J
"And this lovely lady is my crazy cousin Shannan," Lisa said jovially, hugging the next person lining up to greet us with playful familiarity. Lisa's mom had apparently invited every relative and their entire neighborhood to our engagement party. My brain was reeling from meeting so many new people.
She hoisted Shannan up by her waist, her long brown hair curtaining her face.
"Ah! Lisa! Put me down!" Shannan squealed, thrashing a bit. She had to fix her shirt when Lisa set her back down, all flustered. She gave Lisa a nudging slap. "You're a nut."
It was so magnificent to see Lisa so relaxed and happy, seeing her extended family again. I couldn't stop smiling.
"And who is this handsome young man?" Lisa asked, patting the head of an adorable little boy. He must have been around seven or eight, holding a black skater's helmet in his hand.
"That's Caden," Shannan said. "You haven't seen him in a while."
Lisa looked stunned. "Caden? Dude, you've grown. You were like this big when I saw you last."
Caden regarded Lisa with a scrutinizing gaze. "You look like that guy who's in that movie my mom likes so much."
Shannan appeared mortified by his disclosure, silently nudging her son to go and play.
Lisa crossed her arms. "You telling me that your mommy likes my movie? This lady, right here? The one who told me that I was wrong for the part?"
Shannan gave Lisa a shoulder shove.
Lisa rolled with the punch, obviously loving this information way too much.
"Oh, yeah. Aunt Nancy and Aunt Stacy, they come over and watch it a lot. Aunt Nancy boos every time that girl, Gwen, comes on the TV, though."
"Caden!" Shannan squealed.
"Mom, I'm hungry. When are the hot dogs going to be ready?" Caden asked.
"Mom, I want a hot dog, too. And can I go in the pool?" an adorable little blond girl asked, tugging on Shannan's shorts.
The pool sounded like a good idea. July in Pittsburgh was hot.
"Soon, baby. Say hi to Lisa and Jennie. They're going to get married. This is my daughter, Rosie,"
Shannan said proudly.
Just hearing that name made me flinch. But this adorable child and the evil Rosie that I knew were polar opposites.
As I glanced around the yard and patio loaded with smiling people I was overwhelmed by how large Lisa's immediate family was. Her mother, Ellen, was one of five, all sisters, each of whom had several children and grandchildren. And on her father's side, Bill Manoban was one of three. Even Lisa's eighty-two-year-old grandfather, Nels Manoban, was there, congratulating Lisa on her "beautiful choice."
I ended up at the long table on the patio after being introduced to more aunts, uncles, cousins, and kids. We'd already been asked several times as to when we were getting married and received numerous suggestions on everything from churches to caterers to what type of flowers are best. Thoughts alone from having to plan and decide on all of these details were enough to send me into a small panic.
I envisioned Lisa's side of the church tilting over, filled to the rafters with her boisterous family, while my side had maybe two dozen poor souls clinging to the pews and several rows of crickets. My mother only had one brother, Bobby, and a sister. I hadn't heard from Aunt Joan since I had called her to tell her I knew about my birth parents. Uncle Bobby was living in Texas—we never saw him. My dad had his brother, Al, and they had two kids. That was it.
Suddenly, I felt alone.
Lisa sat next to me in her wet swim trunks, her plate overflowing with food, a stacked hamburger I was sure was painted with ketchup and mayo balancing precariously on top of the pile. I drifted my fingers over the droplets of water that clung to her sun-kissed shoulder, loving the simplicity of our engagement party. Her parents could have easily made this into an uncomfortable affair, hiring caterers and servers, but to my relief this was a good old-fashioned family barbecue. Her dad and other random men worked the grill while all of the women clustered to make their famous macaroni salad or swap recipes for the forty different types of pies and cookies on display. Life was simply wonderful.
"Have you given any thought to when you're going to get married?" her aunt Rita asked. She had a short silver hairdo and that healthy glow that comes from living a carefree flip-flops life in the Florida Keys. She and her husband flew up here just for our party. Her cute little Yorkie pup named Katie was perched attentively on her lap.
Lisa was double-fisting her burger. I saw her glance in my direction.
