Crazy For You (34 page)

“You do know that in my own way...” She felt the
need to say. “I do love you.”

“I know.” He forced a smile. “You’re just not
in
love with me.”

“I tried to be. I really did.”

“It’s not your fault that you can’t stop loving
him.” He attempted to let her off the hook.

“Why can’t I?” She wanted desperately to know the
answer to that one. She’d tried everything imaginable to stop
loving Frank Garrett. But nothing ever worked. She woke up each
morning, loving Frank more than the day before.

“Roxanne...” Kirk broke into her thoughts. “Have you
ever thought about going back to him?”

“It’s too late for that,” she said. “Besides…” She
laughed skeptically. “Who says he’d have me back?”

“Do you ever listen to the radio?” He laughed, as if
he found her response comical. “There’s not a song that he’s ever
sang that wasn’t about you!”

“It almost sounds like you’re rooting for him.” She
couldn’t help but be surprised by that notion.

“Maybe I am. Maybe, deep down inside, I know he’s
the only one that’ll ever make you happy.”

Roxanne knew that to be true. She also hadn’t
overlooked the fact that Frank hated the ground she walked on. No
matter how much she may wish for things to be different, she knew
it was too late.

P
roduction for Always and
Forever started just after Frankie’s second birthday. Lyle had been
impressed with Candy’s performance in the first movie, so he had
her test for a bigger part in the new movie. Ultimately she won the
role of the other woman. This would prove interesting as well as
challenging for Roxanne and Candy to portray enemies.

Lyle managed to sign David Faulkner as the man they
would be fighting over. David, a well-respected and very sought
after actor was a big triumph for Lyle.

Roxanne had gone to his office where she and Candy
were supposed to meet David. Entering, she saw him standing there
with his back to her. A haunting chill rushed through her as she
gazed at the tall, thin, dark-haired figure that reminded her of
Frank.

David turned around and smiled when he saw her.
“Amanda Cantrell.” He extended his hand to her.

She returned the smile, easing her hand into his.
Unable to take her eyes off of him, she studied his face. They were
similar to Frank’s. And those eyes, those same blue eyes. Although
quite similar, they weren’t really the same. It’s more likely that
it was Roxanne’s fantasy to look into David’s eyes and see
Frank’s.

Right away, Roxanne took to David because he
reminded her of Frank, even though David had at least ten years on
him. But to Roxanne he was like an older, more mature version of
the man she’d been trying so desperately to get over. David had one
thing going for him that Frank lacked—David was not a musician.

While Roxanne became acquainted with her second
co-star, Garrett-Hollander’
s
second album hit number one on
the charts. Three singles from the album had made it to the number
one spot, with the promise of more to come. And finally, the public
couldn’t get enough of Garrett-Hollander.

By the time the filming of Always and Forever ended,
David had revealed that he’d fallen in love with Roxanne. She’d
declared her love for him too, but in reality it was only a memory
that she loved. She tried to tell herself that she loved David for
himself, and not because he reminded her of someone.

Garrett-Hollander swept the Grammy nominations. When
the awards were presented, they stole the show. They were rewarded
three times, including the coveted album of the year award.
Finally, Frank Garrett was right where he wanted to be. But it was
lonely at the top. No matter what he did to change it, in the end
he was always alone. Nothing or no one could fill the emptiness
Roxanne had left him with.

The Oscar nominations were no different than the
last time Roxanne Simon had been there. Except this time there were
more nods, eight in all. When the awards were presented Always and
Forever claimed six. Roxanne walked away with two awards that
evening, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. Candy joined in the
revelry, claiming the Best Supporting Actress title. Roxanne and
Candy had successfully portrayed enemies, proving their worth in
Hollywood. On that night, their efforts had been rewarded.

I
n New York City a late
snow fell in April that year. With the inclement weather came the
end of Roxanne and David’s affair. In Central Park they walked
together, hand in hand, with the snow falling steadily.

“You know that I have to leave,” David said softly,
regrettably.

