Queen of Hearts

by Sheryl Wright

  Ally pulled out of her arms with as much neutrality as she could muster. She hated assumptions. That, and public displays of affection. She didn’t have a problem with a couple walking hand in hand, any couple for that matter. Nor would she begrudge any blissful pair the odd spontaneous kiss of joy or even passion—but making out, or just putting it on for others to watch, made her skin crawl. “No worries. Listen, keep your eye on the heading and tell me the minute you feel the winds shift like they did when we when left port. It should be subtle, but you’ll know,” she reassured the helmswoman as she moved to increase the distance between them.

  The woman smiled as if some secret promise had been made between them, then turned her attention back to steering the big sailboat through the last leg of the race course.

  Letting out a breath of relief, Ally was pleased to find Erin at her side as they passed the finish line in second place to Rene. She offered her hand to her co-captain with a warm and appreciative smile. “We did it, Erin.”

  In return, Erin’s eyes offered that warmth she was starting to enjoy. “Not first but a very respectable close second. And the best part, we left the others in our wake!”

  Chapter Seven

  Ally slid into one of the wingback chairs in the faculty lounge, turned queens’ lounge, where the production meetings would take place. Beside her, Rene groaned. “I don’t know which was harder work, trying to follow your strategy or keep from killing my co-captain.”

  “Yikes. Sorry about that,” Ally said, admitting, “I was kind of hoping Pam would get stuck with Ms. Bossy-Boots.”

  “Me too. Still, we did leave old Pamela in the dust—or should I say lake?”

  “Nice talk!” Pam offered, defending herself as she joined them to learn what they had planned for the evening.

  Ally was hoping for some solitude and had a feeling Rene was leaning that way too. Pam, however, had already showered and changed and looked for all the world like a woman refreshed from a day at leisurely play. Rene and Ally mentioned the voices of unused muscles having their say regarding the day’s activities. Both queens were in the lounge looking for Tylenol and sympathy. The Tylenol was on its way, the sympathy not so much.

  Connie walked in with Tommy and Sandy, the lead videographer. She tossed the Tylenol to Ally, ordering her to share before taking a seat at the head of the faculty meeting table. Ally wasn’t surprised when Pam immediately took the chair at the other end of the table. The videographer sat on one side closest to Connie with Tommy settling in beside her. That left Rene and Allyson a seat on each side of Pam. Neither looked to care as Ally poured water from the icy glass jug, then poured a second glass for Rene. The woman from the crew, along with Connie and Tommy, carried in super tall Tim Horton travel mugs but Pam, already dressed for the evening, had an almost full wineglass in hand.

  Connie hemmed and hawed, reviewing notes on her tablet. “Shoot delivered some fantastic footage. Ally, that crash is going to cost us, insurance wise, but it’ll help ramp up the competitiveness between you three.”

  “Ally? More like Pam.” Rene said, teasing a response.

  “That’s right, Constance,” Pam said, “I take all the credit for creating a scene of competitive discord. Besides, Ally got in my way. What else could I do?”

  Connie just shook her head with both Tommy and the videographer stifling their amusement. “Save it for Granddad. And yes, Pam, you can pay the deductible for the damages because I know you, and I know you hit Ally’s boat on purpose and yes, it does work for us, so you are, as you always are, off the hook. ’Nuff said. Now it’s time to talk and sort out the details for the rose ceremony. Only it’s not called that. Instead of giving each woman a rose, you will each have six silk scarves…”

  “Silk?” Pam questioned. Her brows shot up.

  “Silk-like scarves,” Connie corrected. “Now here’s how the scene will play out. Tommy will bring you out one at a time to the first camera and your first mark. He will ask you a few questions then he will direct you to your second mark. We’ll practice this but basically you will each line up by the table, at center stage. On it will be three stacks of scarves, six each, in your colors. Red for Pam, gold for Rene, and Ally you’re pulling in the blue. Once you’re all in place and the cameras are moved, you will each, one at a time, name the six women you want to continue.”

