Moments pt 24
Several hours later in the night Meryl was beginning to wake up. Having no idea where she was and barely being able to see an inch in front of her face. Wherever she was it was pitch black. She could feel a throbbing sensation in the back of her head, when she moved to touch it she felt a warm stickiness that she knew must be blood.
She couldn’t understand what had happened. The last thing she remembered was locking up the cabin and after that it was lights out.
Just then she heard a noise and saw the door opening and through the light spilling in from the door way there was Jack.
“Glad to see you’re awake.”
She could feel herself panicking. She had never thought Jack would do something like this and now she was beating herself up for not having seen what he was capable of. As he started walking toward her she leapt backward, slamming up against the freezing stone of the concrete wall. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she could feel herself starting to shake as she began to cry.
Because she had closed her eyes upon beginning to cry she hadn’t noticed that Jack was sitting next to her on the cot that was her bed.
He placed his hand on the side of her face and said in an almost warm tone. “Its okay.”
Upon feeling his hand on her face she flinched and that made Jack mad, his hand lowered and took a forceful hold on her neck. “Don’t you worry Meryl, before you know it you will love me again like you did before and then we can have the life we were meant to have.”
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Meanwhile back at the cabin the cops were scoping out what was now a crime scene, all the children had subsequently arrived as had Meryl’s makeup artist Roy. Don was unable to stand still, all he could do was pace and wonder what had happened to her.
Moments later one of the detectives on the scene walked into the main room of the cabin where all the Gummer’s and Roy were located.
“Mr. Gummer?”
Upon hearing his name being called he stopped his pacing and looked toward the door where the voice came from. He saw the lead detective whose name was Phillip Masson holding an overnight bag that he knew belonged to Meryl as well as a stuffed camel he immediately recognized as Betty.
“Do you recognize these things Mr. Gummer?”
He wasn’t able to speak so all he did was nod.
“We found these things in the back seat of the car that you keep in your garage.”
The detective handed the items over to Don who immediately opened the overnight bag and found the books Meryl had purchased among a few other odds and ends; he couldn’t help but smile when he saw that the books were on people who suffered from memory loss and were trying to trigger their mind into remembering.
Phillip was standing next to Don while he looked at the books and knew instantly what they were. You had to be living under a rock to not know about the accident that had occurred several weeks prior and the subsequent memory loss that followed. It was the main story in the news ever since it had been revealed. He had tremendous sympathy for Don and his children knowing the hell they had gone through in the last weeks and now knowing that hell became much worse.
“Has Mrs. Gummer regained any of her memories since the accident?”
Don went on to tell about the couple of dreams she had had since the accident. Her feeling that she had put her career before her husband and children, having doubts if she was really the kind of woman her family had described to her or if she was just like every other celebrity in Hollywood who was selfish and self-involved unwilling or unable of putting anyone above herself.
The children were shocked by this, seeing as this was the first time they had heard anything to that affect.
“Dad why didn’t you tell us this? How could mom possibly think that she has been anything short of a fantastic mother?” Henry asked. Since the accident he had abandoned California and set up shop in New York. As the oldest child, the only son, and the one who had the closest, strongest relationship with their mother he felt he had to stay close by. He had noticed how lost and confused she had been since the accident, he knew it was his turn to be there for her instead of the other way around, the way it had been for the majority of his life as well as his siblings.
He saw the shocked look in his sons eyes and the tears that were welling up in his daughters eyes upon learning what they had he felt like he had been punched in the gut for the second time that day.
“I did everything I could to convince your mother that it was nonsense, that nothing could have been further from the truth. I think she believed me to an extent. We went to see a marriage counselor before she came up here. It was the therapist’s idea for her to come here, thinking if your mother removed all of the stress and pressure she has felt during the last several weeks it would help her relax and maybe also help her remember as well. She and I talked at least twice a day, every day, since she has been up here. Until yesterday.”
Looking all of the Gummer’s over and then resting his gave back on Don Phillip asked the question he had been needing to ask upon arriving a few hours prior. “Is there anyone who would do this, anyone who wants to hurt your wife?”
Henry took the initiative for his father and said what all of the Gummers were thinking. “Jack.”
Phillip nodded to this and Don went on to tell him about the brief relationship Meryl had had with him almost 40 years before. His reoccurrence in her life shortly before her accident, as well as showing up at their home in Connecticut while she was recuperating. Don also informed him about the PI he hired and finding the shrine in Jacks home. Don had been meticulous in keeping records of everything he learned about Jack and told the detective he had the papers back at his home in New York.
Phillip nodded along to all of this and then asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “I’m going to need to see that paper work as soon as possible. Now do you think this Jack character is dangerous?”
In that moments Don looked at Roy. Over the years the two men had gotten very close, and become great friends. Since the accident he was able to talk to Roy in a way he wasn’t able to with anyone else, not his children or Meryl’s brothers. He had confided in Roy how scared he was that she would never remember their life together, that Jack was up to something, that he wasn’t sure he had what it took to protect his wife from the fall out, and how all of those things made him feel like a failure.
