Searching for Moore

by Julie Richman

  The reporter turned off her microphone and looked Schooner square in the eyes. “You are more than just a pretty face, Mr. Moore. I am honored that I will be the one to share that story. Welcome to New York.”

  Mia stood in the doorway smiling, as the reporter left. “Remember when I asked you if people knew who you really were?” Schooner nodded, “I think after this, everyone will have a really good idea.”

  With the interviews completed, Mia and Schooner went out to join the party. L9/NYC was packed; the champagne was flowing, waiters passed hors d’oeuvres on silver trays, live music pulsed from the center of the rotunda. Schooner grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

  They stood at the rail of the second floor mezzanine surveying the ethereal club. Shai had created a scene from a dream. “I want a sip.” Mia reached out for Schooner’s champagne.

  “You do?” He was surprised, as she had not drank at all throughout the pregnancy.

  “Mmm-hmm, just a sip. To celebrate.” Schooner held the flute to Mia’s lips and she took a small sip.

  “Yum! I’ve missed that.” She looked down at the throng of people in the rotunda below. “Look at this, Schooner.” She looked up at him and he was smiling, ear to ear. “Let’s go work the room.” She took his hand and they descended the marble stairs. At the bottom, she turned to him and gave him a quick kiss, “Go work your peeps and I’ll go work mine,” she gave his hand a squeeze, “till we meet again,” and with a flash of her devil grin, they headed off in opposite directions.

  Emma Stone, the Olsen Twins, Rachel Bilson, Bradley Cooper, Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds, Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Selma Blair, Victoria & David Beckham, and of course, Katie Holmes. Mia thought, ok those are the ones that I can name, as she stopped to say hello and greet guests. There were so many faces she knew that she should know who they were, but couldn’t put a name to the face. Ok, they are on that CW vampire show, she thought, as she greeted a couple with a huge smile and a “Hi there, isn’t this space fabulous, are you having a good time, great to see you…”

  After close to an hour of buzzing from conversation to conversation, Mia headed to the perimeter of the rotunda where there were a few tables set up. She had Shai keep the number of tables to a minimum, so that guests would have to mingle, but her feet were past the mingling point and her Jimmy Choo’s were soon going to have a Christian Louboutin crying effect, if she didn’t sit.

  At a table situated near an alcove and slightly removed from the fray, Mia spotted Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick sitting with a few people and there was an empty chair. Salvation, she thought, as she headed their way with a determined walk and a smile on her face. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw who was sitting next to the empty chair.

  She came up behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders and whispered into his ear, “Just seeing you gives me a heart boner.” He turned to meet his whisperer, his huge trademark smile overtaking his face as well as a look of surprise, for he did not recognize the whisperer, who was quoting the words that he had tweeted out on Valentine’s Day. Mia met him with a huge devil grin and said, “I have the biggest crush on you!” His warm brown eyes widened at the bodacious introduction and she went on, “Hi, I’m Mia Silver.”

  His mouth opened into a big surprised “O” before breaking into a smile, “You’re Mia Silver? All night everyone has been saying to me, I can’t believe you don’t know, Mia and You have to meet Mia.”

  “Ta-Da.” Mia put out her hands, “And now you have!” Before sitting down next to her secret crush, Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen, Mia went around the table to greet Sarah Jessica and Matthew.

  “I can’t believe you two have never met.” SJP was surprised. “You look wonderful, Mia. How are you feeling?”

  “Great, except for my feet tonight.” She looked down at her beautiful shoes.

  “Silver Jimmy Choo’s — now that is perfect for you.” Sarah Jessica laughed.

  “I know! Schooner gave them to me. He thought the same thing.”

  “Schooner Moore?” Andy asked.

  Mia nodded. “I had a meltdown in front of Christian Louboutin a few months ago thinking I was going to have big swollen platypus feet and that I was going to have to wear Birkenstock’s, so Schooner thought that Jimmy Choo’s would make me happy. And he was right,” she laughed.

  “I haven’t met him yet,” Andy began, taking a sip of his champagne, “which is amazing because he was quite the talk of all the Real Housewives of Orange County.”

