Columbia continued to stare at the photograph for a moment. Then she looked up.
'Janet, I'm so sorry,' she said quietly. 'I had no idea.'
'Neither did I, until a couple of months later. He tried to pretend things were still OK. We even went through with the wedding, so he'd be born into a good family. But then I gave birth, and Brad just fell apart. I think he'd still been hoping the baby would have the Majors' chin, even though I'd already told him it probably wasn't his child. Seeing his bright blue eyes and blonde hair must have come as a real shock. The marriage went down hill from pretty much then on.'
'Do you ever still see him?' asked Columbia.
'Regularly,' Janet answered. 'Charlie goes to him most weekends. Brad may hate me now, but he still loves my son. Charlie thinks Brad's his father, of course.'
Columbia sat thoughtfully.
'Do you think we could pay him a visit?' she asked after a moment. Janet smiled.
'I'll take you there now,' she replied.
Twenty minutes later, and Janet's car pulled up outside a row of terraced houses. They got out of the car, and Columbia followed her to the door of the house which Brad and Janet had once shared. She rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. She rang again.
'He's not in,' said Columbia.
'Maybe not,' Janet replied. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Finding the right one, she inserted it into the keyhole and pushed the door open.
'After you,' she said, holding it open for Columbia to go through.
They stood in the hallway. A staircase led upstairs, and there was a small table by the door. Janet picked up a pile of letters and began to shuffle through them, pulling a few out as she went.
'I've been waiting for this for ages,' she said as she pulled out a particular brown envelope. 'The bastard never sends on my mail. Follow me.'
She climbed quietly up the stairs, Columbia close behind her. As they reached the top, Columbia became conscious of the sound of running water from behind one of the doors. When they came to it, Janet put a finger to her lips and motioned to Columbia to stay hidden behind the door. Then she turned the handle and pushed it open.
'Well hello, Ralph. Betty told me you were at a seminar all week.'
'I came home a day early,' came the reply. It was a man's voice, sounding very embarrassed.
'Is Brad here?' Janet's voice was calm, but ice-cold.
'He's in the shower.' Through the crack in the door, Columbia saw the man pull the bedsheets up around him nervously. Janet picked up his clothes, which were hanging over a nearby chair, and threw them to him.
'Go and get dressed, please,' she told him. There was a rustling as he got out of the bed, and left the bedroom. He saw Columbia as he ran out of the room, and she grinned at him. He clutched his clothes to him and hurried down the stairs. Columbia turned, and put her head round the door of the bedroom.
'Come on in,' Janet told her. She was re-making the bed. 'Like I said, he fell apart after Charlie was born. This is what he's like now.'
Columbia didn't know whether to laugh or feel shocked. It wasn't like this sort of thing was unknown to her, after all. But still, she thought, poor Janet…
Both women turned to look at the door leading into the bathroom as the running water suddenly stopped. A moment later, the door opened and Brad came out, a towel wrapped around him. He saw Janet, and gasped, wiping drops of water from his eyes.
'Janet, is that you? Where's - '
He paused, looking flustered.
'Ralph's gone, Brad. I'm sure Betty will want to hear all about this, though.'
Janet's voice was still calm. Columbia had to admire her strength of will.
'Jesus, Janet. What the hell are you doing here?' He groped blindly at the bedside table. 'And who's your friend?' he added, squinting at Columbia.
Janet held out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
'Looking for these?' she asked. 'Why don't you see for yourself?'
She handed him the glasses, and he blinked rapidly as the room came into focus. Puzzled, he looked at Columbia.
'My God,' he gasped. 'Is that - '
'Hey Brad,' Columbia replied. 'You remember me?'
* * * * * * * * * *
'So that's where I am now, doing cabaret here and there for hotels. I do bar work too, when things are slow, but I'm pretty busy nowadays.'
The three of them were sitting together in the hotel bar. Columbia pulled a cigarette out from the packet she was holding, and looked expectantly at Brad. She had just recounted to him the story of her survival, and he sat silently, sipping from a his drink occasionally. Finally he replied.
'This is just such a shock. I mean, I thought I'd put all this behind me. I hardly even think about it any more. And now, this happens. It's too much.'
Columbia put her head in her hands.
'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. I knew this would be a mistake, but I couldn't just not try to find you after I saw that article.'
Janet shot a withering glance at Brad, and put a hand on Columbia's arm.
'You had every right to come and find us. God knows what you must have gone through, waking up alone in a ditch somewhere. I'm glad you came.'
Columbia sat up and smiled gratefully at them both. Pulling a silver lighter from her pocket, she lit the cigarette and took a long drag before replying.
'Thank you both. You don't know how important this is to me.' She looked at her wristwatch suddenly. 'Fuck, rehearsal. I gotta run.'
She got up and quickly left the bar. Brad and Janet were left alone at the table. Brad avoided his ex-wife's gaze by quickly becoming absorbed in a poster of Columbia on one of the walls next to the bar. Finally, Janet spoke.
