INSTALLMENT 63
Falmont Art Gallery
He can hardly breathe. No matter how many times he tries
to inhale, he finds his body unwilling to cooperate.
After hearing his sister's story, he can feel the room
start to spin. Probably from lack of air, he thinks to
himself as he looks at both his father and Mr. Falmont.
After he regains the use of his lungs, he looks at his
mother. He can't believe she could do such a thing, his
sister must have misunderstood and jumped to conclusions.
He finally finds his voice. "She's lying, right mom?"
Lillian looks over at him with guilt written all over her
face, confirming to Stephen that his sister isn't a liar.
Evenvthough his mother's expression tells all, he still
needs to hear her say it out loud.
He looks around the gallery and notices everyone staring
at him with looks of pity and a sad fascination. It's like
he's caught in his own private reality show for the world to
see.
"No, she's not." Lillian admits.
Stephen feels a sharp pain in his heart and he turns to
leave. He feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to see
Chase looking at him.
"Don't go." Chase requests, turning to look at his
wife. "I think you owe our son an explanation?"
Lillian nods, taking a deep breath.
"Let's talk this out, away from everyone." Lillian suggests.
"I want the whole room to hear this." George stares at his
wife up on stage. "In fact, I'll relish everyone finally
knowing how much of a bitch you two are."
Lillian looks over at her son and starts to cry.
_____________________________________________
Chase gives his wife a look, which causes Lillian to stop
crying as if on queue.
"I don't know where to start."
George groans. "Why not start at the beginning."
Lillian glares at George then reminds herself that he has
just as much right as her husband to be angry at her.
Lillian takes a deep breath, "Ok, well I guess it started
when you and I both started seeing one another behind Lenore's
back. Do you remember?"
George nods, "Go on."
"Well I know we only met up a few times and then we stopped
seeing one another because I felt horrible for hurting Lenore."
"I don't care about your guilt, what I want to know is why
you saw fit to never tell me you were pregnant with my son."
George demands.
"What would you have done if I had? Would you have left
your wife and your infant son?"
"Of course he wouldn't have." Lenore interupts, a smile
forming on her face. "He knew that if he left me, he'd lose a
hefty chunk of his family's money. Isn't that right, dear?"
"Yes." George mumbles loudly then focuses on Lillian. "I
would have provided for you and Stephen anyway." George replies,
looking over at Stephen.
"We're not here to discuss what-ifs," Chase interjects. "Nor
whatever bizarre marital arrangement either of you had." He then
makes eye contact with Lillian. "Continue."
Lillian nods, wiping a tear away. "The moment I found out I
was pregnant, I went to Lenore."
"Why would you go to my wife instead of me? That doesn't make
any sense."
"Beause I felt bad for betraying our friendship. In some odd
way, I thought confessing to her would make things better." Lillian
looks over at Stephen. "Of course, I was wrong because Lenore was
furious with me. We argued about it for awhile especially when I
told her I was pregnant and that you needed to know."
"And what did my wife do to convince you otherwise?"
Lillian feels a lump in her throat. "She promised to pay me
$5000 a month if I never told you."
"I would have held out for more and... ouch!" Gillian cries
out when Nina jabs her in the ribs. "Well I would have!"
George approaches the stage. "So as I understand it, you opted
not to tell me because my wife bribed you?"
Lillian nods. "I knew you wouldn't leave your family, especially
because of how it would look." She then notices Gerald holding his
hand up in the crowd and rolls her eyes. "What do you want?'
All eyes focus on Gerald as he makes his way up to the front of
the crowd.
"I'm not judging you, but I'm kind of curious as to how you
managed to rope my old pal into marrying you?" Gerald asks, looking
over at Chase. "Judging by what's been said, it doesn't sound like
he was aware that Stephen wasn't his son."
Chase shakes his head. "No, I had no idea." He glances over at
Stephen standing in shock. "Even if I did know, I still would have
raised him as my son."
"You would have?" Lillian asks, shock evident in her voice.
"Yes, I would have." Chase replies. "What hurts me is not the
fact that you were with George because I assume that was before we
met, but that you never told me, or Stephen."
"I just didn't think it mattered."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter!" Stephen yells out, glaring
at Lillian and Lenore. "Do you understand that because both of you
played God with my life that I have no idea who I am!"
"Stephen... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean..." Lillian utters,
stopping when she realizes her plea isn't winning him over.
"I can't listen to this right now." Stephen states, leaping off
the stage and heading toward the exit with Melinda in tow.
