To Love a Shooting Star

by K'Anne Meinel

  A Mercedes station wagon in black with tinted windows pulled into the parking lot, backed into a stall in the corner and parked. Kate recognized Erin despite the sunglasses. She pulled off her helmet and laid it on the seat as she walked over to the wagon. Not wanting to startle Erin she made sure she was visible in her line of sight. Erin was reaching in the back seat for a jacket and what looked like her purse when she saw Kate walking up. Dressed casually in slacks and a nice blouse Kate could see Erin frown at the leather jacket she was wearing. Her eyes looked past Kate to the odd vehicle she had exited and they opened wide in surprise. Kate grinned seeing her reaction. Erin opened her car door as Kate walked up.

  “You’re not serious? We’re going in THAT?”

  Laughing Kate smiled and nodded, giving Erin a wry little grin she answered “good morning.” She glanced back at the vehicle she had just climbed out of. A T-Rex better known as a Trike Bike was a modified motorcycle that two people could ride side by side. Open on both sides it looked like a kit car. “What’s wrong with my motorcycle?”

  “THAT is a motorcycle?” she gasped.

  Nodding again and laughing some more, Kate stood waiting.

  Climbing out, Erin closed and locked the door, carrying her purse and jacket she walked with Kate back to the trike. Looking it over she thought it was an amazing toy, but she still wasn’t certain she wanted to ride in it. A helmet was strapped to the passenger seat. At least this toy had the steering on the left side. It actually looked like a souped up sports car but with only 3 wheels, the third in the back. “You expect me to ride in THAT?” She turned to Kate who was looking at her anxiously.

  Kate immediately tried to hide her disappointment but answered “well, we COULD go in your car if you wish.”

  “What is this?” Erin asked curious.

  “It’s called a T-Rex or Trike; it’s a side by side motorcycle.” Kate answered cautiously.

  Erin figured what the hell, it actually looked like fun, and she just hoped it was safe. She put her purse down by where her feet would go and put on her jacket. Kate unlatched the seat belt and handed the helmet to Erin. Helping Erin strap in and plug in, the helmet had a cord attached that plugged into the dash; Kate couldn’t help noticing the wonderful perfume that Erin was wearing. Hurrying over to her own side of the vehicle she climbed in, strapped in, and adjusted her own helmet. Erin soon found the helmet allowed them to talk comfortably especially once the visor was down.

  “Where did you get this?” Erin asked.

  Kate glanced over as she maneuvered out of the parking lot. “I went to Canada last year and drove one. Then I decided which model I wanted and found someone who was selling one, fortunately here in California.”

  “Was this before or after you bought the Mercedes?” Erin teasingly asked.

  Kate glanced over again, uncertain as to the tone she heard in Erin’s voice “actually I bought it after the Mercedes while I was waiting that to be shipped here by boat.” She hadn’t wanted to show off or impress Erin but given the trip they were about to make and the gorgeous day she thought this would be a fun way to drive up the coast.

  Erin shook her head, this gal had more toys, but she had to admit this was fun. They were soon on the freeway heading north. The camaraderie they had both noticed last night was apparent as Kay explained the trials of driving something like this. She explained that it handled like a sports car, drove like a dune buggy, but that you had to have a motorcycle license to drive one. Erin relaxed though and enjoyed the ride. No one knew who she was, they got curious glances as they passed some vehicles and some passed them, but no one would recognize her in this exotic vehicle much less under the helmet. They had been driving a half an hour when she thought to ask where they were going.

  “I thought we’d have lunch in Buellton if you don’t mind?” Kate answered her voice only slightly tinny through the intercom.

  Erin looked mildly alarmed and looked over at Kate to see if she was kidding. She wasn’t. “Isn’t that a little far?”

  “If you’d like to stop elsewhere we can.” Kate was willing to accommodate.

  “No, that’s okay if that’s where you want to go.”

  “I’m flexible.”

  “Do you have a restaurant in mind?”

  “Yes, I thought we’d stop at Anderson’s. Have you ever been there before?”

