by A B Turner
Still unsure why he was so concerned about me, I turned to leave, when I heard a scuffle behind me, almost immediately, I felt two hands grab my arms, I spun round and I was face-to face with the woman, in the half-light, she looked vaguely familiar somehow.
“Who the hell are you ?” she demanded, her eyes flashing angrily, her grip on my arms tightening,
Frank stepped in,
“Leave it, Vanessa, let’s get outta here.”
“No, Frank, I wanna know who this bitch is !” she snapped, as soon as the words shot out, she turned to glare at him, as she did, she suddenly seemed to notice the trickle of blood which was now sliding down the side of his face.
“Oh God Frank, what did I do ?” she whispered.
“You hit him with your shoe, you lunatic !” I yelled, surprising all three of us with the unexpected level of my voice, her hands loosened their grip on my arms and I took the opportunity to move slightly away from her.
“Let me help,” I said quietly to the bleeding man.
I quickly rummaged through my bag to find a tissue, which I used to carefully dab the wound. Fortunately, it was superficial and seemed to quickly dry up, while I worked on Frank, the woman seemed genuinely horrified by her actions and was now resting against the side of the car muttering to herself about how sorry she was, from being a towering mass of rage, she now seemed like a little lost girl.
“That’s the best I can do, I’m afraid,” I said apologetically, while cleaning up the last of the blood.
For the first time since this had begun, he smiled broadly,
“Thanks, honey, you’ve done real good,” he replied, almost shyly.
Before anyone had a chance to speak ,suddenly Vanessa lurched forward clutching her stomach, without warning, threw up all over my shoes. Vomit splattered all over the pavement and up on to my clothes, I was horrified and was about to speak, when Frank muttered an inaudible expletive, then shoved Vanessa into the back of the car. Suddenly, two cars appeared from nowhere, they were racing down the street, lights blazing, I could hear voices shouting, Frank looked desperately at me for a moment, then bundled me into the vacant front seat before I had a chance to say or do anything.
Through the tinted glass, I could see several men leaping out of the still-moving cars. It was clear the men were still shouting, although as the car windows were closed, at first, it was difficult to make out their words, until I heard one quite clearly yell,
“Hey Vanessa, give us a picture, love !”
I glanced anxiously at Frank, who was now seemingly transfixed on the road ahead, his huge hand swallowing the gear stick.Suddenly the car jerked backwards, then violently forward, I gripped my seatbelt, my heart pounding against my chest. Frank was still staring ahead, his jaw clenched as he rammed the stick into gear.. As we roared forward , I looked ahead, the men were still there, in front of the huge car which was now bearing down on them and being driven by a silent but potential madman. I could barely look, it seemed impossible we weren't going to mow down at least three of them. But, at the last moment, they scattered,as we sped past, I could just hear them, swearing and cursing while gesticulating wildly. As we left them behind, I sat back in my seat, hoping my heart would return to a something like normal pace, while catching my breath.
With the lights of the busy London streets flashing past, the atmosphere within the car seemed to ease, as the very city itself seemed to offer some kind of protection from any more unwelcome intrusions. I tried to take stock of my situation, but my thoughts were interrupted by the deeply-unpleasant sensation around my feet, which had been easy to ignore only moments earlier. As I looked down warily, I saw the unmistakable pattern of vomit all over my lower legs and feet, so I began searching through my bag for something to clean up the mess. After several fraught minutes, I heard Frank sigh heavily,
“I think we lost ‘em, you OK back there, Vanessa ?” he enquired, his eyes still firmly focussed ahead. I looked behind me, Vanessa was now prone across the back seat, she was moaning slightly,
“She seems OK,” I said in an attempt to calm his nerves, but then I looked again,
“Oh my God, that’s Vanessa Bonart,” I exclaimed in an excited whisper, almost as soon as the words came out, I felt ridiculously embarrassed. I glanced across at Frank, hoping he hadn’t heard me, fortunately, his attention was elsewhere.
“Won’t be long now, sweetheart ,” he said calmly, still barely acknowledging my presence at all.
