Fool of Main Beach

by Tara Lain

  They all walked out in time to see Tom folding the ladder.

  Merle stared at him. Maybe he could suck in all that sweetness through his eyes. “All done?”

  “Yes. Hope you like it, Merle.”

  “The whole house is beautiful. Thank you.”

  “Good luck with your movie.” He walked to the edge of the steps. “Bye, Merle.” He looked into Merle’s eyes for a minute, then waved a hand and vanished down the stairs.

  Merle wanted to run after him. Stop him. Hold him and try to make the sadness go away.

  His dad said, “I’m anxious to see this beach.”

  Merle forced his eyes back to his parents. “Follow me.” He walked down the stairs and out the front door. No sign of Tom. He kept moving toward the steps that led down to the sand, though his feet wanted to run the opposite way. The narrow, mossy stairs fell away down the hillside, and he led the way with the sound of the surf becoming louder and louder. Finally he burst out from the narrow passage of the stairs onto the sand of Victoria Beach. The perfect cove spread out before them, framed by the cliffs and decorated with boulders and stones.

  His dad kicked off his shoes and strode out onto the sand. His mother was a bit more reluctant but finally rolled up her silk slacks and kicked off her heeled sandals.

  Closer to the waterline, his dad said, “I can sure understand the attraction of this beach. It’s just perfect.”

  “Yes, I love it.”

  His mother folded her arms over her chest. “Is it wise to center your life so far from the action? Laguna’s lovely and artsy and all that, but your work is in Los Angeles. In fact, I wonder if it’s smart to even try to settle yourself before you’ve formed a lasting relationship. Shouldn’t young men be footloose and able to shift their bases of operation at a moment’s notice?”

  He frowned. “Since I came to Hollywood, I’ve been living in the same tiny apartment. I’m ready to have something of my own, and I love Laguna. My friends are here.”

  She speared him with her eyes. “Friends like Tom?”

  “Yes. Why not? Why shouldn’t I have friends like Tom?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I can only report what I see, Merle, and what I see is a man with an amazing opportunity to be the beloved of a powerful, brilliant, and influential director, but who appears to be throwing away that opportunity with both hands. At the same time, I see him mooning over some handsome hunk with the IQ of a vegetable.”

  “Tom is not a fucking vegetable!” His voice rose above the pounding of the surf. He caught his breath and stared at his mother. This was exactly what people would think. His mother might be extreme, but her attitude was only a degree above the ideas everyone else he knew would have, if—shit, what was he even thinking?

  His mother pursed her lips as she loved to do. “Really, darling, you don’t have to work this hard to prove you’re anti-intellectual.”

  It took a fucking half hour to get them out of there—a half hour of smiling politely and trying not to scream and pound on the wall. They’d come to see him, which was way more than they usually did. Now he had work to do, and he should leave his fairy-tale fucking dreams for the movies.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “CUT! GOOD job, people. Take a short break while we check the footage.”

  Merle sucked in a deep breath to try to relax his iron-banded diaphragm and walked off the set into the scruffy trees surrounding the old cemetery. He’d seen some footage of the scenes they’d shot here and they might be in the middle of San Diego, but it looked old and remote—and full-on creepy.

  He leaned against a tree trunk and tried to get a complete inhale.

  A hand clutched his shoulder, and he jumped.

  “Whoa, baby. Jumpy, are we? God save me from method actors.” Laila laughed as she walked in front of him, grinning.

  “Sorry.”

  “No sorry. René’s about to burst with joy over all this angst he’s pulling from you. Gotta tell you, cutie, I’ve seen you on the small screen and thought you were good, but I didn’t know you had this in you.”

  He tried to match her snark. “What? You doubted my tortured soul?”

  Her face sobered—well, a little. Laila didn’t do serious. “Yeah, matter of fact. I did. Pretty, privileged white boy like you. Hard to see the whip marks on your back.”

  He shrugged, but he couldn’t shake the weight of the role. He wasn’t exactly a method actor. He didn’t live inside his characters for the duration of a film. Hell, living as a teenybopper vampire for months at a time would kill him. Still, the isolation and disaffection of this character seeped into him, riled him, set him apart.

