by Melissa Hill
Because if anyone should be ashamed Ruth decided, it was her.
Chapter 9
The doorbell rang and Nina rushed to answer it, feeling like a teenager all over again for not wanting her father to get there first in case he would do or say something weird to embarrass her in front of her friends.
However, she was too late. Trish was standing in the middle of the living room; trying her utmost to make small talk with Patrick.
‘So I bet you are just loving having Nina back?’ she heard her say.
‘I suppose so,’ Patrick replied, with his typical lack of enthusiasm. ‘It’s a bit of an adjustment, having her things all over the place.’
Nina felt hurt; the way he was talking you’d swear she was a teenager scattering things around left right and centre. As it was there was nothing that belonged to her downstairs, and what little she’d brought with her was neatly put away in her bedroom. And it was a bit rich of him to complain about her things when he was the one who clogged up the place with his half-mended electronics!
From Trish’s carefully composed expression, Nina guessed she was thinking the same thing and she decided to change to subject.
‘Hi Trish, thanks for calling for me. Are you ready to go?’
‘Oh hey Nina, yeah, I was actually just telling your father about my charity book and all that’s going on tonight. I was wondering if he’d like to come along to Ruth Seymour’s party…’ She smiled at Patrick.
‘Well, I’m not really sure it would be your kind of thing, Dad,’ Nina interrupted. She smoothed down the hem of her floral summer dress, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
‘No, no, not so much,’ Patrick replied with a blank face.
‘Are you sure? Because –’
‘Honestly Trish, we’d better get going,’ Nina interjected hurriedly grabbing her arm and shuttling her to the door. The last thing she wanted was Patrick dragging out of them all night. ‘See you later Dad, don’t wait up!’ she added lightly, knowing there wasn’t a snowball chance in hell of this happening in any case. Most of the time she was lucky if he even remembered she was there.
Once they were outside, Trish eyed Nina sceptically, ‘Hmm, not exactly the behaviour of a daughter who’s been missing her father – could you have got me out the door any faster?’
‘Ah come on, did you really think he’d want to go to a local do?’ Nina replied, trying to deflect the question. ‘Anyway, speaking of running out the door, why did you leave the café in such a rush yesterday morning?’ Nina still was confused by Trish’s speedy exit following Emer and Deirdre’s appearance.
‘What?’ Trish looked bemused. ‘I was late for work and had a bit of a headache coming on too, so I just couldn’t face those screaming kids, that’s all.’
‘Oh.’ Nina didn’t remember any of the kids crying when they entered, but decided to let it go. ‘Well tonight should be good fun shouldn’t it?’
Trish raised an eyebrow. ‘Unless Ruth runs out on us the way she did on the Late Tonight interview last night.’
Nina grimaced; she had seen the horrible interview and while she felt sorry for Ruth and particularly her parents, she felt that it was Eamonn Kennedy who came away looking the worst of it.
‘Wasn’t it just awful?’ she said. ‘I thought your man Kennedy was a terrible weasel putting her parents on the spot like that. John Monroe would never have done anything like that. Eamonn’s a nasty so-and-so and I’d say she’s sorry she ever agreed to go on.’
‘Yes, but her walking off like that didn’t help either. If anything it gave the scandal ever more legs.’ She was referring to one of the tabloid Sunday papers which today carried an ‘interview’ with one of Ruth’s ex-boyfriends. ‘Ten years later and he can supposedly still remember every last detail?’ Trish shook her head. ‘I’m ashamed of my own profession sometimes.’
‘Yeah but you don’t go in for that kind of thing, do you?’ Nina said, hoping this was the case, although somehow she couldn’t see the Lakeview News being a hotbed of kiss’n tell.
‘Nah, of course not. Although I’m sure those kind of stories must be marginally more interesting than ‘Local man steals Crème Egg’,’ she said wryly.
‘I hope poor Ruth is holding up OK though,’ Nina ventured. ‘Granted I didn’t know her that well back when we were teenagers but I don’t envy anyone having to put up with that kind of smut.’
‘I suppose she should have thought of that before she decided to get bladdered and have it off with her co-star, shouldn’t she?’ Trish wasn’t so sympathetic. ‘Someone like her really should know better, especially at this stage in the game.’
‘I get what you’re saying but don’t we all have things we’d rather not be public knowledge and if it is true, that Ruth had a drunken one night stand it’s still her own business, isn’t it?’
Trish gave her a sideways look and Nina worried that she might have said too much, but then her friend grinned. ‘OK, OK, I hear ya – sorry Mum.’
Nina gulped and tried to compose her expression. Did she really sound like a nagging mother? Although it was no doubt a throwaway remark, Trish wouldn’t have had a clue of the irony.
They soon arrived at Clancy’s hotel, and made their way through to the ballroom where the party was being held.
Nina scanned the crowd, realising that there were many faces she recognized and many she did not, but of course, Lakeview had changed considerably since she was young.
Trish was working the crowd as they made their way to the bar and Nina found herself being introduced to loads of people, and many names that she knew she wouldn’t remember. They sidled up to the drinks table, upon which sat trays of wine and champagne. Trish looked at Nina, ‘Champagne I think, don’t you?’
‘Um yes, I suppose so,’ Nina mumbled automatically. Blast it, how she would get by not drinking under Trish’s watchful gaze? The young waiter handed them each a champagne flute. Nina took hers and Trish offered up a toast. ‘To homecomings!’