"We've looked at some dates but we've been so busy that we haven't really discussed it. Maybe next year. Her schedule is quite hectic." There. That ought to be good enough.
Aunt Rita pursed her lips, showing a hint of antipathy. "See, that's the problem with being a celebrity. You all put your careers in front of your relationships. That's why most of the marriages are a farce. She films, he films, and no one has time to tend to the marriage."
I saw Lisa stiffen. I knew every fine nuance of her body language and could sense her shift into defense mode. She set her burger down and wiped her hands.
"Jennie's not an actress," Lisa corrected her, wiping her mouth.
Rita pegged her with that maternal familiarity that silently spoke volumes. "Yes, but you are."
Lisa forearms hit the edge of the table like a lawyer ready to argue. "So? What does that have to do with it?"
I glanced over at Shannan, who was doing her best to pretend that she wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but the way she clutched the arms of her chair with clawed hands said that she wasn't going anywhere. I watched the nonverbal communications going back and forth between her and her sister, Nancy, which said, Uh oh, Mom's going to let her have it and rather her than me.
Aunt Rita pet little Katie with loving strokes. "My point, dear girl, is that you need to take the time to tend to what's important here—" she patted over her heart—"or else all that glitz and glamour is going to turn you into a celebrity cliché."
"A cliché?" Lisa said, offended.
"Yes. Honestly, the philandering behavior of actors is appalling. Don't forget how you were raised."
Her fork hit her plate, rising to her challenge. "Have I ever?"
"No, but I want to remind you not to be like the rest of the celebrity riffraff out there and shame our family."
"Well, you can all rest easy. I have no intentions now or ever to shame our family."
Aunt Rita seemed pleased by that. Still, she said, "You want to know why all of these high-profile relationships don't last?"
"Oh, here we go," Nancy groaned.
Shannan sat up. "Mom, maybe now is not the best time to be opinionated."
"No really. Listen," Rita continued, ignoring them. "You all think I don't know what I'm talking about, but I read and watch the news all the time. What all you young kids fail to remember is that the excitement and freshness of that new relationship doesn't last. Everyone—every relationship—hits those rough patches when you argue and don't get along so well and it's so easy to be tempted to go for that freshness again to feel appreciated and desired. If not—bam, you're miserable and getting your kicks elsewhere. But if you keep that freshness alive in your relationship you'll get through it. Mark my words."
"Spoken like a true champion that divorced her first husband," Lisa's aunt Betty teased in passing.
Rita squirmed in her chair. "Jerry was an idiot. There are exceptions to the rules."
"Oh, now there are exceptions. You better fill me in so I don't disgrace the family," Lisa said dryly.
"Yes, exceptions, smart aleck. Having a drinking and gambling problem are two of them. Being too drunk to hold a job is another. Exceptions I hope I don't ever see with any of our children, including you, hot shot."
Lisa took a sip of her beer, making that sucking through her teeth sound that happens whenever she gets aggravated. "What I want to know is did you give this same lecture to your two sons-in-law over there as well or is this wisdom you're imparting just for me?"
"Oh believe me, they know I'd skin their hides if either of them was unfaithful," Aunt Rita said assuredly.
Lisa sat back in her chair, putting her under the same scrutiny. "That's a good deflection but you're avoiding the question. Did you or did you not give them the same lecture?"
"My sons-in-law are not surrounded by promiscuity and temptation."
Nancy looked mortified. "Mom, that's not fair—"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Lisa interrupted her. "There is nothing keeping Brent or Jake from hooking up with the cashier at the grocery store or the flirty secretary at the office or even trying to nail the babysitter. You're posing a question of morality. My occupation has nothing to do with my morals."
"It is widely known that celebrities tend to have more of a propensity for infidelity than do most—"
"No, you're questioning my integrity and judging me for no reason because I'm an actor," Lisa said, stabbing her macaroni salad with her fork. "I don't deserve that and I don't appreciate it."
Janelle just so happened to be walking by with a full plate of food in one hand and holding her daughter, Sarah, on her hip with the other. I held my hands out since I was done eating and needed to buffer myself from the hostility around me. "Let me have her. Come here, baby girl. Hi, sweetheart. You keep me company while Mommy eats her dinner, okay?"
