Life is a Soap Opera Act 01

"Thanks to everyone for coming out tonight," he said once everyone quieted down. "I'll trust that you guys can introduce yourselves, but the reason for this party is the four young women over there. Thanks to them, I have staged my triumphant return to The Sun Also Sets!"

There was some rowdy applause from his friends and shocked looks from the locals who were out of the New York loop. Teri handed Gabe a handful of the daily rags that were all over newsstands in the city, but didn't circulate much elsewhere. He held up the first, which showed a picture of Gabe and the four girls from prom on the front page. Not bad for a guy who had been out of the business for the past two years.

"It seems that thanks to April, Bailey, Kimmy and Morgan . . . and with a little assistance from Facebook and MySpace . . . news of my senior prom got me noticed by the publicity hounds at the studio and they came begging me to take my old job back—"

"God only knows why!" Chuck taunted playfully and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"—And I have decided that I've been a worthless bum long enough—"

There were some snorts and giggles.

"—So I'm going back to drawing a paycheck again."

"Notice that he didn't say he was going back to work." Chuck elbowed Bailey's father and laughed.

Gabe raised his glass. "So here's to you girls . . . Thank you for getting me back in the news for something that doesn't involve a Bolivian midget and a donkey, and thank you for helping me to once again become a contributing member of the American workforce."

"Here, here!" everyone chorused.

"And thank you all for being eighteen." Of course Chuck had to get in one last snarky remark.

"The food is ready, help yourselves." Gabe hopped down and watched his guests go through the line. Once everyone was served, he fixed himself a plate and sat down—coincidentally enough—with Bailey and Joanne.

Across the patio, the gregarious Chuck had drawn the largest crowd. Between bites he told stories (read: lies) to his audience of adoring fans. The rest of the crowd either talked shop or about things of mutual interest. At first the "locals" seemed to be a little enamoured with the folks who they only knew through the television, but soon enough, they realised that they were people like everyone else.

"How did you get into acting?" Joanne asked conversationally.

Gabe smiled, wondering which of his two responses to give. He glanced over at Bailey, who shyly looked away. He decided on the answer he usually didn't give to the television cameras.

"Some actors are the class clowns and attention hogs who live to be on stage. That's Chuck. He always wants everyone's eyes on him. If I said I didn't like that, I'd be lying. But that's not the real reason," Gabe said. "I have an older brother, Michael. He's bigger and stronger and faster than I ever was. Little League all-star, football player and all that. That wasn't me, though. I was never going to be him, even though I tried. I really wanted to some days . . ."

Bailey looked up at him, her eyes wide. He smiled, getting the sense that she felt the same way when around her twin sister.

"I joined the drama club at school because acting lets me be someone else," he said wistfully. "I can be a king or a soldier or a homeless man or anyone I want to be. I bring a character to life . . . and just for a moment . . . I'm not Michael's little brother."

"I'll bet he wishes he could be you now," Joanne smiled.

Gabe shrugged. "He does well enough."

"But he's not on TV every day," Bailey said quietly.

"No . . . no, he's not. And he only had one prom date," Gabe chuckled.

Bailey opened her mouth as if to say something else, but someone called for Gabriel.

"Hey, Lo! You need a beer." His agent Tom said, pushing an opened bottle into his hands, then sat down next to him. He surveyed the group, mentally matching names and faces. "You must be Bailey . . . and is this your sister, Joanne?"

The young woman blushed. Her mother was taken instantly, Tom's charm overpowering her meager defenses.

"Old Lo here ought to be paying you a commission on this one, not me," he continued with a smile. "When pictures of you guys at prom hit the papers, my phone never stopped ringing. The network has been wanting him back for the last year and after this story, they really sweetened the pot!"

In Washington County, the story of the TV star at the prom made the front page of the single newspaper, but none of them had any idea that it was such a big deal. Bailey and her mom looked at each other bewilderedly, then at Gabe. He only shrugged, embarrassed.

"If it were any other guy, I'd have said he staged the photo op on purpose," Tom said, showing his unashamed inner publicist. "But you guys don't know Lo like I do . . . he doesn't think like that . . . never did . . . but then again, he's known that they've been trying to get him back since the day he left."

