Fame

by Susan X Meagher

  ***

  Once again, the sisters stood outside a Banks-Legrand abode and stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Charlie walked around a stunned Piper, giving her a long, critical look. “Objectively speaking,” she said thoughtfully, “you’re a very pretty woman. Beautiful face, fantastic hair, broad shoulders, athletic build.” From the rear, she gripped Piper’s shoulders and leaned in close, sniffing her neck. “Maybe I’m immune to it because we’re related, but you don’t give off any irresistible scent.” Coming around to the front again, she said, “Even though you’re pretty, you’re not Hollywood pretty, you know?”

  That broke the tension and Piper let out a laugh. “I’m not sure what that means, but I’m happy to not be Hollywood pretty.”

  “Nothing bad,” Charlie said, taking her by the hand to walk down the path. “It’s just that you’re naturally pretty. You don’t take what you’ve got and spend a lot of time enhancing it.”

  “True…” She freed her hand and draped her arm around Charlie’s shoulders. “Any reason we’re talking about me like I’m not here?”

  “I’m trying to figure out the attraction!” Charlie stopped and gazed at her for a minute. “I get it, but I don’t get it, you know? It’s hard for me to see why the woman everyone uses as the standard of American beauty is hot for you. No offense,” she added, her smile so innocent Piper had to laugh.

  “None taken, given I’m as puzzled as you are. I mean, she’s a gorgeous woman, but she’s not my type at all. Even if I wasn’t obsessed with getting Haley back, I wouldn’t be interested in Meredith.”

  Her features softened, then Charlie put her arms around Piper and hugged her for a long time. “You’re gonna try? I was afraid you’d given up.”

  “Of course I’m going to try. I’ve screwed up in every way possible, but I’m not going to let that stop me. And let me add that if Meredith doesn’t keep her hands off me, I’m going to call the cops!”

  “Hands?” Charlie stared, open-mouthed. “What do you mean ‘hands?’”

  “I’d tell you, but it’s too unbelievable to have really happened. I must have imagined it.”

  “Pip,” she said, with a sharp, lethal tone. “If she touched you…” Charlie’s blue eyes glowed like they were aflame. “I will go back inside and punch her right in that surgically perfected nose.”

  Piper tucked an arm around her waist and started to lead her away. “She wasn’t very subtle, Charlie, but it was nothing to lose your shit over. Come on, now. Let’s get out of here before the security guards hear you making threats.”

  “It’s not a threat,” she grumbled. “It’s a promise.”

  ***

  Charlie didn’t stop talking about the whole thing for over an hour, spewing her disgust even while Piper tried to have a minute to change into her pajamas. Finally, she seemed like she’d vented the majority of her ire, and they went into the living room, where Charlie flopped onto the cushy sofa and put her feet up on the coffee table.

  “What should we do with Delta?” she asked. “Zandra said she’d happily bring him up, but then we’ve got to hand him over again in the morning.”

  “He’s never…” Piper shut her mouth, refusing to admit she was worried Delta was sitting by the door of Zandra’s room, crying his little eyes out because he hadn’t seen her since early that morning. “Are we sure he’s okay? Given this is her job, wouldn’t she say he’s fine even if he isn’t?”

  “Call her,” Charlie said. She turned on the TV and started flipping through channels, clearly not as attached to the pup as Piper was. Or maybe just not as overprotective.

  “How will that help? If Delta’s howling, she’ll just lock him in the bathroom.”

  “Oh, for god’s sake.” She picked up her phone and hurriedly typed a text. A few seconds later, she answered and said, “Can I see him, Zandra? Mute me so he doesn’t get anxious when he hears my voice, but I need to see him, even if he is sleeping.”

  Then Charlie turned the phone around, letting Piper see her little guy sound asleep on Zandra’s lap, as content as could be.

  “Thanks,” Charlie said. “Now I can relax. You think he’ll be okay tomorrow? We won’t be back until dinner.” She nodded a few times. “I’m glad he’s being so flexible. I guess being in day care a lot has let him understand we’ll always come get him at some point. Okay. G’night.” Then she cut the call and tossed the phone down. “Happy?”

  “Yeah. Thanks,” Piper said, ruffling her sister’s hair as she headed for her room, only slightly bummed that Delta didn’t seem to care who held him, as long as he had a lap to sleep on.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  PIPER WASN’T A PARTICULARLY NERVOUS flyer, but she stared at the huge helicopter sitting on the tarmac at Honolulu airport with her guts in knots. There were six of them waiting to board the craft: Tim, his personal assistant, the director of photography, the assistant DP, Charlie and Piper. She reassured herself that if they went down, she’d at least make the front page of the newspaper. That thought was only partially comforting when she reasoned that Tim would merit very large type, as one would expect. Charlie would get close to the same because she was young and pretty. The DP would be in the headline, since he’d worked on some of the most important movies of the last twenty years, but the rest of them would be listed as “others.”

  The helicopter took off. Piper sat with her stomach in her throat as it shivered and shook while it ascended, then seemed to shoot away from the tarmac, heading out into the sky like a bird fighting a headwind. When she forced her eyes open, all she saw ahead of her was blue. The most vivid, deep, stunning blue she’d ever hoped to see. If this was her last image of earth, it was a damned fine one to go out on.

