by Hattie Lou
Luke suggested we move in with each other a few weeks ago. I wasn’t opposed to the suggestion. I always wanted to be with him, but then he said he was worried how the LA life would affect Savannah. He didn’t want her to have her whole world turned upside down with all the cameras that would follow us around town with Luke or nosy reporters who would research everything about Savannah and I because of Luke. He wants us to have our privacy. The last thing I would want is for them to find out about Ethan and hound her about her father whom she never met. She doesn’t need that. When she wants to talk about her dad, I’ll be ready. I don’t need anyone to force her to ask questions.
“What do you think?” Luke asks, stepping out onto the porch in his paint covered clothes.
I look around and notice all the changes he made to the house. For instance, there’s a freaking garden in front of the house! The flowers are beautiful as they are blooming. Lilacs, Katherine’s favorite. He replaced the chairs on the porch with rocking chairs along with a small table. The whole outside of the house has been painted to a light blue color that blends in with the sky.
I make my way up the steps to the porch. “I love what you did to the place. It’s hard to believe it has changed in a short time. The house is beautiful.” I tell him as I stare in amazement. Luke refused to pay anyone to help fix the place up. He wanted to do the work himself since it’s his family’s house.
“And now it’s ours.” He says, kissing the top of my head. “When’s she coming?”
I look down at my watch. “Less than an hour.” Ben offered to take her out for ice cream while we finish unpacking our stuff. I can’t believe this is happening. We’re really moving in together. The same house we met in.
I wanted to be honest with Savannah so I told her that I was dating Luke a few weeks ago. I was expecting her to ask me a lot of questions, but she didn’t. She smiled and asked if he made me happy. I told her that he did. She said she could tell by the way I used to act whenever he was around. Savannah may be a little girl, but she’s smart. She knew how much having Luke around made me happy. Now I’m excited for us to be together as a family since Savannah never had a father. He can teach her things that I’m not good at like how to play sports.
He opens the front door and before I could step inside, he scoops me up in his arms. “We are doing this right.”
I laugh as I rest my hand on his chest. “I thought only grooms carry their brides to their rooms on their wedding night.”
“You may not be my wife yet, but I’m still going to carry you inside of our new home.” He opens the door, revealing a whole new living room. The walls are no longer white, they are sky blue like the outside of the house. Everything is new in the room. New furniture, curtains, a flat screen tv! He got rid of Katherine’s old television.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t get rid of it. I put the television in the basement.” He says, chuckling.
He puts me down and I walk around the room, taking it all in. I noticed there are several photos on the wall in shiny wooden frames. I make my way to them. One photo is the day Savannah was born. I was holding her as Katherine leaned in and took the photo of the three of us. A day I will never forget.
Katherine and Michael’s wedding photo is below it. The last photo is of Luke, me and Katherine from the day we had our picnic in the park. One of the last days Katherine was enjoying herself before she passed away. That was a fun day.
Luke comes to stand behind me as he places his hands on my shoulders. “Do you like it?” He asks.
“I love it. The photos make the place feel more like home already.”
“Well, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He says, taking my hand and leading the way down the hall to the bedrooms. He opens his old bedroom door to reveal an office. A big desk in the corner along with his laptop and several notebooks.
I step into the middle of the room admiring how much work he put into it.
“This will be my writing room. I figured since we didn’t need the room that I will make this room mine. Plus, when I can’t think of what to write, I can always remember all the crazy things we did in this room.” He says, wiggling his eyebrows.
I look at him, smiling as I remember all those crazy nights we spent in here. We had some wild times in the room.
We go to Katherine’s room next. My eyes widened when I see the bright pink walls with shelves filled with stuffed animals.
“Be honest. Do you think she’ll like the room? I mean, I can always paint the walls a different color. I’m not entirely sure if she likes the color pink.”
I turn to him and kiss him. “Savannah’s going to love this room. You did a great job. She will be excited to have a bigger room.” I tell him as I keep my lips pressed against his.
“Now, it’s time for the big reveal.” He says taking my hand and pulling me to my old room. “Close your eyes.” He tells me as we make our way inside. I listen and let him lead the way. We walk until I can feel him stop. I don’t need to look. I can feel that we’re almost standing in the middle of the room. “Open them.”
I look around the room in shock. The room looks nothing like the way it used to. I wouldn’t have guessed it’s the same room that I used to sleep in. The walls are the perfect shade of purple and there’s a king size bed in the middle of the room. On the end tables, he put pictures of me and Savannah along with several of Katherine. “What do you think of the new room?” He asks, holding me in his arms.
“I love this room. It’s perfect. It’s my favorite room. Thank you.” I say, giving him a quick kiss.
“Good.” He says with a smile as he’s holding my hand. He leads me to the bed. “What do you say we christen this room before Savannah gets home?”
“We should,” I say watching him. “We never had sex in my room now that I think of it.”
“I think it’s fair to say that we are a bit overdue, don’t you?” He doesn’t bother waiting for me to answer as he strips out of his clothes and makes his way back to me. “I miss this.” He says kissing my neck.
