174:

"Did you get it?! Did you see it?!"

She dropped her board as she saw Marc racing toward her, grinning, yelling against the wind, two of his friends running also, punching the air together, high-fives all around. 

She reached them, "Let me see it! Did you get it? Was it light enough?"

"I got it, shit, I got it. Totally awesome! It's gonna make me a freaking mint!" He was yelling, showing her the footage of herself with a dolphin surfing directly above her. She grabbed the camera, a video camera, and was watching intently, excitement pouring off her.

"This is really good Marc, really, really good. I love the light, how'd you do that? I love the shadow, look at him there, he's so clear, and wow! That's so cool. Can I have a copy? I'd like to show the kids." She handed it back to him, watched his brown eyes consider.

Saw the dollar signs. "You'll get Michael to release it first. You'll make a music video to it, or something."

Tracy lifted a shoulder. "So? Get it to Michael; I'll pay you whatever is fair and more to add music to it. You're right, it's worth it."

"Okay, you're right, but I want a verbal..." He was speculating. "And I want a session, my own, tomorrow, my place.... 'k?"

"Marc, you have ten gazillion pictures of me, you're like a flippin' stalker! Nothing I could give you would make you any more than you already have."

"If I got you with a couple of young guys.... Making out or something." He eyed her suggestively.

She gave him a dirty look. "Don't be an idiot. That'll never happen."

"Come on, you could be in Playboy, instead of People and Woman's Day!" He was saving the file, copying it already, probably sending it to Michael, ready for the dollar transfer, he handed her a phone. "Make it quick. Deal...." His finger poised over a button.

Tracy made a face. It had been really cool to surf with the dolphin. Just the two of them for a few moments, enjoying the waves, enjoying the calm and the freedom.... She remembered its eye, not cold, or without personality, it was watching her, liking her.... Trusting her.... She loved it, felt such a kinship.... Music swirled around her.

She dialed Michael's number. "Hey, it's me." She said when he answered. "Marc Shepherd got this amazing footage of me surfing with a real dolphin in the wild, a real... yeah... it is so clear, way clear, yeah it'll be coming in soon, not doctored or anything, a lucky shot.... He wants to sell it, I'll buy it... he wants to throw in a shoot." She listened, nodded, waited....

She glanced at Marc, ready to send....

"Michael says he'll give you five thousand plus ten percent syndicated, he'll give you an option on the layout for the new disk and an option on the layout for the new film...."

It was way more than he should have offered. "I'll take it." He said and there was a collective groan from the assembled entourage, as he pushed the send button. Tracy laughed, grabbed her board and started up the sand.

A huge cacophony of voices assailed her, and she started to run. If she could, she'd even... she dropped the board, sprinted as fast as she could, unzipping the wetsuit, letting it dangle, giving her more freedom, making it to the gate ahead of the flock. She slammed away from them, continued to run across the street to her garage, her open door, heard the loud wail of near anger, course around her as they retreated like a hive mind, a huge embellished yellow jacket buzz.... Fading. She leaned against the door, stripped out of her wetsuit, hung it up to dry and entered the cool interior of her house in her old black bathing suit.

To see Austin sitting on her couch.

*****

He wasn't alone. Glistening with sparkle and aplomb, making Tracy look positively dilapidated in her frayed and politically incorrect get-up, was Lisa, hair pulled back into a classic artful style, makeup done to perfection. Tracy knew she'd donned a little make up this morning before leaving their homestead tent, knew it was probably smeared all over her face by now. 

Didn't care.

Austin stared at her in unconcealed and very raw irritation. 

Under duress? She also didn't care about that. 

She hit the intercom and told her mother she was back, hit another button, heard Jake's voice and asked him to come over as she wrung out her hair over the sink.

"We don't need a bodyguard for this conversation." Lisa said smoothly, her voice an oily silk that Tracy found grilling.

"We are not having a conversation." She said. "I can't for the life of me figure out how you got in my house and why you are thinking I would have any type of conversation with you like this, unannounced, sprung on me the first moment I am home. Tacky, both of you. Very unprofessional." 

She continued to wring out her long hair, wishing there were a towel close by, and there wasn't, so she walked slowly, trying to act unhurried in her own home, as if that were possible with them both sitting there so.... Anticipatory. 

Upstairs, she grabbed a towel, started to dry her hair and then looking over her shoulder in the mirror as she was about to undress she saw Lisa leaning against the door. She flipped around and pointed in outrage. "Get the hell out of my room!"

Lisa laughed as she retreated and Tracy slammed the door, shaking with rage. She felt so violated, so followed, so watched... everywhere... by everybody..... jerks, all of them. Her phone buzzed, it was Jake. She told him what was up. She ran the shower, in no hurry now that the door was locked and Jake was sure to get the two of them out.

But they weren't out when she went back downstairs, long hair dried and straightened to her waist, blue jeans, a white open blouse over a blue tank top, barefoot...she sat on the couch with her nail polish bag and rummaged through it to find an appropriate color. She eyed Jake who now stood by the door, looking mean and disgruntled.

One raised brow.

"They won't leave easily, Miss McCaffrey." He stated in obvious concern, annoyed with Austin for challenging him this way. He was treating her formally, letting Austin and Lisa know he wasn't pleased.

Austin shoved a newspaper toward her across the coffee table. Tracy glanced up quickly, hoping to figure out exactly what was going on and get them out of there as quickly as possible. On the cover, she and Archer, making out.... Or so it seemed, for somebody who had never kissed her, he sure looked like he was having a blast.... Another of Blaze Phelps, also looking suspiciously like he was kissing her, and on the bottom, across the whole front page of-- 

What was it? The Tattler? Who cared?

"My reputation is at stake. I want an explanation." Lisa said forthrightly.

Tracy's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Her eyes flew from Lisa's to Austin's and back. She actually felt the sputter before it came out. "Excuse me? You want a what?"

"My reputation as Austin's fiancé is shattered. I want a retraction, I deserve an explanation." She pointed at the tabloid cover and Tracy glanced at it in distaste as she would have a tarantula right then. Then she looked back at Lisa and pictured the Mother Tarantula.

"You're insane!" She blew out her breath. "You have the gall to come here into my house looking for a tabloid article? You want to capitalize on my life and fortune? You little bitch! Get out of my house before I have you thrown out. I swear to.... I swear...." She stood up and pointed her finger at Austin's face. "How dare you?!"

He stood up. His face was angry, his blonde hair stood up on end, his muscles bulged. He looked for all he was worth like he was about to explode. "Tell her what happened!" he thundered. "She's not trying to write a tabloid article, she needs to be reassured."

Tracy was so angry she felt like she was a volcano, if he didn't explode she would. She'd never felt so angry. And at the very moment when she felt the build threaten to overcome her, she forced a freezing chill to permeate her. 

This isn't worth it, she thought. I don't need this, I don't need them.... All the pain and sorrow and confusion of the last few weeks.... Bullshit... to come home to this....

She forced herself to close her eyes and begin counting to ten. She walked into the kitchen as she counted and when she got to the sink she stopped counting and ran the tap for water.

*****