Page 53 of After the Red Carpet
“Don’t engage with them. It will only make it worse.”
He nodded, got out of the car, and walked around to get Betty. “Come to Daddy, sweet girl,” he said. The paparazzi started aggressively taking photographs, creating a cacophony of clicking. Finn put his hand on her cheek, trying to shield her face, but she exploded into tears. By the time they reached the ticket counter, Betty was having a complete tantrum, crying hysterically, unable to catch her breath, her head shaking. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Finn soothed, bouncing her up and down, rubbing her head. Her sobs only worsened. “We can get ice cream,” he suggested, but she was totally hysterical, screaming and flailing her arms, her face a blotchy mess.
Ella put her hand on his bicep. “Finn, let’s take her home. Please, we need to go now.”
With a look of rage on his face, he carried Betty back to the car, glaring at the heartless photo hounds. He strapped her into her car seat, and Ella slipped into the back seat beside her. They drove home, Betty sobbing hysterically the whole way. When they got to the house, Finn tried to take Betty out of the car, but she pulled away and screamed, “Mommy! Mommy!”
“It’s okay. I’ve got her,” Ella told him.
“Come here, little one,” she said, picking Betty up. She completely collapsed on Ella’s chest. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You can let it out. You’ll feel better soon,” Ella whispered, rubbing Betty’s back as her cries slowed.
When they got inside, Ella said, “I’m going to try to put her down for a nap.” Finn watched them disappear upstairs, his shoulders slumped, his heart broken.
Half an hour later, Ella wandered into the den with the baby monitor and found Finn lying on the couch, a cigarette in one hand, a framed photo in the other. “How is she?” he asked, stamping out his butt.
“Fine. She’s finally sleeping,” Ella replied, lying beside him.
“This is my favorite photograph,” he said, looking wistfully at the photo of Ella breastfeeding Betty. “I’ll never forget that moment. I was right here, you were sitting over there on that rug with Betty in your lap, and we were talking. She got fussy, so you pulled your tank top down on one side and she latched onto you. It was so beautiful, effortless. I just had to capture it. I love how you can only see your spectacular mane of curls that are covering your face, and Betty’s eyes looking at the camera, her mouth on you, and the shape of your perfect breast with that sweet little beauty mark above it.” He stopped to shake his head. “You just went right on having a conversation with me, but I could hardly hear a word. I was so overcome with love, watching my beautiful family.”
“That’s so sweet.”
He put the frame down and draped his arm over her. “When I look at that photo and compare it in my mind with the times you’ve been exploited because of me . . .”
“Finn, that’s ridiculous.”
“Don’t you remember the yacht? I couldn’t believe the paparazzi got those long-lens photos of you sunbathing topless. They have no shame.”
She shrugged. “At the end of the day, I didn’t care. I was sunbathing with my husband. Besides, I’m not ashamed of my body.”
“You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen, but to see you objectified in that way, without your consent,” Finn said, shaking his head. “I’m to blame. This is all my fault.”
“Finn . . .”
“And that time when Betty was only a few months old and they somehow got photos of us on that park bench when you were breastfeeding. Watching you nurture our child is the most tender thing I’ve ever seen. To see it exploited . . .”
“That was gross and it upset me too, but again, who really cares? Her face was blurred in the magazines. Sure, there have been a few unpleasant incidents over the years, but that’s it. It isn’t our daily life.”
“Ella, I’m so sorry about today,” he said, hanging his head.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“It’s my fault.”
“Don’t be absurd,” Ella replied. “Those paparazzi are scum; today was on them. They should have been arrested. There are laws against tormenting children like that.”
“I called my lawyer while you were putting Betty down. The photos will never see the light of day. They’ll be hit with a restraining order, probably some hefty fines. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t undo anything or reduce the likelihood of this happening again.” He stopped to shake his head. “It’s all my fault.”
“Finn, that’s ridiculous.”
“They were harassing us because of me,” he said. “Betty knew it. She wouldn’t even let me take her out of the car. She only wanted you.”
“Sometimes she only wants you. It doesn’t mean anything. By the time she wakes up, she’ll probably be begging for her daddy again.”
“The way she was crying, screaming, her whole body violently shaking—she could hardly catch her breath. I felt her pain, her sense of violation, in the deepest part of my soul. It gutted me.”
“Kids her age have tantrums for all kinds of reasons,” Ella said. “Don’t you remember last month? She had a complete meltdown leaving that birthday party. She was inconsolable.”
Finn let out a puff. “You were amazing, like always. The screaming was getting to me, but you never lost your patience. The way you validated how she was feeling, told her it’s hard when fun things end and that it’s okay to beupset, told her to let it out, all while you cradled her shaking body. God, you’re such a good mother.”
