Chapter 21: A Surprise

Sorry for the long delay between chapters. I was visiting the family for the holidays. I never have a problem with overeating during the holiday season. This is not necessarily by choice. My parents are a strange breed of folk who only eat one meal a day (dinner). Thus, there is no food available for either breakfast or lunch. The fridge and pantry only contain dinner ingredients. So unless I want to chow down on raw beef, onions, or cornstarch, I pretty much just starve.

But I digress. We now return to the trials and tribulations of Angel n' friends. This one’s gonna take us back, folks. Don’t worry if you’re not completely familiar with the pre-WCW portion of Angel’s saga … she rehashes it for you. But if you’re a new reader and are interested in the older stuff, it’s all waiting for you in the archives.

So … what better way to start off the new year than with A SURPRISE? What’s the surprise, you ask? Oh, I’m not spoiling it for you. It spoils itself by being so sucktacular.

Chapter 21: A Surprise

The telephone rang. Angel screamed. She was reading Pet Sematary (for the 3rd time) in a hotel in Michigan. She put down the book and answered the phone.

“Ang! What’s wrong?” [wait … didn’t we all laugh at this “hilarious” scenario a mere two chapters ago?]

“Nothing. I was just reading Pet Sematary. How are you, Scotty?”

“Fine, thanks. How’d you know it was me?” [maybe she could hear your muscles bulging over the phone.]

“You’re the only man who calls me Ang. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you were free today.”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’d like you to meet Marie.”

“Oh! I’d love to! Only I don’t have much in the way of transportation.” [? How did she get to her hotel? How is she planning on leaving her hotel? ]

“No prob! I can pick you up. You’re staying in the Silver Lake Hotel, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“WCW always stayed there in Michigan. Don’t ask me why.”

“Ok. I’ll wait in the lobby.”

“How about 1:00?”

“Sounds great.”

(Scotty and Angel are in Scott’s car, driving to Marie’s house) [seamless transition! Seamless!]

“So, Scotty, what’s Marie like?”

“Oh, she’s really nice, and she’s so smart. She also happens to be beautiful.” [wait … did someone clone Angel?]

“Sounds perfect. What’s she look like?”

“She’s got shoulder-length black hair and these really bright green eyes. They’re incredible.”

They spent the rest of the drive chatting casually about just about everything.

They arrived at Marie’s home. It was fairly large, with a stucco finish.

Scott used a key to open the door. The interior was lovely, the floors were covered in thick cream colored carpeting and the rest of the room was a light coffee color.

“Marie, hon, we’re back. Come meet Angelica.”

An attractive woman stopped into the room. She looked incredibly familiar to Angel. Then it hit her.

Marie also immediately recognized Angel. No one spoke. The two women stared at each other with a mixture of hate and shock in their eyes.

“Nightshade.” whispered Angel.

“Angel” Marie whispered back [I’ll bet she pronounced it with a “j”]

“You two know each other?” Scott asked tentatively.

“Oh, we know each other all too well,” said Marie.

“Wait a minute. What’s going on? Who’s Nightshade?”

“So how many other names have you got, Sunny?”

“You little bi--.”

“Stop it!” Scott interrupted. “Now you two just cool down and tell me what’s going on.”

Since Marie remained silent, Angel began.

“This is Sunny Tyler, AKA Nightshade, AKA Marie Haven. She was a manager in the WWF where I used to work. She, Bobby Heenan, and my then best friend, Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig all worked for Ric Flair. Mr. P fell in love with her, and after a time [6 hours], she fell in love with him. Then one day, Ric Flair and Marty Jannetty, whom I managed, had a match. At the end of the match, as I was helping Marty onto a stretcher, she whomped me on the back of the head with a pair of brass knuckles. From what Mr. P told me, he and Nightshade here got into a huge fight, and she left him heartbroken. Later, she sent him a letter sprayed with a perfume he was terribly allergic to. If I hadn’t heard him sneezing and thrown away the letter, who knows what would have happened to him.”

Scott was in a state of utter disbelief. “Marie?”

