The Beauty and the Fisherman

John felt Abbys' soft little hand on his shoulder, pulling gently. "John can we leave please? Please? Just take me home please?"

John let go of Bob and he slid down the wall. John wrapped his arm around Abby, she was holding her torn dress as they walked down the steps to the waiting limo, the flashes of cameras almost constant until they pulled away.

"Oh god John... I'm so sorry, I'm so... sorry..." Abby was sobbing.

"You did nothing wrong babe."

"I did... I didn't bring you with me, I left you alone there... I'm so sorry... I don't know what happens now... I don't know what he'll do to me..."

"Who is he?"

"He's a big shot producer, everyone is afraid of him. There are stories about what he does to the new girls, and the older girls. They told me to never show weakness in front of him, but I'm getting old, that's my weakness John, he knows I'm almost done."

"Do you want to be done?"

"I do John, I didn't think so, but I do. You taught me what life can be like, being normal. I don't ever want that again."

"Then let's go home, back to the east coast. I love you babe... it's going to be ok."

When they got home, John fixed her a drink and helped her into bed, caressing her cheek as she drifted off.

They were awoken by the phone in the morning and Abby rolled over and grabbed it.

"Hello? Oh it's you..." John could only hear one side of the conversation. "Yeah Jenny it was pretty bad. He's right here... No... He doesn't like you very much, I don't think that's a good idea... I know we need to talk, but here in front him wouldn't be a very good idea right now... Hold on a sec, I'll ask." She took the phone from her ear and asked John "Is it ok if she comes over? She wants to talk."

"I can't guarantee I can be civil to her."

"She knows she messed up. She wants to apologize to you."

"If she yells at you... or me... I'm done being a gentleman. If she even comes close to hinting that you should give yourself to someone for a role or a project, I'm going to pick her up and throw her in the pool and I'll kick her if she tries to get out."

"It's ok..." she said into the phone. "You can come over... give us an hour. OK see you then."

Jenny came up the stairs and John was sitting next to the pool, his feet up looking out over the ocean. She laid a paper on the table in front of him and there was a picture of Bob against the wall with his feet off the floor. The fabric around John's arm was tight and his arm was the only part of John in the picture seeming to come out of the paper itself. The headline said "Abby Lists' mystery Man calls Klowering out."

"You're famous."

"That's infamous..." John heard the phone ring. "Not a good thing. I want to be anonymous."

Jenny reached over and turned the page to a picture of Abby, her dress torn, holding it in place as she ran across the room. "People are pissed. They're going after Bob. This time was a little too public, I don't think he can wiggle out of this one. John, I'm sorry... I'm sorry I was bitchy, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't..." He held up his hand and stopped her mid-sentence. "Don't tell me you didn't mean to... and don't tell me you were bitchy... you are a bitch and you're not getting off that easy. Abby is supposed to be your friend and you were willing to sell her soul to get what you wanted... I can't respect that and I don't respect you. Until you can treat her like a friend, a human being and not something to be bartered, traded or sold... I have nothing to say to you and really don't want to even tolerate being in the same room with you."

The impact of what he said hit her as visibly as if he had struck her. The tears started, and John could see that they were genuine. She sat and looked at John. "You're right. You're so right... I can't explain what this business does to you. People become commodities, we are the only thing we have to sell. It's my job to sell Abby, that's what she hired me to do."

"She hired you to sell her talents, her acting ability, not as a pimp."

"John, it's the unglamorous side of the profession. It's the business side of showbusiness. You really need to cut Jenny some slack here. How dare you call my friend a bitch, how dare you fucking judge me!" Abby worked herself into a full rage.

"Hmmm! She suggested you let him do you over the table in the hall last night. If that's the business... I don't want any part of it." John stood up and walked through the doors to the house.

"John! John, wait damnit!" He disappeared into the bed room and closed the door. "Shit he's pissed Jenny."

"He's a country bumpkin. He doesn't understand the business. He's a small local contractor in fucking Maryland right? Maybe he should stick to building huts."

"Ya know what Jenny? John's right, you are a bitch."

"yeah, but you love me anyway..." Jenny smiled at Abby. John stepped out onto the patio, his suitcase sitting by the top of the stairs as they hugged.

"Abby, I told you on the Misty Sea our worlds were too different, I told you I was too old for a broken heart. I was right on both counts."

"What are you doing? John, what... are you leaving?"

"Yep." The single word told volumes.

"You can't! John, don't you love me?" Abby sobbed.

"I love the Abby I met on the side of the highway, I love the Abby that went fishing with me. I don't like Abby the actress very much. I don't like the business at all. It's best if I cut ties now while I still can." He turned and walked to the stairs, picked up his suit case and Abby and Jenny listened to his footsteps down the stairs, the door opening and closing behind him and then silence.

His phone began ringing as he sat on the bus stop bench waiting for the Uber to show up. He looked at his phone and then turned it off. He didn't want to talk to her. It hurt too much to even think about her, but she was all he could think of. The trip to the airport, the wait for the plane, the flight itself. He had to rent a car to get from Baltimore back down to the shore. It felt like a week and 10 minutes at the same time.

The pain never went away, but it dulled. Not the heart rending sharp pain but a dull ache that never seemed far from the surface. He stayed in a hotel for a while, off season it wasn't very expensive until he could find an apartment he was willing to stay in. He never went back to the house they bought to get his stuff.

