The Fan Letter

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  And mourn she would. Tom had kept his reluctantly given promise to keep away and it was really hurting her—even though she had set it all in motion. Her own feelings for Tom hadn’t diminished in all the months that had passed. How could they? She saw him in every word she typed and pictured him in every action she wrote. The face that she put on Jane in her imagination was still hers. Tonight she must again accept the inevitable—that Tina Rowan would become Jane. And she was supposed to be happy and excited about it.

  The photographer snapped a few group pictures and then one of Leslie holding up the script he had asked her to bring. He hurried out so he could get home to watch the show himself. Leslie wished she could do the same.

  She smiled as she looked at her parents, though. They still didn’t enjoy the television series, but they had supportively read every word of her novels and were so proud of her they could burst. Leslie knew they had supplied all of their relatives with copies of her books, as well. Her parents now eagerly awaited eight o’clock with the rest of the group. Their personal feelings about the show were pushed aside. This was Leslie’s night.

  Leslie had never told them about Tom. Oh, they knew she had met him and that he had helped Janice and her get safely to New York and back alive. But they didn’t know about the deep attachment their daughter had developed for the actor and they certainly didn’t know about his proposal. No one did, not even her best friend Janice. Leslie clutched the diamond necklace hanging around her neck until the sparkling heart left a deep impression on the palm of her hand.

  At the end of October and then again at the end of December, the scene at the boutique was repeated. Leslie’s two other episodes aired. CHATEAU REX aired a month before the book was released to an enthusiastic public. She again submitted herself to the pain of watching, but it didn’t seem quite so deep this last time.

  She had to begrudgingly admit that the shows were just as she would have done them, even though she would rather have been there herself. Phillip Beck came across just as she had pictured him playing her Professor and she wrote him a brief note telling him so.

  Now immersed in her fourth novel, she again had time for something new. All the scripts were done, and she was free to start being creative again. She titled this one ANDREW’S REVENGE and would end the animosity between Andrew and Jane that bothered the vocal majority of the fans of her previous books.

  There were letters coming in now from readers of the books. Most were complimentary. Some were critical. She had attempted, at first with Janice’s help, to answer all she could. Now that the shows aired on television, there was so much mail that she hadn’t the time and hoped her new book would satisfy a lot of the questions she received.

  By the end of February Leslie was ready to begin typing. A letter from her agent in New York caught her eye in the stack of mail on her desk. She figured he was going to tell her to get busy as she was a month behind schedule. She wasn’t prepared for what she read.

  “Dear Leslie,

  I won’t beat around the bush. You have been selected as a candidate for the ‘New Writer of the Year’ category by the Public Opinion Award Committee. The ceremony and awards presentation of which you will be a part will be held on April twelfth in Los Angeles. I’m sure you are aware of the show. On the thirteenth the actors, shows, directors and producers receive their televised awards. I’m at liberty to tell you that your first episode and both Tom Young as leading actor and Phillip Beck as guest actor are up for awards.

  Well done, Leslie! You will, of course, attend the presentations on the twelfth. Highlights from the night will be announced during the next night’s broadcast.

  May you receive the award you deserve!

  Sincerely,

  Wallace Quimby“

  Leslie spent the next two hours on the phone, much like she did so long ago after she had received Phillip Beck’s phone message. Anne was thrilled. Janice was more pragmatic. “What are you going to wear?” was the question Janice most wanted to know.

  “I don’t know. I sure don’t have anything appropriate. Maybe Mona will help me pick something.”

  “What about that black evening dress you put into your first book,” Janice suddenly remembered.

  Leslie closed her eyes and was glad she was just talking on the phone. “I can’t. Tina wore it on that episode.”

  “But you’ve never wore it!” Janice argued. “I remember when we found it at the mall and you were just waiting for an opportunity to wear it.”

  “I know,” was the quiet response, “and I never will wear it.”

  Janice was too excited to notice the change in Leslie’s tone of voice. “Well, Mona will help, I’m sure. I want to be there when you try the dresses on. Who are you taking? No one goes to those things alone.”

