Twenty Four Weeks - Episode 20 - "Thirty One" (PG) by James David Denisson
Twenty Four Weeks - Episode 20 - "Thirty One"
Written by J.D.Denisson.
A sequel to the movie "This is Where I Leave You".
Characters and back story based on the novel "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper.
Copyright 2016 J.D.Denisson.
Previously?
"How is Wade coping with you and I?" she asks me. To be honest, I'm a little taken aback, but then we promised to be real with each other, and that's what she was trying to be. If Wade was going to cause trouble then she wanted to know about it.
"Surprisingly quite well."
"Really?"
"Well, actually he has himself a new interest."
And then I feel instantly sorry for her because she doesn't know about Wade and Chloe and their history. For that matter she doesn't know about what Wade has been doing behind her back for the last year. Maybe she did.
"There's something you should know," I say grimly.
"What?"
"Wade wasn't faithful to you." I laugh. "That's so messed up. Here I am telling you about that when you were sleeping with him behind my back."
"Judd..." she says, shaking her head sadly.
"But you should know this. He was sleeping with other people for the past year. Did you know?"
She shook her head. Her eyes were full of tears.
"And the girl he's with, Chloe, he's been with her for months. It looks like he started being 'serious' with her just after he finished with you."
She bows her head. "I'm so ashamed," she says, tears running down her face.
?
"If you think you're going to leave Chloe then you should do it sooner than later before she gets hurt too much. Don't leave it a year and then surprise her like you and Quinn surprised me."
"You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"Eventually I will. It was a terrible thing you two did to me, and there's no getting around it. But, buddy, I've forgiven Quinn and I've forgiven you. I'm not wasting my time being angry anymore."
"But I don't want to leave Chloe and I don't want to sleep around."
"Then don't."
"But I know I will. Eventually."
?
"Well, you have to understand, that question needs to be put into context. If I just come out and say it, well, it makes me look like a terrible person. And it wasn't like that. Judd is a friend and it was because he was a friend that things turned out worse than they could have been. The truth is, I was seeing Judd's wife. I was hiding the fact from Judd because I didn't want to hurt him."
"But what he didn't say," I add, "was that my wife and I were separated at the time. We were free to see other people. We were still living together for appearance sake, but still separated."
And so, there is the lie. Normally I'd have not felt any regret at telling this sort of untruth if it had a noble purpose, but now I was feeling something different. We weren't separated. Quinn did sleep with Wade. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to see, to experience. But I still had to protect her, and that meant that I had to swallow my pride and talk my way out of this mess.
"Now reports that I've received," Jerry says, not letting us free one inch, "say that you, Judd, left the Man Up show immediately after finding out about your employer and your wife. Is that true?"
"Yes it is."
"Why is that?"
"Because I wasn't expecting it. Wade is a friend and the whole thing was a shock to say the least. My best friend and my wife - you see how you cope with that. But the thing is: I was good with it in the end. I just needed a bit of time to get used to the idea."
?
Wade turns slightly. "I brought my producer."
Wheeler nods. He's regarding me, like I'm an insect that he's about to dissect, like he's examining all my thoughts, cataloguing them. He says nothing, he turns back to Wade. "Any thoughts on the format?" he asks.
"It sounds good. I'd want to keep the same vibe as the radio show, though. People could call in. I'd have guests, this time in person."
"That's what we want: keep the same feel that you have already. Why change something that works."
"Exactly," I say. I wonder why we need to change at all, but I also know that it's going to happen eventually, and we have to embrace it or we'll be replaced by someone who will.
The suits go over the finer points and it looks like this thing is going to happen. They'll have a contract to Wade by next week.
On the way back to the station he's talking to me excitedly, telling me what we're going to do, who we're going to interview, what waves we're going to make. He's talking about us a lot, but I didn't hear my name in the discussions at all. I don't think there is going to be an 'us'. They'll be a 'him' and there'll be a 'me'. I just don't think that 'him' and 'me' will be together.
