Bhorma sunsets are probably one of the most breathtaking scenery anyone could ever experience. She could sit by the beach and stare at the ocean, listening to the waves and the sound of seagulls while the winds blew her hair as she sat upon the sandy beach until the sun would go down all the way.
There's a feeling of serenity, a private silence in the midst of people enjoying the same thing as she does. The sense of peace inside her when she does this is the one thing that tied her to this beautiful island she calls home. She will never leave this place, it would be like leaving herself, and she would never do that again.
Andrea was slowly walking toward her with champagne in one hand and two glasses in the other. "I knew you'd be here," she startled her. Sandy turned to look at her best friend grinning like a crazy woman. "We got the deal!!" she screamed.
"What?? You serious??" she jumped on her feet. Andrea nodded excitedly and they were jumping up and down screaming. "Oh my God!!" They hugged and laughed and danced to celebrate what would be the best contract they have ever made ... yet.
"Oh, God! I feel so relieved!! I'm gonna tell Lucas that I won't be taking the job," Sandy said. They clinked their glasses and finished the whole bottle by the beach.
"We are so going to watch all John Brady's movies before he comes in July," Andrea was not joking. "I'm so going to stay at your place so frequently you'll have to get a restraining order to get rid of me," she added and they laughed.
"What movie is he going to shoot here anyway?" Sandy asked.
"It's the second installment of that assassin movie 'Wicked Games' ... haven't you seen that one?"
Sandy shook her head. She's not big on movies and celebrities even though she hosted many of them in her cottage, she doesn't really know who they are.
"I've seen his other movies though, where he played the detective solving a murder and the other one where he played the doctor ... so six months, huh? We have to start doing some renovations and maintenance soon, I have the list ready."
"You're gonna love him, Sandy, he's an absolute gem!"
"I hope so ... having to live with someone in the same compound for six months, I hope he's no Robby Dalton," Sandy was referring to a bad celebrity guest she hosted before.
"You probably won't be seeing a lot of him 'cause they say he's a really private guy ... he goes about his way alone most of the time, so his management won't be there either, they'll stay at a hotel."
That's good news for Sandy because she doesn't like a lot of people on her property as well. As for privacy, she's one who indulges in total isolation, it sounds like the arrangement with Mr. Brady was going to work out like a charm. "I'm gonna spend time with Kevin a lot before July, though, he won't be able to come once John Brady starts renting the cottage."
"Why?"
"He specifically asked no child under 6 allowed in the premises."
Andrea's jaw dropped, "You did not agree to that?? Did you?"
"You didn't even read the list, did you?" Sandy mocked her.
"But ... how is that going to work out?"
Sandy made a calming gesture with her hand, "It's fine ... I'll take care of it, don't worry about it, Kevin can stay at my mom's for six months, I can just stay there instead of my place," she assured her.
Andrea sat back, she trusted Sandy with that decision. "People say he's a really nice guy, maybe he'll change his mind when the time comes."
Sandy nodded, "Maybe."
"You know he lost his son when he was only 14 months old? It was a long time ago but he never had another one after that," Andrea said.
"Oh, poor guy ... maybe that's why he doesn't want kids in the area, what about his wife? I thought you said he wasn't married?"
"He wasn't, it was his fiancé and they broke up after their son's death ... even worse, his ex-fiancé committed suicide after they've broken up."
Sandy covered her mouth with one hand, "Oh, dear, how tragic, he must've been devastated."
"Yeah, he went into depression for a few years after that, but that was a long time ago, maybe fifteen years ago."
Sandy was silent after that. Some people don't understand that tragedies, no matter how long it's been, are still tragedies. And the pain never really goes away. They just got better at coping with it, she had her share of tragedy herself.
She texted Lucas that night to tell him that she won't be taking the job after all. He was disappointed of course, but he was still hopeful. He told her that the position will always be open for her. Lucas was a divorcee who started his business in Bhorma five years earlier. They knew each other through Andrea who introduced them at a party one night, not long after he moved to the island. They were friends ever since, even though Lucas wanted the relationship to grow into something more, Sandy always had him at arm's length.
