe how good it looks. There's almost nothing there."

  Ellie peered at it closely. "I can't see anything at all. It's brilliant. Lucky you have such a rich boyfriend." A touch of sarcasm lilted her tone.

  Charlotte ignored the dig. "He probably spent the same amount of money on the surgery than he did on keeping me in scarves for the last few years."

  "Doubt it." Ellie took another sip of her drink. "What did your mum say when she saw it?"

  Charlotte snorted with disgust, shaking her head. "Nothing, because I highly doubt she even noticed."

  "I suppose she was distracted with the whole mess of your dad leaving." Ellie cast Charlotte a sympathetic look. "That's a pretty big blow to a person."

  "Yeah, that was it. I'm sure she would have noticed otherwise. Because she's so observant normally." Charlotte shrugged and forced a smile at Ellie. "It doesn't matter Ellie. I don't care about her opinion anyway. She's never seen the scar in the same way that I did. She never considered it as a big deal. If she ever does notice that it's gone, she'll probably just tell Toby he wasted his money."

  Charlotte looked over at the bar to see Toby and Jake just putting their drink orders in after having to wait for the crowd to thin out. She blinked rapidly, overcome with a weepiness that she was not usually given to. In the past, Charlotte had never been overly bothered by her mother's disinterest. She understood that when someone else was around to pick up the slack, to a certain degree, it was easy to miss the shortcomings of another. In the absence of her father though, the equilibrium within her family was gone. Her mother, in all her disinterested glory, was it, from here on in, and the realisation of this was akin to pouring salt into an already gaping wound. Ellie tapped her on the arm and Charlotte turned to her, breaking her gaze from Toby's back.

  "Jake asked me to marry him." Her face was glowing, her joy at this disclosure spilling out and spreading to Charlotte, who knew just how much Ellie had been waiting for this. Ellie had an order set out for her life: finish school, get a job, get married, have kids. Jake was on the cusp of getting a job, so as far as Ellie was concerned, it was onto t
he next stage for them.

  "Ellie! When?" Charlotte beamed at her, so thrilled for her best friend, genuinely happy at this news. It was a welcome reprieve from the depressive feeling her father's disappearance had left her with.

  "This morning. He hid the ring under my toast and then dropped to his knee when I found it. I cried." Tears were shining in her eyes right now, despite her ear splitting grin.

  Charlotte laughed as she took a hold of both of Ellie's hands. "Of course you cried! I'm nearly crying and I wasn't even there! Where is the ring?"

  "In my bag. I just wanted to tell you before you saw me with it on and guessed."

  Charlotte released Ellie's hands. "Get it out! Put it on! And hurry up because I'm excited now." They both laughed as Ellie rummaged through her bag. Toby and Jake returned to the table then, drinks in hand.

  "What are you looking for, babe?" Jake put Ellie's drink down in front of her.

  "Holy shit! I can't find my ring!" Her face showed true panic as she glanced up at Jake. He looked like he was about to choke, his face changing colour, his eyes widening, with no sound coming out of his open mouth, just this tiny pained croak, as though he had no voice box at all anymore. Ellie burst out laughing, holding it up between her fingers. "Just joking!"

  Jake gasped as Charlotte and Toby both erupted into laughter also, Toby laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes by the time he was done. "Your face, man, I wish I had a camera."

  "That was not funny! I have a debt now because of that ring!" He turned to Ellie. "Put it on and keep it on. If you lose it, we forfeit our firstborn. That's how much it cost." Jake wiped his face on his sleeve; he was actually sweating he had panicked so much.

  Toby hit him on the arm lightly. "Dude, you need to lighten up. You aren't an old married man yet."

  "Maybe not, but I have the debts of one and that ages you, let me tell you." Jake took a large mouthful of his drink, his hand still shaking slightly at the thought of his 'investment' disappearing into thin air.