13: All… Right?
It was a sunny late-February morning, and Zooey was headed into the office for the day when she was pleasantly surprised to see Justin calling. He had been in New York visiting Scarlett for the weekend, and truth be told, she kind of hated when they weren’t in the same city. They’d exchanged a couple of texts, but beyond that, they hadn’t spoken it all. His call immediately made her smile.
“Oh shit,” she answered jovially via speakerphone. “Haven’t talked to you in a minute.”
“Hello?” a female voice answered. Despite its tentativeness, she knew it had to be Scarlett’s.
“Hello?” Zooey returned, her good mood already washed away by apprehension.
“Who is this?”
“I’m… “ she paused, not sure whether to actually say her real name or if she should call herself Samantha, as she knew she was referred to in Justin’s phone. “I’m not sure I should say until I know who this is.”
“This is Scarlett. Justin’s wife?”
“Oh. Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Can I… help you with something?”
“I… don’t know,” she exhaled softly. “I don’t know why I’m calling.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Is this Zooey?”
Suddenly, the steering wheel seemed to be slipping through her fingers as her hands began to sweat. She wasn’t sure what to say, and since lying wasn’t at all her forte, she just told the truth. “Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah.”
“Justin’s all right?”
“Yeah, he’s fine.”
“O…kay. Well… I am heading in to work right now, so…”
“I’m sorry. This is fucking weird, I know. I’m just “ I don’t know what I’m doing,” Scarlett admitted skittishly. “I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“I’m gonna let you go.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“You were at lunch with Justin a couple of weeks ago, right? That’s what one of the interns on the set of your movie told me?’”
“Umm… yeah. Yeah, we went to Umami Burger, if I recall correctly.”
“Okay.”
“Is that all right?” Zooey asked, knowing that was the very least of her offenses. “If it’s inappropriate, I certainly won’t do it again. I’m retarded when it comes to coworker etiquette and such.”
“No, no, no, it’s fine. I’m… just… being weird.”
“All right. Well, if you need someone to be weird with a little later, I will hopefully be out of work around seven.”
“Really?”
“Sure.” She made an odd face to herself as she turned onto the lot where her television show was filmed. “Feel free.”
“Okay.” Scarlett’s tension seemed to disperse. “Thanks.”
“Okay. Umm… take care.”
“You, too.”
As they ended their call and Zooey triple-checked to make sure that Scarlett was, in fact, gone, she exhaled very heavily and said to herself, “Holy fucking shit.”
Before she could even gather her thoughts, one of her coworkers was knocking on her window, urging her inside. “Out of the car, kiddo!”
Thankful that he’d interrupted her impending panic attack, she quickly shuffled out of her SUV to catch up with him, scripts and junk food in tow. “John!” she called after him. “Wait up!”
As requested, he paused at the entrance to wait for her, smiling at her frazzled state. “What up, Levin,” he greeted evenly.
“Krasinski.”
“You look like you wanna vomit, you know.”
“I kind of do, actually.”
“Do tell,” he smirked, holding the door open for her. “Don’t leave anything out.”
“You absolutely must keep your mouth shut about this.”
“Oooh, a secret!”
“Top secret secret,” she confirmed, looking around to ensure that no one else was around.
John pretended to zip his lips and throw away the proverbial key.
“I… okay.” In frustration, she ran her hands over her face and through her hair, looking on guiltily. And while she knew she could trust John, she hated having to explain the whole situation to anyone outside of it. “So… I like this guy. And he’s married--.”
“And his name is Justin Timberlake,” he inserted knowingly.
“I need you to not do that.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. So I like him. And… I’m not sure I should be telling you this.”
“I am deeply offended.”
“John.”
“Okay, sorry. Go ahead.”
“His wife just called me,” she blurted out excitedly. “And I’m so scared of why she would do that.”
“Hmm.”
“We’ve never met before, never had any kind of exchange. She called from his number. Why would she do that?”
