Chapter 64: Setting Things Right

Julianna sat on the floor in the middle of her room, and cried. How could he not believe her? How could he believe Stan over her? Did he really think so little of her – she trailed off in her thoughts. Obviously that’s what he thought. She looked around at the room, focusing on the bed; its sheets still mussed from last night. The sight broke her heart. “Well, fuck him,” she said out loud through her tears. She stood, dried her tears, and stripped the bed. Carrying her sheets to the washing machine, she pressed her face to them, inhaling the musky smell of Richie. She refused to let the tears overtake her again, and got the laundry started.

Pacing her apartment, she could feel the walls closing in on her. This was ridiculous. It was all a big misunderstanding, but she couldn’t think how to fix it. “Snap out of it, Jules,” she told herself, but it was easier said than done. The pacing picked up speed. This was not her fault, damn it, she thought. She wasn’t the one who was being stupid and stubborn and unyielding, and – she stopped. She was getting distracted from the problem. The problem was Mark. He was the one who was the cause of all of this, and it started when he showed up at rehearsals again.

Grabbing her bag and keys, she strode to the door. No way was she letting Mark win.

* * * * *

Richie made the drive back to Connecticut in record time. He didn’t want to face his friends – not yet – so he went to Julianna’s cottage. He pulled out his keys and let himself in. Standing there among her things and her smells, he let the grief that he was holding at bay flow free, and collapsed to the floor. Laying there, looking up at the ceiling, he tried to be objective about this – tried to hear Jon’s reasonable voice in his head. He couldn’t. The emotions were too raw.

Richie crawled into the bedroom. He climbed into Julianna’s bed, clothes, shoes, and all, and let himself give in to the blackness. He didn’t relish the numbness like he thought it would, but maybe, just for a little while, it would help. He lay there, staring at the walls, trying desperately to think this through. He wasn’t going to be able to. He needed his best friend’s help. Again.

Exhausted, Richie looked at his watch. Tomorrow, he thought, and tried to sleep.

* * * * *
Someone was pounding on the door. Mark looked at his watch and swore. It was 9:30 at night – who the hell could that be?

“What?” he called through the door.

“Open the fucking door,” a very angry woman’s voice demanded.

Mark complied, and smiled when he saw his ex. “Julianna, darling, how wonderful to see –“ his words were cut off by a jab to the mouth. “Son of a BITCH!” he screamed, and before he knew it, she was in his apartment.

“Shut up and listen, asswipe,” Julianna said, slamming the door and advancing on Mark. “You are NOT welcome in my life. Not personally, not professionally, not tangentially. Not at all. Period.” Mark had backed up as far as he could, and was wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “Stay away from my theater, my actors, my apartment, and my life.”

When Julianna raised a hand again, Mark caught it and twisted her arm around behind her. Pulling her close, he pinned her other arm between them, and grumbled in her ear. “Now you listen, bitch,” he spat, “I will do whatever I want, whenever I want. Always have, always will. You do not scare me, you stupid little fool.” He hiked her arm up higher, making Julianna wince. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of crying out.

“Get your filthy hands off of me,” she said angrily.

“When I’m good and ready, sweetheart,” Mark answered, menacingly. “I am not ready to abandon this little project. I have too much invested, and nothing you do or say is going to change my mind.” He opened the door, and still holding Julianna close, walked through it. “Now, kindly go away,” he said, and releasing her roughly, he stepped back into his apartment.

“This is not over,” she said to him, daggers firing from her eyes.

“Not by a long shot,” Mark agreed, and slammed the door.

* * * * *
The next morning, Julianna was the first one to the theater. As people entered, she told them to go take a seat in the audience; she had an announcement to make. She was going to take care of this once and for all. Everyone, including Stan and her leads were sitting with puzzled expressions on their faces when Julianna strode onto the stage.

“Everyone, thanks for bearing with me,” she started, looking out over the people who worked with and for her on this project from the very beginning. “I know most of you personally as well as professionally, and if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know that I don’t make personal requests lightly or often.” There was some shifting among the staff, but it appeared as if they were just anxious to get to work.

Julianna continued. “It has come to my attention that Mark Valentino has been hanging around the theater again. I want to make this absolutely clear.” She stopped and scanned each face in turn, noting the apprehension on her leads’ faces. “I have banned Mark from this theater. I cannot stop you from pursuing personal relationships with him, but he is not welcome here at all. Period.” She saw Sam and Lila slide looks at each other then turn their attention back to Julianna.

“We only have a few short weeks until opening night, and I need everyone to be focusing on their roles in making this show the success I know it can be. I’m asking for you to honor my wishes in this respect.” Julianna sighed and paced the stage a little. “For those of you who don’t know the history, or who have only heard the rumors, Mark is my ex-husband. We did not part on good terms, and I do not want him around. Any questions?” There weren’t any. “Thanks, everyone. Sam, Lila, with me. Everyone else, back to business.”

Julianna led her leads into her office. “Now, you two want to tell me what you’re all twitchy about?” Julianna smiled at them. “I could practically feel the nervous energy wafting off of you out there.”

Sam and Lila looked at each other, then at Julianna. Sam spoke up. “Mark, Mr. Valentino, offered to help us negotiate a record deal after this run was done,” he said sheepishly. “We didn’t know that he wasn’t supposed to be here,” he added.

Julianna seethed inside, but didn’t let it show. “Did you sign anything yet?” she asked. The pair shook their heads. “OK, I’m going to tell you something, and I want you to get independent verification if you don’t believe me. Mark is not a nice man. He is good at what he does, but he is ruthless and will cut corners and tell you whatever you want to get his way.” She grinned ironically. “He’ll probably tell you the same things about me, but you’ve worked with me, and I hope that you don’t feel that way.”

She sat behind her desk. “Now, if you’re serious about wanting to get into the recording business, I have lots of contacts I can set you up with, but AFTER we get through opening night. I don’t want to stop you from realizing your dreams, but I do want to keep you from getting distracted. You need to be focused on your roles right now. Your performances are excellent, and I want them to stay that way. Does this make sense?”

Lila nodded. “I’m so glad you said something; he wanted us to sign a contract right away, and we were a little anxious about doing that.”

Julianna nodded. “That’s fine. If you want a contract with someone to manage your careers, that’s your business. If it’s Mark, that’s your business too, but he’s not welcome here.”

Sam shook his head. “No,” he said. “We heard the rumors about what your ex did, and knowing it was Mark who’s the ex, we don’t want anything to do with him. Our loyalties are to you, Julianna.”

Julianna stood and hugged her leads. “Thank you. I promise you, when we get through the first night, I will help you any way I can.”