Casting Debbie

Chapter 27

Debbie sat at her kitchen table rubbing her temples. She was trying to decide what she regretted most about last night; her words or the wine. It was the wine. Definitely the wine. But also, her words.

Three fingers deep? Who talks like that? All that seduction in under a minute business had Debbie in a twist. Had Lou actually tried to get her in bed last night, or was it all just a horrible dream? A misunderstanding, maybe. That's it, Debbie had heard wrong. Hadn't she?

God, her head hurt. And her stupid phone wouldn't stop ringing -some number she didn't recognize. It rang again and this time she picked it up, ready to yell at whoever was trying to sell her something. "Yes?" She stood up, but her expression fell as she listened. "No, that can't be. No, I just talked to him yesterday. No, no, no! Oh, god!" Debbie sank back onto the bed. "Of course. Yes, I'm on my way."

***

Lou opened the guesthouse door and found Debbie zipping up her suitcase. She threw a hand in the air. "Perfect. That's just perfect. And you were probably going to leave without saying goodbye."

Debbie grabbed her sweater and put it on, completely ignoring Lou. She set her suitcase on the floor and looked at her watch. "Shit," she whispered. She finally looked up, revealing puffy, tear-stained eyes. "Is my cab here?"

Lou softened her tone. "Okay, look... we just need to sit down and talk."

"I have to get to the airport."

"So, you're going to run away again? Well, this time I'm not going to beg you to come back."

Debbie grabbed her purse and suitcase, trying like hell to hold back the tears. She didn't have time to break down. That could wait until she was on the plane. She wheeled her carry-on outside and hurried past the pool. Lou followed her to the side gate. "Will you please just talk to me for a second? Let me apologize? I know what I said was inappropriate. I was just so happy and that clouded my judgment. I didn't mean to make you feel cheap, and I certainly didn't mean to assume that you would just jump into my bed."

Debbie tried to punch in the gate code but her fingers were too shaky. She stepped aside and leaned against the fence, her breath becoming so shallow she was almost hyperventilating. "Please open the gate."

Lou shook her head. "No. This is ridiculous, Debbie. You can't run away. We have to talk. We have to..."

Debbie's face contorted, a deep sob making its way up from her chest. She gasped for air and said, "Danny," before she completely broke down.

Lou grabbed Debbie as she fell to the ground, softening the blow. She took her phone out of her back pocket, hit a button and held it to her ear, keeping an arm wrapped around Debbie. "Answer, goddammit." Debbie grabbed Lou's shirt and sobbed into her chest. "Dammit, Amita, answer your phone." Lou's assistant finally answered. "Amita! I need a jet ASAP. New York. NOW, Mita!"

Lou dropped her phone on the ground and wrapped both arms around Debbie. "I've got you, baby. Just hang on." She heard the cab honk his horn, so she picked her phone back up and punched in the code for the front gate. She kissed Debbie's head. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

She ran back into the house and grabbed a twenty from her purse. When she returned a few seconds later, she had let the driver know his services wouldn't be necessary. Then she went back to Debbie and urged her to stand up. "Come on, babe. Let's go back into the house. I'll get us to the airport."

Lou took a few minutes to pack a bag, insisting that Debbie sit in her bedroom while she haphazardly pulled clothes from her closet. Whatever she didn't pack, she could buy in New York. She wanted to ask questions, but thought better of it, since at the moment, Debbie wasn't crying. She was sitting there, twisting a tissue between her fingers and staring at the floor, her face paler than Lou had ever seen it before. When they got to the Santa Monica airport, Amita was there, waiting.