“I… dunno, kid.”
“Think, man!”
“Well what did she say?”
“Nothing, really. She was really weird and sort of cryptic and cagey. It was all very odd.”
“And what did you say?” he questioned as if he could really figure this out.
“I mean, I didn’t know what to say. I told her she could call me later, but I had to go to work.”
“This is really disturbing.”
“I know!”
“I honestly have no idea what to tell you.”
“Awesome. I’m so glad I wasted this information on you.”
“I’m glad we had this talk,” he proclaimed, pressing the elevator button. “Do me a favor, don’t tell anyone we spoke?”
“Like I would.”
“Hey. Since you’re openly discussing it, is it possible for you to get Justin on the show?”
She narrowed her eyes at the suggestion, and then at him. “What reason could he possibly have to be at the office of a paper company?”
“You’re right. This conversation never happened.”
“What I can do is write you off of the show,” she grinned, stepping onto the elevator ahead of him.
“I’d like to see you try, Levin.”
“Oh, I could do it.”
“No, seriously, I’d like to be in some tragic paper accident if you can swing it.”
“Oh, so the entire internet could come after me for splitting up Jim and Pam? Why do I feel like you’re trying to have me killed?”
“Hey, then your problem would be solved.”
“That’s true.”
“See, I’m helpful.”
“You took a roundabout way, but I like the initiative,” she nodded. “Thanks, bud.”
“My pleasure,” he retorted. Then, the elevators opened to their floor, where they would be shooting for much of the day and wouldn’t have much time to talk at all. He knew that this would be his last opportunity to calm her fears. “But honestly, Levin, it’s not like you’re screwing her husband, so what could she possibly have to say? She probably just wants to plan some weirdo surprise for him and wants your help. Don’t sweat this, aight?”
“You right, you right.” Of course, he was so absurdly wrong that it was almost funny. She needed to switch subjects. Quickly. “So you ready to have a baby, Jim Halpert?”
“I am ready.”
“Awesome. Let’s do this.”
“Do this, we shall.” And as they prepared to part ways, so that he could head to wardrobe and she could eat some unhealthy breakfast, he made sure to add, “Glad I could help.”
Little did he know, he’d just helped her into feeling a lot worse.
____________________
When Zooey finally returned home from a tumultuous day of shooting and worrying, she was somewhat happy to see her sister waiting for her on her couch.
“Honey, you’re home,” Emile greeted her younger sibling, already knowing that she’d had a long day from the texts she’d been sending for the past few hours.
“Kill me. Kill me now,” she frowned, falling into her couch beside Em.
“Spill. Why has it been such a bad day?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” She moved up on the couch so that her head rested in her sister’s lap and looked up at her, seeing that she appeared especially glamorous to be sitting around doing nothing. Her makeup was fly, her hair was straightened, and her silk DVG top with its floral print was adorable on her. “You look cute.”
“Ugh. I look like an open umbrella,” she noted, commenting on her six-months-pregnant figure. “Who made you mad, Zo?”
“No one.”
“You told me you were having a bad day, slut. Speak on it.”
“Okay. You’re gonna kill me when I explain all of this to you, but whatever.”
“What did you do,” she already knew.
“I slept with Justin,” she admitted cautiously. But before she knew it, Emile had slapped her forehead harshly. “What the fuck, Em?”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying what I said!”
“When?”
“Like… wow, it was about two weeks ago.”
Emile immediately slapped her again. “What the fuck, Zooey. Why are you just now telling me this?”
“I dunno. I dunno.”
“Well what’s your malfunction?”
“Well obviously I’m having a moral dilemma because I really, really like him,” she went on, making sure to protect her forehead in the process. “But today. This morning. Scarlett called me.”
“Scarlett is his wife?”
“Yes. Scarlett Johansson.”
“Whoa. Did I know that?”
“I’m pretty sure you did. But that’s kind of beside the point, isn’t it?”
