Plain Jane in the Spotlight

by Lucy Gordon

  As the night wore on she tensed at every sound outside her door, waiting for the knock. But it never came, and at last she realised that Travis was better than her fears, better than Lee’s spiteful accusations.

  Somehow after that it was easier to sleep.

  * * *

  Next morning she rose very early and ordered breakfast through room service. As she was finishing, the phone rang.

  ‘It’s me,’ said Travis. ‘Can I come up or will I be in the way?’

  ‘I’m alone,’ she said, correctly interpreting this. ‘Do come.’

  She was waiting for him with the door open, and shut it quickly behind him.

  ‘I came up the back stairs,’ he said. ‘Nobody will know I’m here so if Lee…you know…’

  ‘If Lee asks any jealous questions you won’t have compromised me,’ she said, bitterly amused. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t. And he’d actually be glad you were here.’

  ‘Why would he…? Oh, no, tell me I’m wrong.’

  ‘You’d relieve him of a problem. He was here last night. Not for long. He escaped as soon as he could.’

  ‘You told him about the baby?’

  ‘I told him there might be one. He was horrified. He’s probably calling abortion doctors this minute.’

  Travis drew in a sharp breath. ‘Would you-?’

  ‘No, of course not!’ she said passionately. ‘Never, never! If I’m pregnant I’ll have the child, and if its father isn’t interested…I’ll manage.’

  She began to pace the room, clenching and unclenching her hands until he took gentle hold of her.

  ‘Calm down,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to find out the truth. We can’t do anything until we know one way or the other.’

  ‘You’re kind but it’s me that’s got to do something, not you. I won’t drag you into this.’

  ‘I’m already part of this. You “dragged me in” when you socked me on the cheek yesterday.’

  ‘I didn’t sock you. It was a light tap and there isn’t the slightest mark-’

  She stopped. His eyes were full of kindly humour, telling her that he was joking, and she should have realised.

  ‘Just shut up and let me look after you, OK?’ he said.

  ‘I don’t know what to do next. Perhaps I should go back to England.’

  ‘Before you’ve established the facts? Surely not.’

  ‘What difference will it make either way if Lee… I don’t know… Wait, let me give you this now.’

  She took out the expensive necklace he’d loaned her.

  ‘I ought to have given it back to you last night, but there were so many things on my mind-’

  ‘That’s all right. I understand.’

  ‘Take it, take it.’ She was pushing the necklace into his hands as though desperate to get it out of her possession. It might have been some fearful thing, full of horrific memories, he thought, dismayed.

  ‘All right,’ he said, putting the jewels into his pocket. ‘Now, let’s talk this over calmly.’ He drew her to the bed and sat beside her. ‘Running away isn’t a good idea. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we know what’s going to happen. Is there anyone at home for you?’

  ‘No, I live with my grandparents but they’re away at the moment.’

  ‘What about other family? Brothers, sisters?’

  ‘Nobody, but that doesn’t matter. I’m strong, I can cope. Please don’t worry about me.’

  He got up and strode to the window, standing with his back to her while he tried to get his head round what was happening. Before him stretched Sunset Boulevard, a glamorous place that seemed to typify the world he took for granted; a world in which presentation was all-important and most things had a price, even if it was often dressed up with tinsel.

  Take whatever life offered, give as little as possible in return. That was the conventional wisdom. He’d gained much from Charlene’s presence. Now she was obligingly offering to vanish, causing no trouble, asking no favours, even handing back jewellery that many women would have tried to claim. It couldn’t be better and a shrewd man would seize what she’d given him, pack her onto the next plane, bless his luck and forget about her.

  Travis made a slight turn, glancing over his shoulder at where she still sat on the bed. She wasn’t looking at him, just staring blankly into space.

  This was how she would cope, he thought; sitting alone in an empty house, looking into the distance. Abandoned by her lover, abandoned by the man who’d called himself her friend and brother.

