Limelight (Hollywood Stardust)

by Kim Carmichael

  He returned to the engine and motioned toward the part of the engine the light already illuminated. “Aim the light right here!”

  “Drew,” she whispered.

  “What!” He jiggled a wire and a whatnot.

  “What if we have to call a tow truck, we don’t have a cell site?” After letting out the words, she winced.

  “I’m not calling any tow truck and I am not going to be late for my lecture and I will make sure that I am not stranded out where there is only a road and nothing else!”

  At his outburst and his lack of the word “we,” she bit the inside of her mouth and held the stupid light.

  “There it is!” He slapped the side of the car. “Stupid ignition wire.” Without giving her a second glance, he went to the back of the SUV, joining her and her light a few minutes later with a roll of black tape and a couple of tools.

  Without any direction from the lone dictator, she managed to illuminate the space enough for him not to bark at her. She tried not to take in the cute way he tore the tape with his teeth or the way his fingers deftly repaired the wire.

  Once through with his patch up job, he again returned to the front seat of the car. This time the car started. He turned the car off and on a couple of times and then came out, slammed the hood and turned to her with a huge grin. “Our chariot awaits.”

  “Don’t you mean your chariot awaits?” She pushed past him and let herself in the car.

  He got in the driver’s seat. “Erin?”

  Not wanting to get into it, she lowered the visor and looked at her image in the mirror. “Shouldn’t you get going? I wouldn’t want you to be late.”

  “Tell me what’s wrong.” He strummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “I believe I just did.”

  “I’m sorry if I was short tempered. We’re on a tight schedule.” Like earlier, he offered her his hand.

  “Now it’s we?” Rather than take his gesture, she crossed her legs.

  “What does that mean?” He faced her.

  Pressure built behind her nose and her eyes heated. “Out there you kept saying I not we. If something happens, are you going to disappear again?” She crossed her arms and looked out the window.

  “I was just upset with the car.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Honestly, my first thought was if we had to go walking how was I going to carry you the entire time?”

  “What? You weren’t just going to leave me here and walk off? Not that it matters, it’s not like we have a commitment or anything.” A sick sensation took over her stomach at her own words.

  “I would’ve never done that.” He brushed her hair aside. “Look at me, please.”

  Though she wanted to resist, she glanced over at him.

  “I promise, no matter whatever happens, I will never disappear again.” He took her hand, kissed the back and held it tight. “Do you hear me?”

  She answered with a shrug.

  “Erin, I think you know I was committed to you practically from the day I met you. We both tried to make it work with others and still we ended up here. Just the two of us on this road.” His voice lowered and he pulled her in, brushing his lips against hers.

  “Maybe the road is here to lead us to our next destination.” She had no choice but to hold on tight and try to rid her mind of the horror films she saw. Though she knew they weren’t real. Of course, no one said the romance ones were either.

  “Right now I really need the road to take us to my lecture. I’ve had this scheduled for months.” He gave her one more kiss and started the car.

  Yes, he had his life scheduled for months, even years before he even thought about returning to her or being in a movie or Hollywood Glow.

  She glanced down at the camera still in her lap and still filming. Before she told him about their project they needed to reach their destination together.

  HOLLYWOOD STARBURST

  INT. POCOHONTAS, IL, INSIDE A DINER – EARLY EVENING.

  Roxy is sitting with her ankle up on the booth. The door to the diner opens. CHARLES, WILLIAM and STEVEN enter and ROXY sits up straighter.

  ROXY

  (Breathless)

  You really came.

  CHARLES rushes over and inspects Roxy’s leg.

  WILLIAM comes over to the booth.

  WILLIAM

  When Charles told us you were injured and asked for us, what did you expect us to do?

  ROXY winces when Charles touches her ankle, but manages to smile up at William and glances over at Steven.

  WILLIAM slides into the booth next to Roxy.

  WILLIAM

  Why didn’t you call us yourself?

  ROXY looks between William and Steven.

  STEVEN, hands in his pockets, saunters over and stares down at her.

  STEVEN

  Perhaps it’s because she couldn’t decide who to call?

  CHARLES

  Steven, leave it.

  STEVEN

  Why should I leave it? It’s what’s on everyone’s mind. Right?

  ROXY opens her mouth and turns to William.

  WILLIAM

  Don’t look at me. I have the same question.

  ROXY turns to Steven, back to William and then at Charles.

  CHARLES shakes his head.

  ROXY stares at the table.

  ROXY

  I...

  STEVEN crosses his arms and taps his foot.

  STEVEN

  With your ankle, I got my answer. I don’t think you’ll be coming by any time soon.

  STEVEN turns and walks out the door.

  ROXY

  (Whispers)

  William

  WILLIAM

  Seems like I’m always the one running to you.

  WILLIAM slides out of the booth and follows Steven.

  CHARLES finishes bandaging Roxy’s ankle.