After cleaning myself as best as I could, I began to feel slightly irritated by his apparent ability to completely forget I was there at all, finally, after several more minutes, I snapped,
“I don’t mean to be difficult, but, can I ask, where the hell are we going ?” I asked impatiently.
As the car pulled up at the traffic lights, Frank turned to face me,
“Oh shit, I’m sorry, honey, I just had to get her away from the press...I didn’t mean to get you caught up in it all, are you alright ?” he asked.
“Me ? I’ve never had such a good time....I’ve been threatened by a shoe-wielding crazy woman, then got covered in vomit ,then I got thrown in a car.... so honestly ? I've never had a better time. I just really can’t wait to see what happens next !” I shot back sarcastically.
Almost immediately I regretted my tone, one look at Frank’s crumpled face and I felt just terrible, so I put my hand on his arm,
“I’m sorry..that was unnecessary."
“I think I should be the one asking to be forgiven, Jesus !” he exclaimed, that broad smile quickly replacing the concern.
“Let’s call it even,” I answered returning his smile.
“Are you OK sweetheart ?” Frank called back to Vanessa, when there was no answer, he glanced anxiously at me. I awkwardly reached for her hand through the gap between the front seats , I grabbed her wrist and felt the undeniable beat of a pulse.
“She’s still breathing, don’t worry, I imagine the night’s just caught up with her, “ I said reassuringly.
“Thank God !” he breathed, clearly relieved.
“Despite how she treats you, you really care about her, don’t you ?” I asked, fully aware I had no real right to comment at all.
“Hard as it may be to believe, there are times it’s like I’m the only one who does,” he answered sadly.No appropriate response came to mind so I gazed out of the window and attempted to make some sense of it all. It had started to rain, the multi-coloured city lights seemed to be reflecting from every available surface, it was so temporarily hypnotic I almost forgot I was in a car, with blacked-out windows, with a strange man and a drunk actress who was comatose on the back seat.
“I can’t remember the last time I was in the city,” I mused, almost talking to myself, “Well, not my own anyway.”
“Sounds like you have kids ?” Frank asked, clearly happy we had changed the subject. I nodded, he started to tell me about his family, about how proud he was of them and how he wished he could see them more often.
“But they’re at college now, and that costs money, I have to work...but I guess they understand,” he finished.
“They’re lucky to have such a great Dad,” I replied truthfully. I was starting to really like this huge bear of a man, despite his forbidding appearance, he obviously had a heart as big as his biceps, suddenly I realised I still had no idea where we were or, indeed, where we were going,
“Look, drop me off somewhere and I can get a cab back,” I suggested, being more than a little concerned as we had been driving for some considerable time.
“No way, you’re coming back with us, you need to get properly cleaned up,” Frank replied firmly.
I was about to argue, but one look at his determined expression made it pretty clear his mind was made up,
“After everything that happened tonight, I sure as hell am not letting you walk the streets looking like that...and anyway, without getting personal...you don’t smell so good either,” he said glancing sideways at me.
I smiled ruefully, he was right, the more stubborn remains of the vomit on my shoes had started to congeal, it both looked and smelt absolutely revolting. I was about to speak when Frank ordered me to get low,
“We’re almost at the hotel, it will be crawling with photographers, so I need you down as far as you can go.”
I gingerly slipped off the seat and into the foot well, the stench from my shoes was almost over-powering, but not wanting to complain, I just held my breath.The car swerved violently right, suddenly there were seemingly hundreds of flashes, visible even through the tinted glass of the window. After only a few moments, we were once again in darkness aside from a dirty, yellowish light, I peered up and saw the ceiling lights of a car park through the window in the car roof. The car veered left and then stopped, Frank leant back in his seat, puffing his not inconsiderable cheeks,
“Is everything alright ?” I whispered.
“Yeah, we got through, now, all we have to do is get her up to the room,” he announced.
I looked back at Vanessa who was now apparently fast asleep, then scrambled back on to my seat, relieved just to be away from my own shoes.
Suddenly the sound of a mobile phone broke the silence, Frank sighed,
“Ain’t no prize for guessing who this is gonna be.”
