“He’s probably working late tonight,” Jose responded, staring over at the clock as well.
“Look, it’s already past midnight, I’m calling the police.” Vivian pushed Jose out of the way to get to the phone. Panic caused her feet to move her with such force.
Helen came out of the bathroom, saw Vivian with the phone in her hand, putting it up to her ear, Helen asked, “Vivian, what are you doing?”
“I’m calling the police.”
Helen dried her wet, showered hair with a long white towel, questioning, “How are you doing that?”
“Easy, I just dial it. Not all blondes are stupid. As a matter of fact, all blondes are smart.” Vivian’s angry voice caused Helen to start laughing, and Jose just stared at the both of them. “What are you laughing at?”
Helen’s laughter became silent, looking at the phone up to Vivian’s ear, she asked, “Vivian, is anyone answering?”
“They haven’t picked up yet.” Helen’s laughter became known again, louder as could be, she looked at Vivian and nearly had a stroke.
“Vivian, girlfriend, put the phone down.”
“Why? I have to call the police, Damen hasn’t come home yet,” said Vivian, seeing Helen walking over to her, she then grabbed the phone.
Helen held the phone up to Vivian’s ear, questioning, “Vivian, listen, do you hear anything?”
She tried grabbing the phone away from Helen, shouting, “I haven’t got time for these games.” After she grabbed it, Helen stopped laughing and looked straight into her eyes.
Helen pulled the phone away from her worried grip, placed it down on the receiver, and stared at Vivian once again. “Vivian, it’s not a game, there is no phone. The phone company shut it off three hours ago, we didn’t pay the bill.”
“Oh, that’s just great,” she screamed in craziness. That’s when Damen walked in the door. “Where have you been?” Vivian approached Damen and hugged him tightly, realizing her worried mind in every forceful squeeze she could give him.
“Just driving around,” he replied with some amiable happiness. “Guess what?” he added, sitting down on the couch and staring at the Christmas tree’s lights.
“What?”
Vivian and Helen sat beside him on the couch, while Jose just stood there, waiting to hear Damen’s next words. Damen then started laughing in craziness, responding, “I got fired today.”
“Are you serious?” Vivian asked, hearing Jose making a small laugh come out from his mouth; he was laughing at Damen’s laughter.
“Yeah, and it gets even better, I was fired by a director.” They all stared at him in a dumbfounded way.
Helen and Vivian still stared at him, but Jose had to know why he was laughing, and had to ask, “Why are you so happy about that?”
“Why am I so happy? Is that’s what you asked? Well, if it wasn’t for me getting fired, I would have never talked to the cabdriver,” Damen replied, with them still looking at him in a confused way.
“Wait a minute, who’s the cabdriver? Please, explain yourself, because we’re still confused about why you’re so happy. Baby, are you on drugs?” Vivian questioned. She looked at Damen and stared at his pupils to see if they showed any signs of being on drugs, and he still kept on giggling.
“No, I’m not on drugs, I’m just not confused anymore. This whole week I was ready to pack my bags and go back home to Ridge Crest. I couldn’t take it anymore. But then I got fired and yelled at by a movie star. I got in a cab and drove off. That’s when the cabdriver started talking to me, and he knew what was wrong,” Damen explained. Vivian finally realized what he was talking about, but Jose and Helen didn’t.
“Does it have anything to do with what you explained to me up by the big Hollywood sign?” Vivian asked in a low tone.
Jose and Helen still gawked at him in a puzzled manner, even after he responded, “Somewhat, but even more personal things.”
“Okay, good enough for me.” Vivian looked at Jose and Helen, adding, “So, what did the cabdriver say to make you so happy, honey?”
“He said, ‘don’t give up, son.’”
Jose stared at them both, saying, “Okay, I give up, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Never mind, Jose, this isn’t the time or place to explain it. I’m just happy you’re home, Damen,” Vivian spoke.
“Yeah, me too. Hey, Jose, do you realize that this is the first Christmas we spent without Darell?”
“I know, it feels weird. I miss the little punk,” Jose replied with a grin.
