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"I have to ignore it, I know that But it doesn’t go away They’ll pull out those pictures, the worst of them, anytime they decide to run with another Janet Hardy story, or when Mohly-pissed tin myself to it"
"I could buy you a puppy"
"A what?" Baffled, she pushed a hand at her hair "Why?"
"Then you could spread these ridiculous papers on the floor for him to poop and pee on"
She suess I should actually finish the house before I put on additions like pets"
"Then why don’t I paint that bedrooht?"
"That’s the one I’ll show you where it is"
FORD STEPPED OUT of the box for a bottle of water and to study the last pencils he’d coes in Cass, after she’d awakened and ed with Brid The look in her eyes, the difference in posture when she was alone She’d changed, and not just when she called out for power, and the sy acaderadually come into her own, until that persona was more of a mask than her true self
Then that loss would become an issue in future volumes
To choose a path to destiny, as the Ie sixty-one, required sacrifice She would never be exactly who or what she had been once that choice was made
Hoould she deal? Ford wondered Hoould she handle who she becaht it would be interesting to find out He hoped the readers did, too
It wouldn’t hurt, he decided, to hit soive a few cryptic hints as to as in store He needed to check his e-mail anyway And an hour break from the ould let the creative juices simmer
He started to sit at his desktop when he heard a knock on his front door Cautious since the Invasion of the Reporters, he checked out thebefore he went down to answer
"Hey, Mr McGowan"
"Ford I hope this isn’t a bad ti a break Cos I’d like to talk with you about"
"Sure" Stupid to feel nervous, Ford told hi time since he’d had ter cold?"
"That would be nice I just finished doing so over at Cilla’s"
"Is there a problem over there?" Ford asked as he led the way to the kitchen
"So about the hot water heater, a protracted debate over drawers versus doors on sos Otherwise, it looks tovery well"
"Cilla seele all the balls Have a seat Tea work for you?"
"Perfect" Gavin waited while Ford poured the cold tea over ice in tall glasses Then he set the tabloids on the counter
Ford glanced down, turned the angle of the top paper for a better view "Ouch Has Cilla seen these?"
"Yes I take it you haven’t"
"No, I’ve been in Centuria , I mean," he explained "How’d she take it?"
"Not well"
"Jesus, could this be any cheesier?" Ford asked, tapping the photo with Janet’s "ghost" "Any twelve-year-old can Photoshop better than that But this insert of Cilla when she was a kid’s pretty cute"
Saying nothing, Gavin opened the paper, watched as Ford skimmed down and saw his own face "Man, I need a haircut I keep ed Lover Rushes to Her Aid’ I don’t appear especially outraged in this shot Concerned would fit better They ought to"
The full phrase, and the fact that Cilla’s father sat at his counter drinking iced tea, sank in, and had hi his throat "Listen, Mr McGowan, Cilla and I- That is, it’s not Well, it is, but-"
"Ford, I’ether, and I don’t own a shotgun"
"Okay Well" He took a deep gulp of tea "Okay then"
"Is it?" Gavin opened another paper "If you read this one, you’ll see it’s suggested you’ve been seduced by the lonely, trapped spirit of Janet Hardy-or you’ve seduced the granddaughter in an attempt to become Janet’s lover"
Ford actually snorted "Sorry, but it just strikes ination, I’d be the reincarnation of so his lust for the reincarnation of Janet Hardy by banging Cilla every chance he gets And God, sorry about the banging comment Really"
Gavin sat back, took a sip of his tea "You were one of ht, creative A bit aard and eccentric, but never dull I always enjoyed what could be called your unique thought process I told Cilla this lad to hear that, considering"
"And considering, what are your intentions towardin my chest" Ford thumped on it "Do you think extree?"
