"To Uncle Castor!" cried the young girl as other joined her, "Let this McArthur grant be only the beginning of all the great things in his life!"
The crowd cheered and raised their champagne glasses in the faint sunset light. Castor gave his husband a quick peck on the lips and leaned towards him with a kind smile. I saw Emily make her way through a forest of glittering glasses in raised arms.
"Sorry my boss ambushed me" she said exhilarated as she formally hugged Aidan and then squeezed me. "I saw you here as I was entering but someone" she said shooting a vicious glance in the direction of a middle aged woman with cropped hair, "doesn't understand the difference between work and play".
"Join the club" Aidan said with a smirk, "I have to fly to New York tonight. This job might as well just kill me".
"Weren't you looking for one here in LA?" Emily asked.
"I still am. I've been meeting with people in San Francisco" he said, "And since your precious Lizzie is now a full-fledged finance journalist" he pulled me a bit closer by my waist, "I am hoping I might be able to work something out."
"Awww, now that is adorable!" Emily exclaimed.
"I'm just a policy analyst" I said trying to force myself to smile.
"Still better than being an analyst for a shithole film studio" I heard Castor from behind.
I smiled and gave him a warm hug. Aidan firmly shook his hand.
"It wouldn't have been possible without your recommendation, Cas. You know it" I said.
"I just want to help as many people as I can on my way out of this place" he said peering into the deep orange sun hovering over the horizon of the pacific.
"Where will you be going now?" Aidan asked.
"New York" he replied, "I'm working on a play for Broadway and also some book projects".
"That's great." Aidan replied.
"Yeah. Besides Chris has gotten some projects in New Jersey himself so it would be great for the both of us" he said, "and our daughters love the east a bit more than here"
"Why?" Aidan asked, a bit taken aback, "it's far better here than it can ever be in New York!"
"Hollywood has never been a great place for me to be" Cas said while retaining his kindness, "these movie studios and all, too volatile and uncertain here."
"Yeah speaking of that" Aidan leaned a bit forward, "any idea who bought the DreamCast studios?"
"I think it is John Bingley" he said after a short pause.
Me and Aidan both exchanged looks of surprise.
"What?" I asked.
"Yeah" he said, "and that puts John Bingley on the fast lane towards becoming one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood right now. If you think about it the next big thing to him is Disney or Universal themselves. I also heard he is looking for property here in Bel Air too. He is making all the moves."
"That is because he knows how to diversify" Cas's husband Chris joined at this point.
"Elizabeth" he said kindly while giving me a rigid handshake, "I read your articles regularly, they are amazing. The ones about the rally of Exxon stocks was truly enlightening"
"Oh!" I was a bit surprised, "thank you!"
"I don't know what he is or isn't doing" Castor continued, "but he just might be the next big thing in here. Plus he doesn't look like an asshole by any stretch."
"Oh he isn't" Aidan said, "you should ask Lizzie, he is dating her sister"
"Really?" Chris said looking at me.
Fuck! I literally forgot! Should I say it right now? What should I say?
"They're rumors" I said, "They're just good friends".
Aidan looked at me a bit confused but thought it wise to not say anything.
"But he has been in the news for dating all the time, it's nothing new" Chris said, "the real person of interest here isn't the women but his friends."
"What do you mean?"Aidan asked.
"If you have the right people backing you, making a place in Hollywood becomes a lot easier" he replied, "And for John that special guy is Frank Darcy. He is doing everything he can to make John Bingley the Fresh prince of Bel Air."
Those words distracted me and I gulped an amount of champagne that was too large or my throat. My gag reflex came in action and I spit a good amount of the drink out with most of it spilling on my top.
"Oh geez, you okay?" Cas said as he picked a napkin from a passing by waiter.
"Yeah…I'm fine…." I said straining and coughing.
"Yeah I work for his company right now" Aidan said as he gently patted my back.
"Yeah and my parents were best friends with his mother" Chris said.
"You're British?" Aidan asked.
"Yes I lived there for a while" Chris said off-handedly, "Anyways, that guy is literally the stereotypical brooding hunk of a male you find in cheesy young adult romance novels, I mean no offense to you Cas I do love you".
"None taken" Cas replied smiling.
"I don't know about all that" Aidan said listlessly as he peeped into his almost empty champagne flute, "all I know is that he in sometimes a dick, a good boss no doubt, very smart. But a dick nevertheless"
"You're not alone in this" Chris said, "ask his ex-wife, Elaine"
"Hold on," Aidan said, "Elaine as in…. Elaine Bergmann?"