  Everyone else was chatting through the microphones attached to their headsets, all seeming to think their life expectancies were longer than an hour. Piper didn’t share that belief, now determined to check and see if there was any space left in the cabins they’d built on the island—if she lived so long. Yes, it was insane to give up a suite at one of the great hotels of the world to go camping, but not having to get into this death trap twice a day might make that a good tradeoff.

  They weren’t even planning on shooting today, just taking a tour of the facility and having final fittings for Charlie’s costumes. Hopefully someone would offer up an invitation to move into a nice, cozy cabin. Heck, maybe she’d have Charlie bring Delta over to stay with her. What dog wouldn’t want to run wild on a beach?

  A few minutes after she spotted a patch of green in the otherwise blue waters, they started their descent. The chopper hovered over the island for a minute, then began to drop in a slow, swaying motion. The second the craft was on terra firma she unclipped her seat belt and fell forward, her torso lying on her legs as she tried to catch her breath. “Hated that,” she mumbled.

  Charlie was next to her, and, as usual, she’d taken to the experience like it was a ride at the carnival. “You hated that?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Hated,” Piper said, finally able to sit up and breathe normally. “I don’t know if I can do this twice a day.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Charlie insisted, slapping Piper on the back after she’d removed her ear protectors. “Want to see if the set doctor has any Valium? If you take enough, you won’t even know we’re in the air.”

  “We’ll see. Maybe I’m just having an off day.” They scrambled out, with sturdy local guys waiting to catch and help steady them as they disembarked. As soon as they got away from the pulsing beat of the blades, Piper leaned her head back and took in a breath. Land was so much nicer than sky. No contest, really.

  She took a second to look around at the amazingly green vegetation that surrounded the landing area, which had obviously been created by the grounds crew. The packed clay pad with navigational aids stenciled onto it was the only bit of engineering in sight.

  They were in a lush tropical paradise, with banana trees and all sorts of other verdant plants su
rrounding them, but the best part was the soothing moisture in the warm air, something they rarely got in LA. Actually, perfect was the proper word for the weather. If you had to dial in a temperature and a humidity level, this would be the exact number you’d go for.

  The grounds crew urged them all to pile into Jeeps, then they took off, rumbling down recently created paths that were a rough substitute for roads. Piper and Charlie kept staring at each other, with Piper wondering if they had a bunch of chiropractors on set. Even if they had a dozen, they’d be busy all damn day. But even though it was a rough ride, it was a gorgeous one. Hawaii without buildings and cars and traffic was beyond fantastic! She expected parrots and toucans to fly from the dark green foliage and drop freshly picked tropical fruit into her mouth, her version of paradise.

  It only took a few minutes to get to the area where they’d constructed the back lot. The natural wonder of the place hadn’t been ruined, but it had taken a substantial hit. One she was sure Tim would repair, but it would take a while to become pristine again. A big chunk of change must have made its way into the state coffers to allow for this much development, even though it was temporary.

  The plot sloped a little, into a wide but shallow bowl, with big canvas tents set in a circle along the ridge, and rustic cabins filling the level ground at the center. They’d thought ahead and prepared for rain, with the cabins elevated, sturdy sets of stairs leading up to the doors. If they’d landscaped the plot from nothing, they couldn’t have done a better job of laying it out, but the setup was clearly a lucky accident.

  “The dining hall’s right there,” Tim said, pointing to the biggest building. It was surprisingly large, and Piper bet the whole crew would be able to gather inside to eat, no waiting required. He indicated the next largest one. “That one’s for wardrobe, and the one behind it is for hair and makeup. You’ll be amazed at how much stuff we’ve fit into those buildings.”

  It all looked nice, for camp. The structures were utilitarian, but they were brand new and seemed well-built. Everyone piled out of the Jeeps, and in two seconds, Tim was involved in some problem that had him running out beyond the back lot. Piper had a feeling there were going to be a lot of emergencies. It was hard enough making a complex picture on a studio lot. Doing it out here—miles away from supplies—must have been hellish.

  Charlie poked around, introducing herself to everyone she encountered. Knowing her, she’d remember most of the names. She was uncanny that way. Piper went to investigate the dining hall, hoping to find a soda to settle her stomach after that flight. When she emerged from the remarkably well-stocked space, Charlie was chatting up a nice-looking guy in a khaki shirt and shorts. As always, she found the best-looking guy around to strike up a conversation with. Sometimes Piper worried she’d have their mother’s weakness for letting a pretty face obscure substantive character defects. That hadn’t happened yet, but she worried that might be solely because Charlie had never had a significant relationship. Maybe she was simply waiting for the right asshole to come along.

  Piper wandered over, chewing the crushed ice from her cup. “Great stuff,” she said, handing the cup to Charlie, who shared her ice-chewing habit.

  “Awesome,” she said, taking a mouthful. “Hey, wanna take a walk? The guy I was talking to was telling me about how things are set up. We can wander around and do our own tour.”

