Chapter Ten

Life in the Fast Lane

The Eagles

Three Weeks Later

October 28th

The trip to Düsseldorf went as planned. Callestah made her opening and had her photograph taken on the arm of Andrew Hartley and several other people as well. She went through with her press junkets and rubbed elbows with all the right people. She took all the right pills and huffed lines up her nose as though they were nothing stronger than pixie stix powder. The last surgery left her in chronic pain for which she took several prescribed pain killers and several that were not. The track marks in the sole of her foot were growing alarming black but that couldn’t be helped. Three days from now on Halloween she was opening her European Grand Finale at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice and it was an event to end all events. Anyone who was anyone had been invited to the gala bash.

After that they would go back to New York where she had her final show at the New York Museum of Art in four weeks and after that all of her paintings which had been so prominently displayed across the world would go up for sale. THEN this would all be over.

For right now they were holed up in the villa and enjoying a break in the chaos before packing up and leaving tomorrow afternoon. They wouldn’t be back to this little villa and Callestah was going to miss it very much. It was cozy. Andy was coming into the living area with a pack of papers in his hands. “Sorry this took so long, dahling.” He said sheepishly. “But I wanted to make sure we got it right. Have a look at these and tell me what you think.”

Callestah took the papers in her numb hands and realized it was the reply to Daniel’s divorce suit. Andy’s lawyers replied that they were counter-suing on grounds of Abandonment and Mental Cruelty. “What is this?” She asked as she continued to scan it. “Daniel didn’t abandon me and he was never cruel to me.”

“It’s just legal jargon, love, that’s all. It just means he left you before you left him.”

“How do you come to that?”

“All the times he went away without you.” Andy explained easily. “That’s mental abandonment, dear and it’s mental cruelty. All of that forced you into leaving him and coming to me.”

“None of that is true!” She shouted. “What are you doing? Why can’t we just end this?”

“Because he’s being a selfish little prick, my dear.” Andy chided and reached out for her hand. “Really, darlin’, we just can’t let him get his hands on your paintings. That’s all he’s after…money.”

“Daniel would never do that.”

“You read the original papers, I explained them to you, that’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s going to draw this out and make it as ugly as possible. We have to fight back. Now just sign there where the X is and give it back to me.”

“No.” She tossed the papers down on the table.

“What did you say, darlin’?”

“I want to talk to Daniel first.”

“You can’t do that, love, you’re in the middle of litigation. You can’t talk to each other without your lawyers present it’s too late for that. Just sign it and we’ll get packed.” He handed over a pen.

Callestah took the pen from his hand and put it down on the table on top of the paperwork. Reaching under the table she opened a secret drawer and pulled out a baggie of cocaine. Callestah cut up on lines on the legal documents and sniffed them off. “I think I’d like some tea.” She said to Andy. “Be a dear and get it for me won’t you, love?”

“Fine just sign the bloody documents.” Andy hoisted himself out of the chair and went to the kitchen to brew two cups of magick mushroom tea. A few moments later he was coming back into the living room and she was sniffing more lines up her nose. Callestah didn’t notice she was bleeding and getting it all over the documents. “Oh for gods sake!” Andy put the cups down and shoved her away from the table. Callestah tumbled backward to the floor. “Look at the mess you’re making! How many times have I told you to slow down with that stuff?” Taking the handkerchief from his breast pocket he wiped the blood off the documents and then away from her face. “Really darlin’ you’ve just got to hold it together for a few more weeks.” Day by day since those damn divorce papers showed up she was certainly becoming more trouble than she was worth.

Callestah shook her head to clear it and brushed herself off before coming back to the table. “This ends my marriage?” She asked as he laid the papers out on the table again.

“No, it’s just informing him you intend to counter sue. However,” he pulled a separate packet of papers from the back, “this one separates the two of you legally. We should have done this in the beginning then he wouldn’t have been able to come after the new paintings you’ve done at least.”

Callestah looked at the paper but the letters and words just seemed to float around on the page and she couldn’t read it not with the coke fresh in her brain and the pain killers she’d downed a little while ago kicking in. “What does it mean?”