"I doubt it, but I promise to call nine-one-one if necessary" Eyes direct, Gavin inclined his head "After you answer the question"
"I want her to ," he added, rubbing noith the heel of his hand "We’ve only been" Probably not the way to go, Ford decided "We’ve only known each other a few months, but I kno I feel I love her Am I supposed to tell you about my prospects and stuff? This is my first time"
"It’s mine, too I’d say between you and Cilla, your prospects are more than fine I’d also say, inaway" Ford took his first easy breath "She needs me She needs someone who understands and appreciates who she is, and who she’s decided to be And I need her, because who she is, and who she’s decided to be are-big surprise tofor all my life"
"That’s an excellent answer" Gavin rose"I’ to the papers "You handle that with Cilla however you think best I’e of the kitchen, he turned back briefly "Ford, I couldn’t be more pleased"
Pretty dah all the papers, all the stories And knew just how he’d handle it
It took considerable time, but the end result more than satisfied He and Spock crossed the road, and finding the front door locked, Ford used the spare key she’d given hiave a shout and, when she didn’t answer, started upstairs The sound of the shower solved the ht briefly and intensely about joining her, but that would spoil the order of events
Besides, surprising a woman in the shower in a locked house invited screams-and the woman could produce a serious screauest room bed-as it remained the only bed in the house-to wait
She didn’t screah from the amount of air she sucked in when she stulass for five miles if she’d cut loose
"God, Ford You scared the hell out of ured I’d scare you more if I came in the bathroom while you were in the shower" He fisted his hand as if over the hilt of a knife, pumped it and did a fair iht’ve been worse No Spock?"
"He wanted to go see if there were any invisible cats out back"
"I need to get dressed Why don’t you go sit out on the patio I’ll be out in a few ht Irritated And with a faint haze of discourageht as well find out
"I brought you so"
"What? Why don’t you take it down, and I’ll" She trailed off when he took the thin package wrapped in tabloid paper from behind his back
She hitched the towel a little more securely between her breasts "So, you’ve seen the friends Matt and Brian, snuck off the job to co me about it Punish them as you will But meanwhile, open your present"
"I’m sorry I’m really sorry I coles And I walked straight into it by using my mother’s publicist in the first place Stupid, stupid, stupid"
"Okay, you can claim the stupid award Open your present" He patted the bed beside hie he put in her lap
"I didn’t use pages with any of the stories on theht want to make a scrapbook"
"It’s not funny, Ford"
"Then you’re really not going to like your present I’ll just take it back, bury it in the backyard Where I may come across some worms we can both eat"
"Really not funny You have absolutely no idea" Te the paper Then she could only stare down
It was a slim volume, comic-book style, she supposed The cover held a full-color drawing of her and Ford, locked in a passionate embrace Over their heads, in what she could only call a lurid font, the title read:
THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES AND
MANY LIVES OF CILLA AND FORD
"You wrote a comic book?"
"It’s really more a very short, illustrated story Inspired by recent events Co to say, not initially The five pages he’d done in black and white, coue balloons, narrative captions and illustrations, ranged froraphic to brutally funny
She kept her face expressionless-she still had soh
"This" She tapped her finger on a panel depicting Ford, fulla naked Cilla into his arms while Spock covered his face with his paws "I don’t think this is to scale A certain attribute is exaggerated "
"It’s my attribute, and I’m the artist"
"And do you really think I’d ever say, ’Oh, Ford, Ford, hammer me home’?"
"Everyone’s a critic"
"But I do like this part in the beginning, where the horny ghosts of Janet and Steve McQueen are floating over our sleeping bodies"
"It seeot it on in the pond Plus, if I’ to be possessed by the spirit of somebody, he’d be top of the cool scale"
"All-tireed "I also like how the paparazzo falls out of the tree while taking pictures through the bedroom , and the little X’s in his eyes in the next panel before Spock drags him off to bury him But my favorite, possibly, is the last panel, where all four of us are in bed sratification on our faces"
"I like a happy ending"
She looked up froreen eyes "And this is your way of telling iving you another way to take it, if you want"
She scooted back to prop herself at the head of the bed "Let’s have a table read I’ll be Cilla and Janet, you’re Ford and Steve"
"Okay" He moved back to sit beside her
"Then, we’ll act it out"
He grinned over at her "Even better"