“She called you.”
“She called me.”
“What did she say?”
Sighing heavily, she tried to recall their weird conversation and anything useful Scarlett might have said. “I mean… nothing, really. She was very odd throughout the entire thing.”
“What does that mean?” she questioned, running her fingers through her sister’s long brown locks.
“It means what I said! She didn’t say much, really. She was just kind of like… ‘Is this Zooey?’, and ‘I’m sorry, I don’t really know why I’m calling. Sorry about this.’” It was so fucking weird, Em.”
“Shit, Zooey.”
“This is bad, isn’t it?”
“You’re really too smart to be this stupid, you know.”
“I know.”
“Why did you even answer the phone?”
“She called from Justin’s phone! How was I supposed to know it was gonna be her?”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah…”
“That’s interesting.”
“Why is that interesting,” Zooey pressed, still baffled by the entire exchange.
“Because she probably just happened to see your name in his phone and was feeling impulsive.”
“Okay.”
“And she probably gets the vibe that he’s steppin’ out, but she has no idea who with.”
“How is this interesting? This sounds ridiculous and terrible!”
“Calm down, Zooey.”
“Maybe you can’t tell, but I’m pretty mortified.”
“I can tell, which is why you need to chill,” she reprimanded her. “If you have the balls to screw someone’s husband, you should have the balls to handle his wife.”
“I really need you to not be a bitch about this.”
“I’m trying to work through this with you, but you can’t act like a psycho while I’m trying to think.”
“Fine.” Zooey sat up from her sister’s lap and turned to face her, sitting cross-legged and curious as she contemplated the situation.
“How did the conversation end?”
“Umm. I told her I had to go into work, but that she could call me later if she needed to. And she seemed to light up a little when I said that.”
“Interesting.”
“Stop saying that!”
“It is!”
“I don’t know what to do with that.”
“I mean, it sounds like she’s hoping to confide in you. Maybe she thinks he’s cheating with someone else and she’s hoping that you can provide some insight.”
“But how does she even know who I am?” Zooey shouted.
“Ooh, or maybe she saw that one story about y’all from a few months ago.”
“What?”
“That story you called me about? When you were spotted at Lucky Strike?”
“Oh fuck,” Zooey finally recalled, thinking about her argument that ensued with Justin once that story came out.
“Of course, it’s unlikely that she’s just now discovering that. That was, what? Back in October?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“So… I dunno, kid. What did Justin say?”
“I haven’t told him yet.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve been working! I haven’t talked to him yet.”
“Interesting.”
“I’m gonna punch you if you say that again, Em.”
“Well it is!”
“You’re not helping.”
“You just need to gain her trust, I think. Become friends with her.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not even a little bit. I think you need to befriend her, find out what’s going on in her head, keep that bitch close to the vest.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s for your own good.”
“It sounds ridiculous, you know.”
Emile rolled her eyes at her sister as she teased, “Not any more ridiculous than you fucking her husband…”
“Touché.”
“Do you feel bad?”
“Horrible.”
“But you’re gonna keep doing it, right?”
“I dunno what I’m gonna do, Em. I mean… I kind of adore him. That’s not my fault, is it?”
“Well… I fell in love with a douchebag, so I certainly understand that the heart wants what it wants. And I’m not gonna judge. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
Zooey nodded. “You know you give me different advice on this subject every time we discuss it, right?”
“I know.”
“And you know I’m gonna listen to it always, because you’re my sister, right?”
“I know.”
“Okay.”
“You know I’ll never purposely steer you wrong, right?” Em had to confirm.
“Of course.”
“So we’re good?”
“Always.”
“When are you gonna call her?”
“Call… who?” Zooey frowned.
“Your new B-F-F, obviously.”
“Oh, we’re really doing that?”
“Yes, Zooey! Call her. Now.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Now?” Zooey repeated timidly.
“Now, bitch!”
