Fame You

by Hattie Lou

  I sit back on the couch and flip through the channels trying to find something that’s worth watching as I sip on my beer. I haven’t been filming any movies or making guest appearances on any shows lately. It has been weeks since Mom passed and I have no desire to go back to work. There’s an empty space in my life right now. Nothing makes me excited anymore. Stu keeps asking me when I am planning on making some sort of statement about why I haven’t been on social media or why the paparazzi haven’t seen me around lately. Somehow word got out about Mom’s death on the internet. People are worried that I had some sort of nervous breakdown. Matthew told me that he was asked by a reporter if I was admitted to a hospital to get a psych evaluation. I wish everyone would just leave me the hell alone! Truth is I don’t fucking care right now. I just want to be able to sit here in my house and not deal with anyone. I’m not asking for much. I just want to be left alone.

  “Someone is at the gate.” The monitor alerts me.

  I look at the screen to see a huge truck in front of my gate waiting for me to let them in. Maybe Erika ordered new furniture again. She tends to do that without telling me. She always wants to buy new things because she hates having the same background when we have guests over the house. Who pays attention to the artwork hanging above the fireplace?

  “Hello?” I say into the speaker as I continue to watch the stranger on the camera.

  “I’m looking for Luke Stewart. I got a few items for him.”

  “I will be right there,” I tell him as I make my way to the gate. “What is it?” I ask as I approach him and his truck.

  “I’m not entirely sure. I’m just taking orders.”

  “Orders? From who?”

  The young man looks down at his clipboard. “Olivia Patterson. Do you know her? She told me to make sure that Luke Stewart is here when I deliver these items.”

  Olivia? What could she be sending me?

  “Yeah. I’m Luke.” I say, following him to the back of the truck where he opens the door. There are boxes that all read fragile.

  “Where do you want me to put them?” He asks.

  “In the living room.” I guide him inside and watch as he makes several trips back and forth from the truck. I don’t want to open them until the delivery guy leaves.

  “This is the last box.” He says, handing me a small box.

  “Thank you,” I say as I’m about to reach inside my wallet to tip him.

  “It’s okay. Olivia already gave me a tip.” He says, tipping his hat to me before walking away.

  I look around the living room and see seven big boxes and one small one. I don’t know which one I should open first. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to open any of them. This feels like a goodbye. If I open all of them then Olivia will be out of my life forever. What am I saying? She’s out of my life. Mom’s gone. There’s nothing holding us together anymore.

  I sit down and open the first box. I’m not sure what I was expecting to find in the boxes, but not this. Dad’s awards including his Oscars. She packed them neatly in wrapping paper and bubble wrap so they didn’t break. I pick up the Oscar he won for “The Lost Guards.” I stare down at it in my hands. Dad wrote a screenplay and won a damn Oscar for it. Why can’t I? He was so proud that night when he won the award. I remember watching it on television. I never saw my dad cried until he was giving his speech. That night was the happiest that I have ever seen him.

  I go through more of the boxes. They are movie posters of Dad’s. She sent everything in the house that Mom had of him. I guess Olivia wants to move on. Maybe she can’t bear to look at the items because they remind her so much of Mom.

  After an hour I decide to take a break from looking at the boxes. I go into the kitchen and open up my laptop. I don’t check social media like I normally do. Not this time. Instead, I click on my notepad and begin to type. I stare at the screen reading the scene I wrote just a few weeks ago. It’s about Liam and Marie’s first kiss during their trip across country. My fingers start typing as the words start to flow from my head. This time I’m not forcing myself to write. I’m writing because I have something to write about. The sound of the keyboard of my fingers pressing down is feeling me with adrenaline. My heart is racing as the scenes are playing throughout my head. It feels like I’m watching a movie, only it’s in my head and not on a movie screen.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Luke

  My knees won’t stop bouncing. My heart’s racing as my hands feel sweaty. It all comes down to this. “You sure she’s coming?” I ask Frank for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

  He looks down at his watch as he sits at his desk. “She said she will be here at eleven. She got five more minutes.”

  I lean back in my chair trying to calm my nerves. I haven’t seen or heard from Olivia since the night of the Wake six months ago. I got on a plane and went back to LA. I wasn’t thinking clearly that day. I didn’t start thinking until the day the boxes arrived at my house from Olivia. I spent that whole weekend writing my screenplay. When I finished writing the last page, I wanted to call her to let her know that I finally finished the story. I wanted to hear her reaction. I know she would have been happy for me and I remember her telling me how much she wanted to know the ending of the story. I called her that night only to find her number was no longer in service. I even tried the house phone and got nothing.

  A few weeks later, I flew back to Pennsylvania wanting to make things right between us, but she was already gone. The house was completely empty. Ben told me that she packed up a few nights after the Wake. She said she couldn’t stay in the house without my mom. It was too painful for her. She didn’t forward her address. I had no clue where she was. Ben claimed not to know anything, but I knew he was lying. She told him not to tell me. Olivia wants nothing to do with me, but I couldn’t let her go, not that easily.

