Price For A Chance

"I'd like to talk to you," Lizzie demanded over the phone. "Come over."

Her tone was ever so arrogant, but from the delicate change of intonation, I could tell she was finally sober, sinking herself in the endless blues.

After Emma attempted to take her own life, Lizzie withdrew from the family. Continuous absences in mandatory meetings and no more opinions voiced voluntarily or when asked. Parties, drugs, and liquor had become what she thought would bring her much-needed happiness and euphoria.

On the outside, she was the dashing woman who had everything. On the inside, she screamed and screamed at the bottom of an abyss, waiting to be heard.

I almost felt the same.

Early in the afternoon, I was reluctantly sitting on her couch and was told by the maid that she had gone back to sleep after she rang me and was getting up just now. I didn't think she had seen her children much since the night-long parties began to dominate her life.

Children. Child. Him. I shouldn't be thinking of him.

I wondered if Laurie wanted children.

Lizzie ran down the stairs in her light blue nightgown, her face bare and her hair undone. She appeared skinner than I remembered, and the circles around her eyes had gotten darker. I wished to voice my concern yet chose to say nothing.

She sat next to me. A glass of gin was promptly poured before any greetings were exchanged. She extended her glass-holding hand to me, and I accepted the offer without hesitation. It was too early to be drinking, but it wouldn't hurt anyone.

"I'm thinking about getting a divorce," she had already gotten to the bottom of her glass. "I can't take this anymore."

"I'd think twice if I were you," I said, swirling the liquor, contemplating whether I should drink it all at once. "Getting a divorce won't help you with your Hollywood career, will it?"

"Listen," she rolled her eyes and poured another, "unlike you and Thomas, Warren and I tried to love each other. I can't stay in a meaningless marriage just for business."

"What's wrong with that?" I finished the half-full glass as if it came in a shot glass.

"Please," she laughed disdainfully.

I chuckled ironically. She sighed.

"You are both pathetic," she leaned back with her glass in hand. "You married for a good reason. Good, but stupid. Thomas wanted to show he runs this damn county, and you, you wanted the status and money."

"He and I mutually benefit from this," I curled my lips and reached for the gin bottle. "What's stupid about that?"

She tilted her head and stared at me broodingly.

I poured it to the top.

"What do you want from me?" I said defensively.

"You talk like I can't stand being nice to you out of the goodness of my heart," she rolled her eyes again and said tantalizingly. Before I was allowed to speak, she said: "No, I don't want anything from you. But for the love of God, you need to deal with it. I can't watch my little brother get deeper and deeper into this mess."

She was raised to be a good Christian but believed in a different God, like the rest of the Murphy family. Though she sounded nonchalant, her eyes were pleading. For the first time, Lizzie acted like she was begging for a favor from me.

"And what would you suggest me to do?" I raced to get to the bottom of my glass.

"Laurie and I spoke," the winner of this drinking game frowned. Realizing the despair in her tone, she cleared her throat: "He told me that he'd like to give it another try in the show business and that he'd like to move to New York."

"Did he?" I bit my bottom lip. "Then I guess Thomas knows it too."

"No, he doesn't need to know any of that," she filled her glass and mine. Looking deeply into my eyes, she said: "I'll help you. I promise. I just can't watch Laurie being miserable any longer. With everything going on, especially about the Italians, I've got no idea what's coming next. You and I both know Laurie isn't cut out for this family. I have to save him before it's too late."

"I know," I picked up the glass despite feeling dizzy. "But at what price?"

She was quiet. I waited. 

"Let Thomas live," she lowered her eyes. "As cruel as he is, he's still my brother."