I believe the time has come for John Fogg to die.
Or rather, I should say, the time has come for Sinclair Fogg to die. Nearly twenty years with that name and it still never felt quite natural. Iâm sure I could carry on for twenty years more, but thereâs something on the wind, a changing mood, a storm on the horizon, and Iâd rather avoid the deluge. All this business with the HUACâŠIâm hardly a Red, but the combination of my lack of enlistment (given my service in the Great War belongs to John Fogg, not Sinclair), the various entanglements Iâve gotten myself into through the years, and the fact that I continue to stay youthful, I really canât afford to have Congress taking a closer look.Â
It will take some doingâMr. Weston had the nerve to go and die and we I have yet to find a new lawyer I trust enough with the strange necessities of my existence.
I shouldnât I donât mean to be callous about Mr. Weston. He was a good man, an endlessly understanding lawyer, and so dedicated to his job that Iâm fairly certain the stress killed him. But I am bitter. Not only because of the inconvenience it causes me but because he was the last living soul who knew who I truly was. We were never bosom friends, but there was some comfort in the knowledge that I wasnât completely alone in keeping my secret.Â
I am once again considering telling Virginia. She truly is my bosom friend, possibly the best friend Iâve ever had outside of my truest friend on this earth. Iâm uncertain I would have survived
I think she already suspects something. Ginny is an endlessly clever woman, and sheâs known me long enough to notice that I havenât acquired wrinkles at the pace she has. Not to say sheâs an old woman! Older than me, yes, in physical age, but still quite striking. In fact, the appearance of new lines on her face brings me no shortage of joy. Despite everything, Iâve been able to make her laugh many times over the last year, and the evidence pleases me greatly.Â
In any case, perhaps she would be amenable to the truth. There is the not small matter of the studioâIâd like for her to take over operations and that would be far simpler if I could explain the whole matter to her. Not to mention, if I were to start over again, it would mean sacrificing her friendship on the altar of my anonymity, something Iâm not sure Iâm willing to do. For both our sakes.Â
So thatâs Ginny and a new lawyer. I can afford to bring two people in on the secret, I should think. Ginny will protect me out of genuine care and the lawyer will be inclined to keep my secret for the buckets of money I am sure to throw at him. Iâve got to use it for something, especially now that I have so much more of it. I guess itâs worth planning another trip abroad too, some time away to let America forget me. I could travel the world for two years, indulge in every whim, and still not put a dent in the money that was left to me for just that reason.Â
Why he didnât just give all his money to his apprenticeship program, Iâll never understand. But no, he simply had to be explicit in his will; âtake this large lump of dough and spend it on something purely frivolous, Johnâ. Why did he think I could ever find joy in his absence?
Never mind the money. It will be spent or it wonât, but Iâm done thinking of it.Â
Sometimes Iâm gripped by the strange impulse to simply lock it all in a bank vault and throw away the key before starting over. Truly starting over. With nothingâno money, no notoriety, no friends connections. Itâs the need for a challenge in me. Charles would say that I grow bored if Iâm not putting my life on the line, but what does he know, Iâm the one that stayed, that kept my life, meanwhile he
Good lord, lâve practically destroyed this page with what Iâve crossed out. Maybe I should throw this particular diary away. Maybe I should stop letting myself write of him at all. Or maybe I should indulge fully, let out every single thought. It seems no matter what I do Iâm still so fucking angryâ
I do relish a challenge, itâs true. And I donât currently have a mountain to climb or world to conquer. Sinclair Studios will continue to thrive without me, Iâve yet to find a new permanent home to sink my time and effort into now Iâve sold the Los Angeles property and the apartment in New York. I am both figuratively and literally wandering without a home.Â
Going abroad. Thatâs just the thing. One more holiday season taking advantage of Ginnyâs endless hospitality and then Iâll set sail. Maybe Iâll even fly, what a thing that would be. See how Europe has repaired itself in the last few years. Or perhaps Iâll finally make my way to Australia or some other far flung place.Â
I just know I need to get away from any place that heâd ever been. Even looking up at the stars, I only think of the fact that he once looked at that same sky, the moonlight on his face, a cigarette between his lips.
Yes. Away. A prolonged trip didnât fix anything a few years ago but maybe a second go at itâat leaving everything behind and distracting myself so completelyâwill have an effect. Maybe this time seeing sights he never saw wonât make me want to die. Is there nowhere in the world I could go without it being about him in one way or another?Â
Maybe this time I'll be able to forget. Even for just a moment. Just one moment of peace. Iâd go anywhere, under any name, to find that.
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