  “Wait,” Rene protested. “What if someone picks a woman I’m interested in? I mean, or what if the one I pick is more interested in someone else? Oh, this is worse than dating.”

  “Oh, please,” Pam quipped, “you love this. I saw your shipmates at the finish line. I swear they looked at you like you’re some tall yummy candy bar.”

  “Oh, I am.” Rene puffed with delight, then shared a fist bump with Ally who was enjoying both Pam’s loss of the race and her discomfort in competing with the tall, dark and handsome Rene.

  Connie waved her hand. “Yeah, yeah. You two blockheads make me want to scream. Pam may have lost the race, but she made for some spectacular reality TV. Although that make-out scene may be too hot and heavy even for our network.”

  Ally and Rene shared a look. They had both been perfect gentlewomen. Evidently, that did not make for good TV. “Sorry there, boss,” Ally offered. “We’ll try and misbehave for the rest of the week. Promise.”

  Connie brushed their apology aside, her face earnest. “I hate to ask, but I’m going to need to know who you will each call up, and I need you to each accept I may have to make a few changes. If for nothing else than to make some great television.”

  Around the table it was clear none of them was expecting this. Rene, braver than the others began, “I was thinking…”

  “No. No!” Connie said, interrupting just in time. “I’m going to have each of you, one by one, go with me into the production office and show me which of the six you are interested in. Then we’ll come back here and talk about how the ceremony will go. Everyone okay with that?”

  They all agreed, but Pam wanted to go first. Connie caved, but promised Ally and Rene the order they gave their choices to her would not affect what would happen during the scene. There were no arguments and Ally watched Connie lead her big sis from the room.

  “You two look tired,” Tommy offered.

  “I certainly am,” Rene admitted. “I forgot how much work sailing can be, especially with an untrained crew.”

  “There,” he said. “That’s the kind of remark I’ll need when I interview each of you. Rene, you know I’m going to bring up the America’s Cup…”

  “You captained in the America’s Cup?” Ally spit out.

  Rene hung her head, but only slightly. “I was on the crew for all of six months. It doesn’t count.”

  “Doesn’t count?” Ally teased. “And you decided to borrow my strategy?”

  Now Rene was laughing, as were Tommy and the videographer, clearly in on the joke. “When I received my oh-so-helpful, not, co-captain, she didn’t waste a second giving up your whole strategy including what you thought Pam would do. I decided you had the inside track on Pam and your strategy to run a spinnaker on the downwind leg made perfect sense. So, I decided to follow it. When I read through the list of sails and equipment available, the symmetrical spinnaker was the only advantage I had.”

  “There was a list of equipment?” Ally asked. “Why am I the last to hear these things?”

  “Like you needed it,” Tommy offered, clearly intending to soothe her with his playfulness. “Besides, you beat Pam and boy-oh-boy, you should have seen her face when you scooted on by.” He mimed fanning himself. “Oh my, it was absolutely diabolical.”

  “It certainly made for some great TV,” the lead videographer added. “That and the kissing contest. Phew. That was hot, hot, hot!”

  “Kissing contest?” Rene started to ask.

  Just then, Connie returned and pointed to Rene. “You’re next, girlie. Let’s get it on!” As everyone snickered, Connie had to replay the conversation before she said, “Oh shit.
Sorry, Rene. Not what I meant, sorry.”

  Rene laughed, offering, “No worries,” as she followed their director.

  Alone with the host and videographer, Ally made polite conversation. “How did the rest of the shoot go? Did you guys get the footage?”

  Sandy smiled, explaining the electronic format they used and how they stored and retrieved the footage and matched it with the dozen or more wireless microphone packs posted in key places and on key people, like the queens. Ally had forgotten she’d been wearing one all day. Pam too, so even if the crew or one of the remote videorecorders missed Pam’s kissing contest, the sound engineer didn’t and probably would have clued the chase boat into the activity going on. “What a day!” Ally commiserated. “You guys must be the most tired. I can’t imagine what will go into shooting tonight’s ceremony.”