Sarah was a welcome distraction, banging her juice bottle on the table. I put some ambrosia on the tip of my spoon, finding a hungry little mouth opening wide for it.
Lisa gazed at me and then bumped her head in my direction. "You see this, Aunt Rita?" she said, waving her hand at me. "I've got everything I need right here, and then some, so don't you worry about my ability to remain committed."
Once the fun of making Lisa feel like shit was over, people started moving away from the table.
"Bora Bora," I mouthed when Lisa glanced up from her plate. "First flight out."
She snickered softly and leaned over, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You keep me sane."
I smiled up at her and that was all I needed to do to garner one hell of a kiss, as it if was a reward or a thank-you. "I'm guessing Aunt Rita won't be invited to the wedding."
"Screw them all. We're eloping."
The following day we had a smaller party of our own; just a few of Lisa's friends that I had met at the birthday party I threw for her back in November and plenty of burgers and liquor. Lisa dove into the pool, surfacing right next to my raft. She jostled the edge of the raft with her forearms, rocking me off balance.
I gripped the edges, laughing and holding on for dear life. "No! Please don't dump me."
Lisa smiled playfully, tugged my raft into her chest, and kissed me senseless. I brushed her wet bangs back off her forehead, tasting the chlorine from the water on her lips as she twined her tongue with mine.
"Mmm, potato chips and beer."
She snickered in my mouth. "Then I guess you should have me for lunch." That devilish glint in her eye told me she was up to no good. She dipped the edge of my raft down into the water.
"Please?" I whined. I was enjoying the hot sun, hoping to get a quick tan out of it.
"Okay, I'll be nice."
I rubbed my hand over her arm, feeling the heat radiating off her skin. "Your shoulders are starting to get really red. You want me to put some lotion on them?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Yeah, she'll be good until she is complaining that she can't sleep. "You're going to be uncomfortable if you burn."
Lisa glanced down at where my fingers were trailing. "I feel it on my back more than anything. I'm not going to stay in long, hon. Scott and Laura are actually taking off soon. I want to talk to him about getting some parts for the Shelby." Her finger brushed over the edge of my bikini top. "This one of the suits you bought in Spain?"
I nodded, fondly remembering our small shopping spree in Barcelona. "You bought this for me."
"Nice. I have good taste. Well hello there my little nipple friend. I'm glad to see you, too." Lisa spun my raft around, placing her back to the rest of the party. That's when she pulled me in closer, dipped her head, and grazed her teeth over the fabric.
So much for being discreet. The sensation made my belly clench. "Lisa." It came out as a breathy moan.
"Shhh." She stopped my weak disapproval with a passionate kiss while her finger and thumb slipped under my top, causing me to arch up into her touch. She moved the edge of my suit over far enough to swirl her tongue over the sliver of flesh she'd exposed, sucking so hard I felt it in several different places all at once.
I was losing the fight as to why she should stop. "Someone might see us."
she returned her mouth to mine. "I don't care. I want you so bad right now. Climb down on me. No one will see."
I glanced over at everyone lounging around on the patio furniture, drinking and shooting the breeze.
"They're less than thirty feet away. I'm sure they'd figure it out."
"I'll tell them to leave."
My eyes swept back to the patio. Janelle was rubbing sunblock on little Sarah. "Lisa . . ."
"Fine. We'll come back out here tonight after I tell them all to leave."
"Why, Ms. Manoban? You want to play water polo?"
Her face was right in mine, speaking on my lips again, discreetly pinching my nipple hard enough to make me gasp. "No, I want to play hide the submarine. And motorboats."
The sun was so bright that even though I was wearing sunglasses, the reflections off the water were almost blinding. I used my hand as a visor just so I could see Lisa's face. That's when I noticed something sparkle in the neighbor's tree. I moved my swimming suit top up to cover what she'd exposed.
I looked back and saw the flash of brightness again. "What is that?"
Lisa looked over her shoulder to see where I pointed. "Where?"
"Up there, in the tree." I saw movement, first thinking it was a raccoon or someone's cat and then I saw a knee.