?
"So," Quinn's doctor says. "Everything looks to be fine, except for your blood pressure."
He looks down his nose at us and smiles.
"You don't look worried," Quinn observes.
"I'm not. Yet. But it is heading on the way up, and that worries me a little."
"So, what does this mean?" I ask.
"Well, we don't want it any higher. Is there any stress in your life right now?"
I look at Quinn. She looks at me. We both laugh.
"I see," he says. "What about work?"
"I'm still working full time," Quinn answers.
"We might have to re-think that."
?
The woman leads us inside and sits us down on the lounge that we've been using just about every Saturday together for the past three months. The woman leaves us, but returns with a glass of cold water and hands it to Quinn.
"I'm Elise. Mary's sister," she says.
"Judd - and Quinn," I say.
"How long have you known Grant and Mary," she asks.
"I've known Grant for four months - Mary three."
"What happened?" Quinn asks quietly.
"Heart attack. It wasn't his first one."
"He didn't look well last week," I tell her. "I think the heat bothered him."
Elise nods sadly.
"How is Mary?" Quinn asks.
"Mary is Mary. She soldiers on. I don't think it's quite hit her yet."
Thirty one
Monday
I can't stop thinking about my father and Grant. I can't stop thinking that people that I care about keep dying. I know I'm exaggerating just a little, but I can't help it. I get close to people and they leave me. Dad, Quinn, now Grant. And no one has helped me more than this man, and I knew virtually nothing about him.
Somewhere, in the back of my mind, is a little voice that says that I'm not worth getting to know, that when that actually happens, when I let people inside, that they have no choice but to leave. Quinn slept with Wade because I was worth nothing to her. In some bizarre way my father and Grant died because of me.
I know all of that is untrue, patently stupid, but there it is in my mind, whispering in the dark corners, sapping my strength, my hope, my joy. And it's building, the words are getting stronger and I can't drown them out no hard I try.
Tuesday
The show goes on. It doesn't matter that it's going to end soon, be transformed. But it will end here, at the station. No one is talking about it, everyone is ignoring the inevitable. And the truth is: I don't know where I will be when Wade leaves. I'll take my time off, six months or so, and then I'll be in limbo again. I'm going to miss the station, the people here, even though they were privy to Wade and Quinn's indiscretion and kept it to themselves. I'm going
We conclude the show for the day, and do our meeting thereafter. I still have two hours before I have to pick up Quinn and so I'm going to do some shopping. I'm leaving the station when I see Wade, talking to one of the new interns. She's a little under twenty, blond, perky, his type. I watch him for a minute or two and my heart grows cold.
Wade leans in, tells her a joke and she laughs, pushes back her hair behind her ear, looks down and smiles. He puts a hand gently on her arm and she doesn't pull away.
I make my way over to him, stand behind the new intern. "Can I talk to you for a minute, boss?" I ask him.
We're in his office again, and he's sitting behind his desk. "What's up?" he asks me.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"With that girl."
"I don't understand."
"You're flirting with that intern."
"No I wasn't."
"Yes you were. I saw you."
"I wasn't flirting with anyone."
"The hell you weren't. I stood there and watched you. Maybe you don't even know that you're doing it, maybe you do. Whatever. If you're not careful you're going to hurt Chloe like Quinn hurt me, and you're going to screw up the best thing that's ever happened to you. Do you really want that?"
"No."
"Then watch what you're doing. It starts with flirting and the next thing you know you're screwing that girl and you're screwing up your life - and Chloe's. And I won't stand by and watch that happen. I won't have her go through the same thing I did. I like her, and she doesn't deserve it. You got me?"
"Relax, buddy," he says, shaking his head. "Nothing's going on. Nothing's going to happen."
"It better not, for your sake. I swear to god, if I see anything that suggests to me you're screwing that girl then I'll tell Chloe."
I don't wait for his reply.
