“I had a good time, Greg,” Mindy told him, sipping from her own drink. “I’m glad we were finally able to ... you know ... get together.”
“Yeah,” Greg said with a sigh.
“You okay?” she asked him. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’d think after the uh... fun we had on this trip you’d be in a better mood.”
“What happens when we get back to LA?” Greg asked her.
“Nothing happens,” she said with a shrug. “We go back to our normal lives. You go back to Celia and I go back to whatever I can dig up when I need some company. There’s no reason to think about it any further than that.”
“I wish it was that easy,” he said.
“It is that easy,” she assured him. “What happens on the promo trips stays on the promo trips. Everyone knows that.”
“I shouldn’t have done what I did,” he said.
“But you did,” she countered. “It’s over and done. You can’t un-fuck someone. That’s one of life’s great truths, you know. You’re just going to have to put it behind you, write it off as a good time and keep it as a good memory. At least, I hope it will be a good memory. It will be for me.”
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy what we did,” Greg said.
“I would hope you did enjoy it,” she whispered. “I don’t let just anyone into my ass.”
“Uh ... yes, of course,” he said. “But ... I’m not sure how I’m going to face Celia after this.”
“You face her like you’ve always faced her,” Mindy said. “What’s so hard about that?”
“I have a guilty conscious,” he said. “I’m afraid she’ll see what I did in my face the moment I step in the door. And if she doesn’t see it right away, she’ll certainly pick up on it when she asks me how the trip was. I can’t lie to her on that level.”
“Sure you can,” Mindy scoffed.
“What?”
“You’re an actor, Greggie, and a goddamn good one at that. You have been able to convince the world that you’re a rescue helicopter pilot and a hardened street cop. Why can’t you convince your wife that you’re the same old Greg she’s always known?”
“Well ... uh ... I never really thought about it like that,” he said.
“That’s how you need to think of it,” she said. “It’s a performance; a role to play like any other. You’re a method actor, just like I am. How hard can it be to simply play yourself in real life?”
“I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “Maybe the best thing to do is just to confess what happened.”
“Don’t be a fool,” she admonished. “What will that get you? You did that after you fucked Cheryl, right?”
“Well ... right.”
“And how did that work out for you?” she enquired.
“Not very well,” he admitted. “I got the silent treatment for months and I’m pretty sure that Celia was on the brink of leaving me.”
“And how do you think she would react this time?” Mindy asked.
“I think she would leave me,” he admitted. “And immediately.”
“Right,” Mindy said. “So, what would be the point of confessing then? It would only hurt her and hurt you and destroy your marriage. That’s no solution.”
“But...”
“Look, Greggie,” she said. “What happened, happened. It’s over and done. I enjoyed it and I don’t regret it, but I’m not trying to take you away from your wife. This trip was just about exploring a little of the chemistry you and I had together. No one but the two of us knows what happened. There is no reason why anyone else has to know. I told you that the first night.”
She was making an awful lot of sense, Greg had to admit. There was no real reason to confess his sins and lots of reasons not to. “But what about...”
She was shaking her head. “There’s no buts,” she said firmly. “You go home and step into the role of Greg Oldfellow, successful actor with a blockbuster film about to premier and devoted husband. You play that role like you play any role. Get into character and stay in character and nobody will ever be the wiser.”
He took a deep breath and then nodded. “All right,” he said. “I find you make a good point.”
“I usually do,” she said.
The plane touched down at 8:34 PM, Pacific Time. Limousines were waiting at the general aviation terminal. Greg and Mindy shared a brief hug before they went their separate ways. Lancing reminded the two of them that they had another promo to attend next Friday night, when the film actually premiered nationwide.
The limo dropped Greg off in front of his home. While the driver got his luggage out so his servants could take it inside, Greg walked slowly up the path that led to the front door. He felt very nervous about facing Celia, but he took Mindy’s advice and got into character.
I’m Greg Oldfellow, successful actor, pompous ass, devoted husband who does not cheat on his wife. That is who I am.
And he felt the familiar calmness wash over him as he intoned this to himself, over and over.
He put a smile on his face and opened the door. Celia was there to greet him. She was wearing a pair of pink pajamas and no bra, her hair down around her shoulders. She had a smile on her face as well.
“Welcome home!” she greeted, coming up and throwing her arms around him.
He hugged her back, staying in character, and kissed her full lips with enthusiasm. “I missed you,” he told her.
“I missed you too,” she said. “How was the trip?”
“Tedious,” he said. “I think I can understand a little about how you feel when you’re on the road.”
She nodded knowingly, seemingly pleased at his insight. “Try it for two months at a time,” she suggested.
He asked her about how tour rehearsal was going. She gave him the rundown. They had apparently settled on a new violinist and were ready to start rehearsing in earnest now. From there, they talked a little more about the trip he had just returned from. He spoke for a long time about the Chicago premier and how the police officers had reacted to the film.
After a while, he declared that he was tired. His body was on east coast time, after all. They retired to the bedroom and made love in their usual fashion.
Celia never picked up on the guilt and shame he was concealing. He was sure of it.
Chapter 18: The Bro Code
Oceano, California
November 23, 1995
Thanksgiving Day on California’s central coast region dawned with a few low clouds and a wet marine layer in the morning hours, but by the time Jake Kingsley put the fifteen-pound turkey on his barbeque at 11:00 AM the sky was bright blue and clear and the temperature was a pleasant 68 degrees with only a slight onshore breeze blowing. The Pacific Ocean out beyond his deck was a brilliant blue dotted with the occasional whitecap. It was a perfect day to celebrate with his family and closest friends.
In honor of the holiday, Celia and her band were taking a break from tour rehearsal, which they had been pushing ahead with eight hours a day, six days a week since the last week of October. Celia and Greg had gone in with Pauline and Obie to rent a helicopter to fly them to Oceano from Santa Monica and had arrived just a few hours before. They would be staying until Friday morning. The Nerdlys, including Kelvin, had flown in with Jake and Laura on Wednesday night. The parental Nerdlys and the parental Kingsleys had arrived on Wednesday evening by car, electing to visit their son’s new house for the first time via road trip instead of taking Jake up on his offer to fly them down on a private charter. It had taken them seven hours to make the drive, but they claimed they had enjoyed the adventure and were looking forward to driving the coastal highway all the way to San Francisco to go home.
Elsa, unfortunately (on several levels) was not present for the celebration. She had driven to Orange County on Wednesday morning to spend the holiday with her children and grandchildren. She would not be back until Monday and had threatened all manner of violence and retribution against her employers if the house was not as spotless upon her return as it had been when she left.