Liza climbed the stairs to the apartment the following evening, every muscle in her body aching from her extracurricular activities with Charles the night before. Being with him was always mind blowing, but she felt like last night had been different. It was almost as if they had connected on an even more intense level, if that was possible, one that left her feeling completely spent and satisfied. She hoped it marked the beginning of a new chapter in their life together.
She had been reluctant to spend tonight away from him, but she had promised Maggie that they would spend some time together. Liza had been feeling guilty about spending less time with her friends lately and resolved to try to balance out the time she was splitting between Caitlin, Charles and her friends a little better. She hadn't even known that Lauren had been dumped by Max until Kelsey mentioned it at lunch today. When she had shared her feeling of guilt with Charles, he had understood completely, insisting that she spend some time with her friends. He had told her that he was going to take the girls out for dinner, for a daddy/daughter date, and Liza smiled to herself as she pulled her keys from her purse outside the apartment. He had been genuinely excited to spend the night with his daughters and she found it absolutely adorable. Endearing, really. Charles Brooks was a rare breed.
"You're home!" Liza swung open the door to the apartment to be greeted by Kelsey, Lauren and Maggie curled up on the couch, a large pitcher of margaritas sitting on the coffee table in front of them.
"What are you guys doing here?! I didn't know you were coming over." She raised her eyebrows at Maggie as she shrugged off her jacket and shoes. Kelsey rolled her eyes and turned slightly to watch Liza as she walked to the kitchen to get a glass.
"Well, we haven't really spent any time together lately. You know, just us girls. So, we decided to take advantage of your plans with Maggie and crash."
"I'm not complaining. I just would have come home a little earlier. Lemme change, and I'll be right out. Pour me a margarita, will you, Mags?" Liza handed her an empty glass and slipped into her bedroom to change. She had just slipped out of her dress and was throwing on some yoga pants when she heard someone behind her. She turned to see Kelsey leaning against the door.
"Sorry about the ambush. Lauren's just taking this breakup harder than I thought. She needs her friends." Liza nodded, slipping on a t shirt.
"I know. I'm sorry that I haven't been around much lately." She sat down on the edge of the bed, slipping on a pair of socks. Kelsey sat down next to her, looking around the room and taking inventory of the Charles paraphernalia littered around the room.
"How are things going with you two?"
"Good. Really, really good. I'm so happy, Kelsey."
Kelsey watched as the goofy smile on Liza's face faltered a bit. "But….?"
"I just wonder if part of me is always going to doubt that I can be this happy. I feel like there's this part of me just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like I don't deserve the happiness, the love in my life right now. And not just with Charles. With all of you. Kelsey, you've been so forgiving and accepting of me. Everyone has. I feel like I don't deserve it, like the rug is going to be pulled out from underneath me at any moment." She shrugged her shoulders, slumping a little.
"Liza. You can't think like that. You are one of the strongest, kindest, most intelligent women I know, okay? Yes, you lied, but you did what you had to do for your kid. That's pretty fucking badass. You deserve to be happy. Whether that's being with Charles, or with Josh, or kicking ass at work. Whatever you want, you deserve to have it." She reached over and took Liza's hand in both of hers. "I'm so lucky to have you in my life, Liza. You've gotten me through so much. Inspired me to be a better person."
"You're pretty inspiring, too, Kels." Liza interrupted, squeezing Kelsey's hand. Kelsey rolled her eyes, leaning into Liza's shoulder affectionately.
"Are you two going to get your asses back out here or what?" Maggie shouted from the other room. Liza stood, stretching her long arms before reaching out to pull Kelsey up, swinging her arm around her other best friend.
How's girl's night going?
Liza's phone buzzed on her lap later that evening as she sat on the couch. Kelsey sat next to her, her head lolling on Liza's shoulder as she dozed. On her other side sat Maggie, who had Lauren's head laying in her lap. The empty pitcher of margaritas sat on the coffee table next to an almost empty bowl of popcorn while an episode of Grey's Anatomy played quietly on the tv. Smiling, she opened the camera on her phone and snapped a few pictures of the scene, sending them to Charles. The four girls had sat up for hours, catching each other up on their lives before digressing into a Netflix binge fest.