Even though he had the phone pressed against his ear, I could hear a shrill, irate female voice shrieking at him. Frank nodded a great deal and said little more than,
“I understand.”
Whoever it was, ended the call abruptly. Frank carefully put the phone back into his pocket, he looked steadily at me,
“Wait ‘til she sees you,” he said quietly, before I had a chance to ask who ‘she’ was, he got out of the car.
It was with some difficulty, we managed to lift Vanessa off the back seat, Frank thrust her handbag and shoes into my hand.
“Take these, will you ?” he ordered.
With Vanessa's limp body between us, we half-carried her to the service elevator at the end of the car park, it occurred to me this must have happened before, as Frank seemed to know exactly where we were going. Once in the elevator, Vanessa seemed to stir slightly, she looked first at me , when she realised I wasn’t a familiar face, she turned to Frank.
“Am I OK ?” she slurred.
“You’re fine, sweetheart, just on our way up to the suite,” he replied gently. She slumped back down so heavily, I nearly lost my balance, as one of her arms was slung round my neck. I re-adjusted my grip around her slim waist , I could feel her ribs through the soft silk of her blouse, she felt almost fragile so I consciously tried to be gentle.
The elevator suddenly jolted to a stop, nearly causing us to fall, fortunately, Frank steadied us like a rock. As the large door pulled back, we were greeted by a tall, pencil- thin woman, she wore large glasses, her hair was pulled back into a high bun coiled on top of her head, although she was dressed head-to-toe like a Vogue model, she reminded me of a Disney villainess. One glance and it was clear, she was far from amused by the sight that greeted her,
“What the hell happened ?” she snapped, her clipped British accent sliced through the air.
Before Frank had a chance to speak, she turned her attention to me,
“And who, may I ask is this ?”
She waved a cursory hand in my direction, I was about to answer, but one look at Frank’s face suggested silence might be best. The woman reached forward and lifted Vanessa's chin,
“Oh Christ, I’m assuming no-one has seen this,” the imperious woman continued.
“No, well, apart from Carrie ,” Frank smiled at me, the woman looked disdainful,
“Yes, well, I’ll deal with her in a minute, let’s get Vanessa into the suite”, she spun on her heel, paused, then turned to face me, she snatched the handbag and shoes which were still in my free hand, then strode across the carpeted hotel corridor.
“Who is that ?” I whispered, as Frank and I followed her, still carrying Vanessa between us.
“Marcella, Marcella Forbes, she’s Vanessa's aide..and not a woman to be messed with,” Frank whispered back.
“I gathered that much,” I replied, a little nervously, when we reached the suite, Marcella was already standing in the doorway like some highly-manicured Rotweiler,
“Take her inside, Frank,” she barked.
Frank picked Vanessa clean off the floor and carried her into the room, once they had gone, Marcella turned her attention to me,
“Now, what am I going to do with you ?” she began, looking me up and down.
“Excuse me,” I asked, suddenly feeling less than impressed by this woman’s attitude.
“Frank ?” she called, “Have we got this woman’s details ?”
“No, Marcella, no time,” he replied.
Marcella sighed,
“Of course not.”
She reached inside the room, then thrust a sheet of paper and a pen at me,
“Write down your name, address etc. ..also your bank details so I can arrange the money transfer,” she explained. I was confused,
“I’m not sure I understand,” I replied totally bemused.
Marcella’s head tipped to one side,
“Are you serious ?” she asked.
Before I had even opened my mouth, Frank appeared next to her,
“There’s no need, Marcella, Carrie's already said she won’t say anything,” he said quietly, almost speaking into her ear. On hearing this, she momentarily lost her impeccable self-control,
“Oh come on Frank, they’re all like that..don’t fall for that old ‘I would never talk routine’...you know what happens...just as I do..as soon as someone flashes a big cheque they can’t stop bloody talking ! So what’s it going to take to keep you quiet ?”
