When I got to the park, I picked a running trail and began to lengthen my stride. It felt good to be able to just zone out and enjoy the morning. It was chilly, but not so cold that it was a distraction. I misjudged the trail I was on and ran farther than I usually did. By the time I got back to Adrienne’s, everyone was already up, except Adrienne.
What I found surprised me.
“Did you see this?” Pam asked, holding up the newspaper.
I looked confused, so she shoved it at me, got up, and ran off to our room.
It was Page Six from the New York Post. I read the headline: ‘
I followed Pam to our room and found her crying.
“Baby, it’s just a gossip rag. Did you even read the story?” I asked.
“I just want to go home.”
“But I had a really nice day planned for us,” I tried.
“This isn’t me. I don’t want to be in the newspaper. I don’t want to live in a fishbowl. Even if what they said isn’t true, some people will believe it.”
“I can’t convince you to stay?” I asked to try once more.
“No. I just want to go home.”
I sent a text to Kendal, and she soon knocked on the bedroom door. After letting her in, I explained what Pam wanted. I suggested that Kendal take Pam home. Tyler would be with me at work tomorrow. I also wanted to ensure someone was with Pam for the trip because I didn’t think she was in the mood to deal with airports. Nor did she seem up to the hassle of having someone either pick her up or getting a car so she could get home once she landed.
“What about you?” Kendal asked.
“Call a car service to pick me up in Chicago.”
I was confident that I would make enough this weekend to afford it. I went to the kitchen and found the lox and bagels. The bagels were a day old, so I toasted mine. Everyone left me alone as I took my food to the living room and sat in a chair that had a view of the city.
Kendal came back from the other condo with her bags. Pam walked out of the bedroom and came over and sat in my lap.
“I’m sorry …” she began.
“Shhh. I understand.”
“You hate me.”
“No, I still like you.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“Pam, I only want to make you happy. If you need to go home, that’s what I want,” I said.
“David, I’m sorry.”
I kissed her forehead, and she got up and left. I guess Valentine’s Day was overrated.
◊◊◊
“So, feel like working?” Tyler asked.
I just chuckled and shook my head. What the heck. Why not?
“Sure.”
She gave me a smile.
“Good. Go take a shower. We need to get on the road.”
◊◊◊
Tyler had made some calls this morning and found that both Range Sports and Jade were willing to have me work on short notice. I was happy to learn she’d lined up Jackie Chan to be the photographer. It wasn’t hard to understand when Jackie exited the bedroom with Adrienne. That explained why my host wasn’t up when I got back from my run.
The car service took us to Jackie’s building where a couple of her assistants were busy getting a studio set up. The makeup girl showed up right after Jackie had done a couple of test shots. They huddled, and Jackie told her what needed to be done. While the makeup girl started working on me, Jade’s wardrobe arrived along with Michael Reese, Jade’s VP of Marketing.
“There he is. I had to break into one of our stores to get clothes for you on such short notice,” he explained.
“It’s good to see you,” I said as I got out of my chair and shook his hand.
“I hear you’re having a baby,” he said.
He must have read Page Six.
“Yes, it’s a boy. I can hardly wait.”
“Are you planning to get married?” he asked.
“No. Pam and I are too young to get married, and she’s too young to be raising a child. My parents have agreed to be my son’s guardians until I graduate college, and I owe them a lot for doing that. Of course, Pam and I will be involved, but it’s nice to know we have the support we’ll need.”
“She’s a pretty girl. I wish we had a maternity line because I would love to have her model,” Michael said.
“Pam’s not willing to be in the spotlight. In fact, she was upset she made the paper,” I admitted.
“So, I see you hooked up with Tyler. Does her girlfriend know?”
That brought a smile to my face. I would bet that by tomorrow, there would be a story about how Adrienne had caused Tyler to cheat with me. There was no use getting upset about the gossip pages. Frank would just be happy they spelled my name right.
◊◊◊
