Dark Handsome - Conclusion

We did, and made four more commercials for products we believed in, and a series of PSA's for pet adoption. Netflix approached me, while Amazon offered Sharon a role in a new series. I ended up doing one movie and a series for them, and Sharon lasted three seasons in hers before they killed her. She popped up in the second season of my show as an intermittent guest, as a bad guy who hated my character. We were worried about the role impacting our commercial career, but the bad guy was a cover for a police detective who became my love interest. It lasted two more seasons before we were cancelled.

We were offered a reality show about our lives and turned it down so fast the producer didn't get to finish his pitch. At thirty, we were pretty well set for life, maintaining our lifestyle and avoiding the glitzy parties. When Sharon won a Golden Globe for her role in my series, the offers came in hard and furious. They were surprised when she turned them all down, wanting to concentrate on our eighteen month old daughter and the birth of our second child in seven months. We worked the pregnancies into the dog food commercials, and sales rose once again. Mr. Happy took one look at our daughter and he was hers from that point on. He was fiercely protective, following her around the back yard, watching her like she was his baby.

We let him breed a full-blooded boxer that belonged to a friend of ours for pick of the litter. They all came out looking like boxers except the runt, a girl that looked just like Mr. Happy. Our daughter Meghan named her Sassy. The dog food people were over the moon, doing everything but passing out cigars. When Mr. Happy passed, she took over his role.

Tom and Jasmine bought one of the other puppies, saying their children needed a pet. They got a large male and Tom had him guard trained. Jasmine turned into the stereotypical soccer mom. She even bought a minivan to shuffle her three to sports, dance, and music lessons. They were all girls; it's a good thing Tom owns so many guns. We still babysit for each other, even though our smallest are almost teens now.

It's funny how life travels in cycles. About ten years after all this happened, I got a call from my agent. I was being considered for a role in an indie film by a new company. The irony was, the woman heading the studio was the same woman I almost lost my career over. The MeToo movement was in full swing, all the dark little secrets coming out. I wondered why they had learned nothing from the past. The woman was most insistent on me, so I took a meeting.

We were in her office, going over the highlights of the script, when it happened. She hinted around that to get the role I would have to be 'nice' to her. I couldn't believe it. I laughed, thinking it was a joke, and she went off on me.

"We've got the power now, Dirk. Women are taking over the board rooms, politics, and the entertainment industry. You can bet those hunky little newbies are going to be putting out if they want us to cast them. Now if you want the role, get out of those clothes and into me. Now!"

I was still laughing when I walked out. She was threatening all the things Mr. Hollywood did all those years ago. I had to wonder why she wanted me. Yeah, I was still in pretty good shape, but I was in my forties, not the man candy I once was. I found out later it was kind of like a trophy thing for her because I had refused all advances through the years. Sharon had received a lot more than I had and she had turned down quite a few roles over the years for that very thing. We always told each other afterwards, and I once had to 'convince' a director to leave her alone. The broken jaw made it hard for him to shout directions on the set.

We laughed about it until she started a smear campaign against me. I called her up and politely asked her to stop and she laughed. "You know the price."

It was a huge sensation on Youtube. I had learned a trick or two from Tom, and we kept the camera glasses, except they were now clear lenses. No one thought anything about it, but we taped almost everything, just in case. I sent the whole thing viral, using Benny's contacts to stream it from a different country, and bleep out any mention of my name. People thought she was threatening a much younger man.

Her MeToo compatriots were up in arms. One of the founders made a little speech damning her for setting the movement back. "We don't want to be equals in matters like this, we want to be better." Her production company almost folded when three young men came out, saying she had forced them to have sex with her to get roles. It took her years to recover, and she never did another casting interview.

We still have our little house, but we only use it now when we're in town. We vacationed at a resort all the way across the country, in the mountains of North Carolina. Sharon and the kids fell in love with the place. We wanted to get the kids away from the toxic environment of the entertainment business anyway, so we consulted realtors and bought a three-hundred-and-twenty-five acre farm. We left the house for the retired couple we hired to take care of the place, and built a four thousand square foot log cabin on a ridge overlooking the farm.

Sharon couldn't stand seeing anything go to waste, so she consulted with the retired couple and started a cattle operation. She and the kids lobbied for horses and now we have five. They like to saddle up and pretend they're cowboys and cowgirls. She bought six chickens that turned into almost a hundred pretty fast. The kids sell free range eggs at the local market for four bucks a dozen, and sell out every time. It gives them a work ethic and their very own money.

We still do commercials; I guess we'll be associated with the dog food company until we pass. Sharon will occasionally take a guest shot for the thriving film industry in the state, and I've done a cameo or two. We'll never have megamillions, but we've always been good with money, and commercials pay really well. The farm is self-sustaining, so we have no worries there.

Sharon is a fanatic about monitoring the computers and televisions in the house, blocking anything remotely to do with porn. I know how kids are, and I know sooner or later they'll discover it somehow, so when it happens I'll sit them down and tell them a story about the seamier side of the business, leaving out names. I'm hoping it will influence what they think when they see it.

She's still a Goddess in my eyes, and she still calls me Pig when I ogle her. I don't care. In my version of the fairy tale, pigs go to heaven.

One last thing: Jasmine and Tom come out to visit us regularly, and are looking for houses or condos in the area. Sharon was complaining to Jasmine about her inability to get rid of her mommy belly after our third and last, saying it wasn't fair that Jasmine should be so toned, especially as she had the same number of kids. Jas grinned and introduced her to her workout routine, which featured the pole in their gym. "You learn to pull yourself up on the pole with just your arms, hold it until you do a full split, twirling around until you reach the bottom. Then flip and use your legs to hold steady, and the belly will go away."

The next thing I know we have a pole in our gym, and she and Jasmine share their routine every day through the internet. The results were amazing, and I couldn't watch her on the pole without getting hard, especially when she pulls me into the gym after the kids are asleep or off with friends and gives me a nude performance. I joked with her once that she and Jasmine should do an exercise video on YouTube. They got together the next time they came out, disappearing into the gym with two videographers. The results were amazing. It went viral, with four million followers. One of the networks got hold of it and asked them to do a guest shot on their morning show.

I watched as she and Jas worked the poles for three minutes to a stunned audience. They had on sports bras and tight little booty shorts, and when the host found out Jas was 49 and Sharon was 44 she was so surprised she couldn't talk.

Someone found about Jasmine's past and posted it. Sharon was so pissed she made a video and posted it in front of their workout. "She could have been any of us. Sometimes, you do what you have to just to survive. She's my friend and I love her. She has a man who knows about her past and still thinks she walks on water, she's a mother to three adorable children. Sometimes Cinderellas do get the castle and Prince Charming. If you chose to damn her for her past and stop watching these videos, I feel sorry for you."

Viewership went up 30%. They made five before they retired.

*****

Thanks for reading. This should have been posted with the mystery event a few months back, but I had a lot of other things going and couldn't make the deadline. It's edited by Randi, I got tired of her sticking pins in her doll of me and having an aching shoulder. You can pull them out now Randi. I've learned my lesson.

Comment if you like, and vote if you want.

Q