I'm not in the best mood as I try and assemble the cot we bought on Sunday. It's not going together as the plans suggest and this is not helping my disposition. I'm not the best with tools either and that piles frustration upon crankiness.
Quinn comes in. She's in her pyjama shorts and a tight t-shirt and I'm distracted from the task.
"How is it going?"
"Not well."
"I know. I can hear you."
She takes me in her arms and kisses me, slow and deep. She runs her hands down my chest to my waist and lower. "Like that?" she says, looking me in the eye...
Thursday
I'm sitting there, next to Eric. We're in Wade's office, talking about the new deal from the television network. Eric doesn't look at me and I think that I know why. He passes a rather thick document over to Wade.
"Well, this is it. I've looked it over, and this is the best deal we're going to get."
Wade turns over the first page and whistles. "Am I reading this right?"
"You are."
Wade slides it over to me.
"Seriously!"
"The rest of the contract goes over how the show will be structured, who will do what and when. They don't guarantee any particular time slot, or that the show will be continued after a pilot run of ten, but I think we've got a good deal here."
I turn over the pages, one by one, and I don't see anywhere where he can guarantee bringing over his own staff. I don't say anything about it. I pass the document back over.
"It's a good deal," I tell him. "You should sign it."
"Where does Judd stand?" Wade asks Eric, who shifts in his chair uncomfortably.
"It's unclear," he says. "They haven't specified exactly that you can pick and choose your own people - but as I said, they've specified the show structure and who falls into that. They are specific production staff that looks to be in-house."
"Okay, I get that. But how does Judd fit into that?"
"There is a little wriggle room, I suppose."
"Let's be honest here, Eric. Will I be able to take him with me, or not?"
"They don't want him. He's radio. He has no experience with producing television."
"Can we negotiate on this contract?"
"Let it go," I tell him. "They're right. You can't use me over there, and I won't know what I'm doing anyway. You don't owe me anything."
"I don't like it, Judd. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't come back, and I owe you big."
I stand up. "I don't want you to renegotiate. Take the deal. It's time we parted ways, as far as business is concerned. We'll still be friends, that won't change."
"You said that we're never going to be friends."
"I've been wrong before," I say as I leave. He doesn't need any distractions about this. He just needs to put pen to paper.
Quinn and I drive to our third pregnancy class. I'm smiling even though I've got some bad news today. I haven't told her yet.
"You look happy," she points out.
"I'm thinking about your surprise yesterday."
"I thought you might," she says with a smile.
"I think it was even more surprising than what you gave me when we were dating."
"We're not doing anything in that room anymore, if that's what you're getting at."
"I wasn't."
"Because it's the baby room. There will no more surprises in there."
"I can't help feeling a little disappointed."
"I'm sure. But there will other surprises, just not there. And you can surprise me from time to time as well."
"Oh, I will."
"It's just, I through you could use a little boost, you know."
"Well it worked."
"You seemed a little down."
I sigh. "I don't know why all my problems originate with Wade, but they do."
Quinn nods, a little sadly.
"I've been a little hesitant to mention this," I begin, "but I suppose I shouldn't be." I take a deep breath. "Wade has been flirting with one of the interns. One thing usually leads to another in this scenario."
"You think he'll cheat on Chloe?"
"I think there's a good chance. I hope he doesn't because I don't want to have to tell her about it."
"I don't think you should get involved."
I shake my head. "I wish someone had told me about you and him. I'm not going to let Chloe get hurt like I did."
Quinn looks down into her lap. Her voice is quiet. "She'll still get hurt, no matter what you do."
"The longer it goes on, the worse it is. And I don't want Wade to start back to sleeping with anyone that comes along. Chloe deserves better than that."
"You're right," she says with a sigh.
"And it looks like I won't be going over to the network with him."
She looks up quickly. "So that's it then?"
"Looks like it. The contract doesn't really have anything in there for me."
"How do you feel about that?"
I shrug. "I was expecting it, in a way. I guess now it's happened, I'm a little disappointed. It just means I'll be looking for work again in another six months, but at least my position is a little better now than it was before I started with him again."