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably. That was something he wasn't ready to talk about with his other guests.

Bailey saw this and came to his rescue. "Why do you they call you 'Lo'?"

"My parents named me and my brother after angels in the Bible," he resigned himself to the direction this conversation was taking. The same place it always went when his friends were around. "In the New Testament, only two angels are mentioned by name: the archangels Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel is God's messenger. He tells of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, and the Muslims believe he recited the Koran to Muhammad."

"But he also goes by another name," Tom said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"What other name?" Joanne asked quizzically.

"Hey, Chuck," Tom called. "What's Gabriel's other name in the Bible?"

Gabe's best friend, who never turned down an opportunity to show off, stood up and put on his most theatrical voice to quote the Gospel of Luke. "And Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them . . ."

Everyone laughed, including Gabriel. And he couldn't help but smile when his eyes met Bailey's. Something inexplicable passed between them. In the fading light of the setting sun, she looked so beautiful. He wanted to reach out and caress her round, dimpled cheeks. He wanted to run his hands through the soft folds of her hair. He wanted to pull her close to him and feel the press of her body against his. But he didn't dare.

Not with his career back on track. Not with her ready to take on the world.

And yet, it seemed so right. So enticing. As if she were his for the taking.

Gabe pulled himself away from Bailey and her mother. He mingled with his other guests as any polite host does, but out of the corner of his eye, he watched Bailey. She was quiet and shy. She talked only to her friends and her folks unless someone engaged her first. She seemed uncomfortable around Gabe's neighbours and friends.

He got the sense that she was hovering a little bit. And in truth, he never wandered far from her. Once, he zoned out and when Teri pinched him, he realised that his eyes had followed Bailey around his yard. She shot him a conspiratorial grin, then went to talk to the young woman before he could stop her.

With a sigh, Gabe went back to the party. He chatted with Kimmy and Morgan and their parents. Kimmy's mom, the self-professed number one fan of his show, had latched on to Trey and Nick. They were more than accommodating—if a little tipsy—and the three of them were bonding. They got her singing and she told them what a shame it was that they were gay, much to the amusement of her daughter and the chagrin of her husband.

When the wine refrigerator was running low, Gabe ducked inside his house. Several of his guests had gone inside to watch the basketball playoffs or play pool in the basement recreation room. He had a bottle of merlot in one hand, a Riesling in the other when he literally bumped into Bailey.

Reflexively, he reached out to catch her and soon found her in his arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Bailey said softly. She didn't back away.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. No one else was around. Hesitantly, she ran her hands over his arms.

Gabe's first thought was to back away. But there was no way to do so gracefully, much less with a bottle of wine in each hand. He also found that he didn't want to.

Both seemed frozen with indecision. Her eyes were down, as if she were afraid to meet his gaze.

Finally, she glanced up. He saw an inner resolve there. He knew what was coming.

Bailey lifted her chin and licked her lips. She took a deep breath. Her big brown eyes froze Gabe for just a second. Her hands went to his shoulders and she pulled herself to him.

He stood there spellbound and almost gave in.

"No . . . no, Bailey," he mumbled and fell back a step. The hurt in her eyes made him want to shrivel up and die. "Not like this."

"Gabe . . ." There were tears in her eyes as her voice trailed off.

He set the wine bottles down on the counter and took her hands in his.

"Bailey . . . oh, I'm so sorry," he said, wishing he could take back what just happened. "It's not that . . . I'm leaving town on Tuesday and going back to New York . . . I can't . . ."

A silence fell over the both of them.

"You can't what?" she finally whispered.

He said the words, but didn't quite believe they came out of his mouth. "I can't stand the thought of leaving you like that."

"Don't you . . . don't you like me?"

Gabe squeezed her hands gently. "I don't know, Bailey . . . I don't know. I could be your father . . ."

A million excuses raced through his mind. And yet he found that he didn't give a damn about any of them. Sure there was part of him that was thinking naughty thoughts of what he could do with this sweet, young girl. But there was another part that saw a kindred spirit. It saw past their age difference. It didn't care what the tabloids might say. It only wanted to be with her.

