smiles sarcastically and raises her eyebrows, waiting for him to figure it out.
“Michaela asked her to keep quiet? Michaela had the balls to ask my Mother to keep quiet from me?” He stands up suddenly, feeling an overload of nervous energy as he walks over to the sink and grips his hands tight around the edge of the stainless steel basin. Then he turns around and leans against the sink with his arms folded across his stomach, staring down at the floor that he used to play on as a child back when it was covered in soft, thick carpet.
“This is ruining our lives,” Kelly says with disgust, picking up the stack of papers for a moment, and then tossing them over to his side of the table. “In that stack of papers,” she says as tears start to roll forward from her eyes, “people describe hurting me in ways that I could never think of in a thousand years. I especially like how dashing the guy was that said he wanted to shove a sharp chicken bone in my throat, and watch me choke on my own blood, because you won’t give up any of yours. And let’s not forget the sweet man who wants to break my legs with his golf club, and then make ‘rough love’ to me while I’m trying to crawl away. This guy doesn’t even want your blood; he just hates seeing me on TV.”
“What do you want me to do, Kelly?” Rory asks holding his hands out to the sides with his palms up. “I’ve got security for us twenty-four hours a day; four guys covering two twelve-hour shifts.”
“Security, babe? Really? We had security before all this shit started,” her eyes flow with more tears as she continues, “and now some psycho wants to beat me with a hammer until my body is nothing but a horrible mess, because he blames you that his wife died… and that his daughter is going to die?” Kelly puts her hands up to her face as she begins to cry and shake with a blank stare of total fear. “I can’t fucking do this; oh my God!”
“You can’t do what?” Rory asks with an expression of confusion, but knows exactly what she means.
“I can’t live with you… and your fucking blood anymore. I remember thinking about John F. Kennedy after you were abducted in The Redwood Forest… His wife saw these assholes take him from her; brutally, in front of kids on the street… In public! My God, Rory, you have become like heroin to these people. They think you’re some kind of reservoir full of endless magic blood, and no matter how much we give, it won’t be enough. It will never be enough for these sick, selfish assholes!”
“The hospital could synthesize a cure any day now-“
“The hospital, Rory? Are you kidding? I read the clinical trials, and even though the medical language didn’t sink into my restaurant hostess brain, I understood the part where it says your blood does something that might take decades to understand.”
“Okay!” He concedes with frustration; his face full of despair as he walks up slowly and puts his arms around her. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. We need to break up, and we need to do it in a public place.”
“Thank you, baby. Thank you! I’m so sorry.” She says with grateful tears of relief.
They hold each other tight in the middle of the kitchen, rocking back and forth gently, and as Rory hears her sobs of relief, he feels like he’s made his first good decision in a long time.
“I need to call my Mom and make sure she’s okay,” Rory says, swallowing hard as he looks deep into her beautiful blue eyes. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Babe, I understand, go call her,” she says with a sigh of relief as tears come down in even streams on her cheeks.
Rory gives her a masculine kiss, and then dips his head slightly as he moves to the upstairs bedroom for some privacy. Kelly begins to remove their stale breakfast from the kitchen table, tossing away: bagels, yogurt cups, and clearing dishes as if she is removing the evidence of how bland their relationship has become over the past few months. When she has almost finished, there is a knock at the door and she stands frozen for moment, looking around the house. After a brief pause, she steps silently over to the hardwood floor of the entryway, peering out the peephole and holding her breath with fear. She lowers her head in relief as she recognizes the face on the other side.
“Hello, Governor Hayes,” Kelly says as she opens the door. “Why don’t you come in?”
“So I’m assuming that Michaela explained everything last night?” The Governor asks as he steps into the entryway and Kelly gestures for him to take a seat on the leather sofa.
Governor Hayes is dressed in a dark gray suit with a black dress shirt and bright yellow tie. His spiked red hair is a bit of a mess today, but his small frameless glasses are immaculate. He has a hard time crossing his legs as his belly has grown since last time they talked, so he elects to keep his black wingtips flat on the floor as he waits for Kelly to take a seat.
“Something to drink?” Kelly asks lazily, not caring that her hair and makeup display how little effort she cares to put in today.
“No thanks, I’m fine,” Governor Hayes replies with a short half smile, wanting to get straight to business. “How are you?”
“Rory and I just broke up.” She says, closing her eyes and opening them from the refreshed pain. “I spent the evening reading death threats. I got to make love to my boyfriend, right where you’re sitting, for less than five minutes yesterday before everything went to shit.”
“I’m sorry,” Hayes says as he squirms in his seat, looking down for a bit and wondering if she is joking or not.
“No. No more sorrys.” Kelly demands twisting her neck as she leans forward clasping both hands together. “Sorry is something you say to flood victims, earthquake victims; things you have no control over. But when Hurricane Michaela hit my life last night, I wanted a lot more than just a sorry. I want my life back!”
“There are a few things that I want you to know,” The Governor begins, showing that she has offended him. “First off, you can’t hold me responsible for the fact that there are crazy people in this world. And second, this ball was already rolling toward the pins before I got here, but I have kept you safe, as promised, from the beginning. Actually, I also want to make a third point. If you two didn’t want a public and potentially dangerous life, why were you so eager to get it started?”
“We were eager because you sold us, Governor,” she retorts, staring deep into his eyes, “just like you’re trying to sell us now.”
“Look, damn it, I’m a person too!” Governor Hayes declares, pointing at her with his right index finger. “I came down here for two reasons; one of them being to ensure you’re okay. I know you’re scared, and I don’t blame you, but lets work together to fix these problems. Screaming at each other won’t do any good.”
“What was the second reason?” She asks with preemptive disgust.
“To see if you need anything. Also, I wanted to tell both of you… or one of you, that you’ve been invited to the Academy Awards.”
“What?” Kelly asks, suddenly surprised. “Why? We didn’t make a movie.”
“The event is two or three weeks away,” Governor Hayes says softly. “You and Rory were invited because the documentary about his blood has been nominated. Michaela told me about it this morning, but she was… afraid to come down here.”
“Why do they want us to be there?” Kelly asks with a look of disbelief.
“They want to talk about the charity work you’ve been doing, and they want to see Rory present
the award for best documentary.”
“What if we don’t go?” She threatens with a vindictive stare.
“Then they send the Hollywood Police to come down and beat your ass…” He jokes with a fatherly voice. “No, it’s an invitation. You can go to The Academy Awards, or you can… have more time on your sofa.” He finishes with a boyish smile.
“You are so damn charming,” she answers in a positive tone. “Okay, I’m intrigued,” Kelly says with a smile, “but only because it will help out our charities more than two years on the road ever could.”
“Fantastic.” Governor Hayes says with a grin, “I would say see you there, but I’m not invited.” He stands up from the sofa with a ‘mission accomplished’ expression and shakes her hand with a knowing wink.
“Aren’t you going to ask me about the goose and the threats?” Kelly beckons as he is walking toward the door.
“Michaela already filled me in on your position last night. We will stop treating you like children.” He responds with a wide smile before adding a little jab. “Besides, who am I to get between a girl and her death threats?”
“Thank you, Governor,” she says with a sudden peaceful grin, feeling relaxed for the first time since the previous evening. “Have a great day.”
“You as well, Kelly. Tell Rory I said hello.” The Governor waves to her and lets himself out, smiling with satisfaction after cheering her up so quickly.
As The Governor sees himself out, Kelly folds her arms and a wide smile appears on her face.
The next three weeks pass by without incident, and the couple decides to suspend their breakup