  “I’ll bet he was.” Mia rolled her eyes. “I’ll introduce you.” She scanned the room, “There he is.” Mia pointed across the rotunda where Schooner was talking with Heidi Klum and Amy Adams, “The Brooks Brothers model talking to Heidi Klum.”

  Andy looked at Mia and laughed, “No wonder he was the talk of the Housewives. He’s gorgeous!” Andy grabbed Mia’s forearm.

  “Inside and out.” Mia smiled.

  “So, you’re his ad agency?” Andy asked, leaning in close for the scoop on Mr. Hotness.

  “Amongst other things.” Mia smiled and Andy cocked his head to the side in a “tell me more” gesture. “Baby Mama.”

  Sarah Jessica looked at Andy, “Get with the program, Cohen. That man is in New York because of Mia.”

  Andy leaned over and whispered in Mia’s ear, “And the blonde OC shiksa?”

  “A signature away from where she should have been twenty-four years ago when she hatched her evil plan to break us up. Gone. Goodbye.”

  Andy was staring into Mia’s eyes shocked, when their attention was drawn away by a buxom bleached blonde shrieking his name, “Andy, it’s been so long.”

  The smile was plastered on Andy’s handsome face, but the look in his eyes said, “Who the fuck are you?”

  Mia and Sarah Jessica exchanged smirks. She introduced herself and as fate would have it, she was a friend of a friend of one of the Housewives and had appeared briefly in the crowd at a party in one of the episodes, several years back.

  “This is my cue to go upstairs and change into more comfortable shoes.” Mia announced, standing to leave.

  Before she could take a step, Mia heard her name being called as Katie Holmes approached, “You look adorable! Schooner told me you two are expecting.” Katie wrapped her in a warm hug, as if they were old friends.

  “Katie,” Mia smiled and hugged her back, “It’s so good to see you. How do you like this space vs. the ones on the west coast?”

  “This is amazing. I can’t wait to start using the facilities. It is so unique. Just like Schooner though to create a fabulous concept.” Mia was smiling brightly at Katie’s assessment.

  Katie and Andy hugged and the Housewife wannabe was dying to get Katie’s attention, but Katie and Sarah Jessica were already talking about school starting for their kids and Mia was left with Andy and the wannabe.

  “Are you Mia Silver?” The wannabe asked.

  Mia was concentrating hard on her face. It had no movement to it. Botox overload was Mia’s assessment. “Yes, I am.” Mia responded.

  “I’m a friend of CJ Moore’s. Schooner’s wife.” She leaned in toward Mia, with her tall, lean frame.

  “Of course you are.” Mia smiled, “Wonderful, then you’ll be able to report back to her how fabulous our opening was. Now if you’ll excuse me, Schooner had the foresight to buy me the cutest pair of silver Jimmy Choo flats to change into when these,” she motioned to her gorgeous silver slingbacks, “became too much.” She turned to Andy, “I’ll introduce you and Schooner when I get back.” And in a whisper, “Score one for the Jewish girl.” Andy’s face broke into a huge smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

  Mia made her way slowly through the crowd, stopping to say hello to guests as she migrated toward the main marble staircase. As she ascended the grand flight of stairs, she looked up and saw Zac standing at the top, a few feet from the steps. He was leaning over the railing and looking at the crowd below. He looked so damn handsome, Mia couldn’t h
elp but smile at him. In his right hand was a champagne glass and Mia thought she was going to need to talk to the wait staff about cutting him off. Zac was still a minor.

  She approached him with a smile, “Having fun?”

  He shrugged his shoulders, “You know my mother should be the one here with him. Fifty percent of this is hers.”

  “Zac, I really do love how loyal you are to your mother.” Mia was sincere as she looked into his glazed eyes. He’d clearly had quite a few glasses of champagne.

  “Obviously not a trait I get from my father,” he drained the remainder of his flute, “since he’s choosing a bitch and a bastard over me and my mother.” A waiter was passing by and he reached for a fresh glass of champagne.

  “Zac, I think you’ve had enough to drink.” Mia reached for his glass and he thrust his arm forward to push her hand away, knocking Mia backward, the champagne splashing down the front of her dress.