It's been good. I'm glad we got to do this. How's yours? A picture popped up on the screen a few seconds later. Liza smiled as she opened it, looking at the girls laying at the foot of Charles' bed, watching Frozen on the flat screen.
I'm starting to get sick of this movie. It gets old after you've seen it 3500 times.
I'd feel bad, but I've already paid my dues with Caitlin. She was particularly fond of Toy Story.
I feel your pain. I should probably get them to bed. See you in the morning?
Definitely. Breakfast at our spot? 7:30?
Sounds like a plan, my love. We can walk to work together
Liza clicked her phone off, smiling. Today had been a good day.
"You need to see this. Now. Like right now." Kelsey stepped into Diana's office, her iPad in her hand, closing the door. It was Friday afternoon, and Liza sat across from Diana, going over the details for this evenings game night party for what felt like the millionth time. Setting down the iPad, Kelsey tapped at the screen for a second and pulled up a YouTube video. Liza came around the other side of the desk, leaning in between Diana and Kelsey to look at the screen.
"It's Pauline's EW interview that she did this morning. It just was released online." She queued the video up, starting it a couple minutes in and stepping back.
"So, Pauline, we've talked about the book for a few minutes now. What a story. It's like fiction meets memoir."
"Thank you. Mostly fiction, though."
"So now let's talk about the real-life inspiration for Kate and Karl. How is your relationship with your husband?"
"Oh, um, my relationship with my husband. It's, it's not what I expected when I returned home, that's for sure."
"Do you care to elaborate?"
Diana groaned. "This can't be good."
"In all honestly, the relationship isn't doing so well. We're getting divorced." The interviewer leaned back; eyebrows raised.
"If you don't mind our asking, was this a mutual decision?" Liza saw a flash of annoyance cross Pauline's face, and had a sinking feeling about what was coming next.
"No, it wasn't. I was hoping to reconcile with him. We tried for a few weeks, but ultimately, he asked me for a divorce. I can't say I blame him, but it certainly took me by surprise."
"After all that time apart, I can't even imagine what that would have been like. But I'm sure you weren't the only one responsible for the marriage falling apart."
"The truth is, my marriage was over before I even left. And if I'm being completely honest, it was his career, and his ambition that ruined our marriage, not mine. When he and I got married, I thought we would be a team, but it was always about him. I was just there to be his rock, and I don't think he ever noticed how unhappy I was because he didn't want to."
"Wow."
"I don't think either of us could have done anything to fix it. This story, this novel, is a fantasy, based only slightly in reality. It's how I imagined it for the couple in the book because I like happy endings. I wanted my happy ending to be with my husband, but that's not an option for me anymore. But my story isn't over, and my happy ending is still out there."
"Well, we wish you all the best, Pauline. Thank you so much for coming in to speak with us today."
Kelsey reached out, closing the iPad and picking it back up. Hesitantly she turned to take a look at Liza. She had taken a step back and was leaning against the window behind Diana's desk.
"Has he seen that yet? Charles – has he seen it?"
Kelsey shook her head. "I don't think so. I emailed it to him, but he's in a meeting right now, so he probably hasn't checked his inbox yet."
Liza shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "Okay, um, I'm gonna go. I need some air. Diana, I'll head over to your apartment and start getting things ready." Without waiting for an answer, she half-jogged out of the office, grabbing her purse and heading straight for the elevator. Diana let out a breath and leaned back in her chair, turning to face Kelsey.
"We can't let her go off the handle like that again. How many more interviews?"
"2 book signings this weekend, then 3 radio and 2 tv next week. She flies back here on Wednesday and is doing GMA and Today on Thursday."
"And Zane has taken over for Liza as her point of contact here?"
"He and I have both been working with her. We'll call the interviewers for next week, see if they can stick to the book and not question her about her personal life."
"Charles is going to be furious when he sees that interview. I'll try to catch him as soon as he gets out of his meeting."
"What about Liza?"
"What about her? Kelsey, Liza is a grown woman. She said she needs space, so respect that. She will be fine."
Kelsey turned to leave, shaking her head. "So much for a quiet week. I'm starting to think that this book was not worth all of this trouble."
