A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle)

by Uvi Poznansky

  Charles stood up from his perch on the arm of one of the living room chairs and walked over to get a better look at her new dress. He let out a low appreciative whistle. “Well you don’t look twelve tonight. You are beautiful and delectable!”

  Charity blushed. “Well thank you. You’re looking rather smashing yourself. Maybe you should wear a tuxedo every night.”

  Charles did a fashion stage worthy turn just so everyone could get a better look at him in his light grey tux. “I do look rather smashing. Don’t I?” He laughed when Sonia slapped his arm.

  Sonia groaned and shook her head. “Charity. You should have never given him a compliment. I won’t be able to put up with him tonight.”

  He leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. “Is that why you never tell me how smashing I look? My head will swell up too much?”

  Sonia chuckled. “That’s right. Now we had better go, or we are going to be late for your own premiere.”

  Charity kissed her mom. “Are you sure that you are going to be okay? I don’t mind staying.”

  Judy returned the hug. “I’m feeling better already. Maria and I are going to be just fine. Now go on. I will stay up and we’ll talk when you return. You know I’m going to want to hear every gory detail. I don’t think that I told you how proud I am of you. I hope everything goes great tonight and your movie is a big hit. Now go break a leg, dear, or whatever you movie stars say.”

  Charity kissed Judy’s cheek one last time. “Thanks mom. I don’t think that I ever got around to telling you that I’m so happy you came out. Thanks for staying with Maria. You are the best mother ever.”

  Everyone said their goodbyes and left the room so David could follow when he was ready. He needed a few minutes to reassure himself that Maria was going to be fine, and fussed over her pillows one last time. Soon he joined the others and climbed into the car looking glum.

  Charles leaned over to reassure him. “David. Stay if it makes you feel better. You know the premier will go on without you. Do whatever is best for you and yours.”

  David sat back and shook his head. “I’m just making things worse by arguing with her about it. She wants me to go and she’ll worry herself sick if I don’t.” He held his hands up in defeat. “So here I am. Let’s get this over with so I can get back home to my wife and baby.”

  The movie theater was surrounded by reporters and fans. The flashes from cameras were blinding. People jostled and pushed as they worked their way towards the entrance way of the theater. Someone elbowed Charity as they tried to get closer to David. Everyone was shouting questions, but there were too many for her to understand, so she just smiled at everyone and continued to walk. It was a huge relief to finally enter the theater, leaving the push and shove behind, and without suffering any more than a few bruises and sore toes.

  An usher met them at the door to lead them to their seats. It was frightening and totally amazing at the same time when the entire audience stopped talking as soon as they realized they had arrived. Everyone stared, some turned to point, and a few were even brave enough to rush over to say hello and shake their hands. It was great seeing their old cast mates again. The closer they got to the front of the theater, the more famous the actors and actresses were. John Wayne pulled Charity into a deep hug as if they had known each other forever instead of only meeting briefly at the going away party in Dallas. With each new introduction, she just wanted to pinch herself to make certain she was awake. How was it impossible for a small town country girl to even be in such a special place, and with so many special people? It was like having an out of body experience.

  As they were nearing the front of the auditorium, Charity stopped so suddenly Sonia bumped in to her. Charity grabbed her arm and whispered, “Is that really Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.”

  Sonia whispered back, “Yes it is. They are both such lovely people.”

  Charity placed her hand on her chest and sighed, “You’ve met them before?”

  Sonia laughed. “Many times.”

  As soon as that thought took hold and settled in, Charity resumed following the usher who was waiting patiently for everyone to catch up.

  Charity, David, Charles, and Sonia were all seated together in the center front row of the auditorium. She tried not to act like a tourist, but was totally mesmerized by the three crystal chandeliers hanging about twenty feet directly above their heads. She finally noticed David was drumming his fingers on the arm rest separating the two of them. She leaned closer to whisper to him. “Are you alright?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and let out a long frustrated sigh. “No. I don’t like this at all. I have had the most uneasy feeling all day, but when she sets her mind on something there’s no arguing with her.” He finally uncrossed his arms and placed his hands onto the armrest, almost nervously. Always cool and calm, Charity was a bit unsettled to see him reacting this way.

  She covered his hand with hers. “She loves you.”

  He stared at his shoes. “I’m worried about her. Her blood pressure has been so erratic this week, but even if she wasn’t feeling well, she never would have told me. She was so set on me coming tonight. She would have said anything to get me out of the house.”

  Realizing they were attracting attention by the sudden quiet around them, Charity removed her hand from David’s, and whispered again. “Mom will let us know if there’s any doubt at all about Maria’s health. Mom’s very observant and if she notices anything out of the ordinary she’ll send Stanley to come back to get us. ”

  “I know you’re right but I’m not going to attend any of the after parties. You should go through. This is your first premier and you should enjoy every minute of tonight.”

  Charity shook her head. “I’m not staying. I’ll be ready to go as soon as the movie is over.”