“Okay!” she grimaced, hopping off the couch to grab her purse. She pulled out her phone for the first time in hours, seeing that she’d missed two calls “ one from a number she didn’t recognize, and one from Justin. Figuring that Scarlett had probably been both, she took a deep breath and redialed Justin.
“Hello,” Justin eventually answered, seemingly contented.
“Hey,” Zooey replied tentatively. “Everything all right over there?”
“Yeah?” he seemed oblivious. “What’s up.”
“Is Scarlett there?”
“Mmhmm. Why?”
“You mind if I talk to her?”
He nearly choked on his water when her words hit him. “Say what now?”
“Listen, she called me earlier, and I’d like to push past any kind of reservations or suspicions she may have, so just let me talk to her, all right?”
“Dude.”
“Dude.”
“Are you joking?”
“No, not at all. In fact, I’m starting to think that I’m actually on some alternate version of Punk’d, where completely uninteresting people get played by celebrities, but I’m gonna fucking play along as long as I have to. Let me speak to your wife.”
Justin was stunned, being blindsided by this information, and unsure of how exactly to react. But he figured if push came to shove, Zooey would have his best interests at heart. “All right,” he sighed. “Babe!” he called out, waiting for Scarlett to appear in their bedroom.
Zooey waited nervously, listening in as he explained to his wife that his ‘friend’ wanted to speak to her. She glanced over at Emile, who was signaling for her to put the call on speakerphone.
“Hello?” Scarlett finally came on the line, her famously raspy voice in full swing.
“Heyyy, it’s Zooey,” she greeted, feigning affability. “I just wanted to check on you, see if you were all right.”
“Oh, hi! I called you not too long ago, actually.”
“I saw. Sorry, I was driving home from work.”
“You were still at work? Wow.”
“Yeah, well… Working in television is definitely not a nine-to-five. More like a nine-to-nine.”
“Oh, so you’re not just working on the movie?”
“I’m not, actually. My regular job, I guess Justin didn’t tell you, but I write for The Office.”
“Oh wow, no, Justin didn’t tell me anything. He’s never mentioned you, I don’t think.”
“Figures.”
“Well that’s pretty cool.”
“I like it.”
“Okay, so I guess that’s how you’re affiliated with Gene and Lee,” Scarlett began to put some pieces together.
“Right. Yes,” Zooey nodded, looking up to her sister, mouthing, “What the fuck?” as Scarlett went on.
“Interesting. Okay.”
“So is there something going on that I should know about? Is everything all right?”
Scarlett was trying to discreetly scurry out of the room with Justin so that she could continue their conversation in private. “Everything is fine,” she assured finally. “I was just thinking that... maybe you could help me with something.”
“Umm. Sure,” Zooey frowned, trying not to laugh at Emile’s matching expression. “What do you need?”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath before catapulting into her rampant thoughts. “Well I don’t know how often you and Justin speak or if you’re close at all, but I just saw your number in his phone under his recent calls, and you went to lunch together and all. And… I don’t know, it’s probably because you work together and you probably don’t know him that well at all, but… I’ve tried to talk to his best friends, I’ve tried talking to his mom, I’m out of options really, and I was just wondering, if maybe you could provide some insight… And I realize that this is insane, because you’re a complete stranger to me, and if you know little to nothing about me and Justin, that’s fine. In fact, it’s probably even better. But like I said, you were one of the few people he had recently called, and I was just wondering if you could help…”
Zooey and Emile sat there listening to her rant, bewildered as to what Zooey could possibly help with. “Scarlett, you gotta calm down, girl.”
“Sorry, I’m rambling,”
“It’s okay.”
“I’m just really nervous.”
“Why?”
“Are you married, Zooey?”
“Umm, no. I’m not. Not even close,” she chuckled.
“Okay. Well Justin and I got married recently, and I know it’s so ridiculous to ask you if you know anything about it, but I’m just gonna put it out there and hope for the best, but--.”
