“You may go in now, Ms. Wilson,” the secretary said. Melanie picked up her portfolio and went through the doorway to the office of Jack Brixton, Vice President of New Product Development at Gateway Filmmakers, Inc. Jack came out from behind his massive desk and reached out his large, hammy hand.
“Glad to see you again, Mel,” he said, pumping her arm vigorously. “Here, take a seat,” he said as he guided her to the overstuffed, red leather chair immediately in front of his desk. He walked around to his own chair and sat down heavily. The cushion made a mild squeak of protest.
“Can I get you some coffee, a soda, some mineral water?” Jack asked.
“Nothing right now, thanks,” Melanie replied.
“Well, it’s good seeing you again,” he said. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“Well, Jack, you know I’ve been with GFI for over three years now,” Melanie started off. “I’ve worked my way up from being basically a gofer to script editor and now I’m in script development and consulting.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware of your contributions to the company. You are a valued employee.”
“Thanks. Well, it’s just that, uh, well, uh, I have an idea for a new reality show.” Melanie finally blurted out the topic that she had come here to discuss.
“Really,” said Jack with a hint of surprise mixed with disbelief in his voice. “And what would that be, perchance?”
Now that it was out in the open Melanie plunged ahead nonstop, barely taking breaths between sentences. “What about a series on long lost loves? One in which two currently single people who were lovers years ago meet again by accident? The cameras would follow them around as they make tentative moves to reconnect. The microphones would eavesdrop as they catch up on old times. The ‘will they, won’t they’ question can carry over from week to week. The sexual tension will be incredible! And the best thing of all – they won’t know that they’re being recorded! So it will be real, actual, true to life drama!”
“Won’t know they’re being recorded? Just how do you propose to do that? All the other ‘reality’ shows require upfront disclosure before broadcast.”
“And so will we. But if we use the procedures first established in shows like Candid Camera, we’ll make the tapes first and then if the video proves television-worthy, no matter if the couple eventually get together or not, we’ll approach them afterward and get the appropriate releases. This way all events will be perfectly natural, no fakery or mugging for the camera involved. I think this could be really big.”
Melanie paused while Jack’s mind raced through the possibilities.
“And what happens when one or both of them decide that they don’t want their love life broadcast across the nation’s airwaves?” Jack asked.
“If it appears that they are going to get together, we can make an end at that point by revealing to them what we’ve done. Then in a follow-up show we can interview them, asking what they were thinking at the time, probing more deeply into their innermost feelings and at the end surprise them with a nice check. If it looks as if they won’t be getting together, we’ll do pretty much the same except that we won’t broadcast the presentation of the check. We wouldn’t want to appear too mercenary.”
“Of course not,” Jack said sardonically.
“And if either one still doesn’t consent to the broadcast, we’ll just chalk it up to the cost of doing business. I’m sure that for every couple who refuses the broadcast of their relationship, there are ten who will go for the notoriety and money.”
“Probably more like twenty,” Jack said. “Okay, so how would you go about finding this ‘long lost’ couple and bringing them together?”
“Well, I’ve thought about putting out some discreetly worded ads, of course, but to start off, we all know someone or someone who knows someone who is in this kind of situation. For the pilot I actually had in mind this couple.”
Melanie opened her portfolio and extracted a photograph of two smiling twenty-somethings. She placed it in front of Jack and waited for his reaction.
“So how long have these two been lost? Two or three years?” Jack asked.
“No, actually, that photo was taken thirty years ago.”
“Thirty years ago?! And you think people would be interested in love between old farts like them?”
“People are interested in love at all ages, Jack. Why just recently Carol Channing became engaged to her high school sweetheart from sixty years ago. They hadn’t seen each other in all that time but he became interested when her last husband passed away. He obtained her phone number from a mutual friend, called her and the rest is history. People love romance, Jack, no matter what their ages. And just in case you’re wondering, for future episodes I was actually thinking that most of the ‘long lost’ years should be in the ten to twenty year range. That should still grab most of the desired demographics, right? It’s just that for the pilot the people involved are a special case.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
“The man in the photo is my father.”
