Holly picked the phone back up extra carefully and called Kelly. She didn't expect him to answer, he had flown back to LA several weeks ago. Once they had reconciled he had spent the better part of two months living with her but he had needed to get back to LA to start another movie. He wasn't starring in this one so his schedule was even more sporadic, but she knew he was excited about the part. He had told her, once, that he would love for her to come back to LA with him and she had said she'd think about it. Then neither one of them had mentioned it again.
"Hi!" Kelly said.
"Hi," Holly said, "I didn't think I'd get you."
"I was just about to call you," he said.
"About what?" she asked.
"Well," he started and then stopped.
"What?"
"I need to ask you something, but I'm, kind of worried about it, I guess."
"Well now you have to ask me."
"I just don't want you to get mad."
"Okay, now you really have to tell me," Holly said, more curious than anything.
"Look, it's just, the premiere for "Mistakes" is coming up and I really wish you would go with me, I'm really excited about this one and I want you there."
"I," Holly started but he interrupted her.
"I know you don't want to come back to LA because it's too far away from Lia, I know that, and I don't want to put any pressure on you, but I felt like, if I didn't at least ask you once..."
"I want to come."
"What?"
"I want to come, to the premiere, to see you, I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"So when is the premiere, exactly?" Holly asked.
"Three weeks from tomorrow, I think. Do you want to come out the day before like last time?"
"No," she said, "I want to come out as soon as possible."
Chapter 39
Kelly thought he didn't hear her right.
"What did you say?"
"I don't want to wait almost three weeks to see you, can I come out before then?"
"Of course you can, but,"
"But what? Because you'll be working?"
"Yes, I'll be working, but this is just surprising."
Even as he said it Kelly wondered why he was questioning it. The time he had spent living with her he had been very content. Part of him knew it wasn't quite fair, but he had agreed to the terms up front. He had asked her, once, when he had to go back to LA, if she would go with him. She had said she'd think about it but then she had never brought it up again.
He even had some ideas about turning one of the spare bedrooms in his house into a studio for her, for painting, the pottery was a little bit more complicated. He loved the idea of coming home from a day on the set and having her there waiting for him, with paint in her hair and completely surprised and somewhat confused to see him. She tended to get so absorbed in her work she lost all sense of time.
To Kelly it seemed easy, when he was working they could live in LA, and live in her house in New Hampshire when he wasn't. But he knew she was uncomfortable being that far away from Lia, so he was willing to live up to his end of the bargain and spend weeks, even months apart, if that's what it took. But it was kind of frustrating.
He realized Holly still hadn't said anything.
"Holly? You okay over there?" he asked her. "We're heading up to Vancouver to shoot some of outdoor stuff for about a week, but after that, yeah, if you wanted to come out to LA, it would be great. Really great."
She still didn't say anything and Kelly figured he had blown it, big time.
"Holly?"
"Lia and I had a big fight."
"When?"
"Just now. Just before I called you."
"What about?"
"Well she wants to move to New York or DC after college."
"You mean three years from now?"
Kelly wasn't following her. They had a fight about where Lia was going to live three years from now? He knew Holly would be devastated if Lia didn't move back home after college, but it really wasn't that shocking, most kids didn't go back home after college, not if they had the option not to.
"Yes," Holly answered.
"Maybe you guys could wait a year or two to fight about that, just saying."
"No, she also doesn't want to come home for the summer, she wants to go with a friend of hers to work in their family's restaurant."
"In DC or New York?"
"Maine."
"Maine?" Kelly asked, now totally confused.
"Yes."
"Well," Kelly said slowly, "I don't get it, I filmed in Maine once. And I've been to New York. And DC. Maine didn't really remind me of either. Don't get me wrong it was nice, but I don't get it."
"Me neither."
"So are you going to let her?"
"Well, she informed me," Kelly could tell Holly was holding back tears, "that I didn't have a choice you know because she's nineteen and it's her life and blah blah blah. Hold on."
Kelly waited and heard the distinctive sound of Holly blowing her nose. He could tell she was upset and right then he really hated the distance between them. At least if they were together he could hold her while she cried. It might not make her feel better, but then at least he'd feel like he was doing something.
"Kelly?"
"Yes."
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry."
"And she said I don't have a life, that's why I want to control hers. And then she hung up on me."
"She was just mad, I think, she didn't mean that."
"She did, and she was right, rude as hell and totally out of line, but I have, you know, everything for the past, what, seventeen years?"
"What?"
"I haven't had a life, but I want one."
"Umm, okay," Kelly said.
"I'm not making any sense am I?"
"Well I got the part about you wanting to come out to LA before the premiere. The stuff with Lia, you know, I'd just let her sweat it out honestly. You said she was out of line, she probably knows that, maybe she'll come around, once she cools down."
