An Unforeseen Turn of Events

Chapter Thirty-Two

Thankful he arrived in Boston a week before he began preparing for his role, Ryan walked the streets of Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline the next morning. He normally arrived at the location a week in advance to help him prepare and take in the local scenery before he immersed himself into the role. Virtually nothing—even Megan's birthday party—would preclude him from this necessary preparation. But instead of immersing himself into the character, wearing it like a second skin, his mind dwelled on the past. As much as he wished he had never slept with Christine when they were both young, there was no undoing the past.

"Is that Ryan Monti?" a teenage girl with long thick, black hair and a mousy face shrieked to her friend as the pair stopped walking and gaped at him.

"Yeah! Yeah! I think so!" her friend with tight curly brown hair and braces said and they began jumping up and down.

"Oh my God! Here on the streets of Boston! I can't believe it! Oh my God!" the first girl covered her mouth. "Quick! Get out your phone out!"

"What luck!" the girl with a big smile full of metal gasped as her trembling hands fished into her pocketbook. "Thank God I just bought this new iPhone!"

"Um! Excuse me, Mr. Monti? Are you really Ryan Monti?" the girl with black hair gingerly approached him. "Ahhh, could we possibly get a picture with you?" Both girls giggled incessantly.

Their giggling was silenced when he passed by them. He neither glanced nor acknowledged them.

"Man, what's with him?" the girl with braces said as she looked from Ryan to her friend.

"Man, is he stuck up! It's as if he didn't even know we're here! Like we're invisible!" her friend observed.

And to Ryan Monti, they were. His thoughts were miles away as he recalled his time dating Christine eighteen years ago.

***

Despite their increasingly dire finances, Christine came to a decision.

Arriving late for work, she hurried into the front office, her face withered with exhaustion and worry. Christine feared she would fall apart any day now, so she bought a sleek new flowered dress from Bloomingdale's and spent $100 on new make-up.

This might be retail therapy, but for me, it's also survival, Christine told herself as she approached her secretary.

Late last night she had stopped at the Chestnut Hill Mall. She was determined to lift her spirits in any way she could. She would be the sole breadwinner now, coping with the pressures of dealing with her husband's illness and searching for avenues where her twins may still be able to enroll in college in the fall. She had to do whatever was necessary to keep herself strong.

Christine refused to acknowledge the dark cloud hanging over their heads.

I'm a survivor, she reminded herself.

"Why don't you look beautiful," her secretary Linda said with a wide smile as she was closing a file drawer. "Those young models don't hold a candle to you."

Turning a little red, Christine smiled warmly but thought, If you only knew the hell I'm going through!

"Thanks," she attempted a chuckle. "Everything OK here, Linda?" she asked.

"It's the calm before the storm," Linda said. "In a few days is that new model audition. My! I wish I could just hold their hands of so many of those girls and tell them that life will go on whether they get the job or not."

"And tissues," Christine agreed. Being her usual magnanimous self, she said, "Linda, you look great yourself. Is that a new shirt?"

Linda's eyes sparkled. "Yes, it was a steal from Bloomingdale's Bargain Basement. My husband saw it and he said I had to buy it."

"A good man is worth gold," Christine blurted out in a rare candid moment at work.

"Isn't that the truth," Linda agreed.

Walking into her office, she headed directly into her bathroom and stared in the mirror. She had to admit the new dress and make-up suited her just right.

How long can I pretend to everyone that an imminent catastrophe isn't taking over my life? she ruminated. Christine took a deep breath. For as long as I can.

***

Police sirens wailed in the distance. A car's tires squealed as the driver narrowly avoided hitting the car in front when traffic came to a standstill in order to allow the police cars to hurry through. The smell of charcoal-grilled burgers wafted through the air as Ryan passed a large grill restaurant near the Boston Commons. He was oblivious to it all.

I have to forget about Christine. Forget about those kids. Go on with my life, Ryan admonished himself. They're not a part of my life. They're not mine. If another letter comes in the mail, I'll have to deal with it then.

He tried thinking about Megan. Could he whisk her away from L. A. for a little while? She indicated that she couldn't take any more time off. What if he took her to the Sunset Boulevard Hotel, one of the most luxurious in L.A., for a weekend? He doubted she would have any objection.

Ryan made a decision. He would head back to his hotel room, read up on the character he was portraying, practice in front of the mirror as he slowly absorbed the role and made it part of his own personality. Ryan took pride in his artistic gift of transforming himself into someone else. Audiences were often riveted and other actors marveled over his abilities, but Ryan also knew that this took hard work and dedication; therefore, he should no longer delay it and get to work keeping audiences entertained, earning critical praise as well as the studios money.

Upon entering his hotel room, he stared at the DVD's left on the nightstand. He decided to slide out his iPhone from his pant pocket first.

"The Catalano Agency," Shana chirped on the other line.

"Ahh, may I speak to Mr. Catalano?"

"And who's calling please?"

"Ryan Monti," he said quickly.

"One moment, sir. I'll get him for you right away."

'Thanks."

Ryan heard her girlish giggle before she transferred him.

"Mr. Monti? How are you? I trust Don Chin gave you a satisfactory update."

"Yes, he did. Now I would like him to find out about Christine Zarzycki. Is she married? Does she work? If so, where? And where she lives. I would like a snapshot of her life today."

"OK. That'll be no problem. And what about the children?"

Ryan shut his eyes tight. He wasn't ready for that yet. "Ahhh, I'm mainly interested in Christine for now."

"All right. But I would advise you to proceed slowly once Don gets this information. Don't make any hasty decisions."

"Of course," Ryan agreed, his eyes still closed.

"I'm glad you called when you did. Don's ready to take the next plane to L.A."

"Send me a bill. I told you I'd cover everything."

"Oh, we know that, Mr. Monti. Don't worry."

By the time Ryan hung up, he felt light-headed.

Now, what was I supposed to do? he thought as he massaged his temples and sat down on the bed.

His eyes wandered over to the DVDs.

It took all his willpower not to take some aspirins and nap but instead to get up and insert one of the DVDs into the TV. He had a character to analyze.

Ryan, disciplined and conscientious was determined that nothing would get in the way of work.