Quinn is sitting down on a mat, leaning forward, breathing deeply. I'm behind her, massaging her lower back in deep, slow circles.
"Good work guys," says our instructor. "Everybody look at the Altmans. Judd's technique is perfect, and Quinn's breathing is exactly right."
She moves on and I laugh quietly.
"Maybe she'll give me a certificate or something," I say.
"Perfect?" Quinn says with a low groan. "In that case, you can do this every night."
"Only if they give me that certificate. Anyway, you should be breathing, not talking."
"I am breathing." She makes a show of it to demonstrate.
"Not that kind, the way they showed us - what you were doing before that was 'exactly right'."
I'm walking back over to Quinn with a coffee in hand. Once again, instant. Once again, tolerated for the purposes of something to hold while we ming
"Judd," Quinn says, "come meet Ted and Sarah."
I shake the husband's hand. "Ted Wentworth," he says. "My wife, Sarah." I shake hers too.
Quinn leans in. "Bathroom," she says, and retreats, leaving me with the strangers she's introduced me to. They weren't at classes last week.
"So, Judd is it?"
I nod.
"What work do you do, Judd?"
I think quickly. "Advertising mostly."
"Interesting."
"Not really. Mostly it's meetings and long lunches."
"Doesn't sound too bad."
"It has its moments."
"I'm a script writer myself. It's been a bit slow the last few years. I've been writing some scripts for television lately."
"Anything I've seen?"
"Doubt it. Low budget stuff. Mostly doesn't get past the pilot. But, hey, I keep plugging away. And I write for a few add firms, and that pays the bills. Hey, we might know the same people."
I shake my head. "I'm way down the ladder."
"So am I."
"What do you do, Sarah," I ask his wife quickly.
She smiles and pats her growing belly.
"Yeah. Quinn too after this week."
And as if she's heard her name, my wife returns.
"We should do something together," Sarah says.
"That sounds great," Quinn says back, and apparently that is all it takes to start a new friendship. Of course, in these matters I am not consulted. But then, I never have been. Not in our previous life, and certainly not now.
Friday
Wade is nowhere to be seen after the show. He should be in his office so that we can go over next week's guest list. I've decided that things should be business as usual until the final word on Wade leaving comes in. But that can't happen if the host can't be found. I stalk through the station looking for him, and all the while my stomach is starting to churn.
"Have you seen Wade," I ask Kenny. He looks to the copy room, one of Wade's favourite rendezvous places. I stand at the door and listen. I know it's wrong. I know it's creepy. The realisation has me step away quickly and wait for him to come out. But he doesn't. One of the new interns does - the girl from earlier this week. She has a smile on her face. Wade follows a moment later, closes the door behind him and turns. I'm in his face.
"Nothing's going on," I say, just like he'd told me on Tuesday.
"This is not what it looks like."
"Really. Because it sure looks like you just screwed that girl. But that couldn't be right, because you assured me that nothing's going on. So, maybe you were? what? Talking? Using the copier, perhaps?"
"We were just talking."
"Just talking?"
"She's finding it hard here, so I said I'd give her some advice about surviving in this place."
"You're an idiot."
"I'm a generous guy."
"Real generous."
He shakes his head. "Then she jumps me."
"She came on to you?"
"I'm irresistible, I can't help that. But listen, I pushed her off. I told her I'm married and I'm not interested. Okay? Don't tell Chloe, because nothing happened."
"You expect me to believe that?" I ask him, looking at him through my brows.
"You're going to have to trust me eventually."
I laugh. I think of how I had trusted this man and how he had abused that trust again and again. The thing is, I know him. I know what he does and I know what he is capable of.
"I'm telling you, buddy," he says with his best imitation of an earnest face, "nothing happened." He's had years to cultivate that look, to the point that I believed it before when I should have been taking the five iron that sits behind his desk and smash it repeatedly into that earnest face. But I'm not so gullible now.
But he does