  I started to research her on the internet on a daily basis to the point where I felt like a stalker. She didn’t have any social media accounts. There was no way of finding her. I shouldn’t admit this but the need to know that she was okay was weighing heavily on me so I hired a private detective to find her for me.

  It took about a week before he called me with the news that he found a woman living in Maine with the same name. I came close to getting a ticket to find out if it was her, but in the end, I didn’t. I was worried about what her reaction would be. She could have thought I was crazy and call the cops on me for stalking her.

  Frank called me out of the blue and told me that he had Mom’s will. He asked if I would come back to Pennsylvania to go over her wishes. I didn’t want to hear it since I figured I wasn’t in mentioned, but when he said Olivia’s name was in it. A light bulb went off in my head. It was the perfect way for us to meet up again. Olivia loved her like she was her own mom. She would want to hear what her last wishes were and honor them.

  Now here I am waiting for that door to open just to see her walk through it. I’m praying she’ll come.

  The sound of the intercom makes me almost jump out of my chair.

  “I have Mrs. Patterson here for your eleven o’clock appointment.” The secretary says.

  “You ready?” He asks me. I give him a nod. He presses the button. “Send her in please.”

  I remain seated in the chair. Afraid I might faint when I see her.

  The door opens and she appears “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind that I….” She stops when she sees me. Her skin looks a bit pale like I’m a ghost.

  Olivia has changed a lot since I last saw her. She cut her hair. It looks incredible! It is shoulder length. It’s a little darker than I remember. She must have dyed it. She has on a dress shirt with a long skirt making her look very professional.

  “Olivia,” I say friendly, trying hard not to jump out of my chair and put my arms around her.

  She gives me a quick smile. “Luke.” She says before turning to Frank. “Can we please get started?” She asks, not wanting to be in the same room
with me. That’s not the reaction I was expecting from her, but it’s my fault that she can’t stand me. I caused her to hate me.

  “Sure, Mrs. Patterson.” He walks behind the desk and opens up the folder regarding my mother’s wishes.

  It’s hard to focus when my eyes are still on her. I can’t believe this is really happening. She’s here. I have been waiting for this opportunity for a while now and it’s here. I just can’t screw this up. I need her to give me a few minutes of her time to make things right again.

  “This was written a few days after she was diagnosed. She stated that she wanted this done while she could remember everything clearly. First on the list is that she wants you both to have the house. Fifty/fifty share.”

  We both look at each other briefly. “I don’t want it.” Olivia quickly objects. “Luke can have it. I will sign it over to him immediately.”

  Frank turns his attention to me. “Do you want the house?”

  “Yes, I will take it,” I answer, never taking my eyes off of Olivia. How could she not want the house? She lived there with Mom for five years. Savannah was raised there. We met in that house! That house holds a lot of good memories for her.

  “Olivia, Katherine wanted you to have enough money so she kept a savings account in your name. There’s over fifty thousand dollars in it right now. It was her way of thanking you for always being there for her. She appreciated you more than you will ever know.”

  Olivia turns her head in the opposite direction so we don’t see her crying.

  “If you don’t want the money, we can set up an account for your daughter for college. Katherine also stated that she wanted to make sure Savannah had everything she needed.”

  “Okay.” She whispers, trying to wipe away the tears.

  It’s nice that Mom wanted her to have the money. No matter if Olivia needed it or not, I’m sure she wouldn’t want to ask for it. Mom did a great job looking out for them.

  Frank goes over the list of everything in her will. The jewelry, silverware and the family photos that she always had hung on the living room wall.

  Frank shuts the folder. “Well, that’s all. We’re done here. If either of you have any questions regarding her will, feel free to give me a call.” He hands us both his business card.

  Olivia thanks him and shakes his hand before walking out of his office.

  Before I can leave the room, Frank stops me and hands me an envelope. Your mother wanted you to receive this letter the day of reading the will.”

  I look down at the envelope and see her handwriting. She used to leave me little notes in my lunchbox. I couldn’t help but smile when I found them. She would write something to make me laugh such as a quote from one of my favorite cartoon shows. It was comforting to know that she was somewhat with me even when I was in school.

  “Thanks.” I tell him.

  He nods. “Good luck.” He says as I am about to leave. He doesn’t mean with life. He means good luck with Olivia. I told him how much she means to me. He said, “If she’s the first thing on your mind when you wake up then she’s worth the fight.” He’s right. I can’t be whole without my other half.

  ‘Olivia!” I call out as she’s heading to her car.

  She turns around and blocks the sun from her eyes. “Yeah?”

  I catch my breath as I reach her. “I finished the story.”

  “That’s good.” She says avoiding making any eye contact with me.

  “I want you to be the first to read the story. Do you have time?” I do want her to read my story, but I also have more to say to her. I want to make things right between us.

  She looks down at her watch. “I have an hour.”

  “Good,” I say, smiling at her. “Want to get a cup of coffee while you read it?”

  “Okay.”

