His American Fling (37 page)

“What do you think you’re doing?” She said, both hands were on her hips.

The adrenalin jolted through my body, “Gemma! I was just trying to get him sober.  He wouldn’t sleep unless I lay down with him.” I
jumped up and ran to the chair. “I had to take my dress off so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. I swear,
nothing
happened, absolutely nothing.  We didn’t do anything.” I sounded like I was on crack, talking rapidly in a high pitched voice. 

She looked at me as if I had gone mad, “It’s 3:30 pm, Henry sent me up to make sure everything was going well. I see you let him down!”

“
Three thirty!
Oh dear, I was tired. I get tired and…” I realized there wasn’t time for excuses, “Run the shower, I’ll get him up.”

“No, you run the shower, I’ll get him up.  If he sees me, it’s more likely to sober him.”  She suggested.

I didn’t argue, but ran in and managed to adjust the water so that it was tepid, not cold, and not hot. I wanted it to wake him up. Turning around, Campbell was standing in the doorway on his own, without aid. I didn’t know what Gemma did, but it worked.

I raised an eyebrow. “Campbell, you better get cracking, the wedding is in twenty-five minutes.  Get undressed and get in that shower.”

He rubbed his face, yawned and started to undress until he was naked. I was going to leave, but Gemma didn’t seem to be fazed by the fact that he was naked and climbing into the shower in my presence.

Gemma motioned to me. “You supervise the shower while I get the clothing laid out.”

“Okay.” I didn’t know why I had gotten the naked chore. I watched Campbell, who seemed to be moving in slow motion. “Campbell, wash your hair, rinse and get out,
now!
”

I must have startled him, because he began to clean his body in earnest. The shampoo lathered up on his head nicely.  Rinsing, he then turned off the shower. I threw open the shower door and shoved a towel into his hands.

“Now towel yourself while I get your underwear.” As I said it, Gemma threw a pair of boxers over my shoulders.

He was so wobbly that when he tried to put on the shorts he almost went head first into the bathroom mirror. 

I exhaled heavily. “Hang onto the counter and lift one foot.” I put the boxers on one leg and then managed the other, pulling them up over his knees, I found myself staring at his package. I looked up and saw a grinning Campbell.

“Mags, going down memory lane are we?”  He asked.

“Not funny. Are you sobering up?”

“I better get some
Paracetamol and water down me before the hang-over hits.”

Gemma walked into the bathroom with both, handing them to him.

“Thanks Gem.” he took the water and pills and chucked them back, “How’s Peter?”

“Fine, he’s downstairs with the wedding party, which is where you should be. Now get your act together Campbell and get dressed.  You need to get down there right away. Maggie, you should be with Fiona, I’ll finish up here.”

 I had to admit she was right and, since she was his wife, it was her responsibility, not mine. I nodded, slipped on my dress, ran through the sitting rooms into my bedroom, combed my hair, brushed my teeth and ran downstairs to find the wedding party. I saw Henry in the hall with Charles.

“He’s coming!” I chirped.

“Bril, I was beginning to wonder.” Henry smiled, “I believe the bridal party is in the library, preparing for their big entrance.”

I joined the bridal party and was quickly chastised by Fiona for being absent. I gave her the Reader’s Digest version of what was going on and she seemed to forgive me. 

We waited another half hour, making the wedding ten minutes late and were then given the go ahead by the wedding planner. The weather was holding up and so the tent, which had been put up as both a contingency if it rained and for the evening dining, was not needed for the wedding itself which was being held outside under a gazebo that faced out onto the small lake in the back. The wedding path was through the flower garden and then across the lawn filled with chairs to the gazebo.

I was the first to walk out in the procession. I put on the spring hat which went with my dress and which thankfully kept the sun out of my eyes. The wedding planner staged me at the back door and then gave me the okay to start walking. We had practiced the pace the night before, so I tried to count it out.  As I turned and went down the stone stairs to the flower garden, I could see ahead and miraculously, Campbell was standing straight and looking almost sober. Everyone was turned around and watching me. I felt a little jealous of
Fiona; marrying the man she loved surrounded by friends and family, not to mention the most gorgeous site for a wedding. I didn’t dare look at Campbell or I knew I might start crying so I looked over the audience and saw Gemma hanging onto Peter’s upper arm and planting a kiss on his lips. My mouth dropped. I wondered if Campbell had seen the kiss so I glanced up at him. He was watching me as if I was a butterfly that had flown away. There was so much longing in his eyes that my heart cramped. I took my place and watched as Gemma continued to fawn all over Peter as they sat in front of Campbell on Henry’s side of the aisle. The procession continued, but I was so confused by what I was seeing that all I could do was watch Gemma. I finally stopped watching her and turned just as Fiona came into view.  My breathing stopped and my mouth spread into a very un-British grin. She was glowing, like a beautiful white angel making her way up the aisle. She rolled her eyes when she saw that I looked gobsmacked. I tried to look more like the others, cool and contained.

The wedding lasted half an hour and then the photos were taken.  Fiona asked to have one taken just with me and
I was rather pleased that I was the only one that she had segregated from the pack. 

At dinner, I saw Campbell watching me when one of the couples approached, requiring me to do my song and dance
about my upcoming wedding. He said nothing, but eventually turned and walked away.

I was in the restroom making one of my many potty runs
after drinking too much champagne when I stepped out and right into Gemma’s glare. I glared back. I was offended by the way she had treated Campbell during the wedding and in front of everyone. I sauntered over about five feet from her. “Do you have something to say to me, Gemma?”

“Yes, I’m rather put off by you.” Staring at my belly, she said, “It looks to me like you and Campbell were sleeping with each other
back when we were supposed to be together a couple. I was just wondering how it feels to be a whore.”