Jack drew in his breath and said, “A personal angle, huh. Don’t you think there is a conflict of interest here?”
“I’ve thought about this a lot, Jack,” Melanie said. “Actually, my primary purpose in all of this is to get those two together and see if sparks fly. If it means that I don’t get creative credit for the series, I’ll be glad to give it up. It’s just that since my mom died two and a half years ago, Dad has been so lonely and alone. A couple of weeks ago at our weekly Sunday dinner I caught him looking at that picture. I’d never seen it before. When I asked who she was, he was a little evasive at first but I eventually got out of him that she was a very dear friend of his from a long time ago. From his looks and the tone of his voice I could tell that she had been much more than a ‘very dear friend.’
“So I came up with this idea and hoped to sell it to you. The networks have a lot more resources that I do to track down this mystery woman and arrange the logistics for an ‘accidental’ meeting. So what do you think?” Melanie asked hopefully.
“I think this has possibilities,” Jack said. “Why don’t you take a week, work out the details, and first of all, find out who this woman is and if she’s single. If she’s not, there goes your whole scheme. By the way, what were you planning to call this series?”
“I thought I’d call it Long Lost Love.”
“Hmm. Much too alliterative for me. Well. Since you want the meeting of the protagonists to appear as if it were by accident, or by chance, why don’t we call it Second Chance?”
Melanie thought for only a moment before she said, “I like that even better, Jack.”
“Good! Second Chance it is! Now get out there and get me the details! Come back in a week and we’ll talk some more.”
Jack stood and extended his hand again. Melanie took it and this time there was no vigorous shaking but just a warm clasp. As she left the office she had a good feeling about this.
“Mr. Brixton is expecting you, Ms. Wilson. Go right in,” the secretary said with a smile. “He’s in a very good mood today.”
Melanie hoped she didn’t appear too enthusiastic as she entered Jack Brixton’s office for the second time in a week.
“Melanie! How good to see you again!” Jack boomed. Once again his handshake was quite hearty. “Sit, sit, sit. Coffee, tea, water?”
“Maybe I’ll have some bottled water, Jack,” Melanie said as she sat down in the red leather chair. Jack opened his refrigerator and extracted a bottle of Perrier. He took down a glass from the shelf above the bar, poured the water into it and handed it to Melanie. She took a sip while Jack said, “So. What news have you got for me today?”
Melanie set the glass on a side table and then opened her portfolio. She pulled out three photos and placed them one at a time on Jack’s desk. “This is the picture I showed you last time. It’s my dad when he was 25 and the mystery woman.”
“They were quite a cute couple back then, weren’t they?” Jack commented.
“Yes, I think it is a very good picture. And this one is of me and my dad, taken four weeks ago.”
“Hmm. He’s aged fairly well. Not quite matinee idol good looks but passable for TV.” He smiled broadly to indicate he was kidding when Melanie started to frown at his remark.
“Okay. And this last picture is a copy of a faculty ID for one Julia Hancock, an English professor at Buckeye College in Xenia, Ohio.”
“Oh. She kind of looks like someone’s grandmother,” Jack said dispiritedly.
“Now, Jack. You know college IDs and driver’s license photos rarely make you look better than death warmed over. Here. Take a look at these. I got a private eye to get these while she was at her yoga class.”
“Wow! Now that’s one hot sexy grandma!” Jack exclaimed. “Without those granny glasses and with her hair tied back in a pony tail, she’s a babe! How did she ever maneuver into that position?” he wondered as he rotated one of the pictures ninety degrees.
“You could do that too, Jack, if you put your mind to it and started to exercise.”
“Not in my lifetime, Mel,” he laughed. “I’m way too far gone for that. But now for the $64,000 question: is she single?”
“Divorced, actually. For ten years now. No children and not actively dating. I’m thinking that she is probably as lonely as my dad.”
