Part 7 (1/2)
”If he buys it, we're going to shack up. What do you think of that?” Sophie asked, glad to change the subject.
”You're asking me? If I was as smart as I thought I was, I would've shacked up with seven of my eight husbands. I sure as h.e.l.l wouldn't be in the predicament I'm in now.”
”You're not in a 'predicament' at all. You just think you are. I take it you haven't revealed the magic number to Phil?”
”I haven't had an opportunity. With all this hoopla, we haven't had a moment alone. I'm going to tell him, though. As soon as the production crew leaves, I'm kicking all of your a.s.ses out for the night. Then, when we're alone, I'll tell him. He's really retiring, Soph. At first, I thought he was just telling me that, but he isn't. He's cutting out new patients.”
”Really? 'Cutting'?” Sophie teased.
”Oh, kiss my a.s.s, you know what I mean. He's cutting back on new patients and sending his old patients to his partners. He is the oldest doctor in their practice. He really wants to write that medical thriller he's talked about. Told me it was time to start a new chapter in his life.”
Sophie nodded in agreement. ”You should be with him, Toots. Remember, none of us are getting any younger. We need to grab whatever happiness we can. h.e.l.l, we'll all be seventy this year!”
”Don't remind me. But, hey, we don't look that old-thanks to Ida's miracle cream.”
”True, but you really need to tell Phil why you're not going with him,” Sophie said, then stood up and turned around.
”Yes, she should tell me why she's not going,” Phil said. He'd just arrived for the early-morning taping, thinking it would be a fun day spent with people he truly loved and cared for. Mostly Toots.
Toots whipped around so fast, she was sure she'd suffered whiplash. ”What are you doing here?” she snapped before she could filter the words. She stood up, and Phil backed into the kitchen, allowing Toots and Sophie to step inside without crowding each other.
”I called earlier, but there wasn't any answer,” Phil said, his expression stilled and serious.
Toots wondered how long he'd been standing at the door, but she wasn't about to ask. She prayed he hadn't heard her and Sophie's entire conversation. If so, then she would have no other choice but to tell him her sordid past.
Chapter 12.
Apparently, not long enough, Toots thought, when he leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. She let out a breath, unaware she'd been holding it. Now wasn't the time. With all the comings and goings over the next week, she would do whatever she had to, just to make sure that she wasn't alone with Phil. At least long enough for her to give him a detailed account of her marital history. When the producers packed up, then she would invite Phil over for a nice intimate dinner. He knew she didn't cook, so they'd have to eat Froot Loops again. It wouldn't matter what they ate, she thought as she offered up a hesitant smile.
Grinning, Phil said to Toots, ”You stink.”
She laughed, then pointed to his head. ”Your hair is so stiff it looks like you washed it in formaldehyde. I better ask Mavis or Ida if they're missing any.”
”Hey, if I wanted the stuff, I could get it. Remember, I work in a hospital.”
”True, but don't they keep inventory on that stuff?” She didn't really care, but it was conversation, and anything impersonal worked now.
”Yes, they do. They know where every last aspirin and Band-Aid goes.”
Karen chose that moment to make her announcement. ”We really want to get started, if all of you are ready. As I explained, I want this to be as close to Sophie's normal day as possible. So . . . if everyone is ready?” She let the question hang in the air.
Sophie swallowed the last of her coffee. ”I am not. I'm waiting for . . . Ida. She has to do my face. I don't walk out the door without my face on. So as soon as she's downstairs, we can get started. I can't let the public see me like this.”
Mavis choked on her coffee; Bernice rolled her eyes; Goebel chuckled. Toots knew that Sophie was stalling, but she wasn't exactly sure why. Yes, Sophie had said she had a weird feeling, but why not go on with the production? It would take her mind away from the negative vibes.
Toots poured herself another cup of coffee, adding three huge spoonfuls of sugar and lots of cream. ”Don't say a word,” she said before Phil admonished her for another bad habit.
He held his hands out in front of him. ”I'm not saying a word.”
”Phil, I need to speak to Sophie. Alone. Do you mind?”
Sophie cast her the evil-eye look, and Phil said, ”Go ahead. I'm going to have a bowl of Froot Loops.”
”Thanks.”
Without another word, Toots grabbed Sophie's arm and practically dragged her upstairs to her bedroom, where the cameras were off-limits. ”Tell me why you're stalling. You don't wear makeup every day any more than Phil does. What gives?”
Sophie sat down on the bed next to Toots. She'd dressed in forest green slacks and a matching silk blouse for the shoot. Her long hair was loose, settling on her shoulders. Gold hoops hung from her ears. A diamond necklace given to her for Christmas by Goebel glistened as the early-morning sun peeked through the bedroom windows.
”You never dress like this, Soph. I thought this was supposed to be a reality show.”
Sophie took a deep breath. ”Yeah, well, there is no way in h.e.l.l I'm going on national television looking like a two-dollar tramp. I can't seem to shake this bad energy. I've had it ever since the crew arrived.”
”Look, Sophie, even though your face is fairly well known from Ida's cosmetic line, it's normal to feel a bit nervous when you're about to make your television debut. Didn't they say that if this was successful, they wanted you and Goebel to sign on for a season of specials? I'd be feeling a bit off, too, if it were me,” Toots said, hoping to rea.s.sure her suddenly skittish friend.
”Oh, s.h.i.+t, you know that doesn't bother me. I'm not the least bit camera shy. It's something more. I can't put my finger on it, and I feel as though I should be able to.”
Though it had been a few weeks since they'd held a seance, Toots voiced her thoughts. ”Maybe you need to read their cards. Have a seance while they're here. You might be able to tune in to what's bothering you. Maybe one of them has recently lost a family member, or a friend.”
Sophie got off the bed and began pacing back and forth. ”No, Toots. Trust me, I know those things. This is completely different. It's just-”
She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because Goebel burst into the room. ”It's that girl-something has happened to her!”
With Goebel in the lead, Sophie and Toots rushed downstairs to a scene none of them could have predicted in a million years.
Phil was checking Karen's vitals and speaking into the phone that Bernice held to his ear.
”Blood pressure is dropping,” he told the person on the other line.
Toots knew that Phil carried the proverbial little black bag wherever he went, and today she was grateful.
”What happened?” Toots asked the blond a.s.sistant, who by now was crying. The other a.s.sistant, whose name she had never heard mentioned, answered, instead. ”Karen said her head was hurting. Then she just kinda slid to the floor, and he called 911. I hope she's okay. I really, really need this job. My brother got me this job as a favor. I don't know what will happen to me now,” the young woman said.
Toots wanted to smack her face, but refrained. Instead, she said, ”How the h.e.l.l can you be thinking of yourself at a time like this? This woman could be dying, for all we know!”
Goebel took charge. ”Everyone, calm down. Girls, why don't you and the camera crew wait in the kitchen. There's coffee and pastries on the counter.”
The four TV people did as advised. Goebel stooped beside Phil. ”What's your professional opinion?”
Phil finished his conversation, and Bernice took the phone. Her face was as white as a ghost, and her hands trembled. ”Dear Lord, what's next?” she asked of no one in particular, then headed for the kitchen, her hand placed over her heart like Redd Foxx's character used to do in his old sitcom from the seventies, Sanford and Son.
”I'm not sure,” Phil said as he poked and prodded Karen, who lay unconscious on the floor.
Sophie stared at Karen; then she glanced at Toots. ”This is what I've been talking about! I knew something was going to happen to her before it happened! If she dies-”