Part 11
It was particularly early for Scout Calhoun to be at work. It was only nine o'clock and he usually didn't arrive at his Midtown office until 11 o'clock. However, the days work had to be done and done now. Otherwise, Jake would kill him.
"Look Dave, Jacqueline Pratt is not a supporting role player—she's a leading lady. You don't give her the lead, you don't get her to be in your film. Period."
He nodded as he listened to the man on the other end of the phone. "Directors," he thought, "don't know anything about selling power."
After a minuteof silence, a smile spread across Scout's face and his head nodded in assent. "Great, I knew you'd come through. Okay I'll see you Monday to sign the papers… bye." After hanging up he shouted, "You the man!" He danced around the room, making strange movements, and continued to do so for some time until a knock on the door interrupted his celebration.
"Doing a scene from 'Footloose'?" asked Jake, trying hard not to laugh.
Embarrassed, Scout regained his composure and defended himself. "No. If you must know Ms. Pratt, I, Scout Calhoun, just got you the lead in Dave Murphy's next film."
"Well that is your job Scout! You're kind of my agent!" she exclaimed.
"You're welcome," he answered sarcastically. "We close the deal Monday. Happy?"
"I guess," she said listlessly. Her tone confused Scout because for nearly a month, she hounded him to get her the part. Now, it seemed that she could care less.
"Jake, are you okay? I thought you wanted this?"
"I do. It's just that…something happened…with Will."
She didn't need to explain further. 'He finally did it,' he thought to himself. She came closer to him and in doing so, Scout saw that she had been crying. Her eyes were beet red, her cheeks flushed. "What happened?" he asked, placing both arms on her shoulders.
"Will told me…he's in love with me." She sniffled and looked away, uncertain as to how Scout would react. He said nothing and his silence spoke volumes. He'd known all along.
Suddenly, her expression changed. "Oh my god! You knew about this didn't you? You knew and you never told me!"
"It wasn't my place to say," Scout replied in a calm and steady voice. "They're Will's feelings, not mine."
"Cut the bullshit Scout. You don't withhold important information, life altering information!"
"He loves you. There! Now you know. He loves you and he always has. You've just been too blind to see it. How could you not have seen it?"
"I can't believe you just turned this around on me! We are best friends. I never thought he loved me that way. It never even crossed my mind. Hence, the surprise when he told me!"
"Do you love him?"
"What?"
"Do you love Will?"
She sat in the seat in front of Scout's desk and sighed. "No, I don't. Not that way."
"The question is…could you ever?"
She shook her head in discord. "I can't."
"Because you still love Hamilton."
Yes. She still loved Hamilton Fleming. Even though he'd put her through hell, seeing him again only reaffirmed what she had always known deep inside—that he's the one. The one person in the world that she could not live without.
"Yes, I love him. Him being here—I thought that time would heal my broken heart—but its love, not time that heals all wounds. His love…its making me whole again."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Will was sitting on the sofa when he heard a knocking at the door. Thinking it was Jake, who forgot her keys in her rush to leave the apartment, he ran to open it only to find Hamilton Fleming on the other side.
"Hey Will! Can I come in?"
Will didn't respond, rather, moved aside and allowed Hamilton entrance.
"Is Jake asleep? Because if she is, I can come back later."
Finally, Will spoke, with a touch of bitterness in his voice. "No, she's not asleep. She' s not here." He walked towards the kitchen, Hamilton following not far behind.
"Will, I know. I know about you and Jake."
At this, Will turned around and stopped in his tracks. Angrily, he returned, "Know what? There is no Will and Jake. Only Hamilton and Jake."
"You're in love with her. Don't lie to me, I know. I've always known."
With nothing left to lose, Will snapped, "Yes, I am. So what? It doesn't matter anyway. "
"What?"
Hamilton and Will stood face to face. "Don't play coy Hamilton. We both know Jake loves you. She always has. There, you win."
"Win Jake? What does she come with, a trip to Hawaii?"
An infuriated Will shot back, "This isn't a game! Tell me Fleming, do you really love her? Are you going to stick around—for better or worse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part? Or is this just about making amends? Because Jake—she deserves more than that. More than you."
"You mean she deserves you! Is that what you're getting at?" declared Hamilton, equally angered. "I love her. I never stopped. This is about making things right. It's also about starting over. Starting a new life together."
"If it was up to me..."
"It isn't up to you, is it? This is Jake's decision. Not ours."
Will could not take anymore of Hamilton's reasons. He yelled, "You fucked up! Big time. Did you think that you can just show up and she'd take you back? " Internally, however, he knew that that is exactly what had happened the night before. Though the words were never really said, Jake had taken Hamilton back the moment he walked through the door.
Not yet finished, Will added, "When you left, who was here to pick up the pieces? Who was here to dry her tears, put her to sleep when she couldn't, make her laugh when she needed to smile, cook her dinner when she was too tired?"
Blank-faced, Hamilton said nothing in return, knowing full well that it had been Will who had stood by Jake when Hamilton didn't.
Nodding, Will said matter of factly, "Exactly."
"I can't believe this Will. You and I...we were like brothers. How could you fall in love with Jake?"
"How could I not? Who wouldn't? She's amazing. Anyone can see that. And you were stupid enough to let her go."
"I was stupid. Still, how could you?"
"The heart has reasons that reason does not know," Will answered simply.
Rolling his eyes, Hamilton sarcastically retorted, "Forever the poet. What makes you think that she doesn't love you? After all, its been you and her for a long time—even when I was around. The two of you have always had something special—something even I couldn't touch.
"Whatever we had was based on friendship. This whole thing has been totally one sided. She's loved you all this time. It's like...your ghost lingered here. You never left her."
This calmed Hamilton down. Hearing Will's words reiterated in his mind that she had never left him either. Every day, every minute, every second of the past two years, she was with him. Hamilton empathized with Will. If he was in his shoes, he'd probably be reacting the same way.
"I'm not running this time. I'll wait for her—for as long as I have to. I've played this out in my mind a thousand times. I'm going to make this right. I want her to be happy. She deserves that and you're right, she does deserve more than me. She deserves whatever makes her happy. Whether that is you or me, I'll accept it."
The tone in his voice proved to Will that his intentions were sincere. At the same time, it brought the realization that the dream of being with Jake would never be realized. Then again, maybe it was never really there to be realized. There was one person Jake loved more than anything on earth—and that person was Hamilton Fleming. As much as he loved Jake, Will knew that her happiness lied in Hamilton and Hamilton alone.
"Then, maybe you really do deserve her."
"Excuse me?" Hamilton asked surprised by his comment.
"You are Jake's reason for living, Ham. Don't you know that by now? She loves you, in spite of everything. And you love her. If time and distance hasn't changed that, nothing ever will. She deserves to be happy—both of you do."
"Will, that's…" Hamilton had no idea what to say. Will's words were unexpected.
"It's okay Ham. You don't have to say anything. I know. Just…go find Jake…and do what you came here to do." He patted him on the shoulder and Hamilton responded by giving Will a slight hug. It was an awkward moment, especially for Will, because in that instant, Will accepted the fact that Hamilton was the one for Jake—and always has been.
"Thanks Will." Will and Hamilton smiled at each other and soon, Will was out of sight and Hamilton, on his way to finding Jake.