He found that he didn't want to let go of her hands, but he knew he had to.

"I'll tell you what. I'll be back in a month. That's when my initial run back on the show will be over. Then we'll . . ." Gabe paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Then may I take you out?"

She inhaled sharply, suddenly flustered. Her earlier disappointment gave way to excitement. "Like on a date?"

"If you are willing, my lady," he said in his most chivalrous tone.

Bailey pushed aside her hurt and giggled like a schoolgirl. "Okay, my dashing prince."

The two shared a secret smile and he once again had to resist the urge to kiss her. They both went back to the party, unaware that just about everyone there was watching them.

****************

The ride in the car back was long. Joanne couldn't stop chattering about how great it was to actually meet real-life television stars. Even the girls's father Andy seemed to be impressed by how down to earth and friendly Gabe and his friends were.

Bailey didn't know it, but she glowed for the rest of the night. She couldn't stop smiling and her eyes would light up at the mere mention of Gabriel MacKenzie.

When they got home, April and Bailey went to the room they shared. Ordinarily they might have gone out on a Saturday night, but after the party at Gabe's and then the hour-long drive home, neither was inclined to go visit with any of their small-town friends.

They each crawled into their beds. April turned the television on while Bailey changed and brushed her teeth in the bathroom.

"So what were you and your boyfriend talking about all night?"

Bailey blushed. Neither of the girls could hide any secrets from the other. In addition to being twins, they had been too close for too long.

"He asked me out!" she said excitedly.

April scoffed, but there was clear envy in her eyes. She was used to drawing the admiring stares and flirting with the boys. This time, though, it wasn't so bad. Bailey deserved a good guy, especially after her last boyfriend. And she sensed that Gabe wasn't just looking to cop a quick feel, or get off with a fuck and suck.

He was good-looking, reasonably well-known and obviously didn't want for money. If he wanted to get laid, there was certain to be a legion of pretty young girls at his beck and call.

"When?" April asked.

"He said he's going to be in New York for a month," her sister replied. "They're going to write him back into the show for twenty episodes. To see if there's interest in him returning or something like that. Then if things work out, he might go back permanently."

"But then he'll be moving to New York for good," April pointed out.

Bailey started to say something, but stopped, the realisation of her sister's words sinking in.

"Look, Sis, I don't want you to fall for this guy only to have him leave you at the end of the summer," April said.

The other girl chewed on her lip for a minute. She pulled her covers up. "But it would be one helluva summer . . ."

"Yes, it would, Sis," April sighed. April didn't want to see her sister get hurt. They looked out for each other. That's what twins do. And April and Bailey, for all their differences, were closer than most. Part of it was growing up in a small town. Part of it was being together in a small house in a tight-knit family. And part of it was that neither would know what to do without the other.

The two fell silent for a long time, absently watching the television.

"So how many of his babies are you going to have?" April asked suddenly. She was rewarded with a volley of pillows being thrown from the other bed. Both giggled and laughed, knowing that each had the other's best interests at heart.

A little while later, Bailey reached for the remote control and the television flickered out.

April had dozed off, but was awakened by the soft sounds of moaning. She heard shuffling under the covers in Bailey's bed. She smiled to herself—partly amused, partly jealous—as Bailey masturbated to fantasies of her dream lover. As she did every night. She gasped and cried out.

When her orgasm finally subsided, Bailey rolled over in her bed and after a few moments she was breathing rhythmically. April closed her eyes and fell into her own slumber, wondering what Gabe's brother was like.

****************

Once all the neighbours had left, Gabe sat around the deck with his Chuck, Teri and Tom. Tom's wife had gone to bed, as had Trey and Nick. They talked about the business. They caught up with one another. Gabe had been gone from the show for a little over two years. He was one of the more popular supporting characters and the producers had tried everything they could think of to bring him back.

His heart just wasn't in it, though. Not with his mother's failing health. Even though she scolded him for dropping everything to care for her, he stayed by her side. And after her death, he coasted on for another year.

"You've got to strike while the iron is hot," Tom had told him when he was back in New York.

