Fame, Love, and other Lessons

by Frances, Jo

  In New York, Jamie was going to meet the two most important people in Chase's life for the first time. The first was Evelyn Reston, Chase's mother. She had arrived from Tallahassee an hour before them, and was waiting in the United VIP lounge with the second most important person in his life: Steve Green, Chase's new agent.

  As they waited for their luggage, Jamie stood close to Chase. He threw one arm reassuringly around her, "are you OK?" Jamie nodded yes, then noticed a ripple effect this one act seemed to cause among some of the women around them. They had been staring openly at Chase before, but now they had all turned to give her dirty looks. The reaction took Jamie back. She was just getting used to the competitive girls at school. There were many who aggressively pursued Chase---her brother gave her the complete picture, even if Chase wanted to just laugh it off. During the NCAA playoffs, one even managed to sneak into his hotel room, and was waiting for him, naked. But these actions were directed towards Chase. To have a roomful of strangers looking at her as if they wanted to disembowel her, all because her boyfriend had his arm around her was a new and very unpleasant experience.

  Also different was the change in Chase. He seemed so at ease with travelling, and at ease with travelling first class. Within five minutes of boarding, Chase had his electronics plugged in, indifferently asked for his jacket to be hung up by the flight attendant and had mineral water served to them both.

  Jamie had travelled on vacation with her family before; and of course they had all flown out to watch Luke play. But this was something different.

  At last, their luggage made its way up the carousel. They were only going to be in New York for four days, but Steve had told Chase to pack enough for interviews and media events, and Jamie did the same, with a new wardrobe courtesy of her mom.

  When Jamie first told her about Chase's invitation, she was met with a silence on the other end of the phone.

  "Mom?" Jamie asked. "Hello?"

  "I'm here. I am just a little taken aback that you are now travelling with your boyfriend." Frances drew out the word travelling as if it were a dirty rag she had to hold at arms length.

  "It's not what you think, Mom. Chase's mother is going to be there, too." If only she knew, thought Jamie.

  "Yes, I'm sure you will be sharing a room with her" her mother said sarcastically.

  "Mom---jeez!"

  "Jamie Cameron, you are nineteen years old. Don't you think this is a little soon for you?"

  Jamie's eyes welled up, and she strained to keep her voice under control. "I'm sorry I've disappointed you, Mom. But you really don't understand what's going on between Chase and me, and you don't understand that---we really love each other."

  She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I have to go. I'll call you later."

  The next day, her mother called and left a message when she knew Jamie had volleyball practice. "Jamie, honey, its mom." Her voice was unusually bright. "I think you're going to need some nice clothes for New York---and--I'd like to come up and take you shopping. So, if you'd like to do that...let me know. And please tell Chase congratulations. He is a fine young man." This was Frances Cameron's way of apologizing---both to her and to Chase.

  Jamie called her mother back right away, and they made plans to meet the following day. Her mother, a retail therapy believer to begin with, was now in heaven. For years, she had had to channel her considerable shopping prowess towards buying sweats, jeans and athletic shoes for her children. The ability to now go to an actual boutique and buy pretty clothes made her positively giddy. It was Jamie, and not the middle-aged Frances who needed to sit and rest after a few hours. Then, before she dropped Jamie off, her mother handed her a Gold American Express card. "I don't want you to go too crazy with this," she had said. "But Daddy and I want you to have a nice time while you're in New York, and not have to worry about anything."

  Jamie blinked a little at the memory, the card in her wallet now, a talisman against whatever New York was going to bring.

  As they walked through the airport, a cart pulled up next to them, driven by one of the airport personnel. "Hey, Chase, can I give you a ride?"

  Chase pointed to the sign ahead of them. "Nah, we're just headed there."

  The driver extended his hand, "Alright, man. Good luck this week"

  Chase returned the handshake. "Thanks."

  Jamie waited until the man was some distance before asking who he was. Chase shrugged. "I don't know."

  "But--he knew your name and he knew you were going to be in the draft!" she argued.