  Sandy agreed they were being pushed, but claimed she didn’t mind. “We have every angle covered for tonight. Two of the PAs and the assistant director spent all day getting the scene set up and fixing all the camera places. I’ll basically be shooting the scene from behind an editing table as if we’re shooting this live. Connie wants realism, and I plan to make that happen.”

  Ally couldn’t help but hear something else. Was this woman interested in her young cousin? She seemed more personally determined than someone simply driven by professional perfection. She had to remind herself that Connie was an adult and could choose her companionship even if she thought Sandy was too old for her. Deciding to butt out, she turned her attention to the conversation flowing between her and Tommy. Yes, the production was going well, very well, if you could believe these two.

  Connie was finally back. “Your turn, slugger.”

  “Slugger?” Ally questioned. “Have you been drinking?”

  “Of course not,” she said, leading Ally from the lounge and down the hall to the production office. “It’s all that sun. I think I’ve got a bit of heat exhaustion. And no. You are not to say a word to Pam. You know what she’ll do. Anyway, I’m okay. The set medic gave me some Tylenol and got me to drink one of those electrolyte drinks. I feel like I could walk to the moon right now.”

  Ally looked her over with concern, finally admitting, “To the moon and back. I thought going to one hundred percent oxygen was a fast way to put yourself back in the game. I’m gonna have to tell KC about this.”

  “That KC. She still burnin’ the candle at both ends?”

  Standing in front of the candidate board, Ally admitted, “You know KC. Never happy unless she’s sharing the love.”

  Connie laughed, taking the time to finally cross out the two contestants sent home for fooling around. “Everyone else is open.”

  Ally shook her head. “You mean after Pam and Rene have their pick.”

  “No,” Connie corrected her. “This is going to be fair. Well, as fair as I can make it. Each one of you gets to pick once. So, it’ll be Pam, then Rene, then you, then it’s back to Pam. You each pick up a scarf, then pause for effect. Then you announce the name of the woman you would like to spend more time with. Now here is where we give the audience the upper hand. While you can see the other queens and all the contestants, the audience will also see who each contestant voted for.”

  It took her a minute, but finally, Ally nodded. “So, basically Pam calls out a woman’s name and the camera zooms in on that woman, then you show her and the cards or votes she made the other day?” Connie nodded. Thinking of some of the women she had met, Ally had to ask, “What if I name a woman who didn’t vote for me?”

  “I’m hoping you will. What will happen is the audience at home automatically knows there’s some divided loyalty. They know which queen the woman is really interested in, but they also debate her motivations ’cause they get to see what she’s up to by her reaction. See, you call a name, and that woman can do one of three things: She can join you. She can choose to step past you and choose another queen. Or she can say no, she’s not interested and pass.”

  “Pass?”

  “Yes. If it’s early in the naming and a woman is set on spending all her time with just one queen, she can pass in hopes that queen will call her before all the scarves are taken. If she isn’t called again, she’s out.”

  “And what if someone does get called up? Does she just spend time with that one queen? I mean, they’re still at the place where they should be interested in more than one of us. Although, now that I say it, it doesn’t sound so great.”

  Connie grabbed her arm, giving it an affectionate squeeze. “Don’t worry. Yes, there’s going to be a few upsets this evening but all and all, nothing the three of you can’t handle.”

  Ally nodded. “Okay, I’m trusting you on this. Now, you might as well tell me, because I haven’t got a clue, who do you want me to name?”

  Connie gave her the slyest look before wrapping her arms around her. “I love you, cuz. I don’t know why I forget how easy you are to deal with.” She moved to the opposite side of the room, retrieving a notebook. “Are you sure there isn’t anyone you might be interested in?”

  Ally shook her head. “I can’t even remember their names yet, much less decide if any are wife material. Shit Connie, I don’t think I even know what wife material is.”

  “You sure?”

  Walking to the board, she pointed to the woman who had helmed their boat. “Not that one. Too forward for me. And not that one,” she added, pointing to the bossy sailor both she and Rene had butted heads with. She was about to wave the others off when she recognized a certain redhead. “I kind of like her. Erin?”

