She sees him staring at her, and she grins at him, as she playfully asks, "Are you going to finish your food, or are you going to stare at me?" He replies, "I'd rather do the latter any day." She giggles, and he revels in her laugh, and laughs with her. He reaches across the table, and takes her hand. She takes a sip of her juice, as he says, "I love you Ker." She replies, "I love you too."
Their moment ends, when the house phone rings. It startles them both at first. Because few people have the number, so the phone never rings. But since their cell phones don't work here, it's clear the call must be urgent, if the phone's ringing. They both have a look of concern, as they get up, and he goes to the phone, as she grabs the dishes, carrying them inside.
He grabs the phone, and answers, seeing the caller ID says it's Harvey. "This better be important Harvey." He says, jokingly. The response he hears next, lets him know it's extremely important. He says, "Hey Tony, we have a problem. There's photos of you and Kerry surfacing, with you two cuddled up in a car, in New York."
Tony closes his eyes, remembering the promotion tour they were on, and leaving the hotel to fly back to LA, a few months ago. He says, "Harvey, you have to do something about the photos." He replies. "Relax, I have a way to block those. But our bigger issue, is the ones of you two leaving your birthday party this weekend."
Kerry is standing next to him now, having bought all the dishes inside, and loaded the dish washer. She hears him say, "Fuck! How'd they know about the party?" She instantly gets worried. Because she sees the concern on his face. While very concerned, Tony sees Kerry standing next to him, and he doesn't want her to worry. So he tries to simmer down, in her presence.
Harvey says, "Look, I don't know how the photographer found out about the party. But we have the photos." Tony interjects as he says, "Then you need to find out Harvey, and fix this. Call me when you know more." Harvey hears his response, and while the tone is even, and somewhat calm. It's firm, which tells him that he really can't talk right now. Harvey replies, "Okay. I'm on it Tony. I'll be in touch."
When the call ends, Tony takes a breath, and Kerry asks, "What's wrong?" She sees the aggravation in his eyes, so he knows he can't lie. He sees the fear in hers, but doesn't want her to be so worried. So he says, "Come here." She looks at him and out of frustration says, "Tony, don't sugar coat it. Just tell me." He reaches out to her, and says, "I am going to tell you. But I want you to sit down first."
She gets annoyed with him, because she hates when he tries to calm her, when she doesn't know what's going on. Regardless of how rational his approach may be. He sees her staring at him, and he says, "I'm not telling you, until you sit down with me Ker." She sighs like a kid being scolded by her parents, as she follows him to the couch.
As they sit down, Josie trots over, and nestles at her feet. Josie always knows when she's upset, and wants to cuddle with her. He pulls Kerry over to him, and they sit eye to eye, as she holds Josie in her lap, as she says, "Can you tell me now?" He strokes her face, as he says, "Yes. I can tell you now. Harvey says there were some photos taken of us in NY and also this weekend, that would out our relationship." The look on her face is of complete shock, and disbelief, as she exclaims. "Tony! Oh my God! How is that possible? How can you be so calm about this?"
She's standing up, and completely frantic. Tony says, "Ker, sit down. I'm not finished." She replies, "What do you mean sit down Tony? This is no time to sit down. Do you understand what's at stake here?" He understands her fear, but he's getting annoyed that she's not listening, and he needs to get her attention.
So he asks, "Do you trust me Kerry?" She's thrown by the question, and replies, "What kind of question is that? At a time like this!" He's annoyed, and still trying to keep this tamed, as he replies, "It's the kind of question I am asking. So answer it. Do you trust me?" She's totally frustrated at this point, and can't believe him right now. But she answers, "Yes. Okay! Yes I trust you. What in the hell does that have to do with this? Our world is going to explode when those pictures hit the press, and you're asking me if I trust you. I can't believe this."
He wanted to keep this calm. But he sees that's impossible, given her response. So he allows his emotions to let go as his voice raises in volume, to meet hers, as he replies, "I can't believe it either Kerry. I can't believe that you think I wouldn't do everything in my power to protect you. That I'd let anything harm you, or our future, especially after the last few days we've had. Damn it, I am trying to tell you that although the pictures were taken. Harvey has them, and they won't be published. But he needs to work on finding out, how the photographer found out about the party."
She's still upset, but she realizes she didn't let him finish and that's why he was angry. She freaked out right away, and didn't trust him to give her a solution. So, instead of being angry at the moment, she's angry at herself. The quiet leaves them both in thought, as she settles with what he's said, and begins to cry.
He sees her tears, and feels terrible. His anger, quickly subsides, as does hers. He empathetically reaches out to her, and she falls into his arms sobbing. He holds her, as she weeps, hoping this will calm things down. But still he wonders too; who could've leaked the location of the party, for the photographer to be there? That is the question of the day.
Thank you for reading this installment of my fan fiction tale. In the next installment, the question of who the snitch is becomes central to how they proceed, as a couple. The threat is closer than they thought. Also Jane's signed the papers, but what does that mean exactly? Is she really out of the way, or is she just lying in weight? All this and more in the next installment of Timing, is everything.