  “I’ve seen their signs with the big windmill but no, I have never been there before.” She smiled and it came through over the intercom. She liked that Kate could surprise her, she wondered if that would continue as their friendship progressed. She liked good surprises.

  “Ah, you’re in for a treat. I hope you like it. It isn’t fancy but it’s wholesome and good. You don’t have any allergies do you?” Kate sounded anxious but Erin wasn’t so sure she wasn’t teasing just a bit.

  “No, I don’t have any allergies.”

  Their conversation continued all through the valley and to the coast to Ventura. Up the coast from Ventura through Santa Barbara and into no man’s land then they turned inland towards the coastal mountains and went through a tunnel. Not long afterwards they came to Buellton and Kate pulled off the road at the correct exit following the signs. Pulling into the parking lot which indeed had a huge Dutch styled windmill in it, Kate parked well away from most of the clustered parking spots. Climbing out of the motorcycle they were both a little road sore, weary, and stiff from sitting for hours. They were both still enjoying themselves immensely. Unplugging the helmets and taking them off they carried them with them into the restaurant and up the stairs to the dining room. They were quickly seated.

  Kate noticed that Erin chose a seat in the corner out of the way with her back to the wall so she could watch anyone approaching their table. As they were out of the way they weren’t that noticeable anyway. They ordered split pea soup as their entree, something Anderson’s was famous for. Bread and several kinds of crackers were brought to their table as they waited for their salads. Their conversation of the last few hours continued as though uninterrupted.

  Kate was amazed that Erin was not with someone. She was beautiful, talented, and intelligent. In fact, Kate, herself very intelligent was thrilled to talk to Erin on so many different things. They had a lot in common. They talked through lunch and then the two of them went into the gift shop and looked around, giggling like school girls over the various touristy items. When someone finally realized who Erin was and asked for an autograph which she graciously wrote they decided to leave. The trike though had drawn the attention of many people, it was surrounded. Erin put on her helmet before they arrived and Kate put on hers as they got there. Several people asked questions as Kate got in and strapped in, plugged in, and started the engine. She answered them as people got out of her way so she could drive away. Erin and she still had the giggles and had enjoyed their lunch together immensely.

  “Thank you for that.” Erin mentioned.

  “For what?” Kate glanced at her. “Lunch?”

  “No, for understanding about fans and leaving when they began to recognize me.”

  Kate looked at Erin or what she could see of her face through the helmets “don’t worry about it; I’m sure you have to be aware of that at all times.”

  Nodding Erin had to agree. She told Kate of a few incidences over the years and explained how she rarely went anywhere ‘official’ without bodyguards. Where people expected to see her she needed to have protection but amazingly when she went shopping by herself or with her kids a lot of the time people didn’t expect her and were never quite sure it was her. Kate’s heart went out to her; it sounded terribly confining to her. She was just amazed though that Erin had taken the chance to go out with her for the day. She was grateful too though, realizing that trust couldn’t possibly come easily to this amazing woman.

  After the tunnel as they drove south towards Santa Barbara Kate casually asked “wanna see my house?”

  “What house? Where?” Erin asked amused looking around; no h
ouse was visible on this stretch of the highway, nothing but grazing land on their left and water on their right.

  “My house, in Santa Barbara.” Kate answered grinning.

  Although Erin couldn’t see her grin she could hear it in her reply. Deciding to play along she answered “okay.”

  Still grinning Kate changed the subject as they both enjoyed the scenery of the Pacific Ocean on their right as they drove along. Faintly they could make out one of the islands off the coast. Driving through Santa Barbara Kate got off on Higuera Street and headed inland. The curves and the other streets she turned on soon got Erin lost. It didn’t matter as she looked interestedly at the various houses they passed and the scenery, it was all very lovely. Soon they were seeing nothing but a lot of foliage and long walls. Occasionally a wrought iron gate broke the monotony of the walls. At one such gate, Kate pulled in and rapidly pressed some buttons into a call box and the gate slid silently sideways. Driving up the drive it closed just as silently behind them. Erin looked around at the sculpted landscape. A few topiary trees in the shapes of horses, swans, and she thought what looked like a dolphin were prominently displayed. They drove up a long hill and the house stood on the crest. A salmon colored stucco Spanish style hacienda seemed to come into view. It was not stereotypical California house though as it had immense porches with a swing in the front and large windows. Kate pulled around one side of the house and pulled into a four car garage, the door opening without her even having to push a button. Erin looked around with curiosity.

