Limelight (Hollywood Stardust)

by Kim Carmichael

  ROXY

  (Speaking to herself)

  This is why Charles kept calculating the gas.

  ROXY puts her finger in her mouth and glances up and down the road.

  ROXY

  I can’t even make it to Indianapolis without messing up.

  Roxy spies a car off in the distance, the car comes closer and she straightens up and waves her hand. Rather than stopping, the carful of teenagers honks and speeds by her.

  ROXY looks down and kicks at a rock, then lifts her head and spies two signs, one for a call box and one saying gas is two miles up the road.

  ROXY

  I need help.

  ROXY bites her lip, takes a breath and walks up the road to the call box. She opens the door.

  The camera pans over the four buttons. Red for emergency, blue for accident, green for major service, black for minor service.

  ROXY –hovers her finger over each button.

  ROXY

  There’s no call Steven or William button.

  (Pauses)

  He said I should call for help.

  ROXY shrugs and hits the black button.

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  This is Highway Patrol, are you having an emergency?

  ROXY

  I ran out of gas.

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  Okay, I have noted your location we will have someone out to you as soon as possible.

  ROXY

  Ma’am?

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  Is there something else?

  ROXY

  Do you think a woman should be able to get her own gas?

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  I’m sorry. I’m not sure I understand.

  ROXY

  I mean you have a button for true emergencies and then like this sad button for getting gas. Someone should only call for help if they truly need it, right?

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  Excuse me, is there some sort of emergency?

  ROXY

  My first thought was to call Steven or William and sit back while they fixed it. The call box doesn’t have a Steven or William button.

  (Looks up into the sky.)

  I don’t even know which button I would choose first.

  DISPATCHER (O.S.)

  (Filtered)

  Miss, do you or do you not need assistance?

  ROXY

  No, I’m fine, thank you.

  ROXY hangs up the receiver, closes the call box, returns to the car and gets her purse and the gas can out of the trunk. Once more, she walks down the highway passing the gas sign.

  ROXY

  I’m going to press the Roxy button.

  Chapter Eighteen

  DREW DROVE AWAY.

  Erin stood on the side of the road in the middle of absolute and utter nowhere and watched until his car disappeared.

  He drove away and left her.

  Every man knew to return. It was the rule, and she glanced at her watch and waited for what seemed like forever plus or minus several minutes for the sound of Drew’s tires screeching against the pavement coming back for her.

  The second peek at her watch revealed a mere four and half minutes went by. If he didn’t turn around soon he would most definitely be late for his meeting.

  Yes, any minute now his SUV should race toward her.

  Except for the slight rustling from the wind, it was absolutely silent, not even the faint rumblings of any sort of motorized engine met her ears from any direction. Nothing but a vast ocean of trees and other growing things met her gaze. The only sign of any civilization was the road and the fence running the length of the road.

  With her arms crossed, the sun blaring down on her and her foot tapping, she stood right at the point where Drew drove away and practiced remaining perfectly still like the time she had to play a statue that later came to life. The teenage girls loved that movie. Of course, she already practiced remaining perfectly still the entire ride here. She was an expert and didn't want to over rehearse. Finally, she let out a sigh.

  Figuring only a minute or two passed, once more she looked at her watch.

  Her stomach twisted.

  Drew's meeting must have already begun.

  He wasn't coming back for her.

  Well, she would show him. She would just call a taxi and then decide which way her travels would take her. Hell, she could go back to Nevada and make her way to Vegas, or she could go to the orchard. Maybe she should show him what it was like to have someone vanish with unfinished business. The world was open to her, she could do anything, didn't need anyone. With her head held high she slipped her phone out of her purse, half expecting to see some apology from Drew.

  Instead, she was thrust right into a post-apocalyptic movie when the words no connection flashed at the top of her screen.

  Though a definite swell of nausea overtook her, she refused to have any reaction as she turned in the direction of the orchard and started walking. The click of her stilettos on the rough asphalt told her with every step she was ruining her heels.

  After ten minutes of walking, the balls of her feet began to ache. After twenty, they started to burn.

  Thirty minutes into her walk she remembered the time Drew taught her all about color and how black clothes absorb all the light rays and will make someone hotter if they wear black clothes in the sun, while white clothes will reflect the color and the heat. Well, once she saw the man who used to study the stars, she would inform him his lesson was quite wrong. Right after she tossed out her sweat soaked white suit.

  He didn't think she could do it. He didn't think she would actually walk the two miles to the orchard and attend his meeting. She would show him, show everyone who only wanted to believe the worst in her. Why didn't anyone simply ask what she thought or what she wanted?

  Well, Drew didn't care enough to ask, not this morning and not the twenty years he held her at bay.