_____________________________________________
About fifteen minutes later, Lenore watches as all the guests
start clearing out of the gallery. She notices Gillian leaning
against the stage and makes her way over to her.
Gillian looks up, her eyes blood shot and her expression changing
to pure terror upon seeing Lenore.
"Mind if I have a word with you?" Lenore notices Gillian's Jimmy
Choos in a heap. "That is, if you can stand."
Gillian kneels down to pick up her shoes. "I'm fine."
"Good...I hope you're happy with yourself."
"Of course I'm happy!" Gillian replies, sarcasm coating every
word coming out of her mouth. "It isn't everyday that you find out
that your mother is a complete slut."
Lenore starts to laugh. "It takes one to know one."
"What's that suppose to mean!?" Gillian almost stumbles again,
but manages to catch herself.
Lenore sighs, thinking to herself that this isn't a fair fight.
Even Lillian has more sense, though that isn't saying too much.
"Listen, it wouldn't be wise to continue this conversation in
the state that you're in right now." Lenore turns to leave.
"Besides, it wouldn't be a fair fight."
Gillian leans against the stage and watches Lenore walk off
with her head up in the air. She fights the urge to cry realizing
that no matter what she does, the damage is already done.
_____________________________________________
Alicia manages to make her way to the front entrance and notices
her date talking to an attractive blond. It's for the best, she
thinks to herself as she notices the blond handing out her digits to
him.
A little part of her is jumping for joy at all the mayhem going
on. Before she can celebrate, she feels someone watching her.
Turning around, she's greeted by Nina.
Before Alicia can say anything, Nina pulls her back into the
gallery as guests continue to file by.
Alicia pushes Nina away from her. "I told you before not to
manhandle me."
"I just wanted to thank you." Nina replies.
"Thank me for what?"
"Oh, I don't know.. maybe for ruining my mother's night."
"If I recall correctly, I wasn't the one who let the cat out of
the bag." Alicia snarks. "For someone interested in becoming a
journalist, you certainly suck at seeing the obvious."
"You may not have been the one to expose it, but you certainly
provided my sister with enough alcohol." Nina remarks. "Do you
get off making other people miserable?"
"As I mentioned before, I didn't ply your sister with booze.
She decided to drink all on her own. Quite frankly, you bore
me and I don't have any desire to continue talking to you. Have
a good night."
Alicia walks off, leaving Nina to ponder how tonight will
affect her family from now on.
______________________________________________
Gerald looks around the gallery until he sees Chase sitting
off by himself in a corner. Slowly, he makes his way over to him,
trying to decide how to approach his oldest friend. Sensistivity
isn't his strongest suit, though he hopes to not say anything to
offend his buddy too much.
"So how are you holding up?" Gerald asks.
Chase looks over at his friend and shrugs his shoulders.
"As well as anyone that finds out his son isn't really his son."
Chase replies, taking a drink of his glass.
"I can't even imagine what that must feel like to have that news
dropped on him in public."
"You wouldn't, would you." Chase observes. "Especially since
you ran out on your family." He thinks for a second. "That was
uncalled for. I'm sorry for saying that. Can you forgive me?"
Gerald nods and looks around until he sees Bianca helping Misty
clean up.
"I'll leave you alone, but if you need to talk to someone then
just let me know, ok?"
Chase nods and finds himself receiving a half-hug from Gerald
before being left alone. After looking around the gallery, he
sees George off by himself and decides to go to talk to him.
______________________________________________
Jonathan looks around the gallery as he walks toward his office
in back. As he exchanges a few polite good-byes to a few guests,
it hits him that tonight's events will always cloud his memories
of his last days owning the gallery.
Entering his office, he shuts the door and takes a look around
to make sure any evidence of him has been removed. Before he can
even reflect on everything that happened that evening, he hears a
knock.
"Come in." Jonathan commands, taking a seat at his desk.
"There you are," Elizabeth remarks, closing the door behind
her and taking a seat across from him. "How are you doing?"
"As far as?" Jonathan asks, knowing she's asking about his
reaction to what was said tonight.
"Don't play stupid with me... you know exactly what I mean."
Jonathan sighs, flipping through some papers on his desk.
"It hasn't sunk in yet that we have another brother." Jonathan
replies, leaning back in his chair. "Has it sunk in for you?"
Elizabeth shakes her head. "Not at all.. though I wonder what
dad's going to do with all this." She sighs. "I'm not surprised
dad cheated on mom though, he's been doing that for years."
"How do you think Henry and Christina are going to react to
having another sibling?" Jonathan wonders out loud.