  “You live here?” she asked incredulously as the garage door closed behind them and she pulled off her helmet.

  Kate climbed out of the cockpit and pulled off her helmet her long hair swinging wide as she shook the mane out, Erin caught her breath as Kate lay her helmet down on the seat “yes, this is my home. I asked if you wanted to see it.” She smiled and her eyes were twinkling. Erin was a little shook up as she seemed to look at Kate with new eyes.

  She knew I didn’t believe her thought Erin. She called my bluff. Smiling in return she laid her own helmet on the seat. Parked next to them on one side was the Mercedes of last night, its candy apple red shine glistening from the sunshine coming through the garage windows. On the other side of the trike was a sturdy looking SUV with a rack on top, it looked like a Land Rover and ready to go off on safari. The garage was painted white inside and finished off with stucco walls and beautiful windows and could have been anyone’s living room except for the concrete floor and the vehicles parked inside. Erin followed Kate into the house through a stained glass garage door.

  They entered an open style kitchen with beautiful maple colored cabinets and colored glass on the doors. A huge Wolf refrigerator stood next to the garage door with plenty of counter tops and an island in the middle of the kitchen. A matching dishwasher, microwave, built in oven completed one wall with a countertop stove on the island, all the amenities. A dog came running through the house to greet Kate and she bent down to take him in her arms as he wiggled his hello, his tail wagging back and forth furiously. “Shhhh, deeooogeee, shhh. Hello, boy” she said as she calmed him. He noticed Erin hovering behind Kate and sat expectantly looking at her curiously. She could see his eyes sparkling up at her despite the hair that puffed up above them. She wasn’t sure what kind of dog he was with his black and white coloring. Kate stood up and introduced Erin to her dog.

  “Erin, I’d like to introduce you to my housemate. This is D.O.G.” she pronounced it deeooogee, just like it was spelled but as his name. At his name he put up his right front paw to be shaken.

  Erin was very amused and impressed. All day long Kate had told her outrageous stories and now she had to half believe some of them. Her sarcastic wit hid a lot of true things apparently. Erin bent down to shake the dog’s paw which was so politely held up for her. The dog reached out his nose to smell her as she was so close. “Hello dog” Erin said as though it wasn’t his name.

  Kate corrected her, “his name is deeooogee.”

  Erin laughed and released his paw; his tail began to wag in further greeting as his tongue laughed out of his mouth. He approved of her. “What kind of a dog is he?”

  “He is a Standard Parti-Poodle, I’d have named him Spot but I think I’ll save that for when or if I adopt him a brother.” Shaking her head at Kate and her sense of humor she looked around curiously.

  The open kitchen led off into a huge open living room. Walking down several steps into it you could sit on large comfortable couches that gave a sort of U shape to the area all looking to a large fireplace of what looked like fieldstone. On the mantle of the fireplace was a flat wide screen TV. To the left of the fireplace was a set of French doors that led outside to what looked like a pool and patio. To the right was a set of windows with a huge cat tree prominently displayed, it looked almost like a real tree except for the carpeting instead of bark, to the right of that was another set of French doors that must lead to a backyard behind the garages.