  In the silence, with nothing but her thoughts and no cell service, she needed to face the facts. He would say he drove off as to not be late for his meeting or to teach her a lesson, but if that were the case he would have figured out a way to come get her. In truth, he drove away because that's what he wanted to do.

  No, he would never leave her out here stranded. If she didn't reappear by the time he was through, he would come get her, but part of him wanted his old life back, and wanted her gone. This action was merely him dipping his toe into the pool. He only reappeared the night of the 20th Anniversary Gala for the same reason, to know what it was like to be with her. Now he knew, and he didn't need her anymore.

  Not really paying attention to where she walked, she tripped on a divot in the road, tried to catch herself, and only ended up face down in a bed of dirt.

  Defeated, with her body aching from walking too long a distance in shoes only made for sitting, she shut her eyes. All she wanted to do was quit, throw up the white flag, or in her case the dirty white flag, and surrender.

  Even with two decades behind them, they managed to keep hitting rewind on the same scene over and over again.

  The day of filming had been hot, scorching, blistering, and any other synonym she could conjure for hot as they had filmed the scene where Steven’s car broke down in the middle of nowhere. She had supposed the director and producer wanted to go for realism, because somehow they all found themselves on a two-lane road with nothing but dirt on either side. After technical issues, wardrobe issues, lighting issues and as strange as it seemed, car issues, they finally managed to do a couple of the necessary scenes.

  “Cut, that’s a print!” The director yelled. “Take ten.”

  Drenched from sweat and with makeup melting into her eyes stinging beyond belief, she literally crawled over Ryder to get out of the car, burning her thigh on the metal door in the process.

  “Ouch!” She tripped, steadied hers
elf by slapping her palm on the metal, and then recoiled from yet another burn.

  “Erin, you okay?” Ryder kept his voice low.

  “I’m fine.” Her voice hitched, and she rushed toward the trailer and the promise of a little cool air.

  Though every part of her seemed to be in some sort of pain, she managed to get inside the trailer after burning her hand once more on the hot handle. Air, at least a little cooler than outside, allowed her to catch a full breath, and she stumbled to the sink and turned on the water. She stuck her singed hand under the healing liquid and with her free hand, palmed some of the water and splashed her face.

  “Now I’m going to have to redo your makeup.”

  The screech of the lady who assisted their main makeup person scratched through Erin’s head. This person never liked her since Erin had to fix her makeup every time. The guys loved her because she was fast. Fast didn’t equate to good. “Where’s Bea?” She loved Bea. The woman was a true artist who had been in the industry for over forty years and taught Erin a ton about how to create makeup magic.

  “She had to run into the main town. I was told to come in here and get you put back together.” The woman pointed to the chair. “We need to stay on schedule.”

  “Why don’t you go tend to the guys, and I’ll take care of myself.” She found a paper towel, wet it, and pressed it to her thigh.

  “We need to stay on schedule.” The woman crossed her arms.

  So this was how the woman wanted to play it. “Then go keep it and I’ll tell everyone I’ll do my own makeup or wait for Bea to return.”

  “You think because you got Stacy fired and replaced her with Drew so he can’t compete with you that you can just get rid of anyone you don’t want around?” The second-rate artist put her hands on her hips.

  “You know, I didn’t get anyone fired. The powers that be just agreed that Stacy didn’t have the right chemistry with the rest of us.” The burn subsiding, she approached her nemesis. “Obviously, they wanted things to be right, or she would still be here.”

  “So the world revolves around your rules. Just remember I have plenty of my own connections. I wouldn’t cross me.”

  There was not a chance in hell that Erin would allow this woman to touch her with any sort of makeup or anything else. She charged toward the door and flung it open right into Drew’s, Logan’s and the director’s faces.

  “Erin?” The director smiled at her. “Why aren’t you getting your makeup touched up?”

  Already there were stories in the tabloids about the feud between Stacy and her and how Erin played diva on the set, throwing in the star card to get the supporting actress fired. She didn’t need more fuel to the fire. “I would rather wait for Bea.”

  “Actually, what Erin said is that if I didn’t do her makeup perfectly, she would make sure she got me fired like Stacy.” The woman charged forward.

  “I never said that!” Her face heated. “Seriously.”

  “Erin.” The director widened his eyes.

  “You were the first one to agree that Stacy wasn’t right.” She put her hands on her hips. “If I tell you I didn’t say it, then I didn’t say it.”

  Logan rolled his eyes and pushed his way into the trailer.

  “All right, Erin.” The director shook his head and looked at the horrid woman. “Why don’t you see to Ryder, Logan and Drew? Erin can tend to herself until Bea gets back. Don’t worry about a thing, no one is getting fired.”

  He placated her. She ground her teeth together. “I told you I didn’t say anything like that.” Her eyes darted to Drew. If anyone would stand up for her, he would. Somehow he saw her as she wanted to be, as if his eyes had a filter.