"What the hell?" she swam to the edge of the pool and pressed her body out of the water.
I saw the man crawl down from the tree as I hurried to get out of the pool. I made it to the driveway when I spotted the rogue photographer come out through the neighbor's hedgerow, distracted and clutching her camera. He noticed Lisa just as Lisa made her way between the rows of cars in her parents' long driveway.
The photographer started to run.
Lisa took off like a bullet out of a gun.
Mike pushed past me. "Oh, shit."
Scott and Matt were tight on Mike's heels. Scott tossed his plastic cup of beer to the ground just as Lisa's body became airborne, tackling the paparazzo in the neighbor's front lawn.
By the time I reached them, Lisa was straddling the guy, trying to wrestle the camera free. The guy tried to hit Lisa, but Lisa dodged his swing. He clipped Lisa's shoulder instead.
"You son of a bitch." Lisa hauled back and punched the photographer in the face, making that sick popping sound that could only come from fist hitting flesh and bone.
"Lisa, stop!" I screamed as she continued to swing.
Mike grabbed Lisa around her chest and pulled her off the photographer, tossing her like a 180-pound sack of potatoes onto the grass.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the scrambling paparazzo asked, wiping his fingers over his bloodied lip.
"Lisa. Lisa. Easy, man." Mike had to use his weight to hold Lisa down.
"Scott, get the fucking camera," Lisa ordered, pointing. "Rip the card out."
"No! Don't touch it," Mike yelled.
Lisa scrambled to her feet. "He's got pictures of Jen and me, Mike. Those prints will never see the light of day."
"Don't touch my camera," the photographer said vehemently.
"Give me the fucking memory card or I'm going to finish what she started," Scott threatened.
"Go to hell. I don't have to give you shit."
Ignoring Mike's commands to stop, Scott kicked the guy's hand, knocking the camera free.
Just as the paparazzo tried to grab for the camera and Scott's leg, Lisa lunged and tackled him again.
The guy rolled and elbowed Lisa in the face. Blood instantly gushed from Lisa's nose. Matt wrestled the guy until he had him pinned face-first in the grass.
I heard the police sirens in the distance. Mike was trying to break it up, but the second that Lisa got injured, Matt joined the rumble. The guys from Pittsburgh were giving this guy an ol' fashioned ass-kicking.
Lisa staggered to her feet and spit a wad of blood out of her mouth. Then she picked up the camera from the grass, removing the memory card. She set the camera near the guy's head.
The sirens were getting closer. Lisa's hands were bloody from her nose bleeding all over the place.
Now the entire neighborhood was alerted to the melee. The elderly couple that owned the yard we were in came out of their house.
Scott took off his shirt and handed it to Lisa, who proceeded to wipe her bloody face with it.
"Sit down," Matt yelled at the paparazzo and gave him a shove when he tried to stand. Lisa balled up the bloody shirt, rolling her gaze from me to the shirt and back again, then handed it to me.
The cruiser's engine gunned and then screeched to a halt at the curb. As soon as the police officer got out of the car, Lisa and the guys were ordered to lie facedown on the ground. Tears ran down my face watching Lisa get handcuffed and patted down like a criminal. Another police SUV came blaring down the street from the opposite direction.
Lisa's father and Mike were trying to explain things to the cops while the photographer blabbered on about how he was assaulted and his camera destroyed.
Lisa looked worn and battled; her chest was bloodied and stretched from being handcuffed.
Blood splatters were all over her swim trunks with a smear of it on the upper part of her knee. She motioned for me to come to her.
"Baby, are you okay?" I wiped the edge of her chin with the shirt.
"I need a towel. Wait . . ."
I knelt back down on one knee. Her eyes instructed me to come closer.
"Careful with that. Make it disappear."
I clutched the shirt to make sure nothing fell out, knowing what was wrapped up in it. "Are you under arrest?"
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "I don't know. I'm gonna need you to call David," she muttered quickly. "And my lawyer. Oh, and call Trish." She spit out more blood, cursing to herself.
Now that the adrenaline was subsiding, I could see the magnitude of the last ten minutes crashing down on her.
