Intervention

Kevin and Helen intervene as the girls' arguing gets out of hand.

 

Intervention

 

 

 

The sound of the girls’ discussion invaded Helen and Kevin’s dispute. They found the girls still debating the promotion routine when they entered the Kimberly’s room. Kimberly burst into tears and ran to her mother who was almost knocked over by the force of her child running to her. Stacy ran to her father and the two girls maneuvered their parents closer together. 

            “Marco’s up to something. Kim and I figured it out.”

            “He’s got us all the Texas Commerce Tower” Kimberly explained as she dried her face. “And he did it without letting any of you know it.”

            “I said he was dangerous. You know I never trusted him and you know why.”

            Her last comment was directed straight at her mother. Helen’s face paled as the words hit her. She did hear Stacy that night. 

            “I know why too” Kimberly added. “At first I thought it was all a bad dream, but I can remember it all now.”

                        “Oh my babies” Helen cried as she hugged Kimberly close to her. “Stacy, please” as she also grabbed her and hugged her tightly to her.

            Helen was at a loss. She had suspected Stacy had seen Marco’s attack on her and did not understand that it was an all out sexual assault. She tried to look Stacy in the eye, but Stacy’s cold glare bore through her like a knife. 

            “Stacy, Kimberly”, Helen began in a very hard to control voice. “I know that things have been tough here the past couple of months. I have had to be away a lot with work and your Dad’s job has taken a lot of his time as well. I know he spends more time with you than I do, but it doesn’t have to be this way forever.  I still love your father, and you, and Kimberly. We are still a family. We may need to get through some tough spots, but we are a family still.”

            “Mom’s not always going to have to work for Marco”, Helen continued. “He may just get out of our lives if the spot Saturday goes well. He has tried to get a job with a big LA station. This could do it for him.”

            “I couldn’t be so lucky, but if you think it will get him out of here for good, Kim and I will do that routine. If I have my way, we’ll beat him at his own game.”

            “Yeah, we can do this, and do this as a family. We’ll teach him not to mess with us, just like Texas!”

            “Mom, does Dad know about how you got hurt?”

            “Stacy, you know she told Dad. She had to tell Dad or she would have died. You told him about that didn’t you Mom?”

            Helen felt like a two edged sword had just ripped her in half. Both girls knew about Marco, and Kimberly thought Kevin had treated her to save her life. Her expression paled once again. She took in a couple of deep breaths and tried to steady herself.

            “She didn’t tell him, Kim. That’s part of the problem.”

            Stacy ran from the room and went to her studio. She had set something in motion now and she did not know where it would stop or how many of them it might hurt along the way.   Helen moved to go to her, but Kevin stopped her.

            “I think she needs this time alone so let her cry it out. She’s upset and she needs to let this all come out.”

            Kimberly now stood between them; feeling lost in the middle of emotions she had never known existed. She was also feeling lost because her mother wanted to go comfort Stacy, and not her. Maybe Stacy was right about everything after all. She could see that her mother was not going to take a side in the battle between the girls, and that really troubled her. She had always thought she was Mom’s child, the one Mom would protect from Stacy or anyone else.

            “Mom”, she almost cried. “I thought you loved Dad. He could have helped you.”

            “Kimberly”, she began, but Kimberly ran from her and joined Stacy in the studio. She sat and hugged her sister and cried together. 

            Kevin was somewhat stunned by the commitment Helen had tried to show to the family. She had always been a bit distant in family relationships, even to the point of trying to send the girls to a boarding school on more than one occasion. He could tell something had changed her tune somewhat, but he had no idea what that something could possibly be. Helen’s coldness and flirting during the past five years had been flings, so the marriage counselor had said, designed to make Kevin jealous and pay more attention to her.

            Kevin suspected that she possibly had an affair as an attention getting act the counselor had suggested, but there was never any proof and they still had enjoyed a healthy sex life. Marco had helped make her radio show much more popular and that had helped her demand a larger salary at the station. All of which meant more money, and that made Marco in fact, the next high bidder for Helen’s affection. Try as he could, Kevin could not get that idea out of his head, even though he could see his wife now trying to act like a real mother and parent to her troubled daughters.

            “We need to get this aired out” Kevin said with a new tone of conviction. “The girls saw something or someone, and I suspect someone hurt you. Kimberly thought it was bad enough to kill you. My prime suspect is Marco. What control is he using over you? Has he threatened to hurt you again?”

            “No, that was a very, very bad night. The station was celebrating taking the third place spot in ratings. They held this big party, the one you had to leave. Marco started making advances on me right after you left. He got very drunk, and very aggressive.”

Stacy did not believe the events unfolding before her. Mom was really going to take time off from her news show to stay home and talk with her Dad. Was a confession really going to happen? She was really nervous, but as nervous as she was, Kimberly was in even worse shape. 

            Kimberly was in total shock that the secrets she and Stacy held were going to come out in the open and she was very afraid that her parents would just walk away from both of them. She was even more afraid that her father might be the one to just leave them with their mother and call it quits on them. As strange as that struck her, she was really very afraid. 