He spent the winter building his business. A few more spec houses, hired more crew, the shutdowns for weather hurt the most, when he didn't have much else to think about. Finally, the day came where the boat got put back in the water. The beginning of the season. The Misty Sea wasn't the first boat back in the water but it certainly wasn't the last. He spent his nights on the boat at the dock, cleaning and lubricating reels, tying bait rigs, restringing reels that didn't really need it.

"Hey John! How was your winter?"

"Hey Jimmy, I've had better, I've had worse."

"What've ya been doin? How's business?"

"Business has been good, I sold three houses last month and we started two more on order. Have 35 guys working for me now."

"No Shit?!"

"I shit you not my friend." A rare smile, it felt good to smile, he felt like he was finally home.

"Where's Abby?" wiping the smile off John's face.

"Don't know, didn't work out."

"Fuck, what happened? You two seemed pretty chummy at the end of the season."

"The Business happened. I don't want to talk about it. Thinking about going striper fishin' tomorrow, interested?

"Sure! Was gonna tinker but that sounds a lot better." Jimmy had plans to work on his boat, get it ready for the season, his first charter was in a week but he knew his friend needed a friend right now. He could see the pain.

"Leaving at 6, that should get us set up, not going far."

"Trolling?"

"Yep."

"See ya tomorrow John"

As John backed the Misty Sea into his slip, once again hitting the throttle at exactly the right time to keep from hitting the dock, he watched Jimmy throw a line to the dock hand. His heart dropped as he realized that Abby was standing next to him, watching, a slight smile on her face.

John shut the boat down, climbed onto the dock and opened his dock locker, pulling out a long-handled brush and a bucket with a bottle of soap in it. He turned to get back on his boat, and Abby handed the hose across to him. John looked into her eyes and his knees got weak just like always.

"What are you doing here?"

"You won't answer my calls, my texts, my email, not even snail mail letters. This is the only place I knew I could find you. I even tried your office, but you were never in. I don't think your girl likes me very much."

"She was following orders."

"She likes you. More than I can say about the people I work with."

"That's your choice. The price of fame I guess."

"It's not worth the price." She couldn't help feeling the pain again, the pain that never went away, that she felt every day. Just the innuendo about their last conversation was too much for her.

"Can I come aboard John?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not John, can't we talk?"

"We can talk, and talk and... talk. It won't change things, I told you twice, our worlds are too different and I'm still too old for this broken heart."

"So you did feel something."

"Of course, I felt something Abby. I couldn't be a part of a world that treated you like that. I couldn't ask you to give it up, it's how you made your money. It's your career, it's what you love." John looked down, then turned away, pouring soap in the bucket. He didn't want her to see the hurt in his eyes. "I love you. We're just so different."

"John, I've semi-retired. You were right. I felt horrible when you left. I've missed you so much." John looked at her as she climbed over the gunnel and put her arms around him laying her head on his chest. "So much has happened. I realized so much when you opened my eyes. The business is changing. Have you seen the papers? Watched the news?"

"Nope."

"Only you John..." She smiled a subtle slight smile. "I love you John, I feel feelings I've never felt before with you. I have enough money to live comfortably the rest of my life without ever having to work again. I don't have to beg for work, I will never beg for work again. I feel cheap and used and it isn't very nice. I feel like I'm home on your boat in your arms. Please John. Can we try again?"

"I can't ask you to give that up Abby. The parties, the buzz, the awards shows... I don't want you to watch them on TV, sitting there hating me because you're not there. I can't handle going through that again. The hatred in your voice when you were protecting Jenny from me. Nope can't do it." He turned separating himself from her. He shoved the brush in the bucket and slopped some of the liquid on the boat. Watching the suds slide down the side of the boat.

"She's changed. You made her take a good, hard look at herself and she didn't like what she saw. She's not my manager anymore, but now she's my friend."

"Good for her, I'm not a fan of hers. You defended her and threw me under the bus. Never again."

"John, I'm sorry. You shook the core of what I've done for the last 25 years. I wasn't ready for it. I didn't understand then. Please can we sit down, can we really talk for a bit? You have a choice, we can talk, or I'll be here waiting for you every time you come back. I am persistent you know."

"I'd never guessed." John put his arms around her, looked into those smiling eyes, and kissed her.

"I love you babe. I missed you..." He kissed those soft lips, which parted as he sucked on her bottom lip.

Epilogue

They did talk, for hours. She eventually told him about the law suits, the industry shake up. She told him about Bob contacting her wanting John's contact information to apologize to him. A last ditch effort in his crumbling career. The furor wanting to know who her mystery man was. She never broke the confidence and neither did Jenny.

They didn't make love that night, or the night after, but slipped into a comfortable relationship lasting the rest of their days. They did make up for lost time in the years to come.

One day years later, John went out as a mate on Jimmy's boat, the weather was supposed to be a little rough and a summer gale blew up out of nowhere. No one expected it. The coast guard had a record number of calls that day in August. The boat never returned, wreckage was found a couple of days later. The cause was never found.

In the years after, Abby could often be seen walking the beach, looking out towards the ocean with a sad smile. She knew he died doing something he loved, and she was forever grateful for the time she had with him, for her one true love.

End