John Brady was not young anymore. He was a heart-throb, as they call it, back in his younger days, but never really lost his charms and even gained more charisma as he got older. At the age of 45, he did most of his stunts himself, which can be dangerous at times. He played characters much younger than his age because he didn't look a day older than 30. He loved what he did for a living, never spent more than three to six months at a time without work.
Tall, dark, and handsome. Sandy had to look up to talk to him. His skin was pinkish after a short exposure to the Bhorma sunlight. He was sweating underneath his motorbike apparel. He took off his helmet and his shades, he greeted her politely with a firm handshake. She noticed his black, unruly hair, his thick beard had a few gray hairs sticking out. He looked exactly the way he did in the movies, only much real.
The handle of her bedroom door was rattling, she remembered to have locked it before she went to sleep. It was rattling rather noisily, followed by a bang, then stopped. Her heart was pulsing, she curled up on her bed and waited in silence. The door smashed open and a dark figure stormed into her room. She jolted out of bed, gasping for air. It was just a dream. She was trembling, overcome with fear. She had to calm herself down before cautiously walking out to the kitchen for some water.
"Why can't I stay with you. mommy? I miss you," Kevin pleaded.She hugged him tighter, "Oh I miss you too, baby, it's just that ... I have work to do ... I'll be back tomorrow, okay? We'll go to the playground and we'll have some ice cream." She was holdin
"You're kidding, right?!" Andrea couldn't believe her ears as she licked through her ice cream. Sandy told her about her late-night conversation with John Brady, and Andrea just flipped like a burger. "Oh my God, I envy you so much right now, I could kill you!"
The only thing that was weighing on her mind about her newfound friendship was ... she hadn't told him about her son. Their conversations never went there. It's not so much that she was worried he didn't want young children to be on the premises, it was more of the follow-up questions that she's reluctant to answer.
His life had been a series of short term relationships ever since the tragedy. He couldn't seem to find someone who can stick for more than a few months at a time, a year at best. He's had his share of beautiful faces, sexy bodies, young and older, famous and not, he'd lost count on how many women he'd been with. He was largely driven by his sex drive which leads him into relationships based on casual sex. Women swooned over him, and he caved to the temptation.
She watched him sleep as the sunlight crept upon his skin. How much this man had changed her life, and how much she was going to miss him. She gathered herself, she swore she was going to keep it together for just a few more hours. She slowly got out of bed, put on her clothes, the last thing she wanted was to wake him up.
They held it together as best they can. Two weeks went by like a blink of an eye. Neither one of them was their usual happy self. He held her hand everywhere they went and kissed it every now and again. Those who knew him can see how terrified he was as the last day of shooting was approaching.
She dropped Kevin back at her mother's house. On the way to John's set, she stopped at La Lune. It's been two weeks and she hasn't heard from Lucas. She wanted to know how he was doing.The place was full as usual. The minute his staff saw her coming, they
Lucas took her clothes and left her to finish up in the bathroom. By the time she was done, he was gone. Patrick's body was gone. He had told her to leave as soon as she was ready, he said he would take care of everything. All the other details, she didn't have to know. She tried to put back all the stuff in its place before she left. She wanted to call him so bad but she didn't, she went straight to her cottage and spent a sleepless night alone.
He had to comply. She had the lock and key when it came to conversations about their relationship. Once she had put the lock-in, she threw away the key and he had to comply. One more month, he thought, four more weeks of chances, so he let it go for the time being.
He rented a secret beach for their getaway. Just the two of them, by the pristine beach in the suburbs. He had people set up a glam tent, away from the tide but right on the edge. It was decorated with Christmas lights. The tent was stocked up with wine and a long table of food and desserts. Everything was white right in the middle was a round king size bed.
Sandy took a week off to Bluebridge to be with Kevin. When she returned, they couldn't find their way around to meet for another week. Their bodyguards were always following them around, the next shooting break was not until two more weeks.John brooded a
John was relocated to a hotel, the management increased the security around him. He was going to be moved around from hotel to hotel until further assessment of the situation. The situation caused a real mess for his production.Sandy stayed with Andrea, t
"Are you alright, John? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Sonya asked."No, I'm fine ... shit!!" he ran his fingers through his hair, still annoyed by the circumstances.