"Well, I'm sure Christina will just laugh it off and use this
latest scandal to justify why she never comes home from England.
Who knows how Henry will respond to the news."
"Well... I'm not going to be the one to tell him. Are you?"
Elizabeth shakes her head. "Do you know Stephen well?"
Elizabeth nods. "I don't know him that well, but he seems
like a really nice guy" A thought pops up in her head. "This
pains me to say it, but maybe he's lucky not to have been subjected
to dad all these years."
"How do you mean?"
Elizabeth leans forward. "Think about it... dad has never been
happy with any of us for one reason or another. As a result, you
became mom's favorite, I constantly sought dad's approval, Henry's
a slacker, and Christina had to move to another country in order to
breathe."
Before Jonathan can respond, they hear a knock at the door.
"It's open." Jonathan calls out and lights up when he sees
Vince entering.
"There you are," Vince remarks. "Did I interrupt anything?"
Jonathan gets up from his office chair and goes over to hug
Vince.
"Not at all," Jonathan responds. "Elizabeth and I were just
talking over family stuff."
"I understand. I was wondering if you were ready to go or if
you wanted me to go on without you?"
"Normally I would go, but I have to make sure the gallery is in
one piece before I can leave."
Vince nods, "I understand. I just wanted to say good-night
and to let you know I had a good time tonight."
"You're kidding," Jonathan starts to laugh. "You were here
tonight, right?"
"Yes, but I come from a big family so stuff like this is par
for the course."
Jonathan and Vince exchange a laugh, which Elizabeth figures
is a private couple joke between the two of them, before they say
their good-byes.
After Vince leaves, Elizabeth gets up from her chair and gives
her brother a hug before leaving as well.
Jonathan sits back down and lays his head down on the desk.
______________________________________________
After listening to several voice messages, a frustrated George
shuts his phone off and looks around to see who is still there.
Finding his wife on the other side of the gallery, he debates
whether he should confront her tonight, or put off their conversation
till tomorrow. Either way, he knew whatever threats she'd made
earlier wouldn't work this time. It's one thing to have an affair,
but to keep a son from his father trumps that and knows a judge would
agree with that.
Before he could make his final decision on the matter, Chase comes
up to him.
"We need to talk." Chase states.
"Now?"
Chase nods, looking around the gallery for a place to talk in
private.
"Yes, I think now is as good of time as any."
"Ok." George replies, noticing his wife staring at him. He
and Chase head toward the back of the gallery passing both Misty
and Bianca on their way. When they notice the office door is closed,
they both decide to just stand there. "So what do you want to talk
to me about?"
"First, I want to say that I don't blame you for any of this at all.
You're just as much a victim as I was." Chase pauses for a second.
"The main reason I want to talk to you is how we're going to proceed
with Stephen."
"How do you mean?" George asks. "It isn't as if we're talking
about a kid, he's a grown man."
"I know, but don't you want to get to know him?"
"Yes, but if he wants to talk to me, then he knows where I am."
"I'll let him know that."
"Thank you." George replies. "From what I can tell, he's turned
out pretty well and I give you all the credit for that."
Chase smiles, "Thank you, but Lillian deserves as much credit as I
do for how Stephen turned out."
"If you say so."
"Come on... I know you're angry with Lillian, but she really was
a great mother."
"I'm surprised you're being so calm about this." George observes.
Chase thinks for a second. "Strangely I'm not furious at all. I
should be, but I'm not. Maybe I'm still in shock"
"Maybe," George looks over at Lenore. "But I'm in shock and I
wouldn't defend my wife, even if you paid me."
______________________________________________
Bianca clears off the last of the champagne glasses from her assigned
section of the gallery. She looks around and breathes a sigh of relief
that she's done with her tasks. Who knew being a member of the ladies
league involved manual labor, she thinks to herself.
She finds Gerald standing off by himself looking at Wally and Nina
leaving and walks over to him.
"Why not say good-bye before he leaves?" Bianca suggests.
Gerald looks at her, then smiles. His smile is genuine, which
surprises her.
"For once, I'm just going to leave it alone." Gerald responds.
"So are you ready to go?" Bianca asks, looking in her purse for
her ticket.
"Yeah, I'm ready to blow this overblown joint."
Bianca laughs, "You are too much sometimes." They start walking
up front while they notice tonight's players talking amongst
themselves. "I'm glad I wasn't involved in tonight's scandal."
"Same here... usually I'm the star of them." Gerald replies.
"If you say so." Bianca hands her ticket to the coat check
person and happily accepts her coat. "I'm sorry for being such a
bitch to you earlier."