  On one side of the kitchen was a higher counter or bar to sit at. On the other side of the counter were four bar chairs facing it and behind them was a formal dining table with antique chairs. On the other side of the dining area was a semi-circle of windows overlooking the front drive and from this top of the hill you could even see the Pacific Ocean faintly over the tops of trees. Today was a little hazy so it wasn’t very clear. To their left was a hallway that must lead to the bedrooms and this was proven true as Kate gave Erin a tour. Four bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a den or office occupied this wing of the house. It was very well laid out and the rooms were all a nice size. They returned to the living room and went out to the patio and the swimming pool. Covering half the pool were solar panels. The other half had them drawn back so you could see out to the blue sky. The pool was deep enough for a diving board and a slide. Beautiful large and comfy lawn chairs sat on the decks surrounding the aqua blue waters. A waterfall emptied itself into the pool halfway down with an outdoor fireplace which had the added feature of being able to cook in it. Another waterfall poured into a Jacuzzi in the far corner. The overall appearance made the area light and cheerful. Plants abounded out here in every pot of various colors. Erin had noticed hanging plants in pots throughout the house with macramé hangers.

  Kate explained that she loved plants and had several varieties of various species throughout the house and grounds. If she learned a new plant she tried to find each variety of it if possible. She had four different spider plants alone and these had twenty different pots spread out throughout the house and grounds. She said she was looking for one or two more species she knew about. She explained she was a collector of odd plants and showed Erin some of her Venus fly traps in smaller pots with domes over them.

  Kate showed Erin the grounds around the immediate area of the house; she said she would show her the orchards another time as it was just too much to walk right now. She had bought the land several years ago after the Santa Barbara fires. The house that had stood here had burned to the ground and scorched all the way to the walls and when the rains had come a lot of erosion had occurred and plants took over the property, mainly native weeds. When she had decided to move to this area the realtor had hesitantly shown her the land. Scorch marks still abounded right up to and on the stucco walls that surrounded the property. The realtor had shown her several properties with similar damage but Kate had known, this was the right place for her. She didn’t worry about all the burned vegetation, nature had been erasing those scars, she didn’t worry that there was no house on the property. She hid her enthusiasm from the realtor who showed her two more properties with houses that afternoon. Kate nonchalantly asked about this property and its terms. The owner didn’t want it and was willing to let it go cheap, or so he thought it was cheap. The land was still worth a lot of money. The area was well known for having estates of this size with many acres, privacy, and security. Several of the neighbors were well known stars or celebrities. Kate didn’t care about any of that. She wanted
the property but didn’t want the realtor or the owner to know how badly. She played up the damage to the property, the complete desolation and erosion of the landscape, the scorch marks, and the fact that there were no buildings on it. She got it for what she felt was a song. Immediately upon the sale she applied for a building permit based on a drawing she already had in hand. It had taken a month to close escrow on the property and she had gone immediately to an architect and had him draw up the plans when she knew that the papers were in process. A company that specialized in pre-building houses and delivering the walls arranged with a local builder to put her house up for her. The result was this attractive and beautiful house.

  “Did you have the landscaping done as they were building the house?” Erin asked looking around and admiring what she saw, remembering the entrance to the property and the sculpted animals.

  “No, I did it almost all by myself.” Kate answered modestly. She explained that in the months of negotiation with the builder, the permits, and the actual building she had a lot of time on her hands. Although writing her novels took a lot of that time up she had moved her household to the Santa Barbara area immediately and into a temporary apartment. Mornings, before the sun got too hot would find her here with a small bulldozer digging up the encroaching foliage and weeds that she didn’t want. By the time the permits were in order to build the house the front acreage was devoid of almost any of the wild plants. The trees she left as there were many types of palms and she cut them back. Most had survived the fires and the ones that hadn’t she had cut down with a chain saw herself and mulched with a professional grade mulcher. On days that didn’t rain you could see her hauling rock or other bed materials. The result were flower and plant beds on several levels lining most of the walls as you entered the property with bougainvillea and other flowers climbing the walls. She had even trained some of the climbing vines to begin an arch over the driveway at the gate. A rich green carpet of sodded lawn lined both sides of the winding driveway. Behind the house was an orchard containing oranges, plums, cherries, pears, peaches, and many other fruits. After pruning back or removing any burned out trees she set about replacing what she could adding many trees that usually weren’t found in California. She now had a professional gardener that came in several times a week to take care of the orchard for her as it was just too big for one person to do alone. The trees were lovely with their spring blossoms on them. Kate promised to show her that part of the property another day, teasing her with many more surprises.