  Laila started to rub his neck. He almost pulled away until he realized how good it felt; then he let his head drop toward his chest. “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure.” She had strong hands. “Hey, where’s that big handsome guy who came to see us rehearse? Tom, right?”

  Don’t tense. Don’t tense. “He’s in Laguna. Working, I imagine. His boss is my friend, and he keeps Tom really busy.”

  “I’ll bet. Tom’s so clever, I’m sure he can do anything.”

  Merle looked back at her face. Was she kidding?

  “What?”

  “Sorry. Uh, it’s just that some people think Tom’s simple. Slow.”

  She snorted loudly. “Yeah, well, people are idiots. When you see him, tell him to come watch the filming. He’d love that, I bet. And he’d probably give René some great insights. I’ll bet Tom knows one fuckload about loneliness.”

  “Places, please.” The assistant director’s voice rang out across the location.

  Laila turned and walked away toward the set. Merle just stood there, frozen. Slammed to the heart.

  “Merle. You coming?” She waved back, and he got his feet to move.

  On the set, which was an open space between headstones, René waited. “We’ve got what we need for long and medium shots. Let’s layer in some close-ups.”

  Merle nodded but couldn’t quite get the words out. Laila’s voice vibrated through him—loneliness. It seemed to flow in his veins in place of blood. He had no right—but truth was truth.

  He raised his head and recited his lines, but he could barely hear them. The cameras rolled in and the lenses hummed as they captured every pore on their faces.

  Laila’s character spoke behind him. “Anthony, if you could be human, would you?”

  He leaned against a tree trunk with one forearm poised above his head. Slowly, he stared under it at her. “Do you mean would I be mortal?”

  “Well, no. I mean human. If you could be a human tomorrow, would you choose that?”

  He turned slowly and leaned his back against the trunk. The cameras whirred. “Humanity’s defined by sharing—experience, affection, love. You’re shaped by your memories. Having five hundred years of memories has altered the shape of my heart forever. No one knows—unless they share that shape. I can’t be human. That ship sailed. I can only watch you be human—and marvel.” He curved his lips—to call it a smile would be too great an overstatement.

  Silence. “Cut.” René’s voice could barely be heard over the sound of the wind.

  Merle’s pocket vibrated. For a second he thought it was nerves. Well, damn, he forgot to stash his phone. “Sorry.” He pulled it out and looked at the screen. Tom! “I have to take this.”

  René waved. “Go ahead. We got what we need.”

  Merle walked away, heart hammering. “Hello?”

  “Merle?” A girl’s voice. “This is Lily.”

  “Lily, what’s wrong? Is Tom okay?”

  “Merle, that woman’s going to take Mist. If she does, it’ll kill Tom. Please, you’ve gotta know somebody who can take her.”

  His brain, addled from the scene, couldn’t catch up. “Wait. Mist? The dog from the shelter?”

  “Of course! Tom’s girl. The dog he loves. That woman finally decided to get off the fucking pot and try to adopt her. She’s paying some boatload of mo
ney to the shelter, and Mrs. H. has to take it to save all the other dogs. She can’t. She just can’t, Merle. Tom can’t take any more loss. Please.”

  More loss. No. “I’ll be there. Are you at the shelter?”

  “Yes. Get here quick, please.”

  “I’m in San Diego. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” An hour at least to get there. He hung up and ran to René. “I’ve got to go. Just for a short while, but it’s an emergency. Please.” He couldn’t explain. No one could understand the meaning of that dog to Tom—unless they had the same shaped heart.

  René frowned. “Of course. We’re fine for today. I’ll start shooting around you with other characters. We’re scheduled for some shooting after dark. Maybe I should cancel?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure I can be back.”

  “Okay. Is there anything you need me to do?”

  “Bless you!” Merle kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back by dark.” He ran toward his car, which, thank God, he’d driven over from the hotel rather than taking the bus René provided for the cast and crew.

  As he defied the cops racing toward the 5 Freeway, he pressed his phone. “Call Ru.”

  “Hi, darling. How’s the shooting going?”

