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45

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The next day at the filming studio, he had the weight of telling Howard the horrible truth on his shoulders. He just couldn't find the right moment to tell. Every time there would be a chance and he began, something would always interrupt. Finally when they went back to Howard's house on break, Ed managed to once and for all let Howard know of his wife's disgusting habit.

Unsure of whether or not Nadia was in the house, he whispered. "Umm... Mr. Brinkley. There's something we need to talk about."

"What's that, Ed?" Howard replied, hunched over and rubbing some mud off of his shoes.

"Well... You see... Uh..."

"Yes?"

"Nadia..."

"Yes, what about Nadia?"

"She's not exactly the girl you think you've married."

"Not exactly the girl I think I've married? Huh? What does that mean?"

"She... She's very... alluring. Very... enticing."

"What exactly are you getting at, Edward?"

"She um... does things."

"What kinds of things?"

"Bad things."

"What? Does she pilfer? Swindle? Plunder? Embezzle?"

"No. None of those. Something more... Offensive."

"Then what? Spill it, boy."

Ed cleared his throat, then spoke softly and slowly, trying to pronounce each word carefully as though it would make some small difference on the larger scale of things. "Nadia has... more than once... seduced me."

Howard's eyes seemed to pop out of his head. "What?"

"Ever since that first night you invited Kathy and I over, it's been happening. And now she won't leave me alone! Oh, believe me, sir, I've told her to stop thousands of times. But she just won't listen! She's very persistent. And please don't be mad at me, Mr. Brinkley. I didn't want it. I wanted nothing to do with her at all! But she's just so powerful! And I have a hard time convincing people that 'no' means 'no'..."

Ed looked at Mr. Brinkley and saw that he had gone pale and looked rather sickly. "Mr. Brinkley? You alright?"

Mr. Brinkley cleared his throat a bit then replied, "Yeah... yeah." He got up from his chair and began adjusting his suit.

Suddenly, Nadia came out from the hallway, holding a handkerchief. She was crying endlessly into the piece of material and blowing her nose. Ed realized that she had probably been there the whole time listening and had heard everything. Nadia approached Howard and touched him lightly on the arm.

"I think I need a walk," Howard said with a wavering tone, then quickly rushed past Nadia.

"But Howard! Wait!" Nadia cried, rushing after him, but Howard had fled out the door before she could catch up with him.

Ed sat, watching in disbelief at the marriage he had just destroyed.

"I just love him so much," Nadia said through tears. She slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. Crying in a mass of herself.

Ed felt out of place. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Like... a mouse in a room full of cats. He truly wanted to go over to Nadia and comfort her, but he knew it would be better if he didn't. He had no idea what he was going to do.

Oh peach tree, he thought dishearteningly.