            Helen told Kevin what had happened that night. They sat together in the den while she tearfully told him all of the details. Kevin listened intently and held her when she leaned into him. He knew Helen was and had always been very flirtatious. It was a fact she could liven up the most boring party by simply showing up and working the room. She would flirt with the older men in the society circles and made some of the gatherings events they simply had to attend. Amazing what the attentions of a young, attractive and famous woman could do for the egos of some of the blue bloods in society. 

            “Helen, I have to ask this and I hate to ask. Have you been with another man at any time while we’ve been together? Not just while we’ve been married. We go back over 20 years and I want to know if you ever cheated on me.”

            Helen could see where Kevin was going to take this conversation. Their entire relationship was now on the line. It was her call to tell the truth and hope against hope that Kevin would not be ready to leave. He and the girls were all the family she had now. Her parents had been on Flight 11 when it crashed into the towers a few years ago. Her dad the first one killed by the suicide bombers, but she felt confident he had taken one with him as he died. 

            “Kevin, the truth is not as simple as that. You know I love to flirt. I was an only child and I have always been the center of attention.”

            “I’ll promise not to judge you too harshly if you the answer is yes. I just want to know the truth.”

            Helen had to think back on the tape Marco possessed. Would that be counted as cheating? Kevin’s value system was at times hard to read. And she felt Joyce always ready to pounce if she faltered.

            “Kevin, you know I flirt all the time. Some men take it seriously, some men don’t. I can tell you that I have never slept with another man since we’ve been married. Marco has tried several times, but I’ve been able to keep him at bay.”

            “Did you intend to sleep with Marco at some point?”

            “Not at first, at least not until something came up in San Antonio and the only way to get out of this mess was to sleep with him, but that’s the only way I would even consider ever sleeping with him. I would never sleep with him out of passion or emotions.”

            Helen had come clean this far, so now was probably the best time to reveal the big dirt Marco had on her.

            “Our last fight” Helen began, “I know I started it. I set you up for it. When I left I did the evening news and drove around Houston until I was almost out of gas. I wound up at Wild West. I never meant anything. All I really wanted to do was sit and have a couple of glasses of wine.”

            “This one cowboy kept coming on to me. After the first two glasses of wine, dancing seemed innocent enough. He kept the wine coming, but there was something else going on. Marco had me followed and taped. He is using that tape to force me to let the girls do this promotion. Trust me, the way he edited that tape, it looks like I was really on the make. How half of Houston would love to rip me to shreds with it. He could ruin us with that tape.”

            “Ruin you, you mean. It wouldn’t ruin us, just you and your flawless reputation.”

            “Well, you could be right about that, but we both know it would hurt the girls to see that footage, to have their friends see it and it could influence the gymnastics committee as well. It’s not good Kevin. I can show you the footage.”

            “You have a copy?”

            “Yes, but he said there were more where this one came from, and it’s so easy to copy these videos so I believe him. He threatened to put it on a nationwide feed if the girls don’t do the station’s promotion.”

            “Now that we know his hand, we can counter with a plan of our own. I’m not happy with this, but let’s get this weekend past us before we move ahead with our lives. We have to deal with Marco’s plan and stay one step ahead of him until this event is over. He’s still planning to do it live, without tape delay?”

            “He specifically cut the tape delay. All of our sporting events carry a 5 second delay, but Marco dropped that for this event. He wants it live, 100%.”

            “The live feed, of course! How better to ruin TV personality’s reputation than to put something damaging to them on the air or force them to say something in the heat of the moment that would shock all her faithful viewers? Damn, he’s good. He’s not quite good enough though. He underestimated his competition this time.”

            “You have an idea?”  

            “Oh you bet your jet black hair I have a plan. Stacy said she and Kimberly had a plan concerning the uneven bars. I bet they can handle their end. We need to work on your next assignment, and this tape. We don’t have a lot of time. Are you with me? It means betraying Marco, and there’s a chance it could all backfire. Question is are you willing to trust me with this?”

            “Kevin, I’ve never once doubted you in over 20 years. Let’s get to work.” Helen’s bold statement was so much more than a statement of her faith in her husband. It was a statement of her faith in their ability as a family to counter Marco’s plans to ruin her and her dreams. Her children were involved and if you believe in the natural order of things, you know that a female always protects her young, no matter what species.

            Kevin made a few calls to Wild West while Helen called in a few favors of her own. They were going to use Marco’s tape and turn his plan around on him. Helen was going back to Wild West to complete a segment on Houston’s night life. It was a topic she could handle easily, and with Kevin’s participation and cooperation, the Marco tape would mean nothing. It would just be clips of footage she had gathered for her story, cleavage, legs and all.

            Kevin had spent quite a few nights at Wild West with Helen and his sister. He and Laura were well known for being fierce dance competitors and Helen’s face was also very familiar to the staff and management.   Wild West was a major sponsor of Helen’s station and it was very easy to get the cooperation from management to shoot some additional footage to add to Marco’s tape. The footage was turned into an ad for Wild West and would air during the actual promotion. With the skills of the film editors, Marco’s tape was now just a poorly made tape which showed a couple having fun. Helen’s crotch grab turned into a Crocodile Dundee take off as well with the tag line “Only Real Cowboys Dance Here”.