I move his mouth up. “I don’t want you to kiss my neck. I want you to kiss me on the lips for now on.” I still can’t believe he kissed me on the lips. The moment he did that was shocking and unexpected. He said a kiss from me is like saying I do and I was full of commitment. I told him that I wasn’t going to expect anything of him. I was wrong. I was slowly giving him my heart every time he touched me. It’s weird how I never pictured myself dating after Ethan especially after all these years, but Luke came walking into my life and made me realize just how lonely my life was becoming. I missed going out on dinner dates. Luke brought the sunshine back into my cloudy life. Now that we are officially living together, I can’t imagine my life getting any better.
Luke
Olivia’s sleeping in my arms. I stare down at her head that’s resting on my chest. This is really happening. I got her back and now we’re going to be a family. Just the three of us. Mom would have approved of this. She loved Olivia and Savannah like they were her own family. I think Dad would definitely agree that Olivia is the right woman for me. She makes me feel things that I have never felt before. Everything I thought I didn’t want in life I now want with Olivia. She changed me and I’m happy with the way I am now.
Olivia and I talked everything out. I’m keeping my mansion in LA for work purposes. I’ll only go there when I have to film or if I have any events to attend, but this house is my real home. It always has been.
I was brought up in this house and I want Savannah to enjoy the place like I used to. I spent the entire day yesterday setting up her new swing set in the backyard. I don’t have any experience with kids, but Savannah has come to be a sweet kid. She doesn’t give me any problems, but I’m sure she will when she’s a teenager and wants to go out on her first date. I’m already dreading that conversation.
Savannah may not be my daughter by blood but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I treat her like she’s mine. I will spoil her wi
th toys and we will spend a lot of time getting to know one another.
One thing I’m definitely not going to do is introduce her to Hollywood. I think it’s best to keep her away from that crazy lifestyle. My dad showed me that fake life and I was addicted. I forgot who I was. I treated people wrong including my own mother. There’s no pressure on her to follow my footsteps. I want Savannah to be her own person and do what makes her happy. Maybe she’ll take care of people like her mom. I would prefer that.
Epilogue
Luke
I look around as people are all paying attention to the stage as I realize just how packed the place is. Everyone in Hollywood has to be here. There’s not an empty seat around.
“And for the best screenwriter, the award goes to Luke Stewart.”
Everyone claps as the light finds its way to me. She lets go of my hand as I stand up and make my way to the stage to accept my award.
Dad used to say one day I would take over Hollywood as he did and become a screenwriter. I didn’t think that. I was an attention seeker. Not anymore. I got the attention of the one person I wanted. As long as her eyes are on me, then I’m happy.
All eyes are now on me as I am standing in front of the microphone. God! Life has changed me for the better! I stare down at the Oscar that’s now in my hand. I did it! “Wow,” I mumble into the microphone as I look at it in disbelief. I don’t have anything written down since I really didn’t think that I was going to win the award. Now here I am, speechless in front of millions of people who are waiting to hear what I have to say.
I take a deep breath. I’m going to speak from the heart. It’s always a good place to listen to. “I thought my life was figured out years ago. There was no future of me writing movies. I wanted to act. Writing didn’t fall in my life until I met my beautiful wife Olivia.” I can see her smiling as she is sitting next to Matthew in her gorgeous strapless black dress. She gives me a smile that makes me want to jump off the stage and kiss her.
“One day she found a story that I was secretly working on. It was incomplete. I had no plans for it. I thought it belonged in the garbage. It was a plot to “Bridges Falls”. She mentioned the story to me later that day, telling me how much she loved reading it. If it wasn’t for her being nosy.” I say, getting the audience to laugh. That’s always a good sign that I’m not boring anyone. They are entertained with me and my speech. “I don’t think I would have finished the story and I wouldn’t be here celebrating “Bridges Falls” winning me a freaking Oscar. It’s only my first film that I have written.” I don’t want to keep babbling on about myself, so I cut it short. “Anyway, I just want to thank my wife for believing in my writing when I didn’t. This award isn’t mine. It’s all yours. You’re the reason that I’m standing here. This award goes to you, baby!” I say, pointing the Oscar at her.
She looks at me with the biggest smile. That’s all I needed to see.
The award show is over and the parties are just about to get started. Normally going to the parties was the highlight of my night, but not anymore.
“You guys going to the party?” Matthew asks. “I heard it’s going to get crazy tonight!”
“No, I’m going home to be with my family,” I say with my arm around Olivia’s waist, pulling her in so I can kiss her head. “Have fun tonight,” I tell him before walking away.
The parties, the women and alcohol days are over. My life is about my family. I have all that I need.
“We could have stayed if you wanted to,” Olivia says as I reach for her hand and bring it to my lips.
“I can think of a million things that I would rather be doing right now than going to some lame ass party.”
“Name one.” She teases.
“Just one?” I ask as we make our way to the limo to take us back home. I hold the door open and wait for her to get all the way in. I wind up the windows so the driver can’t hear us. “How about I show you what I rather be doing than going to some dumb party?”