  Common sense demanded that he get rid of her while she was still doing him good and before she could become awkward.

  But common sense had never been his strong suit, he thought wryly. Almost everyone who knew him agreed about that.

  ‘So now we have to get moving,’ he said, returning to sit beside her. ‘Hurry up and pack.’

  His businesslike tone sent a faint chill through her. He was dumping her, and she couldn’t blame him. But somehow it wasn’t what she’d expected.

  But she should have expected it, she thought, depressed. Clearly he was as unreliable as Lee!

  She pulled herself together. ‘Time I was going.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re coming to stay with me.’

  ‘With you-where?’

  ‘In my apartment. Nobody will know you’re there and you’ll have privacy as long as you want it. And don’t give me any more nonsense about how strong you are because every time you say it I believe it less and less. And if you really think I’m the kind of rotten friend who’d abandon you when you need a hand to hold, well-thanks for the insult.’

  ‘I never meant to insult you. I just didn’t want to be a burden. I have no claim on you.’

  ‘Except the claim of gratitude. After last night I owe you big-time. Brenton’s flaming mad, which is great. It means he knows he’s losing the fight and it’s due to you. You’re my best defence, and there’s no way I’m going to let you leave Los Angeles. I’m taking you prisoner. Get used to it. Do as you’re told!’

  Without warning, she was flooded by tears. Whatever he said, the truth was that he was protecting her out of kindness. The macho words were just a smokescreen.

  ‘Hey, come on,’ he said, taking her into a firm hug. ‘No need to cry.’

  ‘I’m not crying,’ she wept.

  ‘Of course you’re not. You’re much too strong for that, aren’t you?’

  In despair, she shook her head.

  ‘I’m going downstairs,’ he told her. ‘I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t even think of locking me out, unless, of course, Lee appears, in which case I’ll vanish.’

  But that wouldn’t happen, and they both knew it.

  When he’d gone she packed her things, moving mechanically. What happened now was beyond her control. She was in Travis’s hands, his dependant, even perhaps his victim.

  The thought should have troubled her but it didn’t. Stronger than anything was the feeling of having landed safely in the middle of a storm.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WHEN Travis returned Charlene was ready with everything packed.

  ‘We have to decide on the PR,’ he said. ‘It’s part of living in Los Angeles. PR gets hard-wired into you. You decide what you’re actually doing, and then decide what you want the world to think you’re doing. They’re not usually the same thing.’

  ‘Right,’ she said, in the voice of someone trying to hang in there. ‘How do we decide?’

  ‘We must consider whether we want to be seen together. Last night we were, and it was great, but your priority is still Lee, so let’s be discreet until that situation is sorted. It’s best if nobody sees us leave together, so we’ll go down the back stairs.’

  ‘But my bill-’

  ‘That’s sorted. Just take my hand.’

  It felt inevitable to put her hand in his and feel him clasp it in a firm, comforting grip. Looking back afterwards, she had the feeling that this moment had shone a light on the
path ahead. From now on she would go where he led.

  Quietly they descended, to find Rick waiting halfway down. He seized her suitcase and hurried ahead. By the time they reached the door he was there with the car. Nobody saw them get inside and settle in the back as the car glided out of the hotel’s rear car park into Sunset Boulevard.

  It was still early in the day and the sun was rising high. Already the street was busy and she looked out at it with fascination.

  ‘I looked it up online before I came out here,’ she said in wonder, ‘but nothing really prepares you.’

  ‘That’s true. I grew up here but it still makes me think-get down!’

  Next moment he’d seized her, drawing her close so that her head was against his shoulder, everything about him radiating alarm.

  ‘There was someone I knew,’ he said from above her head. ‘I don’t think they saw your face, but let’s keep it hidden and not take chances. Sorry to grab you like that. I hope I didn’t hurt you.’

  ‘No, I’m fine,’ she managed to say.

