Sellevision - Augusten Burroughs [80]
Debby dabbed at her eyes with a corner of the napkin. “The only good thing is, they just got a movie deal from Streistar for their life story. So at least they’ll have some money for college. Or whatever.”
Peggy Jean placed her hands on Debby’s shoulders. “There’s always a silver lining.” And then, alarmed, she blurted out, “I forgot to say grace!”
The two women left the cafeteria and Peggy Jean thought, Well, if she can survive all of that . . .
“W
hat are the chances? I mean, how many people named Rosalind who were living in Brooklyn and married to police officers in the mid 1950s gave their first son up for adoption?” Bebe asked Eliot as they sat on his sofa.
“It’s just incredible,” Eliot said. “I mean, we really should do a talk show.”
Bebe smiled. “I was so terrified, Eliot.” She reached for her glass of wine.
“I knew it couldn’t be true,” Eliot told her.
She took a sip of wine. “You were scared shitless,” she said.
“I knew in my heart that it couldn’t be true, because God couldn’t be that cruel.”
It had only taken a quick call to Bebe’s mother, Rose, to clear the matter up. Her mother told her that she had never searched for the baby she gave up for adoption. She hadn’t phoned Eliot. There was no way Eliot was Bebe’s brother. Bebe was just being crazy. Period.
Bebe wasn’t so sure.
“Does he have a large birthmark shaped like an owl on his chest?” her mother had asked.
“No,” Bebe had said. She even made Eliot lift his shirt so she could look for a scar. But there was nothing but a normal chest.
Of course, the confusion had made a wonderful story for her to talk about on her Sunday Dazzling Diamonelle show. It had also shown her how much she cared for Eliot and how devastating the thought of losing him was to her. It was a relief to know that her relationship was okay. Unlike, it appeared, Peggy Jean’s.
Yesterday Bebe was having lunch with Joyce DeWitt, who was in town for one of her Joyce’s Choice shows. Bebe happened to notice John Smythe sitting at a table with a young girl. They were tucked away at a rear table in the restaurant, but it was impossible not to see them. They were practically going at it, right there on the table.
“What are you thinking?” Eliot asked.
“I was thinking if I ever catch you licking a young girl’s wrist in public, I’ll kill you.”
“What?” Eliot laughed.
“I mean it, I’ll send you right through that dry-cleaning machine of yours.”
Eliot picked up Bebe’s hand and licked her wrist. “There’s only one wrist I want to lick, I promise.” She smiled at him. He studied her face for a moment. “We really do have the same nose, don’t we?”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Bebe said. “I want to take a quick trip over to CVS and pick up some of those strips that you stick on your nose, you know, for your pores. Actually, maybe we could stop at the Gap along the way. I could use . . .”
T
rish slid the post of the gold-finish Diana-Dodi Double Hoop Forever earring through her ear. She gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, then nodded her approval. She had twenty-five minutes before going on air, just enough time to have a quick cup of herbal tea. She walked to the hosts’ lounge and said hello to Adele, who was microwaving some popcorn. “Smells good,” Trish said.
“Help me eat it?”
“Can’t,” Trish smiled. “Just brushed my teeth.” She took a bag of Earl Grey out of the box and dropped it into a white Styrofoam cup. “Your Kitchen Creations show was fantastic. Is that lobster ice cream really as good as you said?”
“It honestly is, believe it or not,” Adele said, straightening the eagle feather in her hair.
Trish filled her cup with hot water. “Well, I’d better be running along.”
“Good luck with your show. Love your earrings.”
Trish brought the cup of tea back into her office and sat at her desk. Max was gone, Leigh was gone, and Peggy Jean probably wouldn’t be returning to the show. She smiled. To top it off, the new head of broadcast production, Keith Everheart, was crazy about her. He’d even flirted