Ch. 7
Valerie stood like a deer caught in headlights when she saw the look on Lulu's face. "I so don't need this right now," she thought to herself. Lulu seemed ripe for a confrontation, so Val resigned herself as she walked over to the bar. She would have rather been anywhere else at that moment, but she wasn't going to run. She lifted her head up higher as Lulu approached, and mentally readied herself.
"You have the nerve to show your face here?" demanded Lulu. "I figured you'd be hiding in some dark corner where you belong, not prancing all over town as if you hadn't done anything wrong!"
"I didn't come in here for a fight, Lulu; I just wanted a drink. As far as I know, though, you don't own the town, so I can go pretty much wherever I want to. I don't need any drama-"
"Not like ownership matters much to you, anyway, does it? And people not looking for drama don't SLEEP WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S HUSBANDS, DO THEY?" Lulu said this last part loudly enough for everyone in the bar to hear, drawing all interested eyes to them as the various conversations suddenly ceased.
"I know apologizing to you won't be enough but I am sorry I hurt you. It was never my intention-"
"Your intention? Your intentions were clear from the minute you met my husband, you slag! He actually fell for your 'poor me, woe is me' act, and felt sorry for you! He welcomed you in, WE welcomed you in, and like some kind of wolf in the henhouse, you went for total slaughter, kindness be damned-"
"'Poor me' act? I'd just lost my mother! Some crazy man broke into my house, held me at gunpoint, and my life immediately went into the toilet, which caused my mom to die! I know YOU don't care about any of that, but-"
"Why should I care about any of that? You're just using your mother's death as some kind of excuse for going after my husband! 'Poor me, poor grief-stricken me! Pity me, hold me! I'm so sad!' You make me sick! And Dante fell for your act, didn't he? You sucked him right in, all the way into bed with you!"
"That's not how it was, Lulu! I didn't go after Dante, no matter what you think! But I didn't do this all by myself, either! He was right there in that bed with me; nobody forced him!"
Lulu's hand was on the upswing when Valerie grabbed her arm mid-air, squeezing it with some force before thrusting her backwards as she pushed her away. "You had one shot, which you already took. That's all you get! Look, I don't want to fight you, but don't mistake me, it's not because I'm scared of you. I'm not some street thug who brawls in public, that's all."
"No, you're not some street thug, are you? You're somewhere lower than that! Gutter trash, more like! Gutter trash who doesn't know how to be grateful, right? We invited you to stay and took you in because we felt sorry for you! No one really wanted you here, but we felt sorry for you BECAUSE you had lost your mother! And like the snake you are, you slithered in, wound yourself around my husband, and waited for the right moment to strike, didn't you? That's how you showed your gratitude, wasn't it? Tell me, how many beers did you have? How many did you get him to drink? Because I know alcohol was involved! That's the only way he would have ever touched you! That's the only way any man with taste would ever touch you! Are you satisfied, or do you still want more? You want my son, too? Our home? MY life? MY family? Fat chance! Let me repeat, no one wanted you here! Why don't you just crawl back to the gutter you came from and leave us to try to repair the damage bringing you into our lives has caused?"
Valerie felt her eyes widening, the tears welling up in them as she willed them not to fall. She felt lower than low with every blow of Lulu's verbal hammer. There were so many things she wanted to retort, but she couldn't find the heart to say any of them as she stood there getting the tongue lashing of her life. On some level, she realized she deserved Lulu's wrath so she just let the venom flow over her. She allowed Lulu the last word as she snarked, "No defense, huh? Nothing to say? That's what I thought." Lulu flounced out of the bar, her temper briefly abated after her outburst.