  She could feel one of his hands on her hair while the other lay gently over her face, just enough to conceal her features from anyone who happened to be close.

  ‘Sorry about this,’ he said. ‘I’ll release you as soon as it’s safe.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’m quite comfortable.’

  She felt him move so that he leaned down over her, concealing his own face as much as possible.

  ‘Get into the back streets as soon as possible, Rick,’ he called.

  The next moment the car swung wildly around a corner so that she had to move quickly to cling to Travis.

  ‘OK?’ he asked.

  ‘Sure. No worries.’

  ‘Charlene,’ he said, as he sensed something amazing, ‘are you laughing?’

  ‘I guess I am.’ She chuckled. ‘Don’t ask me why. It’s mad, crazy. Whatever I expected, it wasn’t this.’

  ‘Me neither,’ he admitted. ‘But that’s life, isn’t it?’

  ‘I guess it’s more fun that way.’

  ‘Definitely. And at all costs, let life be fun.’

  Now he too was laughing, enfolding her in his arms. She felt his body in her hands, against her own body, and she knew a flash of wisdom. It was lucky she was in no danger of falling in love with him, because otherwise this delicious moment could seriously threaten her common sense.

  Luckily she was safe. Quite safe.

  She repeated that again. Completely safe.

  After a while he said, ‘I think we could risk it now,’ loosening his grip and easing her up from his shoulder.

  ‘I’ve made a mess of your hair,’ he said, brushing it back.

  ‘And of course my hair is what I’m chiefly concerned about.’

  ‘Well, some girls would be,’ he said wryly. ‘Never mind. When we get home you can spend the day looking after yourself.’

  ‘Where do you live?’

  ‘Beachwood Canyon, part of the Hollywood Hills.’

  Soon she could see the land rising steeply above them, crowned by the famous HOLLYWOOD sign that defined this magical place. Much of Hollywood’s activities had now drifted to other parts of the city, but this was where it had all begun. Humphrey Bogart had lived here, also Charlie Chaplin. In this place was enshrined much of the city’s glamorous history, especially in the part known as Beachwood Canyon.

  As they climbed higher and higher, Charlene gazed out of the window, riveted. Soon they were driving along a street lined with palm trees, until they came in sight of a three-storey block.

  ‘I’m on the top floor,’ he said.

  His cellphone rang and he answered it impatiently. ‘Yes, I’m on my way-something came up-I’ll call you back.’

  ‘Am I making you late for work?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll show you in and then dash off.’

  Luck favoured them in the elevator ride to the top, and they entered his home without being seen.

  ‘I’ve got to go now,’ he said at once. ‘The spare bedroom’s over there. Make yourself at home. Raid the fridge. The place is yours. Here’s my phone number. Call me if anything worries you.’

  ‘I can’t call you while you’re working,’ she said, aghast. ‘What would your bosses say?’

  ‘Nothing. The only thing that upsets them is if I damage my public image. But if I behave like a spoilt brat on-set it’s just dismissed as part of my “great star” personality.’

  The wicked gleam in his eyes robbed the words of conceit. To him it was all a joke, she realised, and if the joke was against himself he enjoyed that best of all.

  ‘We’re not filming today, just rehearsing again. So call me if you need to.’

  ‘All right, I’ll do whatever you think best.’

  ‘Now that’s wisdom talking. And don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.’

  He vanished.

  Yes, she thought. He could make her feel that all would be well as long as he was there. It was a rare gift.

  The apartment was luxurious but in a down-to-earth way that pleasantly surprised her. Instinct told her that the man who lived here wasn’t ‘full of himself’ as he might so easily have become. He just liked his own way. Which was fair enough, she reckoned.

  Charlene spent the day as he’d said, making herself at home, eating a snack from the fridge, always alert for a call from Lee. But when the phone rang in the late morning it was Travis to ask how she was. Later he called again to say he was on his way home.

  But from Lee, not a word.