  “Great. If I asked you to take in a dog for a short time, could you do it?”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to adopt a dog today, but I need someplace to put her until I have my house set up.”

  “Wouldn’t it make sense to wait until then to adopt?”

  “I can’t. I’ll lose her if I don’t take her today.”

  “Well, damn, darling. Gray and I are leaving tonight for Rio. He’s shooting down there, and I couldn’t miss seeing it. Besides, if she’s going to be your dog, it seems like she should be with you.”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry. I’ll work something out.”

  “Merle, why do you need a dog so desperately?”

  He hesitated one second too long.

  “This has to do with Tom, doesn’t it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Oh, baby. Okay, want me to call Shaz and Billy?”

  “Cats.”

  “Right. Maybe Jim and Ken? Or Ian and Braden?”

  “Felines everywhere. I don’t know how Mist interacts with cats.”

  “Mist.”

  “Tom’s favorite dog.”

  “I’m sure we can come up with something.”

  “Keep thinking. So will I. Thanks, darling.” He clicked off to avoid the press of questions he could feel lining up along the cellular waves.

  By the time he crawled behind the thick traffic out the Canyon Road and pulled in to the shelter parking lot, he still hadn’t fixed on a solution. Didn’t matter. He was walking out of there with that dog.

  The second his tires crunched the gravel, he braked, turned off the ignition, and leaped out of the car. On a run, he slammed through the front door to a tense tableau. That nasty woman he’d seen the time he’d come to the shelter with Tom stood in front of the desk with Mrs. Hernandez behind it. Tom blocked the door into the cages, and Lily stood beside him with her arms crossed over her chest.

  All heads turned toward him, Lily smiling, the woman scowling, and Tom looking amazed.

  You’re an actor. Act. He frowned righteously. “I received word that someone else is trying to claim my dog, so despite the fact that my house is not quite complete, I intend to take her today, Mrs. Hernandez. Do you have the paperwork ready?” He was guessing, but you couldn’t adopt a snail without paperwork.

  Mrs. H.’s eyebrows rose. “Oh, of course, Merle. I was about to explain to Mrs. Rancuso that the dog is promised to someone else. Uh, namely you.”

  The woman set her jaw. “You’re making this up. No one has indicated that the Weimaraner bitch was adopted prior to this minute.”

  Lily said, “Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Right, Tom?”

  “Right.” He looked a little confused, and his eyes kept straying to Merle.

  Mrs. Rancuso said, “I’m sure this ramshackle hole in the wall can ill afford to lose my generous donation. Take another dog and forget it.”

  Merle matched her frown. “No. Mist is mine. And I plan to match your donation, as well as assist in soliciting other contributions to the shelter, so perhaps you should consider getting a, uh, gerbil.”

  Lily brayed a big “Ha.”

  Mrs. Rancuso practically burst into flames. He expected to see striped socks under a fallen house. Still, he couldn’t suggest this person take any of Tom’s beloved dogs home with her.

  Mrs. Hernandez didn’t suggest it either. Man, he was going to have a lot of money to make up. Hopefully he had it. Hell, he’d get it even if he had to wring it out of all his friends.

  Mrs. Rancuso looked around at each of them, finally gave a huff, and walked out the door.

  Mrs. Hernandez gave a long, audible sigh. “Thank you. I really didn’t want her to take any of my dogs, but I didn’t have a reason to give her.” She glanced at Merle. “Plus we need the money so badly.”

  Merle’s eyes kept wandering to Tom’s face and then sliding off.

  Lily said, “How much was she giving you, Mrs. H.?”

  “A thousand dollars.”

  Merle snapped his head toward her. “You’re kidding? I’ll give you five times that much right now and then get some other friends to contribute. I meant to do it anyway. I’ve just been away, filming.”

  Mrs. H. pressed a hand to her chest. “That would help so much. I could keep the doors open at least for a little while.”

  Suddenly Tom made a snuffling sound, whirled, opened the door to the back of the shelter, and hurried through. Lily glanced at Merle, then followed him.