She glared angrily at me, but by this point, I had more than enough of her attitude,
“I promised Frank, I would say nothing and I intend to keep to my word,” I replied coldly and glared back at her,my uncompromising response seemed to temporarily faze Marcella, so I took the opportunity to continue,
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my hotel and clean up.”
Frank stepped forward purposefully,
“No, Carrie, come in first, we can’t let you go like this.”
He gestured me into the room, but this seemed to snap Marcella back into reality,
“Like what ?” she asked, then she looked down at my vomit-splattered shoes,
“Oh God, that dreadful smell is you !” she exclaimed, looking completely disgusted, clutching her nose somewhat dramatically.
“Come in Carrie ,” Frank said again.
Marcella looked at him in horror,
“I am not having that in there !” she snapped.
That was the last straw , as far as I was concerned, I scribbled down the name of my hotel, my full name and shoved the paper and pen back to Marcella.
“There you are...I’m done,” I said firmly, Frank looked, at first, crestfallen then almost immediately angry,
“I said, you’re coming in,” he said ,he then took my arm and guided me into the suite, past a stunned Marcella, who was obviously more used to blind obedience.
The room was rich and ornate, antique furniture and extravagant decoration seemed to be at every turn. Vanessa was now asleep on a deep red velvet chaise , it was the first time, all evening, I had actually seen her clearly, her long, brown hair tumbled around her slim shoulders, the carefully-arched eyebrows were slightly raised ,her now- familiar face was even more beautiful in the flesh than any of the magazine covers I had seen it on before.
I could hear Frank and Marcella whispering loudly, they were clearly arguing, but surprisingly, again, it was Frank who came out victorious , he came over stood to me,
“OK Carrie, the bathroom’s through there, take what you need,” he pointed me towards an ornately-decorated interior door.
Dutifully, I followed his direction and went into the bathroom, once I closed the door firml
y behind me , I turned to find myself in space most of my living-room at home could have easily been placed. Every fitting, in fact, every tap was gleaming, the bathtubs and washbasins were so white, it was almost blinding to look at them for too long. I carefully eased one of the smaller white towels off the rail, then turned to look at my reflection in the vast mirror. It was only then I realised just how awful I looked, I could now hardly blame Marcella for being so reluctant to allow me into this place.I pulled some tissues from a glittering dispenser, dampened them and started to wipe the vomit off my shoes, thankfully, after several minutes, the under-lying black patent started to shine through.
Once clean, I flushed the soiled paper away, attempted to tidy my hair and straighten my clothes, although I was never going to match the opulence of my surroundings, I wanted to make some effort. Once I had achieved some semblance of normality, I re-emerged into the main room. Frank was sitting in a large armchair, he glanced up and smiled approvingly,
“You look better ,” she said kindly.
“Thanks,” I replied gratefully.
He rose from the chair and came over to me, he clearly had some thing to say, but was uncomfortable,
“Marcella isn’t happy,” he began. I wanted to laugh, but his expression made it clear this was no joke.
“She wants you to sign some kind of paper, to stop you being able to go the press....” his voice trailed off, he was completely embarrassed.
“Look Frank, don’t worry, I’ll sign whatever it is...there’s no need to feel bad,” I reassured him.
It was clear he was angry, but when I smiled, his face relaxed,
“You’re alright, you know that ?” he asked, I smiled my thanks.
A low groan emanated from the chaise,
“Frank ?” Vanessa's voice sounded almost lost, he raced to her side and knelt down.
“You OK, sweetheart ?” he asked kindly, almost absent-mindedly he stroked her forehead, carefully pushing the hair from her eyes.
“I don’t know,” she replied wearily.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
Frank stood up and looked expectantly at me, clearly he wanted my help. I hesitated but then walked over to the chaise, put my arm around her waist and together we carried her into the bedroom, it took every bit of self-control for me not to gasp at the sheer luxury of the room. Every inch of the massive bedstead seemed to be covered in golden filigree, with a carefully-arranged pile of vast, silk pillows heaped at one end. After some difficulty we managed to sit Vanessa down on the edge of the bed, her head slumped slightly forward, once we were both convinced she was relatively steady, we took a step back.