  “Erin?” Connie looked surprised, then concerned. She checked her notes and looked to be counting numbers when Ally waved her off. “It’s okay. I think she’s got a thing for Pam.”

  Connie snapped, “What makes you say that?”

  “Whoa there! I get it. I’m not supposed to know stuff, but you can’t hide when a woman reacts to another woman’s name.”

  Connie nodded slowly. “You know what? Let’s put her on your list and see what happens.”

  Ally groaned. Great. Here we go. Prom all over again.

  Chapter Eight

  Erin stood looking at the reflection of herself wearing the latest black designer dress. This one had been created by a different student designer. She’d gotten a lot of compliments and kept telling herself it wasn’t as skimpy as she imagined. All she had to do was get Pam through this next stage of the competition, then on Friday, when they made their final vote for the queen they wanted to be with, she would follow whichever queen Pam advised her to vote for, and she would be out. She would head home or take advantage of Pam’s generous offer and hang out either here or at the virtually empty Parker family estate and enjoy a week of doing nothing by the pool. Ah, that sounded exactly like what she would need after another week of this.

  Erin followed the other twenty-seven women, some in designer dresses, a few in suits, and all in black. She could only wonder what that meant for how the queens would be dressed. If Pam had a say, she would wear red. That woman loved to be the fire all the world craved. She expected something flashy from Rene, too, but more her sporty style, like racing leathers. Ally was a conundrum. Would she wear a dress or suit? What color would she choose? Nothing bright or ungainly. Everything about her is subtle.

  It took an hour of shuffling and changing lights and moving this way and that, before the production assistant delivered the queens and the filming of the entry sequence began. Connie had explained that they wanted to do this as if they were shooting live. If they were going to sell this to an audience, recording their reactions, their every move was necessary. “Be your authentic selves,” Connie said. To which Erin thought, If I wanted to be authentic, I would be sitting on my parents’ back deck, drinking beer and wearing my old cutoffs and whatever T-shirt I had bummed around in all day.

  “Action!”

  First up was Ally, and Erin had to admit she was looking particularly attractive in the tailored charcoal suit and matc
hing pumps. It was easy to compare her to some of the power lawyers in her office. They could do with a lesson from Ally on wearing masculine clothing and still looking like a woman. She realized, belatedly, that she hadn’t been listening to the interview and forced herself to quiet her babbling brain. At this point in the interview, it sounded like Tommy was trying to elicit some anger from Ally over Pam ramming her sailboat and trying to win the race. To her credit, Ally just laughed.

  “When it comes to her and me and competing, I always expect something unexpected from Pamela. It’s why she’s so good at her job.”

  “Come on,” Tommy encouraged. “You must have been a little upset. After all, her cheating cost your team the win.”

  Ally laughed openly, then answered with a reassuring smile. “I did read the rules, and I have to tell you there wasn’t a single word written on ramming your competitors, so kudos to Pam for being creative. Plus, my hat’s off to Rene for grabbing the opportunity and turning it into a win. All and all it was a hell of a day and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  Standing behind Erin, Ms. Helmswoman, inappropriate groper of her captain, whispered to the woman beside her, “That’s me she’s talking about. She wouldn’t change a thing about me.” It was all Erin could do not to snort. She had seen Ally’s face and her eyes. There was nothing about that advance that had been enjoyed by their captain.

  Ally was moved to her second mark and Rene was next in the interview spot.

  “Welcome, Rene,” Tommy said with his trademark horn rims halfway down his nose. “How was your second week as the Queen of Clubs?”

  Erin was confused by that question. They had only been filming for two days, but for the audience, this portion of the filming would be part of the second or third episode. She was right about Rene wearing leathers, but the white leather suit wasn’t what she expected. The woman did look good. Okay, not her type, but Rene would melt the hearts of all the KD fans in the crowd. When Rene moved to her second mark, she felt herself holding her breath waiting for Pam. She didn’t disappoint, strolling out like the belle of the ball in the most alluring red dress. Behind her, she heard the helmswoman’s cohort say, “This is the one I’ve been waiting for.”