  Merle wrote Mrs. H. a check since she wasn’t set up for more high-tech methods of payment, then walked into the back. All the dogs started to bark when they saw him. He peeked in at them as he passed. Finally he got to the big cage and found Tom sitting in the middle of the floor with Mist on his lap, rocking her. It was such a funny and pretty picture, Merle wanted to pull out his camera—but then he stopped. Tom was softly crooning, “Lucky girl. Lucky girl. Lucky girl.”

  Lily’s eyes were half-grateful and half-accusing.

  Merle knelt down beside Tom—and Mist. Gently he reached out and petted the silky fur on her narrow head. The pale eyes gazed up at him with something like affection. Wow. “We’ve got a problem. Well, no, more than one. I now own a dog, but first, I don’t know anything about dogs, and second, I have to go back to San Diego by dark tonight for filming, so I won’t be here to take care of her—which I don’t know how to do in the first place.” He tried to smile. “I’m trying to find a friend who can keep her, but that isn’t great either.”

  Lily put her hands on her hips. “No, Tom needs to take care of Mist, of course.”

  “That would be perfect, but how? Where? Did Mrs. A. say yes?”

  Tom shook his head into Mist’s fur.

  Lily tossed her head. “Think of something. We can’t leave her here ’cause that bitch might come back.”

  “I don’t know, I—wait.”

  Tom looked up.

  Merle said, “What if you guys went to my house? I mean, it’s just bare and all, but I could ask Ru to get some basic furniture really fast. A bed for Lily if you want to stay there. Tom can sleep on the mattress I already got.” Yeah, finally. “We could get a couple of chairs—”

  “And a bed for Mist.” Tom smiled softly against Mist. “And I’d have to bring the boys, so that would be three dogs in your new house. Is that okay, Merle?”

  Was it? “Why not? I’ve got lots of room and a nice backyard and a beach nearby. Of course, you can’t take the dogs on the beach most of the day.”

  Lily gave a little punch on the arm. “That works. Let’s get going.”

  Merle stared at Tom like he could suck him in through his eyes. “Is it okay with you, Tom?”

  Tom nodded again with a little smile. “Yeah.”

&
nbsp; “Then Lily’s right. Let’s go.”

  Merle stood and watched the graceful unfolding of that big body as Tom rose to his full six foot six, gently placing Mist on the ground beside him. He walked out the door and the dog followed as if he’d been training her for years.

  In the front, Tom went behind the counter to a storage room and emerged a few minutes later with a big dog bed, a leash, a harness, a collar, a large bag of dog food, and two dog toys. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a carefully folded sheaf of bills. He peeled some off to pay for the purchases.

  “Hey, I should pay for those since she’s my dog.”

  Tom shook his head with a crease between his brows. “No. You never would have had to pay so much money if it wasn’t for me.” The crease got deeper. “You never would have had to have a dog.”

  Merle put a hand on Tom’s arm. He had to. The strength and heat reminded him he was alive. “I wanted a dog. I would have come to get Mist on my own. This is just a little sooner, that’s all.” Okay, that might not have been true yesterday, but it was today.

  “I’m still gonna pay.” Tom settled a stubborn expression on that pretty face.

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  Tom knelt down beside Mist and slid on the harness. It was pink. Then he hooked up the leash. “Okay, girl, stay here. I gotta go say goodbye to the guys and tell them not to be lonely. You belong to Merle now. Isn’t that exciting?”

  As Tom went into the back, Merle wiped an arm over his eyes and petted his new dog.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  TOM PATTED and hugged every dog in the cages, finally gathering his three big dogs. “I’m sorry to take her away from you, guys. I know she’s special. But she’ll have a happy life with Merle, and now Mrs. H. can afford to keep all of you until she can find you good homes.” Oh God, he hoped that was true. “You know I’d take you if I could.”

  Rowdy licked his face, and Tom nuzzled into his fur. “I love you too, and I’ll be here all the time like usual. I’ll even bring Mist—until Merle comes home and takes care of her himself.” Rex woofed, and Tom opened the group hug. “Guess what? I get to stay in Merle’s house a little bit longer.” Smoky bumped his hand, and he extended the petting. “Yeah. I’m happy. It really feels like home.” He sighed softly. “Guess I better go say goodbye to Merle.”