  Before anything else could be said, the lights went down in the theater, and opening credits rolled up the screen. Everyone in the theater grew quiet. Charity sat back and tried not to hold her breath. Nervous about whether people were going to approve of her performance, she broke out into a cold sweat. This was it. Now everyone would see if she did a good job or not. Critics would either be panning her or praising her after tonight. She hoped that after tonight she would still be able to work as an actress.

  For Charity, the two hours passed by in a wonderfully blurry mix of nervousness, excitement, and pride. It was hard to believe that woman on the screen had even been her. She was still tingling from the last scene where Robert Gregg had proposed to Kelly and she had thrown her arms around his neck with surprised joy. That had been her up there on the screen. That had been her with her face filled with such love and excitement in the moment of discovering that the man she had fallen in love with loved her in return. It was surreal to see herself playing another woman, and seeing that other woman’s personality come out to be so real and believable.

  The last scene faded to black and immediately everyone stood, began clapping, and then started cheering. The reaction from the audience surprised Charity so much she didn’t move until David stood and pulled her up into a huge hug. Even though the credits were still rolling and the theater was still dark, everyone left their seats and surrounded them, trying to congratulate them all at one time.

  It took everything Charity had not to cry. The finished movie was far better than she had dreamed possible. She might even forgive Christopher for being so nasty to her. She was just thinking about forgiving him when he appeared out of nowhere, hugged and kissed her, taking her completely by surprise.

  “You were just brilliant! Just brilliant! Even I cried during the scene where you first kissed Robert, and I remember how badly you first did that scene. You couldn’t convince anyone that you loved him, but you did it! You really did!”

  He grabbed her into another disgusting hug. Charity was having trouble breathing when he finally let her go, and couldn’t help but hope for a brief moment that he hadn’t slobbered on her gown. She was just rega
ining her composure when Stanley came pushing through the crowd. “Sir! Sir!” He was out of breath when he grabbed David’s elbow, leaned in, and whispered into his ear.

  A look of horror filled David’s face and he staggered backward. Charity grabbed his coat sleeve with a steadying hand and waited for him to tell her what was going on. People continued to press up against them, unaware that an emergency had arisen, and fast becoming a background annoyance to David’s frenzied thoughts.

  David seized her by the shoulders. “We need to leave. Maria’s been taken to the hospital.”

  The moment Charles noticed something was wrong, the smile slipped from his face and he immediately pushed a path over to David and Charity, pulling Sonia behind him. “Maria?”

  David nodded, took hold of Charity’s elbow, and began pushing their way through the crowd. Everyone was smiling and congratulating them on their way up the long aisle and out to the door. No one stopped to wonder why they were leaving the celebration. By some miracle, they finally made it out of the theatre to the waiting limo, and it had only been a matter of minutes.

  The car ride to the hospital was eerily silent except for traffic and an occasional car horn. No one tried to give fake cheer or false hope. Everyone’s mind was running through the worst scenario, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. The ride felt as if it lasted an eternity, but in reality it only took about thirty minutes.

  David was the first to jump out of the limo, with Charity tumbling out as fast as her long gown would allow her. Charles climbed out next but had to stop long enough to help Sonia when her heel became entangled in the hem of her gown. .

  David would have reached the emergency entrance first but had to wait for an ambulance attendant to push a gurney through the double doors. By the time the coast was clear again everyone else had caught up with him. As soon as they finally made it inside, David reached out and grabbed the arm of the first nurse he saw. “My wife! They brought my wife in here. Is she okay?”

  The elder nurse stopped her brisk walk, tried to make sense out of David’s plead as she pointed towards the intake station. “Sir, the receptionist will gladly help you find your wife.”

  She withdrew her arm out of his firm grip and continued to head towards the elevators. David looked as if he was considering going after her, but before he could, Judy burst through another set of double doors and came running over to them.

  “David! I’m so glad to see you! She’s through those doors. She’s in the third examining room on the left. The doctor says for you to come straight back as soon as you get here.” David took off in a run, almost knocking a male nurse down in his wake. He never turned to see if the nurse was okay.

  Charity grabbed her mom’s arm, spinning her roughly to face her. “Is Maria okay? Did the doctor say anything about how she’s doing?”

  Judy started crying. Her entire body shook as she threw her arms around Charity’s neck. She finally regained her composure, stepped back, and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. I have been so afraid. I was trying not to panic when we were alone. I didn’t mean to lose it now, but it has just been building up.”

  Charles took charge and led everyone over to a relatively quiet circle of chairs in the waiting room. As soon as everyone was seated, Judy told them about what had happened. It was easy to see she wasn’t certain if Maria was going to be alright or not. “I don’t know what happened. She was just fine when we ordered the pizza. We were sitting there talking, and suddenly she wasn’t responding to me. I called the ambulance right away and sent Stanley to go get David. The paramedics let me ride with Maria.”

