Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
Vi
She had fallen asleep in the bathtub while remembering
at what point in her life she took the wrong turn.
Accepting Ethan's proposal.
Shaking the cold water off her body, she pulled
a fluffy Egyptian towel, and went to her kitchen to get a glass of wine.
Looking at the clock she realized 3 hours
had passed.
Crap! It's almost midnight!
Well, it's actually perfect! You
can make that call!
She went to her bedroom, slipped her flannel
pjs
on, returned to the kitchen to get her wine,
rummaged into her laptop bag to get her one of her cell phones, her notebook
and her cigarettes case, and headed for her little terrace.
Settling herself comfortably on her chaise
longue, she looked up at the stars.
She had always loved looking at the sky at
night, ever since she had moved in with Kevin. The penthouse had a fantastic
view of the Eiffel tower, and she recalled with affection the countless nights
she and her best friend had spent there, talking, drinking and smoking
cigarettes well into the nights.
These memories always lifted her spirits,
and that's what she needed tonight.
I need to call him
, she thought.
She opened her notebook, scrolled through
her blackberry to get the number she wanted, closed her eyes for a minute in
order to focus, and pressed dial.
“
Hello?
”
a male voice asked.
“
Good afternoon. Salam
Malekoum
[1]
. Victoryn McGregor for Mr
Harami
, please.
”
she said pleasantly.
“
One moment, hold please.
”
was gently replied.
“
Hello Victoryn! How are you?
“
Sheikh Al Ben
Harami
cheerfully exclaimed.
“
I am well, thank you.
”
she said, relaxing in her seat.
“
I am surprised to hear from you. Has
something happened? Please don't tell me you are calling to cancel.... We have
been working on this for eight months already, and changing counsel in the
final run will not do...
”
he stated with dread in his voice.
“
No, not at all. On the contrary, actually;
I was wondering if I could come earlier. I have unexpected free time as of
today and figured I might as well get us a head start,
“
she replied in a reassuring tone,
smiling.
“
I know the final contract will be signed
in five weeks as scheduled but since I'm free, I think it couldn't hurt to be there
and hammer out the final details of the negotiations
…”
her voice trailed.
“
This will give you extra time just in
case...
”
she punctuated.
“
Well...
”
he hesitantly started.
“
I wouldn't change my fee of course, and
you would be doing me a great favour by accepting...
”
she added in a cajoling tone.
She
started to grin, as she knew he was about to accept having her around for free
for four weeks.
Sometime,
you have to spend money to get some peace.
I
simply can't be here and think of Julian.
Never
mind, Sheikh Al Ben
Harami
would no doubt exhaust her
asking every legal question he could under the sun now that he knew he wouldn't
have to pay for it, but what mattered was to leave LA as soon as possible.
She
would call Emirates in the morning and be on her way to Dubai by the evening.
She
lit up a cigarette, sipped some wine and pressed 1 on her phone.
“
Allo
?
”
was said in a bright tone.
“
It's me.
”
she said exhaling.
“
Hey baby girl, how are you? Where are you?
Still in Hong Kong?
”
he said, clearly happy to hear her voice.
“
No, actually I'm back in LA since
yesterday. I'm flying to Dubai tomorrow, well, today, your time...
”
she replied casually, even though she
knew, this state of affairs was far from it.
“
Jesus! Doesn't your body ache? Correct me
if I'm wrong but isn't the flight from HK to LA like 15-hours? Now you're
telling me you're going to Dubai. Girl, what is it with you and planes?! ...You
should have gone straight there...
“
he laughed.
“
Kev, my body aches, but not because of the
flying.
”
she replied seriously.
Her
tone stopped his laughter.
“
Vi, what's wrong? Are you sick again?
“
he cautiously asked, already bracing
himself for the worst.
“
No. Not that I know of anyway. That
reminds me I need to call Lily...
”
she replied while making
a note on her notebook.
“
Vi, what's wrong then?
”
he enquired again.
“
I had sex yesterday.
”
she stated in a calm voice.
There
was a long blank pause on both ends.
She
heard him clear his throat, and then he repeated lowly,
“
You had sex yesterday.
”
“
Yes.
”
was confirmed.
“
How? Who with? Didn't you fly in
yesterday?!
”
he blurted out.
“
I did fly in yesterday. I met someone, and
we had sex.
”
she said, smiling.
“
Vi...
”
he started hesitantly.
"Yes?
”
she asked, knowing he was trying to form a
coherent thought.
“
I don't know what to say.
”
he admitted.
“
Then, don't say anything. Just be happy to
know I can still do this.
”
she said softly.
“
I never doubted you could! I'm just
shocked it happened now
…”
he returned.
“
It's been years Vi! You
’
re the one who sworn off men!
”
he continued,
“
The first two years, it was understandable
as you were trying to regain your bearings after all that's happened
…
By the 3
rd
year, Lil and I were
begging you and tried to incite you to do the deed at least once just for
...Shall I say, maintenance purposes?
”
he cleared his throat, embarrassed.
“
But we gave up on the 4
th
year,
coming to terms with the fact you'd never let another man touch you ever again
…
but now? It's been over five years Vi!
”
he exclaimed, in sheer stupor.
She
closed her eyes, inhaled from her cigarette and said cheerfully,
“
Kev. I had sex, but that
’
s' not why I'm calling...
”
“
Girl, are you crazy?
”
He joyously screamed,
”
This is cause for a call! I'll be ringing
Lil in a minute. We need to celebrate your return amongst the sinners!
”
She
laughed. He'd never change!
“
Kev, I never stopped being a sinner,
”
she said seriously.
“
So tell me, who is the lucky bastard who
got to experience your first time?
”
he interrupted her with glee.
She
braced herself and said flatly,
“
Julian
McCarty.
”
“
What? I must be hearing things...Did you
say Julian McCarty, as in Julian McCarty, the actor?
”
he asked, shocked.
“
Yes,
”
she confirmed.
“
Fuck!
”
he grunted.
“
You can say that again.
”
she asserted, shaking her head.
“
Holy fuck!
“
he repeated in pure dismay.
She
smiled. You could always count on Kev to emphasize things.
“
Kev...Stop it!
”
she giggled.
“
Sugar, one could say you rebounded into life
with a bang!
”
he sang,
“
Julian McCarty?!
”
he whistled.
“
Lil will be impressed!
”
he concluded, laughing heartily.
“
Kev...
”
she started.
“
Ok, ok...So you had sex with Julian
McCarty but that's not why you called, so what is it?
”
he asked more seriously.
“
Actually, the sex part is not why I rang.
Who he is, that
’
s
the problem.
”
she stated.
“
You mean because he's an actor? Because
he's worldwide famous?
”
he enquired, truly curious.