ocean. It had two bedrooms and a patio on the beach. It also had a state of the art security system, and a tall brick fence around it. There was a large gate that opened by remote control. I felt that Julie would be safe there.
Jacky showed up in Dallas the first Wednesday that Julie was gone. She got a room in a motel about a mile from us. I took Thursday off work, and went to see her. Thursday all we did was talk. Friday was a different matter: that afternoon, I picked up the kids and dropped them off at the house. I got my usual babysitter again. Jacky and I had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, then went bar-hopping. She was stared at by nearly everyone. I was virtually ignored. She signed a lot of autographs and had her picture taken frequently. I did my best to stay out of the pictures.
She left Saturday morning and flew back home. I was actually glad to see her go. I didn’t want her to come back. My guilt factor was off the chart. A saying came to mind: if you’re going to cheat, make it worthwhile. I wasn’t certain if any cheating was worthwhile, but I was finished. I wouldn’t do it again—at least I hoped that I wouldn’t.
The next Friday, the kids and I flew to San Diego. I must say, flying with three children is an experience. Thank God for flight attendants. They were a great help to me. I was also thankful that it was a direct flight; the kids couldn’t get off the plane. The two older ones frequently got away from me and went down the center aisle. I was ragged when I got off the plane. I wasn’t sure if I would ever do this again; it was just too much for me.
When we arrived at the apartment, Julie really upset me; she was only interested in seeing the baby, not me, nor the other kids. I decided right then that I would absolutely not be back.
Sunday night’s flight back to Dallas was horrible. Franky cried the entire time. The attendants moved us up into first class where they could help us more, but it made little difference other than to upset the first class passengers. Now I knew for certain I would not be back.
Again, on the following Wednesday morning, Jacky arrived. I felt used, soiled.
On Friday night, I told her that I couldn’t do it anymore. I was as serious as I could be.
Jacky was not to be outdone. She told me, “Julie is going out with Larry and staying out late with him.” That hit me like a ton of bricks. My head began to spin and I thought that I might pass out. I was cheating on my wife, and now I felt like she was cheating on me. The weird thing was, we were keeping it in the family so to speak.
Had I been set up? I wasn’t sure.
After Jacky left, I beat my fist on the motel room wall. I didn’t knock a hole in it, but did crack the sheet rock.
That night I called Julie at ten o’clock. She was in a bar and said that she was escorting Mr. Lawrence. I told her to call me when she got home, but she never called. She would later tell me that she forgot!
Julie’s photo was in one of the small tabloid newspapers that makes up stories and lies. It was a photo of her and Larry. They weren’t doing anything, but it hinted that something was going on. It was in the same magazine that I read an article about Jacky. It said that she was “bisexual.” I caught my breath and nearly passed out again. It went on to say that she was a terrible mother to her children, that she would rather be out partying than staying at home with her kids. I didn’t even know that she had kids. You couldn’t tell by looking at her; she didn’t have any stretch marks on her belly.
It was three weeks later that Julie grudgingly came home. Again, she spent all her time with her baby. I didn’t even get to sleep with her; she slept with the baby. Julie left and went back to California, I was actually happy to see her go.
For the next two weeks I didn’t call Julie at all.
It was Jacky who called me. “What’s going on, Brandon? Julie is all upset. She is flubbing her lines and is in danger of being fired from the movie.”
I told Jacky what was going on, and she said that she would take care of it.
She was back Thursday morning. I went to see her Thursday night. It was what I thought it would be: very little talking. I went to see her again Friday night, just to spite Julie.
After the marathon session was over, Jacky sat and talked to me. “Brandon, I have talked to Julie. She has stopped going out with Larry. I think she will sleep with you and have something to do with your kids. Why don’t you come out to San Diego? At least call her and talk about it.”
When I got back home, it was nearly midnight Texas time. It was ten California time.
I called Julie. It was clear that she was at a bar.
I asked her what she was doing and she replied, “Out with some friends.”