While Lisa was being interviewed by the police, an ambulance came zipping down the street. I felt like my bones were going to rattle right out of my skin from shaking so hard.
"Are they taking her to the hospital?" Ellen asked in a panic as she ran back with a bath towel.
The ambulance crew attended to Lisa first, swabbing the blood off her face and nose. I knew exactly why she refused to be taken to the hospital. That would have set off a media feeding frenzy for sure. We had to keep this contained.
The elderly neighbor, whom I had met yesterday when he and his wife came to our party, ambled over to talk to Lisa. "How are you doing, kid?"
"I've been better, Mr. Doughten. Sorry about all of this."
The old man scowled at the paparazzo. "So that bastard was in my tree, was he? Spying on your family?"
Lisa nodded, staring mostly at the ground. "He was taking pictures of us, sir." It was apparent that she was embarrassed to be standing there talking to a man she obviously respected while wearing handcuffs.
"Pictures, huh? Oh Jesus, Mary, Joseph." He scrubbed his bristly gray whiskers. "You can't catch a break, can ya kid?"
Mr. Doughten's lower lip quivered as he eyed me up and down.
The police officer sidled up to Mr. Doughten. "Huh? Hell yes, I want to press charges." He raised a crooked, arthritic finger. "That son of a bitch was in my tree, trespassing on my property. Damn right I'm going to press charges. This is ridiculous."
"And Ms. Manoban?" the officer asked. Another police cruiser sped down the street, red and blue lights whirling.
"Hell no. That kid knows my front lawn better than I do. Been cutting my grass since she was old enough to run the tractor. She's a good kid. And her two friends there. Been helping Lil and me for years. Planted every one of them arborvitaes over there for me. And Scotty put in my brick walkway. They're all good kids from good families. Now do your job and get those damn handcuffs off of them. Let them go back to their party."
The officer turned to Lisa. "Mr. Dooley claims that you stole the memory card from his camera."
Lisa confessed to removing it. "But I don't have it. I dropped it in the grass somewhere over there."
After a few moments of scanning the yard with a flashlight, the officer gave up. Finding it was obviously not one of his top priorities. Just when I thought they were going to release her, the officer informed Lisa that she was under arrest for disorderly conduct.
Everything became brighter as I heard the whoosh of my blood pulsing in my ears. It felt as if the ground were about to give out under my feet. Lisa's father grabbed her mother as she lunged toward the police car. She was crying and in just as much shock as I was.
Both Matt and Scott were under arrest as well. All three of them were getting crammed into the backseats of the cruisers. The officer guided Lisa into the car and closed the door. As I stood there, watching her from the grass, she wouldn't look at me.
"I'll get the car and follow them," Lisa's dad, Bill, said. Mike followed him.
I was surprised when they came back in a little over an hour. David was not pleased to hear my voice when I called him, but too freaking bad. I was still on the phone getting talked down from the rafters by Trish when I heard the car doors slam in the driveway.
Lisa barely looked at me, passing me in the kitchen with a sideways glance. I heard her jog up the steps and then the shower came on.
Bill tossed his keys on the counter, answering his wife. "They got processed and released. They'll all have to go to court, then find out what the fine is."
I wanted to go to Lisa but I could tell she wanted space. Mike sat in a chair outside with his head in his hands doing his own private browbeating.
I sat down opposite him, leaning my elbows on my knees. "You okay?"
Mike stared at me for a moment before silently shaking his head. "This should have never happened today. I screwed up."
"No you didn't."
"Yes, I did. I'm too close."
"Too close to what?" Snapping? Join the club.
"You and Lisa. Been too lax. I'm not paying attention like I should be. I didn't even do a basic perimeter check today."
"Mike, you can't see everything. The guy was way up in the tree."
He sat up abruptly. "It's my job, Jennie. You and Lisa are paying me to protect you from shit like that. I failed you both today. I've got to resign. she needs someone new, someone who can put distance between the threats and the clients."
"Oh no. You are not resigning from our detail. That idiot was so far up the neighbor's tree there is no way you would have seen him unless you were standing in the middle of the pool. I only saw him because the sun glared off his lens. There's no way you would have spotted him from the ground, so quit beating yourself up about it."