“Yes, I do.” Roxanne kept her focus straight ahead.
“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Still, neither of them looked at
the other. “Just be happy for the time we’ve shared.”

“I will never forget you.”

“I hope you don’t.”

“Will you stay for Candy’s birthday party?” Finally,
she looked at him. “It’s the day after tomorrow.”

“Of course, I will.” He smiled. “It must be great to
know you two have each other to count on.”

“Candy and I have been friends forever. And that’s
the way it’ll stay.”

“That’s good,” he said. “I’ll feel much better
knowing I’m leaving you in good hands.”

Roxanne didn’t say anything, she just looked the
other way. She felt like crying, although she wasn’t sure why.
Maybe because she’d wanted David to fill the void Frank had left
her with. But it never happened. In the end, David—just like
Kirk—deserved more than Roxanne could give.

“Listen…” He stopped and faced her. “If you ever
need anything, anything at all...you call me.”

“I might just do that some day.” She laughed softly,
wishing things could’ve turned out differently. “Years and years
from now, I just might call you up and ask you to do something for
me.”

“All you have to do is ask,” he said, “And it’s
done.”

Inside Roxanne and Candy’s New York apartment, Candy
stared out of the window at the falling snow, hanging onto an
unopened beer. Watching the snow float down to the streets below,
she thought about Rich and how he used to make her laugh.

She didn’t pay much attention to the deejay on the
radio, announcing a new one from Garrett-Hollander. As the song
started, she quickly took notice because she knew it was Rich
singing.

She was the light

That showed me the way in the dark

Candy stared at the radio and twisted the cap off
the beer. Nothing like having your mistakes thrown in your face on
a daily basis. She threw the cap at the stereo. Rich continued to
sing.

But now she’s just the pain

That burns inside my heart

She wanted something that I couldn’t give her

So she figured we were better off apart

Candy looked out the window again. She knew Frank
had most likely written the song, but it felt like Rich was singing
about her.

Why couldn’t he understand? She had to do what she
did for Roxanne. She had to stand by her friend. But still, it was
times like these when she missed him the most. And it could creep
up on her when she least expected it. Like now.

Love is not the issue

It never matters at all

I bet if you ask her

She’ll make the call

You’ll need money

Or it’ll be your turn to fall

~ ~ ~

Rich laid the papers on the desk and paused before
finally looking at Candy. “Are you just saying all that for my
benefit…or is it true?”

“It’s true,” she said with a defined nod.

He massaged his temples.

“What?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“You know…I held a lot of animosity toward Roxanne
for such a long time for what she’d put Frank through.”

“And now?”

“Now…?” he said, looking a little lost. “Now I just
feel really sorry for her. I had no idea she had such a
self-conflicting struggle about the whole thing.”

“Just goes to show…there are two sides to every
story.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure,” she said. “You can ask.” But she might not
answer.

“We’ve read about Roxanne’s love affairs. What about
yours?”

Candy didn’t say anything, just shook her head
slowly.

“So…” He tried to cap the urge to laugh. “You’ve
remained celibate all these years?”

“Don’t push your luck.”She chuckled.

“Well…one good thing has come from all this.”

“And what would that be?”

“I can still make you laugh.” He winked at her.

“You know,” Candy said, a bit more serious now.
“It’s funny.”

“What is?”

“Well…Roxanne always wanted something from Frank
that she couldn’t get.” She hesitated, seeing the irony. “Yet she
had two other men who were dying to be whatever she
wanted—especially Kirk. He would’ve given anything if Roxanne
could’ve given her heart to him.” A wave of sadness hit Candy.

Rich wasn’t exactly comfortable discussing Kirk
Bronson or David Faulkner. If he talked about them with Candy then
he was also acknowledging them as Frank’s rivals. Somehow that
seemed disloyal. Instead, he decided to change the subject. “By the
way…when did you guys buy this house?”

“When you guys were touring Europe. We didn’t stay
here long. Rocky was afraid that Frank was going to magically
appear from out of nowhere.”

“Funny thing is…if he’d known for a second, just
once, where to look for her…” Rich’s words trailed off.