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The patrons in Jake's were momentarily silent; slowly, conversations began again after Lulu's exit. Coleman looked at Valerie in sympathy, saying, "That was kinda rough. You ok, sweetness?" Valerie held her hand upright to stop his questioning, her breath beginning to hiccup. She didn't think she could take Coleman's kindness without breaking into pieces in front of everyone in the bar. She felt frozen to the spot. She should be running out of there after that utter humiliation. Why couldn't she move? Carly approached her, placing her hand on Valerie's shoulder. "You ok, Val? I know, stupid question. Maybe I should have tried to stop her but if there's one thing I know about Lulu, when she gets going like that, no one on earth can stop her until she's said whatever she needs to say." At that, the tears began flowing—there was no holding them back now. "Carly," Valerie whispered, "I can't seem to move. Can you help me, get me out of here? Please? I don't know—my car—I can't-"
"Don't worry about that. Coleman will watch out for it if we leave it here, won't you, Coleman?"
"You got it, Carly, no sweat," Coleman replied.
Placing her arm around Valerie's shoulders, Carly led her away from Jake's to her waiting car and driver. Valerie sat huddled in the corner of the limo, unable to speak, clutching her arms tightly. All she had to do was keep it together until she got to the penthouse. She could do that, couldn't she? Once she was alone—
They pulled up to the front entrance of Harbor View Towers and Valerie turned to thank her cousin. "I—I—I can make it f-f-from here, Carly. Th-Th-Thank you for bringing me home." Carly considered for a moment and then said, "Come on. Let's go. I'll see you safely indoors, and then if you still want me to leave, I'll leave, ok?" Valerie held her hands tightly clasped in front of her as they rode up the elevator, her head lowered while her eyes darted back and forth involuntarily. She dug in her purse for her keys, which promptly fell to the floor when she pulled them out to enter the penthouse. She let out a sobbing breath in exasperation. Carly bent down and retrieved the keys, unlocking the door and pushing it open for Valerie to enter. She told Carly, "I'm ok now—you can go."
"I don't think so. Not yet. Why don't you sit down and I'll get you something to drink-"
The fragile hold Valerie had on herself finally snapped as she exclaimed, "What? Are you afraid to leave me alone? Why? Because it seems like I'm gonna fall apart? Why should I? Just because I just got blessed out in front of a room full of strangers for the first time in my life? Because my cousin hates me, which I deserve? Why should I care about that? Because my life is utter crap right now?" She went on as she began sobbing, "I didn't set out to hurt anyone! I know that doesn't matter now, but I didn't! I didn't! We thought she and Dillon were already cheating, but it's no excuse! It's no excuse! I know that! I was surrounded by strangers saying they were my family, and Dante was the only one who really reached out to me! That doesn't make it right! I know that! The fourth of July is Mom's favorite holiday and we were talking about her—AND I MISS HER! I WANT HER BACK! EVERYTHING FELL APART WHEN SHE LEFT ME ALONE!" She addressed the ceiling as she yelled, "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME, MOM? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME HERE ALL ALONE?" She was weeping uncontrollably as she finally collapsed onto the couch, rocking herself for comfort. Carly sat alongside her and drew her into her arms, continuing to rock her gently as she murmured, "Go ahead and cry it all out. I think this was a long time coming. Maybe somehow, this can end up being a good thing. It's ok. It's ok."
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Now that she had begun, Valerie couldn't seem to stop crying. She felt all dignity was lost since she was half lying in her cousin's lap, being rocked like some kind of infant. Strangely, though, she felt comforted, although she couldn't stop weeping. When she felt she had enough control to speak, she sobbed, "I'm sorry I lied to you about Dante, Carly! When you mentioned the kiss, I should have told you the truth then but I couldn't!" "Listen, that wasn't a truth you owed me, ok?" Carly replied. She went on, "Don't worry about that now. Here, sit up. Come on, get up. Enough now, you'll make yourself sick. I want you to go upstairs and wash your face. I'm gonna make you some warm milk with a shot of brandy. I want you to drink it and then lie down. Get away from all this drama for a while."
Val smiled at Carly gratefully through her tears as she said, "Thanks for not listening when I told you you could leave. Thank you so much for staying." She let out another hiccupping breath and laughed slightly. "Now I have the grandfather of all headaches, which I guess I also deserve," she remarked. Carly laughed with her and replied, "I don't know about all that." She pointed at the stairs, saying, "Go."