“So all of the pieces seem to be coming together. If I get the go-ahead to back this project, how would you proceed from here?”
“Well, I’ve been making preliminary contacts at Dad’s architectural firm to see if there is anything out of town his company is planning in the next few weeks. It just so happens that the annual business meeting for the corporation will take place in Chicago in late February. I’ve got a semi-firm commitment from Dad’s boss that he’d be willing to send him there as the L.A. office’s representative. And just coincidentally, that same week in Chicago there is a seminar on Byron, Keats and other nineteenth century English poets. I’m sure I could get Julia’s department chair to send her there, especially when I inform the chair that we will be funding the entire trip.
“I’ve lined up a hotel that will agree to put cameras and mikes in the sitting area of two of their suites but not in the bed or bath rooms. They’ve also agreed to have cameras in the lobby, restaurant and lounge. If we can confirm it soon, we can have two crews available during that February time frame.
“So what do you think?”
“I think that if you can turn that semi-firm into a firm and guarantee that Julia will attend, we have a show!” Jack said.
“Excellent!” Melanie said.
“To Second Chance!” Jack said.
“Chicago? In February?” Dan Wilson was highly perturbed with his boss. “Do you know how cold it gets there in February? The wind blowing off the lake can freeze your nuts off no matter how warmly you’re dressed.”
“Dan, my man. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you can impress the bigwigs at the meeting your move up in the company is almost guaranteed.”
“Rob, I’m 55 years old now. Do you think I’m concerned about moving up in the company? Right now, I’m much more worried about the lackluster performance of my 401k. And all moving up does is bring on more headaches and stress. I tried supervising once and didn’t care for it. So if that is what a promotion brings, I don’t want it.”
“Look at it this way, Dan. I have commitments that I can’t get out of. You are the next most senior member of my staff. You know everything I do about the L.A. office. Hell, you know more than I do. If you can turn the Chicago meeting to your benefit so that you get to make more money or get more time off, all to the good. Or if you just go and give your presentation and spend the rest of your time at the aquarium, so be it. But right now I need you to be in Chicago in two weeks.”
“You’re a hard man, Rob Peterson. If you weren’t my best friend as well as my boss, I’d fire your ass.”
“Go and enjoy yourself, Dan. You never know what you might find.”
“Chicago? In February?” Julia Hancock was highly perturbed with the chair of the English department. “Do you have any idea of how cold it gets up there?”
“I have a fairly good idea having spent six years in an undergraduate and graduate capacity in two different colleges there. But it won’t kill you to be gone a week. You’ll survive.”
“Sure, I’ll survive. I’ll just come back missing a couple toes or fingertips. Besides who will take my classes? I’m giving a test in two different courses that week and midterm grades will be due soon.”
“You know midterms aren’t due until mid-March and your graduate assistant, what’s his name, George, can handle passing tests out. He can also lock them up afterwards. At least I think he can. He does know how to turn a key, doesn’t he?”
“Leave George alone, Ruth. Just because he’s a little self-conscious about his premature balding doesn’t mean you can demean him. And you still haven’t told me what you’re going to do about my remaining classes.”
“Okay. I’ll take your twentieth century American lit and I’ll get Henry to cover your British Romantics.”
“Henry? You know he mangles the interpretation of every poem that Keats wrote! It’ll take the rest of the semester to clean up the damage he’ll do in just a few days!”
“You know you enjoy a challenge.” Ruth smiled at her colleague. “Are you doing this just to have an argument like that old Monty Python skit, or are you really concerned about your students?”
“You know me too well, Ruth,” Julia smiled back. “A little of both. I just know that that twerp Jimmy Cardwell will take everything Henry says as pure gold and it will take a fire hose to clean out the trash in his brain.”
“Go,” said Ruth. “Go and enjoy yourself.”
“Oh, okay,” said Julia, pouting like a spoiled child.