“What do you mean, ‘little’? He’s only a week younger than you, and I’m a week older,” Damen stated.
Helen then asked in an amazed fashion, “Do you guys mean your birthdays are a week apart? You, Jose and Darell’s?”
“Yep, that’s correct. Darell’s the youngest, I’m the oldest and Jose is the middle guy,” Damen responded, punching Jose lightly on the shoulder. “Jose gets jealous a lot because he’s the middle person, but we still love you,” he added in a joking way.
“When’s your birthdays?” questioned Helen. She got up and turned on the Christmas lights on the window; Vivian turned off the room lights at the same time.
“Mine is February 7, Jose’s February 14, and Darell’s the 21,” explained Damen, lighting his cigarette in the darkness.
“Wow, that’s amazing. It’s like an omen of some kind,” said Helen, looking up at the glittering, multicolored lights on the tree.
“It’s just coincidence, that’s all,” said Jose, staring through the darkness at Helen.
“Maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t,” Vivian stated, looking at her brand-new watch, twinkling in the tree’s light. “It’s getting late.”
Damen kissed her lightly on the forehead, saying, “So what, I don’t start working at the café till noon. Besides, it’s Christmas.”
“Well, in actuality, it’s no longer Christmas, baby. But I’ll be lenient, in an hour we’ll go to bed,” she said as Jose and Helen yawned.
“Hey, Helen, who’s taking the place of Mr. Fryer? Isn’t he in New York right now?” Jose asked. Damen looked at him with a shocked face, he couldn’t believe that Jose could say that name in front of Vivian.
“His assistant’s taking over for now. Mr. Fryer is coming back next week for the premiere of Darell’s new movie,” Helen replied. Vivian took Damen’s cigarette and began smoking it fast, trying to calm her nerves from hearing that dreadful name.
“What day is that?” asked Jose.
“I think it’s January 1.” Helen then watched Vivian in confusion as she still kept on smoking the cigarette, even after it was out.
“Hey, isn’t that when the dinner is, Jose, the one with Julienne Wells?” Damen questioned, noticing the tobacco from Vivian’s cigarette was all gone, and she was still puffing away.
“Yeah, that’s the day.” Jose began looking at Vivian in a strange manner also.
“I think this is great, you’re going to a dinner to meet casting agents, and Darell is going to be back in Hollywood,” Damen spoke, seeing that Vivian finally noticed the cigarette was all smoked; she put it in a glass ash tray.
Jose suddenly noticed the razor scars on Vivian’s wrist, speaking at the same time, “How is he going to find us?”
“Well, aren’t you going to that premiere dinner?” Vivian asked.
Jose looked at her in an angry way, defensively answering, “Yeah, but it’s Julienne’s premiere dinner, not Darell’s.”
“Well, premiere dinners are only held in one building, at least that’s what I thought. So, you probably will see Darell there if you do go,” Vivian spoke in kindness.
“What are you talking about, Vivian? I am going to the dinner definitely.”
“I know, but there still is a chance you might not go. Think about it, Jose, a movie star coming up to you and taking you home on that very same day, and then later on, asking you if you want to go to some premiere dinner so that you can get discovered. I don’t know abo
ut you, but that sounds suspicious to me.” Vivian was trying to help Jose, but he didn’t realize that; he thought she was doing this to hurt him.
“You’re just jealous,” shouted Jose, looking down at her scar. Instead of feeling bad about starting this conversation about Darell and Mr. Fryer, he felt great for doing it; the anger caused this change in feelings.
Vivian noticed he was staring at her scar through the darkness, so she covered it up with her hand, and ordered, “No, I’m not jealous, just drop it.”
Damen saw that this conversation was getting out of hand, seeing that it was directing itself into a hurtful territory, he also ordered, “Yeah, just drop it, you two.”
Vivian whispered, “Alright.”
Damen went up to Vivian’s ear, saying, “We’ll talk tomorrow about this matter at the restaurant.”
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot we had a date tomorrow.”
“What date?” Jose asked in a confused fashion.