"You and I both, Kelsey."
Charles walked back into his office after the two-hour meeting with accounting, wearisome, his head swimming with numbers and charts. Thank god it's Friday, he thought, anxious to leave and start his weekend. He wanted to spend some quality time with Liza and the girls. He glanced at his watch as he stepped through the doorway. He had to pick the girls up from a friend's house and meet the babysitter in about an hour.
Diana was sitting in his office, her legs crossed, a pensive look on her face. Now what? "Oh, Diana. I'm sorry. Did we have a meeting?" He crossed to his desk, grabbing his briefcase and started packing up his belongings.
"No. There's something that you need to see. Check your email. You should have one from Kelsey." He looked at her quizzically, but opened up his email, scanning down the list for Kelsey's name. He felt his stomach drop as he read the subject line, clicking on the link with a sense of dread. Diana sat across from him; her hands clasped in her lap as he played through the clip. He closed the laptop at the end and stood up, rubbing his hand over his eyes and pacing with his other hand on his hip.
"This is unbelievable. Why would she do this?"
"How were things between you two when she left last weekend?"
"I thought we were okay. She came to the 4th of July picnic and we had a good talk. She promised me she wasn't going to fight for custody of the girls. It was civil."
"Well, she obviously feels jilted. Like a woman scorned. Kelsey and Zane are working damage control, trying to minimize the amount of personal questions in the rest of her interviews."
"I should never have agreed to publish this book. It's caused nothing but problems. For me, for the company, for Liza." He paused, his face turning white. "Diana, has she seen that?" His heart dropped as Diana nodded.
"Kelsey showed it to us earlier."
"I need to talk to her. Is she still here?" His heart dropped even further as Diana shook her head.
"She left after she saw the interview. Said that she needed some space. She'll be at my apartment this evening, for my party."
"Shit. I've got to go, Diana. Thank you for showing me this. But I've got to find Liza. I'll see you tonight." He grabbed his phone and his briefcase, practically running out of the office. He had to find her, talk to her, make sure that she was okay. To make sure that Pauline hadn't scared her off for a second time.
"So, what do you think?" Maggie closed the tablet and slide it back across the kitchen island to Liza, who sat opposite her, chewing nervously on her thumbnail.
"I think," Maggie said slowly, "That her relationship with her husband is a lot different than your relationship with her husband. She's clearly bitter about not getting her way."
"But what if she's right, Maggie? What if we stay together and start to turn into this? Me, unhappy, him oblivious."
"Liza, sweetie, I don't think that Charles could ever be oblivious to your feeling. I have seen the way he looks at you. The man is head over heels for you. It's kind of nauseating, actually." She jokes, trying to get Liza to lighten up.
"But what if it happens anyways?"
"Then it happens. You can't live life scared of what could happen. That's not living."
"It's what happened with David." Her phone vibrated, and Charles's name popped up on the screen. She hit ignore.
"Charles is definitely not David. And thank god for that. Listen Liza, you need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel. Running isn't going to solve anything. Go see him tonight at this party and talk to him. You'll figure it out. Go." She pointed at the door, coming around the side of the island to walk Liza to the door.
Charles stepped out of the elevator outside of Diana's apartment, taking a deep breath. He hadn't been able to get ahold of Liza for the past few hours, despite calling her a few times. He had picked the girls up, running them home and changing and had debated showing up at her apartment. But Diana's words about Liza wanting space had echoed in his ears, and he had refrained.
"Charles!" He turned at the sound of his voice to see Jay stepping off of the elevator. Of course, he had been invited. The rumor mill that churned through the Empirical office was that Diana hosted these occasional game nights in a vain attempt to secure a new boyfriend. It looked like tonight would be no different.
"Jay. How's it going?"
"Oh, they're going. How are things with you? I hear you and Liza reconciled." Charles couldn't help but detect a note of jealously in Jay's voice, but he tried to brush it off.
"Yes, we did. We're doing good. Thanks for asking." He pushed open the partially opened door to the apartment, letting Jay step inside first.
"Where is the enigmatic Ms. Miller, tonight, anyways?" Jay asked, helping himself to a drink from Diana's bar cart.