  That stopped Leslie. Her mouth fell open into an O. “I…I don’t know. There isn’t anyone to take,” she thought out loud, her heart sinking as she realized how true was the statement.

  “Maybe Tom will take you.”

  Leslie flinched. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” she said slowly. “The papers say he is dating Tina.”

  “Oh, you can’t believe everything you read,” Janice replied brightly. “They also said you made a deal with the devil to get on the air,” she laughed.

  “Not those papers!” Leslie exclaimed, laughing in spite of herself. “Real papers. And…I believe it’s true. They’ve been working together for months now. I’ll think of someone. It’s more than a month away.”

  Janice giggled. “I’d offer Wayne, but he refuses to wear a tux. We’ve been going round and round about that with the wedding plans!”

  Leslie hadn’t even known they were engaged. “I’m sure he’ll come around,” was her quiet comment. “I have to go, Jan. I have a few more calls to make and some typing to get done.”

  “Okay. Let me know. Bye.”

  Leslie slowly set down the phone. She hadn’t even thought about having to be escorted. She then realized how busy she had made herself and how little she got out any more. As pleased as she was with the nomination, she wished she didn’t have to go to Los Angeles for the ceremony. At least she wouldn’t be there for the actors’ awards. That was a small compensation for her.

  An insistent knocking on her door interrupted Leslie’s typing. She was nearing completion and wanted to be able to mail it off to New York before the award ceremony next week. After she got back from Los Angeles she would begin the script. Her mind still whirling through all she wanted to get done, she momentarily forgot whoever it was outside her door.

  The knocking turned to pounding. Jamming the off button on her typewriter and angrily shoving her chair back, she stormed to the door. Her friends knew better than to disturb her now. She flung open the door and her storm-cloud expression instantly changed to one of shock and surprise.

  “I guess you weren’t expecting me,” Eddie Chase joked as he took a step back from the door at the dark look on her face. When the look passed and changed into shock, he invited himself in. “Come in, Eddie. Oh, I’d love to. Thank you. How are you, Eddie? I’m great. How are you?” he continued with his monologue as he sat on her sofa and looked around. “So this is what Tom told me all about. Cute,” he proclaimed and grinned broadly at her.

  Leslie, silent through all of this, finally remembered to close the door. “This is a surprise, Eddie. Umm, how are you and…and everyone?”

  “And…and everyone is fine, too,” he replied looking steadily at her. “And…and everyone misses you a lot.”

  Leslie wasn’t prepared for that. She nervously looked around, wishing she—or Eddie—was somewhere else and not having that conversation. “Can I get you something? Coffee? A sandwich? A taxi back to the airport?”

  Eddie ignored her sarcasm and patted the cushion next to him. “No, I’m fine. Sit down, Leslie. Relax. I just wanted to talk to you.”

  Leslie reluctantly complied and bit back her retort that he could have used the phone. She
gave him a small smile that did nothing to mask the hurt in her eyes. “It is good to see you. I’ve missed all of you,” she admitted and then indicated her television set with a tilt of her chin. “I watch every week. The season went really well.”

  “We hoped to have another of your scripts to finish off the season.”

  Leslie frowned at that. “I don’t understand why they used all three scripts so fast. I intended on them being strung out more.”

  “And most writers complain we don’t use enough of their work,” Eddie laughed, and then explained, “What you suggested would have been the normal procedure, but they wanted to get you established before the end of the year.”

  “Whatever for? What difference did that make?”

  “Because of the award show. It is a big deal both for you and for the studio. You see, Leslie, everyone but you realized how good your work is. We all knew what the public reaction would be. Oh, by the way,” he added, leaning over to kiss her cheek, “congratulations on the nomination. We’re all proud of you.”

  She grinned and blushed. “Thanks. I won’t win, of course, but it is still pretty exciting. For…for Tom and Phillip, too. You’ll get yours next time,” she added with a sly smile.