  Mia felt the heels of her Jimmy Choo’s slipping out from under her as she took a step backward to try and right her balance. The heel of her right shoe caught the edge of the top step and as she began to fall backwards she saw the complacent look on Zac’s face. The edge of the first step she hit slammed the lumbar section of her spine and she felt the pain searing through her body. “Protect Nathaniel” was the thought that flashed through her mind and she brought her flailing arms down to wrap around her stomach. She tumbled backwards over a few more steps feeling the stabbing pain in her shoulders as they slammed the cold marble and then there was darkness, the pain gone as the back of Mia’s head caught the very edge of a step and her limp body tumbled to the base of the stairs.

  CHAPTER 37

  Charles received the message in his ear that there had been an accident at the main staircase and that a woman was unconscious. Within seconds he arrived at the scene to see Mia splayed on the floor, blood already spreading from the back of her head. He gave orders to call 911 and have them arrive at the side entrance and have someone find both Schooner and Dr. Gary Cohen.

  He kneeled down next to her to take her pulse and silently thanked God when he felt one, “Meezie, we’re getting you help. They’re on their way. Just stay with us, Meezie.”

  Gary was now leaning on the other side of her, feeling the pulse at her neck. He had his cell phone to his ear making arrangements for what he needed in the emergency room.

  Schooner arrived to see both Gary and Charles leaning over someone and as he got closer he saw Mia’s shoes and pushed his way through the gathering crowd.

  “Baby Girl,” his choked voice barely audible as he dropped to his knees next to her. “Baby Girl,” his panic was rising. Blood from Mia’s head seeped into the pants legs of his suit.

  “Is she going to be ok? What happened?” He looked from Gary to Charles and to the staircase Mia had just careened down. As his eyes traveled up the staircase, he saw Zac standing at the top, empty champagne glass in hand, a slightly amused, detached look on his face and in that moment Schooner knew all he needed to know.

  Springing to his feet, his long legs taking the steps two at a time, Schooner charged up the staircase, a growl emanating from his chest. He rammed into his son head first, the force catapulting Zac fifteen feet backwards into the wall with the second sickening thud of the evening, knocking the wind out of him.

  Schooner grabbed Zac by the neck and slammed him into the wall for a second time. “What did you do?” He hissed.

  “I didn’t do it on purpose. She was grabbing my drink. I was trying to get her off of me.” Zac met his father’s eyes with venom.

  Schooner had Zac pinned to the wall. Although only two inches taller, Schooner was dwarfing Zac with his aggressive stance. “If anything happens to her or the baby…”

  Zac cut him off with an indignant, “Yeah, I know the bitch and the bastard are more important to you than me and mom, you’ve made that perfectly clear.”

  Schooner drew back his right arm, hand fisted, driving forcefully toward Zac’s face. Inches before its intended target, Schooner’s arm was jolted back, stopped in mid-air and a very calm voice whispered in his ear, “Meezie needs you with her in the emergency room, not in a jail cell.”

  Schooner closed his eyes and let out a long slow breath. He nodded his head and in a low voice, “Get him out of here. I want him on a plane back to LA tonight. If you can’t get him on a commercial flight, charter a plane. I’m not kidding. I want him out of here tonight.”

  “But Dad, Exeter…” Zac began.

  “Exeter is done. I don’t want to be within 3,000 miles of you. Get him out of here tonight.” Schooner repeated. Two of Charles’ men were now flanking Zac.

  Schooner raced down the stairs to where the EMT were arriving for Mia. Charles put a hand on Schooner’s back, “For what it’s worth,” Charles said to his friend, “I would’ve done the exact same thing.” Schooner knew he was referring to attacking Zac.

  Mia was still not responding as the EMT’s began to immobilize her, bracing her neck and head and gently log rolling her onto a stretcher.

  Schooner stayed along side of her, “It’s ok, Baby Girl, they’re going to get you to the hospital. Gary’s already there, waiting for you. Everything’s going to be ok. You’re going to be ok. The baby’s going to be ok.”

