To Love a Shooting Star

by K'Anne Meinel

  The next morning they packed. Putting their luggage in the cars they all headed over to Jill’s parent’s house. Kate’s brother Jerry followed them. Jerry and family were leaving immediately after the brunch as was Kate and Erin. They had to get back to the coast, they had been gone two weeks and both had work to do. Besides which the animals had been taken to the vets for their extended stay this time and they were anxious to get back. Jill’s parents lived in a modest little house and it was filled with hungry guests. The food tasted as good as the previous night and they were all soon satisfied with the leftovers. Opening gifts Jill and Brad had to eat when they could. The wedding coordinator kept track of what was from whom. It was amazing despite being registered how many duplicate gifts they got. Both good naturedly made jokes about it. Kate knew though no one would duplicate hers or Erin’s. Erin had chosen to give them a Visa Card with $10,000 cash on it. She thought they could use it to live on until they found jobs as well as their honeymoon. They had chosen to drive Brad’s car around the country as they interviewed and explored. They gave it one month and were delighted by Erin’s gift. Kate’s gift, given when most had wandered away elicited screams from Jill and a big hug from Brad. She had chosen to give them a house of their choice wherever they chose to settle. Jill’s parents were floored, no way could they compete with this and they wouldn’t even try. Later they thanked Kate enthusiastically but she brought tears to their eyes when she explained that she considered Jill a daughter just as they considered Brad a son and it was only right they start out ahead of the game.

  Erin loved watching the wonder and enjoyment of people’s faces as they interacted with Kate. Some were related and knew her or thought they did from the child or woman she had been before but some did not. It wasn’t the star struck awe with her, instead Kate impressed just by being herself. She had debated long and hard about buying the kid’s a house ahead of time or letting them choose. No one knew where they would eventually settle but Kate wanted them as debt free as possible to start out their married life. She knew Jill’s family didn’t have her money and Jill had student loans up to her neck. Brad hadn’t qualified for any loans since his grandmother had left him enough in trust to pay for college. With what was left over he had planned to live on with Jill until they got jobs. There had been a few inquiries but nothing either of them was thrilled about at the moment.

  All too soon they had to say their good-bye. Brad and Jill promised to stop by when they were in California. Sean gathered Peter and Elijah and headed over to the airport after they said their good-bye. Erin and Kate said goodbye to her brother’s and their families. Kate was relieved that Seth had unbent enough to say “I like Erin, she is really nice.” Kate figured that was as accepting as he would get and accepted it in the vein it was meant. The jet was ready and waiting as they pulled up. A steward returned the two rental cars for them and they took off when they were ready.

  It was a relief to get back that evening to Santa Barbara. Erin was surprised how much more at home she felt here than in their home in the Hollywood Hills. Tomorrow they would go pick up the animals and it would once again be one big happy family. Sean teased that Kate should buy him a house but when she teased back was he marrying Veronica, he shut up. He decided to look for an apartment more diligently though.

  Kate had been kicking around ideas for a new novel based on their experiences abroad. She thought her Macc Katell heroes could get lost in some celebrity mix up and it would delight her readers. She spent the next two weeks basically holed up in her office writing it out before she began to refine it and edit it. Erin grinned at her enthusiasm. The books she had worked on earlier in the spring hadn’t given her as much joy as this one seemed to and Erin herself was busy reading scripts but hadn’t found one she enjoyed as of yet. So began a relaxing family oriented time of their summer.

  Brad and Jill did indeed visit on their way through California. Both interviewed and decided to accept positions north of San Diego. The family went down and looked at houses with them, also taking advantage of the several trips to go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park as well as Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. It was a nice series of vacations for the whole family. After the fifth trip down to the San Diego area though Kate put her foot down and told the newlyweds they better choose or she would choose for them. She chose a conservative three bedroom townhome for their first home but pointed out they could move up in a few years to a single family dwelling when the kids began to come and they were settled in their jobs. There was no guarantees that the jobs would work out and they didn’t want to be so tied down in THINGS. This way too they didn’t have to do the lawn, had access to a community pool and tennis courts, and they had only inside maintenance of the house to concern themselves with as well as their maintenance fee. Kate was thrilled though; they were only a few hours away to visit.

  In August of that year the Supreme Court of California ruled that gay marriage or same sex marriage as was politically correct would once again be put on the November ballot for voters to approve or defeat. It had been passed years ago only to be voted down and overturned eventually. Thousands of gay couples had taken advantage of the months of legalized marriage and ceremonies had been performed up and down the coast.

  Kate and Erin watched the happenings closely. They didn’t want to go to any of the rallies, they didn’t want to march in any parades, they just wanted the legal rights that everyone else had and they wanted to swear before God and man their love for all time. It really wasn’t much to ask for. Many people found it odd with them coming out just last spring that they shied away from the public spot light. They could still be seen occasionally in public holding hands, going out to dinner, an occasional party or function, but that was all they had ever wanted in the first place. They were still stalked by paparazzi and plastered on tabloids and other magazines but it wasn’t as intense as it was five months ago. Sometimes, depending on the function, they still had to have bodyguards but even that was waning. Erin had been alarmed at the amount of hate mail and threats directed at Kate over her ‘turning’ Erin to the ‘dark side’ or lesbianism. It was because Erin was more famous than Kate but it didn’t relieve Erin’s mind at the threats. If not for Kate’s terrific sense of humor they would both be stressed over it.