Dan checked into the Wyatt Hotel at 5:13 p.m. Sunday. His flight had been largely uneventful with only a little turbulence over the Colorado Rockies. Even so, it was a longer plane trip than any he’d made recently and he was looking forward to being able to lie down and stretch out. He must have flown on an older model plane than the one that the airline advertised as having extra legroom. He had to keep apologizing to the passenger in front of him whenever he shifted his knees.
The concierge informed him that a complimentary breakfast was available between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m. Dan thanked him and asked for a wakeup call at 7:15. He took the key to room 515 and walked to the elevators. He punched the button with number 5 on it and watched as the doors began to close. He caught a flash of blond hair and a pair of green eyes. It almost looked like…. No, it couldn’t be her. The elevator doors closed.
Julia checked into the Wyatt Hotel at 5:18 p.m. Sunday. Her flight had been largely uneventful except for the nine-year-old boy puking on the dignified-looking businessman in seat 12B. The stewardess assured him that the airline would pay for his dry cleaning and would he please accept a complimentary mixed drink on the captain’s behalf. Julia found it all very amusing.
The concierge informed her that a complimentary breakfast was available between 6:00 and 10:00 a.m. Julia thanked him and asked for a wakeup call at 7:30. She took the key to room 743 and walked to the elevators. She punched the button with number 7 on it and watched as the doors began to close. She thought she detected a trace of aftershave that reminded her of someone. It was almost as if,… No, it couldn’t be him. The elevator doors closed.
Jason, the head cameraman for film crew number 1, was sure that he had seen Dan do a double take just before the elevator doors closed. He told Rick, who was playing back the videotape, to rewind it to that point. Rick did as asked and then started the playback.
“Stop! Right there!” Jason said. “Now play it back at half speed.”
The video showed Dan pushing a button, and then looking up through the closing doors. The half speed playback caught him perfectly as he blinked, then opened his eyes wider as his jaw dropped down and his lips parted slightly. Rick stopped the playback as Dan appeared to be the very image of bewilderment, as if he saw something that he knew just could not be.
“We’re off to a great start!” Jason cried as he and Rick managed a halfway decent high five.
Dan was a little grumpy after his 7:15 wakeup call. After all it was 5:15 California time and he was not used to getting up this early. Still, he managed to shower, shave and take care of other necessaries by 7:35 and rode the elevator down to the main floor to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast. He took a seat by one of the windows and watched the passersby and automobiles while breaking his fast on waffles, eggs and grapefruit juice.
Julia was actually wide awake before the room phone rang at 7:30. Normally she was up at 6:00 a.m. back in Xenia but this was half an hour later than the time she regularly rose. Still, she managed to shower, put on makeup and take care of other necessaries by 8:00 and rode the elevator down to the main floor to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast. She took a seat by the window to watch the passersby and the cars. The busboy apologized for not clearing the table before she sat down. She told him that that was all right and noticed in passing that the previous diner had breakfasted on waffles and eggs and the glass had a residue of grapefruit juice. When the waiter arrived, she ordered toast and Special K along with coffee, black.
Rick was practically livid at the near miss.
“Did you see that?” Rick said. “Dan was just getting into the elevator when the doors opened on the one Julia was riding in. If he had hesitated just a millisecond longer, he would have seen her coming out. Damn! If something doesn’t happen soon we’re going to have to force them together!”
“No, that’s good,” Jason said. “We don’t want it to happen too quickly. Build up the suspense, you know. Besides, did you see the look on Julia’s face when she sat down at the table? It turned quizzical, like she had seen something that she almost recognized but couldn’t quite put a finger on. This is good. This is very good.”
Camera crew 1 followed Dan around as he made his way to the first meeting of his company. He could barely conceal his boredom as speaker after speaker droned on about the cost benefits of this approach and the opportunities for growth in that part of the country. A buffet lunch was provided at the hall so he couldn’t even get an hour to walk around and stretch his legs. When he finished his presentation at 4:00, he didn’t wait for the last speaker but went back to his hotel room.