It was senseless to think about what-if. It was much
too late for that.

W
hile Roxanne and Candy
collaborated to write Bad Company, Garrett-Hollander recorded their
third album.

The phenomenal success of the second album won the
band new fans. Record sales for the first album began to skyrocket,
too. That year, G-H had two albums in the top ten.

Roxanne and Candy formed Simon Productions and
produced their first film, while Garrett-Hollander’s popularity
continued to rise and they accepted more Grammys for their third
album.

~ ~ ~

“Well…we’ve got the basic groundwork down for the
book.” Candy said. “Now all we have to do is figure out how to end
this thing.”

“Are we going to make it public knowledge that
Roxanne took an overdose?” Rich said anxiously.

“Well…” Candy hesitated. “She wanted the truth to be
known.” She looked to Frank for an answer.

“Let’s not forget that she had a different ending
for this story...her death,” Frank reminded them.

“Personally,” Rich said, “I think we should just say
that Frank and Roxanne got back together and eventually married. I
think if we’re going to tell anything even remotely close to the
truth, it should be that it was an accident. And as of publication
of this book, she’s still in a coma.”

Candy thought about it. “I agree.”

“Aren’t you two forgetting something?” Frank
questioned them.

“What?” they both said in unison.

“You two really want to end this book and leave
everybody hanging?”

“Well,” Rich said defensively. “Roxanne is the one
who’s in a coma,” he added, as if the cliffhanger had nothing to do
with him.

“I’m not talking about Roxanne,” Frank said. “I’m
talking about you two.”

“Us?” Candy asked innocently.

“In case you two haven’t noticed,” Frank said.
“There is a romantic subplot here, involving the two of you.”

Rich and Candy looked at one another, then at Frank,
then back at each other. Their snorting laughter filled the
air.

Candy looked at Frank. “A romantic subplot?” She
looked at Rich again and they snickered together.

Frank ignored their cavalier attitudes. “It would be
nice if the two of you would give us a happy ending to work with.
Besides…” He shrugged, knowing exactly how to get to Candy. “I
think it’s what Roxanne would want.”

“Oh, damn.” Candy moaned. No way could she fight it
now.

Rich said nothing. But given the smile curling at
the corners of his mouth, he got it that Frank had done him a
tremendous favor.

L
ater that night, Frankie
wandered into his parents’ bedroom in search of his mother. He
pounded Frank’s arm. “Daddy…Wake up!”

“What? What!” Frank moaned, struggling to awaken.
Then he realized Frankie was standing over him. That woke him
instantly. “What’s the matter?” he asked, but he could easily
guess.

“I want my Mommy!” Frankie cried.

Frank sat up and lifted Frankie onto the bed. “I
tell you what,” he said, wrapping his arms around the boy.
“Tomorrow, I’ll call Jerry. I’ll tell him that you and I have to go
see your Mommy.”

Frankie’s eyes widened. “We’re gonna go to the water
to get her?”

“No,” Frank said, keeping calm. “We’re going to go
see her at the hospital. Remember, your Mommy’s sleeping and nobody
can wake her.” The last thing Frank wanted was to give Frankie
false hope.

“She’s not at the hospital, Daddy,” Frankie
insisted. “She’s at the water.”

In the beginning, Frank thought that letting Frankie
see Roxanne in her present state was a bad idea. But at this point,
he figured it was better to let him see her in the coma, rather
than having him continue with this fantasy that she was conscious
and at the beach somewhere. Because it was, after all, only a
fantasy. And somehow, some way, Frank intended to get inside that
hospital to prove it.

“B
ut, Frank,” Jerry argued
across the telephone wire, “you know what Roxanne’s
power-of-attorney says.”

“If that’s the only card you’ve got…save it. I don’t
give a damn about that.” Frank’s anger barreled across the
airwaves. “I’m going to take this kid to see his mother. And I’m
going to show him that she’s in the hospital, and not conscious at
the beach somewhere.”

“What?” Jerry blurted out.

“You heard me. You best get me in that damned place.
Now.”