"Yes" Chris responded wisely.
"His first wife was Elaine Bergmann?" I asked with the shock crystal clear in my voice.
"I had such a crush on her when I was a senior in High school" Aidan said shyly.
"Didn't she just have an Oscar nomination for that indie movie?"Cas said while looking suspiciously at me sideways, "She's a great actress"
"Oh she's not an actress" Aidan said, "She's a superstar. Do any of you remember "Trooper Academy"? The show was never the same after she quit".
"Are you sure his first wife is Elaine Bergmann?" I asked Chris, for some reason wanting to avoid Castor's gaze. But I could still see his head tilting from the corner of my eyes; he did that whenever something amused him.
Chris was a bit taken aback. "You can google it if you want. They were a really big deal throughout the 2000s."
"What happened then?" I asked with a type of desperation in my voice that I know I wasn't controlling properly.
"I don't know" he said, "From what I heard they wanted different things in life. Some say it was because she was this A-list actress but I don't believe that."
"Why?" I asked.
"I am making a lot of assumptions here but" he said chuckling into a good nature yet nervous laugh, "Frank doesn't seem like the guy who does all that romance and relationships. And I'm not judging, maybe that is part of his charm. Women throw themselves at him anyways. Models, socialites."
"Yeah I heard one of our classmates had a fling with him last year" Aidan said enthusiastically, "You remember Nina, Lizzie? She's a model now."
Elaine Bergmann? How did I not know this? How no-one did mention it? Of course I have never told anyone about it, but how did this never come up? But this didn't even made it in the news. Or did it? I must have been a kid back then. Why do I care so much? why does it still hurts, even after all this months?
"Lizzie?" I phased back into the reality of the dusk in the Bel Air mansion where Aidan was expecting me to agree with a statement he just made.
"Yes, of course" I said shamelessly mindless, "I need another drink, can I get you guys anything?"
"No thank you" Chris and Aidan said together.
"A whiskey neat, right now" I commanded the bar tender like a soldier does on battle field. With shaky hands I placed a cigarette between my lips which the intimidated bar tender lit while looking down. "Thanks" I whispered hoping to rectify my mistake.
Castor sat beside me on a bar stool while looking at me like he just caught me doing something unexpected. I thought I would just not say anything and the moment will pass soon but every second felt like eternity with Castor wanting you to spill the beans.
"I did know he was from your hometown" he started quietly, "his mother was from Beardsley. I didn't know anything about him other than that. But it seems like I'm getting to know more, not just from Chris."
"I don't know what you're talking about" I said puffing a thin cloud of smoke after holding it in my throat for some seconds.
"Lizzie you pulled that shit when I asked you about looking for other jobs too, don't give me that again" he said tartly.
I burst into a laugh and so did he. But soon the grief gave way and I slouched my head into my hands, the half-burnt cigarette stuck between the fingers of my left hand. The bar tender gently placed my glass near me.
"I am assuming Aidan doesn't know" Castor said quietly.
"Obviously not" I said lifting my head up.
"Are you still seeing him?"
"Obviously not!" I repeated, a bit taken aback this time.
"When was the last time you saw each other?"
"Some two months ago I guess. I was mad at him because he wanted my parents to divorce."
"What? Why?"
"To liquidate my Dad's firm, so that he can buy it, and merge it into this mega corporation he is building."
"Did he tell you that?"
"No, Aidan did. And it turns out that my parents are actually getting divorced now."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Thanks" I said putting out the cigarette, "but honestly, I think it is for the good. My parents never got along, ever. It was a marriage of convenience for both of them. I don't know why I was so mad about it."
"Have you talked to him ever since?"
"No."
"Do you want to?"
I turned around and saw Aidan and Emily talk to an old couple. I felt my throat get heavy. I opened my purse for another cigarette.
"Yes" I said as the bar tender walked away after lighting it for the second time.
"But you don't want to hurt Aidan" Castor completed the train of thought.
"Aidan is perfect" I said, "and I genuinely thought that for once in my life I will be happy with him, but for some reason I'm not. I can't stop thinking about Frank." It felt weird to say it out loud like that for the first time. "I feel fucking awful. I don't deserve good things" I felt myself tearing up.
"You're not awful, Lizzie" he said calmly, "it happens to the best of us. You probably want different things from love than Aidan does."