  The ambulance was waiting outside the side entrance of the club. Three EMT’s slid Mia’s gurney into the ambulance. Schooner began to climb into the ambulance when one of the EMT’s put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him and said, “Sir, what is your relationship to the patient?”

  Schooner looked at him with an incredulous look, “I’m… I’m her fiancé,” he stuttered.

  “I’m sorry, Sir. I can’t let you ride with her. You’re not family.”

  “Not family?” Schooner’s voice was raised. “She’s my fiancé. That’s my baby.” Schooner moved toward the ambulance.

  “Sir, please stop.” Two EMTs were now between he and Mia. “Sir, the longer you detain us, the more risk there is for the patient. Please let us leave.” They climbed into the back of the ambulance, the doors closing with a loud clank. Schooner winced at the sound.

  Paralyzed, he stood there on the curb watching the vehicle recede into the night, the flashing red lights growing smaller as the ambulance moved farther away.

  He heard a noise behind him and then Zac’s voice, “Dad.”

  Schooner turned around as two of Charles’ team were escorting Zac into an SUV. Their eyes met. Schooner felt nothing. Looking at Zac was no different than passing a stranger on the street. Schooner was numb.

  He turned back around to see where Mia’s ambulance was, but it was gone. No sign of the flashing red lights remained on the avenue. He heard the engine of the SUV as it pulled away, but it didn’t really register.

  Schooner stepped to the curb and raised his right arm to hail a cab. Within a few moments, a yellow cab pulled up in front of him. He reached for the door handle and as he went to pull it open, he realized that he had no idea where they had taken Mia. He did not know where Mia was or to what hospital to direct the cab driver. The realization slammed him with a wave of nausea.

  He waved the cabbie on and stepped back from the curb.

  As he stood staring up the avenue in the direction the ambulance had gone, Schooner had a sinking feeling in his stomach, a feeling of utter hopelessness that he had felt only once before , many year ago, in a dorm hallway. Mia’s last words to him earlier in the evening were ricocheting around in his brain like an out of control pinball, “till we meet again,” she had said.

  He closed his eyes and in a silent prayer begged, “Please don’t leave me, Baby Girl. Please don’t leave me again.”

  End of Part One

  #

  Author’s Note:

  Is that it? Did she just leave us hanging there? I know, pretty evil of me, huh? But I promise ~ I’ll make it up to you and I won’t make you wait long to find out what happens with Schooner and Mia. There’s a lot more to their story… hang
tight and I’ll have it in your hands very soon.

  Thank you for reading Searching for Moore and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as loved writing it.

  Till we meet again…

  JAR

  Notes

  1 Deborah Harry & Chris Stein, “In the Flesh,” Blondie, 1976, Private Stock 2023

  2 Greil Marcus, Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n Roll Music (New York: Penguin Group, 1975), 35.

  3 Robert Johnson, “Come On In My Kitchen,” 1936, Vocalio 03563.

  4 Bruce Springsteen, “Born to Run,” Born to Run, 1975, Columbia PC 33795

  5 Bruce Springsteen, “One Step Up,” Tunnel of Love, 1987, Columbia 460270 2.

  6 Bruce Springsteen, “The River”, The River, 1980, Columbia PC2 36854.

  7 Bruce Springsteen, “The River”, The River, 1980, Columbia PC2 36854.

  8 Bruce Springsteen, “One Step Up”, Tunnel of Love, 1987, Columbia 460270 2.

  9 Bryan Ferry, "More than This," Avalon, 1982, Warner Brothers 1-23686.

  About The Author

  Author Julie A. Richman is a native New Yorker living deep in the heart of Texas. A creative writing major in college, reading and writing fiction has always been a passion. Julie began her corporate career in publishing in NYC and writing played a major role throughout her career as she created and wrote marketing, advertising, direct mail and fundraising materials for Fortune 500 corporations, advertising agencies and non-profit organizations. She is an award winning nature photographer plagued with insatiable wanderlust. Julie and her husband have one son and a white German Shepherd named Juneau.

  Contact Julie

  Twitter @JulieARichman

  or

  Website www.juliearichman.com