“Listen, you don’t have to feel weird. I’m here, I can listen, whatever you want,” Zooey encouraged earnestly. “Sometimes, a stranger can offer the best advice.”
“That’s true,” Scarlett nodded.
“Just think of me as your therapist.”
“Do I have to pay you?” she loosened up enough to laugh at herself.
“Consider this your free trial.”
“You’re sweet,” she exhaled softly, eased by her calm tone. “I’m probably just, like, paranoid, but I’ve known Justin for a long time now and he’s never acted like this before.”
“Acted like what, exactly?”
“I mean… he’s not terribly different, but he’s not the guy I know. It’s like he flipped a switch after we got married and now he’s just… not the same.”
Zooey was clearly going to have to employ her limited acting skills to pull off this conversation. “Really? What makes you say that?”
There had been a quiet transfer of power between he and Scarlett and she knew it. Suddenly, she felt as though their feelings had become lopsided. And even though it was slight, in a marriage, any type of imbalance is readily apparent, marked by small but irrefutable changes in behavior. Suddenly, he was constantly checking his messages when they were together, yet when they were apart, he rarely called her back. He closed the door to use the bathroom and washed his own clothes now. All harmless actions, really, but definite warning signs for someone like Justin, who had been an open book to her through much of their six years together.
“I don't know, there's nothing truly concrete," she admitted, "but, like, when I came to visit him for his birthday, he seemed completely uninterested and actually a little… annoyed that I was there.”
“Hmm…”
“So I’ve been wracking my brain for the past couple of weeks, wondering what I could have done to make him want to distance himself from me. Because we’ve been closer than ever for as long as I can remember, and suddenly, we’re barely communicating. I mean, has he said anything to you?”
“He… hasn’t,” Zooey croaked out, hating that this woman was desperately pouring her heart out, completely unknowingly, to the one reason that her husband had been acting strangely. She wanted to confess everything right then and there, but instead, she just held back tears and tried to rationalize Justin’s actions for his wife. “Umm, wow. I mean, I know this can’t be easy for either of you, having to be married from opposite ends of the country…”
“It’s not easy, but we’ve been doing it for so long. I really didn’t think it would affect either of us this much.”
“Right.”
“I mean, superficially speaking, the only thing that’s changed is that we have rings on our fingers now. I’m not sure why his whole demeanor has shifted.”
“Well, I don’t know a ton about Justin, but the little I’ve seen of him working, I know he works hard. And he’s doing a lot right now, you know, rehearsing for this movie while he’s shooting a freaking David Fincher film. I can only imagine that that’s a really harrowing process.”
“That’s true,” Scarlett realized, knowing how difficult it is to do one film, much less, two at a time.
“Have you asked him what’s going on?”
“I’ve tried, to no avail.”
“Mmm.”
“But you’re right, he does act a little odd when he’s stressed out.”
“I can imagine.”
“So… you may have something there. I guess I’m just reaching for something more dramatic.”
“It’s to be expected. I’m sure the last thing you want to hear as a newlywed is that your husband values his work more than you.” Before she knew it, Zooey had been knocked in the forehead with a bottle cap. Courtesy of Emile, of course. “What?” she hissed.
“Why would you say that to her?” she whispered.
“I-I didn’t mean that the way it came out,” she stammered back to Scarlett. “I mean… I’m sorry. That was retarded.”
“No, you’re right,” she grinned sadly. “That’s just the name of the game, I guess.”
“Not that I know anything about love or marriage, or anything like that,” Zooey went on, trying to conjure up something to comfort her. “But… my sister is getting married in a little while, and I’ve definitely been a close observer of her relationship. And to me, from what it seems, when you’re in a relationship, you have to fall in love with that person over and over again. Which means that there will be some points where you fall out of love. And… that’s probably okay.”