  I drive her to the local diner and hand her my laptop. I sit in silence while she takes her time reading. She even corrects a few of my errors along the way, making me laugh. I didn’t proofread any of it before today. Maybe I should have. I didn’t know the woman was such a Grammar nerd.

  She leans all the way back in her chair as she finishes reading the last page.

  Olivia

  My eyes carefully read the last page of his story. Liam and Marie have been through a lot during their journey. Marie finds her dad, but he is the complete opposite of what she was expecting him to be. He doesn’t care for her and doesn’t want anything to do with her. She’s left heartbroken as she regretted making the journey to look for him.

  Liam, on the other hand, loves her and wants to be there for her in every way. He loves her even though sometimes she doesn’t think she deserve his love.

  The story ends with Liam standing in front of her, confessing just how much she means to him. He can’t make it in life without her. He needs her to survive.

  The words are so sweet that I blink my eyes so Luke doesn’t see them watering. I’ve always had a soft spot for romance.

  “Wow. That’s definitely a great story. I’m glad you finished it. The ending is exactly what I wanted to happen to them. They deserve happiness.” I say, leaning my elbows onto the table. “What are you going to do with it now?”

  Luke doesn’t speak, making me turn my head to look at him. “Something that I should have done a long time ago.” He says, staring me right in the eyes.

  “What?” I ask, holding his gaze.

  He moves in close before I have a chance to realize what he is doing. His lips are on mine. My lips part as his tongue invades my mouth. His tongue gets tangled up in mine. I never thought he would kiss me. I imagined how the scene would play out in my head numerous times, but not like this. I never felt this kind of kiss. It’s amazing. His lips are refusing to leave mine. He doesn’t need to speak. I can tell he’s apologizing to me with his mouth.

  “I thought we weren't supposed to kiss,” I say, breaking the kiss after a minute.

  He laughs, running his finger on my cheek. “I was lost before I met you, Olivia. You brought me to life with your words and kindness. I never met someone like you. You’re passionate, loving, caring and I want to be with you.”

  My eyes widen at his words. Luke doesn’t talk like this. He’s usually all about himself. Always worrying about his Hollywood image. “Be with me? What about Erika?”

  He shakes his head. “I told her everything. We’re over. I moved out of the house a while ago. I have my own place. I made Frank call you to set up this appointment. I wanted to be here when he goes over the will, but I also wanted to be here because I came to tell you that I want you. Not the way we were. I want you forever. A girlfriend, a wife. You’re already a mother to a little girl that I think is amazing and smart. I would like to get to know her more if you would allow me.”

  Tears are coming down my cheeks. I’m speechless. “You’re not just saying this because you’re not with Erika anymore?”

  It pains him that I’m asking that question but I need to know the truth before I let him back into my life. I don’t want Savannah to get close to him then have him leave us again. My heart can’t take that. It has been through enough already.

  “No, I have been looking all over for you. I know that I screwed up, but I’m…” He starts to trail off.

  “You’re what?” I ask, looking deep into his eyes.

  “I’m in love with you, Olivia.”

  I look at my hands and then back up as I take in his words. “Do you mean it? You don’t…”

  “I mean it.” He says as he kisses me hard so I can’t finish my sentence. Hell, I can’t even remember what I was going to say, not with his mouth on mine. Luke makes me forget everything including the fact we’re sitting here in a restaurant with people nearby. This time he melts into my body as our tongues won’t stop dancing with one another. Everything is finally right again.

  “I love you, too,” I whisper as I break our kiss.

  I can’t keep my hands or my mouth off of him. I used to wonder how his lips would feel against mine.
They are better than I expected them to be. They are perfect!

  “Let’s get out of here.” He says, smiling against my mouth.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Olivia

  It feels weird pulling up to Katherine’s house. It has only been eleven months but it feels more like a lifetime since I walked out the front door. I never thought I would come back to this house and yet here I am.

  The night of Katherine’s Wake, I sat there on the couch when everyone left. I was all alone for the first time since Ethan died. Savannah was with me but I still felt alone. There was no one to talk to or take care of. Everywhere I turned was another photo of Katherine or a memory we shared in the room. By the time the sun started to come up the following morning, I was headed towards my car with my bags in hand. I made arrangements to send some stuff to Luke in LA of his parents before I left town. I drove to Maine, where Ethan’s parents lived. I figured they were the only family that Savannah had.

  As much as I enjoyed living near them, there was a part of me that felt alone. I kept reminding myself that it was time to move forward. I thought maybe a change would fix the sadness so I gave myself a makeover. Cut my hair and went on a shopping spree, only to find myself still unhappy. No matter what I did, there was nothing that could make me happy. I was starting to worry that I might never find happiness again.

  The second that I walked into Frank’s office and saw Luke sitting in the chair, I had to blink to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I wanted him to put his arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be alright, but he didn’t. He couldn’t see the sadness in my eyes. Hear my cries when I had nights where all I could think about was him. I stopped going on my laptop because everytime I turned it on, I ended up looking at Luke’s social media accounts. I didn’t want to see how happy he was with Erika while I was miserable.