  “What do you mean?”

  She then indicated her kitchen table cluttered with papers. “That story is for you. Well, for Andrew, I should say. It answers the animosity questions between Andrew and Jane and also who the father of Jane’s baby is—Jack or Rex.”

  Eddie looked impressed. “Sounds good. When does it go in?”

  “To New York, next week. Then I’ll start the script if Mr. Avery gives me the go-ahead. It will need a two-hour time slot, though.”

  He shrugged. “No problem. It’s in your contract that Avery will do anything you say! Which tickles us to no end, by the way.”

  When he paused, Leslie looked at him expectantly. There had to be more of a reason than this for him to come all that way to see her.

  He read her look. “So, I can see you are wondering why I’m really here. Isn’t it enough that I miss your smiling face?”

  Leslie laughed. “Yeah, right. Cut to the chase, Chase.”

  “Oh, clever. Can I use that?”

  “You will anyway,” she answered dryly.

  “True,” he admitted good-naturedly. “All right. Here’s the deal. I’m here because of Tom…. Now, don’t look like that! Hear me out. I’m serious. You really hurt him when you left like you did. He thought you would stay indefinitely.”

  “I never said I would,” was her quiet, almost imperceptible response.

  “I know. But we all thought you would. He just hasn’t been the same, Les.”

  A jealous streak emerged that surprised Leslie when she found herself demanding, “Is that why he’s dating Tina?”

  Eddie noticed the edge to her question. “What did you expect? She looks just like you. She reads your lines on the show. Half the time she’s called Leslie—which, by the way, really irritates her. Even Tom slips a lot. She slapped him one time when he did it…. Ah, I see that pleases you. So, you do care,” he declared triumphantly.

  Leslie looked away and let all that information sink in. So Tom calls Tina by her name. Her eyes smiled even though she wouldn’t allow her lips to do the same. “Yeah, I care, Eddie. Are you happy now? But he sure took up with her awfully fast for being so broken up over me!” she pointed out, disgusted.

  He looked at her closely again. “Ah, now you’re jealous. Good…. Well, what did you think he would do? You vanish suddenly and leave your twin sister. You told him never to contact you. You don’t understand men very well, do you?”

  “I guess not,” she answered shortly, turning red. “Thanks for pointing it out.”

  “Any time,” he shot back at her. “That’s not all I wanted to tell you. Who will be your escort next week?”

  He was surprised when her expression turned humorous. “Oh, you’ll love this. Mr. Avery,” she announced with a grin. “He’ll be there anyway for the costume and set design nominations.”

  “Ask Tom,” Eddie suggested softly.

  Leslie looked down. “I can’t, Eddie. I’m only going to be there on the twelfth. If I see him again….” She left rest unsaid and shook her head.

  “Listen,” he sighed at her stubbornness. “There’s going to be a big party after the ceremony no matter who wins. You deserve to be there. It was your scripts that got Phillip his nomination. You know that. We all want you there.”

  “It would be awkward with Tina,” Leslie pointed out. “I’m just a writer, Eddie. She’s one of the stars of the show now. She should be there with Tom. Not me.”

  Eddie glanced at his watch. He could tell he was getting nowhere with her. “I have to catch the next flight,” he explained as he stood. “Will you at least think about it?”

  She met his eyes. “Think about it?” she repeated with a catch in her voice she couldn’t stop in time. “I live with this every day. I dread being even near L.A. because of the memories. It had gotten a little easier, Eddie. Now you’ve brought it out full force again,” she told him frankly.

  “Good. You belong with us, Leslie. We want you back,” he said putting his hands on her arms. “Now, give me a hug and a kiss and promise me you’ll seriously reconsider.”

  She gave him the hug and the kiss and a shrug.

  “I’ll see you on the twelfth,” he told her as he waved and shut the door behind him.

  “Thanks for stopping in,” she muttered to the closed door and walked slowly back to the kitchen table to resume typing. Her finger was poised over the on/off switch, but her mind was far away in a beachfront house.