“It means you’re not divorced but you’re not actually married anymore either. That the two of you can go and live separate lives without being hindered by the other one.” He explained in a strained voice. “Will you please just sign them.”

Callestah put pen to paper and scribbled out something that looked like her name—which Andy had legally changed to just Callestah and that was the only name which appeared where she signed. No Calla. No Jackson. She signed where indicated on all the forms and then handed them back to him. “Happy?”

“Delighted. Drink your tea.” Andy scooped up the legal documents straightened them into a nice neat pile and then put them on the dining table. “I know this is upsetting but really it’s for the best.” He said to her. “I’m sorry I pushed you.”

“You what?” She asked as she looked up at him from her place on the floor her eyes were dull and glassy.

Andy crouched down on his knees next to her. “Don’t you remember? Just now?” She just shook her head as she reached for the magick box once more. “I think you’ve had enough right now, dear.” Andy took the box out of her hand and slid it back under the table. Obviously her short term memory was blown out. Looking at her so distraught, so pale, so much in pain, a wicked idea began to form in the back of his mind. A way to keep all the money for himself and get rid of her.

“Please just a little more?” Calla asked and kicked off the stiletto heel on her right foot. Andy loved these stupid shoes he said they made her sexier, taller and made those legs of her look like they went right up to her neck. She held the bottom of her foot out to him. There were deep track lines there. “Please? It hurts.”

“What hurts, darlin’?” Andy asked in a soft voice.

“Everything.”

“Hum, my poor dear,” he sympathized in a chiding voice. “Just a few more weeks and all will be well, I promise you, my love.” Andy took the box out from its hiding place and cooked her up a shot. “Not much longer now.” He said as he slipped the needle into her skin and depressed the plunger shooting the poison into her. “That’s it now, it’ll be all better very soon.”

“Andy?”

“Yes, my dear.” He said as he put the kit away.

“It’s been three weeks,” Callestah said softly and bit lightly on her bottom lip.

“What’s been three weeks?”

“Since the doctors said we could try.” She held out her arms to him. “Will you make love with me? Please.”

Yes it had been three weeks since the doctors cleared them to make the attempt at vaginal intercourse but well Andy just wasn’t in to it. The scars were hideous, yes very much the turn-off for him. “They also said we need to be careful of the skin on your back.” He reminded her easily. “That we mustn’t do anything to stretch it unnecessarily.” Andy reminded her and that was all true. “Why don’t you paint something that will take your mind off things for a while.”

Calla grabbed his hand as he went to stand up. “Please, Andy, just kiss me for a while? Hold me, lie down with me. Please?”

“No,” he said in a colder voice than he wanted. “Look darlin’, I have to get these papers off to Daniel before we leave tomorrow. Maybe we later we’ll kiss and cuddle, all right? For now just go out on the lanai it’s a lovely afternoon all your supplies are out there. Go and paint me something beautiful.” Andy stood up leaving her on the floor, he put on his sports jacket, he picked up the papers she’d signed and headed toward the door. “I’ll be back later.” Andy left her there alone.

The tea she drank and the shot she took were supposed to make things better. The tea was supposed to make her giggle and the heroin was supposed to take the pain away. Neither of those things happened. Calla lay on the floor a long time and had herself a good heroin induced crying jag. Everything was gone. There was nothing left for her here at all. After a while, how long she didn’t know, Calla picked herself up from the floor.

Paint me something beautiful.

That’s what Andy said before he left. Calla wandered out of the living room past the kitchen and down the hall to the bedroom she shared with Andy less and less frequently. Her old overnight bag was stuffed under the bed and she pulled it out. From it she produced two things; Aphrodite’s anklet and the photograph of the four of them on their wedding day. Even though bending down hurt she put the anklet on and took the photograph out to the lanai.

One last painting.

Something Beautiful.

Coming right up.

End of Chapter Ten
Tarnished Heroes: Life in the Fast Lane--Calla's Story
Continue to
Chapter Eleven