Roberta's POV Part 6


I was with Mom when it was announced in the SimCity Intruder that Helen ditched Dad’s management for Newman’s.
‘My God! I thought Helen was smarter than this! I’ve got to call her and warn her.’
‘About what Mom?’
She had looked at me wild eyed.
‘Never you mind! It’s late go to bed.’
‘It’s only nine o’clock.’


‘Mind your mother.’ The Count had growled at me. ‘Besides she’s just drunk again.’
He’d gotten up from his chair.
‘As for the girl, she looks like a perfect twit to me. All those Studio Town types are.’
‘Shut up!’ my mother and I both yelled at him.
Seeing Mom and I upset made our dogs start growling at him.
‘One of these days I’m going to drown this lot of mongrels.’
I warned The Count that they’d be calling him 'The Countess' if any of our pets ever came up missing.
I think The Count knew I’d really make good on that threat too. I was satisfied to see fear in his eyes.
‘Bah!’ he had scoffed after we glared minus signs at each other. ‘I think that fairy father of yours should have slapped you around a bit when you were growing up. You might have turned out to be a half way decent human being if he had! You’d certainly’d know how to respect your elders anyway.’
His little beady black eyes fell on Mom then.
An ugly smirk lit up his toad like face.
‘If Thornton was even your real father. It’s a well known fact that your mother has had her fair share of men in her life.’


I still seethed with the memory. It had only been a few weeks into their marriage!
Mom tried to make excuses for The Count. She told me he was unreasonably jealous of Dad.
Well, he certainly had reason to be!
I also suspected that the old fart realised early on that Mom only married him for his money and social position.
She still very much carried a torch for Dad.
I might have felt sorry for The Count if he wasn’t such dirty rotten @#$%!!!.
Needless to say our relationship continued to deteriorate until The Count finally told me what he did after buying me the car.
(He and Mom made sure it was presented to me with the press in tow.)


Dad was looking at me sort of funny.
‘What?’
I snapped out of the memory and repeated my question.
‘Why does mom hate that Newman guy so much?’
‘Erm...’ Dad’s look became evasive. ‘Your mother hates lot’s of people.’
‘She really hates Newman though. She chased him away from me at Helen’s wedding. She also hated him enough to try to warn Helen to stay away from him.’


The next morning, I found Mom in her office.
She seemed miffed that no one took her seriously. She was also drinking again.
‘No one wants to take my calls. Fine! It’s no skin off my nose. I’m just a drunk and a has been! Helen’s a big girl. Let her take care of herself. It won’t be on me!’
When I tried to question her further and to talk to her about the cheap way she let the Count speak to her, we ended up fighting.
I started spending my weekends at school until she finally consented for me to go to Karen’s.


‘Dad, I can see it in your face. You know why! Just tell me. I’m almost an adult.’
‘Well...’ Dad seemed to be measuring how much to tell me. ‘I believe Newman once managed or wanted to manage your mother’s career. Newman was trying to build his talent agency. He needed a big name to sign on with him.’
‘And?’ I prompted.
Dad shrugged.
‘They had a falling out. I suppose they both had different ideas on where your mother’s career should be going.’
I had a gut feeling there was more than just a business relationship going on.
‘Were they lovers?’
Dad fixed me a very reproachful look. It was like I’d said a four letter word.
My Dad could be a real prude sometimes.
I would not be put off.
‘Well?’
Dad sighed and gave in reluctantly.
‘Actually, I never knew for sure. Dagmar never talked much about him after they parted ways. I really don’t have any clue about what happened between them. Why don’t you ask your mother?’
I couldn’t tell him I didn’t know Mom anymore.
Hell, what did I really know about either of my parents?
‘Come on Bobbi, that was ages ago. Way before your Mother and I got together. If there was any sort of romance, Dagmar never took it seriously enough to give me the details. I think I told you we were friends for many years before we dated. She liked to sound me out about the men she was seeing and sought my advice though she never took it. If she and Newman did have a fling, he never even rated a mention.’


Up Next: Nasty Newman has his turn.