Scarlett nodded to herself as she digested Zooey’s words, and even though it hurt like hell to accept, she figured that this was probably more than likely true. “Zooey, you are a lifesaver.”
“I am?”
“I was freaking out,” she chuckled hoarsely. “I mean, clearly, I’m calling a complete stranger for marriage advice.”
“I told you, I’m your therapist.”
“Well this has been a very valuable session.”
“I’m glad.”
“Thank you so much for… listening. “
“Hey, I’m a writer. If I didn’t listen to other people, I’d have nothing to say.”
“I appreciate it, Zooey. Seriously.”
“Seriously, it was nothing. If you ever need another sesh, just give me a call, okay?”
“Really?”
“Really, really,” Zooey insisted. “You have my number, feel free to use it.”
“Okay,” Scarlett smiled into Justin’s phone. “Cool.”
“Cool. I’ll hopefully talk to you later.”
“You will.”
And with that, the two of them ended their call, Zooey looking up to her sister in complete astonishment. “What. The. Fuck.”
“Right?” Emile grimaced, staring at her sister’s phone. “Is she serious with that shit?”
“I guess so?”
“You did good, sis.”
“Did I? I don’t even know what I said.”
“Besides the part where he cared about his job more than her, you were pretty fuckin’ helpful.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Especially that shit about falling in love and out of love and whatever. That was gold, kid.”
“I hope so.”
“You think she’s gonna call you again?”
“I… don’t know. Maybe?”
“Can you imagine? What if you became, like, best friends? And you were still screwing her husband… Oh, my god!”
“Shut up.”
“Do you know how diabolical that is?” she cackled, sitting back in the sofa cushions. “Oh, my god.”
“Em, shut up.”
“You are eeevil, Zooey.”
“Shut the fuck up!” she shouted back, chucking the same bottle cap back at her. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I can’t believe you told her to call you back. I think you have some kind of bad seed gene, Zo.”
“What?!”
“Seriously, that is some gangster shit.”
“You told me to befriend her!”
“I know, I know. I’m fucking with you, obviously," she was almost smiling. "I think you’re doing the right thing here.”
“There is absolutely nothing right about this.”
“In terms of the right thing for you. Yes.”
“Why am I getting advice about this from the most self-involved person on the planet?”
“Because you love me,” she grinned. “And I think you recognize as well as I do that living life is a dicey proposal. Even if you look like you have everything under control. There’s nothing wrong with advice.”
Just then, Zooey’s phone began to vibrate in her hand, almost causing her to jump in surprise. It was Justin’s number again, but it scared her that she couldn’t be sure who would be on the other end. Cautiously, she answered. “Hello?”
“Hey. I don’t have long, but… what’d she say?” It was Justin.
“I can’t say.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not,” she smiled, as she usually did when she heard his voice. “She entrusted me with something and I don’t want to betray that, so I can’t tell you.”
“Now’s a great time to get moral, Zooey.”
“I don’t care, I’m not telling you “ at least right now “ so let it go. Just know that everything’s cool and… I think she likes me. We're friendly.”
“You’re friendly,” he stated disbelievingly.
“Yes. So... go enjoy your wife, enjoy your time in New York, and… I’ll see you in a couple of days?”
This whole thing was clearly spiraling out of control, which he hated, but he didn’t know what to fight, so he didn’t bother trying to fight it. “All right,” he sighed.
“All right.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I figured since I have one chapter left to write, it would certainly be all right if I posted one more, yes? Plus, my little story is apparently featured right now, which is just awesomery squared. I don't even know how that happens lol. But anywayyy, I want to thank you guys so much for sticking with me after so long. I read all your reviews, and while I don't have time right now, I look forward to responding and conversing with everyone once I finish this last chapter. But in the meantime, please know how much I appreciate you! Y'all go on some crazy rides with me, and your feedback is truly invaluable. You just don't know. But I'm gonna stop rambling and let you read. Just... thank you. -Ash
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