Camera crew 2 followed Julia as she hailed a cab and rode to the seminar location at the campus. She intently followed the speakers’ comments and had some minor quibbles about specific points but didn’t feel it worth the effort to ask a question. At the lunch break she dined on a delicious vegetarian sandwich at a deli across the street. When the afternoon session broke up at 4:30 she spent an extra half hour debating the finer points of “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” with the final lecturer. After that she took a cab back to the hotel and went to her room.
Rick and Jason debated how to proceed.
“Well, we’ve gone an entire day now and have nothing to show for it,” Rick complained.
“Not entirely true, my dear Rick,” said Jason. “The shots yesterday and this morning will be great. And even if you think the rest of the tape is a complete waste of time we can edit them down to get a feel for what these two people are about. For example, who knew that Julia could be such a firebrand? We’re definitely going to use some of those shots where she’s lecturing that pinhead on that poem. If she can get that passionate over poetry, just imagine what she’s like in bed.”
“I can imagine, even though she’s old enough to be my mother.”
“I just wish my mother was such a fox,” Jason said. “No, wait, that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. It’s not that I have a thing for my mother. It’s just that I wouldn’t mind her being more attractive. I mean, it’s just…”
“Quit while you’re behind,” Rick laughed. “I know what you mean. But we’re not here to debate the attractiveness of older persons. We need to get them together, and soon. We only have a few more days.”
“I agree. It’s time to go on the offensive. I tell you what. We need to keep an eye on them while they’re in their rooms and then when one goes out we’ll need to devise some sort of pretext to get the other one out too. I know. When either goes out, we’ll call the other one and say there is a message at the front desk and they have to come down to get it.”
“Okay. And what if the person who did not leave asks you to bring the message up to his or her room?”
“Uh. We’ll say it’s registered. Yeh, that’s it. And they have to sign for it, which means they have to come down. What do you think?”
Rick pondered for a moment and then said, “Yeh. That could work. Let’s assume that’s our procedure unless we come up with something better.”
“It’s a go,” Jason said.
At 6:30 p.m. Dan got tired of hearing his stomach growl so he got up, put on his overcoat and left his room.
At 6:32 p.m. Julia answered the phone. “Hello,” she said.
“Ms. Julia Hancock?” a voice said.
“Yes, this is she,” Julia replied.
“This is the front desk and we have a letter down here that you need to come pick up.”
“Oh, okay. I’m planning on going out for dinner around 7:00 so how about I get it then?”
“Uh. Well. Uh, you see, it’s registered, yeh, registered and this postal guy can’t leave until you sign for it. So, can you come down now? Please?”
“That’s funny. Who would be sending me a registered letter? Oh, well. I don’t want to delay the U. S. Postal Service. I’ll be right down.”
So saying, she hung up the phone, slipped on her shoes and left the room.
Rick and Jason were in deep discussion about what to do next.
“Dan left first and has at least a two minute head start. We’ve got to delay him until Julia arrives.”
“Damn! We should have anticipated that,” Jason said. “You’re right. My God! There he is now! Coming out of that elevator!”
Sure enough, Dan had exited the elevator and was striding purposefully for the street door.
“We’ve got to do something!” Rick whispered harshly.
“You’re right!” Jason answered. “Go do it!” and he pushed Rick forcefully into Dan’s path.
“Oh, pardon me, sir,” Rick said as he tried to avoid crashing into Dan. “Uh, do you have the time?”
Dan looked up and down at a relatively young man who seemed to lack a good deal of coordination. He had almost tripped Dan when he appeared seemingly out of nowhere and now stood in front of him, weaving unsteadily.
“Uh, sure. It’s 6:35. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Dan swerved around the strange young man and continued his course to the door.
Rick moved quickly, much faster than he should have been able to if he were as seriously inebriated as Dan assumed him to be, and stood in front of Dan again, although he seemed a little more steady on his feet.
“Uh, sir, are you Dan Wilson?” Rick asked.