  Meanwhile they lived their lives. Kate had finished her latest Macc Katell novel and was really excited by how it had turned out, she had nothing going under Trina or Kate McCall but was okay with that. She spent hours in the sun in her gardens and orchard. Erin relaxed reading scripts and getting the boys ready for another school year, this year she did all the shopping herself with Kate and the boys. They spent a lot of quiet time together, holding hands, laying around the pool, walking through the grounds. They had all talked extensively about moving permanently to the Santa Barbara house. Kate had talked them out of giving up the Hollywood Hills home though. Transferring the boys too would have been a hassle with their friends. Kate didn’t want to do that to them. She wanted them to have as normal a life as possible and for that Sandy had reason to be grateful to Kate for. She wouldn’t have seen the boys as much anymore if they moved two hours north. Erin, although she loved living the summer in Santa Barbara had to concede that Kate was right but it bothered her having the two homes, one for weekends and the other during the week. She would much rather have had the Hollywood Hills home for occasional use and the Santa Barbara home as their primary residence but she couldn’t argue with Kate, she was right about the boys. All their friends were in that area.

  That fall was different than any other of their falls together. Last year had been parties and the premiere of their movie. This year was quiet and very little work for both of them. Neither minded. While the boys were in school they had even more time together and it was precious to both of them. If they got on each other’s nerves they both had their own friends to go out to lunch with. There was no pressure and Kate’s health appreciated it, she had recovered f
ully from her stress and anemia. Some days they would drive down to Malibu or Santa Monica or any other beach that took their fancy and just walk for miles with or without D.O.G. It was a quiet, pleasant time for all of them.

  They were a familiar sight at both boys’ soccer games. Peter was determined next year to go to a public high school so he could play football. Erin wasn’t so sure about that. He could play football outside school with intermural sports but it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to go to a ‘normal’ school with normal kids. It made the idea of moving permanently to Santa Barbara even more appealing. They worried over the impact on Elijah though.

  All that fall they watched anxiously as the people for and against the same sex initiative rallied. It got quite heated but this time it seemed those for it had gone on a different tactic. Instead of being so in your face about it which had backfired previously they stressed the ‘family’ angle. Everyone deserved a family was the theme. They showed black and white families, mixed races, same sex, single parent families. It seemed to give people a chance to think differently. It worked. The ban on same sex marriages was lifted. In fact the initiative passed overwhelmingly this time and was signed into law.

  Kate and Erin had something to celebrate besides their birthdays that November. In January when it went into effect they could legally marry. They started making plans immediately. They decided who in their families they would invite. They didn’t want a very large wedding. They knew they wanted it at the house in Santa Barbara but they also knew they didn’t want the paparazzi ruining it with helicopters. With Erin being so internationally famous and Kate with a small fame of her own they were sure to make a mob scene. They hired a woman by the name of Pat Pazdowski a well-known wedding coordinator in the Los Angeles area to help them get their wedding the way they wanted.

  Erin received a couple of terrific offers to appear in movies but having read the scripts found nothing that she felt appealed to her style or even appealed to her in general. She did a couple of smaller parts but nothing on the scale of Heart Strings, they were just cameo appearances. It just kept her feet wet but nothing in over her head or even treading water, nothing that challenged her or excited her. She knew she just had to read the right script and she would find something she wanted, it was why there were usually several years between movie roles for her. Right now though she was fine playing mom and housemate.

  Kate went on a few trips, some with Erin, most without to promote her books. She was surprised that their announcement earlier this year hadn’t impacted the sales of her Macc Katell novels. The two she had come out with this year had been smashing successes, especially the second one which told of her main characters bouncing around Europe. She had worked with the publisher to arrange at the back of the book for children to make pen pals the old fashioned way, no emails, but actual writing pen-pals. The feedback from that idea had been incredible, the publisher was thrilled. Kate figured some old fashioned ideas sometimes were the best.

  Sean had finally moved out into a townhome apartment of his own. A quiet little place at one time it was seniors only but had been changing. Sean loved it. He didn’t have to worry about young punks living in the area, most were executive level people who had bought their first town home or were renting them out like to Sean. It had a pool, tennis courts, and was within walking distance of the ocean. Most of all it was only 20 minutes away from Kate’s place if he wanted to see her or hang out. He really enjoyed hanging out with Peter and Elijah, they all joked that they were already step-brothers.