"Don't sweat it," Gerald helps Bianca into her coat, "it seemed
like everyone was on their worst behavior tonight. Everyone had
good reason to be."
Bianca looks at Gerald, "And what reason do you think I had for
being that way?"
Gerald waits until both of them are outside and out of earshot.
"Because you dig my buddy." He notices her expression change to
one of shock. "You can deny it all you want, but you want to jump
his bones and I'm fine with that." He starts laughing when her face
starts to turn red. "Relax... your secret is safe with me. Between
you and I, I think he feels the same way."
"How do you know?"
"Because he had the same reaction that you did." Gerald opens
the parking garage door and waits for Bianca to enter before he
follows. "Given what Lily did, you might actually have a shot at
him, if you play your cards right."
Bianca stops in her tracks. "I'm not having this conversation
with you." When she sees Gerald feign innocence, she feels the
urge to deck him. "Listen, he's still married and loves his wife
so subject closed."
Gerald nods and they both head for their respective vehicles.
______________________________________________
Lenore makes her way into the ladies room and quickly assesses
her face in the mirror. Not bad for a lady over 39, she marvels
to herself. Just as she prepares to leave, she hears a muffled sob
coming from one of the stalls. She chooses to ignore it, but when
the sob becomes louder, she decides to investigate.
She approaches the stall, trying to guess who the person is while
ruling out Gillian since she was seen getting into a cab not too
long ago.
"Are you alright?" Lenore asks, knocking on the door.
"I'm fine."
"Lillian, is that you?" Lenore already knows the answer to the
question. "Get your butt out here, right now!"
Lillian opens the door and slowly comes out. Her mascara is running
down her face and her eyes leaves behind evidence of heavy crying.
"Hi."
"That's all you're going to say to me?" Lenore asks, annoyed at
seeing her frenemy in this state. "You look like hell."
"Um... thanks," Lillian responds, taking out her compact and gasping
when she sees how bad her face looks. "God, I do look horrible."
Lillian rushes over to the sink and starts to wash her makeup off with
warm water and soap. After gently drying her face with a paper tower,
she looks at Lenore.
"Well your daughter certainly knows how to stick her foot in her
mouth." Lenore remarks. "I swear she's your double."
"Is she ok?" When Lenore nods, Lillian relaxes a little. "I just feel
so bad about what happened."
"You should," Lenore agrees. "The question is how are we going to
fix it."
"What do you mean?"
"Hello... the ladies league and my husband's company are badly damaged
due to this latest scandal. We need to...."
"Excuse me," Lillian interrupts. "My son's world was turned upside
down tonight and all you can think about is your stupid ladies league?"
Lenore puts her hand on Lillian's shoulder. "I feel bad about what
happened to Stephen, but he wasn't the only one affected. My children
just found out that they have a new brother and I don't know how they're
going to react to that."
"This is your fault, you know that right?" Lillian replies.
Lenore points her finger in Lillian's face. "The only part I take
responsiblity for is bribing you so that you wouldn't tell my husband.
Not telling your husband, or daughters, is your fault, not mine. Remember
that."
Lillian nods, looking at herself in the mirror and starts to cry
again, which causes Lenore to roll her eyes. When Lillian sees this, she
tries to stop, but can't.
"I'm sorry... I can't help it." Lillian takes out a tissue from her
purse and starts to dry her eyes. "It isn't everyday that my life falls
apart in front of everyone. Do you think I woke up this morning
anticipating my family hating me? Cause let me tell you, that wasn't in
my plan for the day!"
"I swear Lillian.. ever since I first met you, you've always done this
and I'm not sure why." Lenore remarks. "I could understand if you weren't
loved, but your parents were awesome anytime I went home with you during
the holidays. You guys resembled a Norman Rockwell Christmas card for God
sakes! I just don't get it."
Lillian shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know either.. I wish I could tell
you why I ended up doing all this, but I can't."
"Well, you better figure it out fast because you not only hurt me, but
have also hurt your entire family." Lenore observes. "As for me, I already
know why I'm the way I am."
"Do you think that matters?"
Lenore nods, "I think it does." She take another quick glance at herself
in the mirror and turns to Lillian again. "The difference between you and me
is that I don't sit back and wait to be forgiven. I set out to make it
happen. The other person may not be receptive at the time, but at least I
make an effort. Just think about it."
Lenore turns and heads out of the ladies room leaving Lillian to stare at
herself in the mirror, realizing that her worst nightmare has come true.