            Kevin also called in a few favors to set up a few stunt doubles for Helen and the girls. If Marco was up to something with this promo, it would not be the girls or his wife who would be hurt, and the stunt doubles were better equipped to deal with any tricks that might come their way. 

            Stacy and Kimberly now suspected the promo was going to go bad. Just filming two girls on the uneven bars did not sound like good TV to either of them and they were just teens. Since they had figured Marco was up to something and where the event was, Stacy had a plan to discredit and maybe even expose Marco for what he was. Kimberly’s mind was set to get even, and then get ahead, so she was with Stacy all the way.

            Stacy felt Marco’s plan was to make sure some accident happened with them on the bars. The accident would be the result of them being pushed too hard to compete. The fact that their own parents would be involved would show the world that their mother and father were trying to live their Olympic dreams through them. He probably wanted to show the world their mother as a driving force pushing the harder and harder, thus causing this dreadful and needless accident.

            The girls told their parents their suspicions and it made sense to everyone. Helen called Gloria and asked her to check things out at the station for her. From the information Gloria gave Helen, the girls were spot on with their suspicion. 

            After Helen talked with Gloria, Stacy used the *69 feature on their home telephone to talk briefly with Gloria on her own. She was certain Marco’s copy of the tape had to be delivered to Gloria in order for it to go on air and Stacy was right. “Honey, the minute that man hands me that tape, I’ll record “American Idol” all over it. It won’t ever see the light of day again, you can count on that.”

            Stacy always inspected the bars more than once before she ever mounted them. If there was anything out of place on the bars, she would find that fault with the bars and she would do it on camera. Marco was responsible for all equipment at this shoot, so any problem with the bars or any safety equipment was 100% on his shoulders. 

            The distraction Stacy and Kimberly would cause concerning the bars would give Gloria enough time to isolate on Marco.   Stacy planned to confront him about the apparatus and the lack of safety.  Kimberly was going to “test” the bars with his permission, and he would be set up for the fall. 

            “We’re practicing the double routine again tonight, Kim. Dad’s got some stunt doubles and they will learn our routine tonight. We are going to be safe.”

            “Where is Marco getting the uneven bars? Stacy weighs about 115 and Kimberly is about 105, give or take a pound or two…..”

            “Dad!” Kimberly protested. “I’m only 99 pounds! You took me off the junk food till Regionals are over, hello!”

            “That’s not the point. The uneven bars you girls use at the gym are stronger than the ones at competition. They have to have stronger supports due to the weight of some of the male gymnasts. Marco may have played into our plan without realizing the bars would not support you two at the same time. The bars this weekend will have to support both of you at the same time and at different flex points as well.”

            “That’s what Shannon was talking about the first time we tried the routine. Kim, remember she had the side supports tightened. We didn’t bend the bar the way we normally bend it.”

            “Okay then, this is the plan. Stacy, inspect the bars the way you always inspect them. Find anything wrong for real, this whole thing is off. If you don’t find anything, ask the spotters to test the bars. With any luck, the spotters from the gym will find a problem. If they don’t, we are still in business. Stall at least 3-4 minutes; ask for a skill pad under the bars, anything to get me that time.”

            “Kimberly, I’m sure everyone noticed that you were bouncing all over the gym after your first event. You were all smiles and full of energy. Use that energy again. Offer to test the bars; do anything to make Marco let you on them. Just get on them.”

            “No sweat. I can do that. Do I need to be even more excited and annoying?” Even though the event was still more than five days away, Kimberly was starting to get very excited.

            “Helen, no matter what, you have to back Stacy up if she finds a problem. Remember, a pushy mother would make her child do this routine, even if it wasn’t 100% safe. Back her up all the way and try to keep Kimberly off the bars. If I know Marco’s type, you not wanting her on the bars will be enough to make him use Kimberly to prove Stacy wrong.”

            “Will your film crew be ready tonight?” Kevin asked. 

            “They will, and I called in some favors at the Wortham Center. It’s not exactly what they normally do, but we have enough help that we can recreate the rooftop and skyline there. The film crew will give us two hours to tape the routine.”

            “Under Shannon’s direction, though. Not Marco’s.”

            “I have to get down to Wortham Center right now though. If this works, we owe them an Opera Gala after this, you realize that.”

            “Gross” both girls said in unison. 

            Kevin laughed that one off, but it would be a small price to pay if their help would get rid of Marco and put him away.  

                        “Dad”, can you take me and Kim to the “Y” or somewhere to lighten up? This is getting pretty intense and we need some time away from here.”

“Yeah! I want to go swim!”

            The two girls ran off to pack up their swim gear before Kevin could react with either yes or no, so the matter was settled. His part of the plan was set in motion now, and there would be no turning back.   It had been pretty intense for the past few days, and the girls needed a break from their routine.