Chapter 87

3 p.m. Saturday

Rita and Robert's escapade on the office desk was interrupted by the persistent buzzing of a cell phone.

"I forgot to call Regan," Rita admitted with chagrin. Her husband reluctantly let her arise and watched as she tugged her shorts back up her legs. She wasn't about to talk to their daughter while she was naked, he decided.

Robert took the opportunity to pull his boxers up from around his ankles. Rita was looking at her phone when it buzzed again.

"Camille's called a dozen times," she said anxiously.

"Answer it," Robert advised.

Camille was about hang up again. She had tried to track down her son but he wasn't picking up the phone. She didn't have a number for anyone else in his circle of friends - and oversight she vowed to rectify the next time she spoke to Andy. She had talked to Collette Dalrymple again only to find out that Joy had disappeared with some of her friends - leaving her phone behind - and Collette didn't have a number for Regan either.

She pulled the phone back to her ear when she heard a voice through the speaker.

"Sorry to bother you," Camille said. "I've been trying to call Andy for a couple of hours and he never picks up. I was hoping you could give me Regan's number. It's important or I wouldn't have interrupted your weekend."

"Oh, sure," Rita said. "Uh, look it's no problem."

"It is a big problem," Camille said with a sigh. "Uh, this affects you, too, I suppose. A newspaper in London has been tracking Andy. I'm not sure how far along things are but it might be messy. I need to let him know."

"He knows," Rita said, hitting the speaker button.

"He does?" Camille wondered. "That son of a bitch had better not have called my son!"

"I spoke to Regan," Rita cut in. "They found out from Joy Dalrymple. Do you remember her?"

"I remember her," Camille confirmed. "She was supposed to have Andy call me!"

"Take it easy," Rita offered. "The story isn't going to run - now or ever. I was able to find the man that owns the paper and put a stop to it."

"Evan traced it back to something called Monolith," Camille said. "His people said they ran into a bunch of problems finding the owners. They can do it but it probably wouldn't be until after the story ran. You found him?"

"I ... I have files on a lot of people in the business world," Rita admitted. "I have a file on Evan, too. I should have told him but ... well, shit. When I found out about him, I had my people send me the file. If it's any consolation, he's exactly what he seems to be - and that's rare."

"I figured as much," Camille said, relaxing slightly. She wished she had called Rita first thing but the concept of having powerful allies was so foreign that it never occurred to her. "How did you talk him into killing the story?"

"I threatened his family," Rita confessed with chagrin. She expected Camille to be angry. Instead, she was greeted with laughter.

"I called the reporter and told him that I would kick the shit out of his mother, his wife and his kids," Camille replied when she stopped laughing. The release of nervous energy was making her giddy. She motioned for Evan to end his call and then she sat down beside Anne, who was still disconsolate about her actions.

"That explains something I couldn't figure out," Robert cut in. Camille figured out that she was on speaker and did the same for the others with her.

"What's that?" Rita asked.

"The guy said the writer had already pulled the story," Robert explained. "He seemed surprised so I didn't think he was lying about it. It looks like your promise had already taken care of everything."

"For now," Camille said. "The truth is, they weren't lying. It's going to come out eventually - and it's going to drag your family into things, too."

"We were always going to be involved," Robert said. "So long as Regan and Andy are a couple, he was going to get noticed. We ... we didn't do a good job of explaining reality to Regan and I think Andy got roped in without knowing how things would turn out. I'm truly sorry about that."

He sighed.

"We really need to sit down with them and explain things," he added.

"They're not stupid," Evan said. "Andy talked to me about this very thing earlier in the week - well, not about a tabloid but about the loss of anonymity being Regan's boyfriend and my son would entail. He understands and he's OK with it. Certainly, he wasn't jumping for joy but it understands its part and parcel to how his life truly is. If it's a consolation, he has decided that being with Regan is worth the loss of some aspects of his privacy."

"And I'm sure he decided that being your son was worth it, too," Camille said, putting her hand atop Evan's. "And that being Anne's grandson was just as worthwhile."

"I worry that my foolishness will alienate him," Anne admitted.

"Then we need to make certain that it doesn't," Rita said. "I know he already loves you, Anne. He's told me that you're exactly how he always pictured a grandmother."

"I don't mean to sound silly but why are we talking about his over the phone?" Robert wondered. "It's a beautiful day. Why don't you folks come out here? We'll put some steaks on the grill and talk about what comes next."

"I still need to talk to Andy," Camille said.

"And you can't do that while you're coming out here?" Rita wondered. "Let me give you Regan's number. I doubt they are far apart."

In fact, Andy was almost 15 feet from Regan when her phone buzzed in his hand. He was in the middle of taking a picture so he almost let the call go to voicemail. It wasn't until he recognized his mother's number that he decided to answer.

"Mom?" Andy asked.

"Why in the hell aren't you answering your phone?" Camille hissed.

"I don't have it with me," Andy answered amiably. Joy had filled him in on his mother's temperament so he wasn't surprised that she had been upset.

"Why have the damned thing if you don't carry it?" Camille asked rhetorically. "Well, I understand that you know what's been going on."