I snickered. “That’s kind of like pot calling kettle black, isn’t it?” I walked up to her, invading her personal space, giving her my best, “screw you” look.

She threw her head back and gave out a, “Ha!”

Now I was angry at her ‘ha’ of superiority. “What are you,
a married woman
, doing making out with Peter in front of Campbell? That’s pretty tacky.”

Well, if she didn’t think I was mad already, her look certainly said I’d lost my mind. Her eyes narrowed and her brows knitted before she responded, “Maggie, you are the most bizarre woman I know. Were you dropped on your head as a baby?”

I continued to stare. “You’re saying you two have an open marriage?”

She tilted her head. “Heavens no!  What made you think that?”

Campbell walked in with a cup of coffee and noticed the two of us almost nose to nose.  He cleared his throat, “Is there a problem here?”

Gemma sneered. “Your girlfriend here is as crazy as they come.  She thinks there’s something wrong with kissing my husband.”

I shook my head vehemently. “
No, I said it was tacky kissing Peter in front of her husband!”

Now Campbell was looking at me like I was loopy. 

I swallowed and asked Campbell, “You mean, it doesn’t bother you?”

“Why should it?”

“Well, in America, women don’t kiss other men in front of their husbands.”

Campbell and Gemma glanced at each other. Campbell took a step closer and literally felt my head, “Maggie are you okay?”

“There you all are! We were hoping to start the toasts, come along Campbell.” Fiona floated over to us.

Campbell turned to Fiona. “Maggie’s acting very strange. I think she should lie down.”

I was frustrated and angry with all of them. I turned and barked, “Fiona, how would you feel if Henry and I made out?”

She smiled at me. “Darling, you wouldn’t live long enough to find out.”

I threw my hands up. “I rest my case!”

Fiona looked at Campbell for an explanation.

“She just told Gemma that it was tacky for her to be kissing Peter,” Campbell explained.

Fiona wrinkled her nose. “Mags, I thought you didn’t mind public display of affection?”

I waved my hands. “No, no, no!  Not just an air kiss. They were exchanging body fluids—that kind of kiss.”

Fiona checked my forehead.
“Maggie, they’re married, why shouldn’t they?”

I was exasperated, “No, she wasn’t kissing
Campbell; she was kissing Peter that way.”

Campbell’s face cleared up and Gemma started laughing. 

“Maggie, do you think that Gemma and I are married?” Campbell asked.

Of course, when someone asks it like that, you know you’re in trouble. My face drained of color and I slipped a hand over my heart. “You aren’t?”

There was a huge wave of laughter at my expense. It took several minutes before Campbell could continue, “Mags, Gemma and Peter are married. I told Gemma about you and me a few weeks after we went to Paris. She started dating Peter when he came over to Paris to help with our case.”

“But, I sent you dozens of emails, why didn’t you return them, let me know that?”

I saw Gemma’s face go from laughter to apprehension. Campbell tilted his head. “Dozens of emails? I didn’t get any emails. I received your two calls and returned them.”  Campbell’s face tightened, his jaw clenched as he turned around and looked at Gemma. “Gemma, may I speak to you?”

She didn’t bother retreating, “Oh for God’s sakes Campbell, I did it because you didn’t need to be distracted by her nonsense.  All those, ‘I love you, Campbell, call me, come home, when are we going to see each other, I’m leaving…my God the woman acted as if you had abandoned her.”

Campbell’s face dropped. “I had—to some extent. Mags, Gemma reviewed all my emails and forwarded the important ones to my blackberry. I’m sorry; I didn’t know you were feeling so abandoned.”

I lunged at Gemma, grabbing her pearls
and ripping them off her throat, they went rolling everywhere. “You bitch!  You fucking bitch!” After a good old fashioned tackle, I had a handful of her hair when Campbell grabbed me around my waist, lifted me up, and hauled me off of her, almost slipping on one of the pearls.

Gemma screamed, “I’ll get you Maggie!”  The servants started to pick up the pearls, “There’s 68 pearls…
there better be 68 pearls…
and you’re paying to restring them!”

I was kicking and screaming in midair, “Fuck you!”

“Come on Maggie, I’m taking you upstairs.” Campbell threw me over his shoulder and literally carried me up to my bedroom.  “Now stay here for a few minutes while I give the toast. Calm down and then you can join us.”

I was livid. “Doesn’t it bother you that she did this to us?”

“Yes, but I’m not surprised. If you’ll remember, I was cheating on her. I suppose it was her way of getting back. I wasn’t thinking clearly back then.  Between losing my father and almost losing the estates, I wasn’t really functioning on all cylinders. But, Maggie, why are you so upset? It worked out well for you. You’re going to get married and you’ll soon be a lawyer too. If we were together we’d be arguing about where to live.”

How could I tell him? I had made up such an elaborate lie
, and there was still the fact that I was going to be living in the States.  We had both come to terms with being apart. I didn’t dare stir things up again. I’d leave tomorrow morning and it would all be over, I’d never see him again and we’d both begin to heal. 

I reluctantly nodded my agreement, “You’re right of course. Go ahead and make the toast, I’ll come down when I feel better.”

He smiled and left me. I closed my eyes and shook my head. If I had known, would I have gone home? Maybe, but I would have at least tried harder to get in touch with him.

The bed was so inviting, I decided to take a short nap. Since the photos had been take
n and I had no one to impress. I laid down in my dress and pulled the throw over me. I closed my eyes and about an hour later I heard the door open.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s me Mags; I just wanted to see if you were okay. You are my guest after all.” Campbell stepped just inside the door.

“Have a seat, I won’t bite. Is Gemma still upset?”

“No, we found 68 pearls and I promised that I’d have them restrung with a nicer clasp.  That seemed to appease her.” He sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

“I’ll pay you back.”