He wondered what that must feel like. It had been so long since he was able to go unnoticed surrounded by a crowd of people. The car moved along and he lost sight of her.
Chapter 9
When they arrived at Lewis’ house his wife Lisa ran out to meet them. She was a feisty, petite, woman from the Dominican Republic.
“So where is she?” She asked peering into the car.
“Where’s who?” Jake and Lewis answered in unison.
“The lucky girl, you kept hidden from us.” She answered.
Jake and Lewis exchanged a bewildered look.
“Come on, you just proposed! It’s all over the news. The entertainment channel is going crazy trying to find out who she is.”
Jake was stunned. He withdrew his cell phone from his pocket. The screen read 12 missed calls. Everyone had been trying to reach him but he had put the phone on silent when he was at the game, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hear the ring over the crowd. He thought it was on vibrate. He flipped open the screen. His publicist, his mother, his sister, Aunt Patsy, the list went on. He vaguely heard Lewis retell the story to his wife.
“He bet you the boat?” She cried.
“Yep!” replied Jake smiling. At least one good thing came out of this. I have a great boat. He thought.
Lisa slapped Lewis in the arm. “I guess he didn’t tell you what happened to it during the last hurricane.”
Jake’s smile faded as Lewis roared with laughter. “The joke is on you buddy.” He put one arm around his wife and the two walked into the house.
Damn, thought Jake. Now, how do I explain to all these people it was a stupid bet? He chose to leave that problem for tomorrow and drowned the remainder of his evening in beer.
The next morning bright light streamed through the window. Jake tried hard to cover his face. He reached for the blanket several times before he realized he was not covered by one. He was still fully dressed in the jeans and the jersey he wore the day before. He scratched the stubble on his chin. His mouth was dry and pasty. His head throbbed. He was afraid to open his eyes. His mind couldn’t focus. Where am I? He wondered. Am I at a hotel? Where did I travel to last? That must have been some party. He groaned and turned over. The bed was soft. He heard footsteps running up the stairs. His door squeaked open and a small voice giggled.
“Uncle Jake’s got a hangover.” He heard Jonathan, who was seven; explain to Michaela, who was five. Michaela giggled again.
“What’s a hangover?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Answered Jonathan using the standard big brother answer, which really meant I don’t know, but by the time you get older I will have found out. Michaela accepted the response without any other question.
“Will he be ok?” asked Michaela in a truly concerned voice.
“He’ll be fine. Leave him alone.” Their mother Lisa’s voice answered as she whisked the two away.
Suddenly, yesterday’s events became too vivid in Jake’s mind: The bet, the proposal, and the unanswered calls on the cell phone. How do I explain this one? He asked himself. I’m a grown man, almost forty, well next year. I acted like a teenager making a stupid bet that got televised.
Slowly he opened his eyes. Still lying face down on the bed, he opened the drawer to the nightstand. With his left hand he rummaged through its contents until he felt the smooth exterior of his phone. Now the screen read 39 missed calls and the battery was almost dead. He pushed himself up and swung his feet off the bed. His laptop was in its carrier resting against the nightstand. In the front pocket he had packed the charger to the cell phone. He reached down. Suddenly, the room was spinning as the blood rushed to his head. Placing his hands in front of him, he carefully eased himself onto the floor. He picked the charger out of the bag and plugged it in behind the nightstand. He plugged the other end into the phone and watched as the bars began to flash. Who should I call first? He wondered. Mom will be outraged. Aunt Patsy will be disappointed. Dad will think it’s hilarious. The screen flashed to announce an incoming call. The number was that of his publicist. Jake flipped the phone open.
“Hello.” He croaked.
“Jake, you’re a genius. The studio loves this. There’s no better publicity than an upcoming wedding.” Bob’s jovial voice pierced Jake’s ear.
“There’s no wedding, Bob. It was just a joke.”
The opposite end of the line was silent.
“Bob, are you there?”
“You’re pulling my leg right. You didn’t seriously just televise a phony proposal before the release of a romantic comedy.” Bob’s voice was hopeful.
“Sorry, but I did.” Jake admitted. He contemplated Bob’s words. He could easily summarize them. You screwed up Jake. Bob was silent again. A minute ticked by slowly. Then Bob spoke.
“This isn’t going to go over well. Not with the studio or with your audience. At your age your fans are ready to see you settle down. They’ve grown with you, now they have families and they want to relate to you. Your movie gets released in one month the premiere is in two weeks. That’s not enough time for them to forget bad publicity. That’s what this is Jake. It’s bad publicity.”
“I know, Bob.” Jake felt like crawling under the bed and never coming out. Millions of dollars were on the line with this film. If he turned people off they wouldn’t go see it. They would wait a few months and rent it. That’s not what the studio wanted. They wanted to replace the money they’d spent right away. Bob was quiet again.
“Who was the girl anyway, A friend of yours?”
Jake gulped. This story was beginning to sound a whole lot worse than when he had stood in the concession line concocting this plan. “She was the girl sitting next to me at the game.”
“I know that, but if she’s your friend maybe she’d play along until the movie’s released.” Bob’s voice held a twinge of hope, again. Hope that Jake knew he was about to shatter. Jake swallowed hard.
“I don’t know her.” He finally confessed.
“You’d better find her then.” Bob’s voice had a hard edge to it now. “The media is all over this. Find the girl. Bribe her to play along for one month. Then she can dump you and all the women will love you even more for having your heart crushed.” Bob was talking quickly. “Think. Is there anything she could have said that could let you know who she is?”
Jake turned the idea over in his head. It wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe, he could make this work to his advantage after all.
“She’s my aunt’s neighbor. My aunt gave her tickets to the game.” His head was beginning to clear.
“Go, Jake. Find the girl. Do whatever it takes to get her to play along for one month. That’s all we need. Once the film gets released she can dump you. Women will swarm the theaters to see you.” Bob was thrilled. “We can do this Jake. We can pull this off. Just don’t do anything without consulting me and don’t tell anyone