Damen stared at Jose through the darkness, seeing his silhouette, he spoke, “Do I have to tell you everything, Jose? Vivian and I are going on a date tomorrow, or actually, we’re going today.”
“Wait a second, what time are you going?
“After work, and I don’t know what time that’ll be,” Damen replied, not seeing that Jose’s eyes widened with jealousy.
“Hey, did you forget? You and I were supposed to go to L.A. after work. Remember, we planned to go bar hopping?” Jose looked at Vivian through the darkness and then turned to look at Damen, jealous toward her and angered toward him.
Jealousy filled up in Jose’s mind, showing itself through his eyes.
“Oh, that’s right. I tell you what, we’ll go another day.”
“What?” asked Jose. His thoughts ran around his head, overflowing with jealousy and deceit.
I knew Damen before her, this isn’t fair. Thank God I’ll be out of this dump in a week...
That’s when the evil set in Jose and the hatred for Vivian and Damen began.
“I’m sorry, Jose.” Damen then looked at Jose’s face turning away from them and then turning back, but this time with a plan. A plan to hurt Vivian again and tick off Damen at the same time.
“Oh, that’s okay. Besides, when Darell comes back, we’ll have plenty of time to go bar hopping.” Jose’s first part of his plan was complete. “Hey, I wonder if Mr. Fryer got Darell into any more movies?”
Damen looked at him again in shock for mentioning that name once more, saying in a fast manner, “I don’t know, Jose.”
“You know, I think Darell’s very lucky for finding such a nice agent like Mr. Fryer,” spoke Jose, lighting a match to ignite his cigarette, and looking at Vivian’s scar with the flash from the match.
Damen asked in an eager voice, to try and change the conversation, “Okay, Jose, could we please talk about something else?”
“I bet Mr. Fryer is going to be with Darell all the time,” Jose added, seeing Damen staring at him in confusion.
“Yeah, that’s great,” said Damen, knowing that Jose was saying that name on purpose. Getting up from the couch, Damen questioned, “Um, Jose, could you help me with something?”
“What do you want me to help you with?” he asked. Damen then grabbed him by his shirt.
“I want you to help me with something outside in the hallway. Ladies, we’ll be right back.” He pushed Jose out into the hallway and closed the door, staring at him with unbelievable anger.
“What is it, Damen?”
“You know what it is.”
“No I don’t. Please, enlighten me.”
“What the hell were you doing just now? Why did you keep on bringing up Mr. Fryer? You know Vivian gets upset at that name. Why did you keep on mentioning him?” Damen whispered.
“Just because she didn’t get Mr. Fryer as an agent, doesn’t mean I can’t bring up his name,” Jose defended.
“Listen, you did it on purpose, I know you did, Jose.”
Jose’s voice traveled through the urine-smelling hallway, saying with jealousy, “Damen, I knew you first, she didn’t. It’s supposed to be me, you, and Darell. Not me, you and Vivian.”
“Is that what this is all about? Is it?”
“What do you mean?” asked Jose, trailing his eyes away from Damen’s.
“I mean your jealousy, is that why you’re acting like a five year old?”
Jose then flicked up the middle finger toward him.
“How dare you say I’m jealous, I’m not,” he defended with hesitation. Jose recognized he made a mistake by starting this argument, needing a lie to construct in his words, a lie to help him get out of being thrown out of the apartment by Damen, at least till the end of the week.
“Jose, you’re a bad actor when it comes down to lying right in my face,” Damen spoke with a grin. “Listen, I love her, but it doesn’t change our friendship. You and Darell are like my brothers. Nothing is going to change that.”
“You promise me that?” Jose questioned, looking down at the floor like a little child; he knew that his acting was working.
“Yeah, I promise,” he replied, shaking Jose’s hand. “You know, Jose, sometimes I just don’t understand you. One day you’re a jerk, one day you’re an ass, and one day you’re the Jose that I knew back home.”
“Well, you better get used to that. Listen, I want you know one thing,” Jose said as Damen put his hand on the doorknob, but then paused suddenly, waiting to hear his voice continue.