"My charge got arrested today," he growled through his teeth.
"Your charge could have easily sent you after the photographer but she didn't. You are not responsible for Lisa's actions."
"She shouldn't have had to if I'd been doing my job."
His dedication and conviction were admirable. He wouldn't be so torn up if he didn't love us. I wondered if Hyunji got to see this side of him. "Are you always this sensitive?"
His eyes popped wide open. "What?"
"One slip in an entire year and you're ready to quit."
"Not quitting. Just placing you in better hands. I've compromised my position by blurring the lines and that puts you both in danger."
He was being overly emotional. "Well, you can't quit."
"Why not?"
"Because I won't allow it," I said firmly.
"Look, if this is about Hyunji, I won't let—"
"It's not about Hyunji. It's about having someone I trust watching Lisa. Mike, you are the only one within her immediate circle of management that I trust. I breathe easier knowing you are with Lisa wherever she goes. Your presence alone gives her a level of comfort and peace that she's not going to get from just anyone."
"Comfort and peace do not keep her safe, Jennie."
"Mike, you could surround her with armed guards and it would not have kept that idiot from climbing a tree and using a telephoto lens. Lisa has enough stress on her. She wants to feel normal. Who would have ever thought she couldn't do that in her family's backyard? And you need to have some downtime, too."
"Yeah, but—"
"But nothing. You're not quitting, so get that out of your head."
Lisa came outside wearing a pair of shorts and a deep scowl. "Where's that camera card at?"
I followed her in the house and handed it to her, wondering how much space was required. I mulled it over at the kitchen table before I decided to suck it up and be brave. I knew firsthand the humiliation that came with wearing handcuffs.
She was sitting at her desk in her old bedroom, glaring at her laptop. I noticed she plugged the card reader from our camera bag into the USB port.
"You okay?"
Her eyes flashed up to me. "I was arrested for the first time in my fucking life. What do you think?"
"I know the feeling."
Shw gave me an angered scowl. I could see a deep purple bruise starting to form under her left eye.
"Want to throw shoes?"
She let out a deep sigh, as if she was pushing all the bad out. Her eyes closed for a moment. "No. Don't want to throw shoes."
My next words came out on a whisper. "Do you want me to leave you alone?"
She huffed again and rubbed her forehead. I took that as an unspoken yes so I turned for the door.
"Jen, wait . . ." she held out her hand. "Come here." I reached for her offering.
I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding when she pulled me onto her lap. Her arms cinched around my body and she buried her face in my neck. I drifted my fingers through her damp hair, pressing her tighter.
"I'm so tired of this, Jen. So freaking tired. Can't even have a day off without them following us." She looked up into my eyes. "He came to my parents' house. My parents. That's crossing the line."
I touched the skin below the bruise on her cheek. "I agree."
"People don't realize . . . they don't know how it is to feel stripped of your privacy. All they want are pictures of whoever I'm with or what personal shit I'm doing—as if they have a right to know that. And for what? To see that I'm just like anyone else? Christ, Jen. You got hit by a fucking car because of me."
I held her face. "That was not your fault. Don't say that."
She jerked away. "Yes, it was. That crazy girl was stalking you because of me. Huge boxes of fan mail showing up at your place? Threat letters? What happened in Paris? Nah, I'm not having that anymore. Uh-uh." I could see her steel her resolve.
One of her arms released me so she could click the mouse. Rows upon rows of pictures dotted the screen. She let out a curse, rubbing her forehead. "He's been tracking us since as soon as we landed here. Son of a bitch."
"Oh my God. Are those from yesterday?"
"Yep. Bastard got shots of my entire family. There's one with us when I was holding Sarah. Damn it!"
My eyes widened as she continued to page through hundreds more. I felt as if I'd swallowed a rock seeing close-ups of Lisa's tongue on my breast in the pool. The idiot took so many pictures, it was almost like live action seeing shot after shot of Lisa and me in private, intimate moments. I wanted to puke.
"That's it. No more. After the third Seaside is filmed, I'm done."