"Get off your ass, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get the fuck back to work," was Chuck's way of saying the same thing.

After the publicity surrounding his prom date, it didn't take much coaxing to get back into the swing of things. His encounter with the girls and fresh exposure in the press seemed to put that spring back in his step.

The citronella torches were flickering with their last light. Tom and Chuck went inside. The catering crew had long since departed. The leftovers were packed in foil containers and deposited in the fridge. Empty beer bottles and the disposable paper plates were stuffed into trash cans.

Gabe and Teri sat underneath the stars for a few more minutes. The neighbourhood was quiet.

"Your mom would have had a great time tonight," his friend said.

He smiled ruefully. "Yeah . . . she would have."

"She always loved having people around," Teri divided the last bit of wine between their two glasses. "Do you remember the time we took her to that party out in the Hamptons?"

"You mean the time we crashed the wedding?"

Both of them laughed at the memory.

"Hey, we had an invitation," she replied, feigning defensiveness.

"That you stole!"

"It was sent to me. Well . . . to my house, anyway." They laughed again. "Your mom was a firecracker, Gabe."

He smiled wistfully. Libby had always like Teri. The two were like sisters.

"She would have liked Bailey, too," Teri said quietly.

"Mom liked everybody," Gabe replied absently. That wasn't quite true. His mom never liked his ex-wife, even before the divorce.

"Not like that, Lo. Libby would have liked Bailey because you like Bailey," she continued. "Don't give me that look, mister. You two were making puppy dog eyes at each other all night long."

"She's young enough—"

"Oh, horseshit," Teri snorted. "You're what? . . . Thirty-five? You're not an old man, Lo. She's hot for you, too . . . and not just because you're a looker who's on TV. She really likes you."

"How do you know that?"

"I know these things, Lo. Girl secrets," she reached out to take her friend's hand. "I know you're still pissed off at Jeannie and you're missing your mom. But you've got to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Life's too short to spend it moping around like you got the shaft."

Every now and then, people need a verbal smacking around. Gabe knew he was due. And he knew whenever it was Teri doing the talking, she was always right.

"She's a good kid," he said softly. "What if she wants more out of life than . . . dammit, Teri, I graduated from high school before she was even born!"

"You need to get over that, bucko," she replied. "She's not a girl! She's a beautiful young woman."

"I feel like some dirty old man when I look at her," Gabe confessed. "Bailey's got her whole life ahead—"

"Jesus-fucking-Christ, Lo," his friend sounded flustered. "If anything, I should be warning you that she's only after you for your money or because she wants to fuck a guy on TV. But she doesn't. I talked to her, her sister and her folks. Not a one of them has a manipulative bone in their bodies. They're all good people. I should know; I used to be like them before I moved to New York and got old and cynical. I'll tell you this: That girl is head over heels in love with you. I don't know what you've done to her, but you are the center of her world. If you'd open your eyes, you'd see that. And if you don't . . . and soon . . . she'll find someone else to settle down and spend the rest of her life with."

Gabe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What if she finds out that I don't live the life of a TV star? What if she leaves me like Jeannie did?"

"Then it will be her loss, not yours," Teri said, her voice hardening at the mention of his ex-wife. "Let her in, Gabriel. Show her who you really are. You get to know her. Then you can both make a decision with your eyes open. Living not to get hurt is like dying without knowing that you're already dead."

He started to say something, but found that she was going to shoot down any argument he might make. They sat together in silence for a little while longer. The torches burned themselves out and the motion detector-activated lights shut themselves off.

Teri squeezed his hand one more time, then got up and went inside without saying a word.

Gabe sat in the chair, his eyes unfixed and staring off into the darkness. Finally, he went inside his mother's house. He flipped out all the lights and went to his bedroom. He lay in bed for a long time, wanting to dial Bailey's number. Needing to know that all the time he spent thinking about her wasn't wasted.

*************

The next month was the longest four weeks of Bailey Crawford's young life.

Along with her sister, she went to work and got ready for school. They attended orientation, registered for classes, applied for financial aid and tried to get work-study jobs on campus. The girls had chores around the house and each took on more hours at their part-time jobs to save some money for when school would start.