"Maybe," Holly said quietly.
"Are you going to let her go to Maine?"
"I don't know, do I have a choice?"
"Umm, yeah, you're her mom."
"What do you think?"
"I think it is going to be a lot harder work and a lot less money than she is anticipating. And maybe that would be good for her."
"I hate, hate, hate the idea of her being so far away, if something happens."
That sent Kelly into a slight panic. California was a hell of a lot farther away than Maine. He did not want Holly to change her mind about coming out to stay with him.
"You don't need to assume something will happen. Probably nothing will happen, she'll hang out with her friends, get a taste of how hard it is to actually earn a living, and odds are the worst thing that will happen is one day she'll get a bad sunburn or something."
Lia and her friends probably would do some pretty heavy partying too, Kelly decided but he had absolutely no intention of mentioning that out loud.
"Yeah but," Holly didn't finish.
"What?"
"I always assume something bad will happen."
I've noticed, Kelly thought but he just simply said, "Why?"
"I don't know, it's just how I am."
"Well I love how you are," Kelly frowned down at his empty coffee mug and got up to go over to the pot, then he noticed the time, "Oh Jesus!"
"What?"
"I'm late for work, I have to go."
"Oh I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, I love you, I have to go, I'll call you tonight, we'll get started on the plane tickets," Kelly was spinning around the kitchen, he should have left fifteen minutes ago and now he couldn't figure out what to do first, "I have to go, really."
"Okay, bye, I love you."
"Love you too."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Chapter 40
Holly
hung up the phone in a much better mood than she had been in when she called. Then she wondered if Kelly was going to get in trouble for being late for work. She looked down at her laptop. The screen had gone blank and when she swiped her finger across the mouse pad Lia's e-mail came back up.
Kelly was probably right. There had been times, numerous times, over the years, where Lia had lost it, flipped out unreasonably, as any teenager was prone to do. Holly had learned that if she didn't hide the shock and hurt she was feeling, there was a usually better chance of Lia apologizing. Not a big chance, but a heck of a lot bigger than if Holly screamed back at her, which just made Lia more defensive. But god it was so tempting to scream back at her. So very tempting.
Holly stared at the e-mail. She couldn't accomplish what she wanted with a look, Lia was an hour and a half away. She looked at the phone but she didn't feel like calling Lia either. Lia mostly likely would answer the phone with a nasty "What?" and they'd be right back to where they left off. So instead Holly hit reply on the e-mail.
She wrote it and rewrote it. She debated everything from the salutation on. She put in a part demanding an apology and took it out. Finally she was satisfied. She was just about to send it when she changed her mind and added another paragraph in the middle. She read the whole thing through again.
Lia - You need to realize you caught me off guard with this plan for the summer. I am not against it, but I would like some more details. Remember, you've been planning this and know more about it than I do, so of course it makes more sense to you. I want to tell you I do trust your judgement. I think, most likely, we can work this out, but you need to understand I do not appreciate your tone or the fact that you hung up on me. Both were unacceptable.
I'm going to be going out to California to see Kelly in about a week, we're going to book the plane tickets tonight. I'm planning on staying out there for several weeks, not sure how long yet, but definitely until after the premiere of the new movie he did. I'll e-mail you when I have the flight information. Maybe this time I'll get to try surfing.
I love you and I'm very proud of the great job you've been doing in school this year. Send me all the details you have about the job and your plans and give me some time to think about it. Good luck on midterms.
Love, Mom
After she sent it she went out to the barn. Deciding to go out to California and deciding that she was going to try surfing had given her another idea. Holly had tons of experience painting the rural scenes that surrounded her house and around her town. All four seasons of them. Holly had never tried to paint a picture of the ocean and now she was going to try. She picked out a small canvas and a pencil. She spun the pencil around in her fingers, wondering if the lead would show through the lighter colors she would have to use, but she was excited to get started. This was just her very first attempt anyway, it didn't matter.
She took the pencil and canvas back to the house and went to the computer. Her plan was to google ocean images until she found one she wanted to attempt. Her first thought as she scrolled down the page was that it was going to be a lot harder than she thought. Nothing but blue and white. Then she found a picture looking down the shore, the waves breaking on the sand. The sand provided the contrast Holly was looking for and she was debating the orientation of the canvas, horizontal or vertical, when her e-mail chirped at her.
She clicked on the tab for her e-mail and then opened what Lia had sent her.
I'm sorry I yelled at you Mom. I have a bunch of classes and a lab today but I'll send you the details about the restaurant tonight promise. Love, Lia
Holly smiled at her daughter's name on the screen. It had always been hard for Lia to apologize, for anything. Well Holly knew who Lia had gotten that from, didn't she. That thought made Holly frown and she typed in a quick response and went back to the photograph of the ocean.