Roy had been with Meryl for over 35 years first as her makeup man than as her friend, she often coined him with the title of being her best friend. They told each other everything. He was one of the first people who knew about her relationship with Don, later on when they got married, the pregnancies, the fights, the separations due to her career as well as Don’s, the sometimes tumultuous relationship she had with Don’s parents, how shattered she was when she lost her parents, her insecurities and fears over the years about her looks and becoming older and not as marketable when it came to her career. There were times through the years when Don hadn’t been able to travel with her and Roy had been there to make her laugh, to cheer her up when she was feeling down.
In private she was so much different than what the public would ever know. She was humble, funny, down to earth and simply the most beautiful woman he knew. He knew how hard she and Don both worked not to become another Hollywood statistic, how much they poured into their children to do what they could to ensure that they were healthy, happy and stable unlike the majority of Hollywood’s next generation. He knew about Meryl’s fetish with knitting and game shows, how much she hated golf but tolerated it because Don loved it. He knew she had moments of crippling insecurity and how she often worried that she would never be able to live up to the title of ‘the world’s greatest living actress’, which was a title that she found absurd and hilarious at the same time.
He knew about the preparation, time and energy she poured into her roles to ensure they were as authentic and realistic as possible. How the highlight of her day was talking to Don about their days whether they were together or not, how much she valued and respected his opinion, how she counted on him for his strength and sense of humor. How all that really mattered to her was that Don and her children were healthy and happy and everything else was second on the list.
He hated the toll this accident had taken on his two best friends and their children, the children that he loved as though they were his own. He hated Jack for coming back onto the scene and disrupting their life, the way he was trying to diminish Meryl’s self-confidence and belief that she was in fact a good person.
At the same time he knew how hard it was, at times, for Don to come to grips with the power that was Meryl’s career, the separations, the rumors, feeling as though he had to share her with the world. Yet Don was always the one who was the most excited whenever Meryl was nominated for an award and was always the one to encourage her when she thought of backing away from a part because she thought she couldn’t do it.
Roy had an insight into the two of them that he knew no one else had and he knew that Don was feeling guilty for allowing Meryl to come up here to Maine in the middle of nowhere when he knew that Jack was still on the prowl.
He and Don shared a knowing look with one another and Roy answered the question that Don couldn’t bring himself to answer. Was Jack dangerous? Looking Detective Masson in the eye Roy said “I would be willing to bet my life on it.”
TBC…
I’m sorry I made you guys wait so long for this chapter, but it seemed to take forever and then yesterday it seemed to pour out. I’m going to make every attempt to update more frequently, every 7-10 days is the scope I’m looking at.
Some of you may know this, I respond well to comments and hearing what you guys think, so please don’t be shy in your thoughts.
If it sucked tell me, if you liked it tell me, and I will do my best to incorporate any ideas you may have.
She couldn’t understand what had happened. The last thing she remembered was locking up the cabin and after that it was lights out.
Just then she heard a noise and saw the door opening and through the light spilling in from the door way there was Jack.
“Glad to see you’re awake.”
She could feel herself panicking. She had never thought Jack would do something like this and now she was beating herself up for not having seen what he was capable of. As he started walking toward her she leapt backward, slamming up against the freezing stone of the concrete wall. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she could feel herself starting to shake as she began to cry.
Because she had closed her eyes upon beginning to cry she hadn’t noticed that Jack was sitting next to her on the cot that was her bed.
He placed his hand on the side of her face and said in an almost warm tone. “Its okay.”
Upon feeling his hand on her face she flinched and that made Jack mad, his hand lowered and took a forceful hold on her neck. “Don’t you worry Meryl, before you know it you will love me again like you did before and then we can have the life we were meant to have.”
------------------------------------
Meanwhile back at the cabin the cops were scoping out what was now a crime scene, all the children had subsequently arrived as had Meryl’s makeup artist Roy. Don was unable to stand still, all he could do was pace and wonder what had happened to her.
Moments later one of the detectives on the scene walked into the main room of the cabin where all the Gummer’s and Roy were located.
“Mr. Gummer?”
Upon hearing his name being called he stopped his pacing and looked toward the door where the voice came from. He saw the lead detective whose name was Phillip Masson holding an overnight bag that he knew belonged to Meryl as well as a stuffed camel he immediately recognized as Betty.
“Do you recognize these things Mr. Gummer?”
He wasn’t able to speak so all he did was nod.
“We found these things in the back seat of the car that you keep in your garage.”
The detective handed the items over to Don who immediately opened the overnight bag and found the books Meryl had purchased among a few other odds and ends; he couldn’t help but smile when he saw that the books were on people who suffered from memory loss and were trying to trigger their mind into remembering.
Phillip was standing next to Don while he looked at the books and knew instantly what they were. You had to be living under a rock to not know about the accident that had occurred several weeks prior and the subsequent memory loss that followed. It was the main story in the news ever since it had been revealed. He had tremendous sympathy for Don and his children knowing the hell they had gone through in the last weeks and now knowing that hell became much worse.
“Has Mrs. Gummer regained any of her memories since the accident?”
Don went on to tell about the couple of dreams she had had since the accident. Her feeling that she had put her career before her husband and children, having doubts if she was really the kind of woman her family had described to her or if she was just like every other celebrity in Hollywood who was selfish and self-involved unwilling or unable of putting anyone above herself.