  When Travis arrived he gave her a searching look and said quietly, ‘Nothing?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘He just needs a little time to think about it. Now, let’s have supper, if you can stand my cooking.’

  He was no chef but his cooking was edible. As they devoured chicken he said, ‘Lee kept giving me some odd looks today. He doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.’

  ‘I think he’d like to be going,’ she said sadly. ‘Then he could get away from me.’

  ‘He’s probably just confused. He might be a father, or he might not. He needs to know for sure before he can decide how he feels.’

  ‘You talk as if you know,’ she said curiously.

  ‘It happened to me once. We’d known each other a while, then she said she was expecting but she didn’t know if it was mine or not. In the end we found that it wasn’t.’

  ‘Did you mind?’ she asked, struck by a new note in his voice.

  ‘It might have been nice. A baby anchors you to reality, tells you where you belong.’

  ‘But you have all those brothers.’

  ‘Yes, but at a distance. I hear about them, and about my father, and it’s like getting messages from another universe. If her baby had been mine nothing could have kept me away, and Lee will probably be the same when he knows.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said, knowing she didn’t sound convinced.

  ‘Are you really in love with him?’

  ‘I don’t know. We had that time together-and it was so sweet, so close. I really wanted that closeness.’

  ‘I know the feeling,’ he said quietly. ‘And at least I had my brothers, even if they lived at a distance. But you have nobody except your grandparents, is that right?’

  ‘I have a stepbrother, James, but we’re not in contact. My mother and his father took a trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and never came back. Their plane crashed. The last time I saw James was at their funeral.’

  ‘And your grandparents? Are they any comfort to you in this situation?’

  ‘I haven’t told them. They know I’m in Los Angeles but not why. If it works out badly I don’t want to spoil their African holiday.’

  ‘So you knew it might work out badly,’ he said, ‘right from the day you came out here?’

  ‘Yes, well-you always hope for the best, don’t you?’

  ‘That’s right. Keep on hoping.’

  Travis squeezed h
er hand and they sat in silence for a moment.

  ‘What do you think of this place?’ he asked at last, rising to fetch more coffee.

  ‘Fascinating. Especially your bookcase. All that Shakespeare.’

  ‘You were naturally surprised to find that a TV actor is bright enough to understand Shakespeare.’

  ‘No, I didn’t mean that,’ she said hurriedly.

  He grinned. ‘Didn’t you? All right, I’ll take your word for it. Actually, the only play I know well is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That’s how I understood what you were saying about how you met Lee. I acted in it once, years ago.’

  ‘Were you Lysander or Demetrius?’ she asked, naming the two young male leads.

  ‘Neither. I played Puck.’

  Of course, she thought. Puck, the fiendish but delightful elf, described by one person as a ‘shrewd and knavish sprite’ and by himself as ‘that merry wanderer of the night’. He spent the play performing roguish tricks and laughing at the chaos that resulted.

  Strangely, Puck was the perfect role for Travis. His ‘romantic hero’ looks might seem more suitable for one of the lovers but the sense of delightfully wicked mischief that pervaded him suggested a different story. And something told Charlene that this was his true self.

  ‘I’m just staggered by the window in my room,’ she said. ‘Enormous. Floor to ceiling. And that long view down to the city. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘The ones in my room are even better,’ he said. ‘Come and look. It’s a sight you’ll never forget.’

  Taking her hand, he drew her into his room and made a gesture of revelation. Charlene gasped as she saw the two huge breathtaking walls of glass, angled to form a corner. It wasn’t yet completely dark, but evening was closing in and the lights of Los Angeles gleamed against the shadows.

  ‘I was wrong before,’ she breathed. ‘This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Nothing else could ever be like it. Oh, goodness!’

  ‘That’s how I feel,’ Travis agreed. ‘I look at the view every night before I go to bed.’

  ‘And the HOLLYWOOD sign,’ she said, pointing into the distance. ‘Just to remind you what it’s all about.’