"Yep and I've decided that I don't care," Andy replied. "It was only a matter of time and we might as well get it out of the way. I wish it could come from a better source but I've pretty well decided that it doesn't matter who tells the story. People are going to think what they're going to think. I hope Evan isn't too embarrassed but, well, he's a big boy. I'm sure he has the ability to take care of anything that offends him. But, well, if they dragged Regan into things, I'll be joining you in London. Maybe they'll let us share a jail cell after we're finished rampaging through the newspaper offices."

Camille was caught off guard by her son's equanimity.

"Hold on, Regan's mom is calling," he said. He put Camille on hold before she could reply.

"Hi, Rita," he said cheerfully.

"Hi, Andy," Rita replied. "You're supposed to call your mom."

"I'm talking to her right now," he said. "Do you want to talk to Regan?"

"I can wait," Rita said.

"It's no problem," Andy told her. "I can call Mom back from someone else's phone. Hold on a second."

Again, he switched the call before Rita could answer.

"Mom?" he asked. "I'll call you back in a minute."

Camille was left staring at the dead phone in her hand. She sat it down and shook her head.

"How angry is he?" Anne wondered.

"Not at all," Camille said incredulously. "He said it was bound to happen and now was as good a time as any. Then he hung up on me, twice."

She was still looking at her phone when it rang with a number she didn't recognize.

"Sorry," Andy said when she answered. "I had Regan's phone and it seemed rude to make someone calling her wait. So, yeah, I'm OK. You don't need to worry about me."

"We got the story pulled," Camille informed him.

Andy was silent for a moment.

"Seriously?" he asked when the words settled into his brain. "How'd you manage that?"

"I think you know," Camille said. "At least you do if you planned to join me on my rampage. The guy took me seriously."

"Smart man," Andy laughed. "I didn't really get the full story. Joy just said that you had promised to rain hailstones and brim fire down on everyone."

Andy listened while Camille repeated what she told the reporter in London. He looked over to where Regan stood with her phone. She looked stunned so he moved in her direction.

"I..." he heard her say. "I didn't expect you to be able to stop it. I just wanted you to know it was going to happen."

Regan saw Andy approaching and pulled the phone from her ear. She hit the speaker so he could listen, too.

"Camille had already got the story taken down," Rita said through the phone. "Your dad and I just made sure it's not going to crop up again - and that the paper never stoops to hacking a phone again. We just let them know that bringing families into play isn't a good idea until you're sure the family won't make you pay for it."

"Mom did the same thing," Andy said. He decided the speaker idea was solid so he did the same.

"We know," Camille said.

"Oh, you coordinated efforts," Andy said. "That's pretty cool."

"It's cooler than you think," Camille replied. "Because we acted independently but identically. Maybe you should think about that the next time either of you decide to do something stupid."

"It wasn't stupid, Mom," Andy said, putting an arm around Regan again. They stood together with their phones in front of them. "We were goofing around with our friends - doing the same thing we were doing a few minutes ago, if you want to know the truth. I told everyone this so you might as well hear it too. I'm not going to live in a cave. I'm not going to stop doing fun things because Evan is some big shot - or because Rita is a mogul. I'm pretty happy with who I'm becoming and I think Regan is happy with who she is becoming. The rest of the world is going to have to get used to it - and I guess that includes the four of you. Or five counting Grandma."

"I'm very happy with who you're becoming," Anne chimed in. "I wish to apologize to you both. I'm afraid it was my indiscretion that led to this. I mentioned you to someone I considered a friend and she betrayed me. I'm very sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Andy said again - this time to a new source. "This was coming sooner or later. I feel bad that you've lost a friend over it, though."

"I'm worried that I've lost a grandson over it," Anne admitted.

"You haven't," Andy assured her. "Think of it this way: I've invited every friend I know over to meet you because I'm proud that you're my grandmother - not because of a title or anything but because you're you. I hope that you're just as happy to have me as your grandson as I am to have you as my grandmother."

"I am," Anne said in a choked voice. "I was so excited to know you existed. Still, I should have taken your sensibilities into account before I spoke of you."

"Yeah, like I waited to see how you'd react before I brought everyone over to meet you," Andy laughed. "We're fine. I'm not upset with you or anyone else. In fact, I feel pretty special right now. It's good to know that I have so many people around me that will stand up for me. I mean, I've always had Mom but now I've got a lot of other people, too. That makes me feel good about the person I'm becoming."

"Me, too," Regan said, squeezing Andy's waist. "We're getting ready to say goodbye to our friends. We need to get cleaned up before we go to the concert tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, Mom."

"And I promise to carry my phone tonight, Mom," Andy said.

"Thank you both," Regan said. "I'm not as certain as Andy that what we did wasn't stupid. Yeah, it's what everyone else is doing but that doesn't necessarily make it very smart. For my part, I will be a little more circumspect about how others might view things."

"Don't!" Camille cut in. "He's right. I was angry. Andy will tell you that sometimes things don't come out the way I meant them when I get this way."

"You're young," Evan added. "You're not doing anything wrong and the rest of the world can get bent. I like you just the way you are. You're vivacious and fun. You make Andy realize that the world can be a good place. For that, I will always be grateful to you. I don't want you to change a single thing for the benefit of anyone else."