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Dante thought about heading home after work before realizing no one would be there waiting for him. Somehow, facing that prospect right now didn't appeal to him and he mentally tossed around alternatives to going to a lonely loft. "Screw it," he said ultimately, "I'm going to Jake's."
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Dante had the odd, inexplicable feeling that people were talking about him after he walked into Jake's and all conversation seemed to cease. When he looked around the bar, it also seemed as if all eyes were on him, as well. He approached the bar; Coleman glanced at him and promptly looked away again. He shook his head in bewilderment before requesting a beer, after which he wondered, "Yo, Coleman, what's up? Is it me, or am I just being paranoid? Why do I feel like everyone is staring at me?"
"Probably 'cause they are, man. If you're looking for your girl, she left already."
"My girl? My wife? You mean Lulu?"
"Who else?" Coleman paused as a thought crossed his mind, and then he said, "Well, I 'spose you could be looking for Valerie, too"
Dante cut his eyes toward the smirking bartender as he asked, "What exactly are you trying to say, Coleman?"
"Well," Coleman drawled, "There was quite a set-to in here earlier. Your little girl has a mean mouth on her, if you know what I mean. She went after her cousin like chewing glass wouldn't make her break a sweat, and it was all about you two sleeping together. The whole bar saw the show. Carly had to help Valerie get home after that smack down. Your girl don't play."
Putting his hand on top of his head in irritation, Dante exclaimed, "Damn! Dammit! Thanks, man. I'll see you later!"
"Hey, what about your beer?"
"Have it on me! Put it on my tab, ok?" Dante yelled over his shoulder as he ran out of the bar.
"Like you're doing me a favor! My brews are always free!" shouted Coleman in response.
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Carly was descending the stairs after having delivered the hot milk toddy to Valerie. She paused to listen—it sounded like someone was at the front door. She moved closer, her lips tightening as she heard a familiar voice…
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Dante's stomach felt full of lead. He raced from Jake's to Sonny's penthouse with a deep feeling of dread as well. Lulu did indeed have "a mean mouth on her" when she got wound up. There was no telling what she actually said to Valerie in front of a room filled with amused strangers. She must have been mortified! He rushed to park his car in the visitors' parking space and impatiently endured the elevator ride before finally getting to the penthouse floor. He approached the door and knocked. No answer. He rang the doorbell. Waited for a moment. Still no answer. Worriedly, he knocked louder. When he still got no response, he began to get frustrated. "Valerie!" he shouted. "I know you're in there! Come open the door! Look-" He was reaching up to knock again when the door was abruptly yanked open. Carly was standing there, a look of displeasure on her face.
"What are you doing here, Dante? What do you want?"
"Carly, hey." Dante motioned behind himself with his thumb. "I just came from Jake's, and Coleman told me-"
"And your first impulse was to come running over here? Not to your wife? What exactly are you doing, Dante? What do you want?"
"Look. I just wanted to make sure Valerie was all right, that's all. She must have been humiliated…"
"And that's your business how? Yeah, she had a rough time, but she's a strong girl—she'll be fine."
"Ok. Ok. I didn't want her to be alone, that's all-"
"She's not alone, Dante, I'm here. I'm still trying to figure out how any of this is your business, though. You shouldn't even be here. One way and another, you've done enough, don't you think? Go home, Dante. Or better yet, go find your wife. Just leave Valerie alone."
"Ok. You're right, she's not alone; you're here. Now that I know she's ok, I'll go. Thanks, Carly."
"WHAT ARE YOU THANKING ME FOR, DANTE? I told you, this isn't your business! You're all messed up, and you're messing up everybody around you! JUST GO HOME, OK!" She slammed the door in his face.
Dante leaned against the wall outside the penthouse and then briefly put his hands over his face. What the hell had he been thinking, racing over here as if he had the right to? He snorted out a scornful laugh—he actually agreed with Carly for once. He was messed up, and that was messing up the people around him. That needed to change.
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