“Yes, I am,” Dan replied, becoming more and more puzzled over this strange man’s behavior. “And who are you?”
“I’m Rick, uh, Richard. A bellhop here. An off duty bellhop here, I mean,” Rick stammered as he realized he was not in the appropriate livery. “It has come to our attention, and by that I mean the hotel’s attention, that, uh, we may have, uh, misplaced an article that belongs to you.”
“Misplaced an article? What the hell do you mean?”
“Uh, there was this item, that, uh, has your name on it and was, uh, returned to the front desk. Yes, the front desk lost and found and I’d like to give it back to you.” Rick tried to smile his most winsome, eager to please smile but sensed that he was making an even bigger fool of himself than he had to up to this point. It looked like Dan was trying to make up his mind whether to call for the police or the pysch unit but finally it appeared that he wasn’t going to do anything rash.
“Okay,” Dan said. “Show me this item.”
“It’s at the front desk, sir. Please follow me,” Rick said and led the way back to the front desk. When they arrived at an unattended section, Rick said, “Wait just a moment, sir, and I’ll go and, uh, retrieve the item.” Rick disappeared behind the desk and then disappeared completely from view.
By this time Julia had arrived at the main floor and walked over to the front desk. She told the concierge her name and room number and that there was a registered letter for her. The concierge checked the slot for her room, turned around and said, “I’m very sorry, madam, but there is nothing at all for that room.”
“That’s odd,” she said. “Someone from the front desk called me just a minute ago and said there was a letter.”
Dan had not been paying attention to what was going on at the other part of the desk. But he overheard the last part of Julia’s remark and something clicked. He turned around and saw Julia standing there.
“Julia? Julia Rhodes?” he said.
Julia turned a blank face to him and then recognition suddenly dawned. She said very slowly, “Dan Wilson? Is that really you?”
Dan and Julia started moving closer to each other. Dan extended his hand and Julia took it. It seemed like hours but was only seconds before they released their hands and embraced, at first tentatively and then with complete abandon.
“Julia! Julia Rhodes! How in hell did you end up in this place?”
“And it’s good to see you, too, Dan!” Julia said. In point of fact, both of them were so surprised to see each other that they were quite at a loss for words.
After another few moments of expectant silence Dan stepped back from Julia, looked her up and down and said, “You look marvelous! Absolutely marvelous!”
Julia had to laugh and then said, “You don’t look too bad, yourself, old man.”
Something else clicked in Dan’s mind. “Old man.” When he and Julia had been together, what, thirty years ago, she had often referred to him as “my old man.” Linking that old usage and the current one brought a flood of joyful memories pouring back into his brain. He could barely keep up with and make sense of what he was feeling and could only manage to say, “Julia Rhodes?”
“Actually, it’s Julia Hancock, now, Dan.” Dan’s thought processes came to a crushing stop. “She’s married?” he thought. His elation at suddenly seeing her again disappeared at this new revelation.
“I got married and then after a few years, divorced,” she continued, “and it was easier to keep his name rather than go through the tedium and problems of going back to my old one.” She took a breath, looked deeply into his eyes and said, “God, it’s good to see you.”
For a man who had had his world turned upside down in one moment, and then seemingly taken away in the next only to be restored again, Dan recovered quite well. He said, “And it’s so good to see you too.”
As Rick and Jason were later to remark, that was the beginning of it all.
Dan and Julia forgot all about dinner that night. They went to the hotel lounge, ordered a few drinks and began to catch up on thirty years of separation. First one would talk, then the other. They often interrupted each other when an offhand remark reminded them of a particular event they had shared in their youth. They laughed. They smiled. Their eyes sparkled as they looked one another over and seemingly couldn’t get enough of the sight. Julia touched Dan on the hand when making a point. Dan brushed her hair back over her shoulder when it fell forward as she leaned over to pick up a napkin. Their eyes met as they both reached across the low table and took each other’s hands. The warmth between them was palpable and flowed up their arms and into their hearts.