'So, Ralph and Betty aren't the happily married couple we thought they were, after all?'
Brad quickly turned his head to look at her, then picked up his drink hurriedly, only to find it was empty. He waved to a passing waitress, who took the glass away. Janet raised an eyebrow.
'I always thought a man who helped with the shopping was too good to be true,' she said.
Brad gave no answer.
'I've got to go,' he replied quickly. 'I'll see you later.'
As he left, the waitress brought back his glass, refilled. On seeing that he had gone, she began to take it back to the bar, but Janet motioned to her to leave it. The waitress put the glass down on the table, and when she had turned away again, Janet picked up the drink and downed the whole thing. This was all getting too much to deal with.
* * * * * * * * *
Several hours later, and Brad and Janet were standing together outside the door of Columbia's dressing room.
'I just don't think she should be alone right now,' Janet was telling him. 'She needs our company. Besides, I thought it was quite a good show.'
'I had other plans tonight,' said Brad.
'I know you did,' Janet replied. 'But I'm sure Betty will appreciate some quality time with her husband. After all, he's away on "business" so often these days.'
Brad shook his head silently. He was saved from replying by the door opening.
'Brad, Janet!' exclaimed Columbia happily. 'I'm so glad you came. You don't know how much this means to me. Did you enjoy the show?'
'It was fantastic,' replied Janet. 'But I really should be getting back. Liz is baby sitting on short notice tonight, and I don't want to keep her too late.'
After they had said their goodbyes, Janet climbed into a cab outside the hotel and gave the driver her address. It was only a ten minute journey, and she was exhausted. Who would have thought one day could be so eventful? She was looking forward to getting in and going straight to bed.
But as the cab neared her house, it became obvious that this was going to be easier said than done. As they turned into her road, she was temporarily blinded by the flashing of blue lights. She soon became aware that the police cars were outside her own house. Without stopping to pay the driver, she ran from the cab and made for the front door, which was wide open. Several windows had been smashed, and the front lawn was a mess.
'Excuse me, are you the owner of this house?'
A policeman had stepped in front of her to prevent her from getting into her home. She struggled angrily to get past him.
'What's happened? Has something happened to my son? Where's the fucking babysitter gone?'
'Maybe you need to come and sit down,' he told her quietly. Janet shouted furiously at him.
'Let me see my son!' she screamed. The policeman put a hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath.
'I'm sorry, Ms. Weiss, but you'll have to come to the station. I'm afraid your son has been abducted.'
'Janet, I'm so sorry,' she said quietly. 'I had no idea.'
'Neither did I, until a couple of months later. He tried to pretend things were still OK. We even went through with the wedding, so he'd be born into a good family. But then I gave birth, and Brad just fell apart. I think he'd still been hoping the baby would have the Majors' chin, even though I'd already told him it probably wasn't his child. Seeing his bright blue eyes and blonde hair must have come as a real shock. The marriage went down hill from pretty much then on.'
'Do you ever still see him?' asked Columbia.
'Regularly,' Janet answered. 'Charlie goes to him most weekends. Brad may hate me now, but he still loves my son. Charlie thinks Brad's his father, of course.'
Columbia sat thoughtfully.
'Do you think we could pay him a visit?' she asked after a moment. Janet smiled.
'I'll take you there now,' she replied.
Twenty minutes later, and Janet's car pulled up outside a row of terraced houses. They got out of the car, and Columbia followed her to the door of the house which Brad and Janet had once shared. She rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. She rang again.
'He's not in,' said Columbia.
'Maybe not,' Janet replied. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. Finding the right one, she inserted it into the keyhole and pushed the door open.
'After you,' she said, holding it open for Columbia to go through.
They stood in the hallway. A staircase led upstairs, and there was a small table by the door. Janet picked up a pile of letters and began to shuffle through them, pulling a few out as she went.
'I've been waiting for this for ages,' she said as she pulled out a particular brown envelope. 'The bastard never sends on my mail. Follow me.'
She climbed quietly up the stairs, Columbia close behind her. As they reached the top, Columbia became conscious of the sound of running water from behind one of the doors. When they came to it, Janet put a finger to her lips and motioned to Columbia to stay hidden behind the door. Then she turned the handle and pushed it open.
'Well hello, Ralph. Betty told me you were at a seminar all week.'
'I came home a day early,' came the reply. It was a man's voice, sounding very embarrassed.
'Is Brad here?' Janet's voice was calm, but ice-cold.
'He's in the shower.' Through the crack in the door, Columbia saw the man pull the bedsheets up around him nervously. Janet picked up his clothes, which were hanging over a nearby chair, and threw them to him.
'Go and get dressed, please,' she told him. There was a rustling as he got out of the bed, and left the bedroom. He saw Columbia as he ran out of the room, and she grinned at him. He clutched his clothes to him and hurried down the stairs. Columbia turned, and put her head round the door of the bedroom.