The children were shocked by this, seeing as this was the first time they had heard anything to that affect.
“Dad why didn’t you tell us this? How could mom possibly think that she has been anything short of a fantastic mother?” Henry asked. Since the accident he had abandoned California and set up shop in New York. As the oldest child, the only son, and the one who had the closest, strongest relationship with their mother he felt he had to stay close by. He had noticed how lost and confused she had been since the accident, he knew it was his turn to be there for her instead of the other way around, the way it had been for the majority of his life as well as his siblings.
He saw the shocked look in his sons eyes and the tears that were welling up in his daughters eyes upon learning what they had he felt like he had been punched in the gut for the second time that day.
“I did everything I could to convince your mother that it was nonsense, that nothing could have been further from the truth. I think she believed me to an extent. We went to see a marriage counselor before she came up here. It was the therapist’s idea for her to come here, thinking if your mother removed all of the stress and pressure she has felt during the last several weeks it would help her relax and maybe also help her remember as well. She and I talked at least twice a day, every day, since she has been up here. Until yesterday.”
Looking all of the Gummer’s over and then resting his gave back on Don Phillip asked the question he had been needing to ask upon arriving a few hours prior. “Is there anyone who would do this, anyone who wants to hurt your wife?”
Henry took the initiative for his father and said what all of the Gummers were thinking. “Jack.”
Phillip nodded to this and Don went on to tell him about the brief relationship Meryl had had with him almost 40 years before. His reoccurrence in her life shortly before her accident, as well as showing up at their home in Connecticut while she was recuperating. Don also informed him about the PI he hired and finding the shrine in Jacks home. Don had been meticulous in keeping records of everything he learned about Jack and told the detective he had the papers back at his home in New York.
Phillip nodded along to all of this and then asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “I’m going to need to see that paper work as soon as possible. Now do you think this Jack character is dangerous?”
In that moments Don looked at Roy. Over the years the two men had gotten very close, and become great friends. Since the accident he was able to talk to Roy in a way he wasn’t able to with anyone else, not his children or Meryl’s brothers. He had confided in Roy how scared he was that she would never remember their life together, that Jack was up to something, that he wasn’t sure he had what it took to protect his wife from the fall out, and how all of those things made him feel like a failure.
Roy had been with Meryl for over 35 years first as her makeup man than as her friend, she often coined him with the title of being her best friend. They told each other everything. He was one of the first people who knew about her relationship with Don, later on when they got married, the pregnancies, the fights, the separations due to her career as well as Don’s, the sometimes tumultuous relationship she had with Don’s parents, how shattered she was when she lost her parents, her insecurities and fears over the years about her looks and becoming older and not as marketable when it came to her career. There were times through the years when Don hadn’t been able to travel with her and Roy had been there to make her laugh, to cheer her up when she was feeling down.
In private she was so much different than what the public would ever know. She was humble, funny, down to earth and simply the most beautiful woman he knew. He knew how hard she and Don both worked not to become another Hollywood statistic, how much they poured into their children to do what they could to ensure that they were healthy, happy and stable unlike the majority of Hollywood’s next generation. He knew about Meryl’s fetish with knitting and game shows, how much she hated golf but tolerated it because Don loved it. He knew she had moments of crippling insecurity and how she often worried that she would never be able to live up to the title of ‘the world’s greatest living actress’, which was a title that she found absurd and hilarious at the same time.
He knew about the preparation, time and energy she poured into her roles to ensure they were as authentic and realistic as possible. How the highlight of her day was talking to Don about their days whether they were together or not, how much she valued and respected his opinion, how she counted on him for his strength and sense of humor. How all that really mattered to her was that Don and her children were healthy and happy and everything else was second on the list.
He hated the toll this accident had taken on his two best friends and their children, the children that he loved as though they were his own. He hated Jack for coming back onto the scene and disrupting their life, the way he was trying to diminish Meryl’s self-confidence and belief that she was in fact a good person.
At the same time he knew how hard it was, at times, for Don to come to grips with the power that was Meryl’s career, the separations, the rumors, feeling as though he had to share her with the world. Yet Don was always the one who was the most excited whenever Meryl was nominated for an award and was always the one to encourage her when she thought of backing away from a part because she thought she couldn’t do it.
Roy had an insight into the two of them that he knew no one else had and he knew that Don was feeling guilty for allowing Meryl to come up here to Maine in the middle of nowhere when he knew that Jack was still on the prowl.
He and Don shared a knowing look with one another and Roy answered the question that Don couldn’t bring himself to answer. Was Jack dangerous? Looking Detective Masson in the eye Roy said “I would be willing to bet my life on it.”
TBC…
I’m sorry I made you guys wait so long for this chapter, but it seemed to take forever and then yesterday it seemed to pour out. I’m going to make every attempt to update more frequently, every 7-10 days is the scope I’m looking at.
Some of you may know this, I respond well to comments and hearing what you guys think, so please don’t be shy in your thoughts.
If it sucked tell me, if you liked it tell me, and I will do my best to incorporate any ideas you may have.