"It's not just that" I said trying to hold back tears, "I don't even know anything about Darcy. In case you didn't notice, I just found out five minutes ago that his ex-wife is one of the most famous and beautiful woman on earth. She is 5'10, wearing Vera Wang custom gowns at Cannes and I'm…" I felt like I will break down, "… I'm the stuffy boring finance column they run besides phony penny stock portfolios" I dropped the lit cigarette in the ash tray and buried my face in my hands feeling the hot tears drench my palm.
"Is everything okay, sir?" the bar tender asked.
I swiftly wiped the tears away by my hands and straightened my back a bit. "Yes I'm fine" I said letting out a sigh. "I need to freshen up a bit" I said to Castor with a smile. I emptied the whiskey in one go and banged the glass on the counter, the bar tender looked at me spitefully while serving a drink to a couple of women.
"Do you need anything, Lizzie?" Castor asked.
"Yeah, I need to go to the bathroom; can you point me in the right direction?"
"Don't forget to give us special tickets for your Broadway show, Cas" Aidan said as him, me and Emily waited for the valet to bring our car.
"Of course" he said hugging Aidan and Emily. Chris did the same as the three of them started talking about visiting New York soon.
"Take Care, Lizzie" Castor said looking into my face with a rather sad emotion.
"I will, don't worry" I said as I stooped up to hug him.
"Handle all this mess before it's too late" Castor whispered in my ears, "he's already building his life around you, remember that."
I pulled back and looked at him. He had a sad smile and he gently squeezed my shoulder.
I sat quietly throughout the car ride feeling as if there was a huge boulder hung around my neck which I have been stupidly ignoring. I looked at Aidan talking animatedly about movies and celebrities with Emily, they apparently share an admiration for Elaine Bergmann. I pulled out my phone and googled Elaine Bergmann.
There was her Wikipedia page, which I opened to find the name of Frank Darcy, not hyperlinked (obviously); with the years 2009-2015 written in a bracket, followed by the name of her present husband, a famous country singer. I looked at the photograph of her, in a pristine white gown, looking away from the camera. Her platinum blonde hair blew in the wind with the sun behind her, her faced sunkissed and plump red lips parted seductively.
I was trying to conjure up an image of hers of how she might look in person, as if I was trying to get into the mind of Darcy. Suddenly I saw Jane's name flashing on the screen.
"Where are you?" she asked. I heard the announcer behind her screeching through the speakers. It sounded like Italian.
"We were at Castor's party, I messaged you about it."
"Yes of course, I remember" she said a bit flustered, "I didn't knew you would be still there, isn't it almost midnight there in LA?" she asked.
"Yes, we're leaving the party now. Where are you?"
"I am at Milan airport" she said, "I was helping mummy with her shifting" she mumbled.
"Oh" I said awkwardly, "Okay." Mother will be moving to Italy after all the divorce proceedings are done, Jane like the good daughter is helping her and her Boyfriend out.
"What are you doing next week?" she asked.
"Nothing, Why?"
"It's Dad's birthday next Saturday and he was hoping if all of us could be together for a birthday lunch or something."
"Where, in Beardsley?"
"No, Boston" she said, "Me, Dad, Mum and Michele, and we were hoping you and Aidan too."
"Who's Michele?"
"Mummy's boyfriend"
"Right"
"Listen, Lizzie" she said as it sounded like she finally sat down somewhere, "I really think you should be with us next week. Mummy hasn't seen you since Frank Darcy's birthday and neither has dad. I know this is a rough time for all of us but shutting ourselves out is hardly going to help. The divorce is the bitter reality, so is the selling of our estate in Beardsley but we need to be as amicable about it as we can, okay?"
"We'll be there Jane" I said.
"Good, I'll ask Dad to text you his address" Jane said, "Besides there is something very important that I need to talk to you about."
"Yeah, speaking of important Jane," I remembered, "You haven't told me about you and Bingley yet."
"I know" she said casually, "that is the important thing that I want to tell you guys."
"Oookay…" I said, a bit confused.
"We'll be where?" Aidan asked after I hung up.
"Jane wants us to have lunch with Dad, it's his birthday next saturday" I said with a sinking heart, "But you don't have to if you're busy, I'll handle Jane."
"No, what are you talking about Lizzie?" he said, "I'd love to come! I'll book flights first thing tomorrow."'
He gave me a long smile. Castors words kept ringing in my ears. He is really beginning to get into it, I can see it in this beautiful smile of it, the smile filled with love and compassion, a smile so genuine and earnest, and it felt like a fish-hook pulling on my skin.
