Page 29 of Interview with the Billionaire

Bridge: What do you mean?

Frank Dunlop: He’s had a lot of shit thrown at him. I’d be protective, too. Hell, when I think of Nikki, I know I’m part of the shit. And she hid some part of herself away because of what I did.

E. Dodge: Frank, no. She loves you.

Frank Dunlop: Now she does. But that’s because she’s an amazing woman. She owed me nothing. Especially since my leaving left her at the mercy of her mother.

Bridge: Why did you leave?

Frank Dunlop: I couldn’t take it anymore. Elizabeth, I mean. And I was a fool for walking out on my girls. I’ll never forgive myself for that. But I’m damn sure glad that Nikki found it in her heart to forgive me. You, too, Ev. Taking a chance on a man who did that to his children.

E. Dodge: Frank, no. You’re a good man. And you’re a man who learns from his past. That’s more rare than you know.

[The moment between them is so intense that I have to look away.]

Frank Dunlop: Well, I’m trying to learn. And I’m proud that Nikki trusts me now. I blindsided her when I came back, but she took a chance on me. That girl of mine is pretty special.

E. Dodge: She damn sure is.

Bridge: It’s wonderful to see that you two have repaired your relationship, but I wonder what impact you leaving when she was a child had on Nikki.

Frank Dunlop: There’s a question. I’d have to say every problem she has. Fair bet they stem from her mother, and I’m the one who left her at Elizabeth’s mercy.

[Evelyn squeezes his hand.]

Bridge: Can you be specific?

Frank Dunlop: The cutting, for one thing.

Bridge: You blame yourself for that?

Frank Dunlop: She wouldn’t have been forced to enter all those pageants if I hadn’t left. But I think the one that truly guts me is how much being a parent terrified her. She didn’t think she could handle it. That she’d start cutting again. Didn’t think she’d be a good role model since she didn’t have one. Thought she wouldn’t know how to do it right. All of that.

E. Dodge: But she got past that, and she’s a great mom.

Frank Dunlop: She did. Hell, she held it together during the kidnapping. She coped. She was a mom, and a good one. Can’t say the same for me. I was out of the country and didn’t rush home. Didn’t even call until later. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. I hurt her when I left. I didn’t fight for my family. For my kids. But Damien will. Hell, he already has. She’s standing with a damn good man.

[She squeezes his hand. For the first time in my career, I don’t know what to say.]

E. Dodge: She’s a remarkable woman. I remember the first day I met her, standing alone, not giving a flying fuck about all the Hollywood types mingling in my living room. One exchange and I knew that girl was smart. Not just decoration. Fifteen minutes later, and I knew she’d become one of my favorite people. I remember telling her I wanted to see how her story would turn out. Would it be a romcom? A comedy? A drama? God forbid, a tragedy? Would it have an Happily Ever After?

Frank Dunlop: Turns out it was all those things.

E. Dodge: It was. She and Damien are in a saga. And from my perspective, I’d say it’s epic.

Interview End

You’re my blood and my breath, Nikki. You’re my life. I will always fight for you. I will always come to you. And I will happily destroy anyone who tries to hurt you.

- Play My Game

A Letter to Evelyn

Dear Evelyn,

This is far too late, but I was inspired this morning to send you a thank you letter for sending me to that damn pageant in Texas all those years ago.

Who would have believed that a pageant I anticipated being a painful slog would ultimately change my life.