32 Candles

I knew about this before Chloe did, because Mike showed up at my dressing room door the night before he broke the news to her. “You owe me three thousand dollars, baby,” he said, with a happy smirk.

I did not hesitate to write him a check. And though I felt bad for Chloe, her getting dumped and all, I did not let that stop me from anticipating the inevitable. If Mike could be this callous with Chloe, I had no doubt that his breakup with Tammy would be even more fun (for me) and horrible (for Tammy).

Even though it had taken my life savings, I got my wish a little over a year later. This is how it went down, according to Celeb Weekly: After a year of dating model Tam Farrell, who had once called him “her soul mate” during an interview, Mike Barker had dumped her for a much more famous A-list actress. And apparently he had delivered the news over the phone, while on a private jet headed to Las Vegas, and while sitting next to the A-list actress who was now replacing Tammy the way that Tammy had replaced Chloe.

The youngest Farrell sibling was devastated. One source called her “inconsolable.”

I drank the story in, unable to believe that something that I had planned had actually come to fruition. It was a heady feeling of power that inspired me to sing an unprecedented bent of upbeat standards for a whole week straight. Nicky was thrilled.

And though I did not deliberately plan Veronica’s heartbreak, there was a niggling thought in the back of my head: I wonder if I could do this again.

. . .

In August 2002, two months after the Tammy Farrell Heartbreak, Corey Mays walked into the club for a dinner meeting with his agent. I saw him as soon as he came in, and I wondered if God wasn’t perhaps on my side, because here is what had happened to my old chemistry partner since I had run away from Glass:

He went on to Florida State University and played Gator Ball. He was the seventeenth-round draft pick for the New Jersey Jaguars. And thanks to his happy-go-lucky nature and an obvious tendency toward kindness—which most of his fellow teammates did not possess—he ended up being a bigger hit with the fans than anyone would have ever expected. This led to major brand endorsements, which put enough money in his bank account for Corey to set his mama up for life and to finally pursue Veronica Farrell in the manner she was accustomed to. Eight years after he had first clapped eyes on her in high school, he proposed. And she said yes.

From what I could see, it wasn’t a great match. He was warm, and she was cold. He was one of the most beloved sports figures in the United States, and she seemed like she was doing him a favor by deigning to live in his mansion and wear his many-carat engagement ring.

So when he walked into my club, it seemed like fate.

Unlike James, he had the good grace to recognize me, and even asked Leon to come get me after my set.

Leon near about lost it. “You know Corey Mays?” he said, when I answered his knock on my dressing room door. I had to promise to get him an autograph before he’d even let me go say hi.

I put on my Stage Davie persona and sauntered over to his table in my evening gown. It was not lost on me that the last time he had seen me I had also been wearing an evening gown.

“Corey Mays. It is good to see you again.” My voice was dripping with Southern charm and sincerity.

Corey, who had stood up as soon as he saw me approaching, now enveloped me in a warm hug. He was much larger than he used to be in high school, and his hug felt a little like getting crushed. “It’s good to see you, girl. You look good. Real good. I can’t believe it’s you.”

Like me he still had his accent, and that made me smile even wider. “You better start believing, then, because I’m standing right in front of you.”

To both our embarrassment, he started crying.

“I ain’t never heard her talk before tonight,” he said in way of explanation to his agent, his voice cracking.

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