The bartender informed them that it was last call and the bar would be closing in ten minutes. Neither Dan nor Julia felt any need for further drinks. They noticed the lateness of the hour and agreed that it was time to return to their rooms. Dan escorted Julia back to room 743. They shared one kiss, then two and then ten. Julia said that if they didn’t stop they would never get any sleep. An unasked question floated if the air between them. Then Dan said that she was right and they should go to sleep. After one last kiss Dan went to the elevator to return to his room. Julia did not shut her door until the elevator doors closed.
Shortly after daybreak Julia called Dan and arranged to meet him for breakfast. They completely forgot about attending either of their events and spent the entire day together. They saw some of the sights, went shopping together and were always talking. There seemed to be no end of subjects about which they could converse. They gazed at each other with a ravenous yearning, as if they were trying to fill up their senses with thirty years of lost time.
After dinner and cocktails Dan took Julia back to her room and once again they exchanged deep, loving kisses. The unasked question hovered above them again. Finally, Dan said, “I want to spend the night with you.”
Julia said, “As do I.” So saying she took him by the hand and they entered her room. Since the cameras and microphones were not allowed in the bedroom, there is no record of what happened after that. But the next morning at breakfast they both had a glow that was obvious even on videotape.
The remainder of their time in Chicago was even more intense. They walked on the lakefront, not caring about or even noticing the biting winds. They visited museums and saw a play. They spent a lot of time in one or the other hotel room. In all outward aspects they had fallen seriously, deeply in love.
On their last day they took a cab together to O’Hare. Dan’s flight left at 1:45 p.m., Julia’s at 3:00. They delayed until the last possible moment before Dan boarded his plane. The parting was so painful yet they knew they would see each other again before long. This was the start of a wonderful romance and they were determined to do it right.
The day after he returned to L.A. Dan met with Melanie and Jason who explained what had happened. Dan was in turn, stunned, angry, and felt a deep sense of betrayal. Yet he knew that what had happened to him was one of the most important events of his life. He resented that his privacy had been invaded and refused to allow broadcast of the tapes. He also declined to accept any compensation from Gateway Filmmakers, although he briefly toyed with the idea of a lawsuit.
The day after she returned to Ohio, Julia met with Ruth and Rick who explained how the accidental meeting with Dan had been arranged. Julia was in turn, stunned, irate, and felt humiliated that her private life had been exposed in so public a fashion. She absolutely refused to allow the broadcast of any part of the film and threw Rick out when he mentioned that GFI would compensate her handsomely. She actually contacted a lawyer to file suit against the company, but Ruth managed to talk her out of it when GFI agreed to destroy all copies of the tapes.
Although the video would never be made available to the public, before their destruction, Melanie edited the tapes down and presented the final product to Jack Brixton. He, in turn, showed it to several network executives who agreed to fund the project and place it on the fall schedule. Second Chance went on to become one of the bigger reality show hits for the network.
“Mr. Brixton will see you now,” the secretary smiled at Melanie.
As always Jack Brixton met Melanie with a hearty handshake before inviting her to sit.
“Good to see you, Mel. Anything to drink this time?”
“No thanks, Jack. I’ve just come to pick up the Second Chance video of my dad and Julia.”
“Yes, that is what you said. But you know, we destroyed all of the original tape and technically we are supposed to have destroyed this last copy as well.”
“That’s true. And I thank you for not trashing it before talking to me.”
“So if I give it to you, even though I am opening myself up to a possible serious world of hurt, what do you plan to do with it?” Jack asked.
“Dad and Julia have benefited so much from our little ‘intervention’ that I think they have gotten over their initial shock and resentment. I think this tape will be a great present for their first wedding anniversary. If they still want to destroy it at that time, I’ll have no problem with that. But I’m betting that they’ll watch it and become so entranced with how they reconnected that it will become a permanent part of their library.”
“I certainly hope you’re right, Mel.”
“So do I, Jack. So do I.”
ã 2003 grisardworx