Reality And Romance

Chapter 3

Libby smiled. For once, everything in her life seemed to be going as planned. She and Andrew had been dating in secret for a month now, and she was pleased to say that everything was going well. In fact, Libby would have even said that this was the happiest she had ever been.

After the first date she had gone into work Monday to find the details of their next date already in a book. He had chosen ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens, much to her amusement. She read the letter quickly, and with excitement. It stated that Andrew had booked them tickets to the theater to see Les Miserables.  Libby had been just about to get her pen out and write a note of thanks, and offer to pay for dinner afterwards when she noticed a large, box, gift wrapped in blue tissue paper next to her feet, on the floor. She picked up the tag and examined it smiling. It had her name on it.

Carefully she unwrapped it, pulling away the blue material until she reached the pink box beneath. Inside the box was a set of clothes. Spandex clothes. Oh, and there was a mask…and crown. On the front of this folded pile; was a note.

‘If I have to wear one, you have to wear one.’ – Captain Iron Chest

“Vain Bas*ard,” she muttered to herself, noticing the use of his ‘superhero’ name.

Of course she had tried it on and was actually shocked by how well it fit, and well, despite being a latex one piece…. how nice it was. The costume was white, with blue and red stars scattered across it. Written on the front in a smooth, cursive red were the initials LB, standing for Liberty Belle, and on the back in similar neat cursive, the entirety of The Colossus by Emma Lazarus.

“Give me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

And then added on at the end of the poem:

“For I am Liberty Belle.”

It was bizarre to be going on dates in these strange costumes, but at the same time there was something strangely delightful about dressing up as a Superhero. Wearing the quote from The Statue of Liberty on her back gave her a bizarre sense that she could be doing more. Made her wish she was bolder and braver, that she could deliver all the things the poem promised.

For the most part, she enjoyed wearing the costume, most people turned a blind eye regardless. This was New York City after all and if people did glance, most people just assumed they had come straight from a costume party. The only small problem with the costume was that it was exceptionally low cut, so she had taken to wearing a vest top beneath it, much to Andrew’s disappointment.

Aside from her new strange life as a sort of date-based superhero, a few other things had changed. For one thing she had started to watch StarGazing far more religiously.

“Come down, Andrew’s on!” Diane and Chris were both delighted she had gotten more into the show. It meant less time being nagged to turn the channel now that Libby was also a big fan. It also meant that all three of them were far less efficient employees of the library, but hey, there was a bell. If you rung it, one of them would come.

Libby smiled as she gazed upon Andrew. It was strange, but the more she got to know him, the weirder it was to see him on television. He still looked hot as hell, but she had also noticed that there was something not quite comfortable about him, something reserved and unsure. He no longer seemed intense and icy, because he wasn’t. Andrew’s intensity wasn’t ice, it was an all-consuming fire that set everything in its path alight. It was energy, and enjoyment. Running along roof tops at three in the morning and attending the opera unembarrassed by your hand crafted superhero costume.

“Looks like the elusive bachelor might have got himself a girlfriend…”

The fond image shattered.

Libby’s stomach swarmed uncomfortably. She couldn’t have heard her friend right, Andrew had a … “What did you say?”

Diane pointed at the television, “Just listen.”

“So I hear you’re going on a date with Christina Belerosi?” Asked a perky blonde reporter with insanely white teeth.

“Oooh, she was in Glamour’s one hundred new faces to watch out for.” Diane commented, oblivious to Libby’s pain.

“She’s fu*king hot,” concurred Chris.

Libby felt like she was about to be sick. Hot tears swelled up in her eyes, and her heart felt as if someone was squeezing it tightly. Crushing it.

Andrew mentioned that his brother Johnny often got set up with models to pretend to date for publicity. Libby supposed they had done the same thing to Andrew. Libby shook her head, even if that was true, as much as she liked Andrew she was not going to let this happen, she was not going to keep seeing him if he was pretending to see someone else. God, she hoped he was pretending. What if he had been cheating this entire time, or what if he had found someone else? Someone better?

“No.” Said Andrew with a firmness she had never seen from him on the show before. “I am not going out with Christina Belerosi?”

Libby looked up, hoping, pleading, that she had heard him correctly.

“But what about the rumors?” The reporter pressed, a smile was still on her face but now it seemed distinctly forced.

“The rumors are not true.”

Libby breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly wiping away the tears on her cheeks before Chris or Diane noticed. They had both guessed she was dating someone (although she had vehemently denied it), but they would never have supposed it was Andrew. If they saw her crying they would have probably teased her about taking the show far too seriously.

“But wouldn’t you agree she’s….?” The reporter was looking at Andrew as if he was crazy. This was clearly not the answer she had been expecting.

“Very attractive. But I think I’ve already found someone special.” At this point, Andrew looked directly at the camera, before pushing away the microphone and walking away.

Libby’s eyes grew wide, he was talking about her.

*****

Within the Thompson mansion there was only two rooms where the brothers and their mother could go for any privacy. These were the four bathrooms. The bathrooms were large, each with a huge bath and separate shower, all above black marble floors. In any other house it would be strange for the bathroom to be a social area, but in the Thompson household it was the only place they could go for privacy and so weirdly had become a place of comfort and companionship for the three brothers. They would often spend evening’s playing cards in there together, or move in the portable television if they wanted to watch football away from the prying eyes of the television cameras.

The interview had resulted in widespread media shock, and already journalists were pouring to the gates of the mansion desperate for a chance to interview Andrew about this mysterious ‘special someone’. As a result, the moment Andrew had re-entered the mansion his brothers had taken no time grabbing him forcibly by the wrists and pulling him into the bathroom.

“What was that about?” Johnny asked, his eyes wide. “Why didn’t you just admit to it? You’d only of had to go on a couple of dates and the studio would have paid for it. I know you don’t like having to do this stuff but…” He trailed off in frustration.
Aaron nodded, his dark eyes narrowing. “At the very least, you could have come up with a more convincing lie. What are you going to do about this imaginary special someone? The press is going to hound you like a dog, I suppose you could say it was an online dating affair, or hire some poor girl to stage a break up with.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “For someone who tries to avoid the limelight, that sure was a stupid move.”

“It might have been a stupid move,” Andrew conceded. “But it wasn’t a lie.”