  Leslie’s parents, her ex-co-workers at the boutique, some local fans, and the photographer from the paper were on hand at the airport to see Leslie off. Everyone was confident she would win even though she was not so confident. Her black evening dress from Mona was carefully packed. It had a well-fitting bodice with full sleeves that narrowed down to the buttoned wrists. The waist was outlined by rows of black sequins and the skirt was full and would trail behind her as she walked. Tom’s necklace would adorn her bare neck and she borrowed a pair of diamond studs for her ears.

  After all the hugs and kisses and pictures, Leslie boarded the commuter jet and settled back for the one hour flight, her mouth dry, her palms damp, and her heart pounding. Her outfit in the box was held tightly on her lap.

  She saw no one familiar at the terminal as she came down the ramp. She began to get panicky as the studio had said she was supposed to be met. Nervously glancing from face to face as she walked, a waving chauffeur caught her attention, holding up a sign that read Nelson. She sighed in relief when she saw him.

  “Miss Nelson?” he asked pleasantly as he took her box. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. Traffic, you know. Mr. Avery is in the car. Please follow me.”

  He led her to the loading zone where a black stretch limo waited at the curb. The door was opened to reveal Richard Avery and Eddie Chase on the seat next to him, both men dressed in tuxedos. A passerby spotted Eddie, gave a short shriek and managed to wave before the door was closed.

  “Surprise! Told you I would see you on the twelfth!” Eddie explained, all pleased with himself. “I couldn’t let you go with Avery here. It just wasn’t right. So I made the ultimate sacrifice.”

  “You draw the short straw?”

  “No, lost best out of three in Rock, Paper, Scissors.”

  “Well, as long as you tried so hard,” she kidded back, “how can I resist?” She looked around the car. “I do hope I’ll have someplace to change other than in here.”

  “Oh, sure,” Eddie piped up. “We’ll stop at some gas station for you.”

  “Oh, goodie,” was her flat reply.

  Mr. Avery just shook his head and looked out the window. “Kids,” he muttered. “I’ve arranged for a dressing room for you backstage since you had to fly in. We’ll go straight to the Pavilion. The awards begin in two hours. After
the ceremony, which will last forever, will be a dinner and then a photo session with the press. You will be back at the airport in time for your eleven o’clock flight.”

  “Unless you decide to stay,” Eddie injected hopefully.

  Richard looked puzzled by this comment but asked Leslie instead, “Do you have a speech memorized? I’d like to hear it before we get there.”

  “Speech?” Leslie echoed, her eyebrows going up. “Whatever for? I’m not going to win. Why do I need a speech?”

  Mr. Avery rolled his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face. Eddie pursed his lips and looked out the window. Speaking very slowly, Mr. Avery said, “And what if you do win? You must be prepared, Miss Nelson.”

  A headache started throbbing behind her left eye. “Oh, I’ll think of something if the impossible happens.”

  “It usually does, Les. It usually does,” Eddie cryptically commented in an undertone.

  She heard him and narrowed her eyes. “What do you know? What have you done?”

  He was all innocence. “Nothing!”

  There was no red carpet, no bleachers full of waving fans, no hosts from the news stations, no lines of photographers for that day’s awards. The nominees quietly wandered in and were shown to their elaborately decorated tables.

  Leslie emerged from her dressing room and was greeted by smiles from her two escorts.

  “Very nice, Leslie,” Mr. Avery commented. “Very tasteful.”

  “Eddie?” she asked as she turned a full circle.

  “Ah, you’re too short,” was his remark.

  She gave a laugh. “What?”

  “Good,” he nodded. “Keep that smile on your face, not the fake one we usually see.”

  Leslie took his offered arm and they emerged into the Ballroom. Leslie looked around and was confused. “This looks so different than the room they usually use. It’s so…plain.”

  Mr. Avery explained, “The set you are used to seeing for the televised awards is in another room. This is the one they use for the technical awards. If we have time afterwards, I’ll show you the other. We have to be seated now.”