  CHARLES

  I was afraid this would happen.

  ROXY

  There was no other way this could happen.

  CHARLES glances out the window and watches the BMW drive away.

  CHARLES

  Well, I will play your chauffeur.

  CHARLES gets out of the booth and helps Roxy hobble out of the diner and looks down at her feet.

  CHARLES

  Well, something tells me you got what you wanted.

  ROXY

  (gasps)

  What?

  CHARLES points down at her ankle.

  CHARLES

  You could have driven, and you would have been home by now. It’s your other foot.

  ROXY

  Maybe I wanted it to happen or maybe I was trying to get a miracle.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES AWAY from the University of New Mexico, Drew realized he didn’t really know much about his lecture except that Bambi changed the color of the liposome slide. Lucky for him, he had given this lecture many times. However, it would help if he knew some minor details. “Erin, would you mind looking in that folder and telling me what building the lecture is in?”

  “Oh, I can play assistant.” Erin opened the folder. “I wish I had a pair of horn rimmed glasses. That would be perfect.”

  While he wanted to smile, or play along, they really needed to get to the lecture.

  “We need to go to the science lecture hall.” She tapped the page.

  “All right. That’s what I assumed.” Without the car trouble, they would have arrived with enough time to check into the hotel and take a breath, but now they would glide in with only minutes to spare.

  “So what else can I do to help you?” Erin checked her makeup in the mirror and did some minor touchups.

  Yes, Erin. Ms. Erin Holland. Star of both the big and small screen. He pursed his lips. If they were on time, and they didn’t have a talk about commitments and him disappearing, he might have suggested she take a nice long bath in the soaking tub at the hotel and have room service waiting for him when he returned.

  That plan
would have worked perfectly, but as they said, the best of plans.

  He strummed his fingers on the steering wheel. While he may be able to temper the Drew Fulton reveal to the few biochem students who showed up, the appearance of the one and only Erin Holland would create a definite distraction.

  “Drew?”

  He needed a solution right now. Like any good scientist, he started by looking at his environment and spied the camera on the seat. “I think I have the teaching part covered. Why don’t you do some filming?”

  “That works.” She checked her camera. “I’ll keep it low key for you, Mr. Fulton, or should I say Dr. Abrams? I’ll be good.”

  “I’ll make it up to you later.” Ways he could make it up to her ran through his mind.

  “I’m looking forward to hearing you speak.” She moved a lock of hair out of his face. “How many people will be there?”

  “No more than fifty or so. The Department Head of Chemistry and Biochemistry is a friend of mine.” At last, they came to the campus and he navigated his way around to faculty parking lot stopping at the attendant’s booth. He rolled down the window. “Hello, I’m Doctor Abrams—”

  “You are Drew Fulton!” The guard pointed at him and bent down peering inside the car. “No way! That’s Erin Holland.” He clapped and pointed. “Charles and Roxy!”

  Erin giggled.

  “I have a lecture?” At least Isaac Abrams needed to do a lecture.

  “We moved the lecture to the theatre.” The man took out a map and circled the location and then took out a pad of paper. “Do you mind?”

  A quick glance at the clock told him he needed to get a move on. He scribbled his name on the paper, held it for Erin who did the same and handed it back. Finally, the man let them through the gates.

  “Sounds like it’s going to be more than fifty people.” Erin sat up.

  He followed the signs to the theatre, making his way around to where two uniformed officers with white gloves motioned for him to drive forward. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Drew!” Erin gasped.

  Well, he didn’t need to wonder any longer why they moved his lecture. A mass of people were lined up at the theatre, more accurately, they were lined up around the theatre. “Something tells me these students aren’t interested in polyphenols.” Damn, he was all prepared for polyphenols.

  “I think I’ll be able to call you Drew after all.” Erin cleared her throat. “I wonder if this has anything to do with the pictures we took yesterday.”

  “Or my new Director of Marketing.” He stopped the car where directed and swore he saw a film crew from the local television station. Under the guise he still might discuss something remotely related to chemistry, he grabbed his laptop case, got out of the car and came around to let Erin out.

  She laced her fingers in his. Before he had a chance to figure out how to handle the situation, his colleague, Dr. Warren, came sprinting toward him along with several other faculty members.

  “Dr. Abrams.” Dr. Warren held his hand out, but stared at Erin.

  Drew shook the man’s hand and pulled Erin a little closer. “I take it we had a slight change in plans?”

  “The students obviously made the connection to your entertainment past. That, coupled with the pictures of you and Ms. Holland exploding all over the Internet, caused more than the normal number of students to sign up to learn about stabilizing polyphenols.”

  Strange how people now recognized him. Three weeks ago he could go anywhere and no one gave him a second thought. In an instant everything changed, maybe as much if not more than the day he decided to put Drew Fulton away for twenty years. Would anyone remember Isaac? “Well then, I think we should show them a little something about chemistry. Lead the way.”