“Curt told you half of it, my dear, he must’ve left out the fact that I was only doing my job and that he broke my heart. Up until then he was the only man I had ever loved, and then I found out that he was running around with you!”

“Running around with me? We were best friends, we never did so much as hold hands!! And anyway, what gave you the right to send him that note? God knows what you could have done to him!”

“I would take that back if I could, but I can’t.”

“Look, Marie, or Sunny, or whatever, we’ve had our problems in the past, and don’t think that I’m about to forgive you right now, but let’s put this fight on hold for Scotty’s sake, OK?”

“Deal.”

“Scotty, are you allright?” Angel would have liked to clasp his hand or squeeze his shoulder, but she did not for fear of angering Marie.

“What happened to you after you left the WWF, Marie?” he asked, eyes shut tightly.

“I was heartbroken. I changed my lifestyle, moved to Michigan, and changed my name – legally.” She eyed Angel. “After a while, I met you, Scott, and I fell in love again.”

Scotty opened his eyes – there were tears forming in the corners. [huzzah!] “You told me I was the first.”

“You were.”

“You never … ”

“No.”

He sighed, almost a sigh of relief. “I don’t believe this.” He whispered.

“Believe it, Scott,” said Marie. “And you believe this, Angel. I may not seem to be the most likeable person in the world, but obviously I can’t be all that bad if two of your best friends fell in love with me.”

Angel made no reply.

“Have you ever been in love, Angel?” she asked with an edge to her voice.

“Yes.” Angel responded quietly.

“I’m surprised. You’ve got the looks to have just about anyone. Why waste your time on love?”

Angel narrowed her eyes. “Do you honestly think I’m like that?” Angel’s voice was low and dangerous.

“You don’t want to know what I honestly think of you.”

“I don’t’ have to take this. Especially not from you.” She turned to Scott. “I’ll be in the car, Scott. I’m sorry you had to be a part of this.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she ran out of Marie’s house to Scotty’s car.

About ten minutes later, Scott opened the driver side of his car door [huh?] and started the engine.

“There are tissues in the glove compartment.” He said.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“Are you OK?”

She nodded. “Are you?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m still kind of shocked, I guess. How long were you and Marie in the WWF together?”

“About 6 months. Scott, I hope you don’t mind, but I really don’t want to talk about this anymore, allright?”

“Sure, Ang.”

They spent the rest of the drive home in silence. Scott pulled up to Angel’s hotel.

“Thanks for the ride, Scott. I’m so sorry about what happened tonight. I hope you two work things out.”

Scott kissed Angel on the cheek. “Don’t blame yourself, Angel. This ain’t noone’s fault, and Marie and I will be OK.”

“I hope so.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll try.”

“Ang?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t cry anymore, huh?”

“Okay.” She managed a little smile to ease his concern. “Keep in touch.”

“You got it.”
------

NOTES:

1) What the heck did Marie do that was all that bad? She punched Angel in the head during a freaking wrestling match and then pulled what basically amounted to a practical joke on Mr. P. I don’t really see why she had to quit her job and change her name. Also … I don’t really blame her for thinking that he and Ang were more than “best friends.” If my husband had a female friend who was as free with the hugs and “light kisses” as Angel, I might be a little suspicious. Then again, if my husband cried as often and as easily as any of my characters, we probably wouldn’t have made it to the altar in the first place.

2) Notice how Marie swears to Scott that he’s been her one and only between the sheets. If we revisit this chapter, we will find that she proclaims herself to be a Jezebel. Was she lying then or is she lying now? Or is this simply further evidence of my ineptitude as a writer? Hmmm. At any rate, any character who hates Angel is a winner in my book. Keep on keepin’ on, Nightshade.

3) The Delgado Hotel? The Cascade Inn? Silver Lake Hotel? Why didn’t anyone ever stay in a Super 8?

COMING UP NEXT …

Angel shares all of her recent troubles with Chris in a sickeningly sweet letter and then confronts Marcus about that crap he pulled in chapter 20. Intrigued? Then join us next time for … Chapter 22: Forgive, but don’t forget.