She tilts her head and smiles. “I’m pretty sure you already used that line on me before and nine months later Jesse was born.”
I chuckle remembering that wild night she’s referring to. It was our first night in Los Angeles. I just finished writing my script and was so fucking happy. It was nighttime and Savannah was already sleeping by the time we got back to the house. Olivia looked amazing in a sundress and I couldn’t take my eyes off her the whole day. We went outside onto the balcony and we ended up having the craziest sex we ever had that night as we stood over the city, not caring if anyone was watching.
Who knew this Hollywood guy would turn into a family man? My favorite time of the day is during breakfast. We have a routine. Olivia usually cooks breakfast while I feed Jesse. Savannah likes to talk about her plans for the day. For being a little girl, she likes to keep herself busy. We recently signed her up for ballet lessons. She loves ballet and her teacher. She also loves being a big sister. I grew up as an only child so I never got the chance to be a big brother. I am happy that Savannah will always have someone to play with. She adores her baby brother. Olivia was worried that Savannah would get jealous of the baby, but she didn’t. She jumped right into sister mode when we brought him home from the hospital. If he cries, she runs to his side to make sure he’s okay.
These last few years have been wonderful. I would re-do them all over again. Sure, I wouldn’t want to relive the moments where I was rude to Olivia. There are days where I think back to that and I’m surprised she married me after being a jackass to her. It’s a reminder of how incredible my wife is.
I kept my wedding date a secret, only informing Matthew of the location. I didn’t want anyone to find out. Olivia doesn’t like attention. She prefers privacy. It’s just one of the many things I love about her. The wedding was beautiful. It was held in the church her and my mom used to attend. Ben, Steve, and Harry were all there. Watching her walk down the aisle as she smiled while her eyes were on me the whole time will always be one of my favorite memories.
The End
The Letter
Dear Luke,
I sit here on the porch writing this letter to you. It’s a nice warm, sunny day as I can feel a breeze in the air. Not too long ago, I went to the doctor's office. They diagnosed me with dementia. I must admit, it was a surprise to me. As I walked around the house these past few months, I noticed my mind forgetting simple things. One night I stared at my wedding photo with your dad. I couldn’t recall his name. Of course I didn’t mention any of that to Olivia. She has been an angel to me. I don’t know how she does it, but she finds a way to keep this old gal entertain. I saw the worry in her eyes when the doctor told her about what was going on with me. I thought for sure she was going to breakdown in the office, but she didn’t. Ever since that day, she tried numerous times to tell me to call you, but I didn’t know what to say to you. Luke, you have always been like your father. Tough and sometimes a real pain in the ass. I knew if I would have called you, you would have taken the first flight out to see me. You already lost your father, I didn’t want you to know you were going to lose me, too. There was no need for you to be here to watch me slowly fade away. Eventually, I won’t even remember your name or that you’re my son.
I want you to know that I’m proud of you. You followed your dreams. You’re a star! I still keep up with your life on the internet. I record all your interviews. I even spy on your social media accounts. Yes, I know how to work a computer. Olivia showed me how to. I see photos of you. You look healthy and happy. I worried that Hollywood would have taken a toll on you, but from what I see, you’re doing good.
I know it’s just a matter of time before you meet Olivia. I hope you aren’t too tough on her. She wanted me to tell you about my condition from the start. I would like for you to treat her and her daughter like family. They mean a lot to me. Sweet little Savannah is like the grandchild I never had. Keep an eye on them and watch over them.
I used to plan your future out in my head. If
I had it my way, I would have introduced you to Olivia with hopes of you two getting married one day. I’m sure she would know how to keep you in check.
That’s what worries me the most about you. I worry that you will lose yourself. As much as I loved Michael, he used to lose himself in writing. He spent too much time in his room and not enough time with his family. I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy, whether that’s in Hollywood or not. But what I don’t want you to do is to forget how important it is to stop and remember where you came from. Always carry the memories with you.
No matter what you do, I want you to know that I will always be proud of you. I couldn’t have asked for a better son. You were my reason for living. We haven’t spoken in a while, but my love for you has never changed. I will be watching over you alongside your dad. Just know I love you, Luke.
Love, Mom
Thank you
Thank you so much for taking the time to read “Fame You.” If you enjoyed reading this book then be sure to leave a comment on Goodreads or Amazon letting me know what you thought about Luke and Olivia. I love hearing what others have to say about my books.
If you want to know what I have going on then be sure to follow me on Instagram @HattieLouWriter
Until next time <3
Acknowledgment
Readers – Words could never express how grateful I am for each and every one of you. The fact that you are even reading this part makes me happy. It means you stuck around to read more about what I have to say. You guys rock! I owe so much to you guys for giving me a reason to write. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but there’s nothing like hearing and reading reviews about how my stories made you all feel. Thanks for the support!
Angie – Where do I start with you? I could never thank you enough for putting up with all my talks about my stories that I’m working on. I know it drives you crazy but get used to it because I got more things to say!