  Dr. Warren motioned forward and keeping Erin close, he followed.

  “We’re very happy to have you here. Both of you.” A woman in a cream colored business suit rushed alongside them. “I’m Chancellor Harvey and I’m a huge fan of your work.”

  Erin nodded and smiled, shook hands and kept a tight hold on him.

  As they walked toward the theatre, the rumblings of the students grew louder. Once they spotted him and Erin, the low roar turned into cheers. Some even held up signs with Hollywood Stardust written on it and Charles and Roxy’s names.

  “We need to sign some autographs,” Erin whispered in his ear.

  “I need to give a lecture.” The part of him that remained Isaac needed to stay grounded in his work, but his Drew side surged with some pride at the gathering.

  “The press is here. If our toaster run got on the Internet, this will get on broadcast television. We have to be gracious to the fans. Trust me.” She squeezed his hand. “I have a career and it will be good for the lab.”

  Damn if he didn’t want to go greet his public. He gave Erin a nod and she pressed a pen into his palm.

  While the university members continued toward the auditorium entrance, he veered and walked to the middle of the line of people.

  “We love you!” A group of girls jumped up and down and held out their papers for signatures. “Hollywood Stardust is my mom’s favorite movie! I grew up watching you drive across the country!”

  They both began the age-old ritual of signing their names to various scraps of paper and made their way down the line. People truly loved the movie and had even handed it down to the next generation. For the first time he allowed himself to experience the fans like his co-stars.

  “We always wanted Charles and Roxy to end up together!” A group of girls gathered around them and took selfies.

  Erin hugged those girls.

  “You’re even prettier in person.” One of the same girls in that group handed Erin a flower, then turned to him. “I always knew Charles would grow up to be hot and smart.”

  Unsure if he should thank the girl or not, he let Erin guide him to some more fans. He supposed the transformation was dramatic, especially after two decades.

  Erin let go of his hand and immersed herself in another group of women.

  “If I knew you were a professor, I would have definitely gone to UCLA.” A particularly buxom brunette jutted out her breasts and pulled her form fitting white t-shirt out.

  He stopped. The outline of the woman’s nipples clearly showed through the thin fabric. Fine, he gawked a moment, he was still a male after all, and at last signed his name. “Are you a fan of the film?”

  “I’m a fan of you.” The woman winked at him. “That tickled.”

  Erin glanced over at him.

  “Thank you.” His instinct told him to move along.

  Two more scantily clad co-eds gathered around him and took the same stance as the first. “You ended up to be the hottest of all of them.” One girl simply stood there, her enormous chest needed no further introduction.

  Caught between staring at this person’s more than obvious wares and wanting to tell her to go put on a bra, he opted to sign the shirt and smile.

  Erin narrowed one eye at him.

  Though he might not be the ladies’ man his other male co-stars were, he knew enough about Erin and women to know her expression was the universal sign for knock it off or you will never have sex again.

  He attempted to move past the group, but the last one jumped in front of him.

  “Don’t forget me.” She put her hands on her hips and stood on her tiptoes as if her boobs weren’t right in his eye line anyway.

  A flash of watching Logan and Ryder in similar positions went through his mind. Stuck with all the prosthetics on his face and forced to stay in character, he always tended to lag a few paces behind the other guys. The limelight was finally his. What he missed out on was here for the taking. Once more, he signed his name. For twenty years he’d signed a different name and it was never across anyone’s breasts.

  “Drew.” Erin faced him. “The local station wants to interview us.”

  Stardom was more powerful than any drug, stronger than anything he could
put in a capsule, powder or drink. A quick snap of a photo and his products went backorder. A mention on social media and customers called requesting a line he hadn’t created yet. Hell, they wanted him.

  Erin held her hand out to him.

  At the end of the day, the most important person wanted him. Ignoring everyone else, he went to the one woman who mattered and put his arm around her.

  The crowd clapped.

  She leaned against him and posed for some pictures. The spot he always coveted belonged to him.

  The reporter approached them. “So, Drew Fulton, what’s it like returning to stardom after being an unknown chemist?”

  He glanced between Erin, the fans, and the faculty waiting for him to enter the auditorium. Though he wanted Drew and lord help him, all the trappings that came along with being Drew, he wasn’t ready to abandon his invented alter-ego. Would Erin be happy with Isaac?

  * * * *

  “SO, IN CONCLUSION, if you protect the polyphenols with the proper stabilization technique, the polyphenols will protect you.” Drew flicked off his laser pointer.

  The lights in the packed auditorium illuminated and the crowd, most of whom Erin assumed were not chemistry students, clapped and cheered. If these students didn’t know what a polyphenol was or why it had to be stabilized before Drew’s lecture, they sure as hell would now. She would never look at antioxidants and their benefits to the body the same way again.