Christopher Beha - Arts & Entertainments - A Novel

“Quite the opposite, Eddie. We’re all one big happy family.”

“So you won’t be suing me?”

“Suing you? For what?”

“For busting past security? For telling that nurse I never slept with Melissa?”

“That’s all behind us. Why would I try to sue the most popular man in America?”

“I thought I was the villain?”

“When was the last time you went online?”

Eddie tried to remember. There had been no computer in the hotel room, and his phone had disappeared.

“It must have been while I was still at the Cue.”

“Then you’ve missed a lot. Your penance is done, Eddie. People are moved. You gave it all up at the height of your fame. You said good-bye to Melissa. Gave away your possessions to the needy and spent your days sitting outside with some kind of street corner guru. You’ve attained wisdom. People think you’re some kind of saint. You’ve put a lot of us to shame. If Eddie Hartley can change, there’s hope for all. The video of you crying at Justine’s memorial has more than a million views.”

“You drove me to that memorial.”

“Of course I did. But you did a lot of the work yourself. With the luggage, and whatever was going on with that bum outside the school. You’ve always been better when you didn’t know.”

“You’ve had cameras on me all week?”

“That’s what I’ve been paying you for, Eddie. It’s in the contract.”

“Then why did you try to stop me from seeing Susan?”

“Try to stop you? I walked you right to her, Eddie. I was producing the whole thing live.”

“Dell said you were in L.A.”

“Did you think I would be on the other side of the country just when my biggest star is ready to pop?”

“You were with Justine’s family.”

“Justine is the past, Eddie. We’re worried about what comes next.”

“So that was another lie.”

“You’re still thinking about things in the wrong terms, Eddie. It was great television, is what it was.”

“Was Susan really in any danger?”

Moody sighed. In the darkness, Eddie imagined the cigarette bobbing in his grinning mouth.

“For our purposes, she was.”

“I thought she might die.”

“That’s exactly my point. You were very relatable.”

“I was terrified.”

“All that should matter to you now is that Susan is safe and your kids are healthy.”

For a moment, it was all that mattered.

“So now what?” Eddie asked.

“We’ve got a show to do. I got the overnights, and they were the best ratings we’ve ever pulled. You beat out Justine’s funeral. Your collapse was an iconic television moment, Eddie. You know what was so great about it?”

“What?”

“It was real, Eddie. That’s what everyone responded to. This is what people needed after Justine — a happy ending, some redemption. We’re going to turn the culture around. Peerbaum’s working on the column now. He’s even got a quote from me. I don’t usually like to insert myself that way. Authorial intrusion can be a real downer. But in this case it seemed appropriate.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Just that I did a little soul-searching myself. I’d let some of my field team go too far. The idea that a television producer would practically tackle a man, trying to stop him from getting to his wife when she was in danger — I was as sickened by it as anyone else. Dell represents all that’s wrong with the reality business, and we’ve gotten rid of him.”

“But it wasn’t his fault.”

“It’s got to be someone’s fault, Eddie. We can’t all reach the Promised Land together. That’s how the thing works. Marty understands. He made it to the mountaintop, which is more than a lot of people get. And he’s being well compensated. Let’s get back to the matter at hand. We’re going to usher in a new era of authenticity. You’ve even inspired Rex. Next week he’s coming out, and CelebNation has the exclusive.”

“Rex Gilbert is gay?”

“You’re honestly asking me that? You must be the last one in show business to know.”

“I’m not really in show business.”

“You sure as hell are now.”

“So I get to go home with Susan? We’re getting back together for good?”

“That’s right. But to keep everyone honest, there’s going to be some changes. It’s going to be live-streamed. Twenty-four/ seven access, so everyone knows it’s on the level. We’re going to earn people’s trust. We just need you to sign the forms.”

“When do I get to see my girls?”

“As soon as we finish with the paperwork.”

“I can’t exactly move yet.”

“We’ve got a few minutes.”

“Am I allowed to talk with Susan about it first?”

“I’m afraid not. Understand, you’re under no pressure to sign. No coercion is going on here. You want to take some time to convalesce, figure things out, that’s your business. But you can’t get on camera before we’ve taken care of the contract, and you can’t see Susan without getting on camera.”

After he’d signed everything and Moody had left him alone, Eddie fought his way into the bathroom to clean up. It would be his last time off camera for a while, so he hoped to make himself look presentable, but there wasn’t much he could do. His swollen right eye was purple on its lid, fading into a sickening yellow around the lower rim of his right cheek. This would get better eventually, but the damage to his nose seemed more likely to persist. It couldn’t really be seen beneath the splint, but when he explored it with his fingers he found a bump halfway down the bridge, after which the whole thing sloped slightly askance.

He wasn’t so handsome anymore. At least for now he was a little bit monstrous, in fact. There was something to be said for the overall effect. He’d been brought low so that he could be raised up, but he still had the scars from his fall. He didn’t feel any better suited to playing a saint than a villain, but at least he had a part again. He hobbled out of his room. Whatever had popped in his leg the day before had tightened. He couldn’t bend his knee, so he stepped into the camera’s eye in a parody of a military march.

Emerging from the elevator on the sixth floor, on his way to see Susan after all this time, he tried to imagine what she’d been through in the past few days. Had her life ever been in danger? He didn’t want to believe she’d let him be deceived about such a thing, though she hardly owed him honesty. Perhaps she hadn’t known Moody’s plan. Or she’d thought that Eddie knew it, too. He’d have to ask once the cameras were off, whenever that time came.

“Your face,” Susan said in greeting as he limped into the room.

“I fell,” Eddie responded, trying to smile.

“They told me. It gives you some texture. I like it.”

“How are you feeling?”

She looked tired, and she was damp with sweat.

“I’m still in a lot of pain,” she said. “But they’ve given me something for that. Sorry if I seem a bit out of it.”

“That’s all right. It’s just great to see you again.”

“They told me you saved my life. I wouldn’t have made it without that transfusion.”

“We had a real scare,” Eddie said.

“We did,” Susan said. “But everything is okay.”

“Where are the girls?”

“The nurses have them. They should be back soon.”

Eddie pulled a chair beside the bed and took Susan’s hand.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

“It all worked out,” Susan said.

Before Eddie could respond to this, the door opened and three nurses arrived, each carrying one of the babies.

“Hello, Dad,” the first nurse said. “Do you want to meet your daughters?”