Elena relaxed, but only a fraction.
Cici continued. “L.A. probably seems like a huge city to you. But, it’s not. It’s a bunch of small towns, really. Small towns that gossip. You know what that’s like?”
Elena nodded.
“Of course you do.” Cici sniffed and wiped her eyes, then grabbed a tissue from her purse. “I think that’s why I feel like I can talk to you. You’re not part of this scene. You’re new. And,” she turned to face Elena, “you’re dating the guy who’s going to keep my family safe. I can trust you, right?”
“Of course,” Elena said. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you or Roger or the kids. What’s going on?”
Cici’s face crumpled. “I was so stupid. We do such stupid things when we’re young and then try to justify them. I don’t know if I was wrong or right, but I didn’t have any real choice at the time, not if I didn’t want to ruin my life.”
“What, Cici? I can’t imagine you ever doing anything bad.”
She wiped away more tears. “I was in college. Roger and I went to different universities after high school, but we were still dating, and then we weren’t.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “We were young, and I don’t even remember what we fought about. But we broke up for a while. And I… I did something really, really dumb and it got me in trouble.”
“In college?”Did she have a secret boyfriend? Elena wondered.Why would that matter now? She obviously got back together with Roger, and they were broken up at the time.
Cici looked Elena over. “Things were different then. I hid what I did from Roger. I hid it from everyone. Almost everyone. I had one person I could turn to, who helped me through all of it. I’m still thankful to this day.”
“Whatever this is, is it still a secret from Roger? Are you worried he’ll find out and be angry?”Or that it’ll ruin his political aspirationsshe added silently to herself.
Cici shook her head. “Oh, no, Roger found out. I told him, years later. I had no choice at that point. But, we talked through it, and he’s stayed with me.” Cici had to stop talking while her sobs overtook her. “He’s such a good man. I love him so much. I love our family.”
Any lingering doubt Elena had about Cici possibly seeing Lawrence Franklin on the side evaporated. No one, not even in Hollywood, was that talented of an actress. Not even Bette. Cici truly adored her husband.
Elena leaned across the console and hugged Cici. “Of course he’s a good man, and he loves you. It’s so obvious.” She pulled back and looked Cici in the eyes. “Why are you so worried? How bad was that mistake?”
“It could have been worse. I could have…” Cici pulled herself together and nodded. “But, now we’re under a microscope, and I don’t want my past mistakes to ruin Roger’s chances. You know how people sling mud. Or worse.”
Elena nodded. “Oh, I’m intimately familiar with people who abuse their power.” Now, Elena found she was the one fighting back her tears. Ross, Nebraska had had its secrets, many of them deadly. And the authorities were still digging them all up, both figuratively and literally. Elena shivered.
Cici smiled, dug in her purse for another tissue, and handed it to Elena. “I can see that. I’m so glad we’re friends. I’m trying to protect my kids, and I know you understand what that’s like. So, you’ll understand when I ask you to please ask Camden for a favor.”
Elena’s heart lurched. Ciciwasusing her, Lawrencewaswatching her, and it all had to do with Camden.
“Anything, you know that,” Elena said, trying to keep her voice even.
Cici sniffed. “There will be rumors flying, and there will be truth mixed in, and neither will be pretty. That photographer who got into Bette’s party, I know he was filming my kids. I saw him staring at them with those glasses on. Who paid him to do that? Who else close to us will they pay? People know Camden is doing security for Roger, and they might try and get some private information from him. Please, if anyone approaches him, could you ask Camden to maybe look the other way on a couple of things? Or even, I hate to say it, deny something?”
“Deny what, Cici? I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“My twins. They don’t know, and I don’t know how they’d feel, if they’d hate me. I was planning on telling them when they were older, maybe.” She shook her head. “They have a seventeen-year-old half-brother who I gave up for adoption. I had one year left in college and my parents would have disowned me. My life would have been ruined, not to mention the baby’s. I took a semester off, had a baby boy, and gave him up. No one knows but Roger and the father. The records are sealed. I don’t know where the boy is, and he doesn’t know who I am. But I’m so afraid of the story coming out and getting used against us.”
Elena breathed a sigh of relief.Was that all?Elena thought.And here I was just saying how great it is we can talk openly about sex these days. But there’s still so much shame and blame. At least in some people’s eyes.
“Cici, I can’t imagine why anyone would care. Like you said, times have changed—”
Cici only cried harder.
“Look, if you want my advice, I would sit the twins down and tell them tonight. Mitigate the damage. Like you said, if they hear it from someone else, they might be angry and hurt that you didn’t tell them.”
“I can’t. I just can’t. They can’t find out, Elena. I have to be perfect.” The wild look in Cici’s eyes almost scared her.
We really do come from two different worldsElena thought. Cici seemed so strong, and yet she was acting like a scared little girl. Was it because she hadn’t been protected enough, or had she been protected too well, never having to face the hard consequences of her decisions until now?
She waited until Cici had composed herself enough to drive safely. “I can tell you that Camden is so far above bribery that you never have to worry about him spilling anything about you or your family to the wrong people.” She put up her hand when it looked like Cici was about to protest. “I swear, he and everyone at Watchdog is dedicated to protecting all of you. Fromeverythreat. But, I can also tell you that it would be for the best if you come clean now—to your kids, and maybe even to the world. You didn’t do anything wrong. You did what was best for the baby.”
Cici nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. Elena doubted the woman would follow her advice, but at least she’d tried. “Are you okay to drive?”