  Chase looked at her and did his best DeNiro impersonation. "Do you know who I am? Huh? Do you know me?" he laughed as Jamie continued to look puzzled. "Baby, people have been recognizing me at airports for a while now."

  The doors of the airport lounge opened, and Jamie nervously looked around just as a loud voice boomed, "Chase! Over here!" from the back of the room. Chase led them to a seating area where an impeccably dressed man with thinning hair sat next to a mousy looking woman whom Chase immediately hugged.

  "Hey Mom," he said, then gently extracting himself from her fierce embrace. "I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Jamie Cameron. Jamie, this is my mom Evelyn."

  Jamie would have met her with a hug, but she was stopped by the woman's suspicious expression. "Clare?" She asked, holding out her hand.

  "No, ma'am, it's Jamie. With a J." Jamie replied. They didn't shake hands so much as briefly touch fingertips. "I'm so glad to meet you."

  "And this is my agent, Steve Green." Steve did a better job of hiding it, but he also looked at Jamie with distrust.

  "Hey, Jamie, nice to meet you. Your brother is Luke Cameron, right?" He spoke in clipped tones, as if he each sentence had to be completed in three seconds or less.

  "Yes, that's right." They all sat down.

  "Good college player." Jamie bristled at the lukewarm assessment. Luke may not have been an NBA draft prospect, but to even be on their team required more than just being good. "He's a senior, right?" Before she could answer, he continued. "What's he gonna do next, play in Europe or the D-Leagues?"

  "He's trying to decide between going to the London School of Economics, where my father went, or law school here in the US." Jamie could not resist adding the part about her father. She was not going to be treated like some gold digger.

  "Tough choice. I went to law school at Yale myself, and I guess that turned out OK." They all laughed politely, although Jamie blushed at how he masterfully put her in her place. Don't fuck with me, he all but said aloud.

  Pleasantries aside, Steve was now all business, and Jamie realized that he was there to talk to her and Evelyn. "So, listen. I'll see you all bright and early tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to go over a few things. The draft starts at 5:30. All the athletes---and their guests---are staying at the Plaza Hotel. A charter bus is going to come and pick up the athletes; just the athletes, at the hotel at noon, that's twelve o'clock. You will be driven to the front of Madison Square Garden where the media will be out front taking pictures of you as you disembark from the bus, so make sure you look good. No gum, nothing in your teeth. Any questions are to be answered along the lines of, "I'm just happy to be here, it's an honor to be here, etc."

  Chase nodded solemnly, and Steve continued.

  "Now, to be honest most people are probably not going to be paying too much attention to you. All of the media is there for Travis Simmons, or Jordan Gibbs who are probably going to go one and two. Now, and ladies, this is where I need you to pay attention," Steve directed his attention mostly at Evelyn, who had begun playing with her gold bracelet. "When Chase's name is called, I need you to let the camera get to him and capture his attention before you hug him and get in the way of the shot. Chase, when your name is called, I need you to smile, stand up, hug your mom, wave to the crowd and walk up to the podium. Repeat that back to me."

  "Smile, stand up, hug mom, wave to crowd, walk to podium." Chase repeated the instructions as though he were a child me
morizing Christopher Columbus' boats: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria.

  "Mom, what are you going to do?" Steve challenged Evelyn.

  "Wait for him to hug me, and not get in the way of the shot?" she answered helpfully.

  "Right on!" He pointed at Jamie. "You're next."

  He hadn't given Jamie any instruction, but she ventured a guess anyway. "Do nothing except smile when his name is called. Can I clap?"

  "Sure you can," he said generously. "Now, here's the tough part. If his name doesn't get called in the first round---"

  "Wait a minute, can that happen?" A note of panic crept into Evelyn's voice.

  "Yeah, it can happen that his name doesn't get called at all." He rushed on, ignoring Evelyn's growing distress. "And if that happens, I don't want you guys to look upset, or worried. And I don't want you talking to each other about it! The cameras and mics are on in that room and they can pick up everything! No, 'what number are we at now', no 'I thought you were gonna go before him'---none of that!! Instead I want you all to look interested but not involved, to look like you are just at your local comedy club to watch a show."