  Judy swallowed and looked around the room for reassurance. “She was so pale in the examining room. The doctor was listening for the baby’s heart beat when they chased me out. The nurse wouldn’t tell me what Maria’s blood pressure was, but I could see from the doctor’s and nurse’s faces that it wasn’t good. They were discussing doing an emergency caesarean section” The small circle was quiet as they searched in each other’s eyes for comfort and reassurance but found only uncertainty. No one wanted to voice their fears or their doubts. That was where David found them, sitting in their quiet little circle, when he returned through the same double doors he had disappeared through earlier. He looked solemn, but not distressed. That gave Charity a sense of hope that everything was all right after all.

  He sat in a chair in the middle of their circle. “I had to give my written okay for them to go ahead and do a caesarean section. The baby’s heartbeat is faint but strong. Her doctor hopes Maria’s blood pressure will improve once the baby has been delivered. He didn’t have the time to discuss much beyond that because he was rushing Maria directly into the operating room when I got there.” He wrung his hands together and then ran them through his hair in a helpless gesture. “I guess all we can do now is wait.”

  Charity held her mom’s hand for comfort. She saw Sonia reach out and take David’s hand. He didn’t appear to notice. Everyone stared off down the corridor as if willing the doctor to perform his miracles and bring them good news.

  Charity tried picturing what Maria and David’s new baby was going to look like. It was the only thing that kept her mind off of what if the worst case scenario happened and Maria didn’t survive the surgery. It was impossible to even look at David, because his eyes held such desperation that she had no idea was even possible in any human being. He was sitting there so deadly still, with both lips pressed together, as if it was the only way to keep from screaming.

  The hours passed with people rushing into the emergency entrance, waiting their turns, and then disappearing behind the double doors. It was a frustrating cycle. Nothing seemed to be getting accomplished and the time spent in the waiting room stretched into an eternity. Eventually a large nurse in a too-tight uniform approached the small group, jolting them to attention. It was impossible to tell anything from her practiced expression. Everyone searched her face for some hint of how Maria was.

  “Doctor Wilson asked me to take you over to our small private waiting room. He said he would talk to you in there.” Her voice was quiet and calm, revealing nothing.

  David reached out and grabbed the nurse’s pudgy arm. “Do you know how my wife is?”

  The nurse simply took the hand that David had grabbed her arm with, and patted it in a reassuring manner. “Doctor Wilson has asked me to take you back so he can talk to you about your wife. I’m sure he will tell you how she is as soon as he’s free to come meet with you.”

  David stood and the rest of the group followed suit. They numbly followed the nurse to the small conference room, filed in, and positioned themselves for whatever the news would be, hoping for a short wait this time. Charity remained by David’s side. Charles held Sonia’s hand, and Judy stood with her back against the conference room’s wall. Charity wanted to be close to David in case he needed someone to lean on.

  The room was so quiet they could hear water dripping from a faucet in a bathroom somewhere out of sight. The room was painted a pale yellow as if someone thought that it might be a cheering color, but it was such an ugly shade that it had just the opposite effect. Its yellowing cast made everyone in the room look sick the way it glowed on their pale and shocked faces.

  The quiet in the room was nerve-racking. Just before everyone’s nerves snapped, the doctor opened the door and came in. He was still wearing his scrubs. His face mask was hanging down around his neck as if he had pulled it away from his mouth in a rush. There were faint smears of blood on the green outfit. His expression was grim as he walked over and placed a hand on David’s arm. His voice was serene as if he was used to giving bad news. “You have a beautiful baby girl.”

  Judy let out a quiet sob of relief, but Charity did not feel her joy because she was preparing for the rest of the doctor’s news. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “I’m sorry David. Maria did not survive your daughter’s delivery.”

  David went rigid. His fists were clenched by his side. “You
never said she could die! You never said that!”

  The doctor shoved his hands into his pockets. The only evidence of his grief was in his eyes. The rest of his face remained stoic. When he spoke his voice was level and unemotional. “Maria and I discussed this possibility at the very beginning of her pregnancy. She assured me that she had discussed it with you. I thought you knew about all of the risks. I had no idea she never explained everything to you.”

  Everyone stood frozen in place from the shock of Maria’s death. No one had thought the news would be that final. Charity finally reacted and placed her hand on David’s arm. She felt the muscles stiffen under her touch.

  Doctor Wilson looked around the grieving group and untied his face mask. He put the soiled mask into his coat pocket before speaking. “The nurses will have the baby cleaned up in a few minutes for everyone to see.”

  Grief and rage had replaced stoic almost instantly on David’s face. “I want to see my wife.”

  Doctor Wilson shook his head. “I’m not sure that is such a good idea.”

  David took a couple of rigid steps toward the doctor. His jaws were clenched when he spoke, “I don’t care what you think. Take me to see my wife.”

  Doctor Wilson let out a heavy breath of air. “Follow me then.” He turned on his heels and left the room. David followed without a backwards glance at anyone.

  Chapter Ten

  Even though David had wanted to keep Maria’s services private, his fans had lined the streets that morning to show him their love and support. It was a beautiful sight, but David didn’t appear to notice the quietly crying groups because he was beyond comforting. He was so riddled with guilt for not being by Maria’s side that last night of her life, if he did speak to anyone, it was only in short sentences and in hollow tones.