Once back in her own apartment, Karen Wilson came as close to doing away with herself as a human possibly can without actually committing the horrible crime. In complete despair over her vile seduction by Claudia Gray and the abominable act she had submitted to with the dog, to say nothing of her own lewd indiscretions while under the influence of the hashish, she had managed to secure bottle of sleeping capsules through her physician and was intent on consuming all of them. In fact, she had opened the vial and laid down on the bed, when visions of Jeff burst into her mind. She saw him clearly, almost as if he stood before her, smiling and holding out his hand… then, shaking his head negatively and saying, "No, Karen, No! That's not the way. Don't be a coward, darling. Face it! Face it… and wait for me… Wait for me, Karen!"
It was a strange apparition, like a dream, and it affected her greatly. She had never put any faith in mental telepathy, hardly given it a thought actually, but somehow, she felt certain, Jeff had come to her that moment… had given her courage and hope, and she arose from the bed, capped the bottle of pills, and set about to burn the manuscript that had been the cause of all her problems. She would start over, begin anew… sever all present ties, perhaps even take a trip… go somewhere she was not known for a few months… Yes, that was exactly what she would do… exactly what she would do…
And she did.
Karen wrote her book, The Plain Of Granada, in six months, the length of her stay in the old Moorish city in Spain, a country she had wanted to visit all of her young life. She stayed at the Parador de San Francisco, a hotel built in 1492, constructed within the towers of the Alhambra's fortifications originally as a Franciscan monastery and presently one of the government-owned inns, completely forgetting all else but the immediate scene around her and the created world of her novel. When she was finished she reluctantly left new friends and the fabulous old city, making a quick tour of other places she wanted to see like Segovia and the Alcazar, the Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona, El Greco's beloved Toledo, and finally, Madrid where she booked flight on Iberia Air Lines back to the states.
Of course, she had given up her apartment and finding a new one took better than a week, but she was pleased in that this one was less expensive and situated in a more desirable area out near Beverly Hills. Her next move was to contact Nathan Brendell, remind him who she was and request that he read her novel. Although, he said that he remembered her, Karen doubted that he did, and his refusal was polite, but firm. He hardly had time for his… regular clients, let alone new first-novelists, he said… and then, all of a sudden, he paused in his conversation…
"Did you say Karl Fletcher… and the Hearthstone, Miss Wilson?" he questioned into the receiver.
"Yes… yes, I did, Mr. Brendell. One evening some six months ago…" Karen replied, half smiling to herself as she spoke.
"The blonde girl…? Long golden hair and… well… is that you?"
"I think it is," she said, her smile widening.
"And I said that if Fletcher didn't take good care of you to drop around to my office, didn't I?"
"You certainly did."
Nathan Brendell chuckled. Then: "Well damnit, girl, let's get that manuscript over here…"
That had been two days ago, and she really didn't expect to hear from him for another week at least, but she couldn't help her nervous anticipation. It was a good book and she knew it, historical with a strong love story, the proper amount of sex, and she had based her handsome young hero entirely upon Jeff, giving her a strong feeling of closeness to her ax-husband all of these months.
Since their divorce there were few hours of a day that passed without something reminding her of this man she loved so deeply, but following that horrid night six months ago when she had reached her lowest ebb and had nearly done away with herself, she had been content to leave it all to fate. She was certain they would meet again one day, and had been ever since that critical moment when he had seemingly materialized before her to give her strength and courage… to save her life. He still loved her as she did him; she was sure of it, and love would find a way. Maybe she was being a romantic fool, but she was happy in her dream, and it had been this romantic dream world that had produced her book and helped her retain her wits when everything seemed lost. She was not about to frown upon it now. As the saying went, Keep the faith, baby… She intended to do just that.
It was the waiting for Nathan Brendell's call that kept her on edge. Two days became four, then five with no word. She tried to keep busy, settling the apartment and working spasmodically on the out-line of her next book, staying entirely to herself… not wanting to revive any of her old ties. By Friday, she had made up her mind to call him, but never quite got to it. Instead, Nathan Brendell contacted her.
"It's a good book, Karen," he said, his deep voice resounding against her eardrum thunderously, "a damn good book! As a matter of fact… I've sold it, and right now I'm dickering with one of the major studios on movie rights… which is why I haven't called. I wanted to have some good news for you…"
"You… you've already sold it?" Karen stammered, unable to fully comprehend his wonderful words.
"We'll sign contracts Monday," Nathan Brendell said. "Now listen a moment. My wife and I are having a house-warming… our new place out in the valley. We're having a few guests, close friends and the like for the weekend. How about you joining us and we'll have plenty of time to discuss the whole thing… future plans and the like…"
"Oh… oh God… I can't believe it!" Karen exclaimed, her beautiful face radiant in her happiness. "Yes, yes, of course, Mr. Brendell. I'd love to…
"Fine. Tell you what… I'll pick you up in a couple of hours… say around five? It's about an hour's drive from the city."
"All right… yes, yes… whatever you say… I'll be ready," Karen managed, finally remembering to give him her address before hanging up and collapsing almost lifeless into a chair.
Then, she wept for joy, a full hour passing before she could regain control of her elated emotions again. Finally, she got from the chair to get ready for Nathan Brendell's arrival. There was only one thing missing in the whole beautiful picture, she thought… Jeff, to help share her happiness with her.