  Steve stood up. "Chase, I'll meet you at the hotel room at nine tomorrow. Your suit, shoes, shirt; everything should already be in your room by the time you check in. Ladies, my assistant Carla will call for you tomorrow at the hotel at ten, too. She'll have a car for you, and take you to a salon where you can get your hair and makeup done, and she'll make sure you're at the Garden by 4:00." He clasped wrists with Chase and gave him a half hug, and nodded to both women. "I gotta go. Any questions; Chase, call me. Any questions, ladies; call Carla. There's a car waiting to take you to your hotel outside."

  * * *

  Chase took his mother's suitcase for her and walked confidently through the terminal, heading towards a driver holding a one word sign: "Reston". Evelyn fell into step with her son as Jamie remained half a step behind. The driver loaded their luggage into the trunk, and they were off, headed towards Manhattan.

  Jamie could feel Evelyn's tension in the car. She hoped that Chase would address his mother's concerns, but he didn't seem to notice, preferring instead to talk to their driver about which teams were going in which order the next day. "Did you have a nice flight, Mrs. Reston?" Jamie asked, uncomfortable with the silence between them.

  "It was fine," Evelyn said curtly. She turned to Chase. "Son, what did Steve mean by 'if you don't go in the first round?' I mean why wouldn't you?"

  Chase looked annoyed. "He just wants to prepare me."

  "Well what does that mean? You won't get as much money?" Evelyn was leaning forward now, as though pleading with Chase.

  "Yeah, that's exactly what it means. But no matter what, you'll be taken care of, alright?" Chase was struggling to control himself. He gave his mother a strained smile. "This isn't really what I want to talk about tonight."

  Jamie caught the driver's expression as he looked at them through his rear view mirror. Poor bastard, he seemed to be thinking.

  When they got to the hotel, there were two sets of keys given to Chase. One for his use, and the other for his mother. At the elevator, Evelyn said she wanted an early dinner and to go to bed early.

  "You got it, Ma." Chase told her. They agreed to meet at the lobby in an hour, and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief for the break.

  At the door to their hotel room, Chase hesitated, clearly feeling awkward about the arrangement. "This is our first hotel room together." he joked. "Am I supposed to carry you in?"

  Jamie took a step backwards, away from him. "No! That's only after you get married."

  Chase opened the door. "After you." As Jamie took a step inside, Chase gave a low growl, picked her up and carried her over his shoulder, caveman style, into their suite.

  Jamie shrieked. "Put me down!" she laughed. "I know what you're thinking!"

  Chase set her down against a wall, then pressed her up against it. He tilted his head sideways and kissed her playfully. "What am I thinking?" He asked and kissed her again. "Hmm?" Another kiss.

  Jamie met his kiss with her own. "You're thinking tonight is when we finally make love."

  With a playful swagger in his voice, Chase said, "Oh, yeah, I can always tell when I'm going to get some." He kissed her a little longer.

  "'Get some?' "she pretended to be insulted as she pulled away from him. "The most important night of my life, and you think it's getting some?" Jamie kissed him anyway.

  "Ah-ha, so it is happening tonight!" he said, his mouth inches from hers.

  "Maybe." Jamie was going to keep him guessing a little while longer. She turned around and this time, pushed Chase against the wall. She dropped to her knees with a sly grin and began to undo his pants.

  "God, baby, you drive me crazy." Chase smiled at her before resting his head against the wall as she took him in her mouth, experienced at pleasuring him.

  A knock on the door interrupted them. "I have your luggage, Mr. Reston."

  Jamie jumped up and gave him her best cheesy-seductive look. "Better answer the door Mr. Reston. I'm taking a shower now. And I'm locking the door behind me"

  Steve, or least someone in Steve's office, had made dinner reservations for them at a high profile restaurant. An infinity stream running down the length of the dining room was the centerpiece of an already-opulent looking space. The kitchen was behind a glass partition so that it seemed the patrons were there to watch the chefs, instead of talking to each other. This was confirmed to Jamie when Evelyn excitedly recognized the head chef from a reality TV show.

