Page 73 of All That Remains
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After lunch, we all went golfing with John’s father and a few of his colleagues. Then finally the three of us ended back up at my place watchingAntiques Roadshowin the lounge. When 8PM hit, the Winstons, fellow Brits, stopped by with champagne and cake. It was some sort of surprise celebration to congratulate me on the new miniseries role, which I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about yet. Damn, they worked fast. My mate Ezra made a showing as well, and now all I could think whenever I lookedat him was how jealous Roman had been at the mere mention of his name. He’d brought along his niece who was just a few years younger than me, and who would undoubtedly be stirring up trouble. She always did.
Late as ever, Grimmy—radio host and another fellow Brit—showed up declaring it was his last night in town, so he wanted to get me drunk. That was forever his M.O. He’d given me my first drink many moons ago, and we’d often been caught staggering out of bars together in downtown London. The paps relentlessly spun stories that we were lovers. To be fair, some of the photos were rather compromising. He was openly gay and I was deeply affectionate, so rumors of our affair were particularly difficult to dispel. No matter, as we’d only grown closer through the years, despite the viciously homophobic gossip.
Gathering in the dining room, we ate catering from a local steakhouse and later had a mini dance party with karaoke and booze.
"To Hollywood and casting couches!" Grimmy toasted us all, swaying atop a chair—his hair limp and unkempt. "I've heardallllabout how you landed this role, Ralph Rawlings…" The room erupted in laughter and I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively.
Later he and I sat around the island in the kitchen and talked about his flight home the next morning. He hopped up onto the counter and sat cross-legged, his socks too close to my face for comfort. I told him about a friend's Yorkie who'd been sprayed by a skunk a few days ago, and how the odor was still there today. I showed him the text where she said they were on their tenth bath, but the reek had barely budged.
"I heard the smell is like...chemically binding," I muttered.
"I wonder if it's the hair, y'think? If it sticks to the hair more than the skin? What if they shaved all the hair off? Problem solved!"
"I know, right? Seems like you'd be able to just wash it off the skin."
"Speaking of hair..." he drawled. "Say, when's the last time you ran that mop under some hot water?! Bloody hell if it ain'tgreazzzy!" He lifted a few strands and let them flop back onto my face.
"Great," I retorted. "Thanks, mate. Way to make a girl feel special."
He burst out laughing in that ridiculous way only he could.A big Englishguffaw.
"I'd pay to run a brush through that thing!" he tossed over his shoulder, spinning around in a complete circle where he sat. I craned to steer clear of his flying feet and nearly toppled off the stool.
"So, you're a regular old movie star now, eh?" he teased, stopping to read his phone. "Oh, and hope you don't mind…I've called me lov'a over!"
I rolled my eyes. His phone rang like six times in a row and I voiced my mounting suspicions.
"Y'know...I'm starting to think you're maybe a drug dealer, mate."
"Well, shit, thanks for tellin' uz! Not everythin's a bloody movie, ya know?"
"I've been paying attention for a while now. You're definitely, uh, some sort of low-level trafficker or something," I squinted, then laughed. "Shouldn't've told you my suspicions, though. Should've set you up with a wire first," I drank the last of my soda, trying to stay sober for the night.
"Oh God...you got me! Alert the feds!" he scoffed. "Wait a minute...low-level? Is that what you bloody think of me? Trust and believe, if I were ever to get involved, I would move someseriousweight. And I'd be too rich to even bother with the likes ofyou."
"M'serious, y'know," I persisted. "You hop over to Cali for a few days—"
"Oh it's 'Cali'now...pfffft!" he cackled.
"No one knows your whereabouts. You're hard to pin down. You've got two phones, mate.Two! Who needs two phones, you ask? Onlydrug dealersandcheaters, and you're not even married."
He applauded me. "Great work, Sherlock.”
Now he topped off my Pepsi with vodka, and I didn't object like I should have.
"What is it? Coke, meth? Mate, I was wondering how you could afford that new Patek. Even I can't affordthatPatek."
"Well, you could if you sucked a little more cock, just saying..."
"Fuck’s sake..." We laughed.
John stepped into the kitchen behind us.
"The things I'm overhearing in this conversation are beyond disturbing..."
Grimmy guffawed into his glass and spun around on the counter again. John took my drink from me.