I asked, “May I speak to one of them?”
She said, “Okay, Brandon, I am alone. Are you happy?”
I said, “Go home, Julie, and don’t do this again. And come home this weekend; the kids need you and I need you.”
I could hear Julie leave the bar, get in her car and start moving. She apparently didn’t know the phone was still on; she was talking to herself. Then she noticed the phone and she hung up on me. However, the very next Friday, she was home by noon. She played with my two kids and the baby, and she even slept with me and was romantic. The weekend went wonderful until I asked her if she was seeing anyone. She got hopping mad.
Sunday evening, the kids and I took Julie to the airport. We watched her disappear into the building, and then I drove us all back home. I never did get an answer to my question if she was seeing anyone.
I had made up my mind. I wasn’t going to see Jacky anymore, and this was Julie’s last movie. But to my surprise, Julie was outstanding on the movie. It was said that she had done an Academy Award performance. She was proud, and so was I. I realized that if she won, she would have to do another movie. She was already making too much money. Her signing bonus was a small fortune and when it hit the bank, I began spending money like crazy. I bought the kids anything that they wanted. All kinds of electric toys, games and cars. I even spent some money on myself; I bought a large, complete computer system, printer, fax machine, and sound system. Spending money made me happy—well, at least happier.
On the next Saturday, I took the kids and went out and looked at the new house that was being built for us. We had been having unusually nice weather, and the house was nearly finished on the outside. When I called Julie and told her about it, she went ballistic. She couldn’t wait to see the new house. On the outside it looked spectacular. The grass, bushes and flowers were planted. The pond had been filled, and the electric pump sprayed water in the air. The fish had not yet arrived, but should be here any day. Again, it made me happier. I had quite a time keeping Johnny out of the fish pond, and I did get one laugh when the fish were delivered. Every cat in the neighborhood sat and watched the fish swim around.
The rental house that we were living in seemed small now. I was looking forward to the new house. I knew that once we moved in our lives would be happier. I had met some of our new neighbors. One of them was Bobby Kellison, a famous football player. He also had a beautiful wife; she had once been Miss America. Her married name was Janelle Kellison. They had a small daughter who played well with Johnny. The little girl’s name was Billie Jean. She was famous in Dallas. She had some sort of medical problem that I never quite understood. When she was out in public, people would hold their right hand up in a fist and chant, “Billie Jean, Billie Jean, Billie Jean.”
Several unusual things happened the next Friday. Julie came in, the baby began to roll over, and the FBI came back to see me. They had more questions for me. They offered another lie detector test, but I turned it down. They left very unhappy.
Julie was thrilled to see the baby roll over. She played with all three kids about evenly. Again, she slept with me, but wasn’t romantic. I began to worry about my marriage.
Julie was being very tight-lipped about something. I had no idea what.
Sunday nig
ht she left to go back to San Diego, she was supposed to call me when she got there, but she didn’t. Again, she said later that she forgot. I was upset; I was beginning to understand that the movie industry could corrupt a person. It had even corrupted me. Had it corrupted Julie too?
I thought about everything that was going on and realized that I only had Jacky to let me know, and I wasn’t too sure about her. I decided to take matters in my own hands. I set up for a trip to San Diego. I didn’t tell a soul about it, not even the kids.
I left the house on Wednesday morning and drove to the airport with the three kids. This time, the trip went a whole lot better. Franky slept the entire way and Johnny stayed in his seat. Rachael was no problem; in fact she helped entertain Johnny.
We arrived in San Diego, and I rented a car and drove to the hotel that we had stayed at last time. I got a room and then took the kids to dinner. The babysitter showed up right at eight, and I left, not really knowing where I was going.
I had an address for Julie’s apartment and I drove by there. I was somewhat surprised to see a closed gate and security cameras. I parked outside the tall fence and went to the gate. It was dark, so I climbed over. No alarms went off, so I walked through the parking lot until I found her apartment. I sat on the stairs and watched. The lights were