  As they walked through the large open space, it was obvious some people recognized Chase. Growing up with a very tall brother, and being almost six feet tall herself, Jamie knew that there was something about being tall that made you the center of attention. "Stretch", "Daddy long legs" were names perfect strangers felt quite free to call you. She barely even noticed when people stared at Chase back home. But this time, Jamie noticed more than one person mouthing "NBA" to their companions as they passed by. As they were seated next to the stream, Jamie shook her head. "I can't believe you're getting recognized in New York. Are people that basketball crazy around here?"

  Chase looked around. "I think they're staring at you."

  "Yeah, because everyone is following the women's volleyball draft." In response, Chase looked at his mother with a see-what-I-have-to-put-up-with expression.

  Evelyn perked up at the mention of volleyball. "Oh, do you play on the team?"

  "Yes, ma'am, it's my first year. But I'm not very good." Jamie said self-deprecatingly.

  "So you're a volleyball player. And your daddy's from London?" Evelyn asked, putting together the two pieces of information she had heard that day.

  "London?" Chase snorted. "Her dad's from North Carolina, born and raised. Just like Jamie."

  "But you said he went to school in London." It was a statement, and there was a small catch of triumph in her voice as though she had caught Jamie in a lie.

  This was growing more awkward by the second. Jamie did not want to correct Evelyn, but now she had to. "Well, he went to the London School of Economics; for his Master's degree." Evelyn's eyes shadowed over, as it was clear she didn't understand anything Jamie just said. It was clear, however that she was going to continue. "And what does he do now?"

  Jamie wanted to keep this simple, and saying her father worked as a fund manager was not going to help. Instead she said: "He's in finance." At Evelyn's blank stare: "He works for a bank."

  "Oh. Your daddy's a banker." Evelyn said triumphantly, as if Jamie were speaking a foreign language that she could finally decipher.

  As rude as Evelyn had been to her, Jamie could not find it in her to be rude in return. Evelyn was Chase's mother, and anything or anyone that was important to him was at least deserving of her patience. Also, as she watched how awkward Evelyn was in this environment, she realized that her roughness was a mask. I know you'd never accept me, she seemed to be saying to the world at large. But I'l
l take your fear of me if that keeps you from laughing in my face because I don't know the right fork to use.

  That Evelyn loved her son was obvious. Jamie would never know the sacrifices a single mother like her must have made in order for Chase to get to this point now. But after years of struggling, Evelyn was one day away from cashing in the lottery ticket that was her son. Who could blame her for resenting another woman in Chase's life, especially now that he had so much to offer? Almost as if she could sense that Jamie forgave her behavior, Evelyn's expression softened. The sharp set of her mouth relaxed a little bit, and Jamie could see that Evelyn's blue eyes were curtained by a thick fringe of lashes, and hooded, just like her son's.

  "You two have the same eyes!" Jamie realized she had said this aloud. Chase looked at his mother, amused but completely disagreeing with his girlfriend. "No we don't. My eyes are brown."

  "Yeah, we do, don't we," Evelyn said, siding with Jamie. "I always thought that myself."

  No bill was presented at the end of their meal. As they got up to leave, Jamie placed an arm on Chase. "Wait. We haven't paid." She was surprised at his behavior.

  "Steve's office sent us here." He said this as if it explained everything.

  "They made the reservation, yes, but---" Jamie reached for her purse, wondering how she was going to explain using their credit card to spend several hundred dollars on one meal to her parents.

  Chase raised his eyebrows. Nodding to the wallet she now held in her hand, he asked, "Are you going to pay for it?"

  "Yeah, of course. I'd---I'd be happy to," she stammered.

  Meanwhile, Evelyn watched the two of them as if she were watching a tennis game.

  The maitre d' approached the table. "I hope you enjoyed your meal with us, this evening?" he asked.

  Jamie gulped. "Can I have the check please?"

  The maitre d' exchanged a look with Chase. "Ah." he said, as Chase gave him a look which said, 'go ahead, you tell her.' He hesitated, as if loath to break some bad news to her. "There is no tab this evening, madam. Compliments of Mr. Green."