The warm beach looked very inviting and Holly, after saving the link for the photograph, opened another tab and, feeling a bit impish, and then somewhat silly, googled "Kelly Rockport beach". After spending way too much time looking at Kelly, she gave up on the computer and the painting and went to do her favorite ab workout DVD. If they went surfing when she was out there she probably would need a wet suit but you wore a bathing suit under a wet suit, didn't you?
Chapter 41
"Do you need help?"
The voice came from behind him. Kelly did need help. He had checked out the inventory of art supplies on line and had been instantly overwhelmed. So he had decided to stop in at the store where Holly had told him she bought most of her supplies to see if he could recognize anything she used. Luckily the chain had stores coast to coast. He was determined to have a studio set up for her by the time she got out to California. He turned around slowly, not sure what was going to happen, but there was a reason he did most of his shopping on line.
"Oh my god, you're Kelly Rockport."
"Yes, I am," Kelly said. He had taken off his sunglasses when he was alone in the aisle to check out the merchandise. And he had quickly realized that even one aisle of art supplies was also, completely overwhelming.
"You paint too?" the woman asked, "I mean, painting and acting?"
"No," Kelly said, "It's for a...friend. Birthday."
It was rare but occasionally Kelly resented the hell out of his fame. He would have liked to have said "girlfriend" not "friend".
"Oh well what kind of painting do they do?"
"Umm," Kelly said.
"We have some nice acrylic sets, and oils."
"Oils, definitely," Kelly said remembering.
"Beginner, professional?"
"Professional."
"Those are locked up," the woman said leading him down the aisle.
Kelly frowned at the selection, "There's only ten colors in a set?" Holly had piles of different colors.
"We can order a bigger set, but it's pretty expensive," the woman shrugged and looked at him, "I mean, not that you have to worry about that."
"Oh god, this is confusing, she has tons of colors, ten, it doesn't seem like enough."
"If she has them, then why are you getting more? I mean, a little bit does a long way with these, I'm told."
"Errr, what about the other stuff, easels and brushes?"
"Umm, yeah we have all that."
In the end Kelly decided to order the paint on line. Giving out his personal information so they could order it for him was out of the question. He picked out an easel and a large set of the best brushes and five small to medium canvases. He was obviously way out of his league but he was confident he had enough for Holly to get what he was trying for and he was sure she'd be happy. They could order whatever else she needed on line or she could take one of his cars when he was working and go shopping.
Kelly drove home in a very good mood. The film was wrapping up and he estimated he'd have at least a week off before the premiere. He didn't have any more projects lined up for three more months so whatever coast they ended up on, east or west, he was looking forward to the two of them just being together again.
When he got home he took the stuff up to the bedroom he had chosen for the studio. It was decorated pretty sparsely, but it faced south so it had the best light. He had left the bed and the night table but had moved out everything else. He set up the easel and put one of the canvases on it. He moved the night stand next to the easel and put the brushes on it. The rest of the canvases went up against the wall in the corner.
Then Kelly went down to his computer and searched until he found an oil set with a hundred different colors. He ordered it and paid the premium for rush handling and shipping. The promised delivery date was in two days, the day before Holly was flying in. He couldn't wait.
Chapter 42
"What you got?"
Holly handed over the tiny sample bottle. The hardware store had run a coupon for three free samples. Once she and Kelly had worked out her travel plans she had realized she was very excited for the trip and to see him. To pass wha
t was starting to feel like a very long week before she could actually leave, she had decided to paint the living room, finally.
"A gallon of this one, please."
"Finish?"
"Eggshell."
"Okay, hang on."
Holly watched as the employee brought a gallon of paint up to the computer and the machine started squirting in the color droplets. The process was kind of fascinating to her, one of the most challenging parts of pottery was perfecting the glazes. It could either be exhilarating or infuriating depending on how close she came to the image she had in her mind.
"The shakers are in the back," he said as he pounded the lid back on with a small mallet. "You need anything else for prep? Spackle?"
"Spackle?" Holly asked.
"Yeah, you know, spackle, if you have any little holes, also painters tape to cover up the trim, or are you painting the trim?"
"I could use some spackle," Holly said.
"Aisle four," he said, "I'll be right back, paint will be ready in about ten minutes."
"Thanks," Holly said.
Twenty minutes later she was on her way home with the paint, spackle, sanding sponge, putty knife and tack cloth. Before she even went into the house she went into the barn, up into the hayloft. She didn't keep much up there but she had empty boxes. She took her time, carefully selecting two medium ones. Then she peeked over the edge of the hayloft and dropped both the boxes over the side.
The ladder to the hayloft was sturdy, but steep, and Holly held on with both hands as she made her way down. One of the boxes had bounced towards the other end of the barn and she went to retrieve it. As she picked it up she was facing the stall where she kept her most favorite paintings and she stopped.
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