'Come on in,' Janet told her. She was re-making the bed. 'Like I said, he fell apart after Charlie was born. This is what he's like now.'
Columbia didn't know whether to laugh or feel shocked. It wasn't like this sort of thing was unknown to her, after all. But still, she thought, poor Janet…
Both women turned to look at the door leading into the bathroom as the running water suddenly stopped. A moment later, the door opened and Brad came out, a towel wrapped around him. He saw Janet, and gasped, wiping drops of water from his eyes.
'Janet, is that you? Where's - '
He paused, looking flustered.
'Ralph's gone, Brad. I'm sure Betty will want to hear all about this, though.'
Janet's voice was still calm. Columbia had to admire her strength of will.
'Jesus, Janet. What the hell are you doing here?' He groped blindly at the bedside table. 'And who's your friend?' he added, squinting at Columbia.
Janet held out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
'Looking for these?' she asked. 'Why don't you see for yourself?'
She handed him the glasses, and he blinked rapidly as the room came into focus. Puzzled, he looked at Columbia.
'My God,' he gasped. 'Is that - '
'Hey Brad,' Columbia replied. 'You remember me?'
* * * * * * * * * *
'So that's where I am now, doing cabaret here and there for hotels. I do bar work too, when things are slow, but I'm pretty busy nowadays.'
The three of them were sitting together in the hotel bar. Columbia pulled a cigarette out from the packet she was holding, and looked expectantly at Brad. She had just recounted to him the story of her survival, and he sat silently, sipping from a his drink occasionally. Finally he replied.
'This is just such a shock. I mean, I thought I'd put all this behind me. I hardly even think about it any more. And now, this happens. It's too much.'
Columbia put her head in her hands.
'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come. I knew this would be a mistake, but I couldn't just not try to find you after I saw that article.'
Janet shot a withering glance at Brad, and put a hand on Columbia's arm.
'You had every right to come and find us. God knows what you must have gone through, waking up alone in a ditch somewhere. I'm glad you came.'
Columbia sat up and smiled gratefully at them both. Pulling a silver lighter from her pocket, she lit the cigarette and took a long drag before replying.
'Thank you both. You don't know how important this is to me.' She looked at her wristwatch suddenly. 'Fuck, rehearsal. I gotta run.'
She got up and quickly left the bar. Brad and Janet were left alone at the table. Brad avoided his ex-wife's gaze by quickly becoming absorbed in a poster of Columbia on one of the walls next to the bar. Finally, Janet spoke.
'So, Ralph and Betty aren't the happily married couple we thought they were, after all?'
Brad quickly turned his head to look at her, then picked up his drink hurriedly, only to find it was empty. He waved to a passing waitress, who took the glass away. Janet raised an eyebrow.
'I always thought a man who helped with the shopping was too good to be true,' she said.
Brad gave no answer.
'I've got to go,' he replied quickly. 'I'll see you later.'
As he left, the waitress brought back his glass, refilled. On seeing that he had gone, she began to take it back to the bar, but Janet motioned to her to leave it. The waitress put the glass down on the table, and when she had turned away again, Janet picked up the drink and downed the whole thing. This was all getting too much to deal with.
* * * * * * * * *
Several hours later, and Brad and Janet were standing together outside the door of Columbia's dressing room.
'I just don't think she should be alone right now,' Janet was telling him. 'She needs our company. Besides, I thought it was quite a good show.'
'I had other plans tonight,' said Brad.
'I know you did,' Janet replied. 'But I'm sure Betty will appreciate some quality time with her husband. After all, he's away on "business" so often these days.'
Brad shook his head silently. He was saved from replying by the door opening.
'Brad, Janet!' exclaimed Columbia happily. 'I'm so glad you came. You don't know how much this means to me. Did you enjoy the show?'
'It was fantastic,' replied Janet. 'But I really should be getting back. Liz is baby sitting on short notice tonight, and I don't want to keep her too late.'
After they had said their goodbyes, Janet climbed into a cab outside the hotel and gave the driver her address. It was only a ten minute journey, and she was exhausted. Who would have thought one day could be so eventful? She was looking forward to getting in and going straight to bed.
But as the cab neared her house, it became obvious that this was going to be easier said than done. As they turned into her road, she was temporarily blinded by the flashing of blue lights. She soon became aware that the police cars were outside her own house. Without stopping to pay the driver, she ran from the cab and made for the front door, which was wide open. Several windows had been smashed, and the front lawn was a mess.
'Excuse me, are you the owner of this house?'
A policeman had stepped in front of her to prevent her from getting into her home. She struggled angrily to get past him.
'What's happened? Has something happened to my son? Where's the fucking babysitter gone?'
'Maybe you need to come and sit down,' he told her quietly. Janet shouted furiously at him.
'Let me see my son!' she screamed. The policeman put a hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath.
'I'm sorry, Ms. Weiss, but you'll have to come to the station. I'm afraid your son has been abducted.'