Charles scanned the room for her, but didn't see her, a feeling of panic setting in. "She should be here. Diana enlisted her help. Let's talk later, Jay." He stepped away from his friend before he could respond. He caught Kelsey's eye from across the room, and she motioned towards the kitchen. He crossed the room in a few strides and poked his head tentatively into the kitchen. She stood with her back to him, placing a tray of mini quiches onto a platter.
"Hey there." She swore and jumped backwards, knocking a few quiches onto the floor. Charles bent to help her.
"Hey." She said quickly, not quite meeting his eyes.
"Do you have a few minutes to talk?" He rested his hand gently on her forearm, squeezing lightly.
"Actually, I should get these out there before Diana has my head." She smiled quickly and met his eyes for a moment before picking up the tray and walking back out into the living room, leaving Charles standing alone in the kitchen.
Diana called time of death on the party two hours later, after an issue with the bathroom plumbing was discovered. She had screeched for Liza, who emerged a few minutes later with a sour look on her face and soggy shoes, her cell phone to her ear. Charles lingered, helping clean up the food while Liza made calls to find a 24-hour plumber. He had just finished putting away the last of the food while Diana rinsed out some glasses when Liza walked in.
"Diana, I finally got ahold of someone who can come out tonight. He should be here in half an hour or so. Do you want me to stay?"
"No, no, you go. What a disaster. You go too, Charles. I think I can handle the rest of this."
"I'll see you on Monday, Diana. Have a good weekend." He walked out to the living room, where Liza was slipping on her jacket and rushing to the door.
"Wait, Liza." He grabbed the door as she started to swing it shut behind her, following her to the elevator. He reached out to put his hand on her back as they stepped inside, and he pressed the button for the ground floor. "Will you walk with me for a bit? I need to talk to you. I've been trying to get ahold of you all night."
She nodded as they walked through the lobby into the night. It was cool for a July night, a light breeze lending to the chill. Liza shivered, and Charles shrugged off his blazer and laid it gently over her shoulders, reaching down to take her hand as he did so.
"You saw the interview?" Liza asked quietly, as the pair began to walk down the street.
"Yes. What she said, Liza, I'm sorry you had to hear that. I'm going to talk to her, tell her to reign it in."
"She's upset and she's jealous, Charles. I don't think she'll stop."
"It's not just that that's upsetting you. I can tell, Liza. Tell me what's going on inside that pretty head of yours. Please." He implored, guiding her to a nearby bench and sitting down.
"Some of what she said today, well, it resonated with me a bit. I know what it's like to take a backseat to your husband. To give up a career to be a wife, a mother. I wouldn't give up the time I had with Caitlin, but a part of me always resented that he got to have a career while I stayed at home, taking care of everything else. That was a big part of why I finally left. I don't know if I can do that again. No, I know that I can't, that I won't do that again."
Charles squeezed her hand and shook his head. "I'm not asking you to, Liza. One of the many reasons I fell in love with you was your ambition. Your commitment to your work. It's awe-inspiring, Liza." He reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear and tilting her chin up. "I don't want you to ever change who you are."
"But what if…."
"No. No ifs. No buts. It won't be like that with us, Liza. I just know it. Your marriage to David and mine to Pauline are not the same as what we have. We were all younger, stupid, probably, and there were little children involved. I'm not saying that what Pauline said isn't true. In hindsight I can definitely see that I was a little selfish and a lot clueless. She lost her identity in our marriage and resented me for it. That's not going to happen to us."
"But…" He cut her off by leaning in and capturing her lips with his in a gentle kiss. He pulled back, his forehead resting on hers.
"No. I promise that it won't be like that. Ever. You and me, Liza, we're different. We've always been different. I won't let you sacrifice who you are to be with me. I love who you are, with every fiber of my being." He rubbed her cheek with his thumb, his blues eyes meeting her brown ones, searching them.
"I love you too, Charles. I think that's why I'm so scared. I don't want this to get screwed up. This is it for me, Charles."
"I love you, and that's the beginning and end of everything." He said the Fitzgerald quote as he stood, hand outreached. Liza looked up at him, feeling safe and sound once again. Reaching up, she took his hand, accepting his silent promise that the two of them would never have to face the world alone.