  “How’s your hand?” He stepped forward and glanced down at her appendage.

  “Really?” She wanted to say not as hurt as her heart, but had chosen to turn her back on them all, especially Drew, and went to one of the vanity tables with the makeup. No one had ever believed her or had believed in her. She had shut her eyes.

  “Miss, miss!” A man screamed out, interrupting her thoughts. “Miss, are you okay?”

  Still in the dirt, she opened her eyes and lifted her head to find an older man in dirty overalls running through the field toward her.

  “Miss!” He caught up to her and climbed over the wooden fence. “Are you hurt? Can you move?”

  “I think I’ll live.” She had to say she was impressed he managed such a feat.

  “Here, let me help you.” He held his hand out to her.

  Only because he seemed honestly concerned did she put her hand in his and let him help her up. She brushed off her soiled suit and shook her head.

  “I’ve been watching you for a while. What are you doing out here?” He seemed to check her over then reached in his pocket and handed her a handkerchief.

  Well, she had been given a lot of things in her life to sign, but a handkerchief was new. Chivalry was dead and buried. “I’m trying to get to Organic Oasis. I have a meeting there and got separated from everyone.” She opened her handbag, found her marker, and signed the little piece of cloth. “Here you go.”

  “That’s another half mile up the road. I work here in the orchards.” He stared down at his handkerchief, shrugged and shoved it back into his pocket. “I don’t think you should be walking in those shoes.”

  “I am aware of that, but I can’t quit. I have to make it. Everyone thinks I’m a quitter, or don’t keep my commitments. No one believes in me.” She smiled at the man. “I better keep going.” No matter what, she would show up at this meeting. Then she would leave. Maybe she’d call Ryder to come get her in one of his snazzy cars, or one of his many benefactors’ private planes and then demand Logan help her. If it wasn't for him, she would have much more money now.

  Somehow, her entire life would always be centered around a few months when she was eighteen years old. In less time than it took to shoot a genre changing movie, she lost the one man she wanted, and she basically signed part of her life away. Everything narrowed down to the fact she was always fixated on appearing to be someone she wasn't.

  Erin Hollendanger wanted Drew Fulton way back then and was too scared to admit it to herself or the world. That same girl wanted the world to view her as a darling little actress with the world at her feet. She wanted to shake off the role of Roxy and spread her wings. Wanted it so much, she spent twenty years bribing Logan Alexander to take the fall for her shortcomings and make sure the sequel to the film was cancelled.

  Funny, now all she wanted was Drew Fulton and to be in the sequel.

  Two things she couldn’t have.

  “Are the shoes already ruined?” He glanced down at her feet.

  She didn’t have to look to know her four figure shoes were no longer worth two cents. “As soon as I meet up with my luggage, I’m going to give them a proper send off.”

  “Come on then, I’ll show you a short cut. It looks like you could use a walk through nature barefoot.” He walked back toward the fence.

  She glanced between the road and the fence. Maybe she needed a different path altogether. In a move she was even shocked at, she kicked off her shoes and followed the man, crawling through the fence slats and making her way onto softer ground. Most likely this would end with them hiring a search party for her to find her body in the middle of the rows of trees. However, there was something about being without cell service and being a little unsure of her location that was a bit thrilling and a lot freeing, especially with a man who had no idea who she was. “You know, I’ve been on a farm before.”

  “It was probably one of those city farms.” He laughed and led her down a row of perfectly manicured trees.

  In truth, his prediction was spot on. A complete city farm, or what people from the city assumed a farm to be, complete with a cow and a beat up pickup truck and a plow. It was during a film where she played one of those farm girls who wore wispy dresses and floppy hats. She quite liked the character, but not the director. The man ma
de her stand in the sun in the middle of some cornstalks for over an hour while they waited for exactly the right shadow to cast behind her to get the shot he wanted. Then the damn scene ended up on the cutting room floor. Sort of like her life.

  Shade cooled her while her guide led her through the rows and her feet squished into the dirt below her, a strange yet not unpleasant sensation. This would be perfect fodder for the reality show, and in a bizarre twist this was her reality. Once more, she reached into her bag and pulled out her video camera. "Hold on one second."

  The man stopped.

  She got a shot of her feet and shuddered, panned the area then shot up into the trees. "Oh, my god, there’s fruit on the trees."

  "Why don't you put the camera down a second and actually look at the trees?" He came up beside her.

  For a moment she lowered the recording device and did as the man asked. There was something genuine and real about being here. "There's fruit on the trees."

  "Have you ever had a ripe pear right off the tree?"

  She shook her head. "Would you believe me if I told you that everything around me is designed to look perfect, but it’s usually just a shell?"

  "Yes, I would." He walked over to one of the trees and looked up, tilting his head from side to side. "Here's a perfect one."