Disclaimer: Remember WENN and its characters are the property of Rupert Holmes and American Movie Classics. No Copyright Infringement is intended.
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Radio stations are noisy places. It's not just the studios, but the reception area, the green room, and the office that buzz with activity, energy and voices. That's why hearing only a ticking clock in Victor Comstock's office was unusual.
Victor and Scott both had declared themselves to Betty, and were waiting for her answer. There were no words being exchanged, just looks and the ticking of that clock.
Mere moments passed, but it felt like hours to those inside the office. Then shouting from the hallway penetrated the stillness of the office. Two voices were heard, a man and a woman. Jeff was the louder of the two screaming. "Sherwood, Sherwood where are you, where is he?" He banged open doors as he yelled. Hilary's was the other voice. She was imploring Jeff to stop.
Betty seemed glad of the interruption and moved toward the hallway, her would-be suitors followed. They became part of a traffic jam in the hallway as Gertie, Mr. Eldridge, Jeff, Hilary, Mackie and Maple converged. Jeff saw Scott and yelled "I'll kill you, Sherwood!"
Scott looked surprised at the outburst, but before he could speak, Mr. Eldridge stepped in. "Jeff, you can't kill him. It's a crime."
Victor replied "Not if there's a good reason."
Jeff said furiously, "I'll give you a good reason. Hilary."
Scott said "That's not a good reason."
Hilary gave Scott a scathing look. "I'd pipe down, Scotty, or I'll let Jeffrey have his way with you."
"You'd know about that, wouldn't you, Hilary?" Jeff spat out angrily.
Gertie looked as confused as everyone and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Jeff started to open his mouth. Hilary put her hand over it, trying to quiet him. "Jeff, Pumpkin, this should stay private...."
Mackie snorted. "Hilary, you just told all of Pittsburgh you're married to someone else."
"Well, with the size of our audience," Hilary shrugged, "it's still a semi-private matter."
Betty stared at Jeff and Hilary. "What do you mean you're married to someone else?"
Jeff had a look of pity on his face as he pointed to Scott. Hilary's hand dropped away from Jeff's mouth. Everyone looked stunned, especially Betty.
Scott turned to Betty and said "It's not what you think." He tried to take her hand. The shock of the news caused her to slap his hand away. Betty backed away from Scott.
"How can you be married?" an amazed Gertie asked.
"It's simple, Gertie," Mr. Eldridge said with a tsk, tsk in his voice. "You get a license, get someone to pronounce you married and it's done."
Maple gave Scott a hard stare. "You've been fast talkin' all your life, Scotty. Go to it and explain that Hilary's wrong, before Jeff kills you."
"But she's not wrong. We are married, and have been for some time. It just happened one night..."
"Isn't that the movie where Clark Gable forgets his undershirt?" Mr. Eldridge whispered to Gertie. She shushed him.
Scott started again. "We hoisted a few too many and hightailed it out of state on a lark. Next thing you know, we're hitched, right, Hildy?" She nodded.
Victor looked at a very pale Betty, who had wrapped her arms around herself, as if to keep warm. He quietly asked on her behalf, "When was this?"
"The night when everyone here got fixed up during 'You've Met Your Match.' I wanted to be with Jeffrey, if only to torture him by showing him what he couldn't have." Hilary pointed to Scott. "And he wanted an evening with Betty. If only you barbarians recognized simple colors like heliotrope. Instead a pity party turned into a bridal party."
"And that's a pity," Mr. Eldridge sniffed.
Betty turned to face the newlyweds, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"It just never came up, and we had no intention of staying married," Hilary told her.
Mackie in a practical voice weighed in. "If you just ran away on the sly, you just could have filed for an annulment."
Hilary gave Scott a warning look, but he said, "That's only true when the marriage hasn't been, uh-well-you know, consummated."
Gertie snapped her fingers. "I remember now. You both called in the next morning to say you would be late."
Hilary said quietly "Neither of us was in any shape to drive, so..."
"We just found a place to sleep and found that our inhibitions came off with our clothes," Scott finished weakly.
With a lunge Jeff tried to get to Scott yelling again, "I'll kill you."
Victor stepped between them, "No, Jeff, I'm sorry. He is Hilary's legal spouse. You're not."
Mackie shrugged. "I'd say Scott's suffered enough."
Hilary shot Mackie a withering look and then spoke with a tremor in her voice. "We didn't mean to hurt anyone. It was just fate."
Silence fell over the group, all that was heard was the ticking of the clock. Victor looked up at the clock and said, "Oh, would you look at the time. I think, Sherwood, your time is up."
"I know," Scott replied bitterly. He tried to offer Jeff his hand and attempted to apologize. Jeff ignored the gesture and stalked off. Mackie, Maple, Mr. Eldridge and Gertie all pressed forward murmuring good wishes and goodbyes to the man in uniform. They moved away from Scott, down the hall towards the door.
Scott turned to Betty. "I need you to understand that I..."
"Oh, I understand, Scott." Betty spoke slowly but her voice was strong.
"You couldn't just pick one item off the dessert tray." She nodded toward Hilary. "You thought you could have wedding cake." Betty then pointed to herself, "and simple apple brown betty. But it didn't work, lucky for me. I found out about your sweet tooth before it was to late."
Still, this was a man going off to war. Betty leaned over and kissed a stunned Scott on the cheek. "Take care of yourself, soldier, and watch out. Hilary looks fabulous in black, but I don't think widow's weeds suit her."
Betty turned and moved back towards Victor's office. In a calm, steady voice she said, "Victor, I would like to speak to you, please."
Victor quietly moved towards Scott. The man in uniform looked ready to dodge a punch from his rival. The verbose gentleman searched for the right words, all the right words. Instead of a fist, Victor offered his hand and a disbelieving Scott took it. Victor uttered, "Godspeed."
Victor turned to walk toward Betty with a million questions, compassion and love in his eyes. She took his arm and whispered, "Don't let go of me."
He patted her hand and held it tight, "I never planned to."
Hilary turned back to Scott. "No, he'll give Betty love, but also time and space. Victor won't be a consolation prize. If Betty doesn't see his true worth, he won't take advantage of her."
Scott wondered "Should I be a jealous husband?"
"No, though if I'd been paired with Victor the same thing, er-things might
have happened. In his own way, he's attractive too."
Scott took Hilary's hand and smiled. "Then he'd be the lucky one. Sorry, Hildy, about how it all turned out."
"It's not over yet, Scotty." Hilary was suddenly and, surprisingly to her, tearful. "It won't be until you are back safe and sound. Betty's right about one thing. Though I look devastating in black, I don't want to be the Widow Sherwood. We'll get through this. I might even send some home baked cookies."
Scott pulled her close. "I thought you wanted me to stay alive. I'll let you know where I am and we can talk legalities. Hilary, I'll put your name on the insurance policy all of us soldiers are entitled to."He hugged her once more, kissed her quickly and offered a jaunty salute.
Maple and Gertie were by the front door as he walked that way. Scott kissed
Maple and then grabbed Gertie to bend her back in a passionate embrace. Then he moved to the door, turning back to wave and saw Hilary crying.
"Buck up, Hildy, or I'll go AWOL."
She waved, Scott headed out the door, and everyone left behind suddenly wanted to be busy. They began looking for a way to resume the normal routine when things are far from normal.
As they criss-crossed the room to find their way, Mackie suddenly looked around.
"Hey, where are Eugenia and Mr. Foley?" The gang looked around, perplexed. Suddenly, there were shouts coming from the hall near Studio B.
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