“What’s that?”
“Whatever I do in the near future while I’m in Hollywood, I want you to know that I’m doing it for a reason. So, if I become a movie star before you and I start acting conceited about it, just slap me in the face. Will you do that for me?” Jose knew that by adding those last words to his act, he would definitely deserve an Academy Award.
“Jose, you didn’t even have to tell me that, I would do it anyway.” Damen opened the door a crack, adding, “What I want you to do now, is apologize to Vivian.”
“Alright, I’ll do it right now.”
They both walked inside and closed the door. Jose grinned and conveyed in his mind,
I did it, thank God. Now I have to apologize to that bitch in there.
That night, Damen stayed up for a while. He got out of bed and walked over to the lightened Christmas tree. He took out his Rosary and kneeled in front of the tree, praying, “God, if you could hear me, I want you to help all of us. I’m so confused about my friends and why we came here in the first place. Sometimes I wonder if Jose is lying to me, even after he says he’s not. I want you to help me, and I pray that you help me help them. Lord, there is so much confusion in their eyes. Vivian, Jose, and even Darell’s eyes are full of something that I can’t explain. It’s like they are ready to betray me sometimes, betray me for their dreams and ambitions. The only one that hasn’t done it in a long time is Darell. Darell gave me a speech, a speech before he became famous. It was like a warning to me, a warning that I never thought he would say. He said it to me when I had my eyes closed. Jose gave me the same speech, Lord, but he gave it to me while my eyes were opened. They both told me when they become famous, if they get out of line, I should just remember to hit them and knock some sense into them. Lord, why did they say that to me?” Damen’s eyes became heavy, adding, “Thank you God, thank you God for making Darell’s dream come true. The next one is Jose, and Vivian. Then, it’s my turn, that’s if you really want to help me.”
He then dropped his Rosary in the darkness. “Oh no.” Damen tried to feel his way to the Rosary, but fell asleep trying. He fell asleep by the tree that held an angel ornament near its top: the angel that Damen was praying to.
Chapter Thirty-One
Walking in an airport, back and forth, trying to make time run by faster, breaking his knuckles over and over again, grinding his teeth and biting his tongue, Darell was starting to hate these places. The way the airport staff smiled, but when you asked them for help, they never gave it
to you, but still they grinned away, like it’s in their contract, their procedures of daily chores to take on. So many things pressed against his head, like the seats by the airport terminal, skinny and uncomfortable, but you still have to sit down in them, upright, and stare at people of all kinds, either sleeping and snoring, or wide awake, trying to talk to you. The echoes in the airport, sounds of children singing their screams, and chanting their wants, mothers pulling their hands, and yelling to stop their cries, Darell couldn’t take it anymore, his mind was ready to explode into an oblivion. To make matters worse, a man with his head shaved, blue jeans that had ripped marks in them, showing his dirty flesh, and smells, aromas that came from him, smelling like a lamb’s feet, chewing gum loudly, with his jaws smacking down to gather his nerves from breaking out of his mouth, knocked into Darell without even apologizing. Darell really wanted to move. But, he saw that all of the skinny, minute seats were taken by other strange humans, so he just waited it out, watching the terminal screen, waiting for his flight to say “boarding.”
To make matters even more terrible in irritation, Darell turned, noticed a poster suddenly on the airport wall with his face on it, advertising his movie. So, he crunched down in his chair, covered his face, and just waited for that damn screen to say his flight was about to board. That’s when he became excited, just like anyone would, when he heard Tom say, “Come on, Darell, that’s our flight,” after a woman came over the intercom and announced their flight number.
The chauffeur, who drove Tom’s agency’s limo, came up to Tom and handed him his suitcase, while Darell questioned, “Why are we leaving two days before the premiere?”
“Oh, now you don’t want to leave. Didn’t you say that you missed your friends?”
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t answer my question,” Darell replied, walking to the terminal with Mr. Fryer. “This is moving way too fast,” he added, seeing Tom stopping dead in his tracks.
Sugar Valley (Hollywood's Darkest Secret) Page 32