  “You don’t think we should wait for Tim?”

  “Nah. There’s some problem with the set. He’ll be gone for hours.”

  Now that she was on the island, all Piper could think about was Haley. During the hundreds of phone calls she’d had with people in the production company, she’d done a little snooping, learning that the animals were being housed and trained in a warehouse on Oahu where they had security and climate control. But she was still leery about running into her on set. Charlie had assured her that there would be so many people involved, that running into one individual was pretty unlikely. But having a scene in front of Charlie’s co-workers was not the way to look like a professional manager.

  Charlie slung an arm around Piper’s shoulders, leading her away from the dining hall and toward a group of buildings that were also good sized, but smaller than the main ones. Charlie was peering up at the signs on the corners of the various buildings, which were lined up as though they were on a regular street. After a few minutes, she seemed to find what she was looking for. “Here we go,” she said, her excitement building. “I think you’re gonna like this one.”

  She skipped up the stairs and yanked open the screen door, but didn’t go inside. At her urging, Piper entered, waiting a second with her eyes adjusting to the darker interior. Then she heard a voice, an unmistakable one, speaking her name like a curse.

  “Piper.”

  Whirling, she found Haley glaring at her. It took a second to register the large green birds perched on each of her arms, but that was only because she was so surprised.

  “What part of ‘don’t stalk me’ did you miss?”

  “I’m not stalking you! I didn’t even know this was where you were.”

  The birds were returned to their cages in seconds, then Haley was right there, practically chest-butting her. “How dumb do you think I am? This place isn’t well-marked. You had to come looking for me.”

  “My sister…” she began, then thought she’d used that excuse often enough. But Charlie was the lynchpin here, and she had to get that fact out. Given this might be her only time to talk to Haley, she had to whip it out now. “Please listen to me,” she said, clearly pleading. “I had nothing to do with making you come here. Charlie thought we’d have fun, so she asked Tim to get involved. He did and…” She shrugged helplessly. “Here you are.”

  Getting even closer, Haley’s dark eyes brimmed with anger. She poked Piper in the chest with a finger. “You had nothing to do with forcing me to show up for the movie your sister’s starring in,” she said, dubiously. “You…her manager…knew nothing.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Is there anything you’re responsible for? Anything at all?” Haley started to walk away, toward the cages filled with birds of every color and size. Then she whirled and marched right back, clearly filled with contempt. “I’m not wanted or needed here, Piper. Another trainer had Bobby, the main bird, just about ready to go, but they sent her home so I could take over. Now I’m persona non grata because people think I pulled strings to get here—even though I’d rather be cleaning the dog runs at the shop!” She turned and stalked across the cabin again, going to the furthest spot, even though it wasn’t very far. By the time she got there, she was crying, tears falling down her cheeks as she held herself about the waist. “I couldn’t have made it more clear that what I value most is honesty. But that went in one ear and out the other. You wanted me here, so I’m here.” She strode over and glared into Piper’s eyes. “Well, I might be stuck here, but I’m not going to be stuck with you!” Then she stormed out, slamming the door behind her with such force Piper thought it might rip from the hinges.

  Stunned, she followed her out, stopping when she spotted Charlie, standing in the shade of the building, a guilty look covering her face. “Did I screw up again?” Charlie said, wincing. “I thought you could clear things up if you just talked to her.”

  “She won’t let me.” She watched Haley run toward the line of tents, recalling with a jolt of feeling how she’d felt the first time she’d seen her run that morning in the park. Things were so good between them that day that she’d sat and waited for Haley for almost an hour, just thinking about how cute her butt looked when it jiggled. How had that been just a few weeks ago? “I’ve lost her trust, and that’s incredibly important to her.”

  “Fight for her, Pip! Go after her!”

  Haley had gone into a tent, and was probably all alone. Piper could march right over there and make her listen. Piper was stronger, and taller, and could block her from leaving just by holding the tent flap closed. But that wasn’t what she wanted
—at all. That wasn’t how she wanted to act, and it wasn’t the right way to approach someone you cared about. Even though doing so went against her instincts, Piper decided to stand down.

  “I can’t,” she said, feeling some of the hurt come to the fore. “She’s too upset to listen to me, and I’m too hurt to beg.”

  “You don’t have to beg, Pip. Just let her know you’re not giving up.”

  “I am giving up,” she said, sick with regret. They started to walk back to the dining hall, heading for a big empty space in front of the building that was clearly the spot where people gathered when they had free time. When they got close, Piper said, “I’m going to go eat something horrible. You might want to avert your eyes.”

  Charlie started to speak, but she shut her mouth and leaned forward to kiss Piper on the cheek. “I can’t be around too much temptation. Come find me when you’re finished.” She put her arm around Piper’s waist and hugged her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Pip. I really am.”

  “I am too. Sorrier than I think I’ve ever been.”

  ***

  So angry she was barely able to find her way to her tent, Haley flung open the flap and went inside, letting the dim, cool space soothe her slightly. Just being away from Piper and her dump-truck full of lies made her start to calm down. Thankfully, her new roommate wasn’t around, giving Haley at least a modicum of privacy.