  As January loomed Kate and Erin watched anxiously as the wedding coordinator worked her magic. She had already called a truce with some of the paparazzi to shoot a limited amount of pictures of Kate and Erin. She had arranged with a balloon company to place 100’s of weather sized balloons about the property at strategic spots to avoid the helicopters. If one of the balloons got loose the helicopters could potentially crash. The balloons themselves were festive and actually in accord with their decorations. A large tent was placed behind the house for the wedding and reception. Erin had arranged for a woman who had once been on the governor’s board but was now a justice of the peace to marry them. Both Kate and Erin met with a couple of designers to design their gowns. Both of them would be wearing dresses but they wanted them NOT to match but to make them both look beautiful and coordinate those looks. Alvon De Grass was the only designer who seemed to understand all their needs. The sketches he submitted were approved. Kate knew of a bakery in Goleta that would make their wedding cake. It would be a white cake with French vanilla frosting both inside to separate the layers and on top of the cake.

  Kate invited her brother’s and their families. She also invited all of the friends who had come to the dinner that night in Wisconsin. In with the invitations she had also hand written a letter letting them know that a plane would be provided from Central Wisconsin airport. Her family further south in Wisconsin she arranged to be flown to Central Wisconsin and from there to Santa Barbara. Amazing how many could suddenly come with this type of invitation. She still sensed some disapproval but frankly she didn’t care. Erin loved her, she loved Erin, and while she certainly didn’t need to marry Erin to be with her, she was going to make Erin happy by doing this. They both wanted that completeness. It was what people just didn’t ‘get’ about a same sex couple, marriage ‘completed’ them, it provided a security that no one could put their finger on. It didn’t mean they might not ever divorce or separate, it just meant they were willing to stand before family, friends, and God and proclaim their love for all.

  Erin met with her business managers and one of them had the audacity to suggest that Kate was only marrying Erin for her money. Erin laughed at this. Kate had paid her own way and Erin’s on many occasions. She wasn’t as wealthy as Erin but at no time had money ever been an issue between them. She didn’t know how much Kate was worth but she hadn’t batted an eye to buy Brad and Jill a home in California much less pay for the plane to fly her friends and relatives out from Wisconsin for the wedding. Both she and Kate had made out new wills in case something happened. Neither needed the other’s money but left the majority of their money to their kids as it should be. If something happened to Kate, Erin and her boys had the use of the house in Santa Barbara as long as they wanted. The same was true of the house in Hollywood Hills for Kate. They were both well off financially and didn’t need each other to become wealthy. That would not change upon marriage either. They weren’t marrying each other because of the money; they were marrying because of the love.

  Kate had worried to a degree. Erin was worth many times financially what she was but Erin assured her it wasn’t an issue. Kate’s insecurities were lessened by a good conversation about it. Erin too had her own insecurities. What if she couldn’t remain faithful? Although she loved Kate, she had loved Sandy too. She had to ultimately admit to herself though what she felt for Kate was totally different from what she had felt for Sandy. Sandy was the love of her youth. Kate and she loved in a more mature, settled kind of way. It was exciting like first love, Kate excited her like no one else, continually even if they had just made love she could arouse something in Erin that no one else could again and again. Kate challenged her and not on a level she could put her finger on, she knew she drew her like a moth to light. Erin couldn’t exactly explain that to anyone but she knew she didn’t want to ever let Kate go. She knew this was right, it felt right, she wouldn’t stray.

  Kate worried though that Erin was so famous and so beautiful that Kate would eventually bore or repel Erin in some shape, manner, or form. She was willing to marry Erin, to love her, as long as she wanted her in her life. She was surprised though by how much Erin wanted this marriage, how much she wanted her and the permanence. It made her feel so very precious, so loved, so needed that most of the time her fears were laid to rest.

  The wedding date was set for January 15. Everyone who had an invitation was coming. The plane from Wisconsin was due in on the 14th. Kate h
ad arranged for extended vans to carry the wedding guests to the wedding from their hotels. She hadn’t paid for the hotels, figuring her guests should and would pay for their own. She had given them choices of a couple places where they had gotten discounts.

  Kate and Erin went to New York for one of Kate’s book signings. While they were in town they went to Christi’s Auction House and bought some antique jewelry. In the set were a matched pair of wedding rings. They were simply beautiful. Kate with her larger hands finally had a ring that didn’t need to be altered to fit. Erin was very thrilled with their find. Something old, something new, they needed to find something borrowed and both of their dresses had a cobalt blue ribbon through the hems. They were ready to get married.

  January 14 was a Friday and as people came to the counter at the airport they gave their names and showed their invitation as instructed. The party from Milwaukee were already on board the jet. The new additions arrived piecemeal and were escorted onto the tarmac and across to the jet. Some knew each other, some were complete strangers. Kate’s family though were all pleased to see each other. It was so exciting to be going out to California for the wedding even if they all didn’t approve. Everyone wondered what stars would be at the wedding. Kate had assured people that they might be a few but that overall it was a small wedding of family and friends. The plane landed in Santa Barbara’s small airport at about 4pm local time. Several vans took the guests to the various hotels with their luggage.