Bellamy's Redemption

“Yes. Obviously,” said Nickie.

“Oh, great,” I said. I hadn’t occurred to me there would be other contestants on the flight. I tried to recall if I had yelled at the flight attendants or created any kind of a scene. All I knew was that I’d had way too much to drink. I could barely keep up with the three of them, even though I had on flats (how dumb of me) and the other two women were wearing high heels.

“What about our luggage?” I suddenly remembered, stopping in a panic.

“It will all be brought to the mansion,” said Mitch, not even looking back.

“Are we going there now?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Oh. Okay.” A mansion! A mansion! How exciting! I hurried along, realizing that part of what was slowing me down was the large carry-on bag I was pulling behind me. The other two women had somehow known to check everything.

“This way,” said Mitch, leading us outside into the warm California night. It hit me like a big hug straight from God.

“Ahhhhh, it feels so good,” I said, unable to contain myself. I couldn’t believe hours earlier I had been in blizzardy Chicago. Even though I’d been here just a few days earlier, I couldn’t help myself.

“You’re a freak,” said Nickie.

A limo was waiting for us. The driver wore a fancy suit and a little cap. He was holding the door for us, standing as erectly as a Buckingham Palace guard, and smiling with theatrical grandeur. I had the feeling he was an actor who happened to drive limos and this was his big break.

“Hi you,” Nickie said to him.

“Welcome, l

adies,” he said. We piled in and he put my carry-on in the trunk.

“Champagne?” asked Mitch. He poured us all glasses before we could answer. “To all of you finding love, with Bellamy,” he said. We clinked glasses. Even in my drunken state, I recognized that his toast made no sense.

“So, ladies, let’s get to know each other,” said Cashmere. “Like I said, I’m Caj. I’m from Chicago and I’m a model. Mainly swimwear, but other stuff too. Maybe you’ve seen me on water commercials?”

Nickie belched into the crook of her arm and looked out the window at the lights going by.

“I’m Emma,” I said. “I’m from Chicago too. I’m an interior designer.”

“Oh, cool,” said Caj. She looked at Nickie and then looked back at me and rolled her eyes, as if to say What a mess. I smiled, glad to be included in the joke.

“More champagne?” asked Mitch, topping us all off. I noticed Caj had hardly had more than a sip, while Nickie and I were already at the bottom of our glasses. I decided I had better pace myself.

“How will tonight play out, Mitch?” Caj asked, turning her bright, smizey eyes on him and smiling deliciously.

“You three will get a chance to change into evening gowns and fix yourselves up if you need to, and then we’ve got two other girls coming in from Florida who are going to be joining you. I think it will be about one o’clock when you get to meet Bellamy for your first cocktail party.”

“One o’clock in the morning?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“What? We’re meeting him tonight? Already?”

“That’s right,” said Mitch. “Are you excited?”

“But the producers said we were meeting him tomorrow.”

“Technically, it will be tomorrow, since it won’t be happening until after midnight.”

“Oh.” I looked at Nickie and Caj. They seemed to know this already. They calmly drank their champagne, Nickie still glaring out the window and Caj stretching her long legs, looking a little bored. I felt like a nervous little mouse next to two cats.

“Here we are,” said Mitch, as the limo took a sharp right and began to climb up a mountain. We went up, up, up, eventually stopping in front of a huge, rambling ranch house.