‘Yes, to homecomings,’ she said, and the two women clinked glasses.
Nina was just about to take a small sip of her drink, (a sip couldn’t hurt, could it?), when a man walked up beside them. Seeing him approach, Trish smiled broadly.
‘Dave how are things?’ she said to the tall, rather attractive man. Very well built, he had dark eyes, closely cropped chestnut hair and an air about him that suggested he was important in some way. ‘Nina, this is Dave Kellerman,’ she said, introducing them and Nina looked at him, wondering if she knew him from previous visits; the last name certainly rang a bell. But then again he would surely have mentioned this, and he didn’t. ‘This is my friend Nina Hughes. She just recently moved back to Lakeview.’
‘For a little while,’ Nina added quickly, although she still wasn’t sure why she’d felt the need to specify.
‘Moved back?’ Dave queried with a smile. ‘So you’re not a blow-in like myself, then.’ He went on to explain how he’d moved from Dublin a couple of years ago to work for the local brewery.
‘We’re sponsoring this little soirée, actually, although of course the local brew wouldn’t do for a Hollywood star so we had to call on the rivals,’ he said, indicating the champagne tray. ‘Nearly killed us,’ he added amiably and Nina decided that she liked this guy with his easy smile and chatty manner. She looked around the ballroom at the various decorations that had been put up for the occasion. The white and red roses gracing the tables were quite pretty and while she was sure the decor would be nowhere near as elaborate as what Ruth would be used to in LA, it was impressive just the same.
‘So, the guest of honour must be on the way,’ Dave said, as some commotion looked to be happening out front. ‘Did you hear about her and yer man?’
‘Well of course, who hasn’t?’ Trish laughed, but then met Nina’s disapproving gaze. ‘But at the same time, who cares, she’s an adult isn’t she? Besides, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones – you know, bad karma and all th
at.’
Then all conversation in the room stopped as at that moment, Ruth made her entrance. She was wearing a strapless white dress with a scarlet sash around the middle and bright ruby red stilettos. Her glossy hair was pulled back into a loose, romantic knot, and she had a smile on her face and looked every inch the star.
The room erupted in applause and Ruth made her way through the crowd, shaking hands and pausing for pictures.
‘Doesn’t she look beautiful?’ Trish said enviously and Nina had to agree that yes, there was indeed something ethereal, almost fragile about Ruth’s beauty, and there was no doubt that she was pure star quality.
A few minutes later the official ceremony began and Ruth was invited onstage by the local MC to accept her award, a piece of Waterford Crystal. Although she looked delighted with her reception and gave a lovely acceptance speech, Nina noticed the shadows under the actress’s eyes, and the beaming smile she wore seemed tense.
Nina’s heart went out to her. She couldn’t imagine having to live under that sort of scrutiny. While she knew she’d made her fair share of mistakes (and was actually living with one right now), she could deal with them in private and never had to experience having her secrets spilled across the gossip pages for all to see. How could anyone deal with that sort of embarrassment?
The official part of the ceremony completed, Ruth descended the stage and eventually began to circulate through the crowd. As the actress neared closer, Trish grabbed Nina’s arm and thrust the two of them forward.
‘Ruth, Ruth, hello, do you remember us?’ Trish asked, smiling wildly. Ruth turned their way and Nina could tell she was on sensory overload at the moment, but still she remained the true professional.
‘Oh yes, yes of course! We went to school together…?’ As they were about the same age, it was no doubt a guess on Ruth’s part, but she handled it beautifully.
‘That’s right,’ Trish grinned. ‘It’s so wonderful to see you!’ To Ruth’s obvious surprise, Trish threw her arms around her and welcomed her with a big hug. Nina could see the poor girl’s eyes racing back and forth as she tried to take in everything, the distinct look of a caged animal.
‘I’m not sure if you remember Nina Hughes?’ Trish offered as the two women turned to face her.
‘I was only ever here on occasion,’ Nina offered shyly, extending her hand.
‘Oh but of course. You used to come and visit your dad, right?’
‘That’s right.’ She felt stupidly pleased that this ultra-glamorous woman had in fact remembered her.
‘Well it’s wonderful to be home,’ Ruth went on. ‘Although, it’s changed a lot, hasn’t it? I can’t believe it’s the same Lakeview.’
‘I know, I haven’t been back in years so I couldn’t believe it either.’
‘Did you see all those new houses on the way in? For a minute there, I thought I was back in Beverly Hills,’ she laughed, and Nina was struck by how normal she seemed. Sure, her outfit probably cost more than what she herself had in her bank account, but she couldn’t help thinking that Ruth wasn’t all that different from her really; she just happened to live her life on a much grander stage.
She tried to recall what she knew of Ruth from their childhood. Incredibly pretty, she had always been the centre of attention, and drama and action tended to follow her from one place to the next. She’d been one of the most popular girls around and was the type of person who drew people to her, with a natural charisma that most people didn’t have. No wonder she’d ended up a star, Nina thought. Although in truth, everyone was surprised at how long it had taken.
‘So, boring old Lakeview must be a big change from LA?’ Trish asked then.
‘Oh my goodness, yes,’ Ruth sighed, and very briefly, Nina saw a break in the façade, but just as quickly, she however. ‘I mean, it’s all glorious, the weather, the shops, the restaurants and all that… but you know, it’s nice to get away for a while too, escape from the hustle and bustle.’
There was no missing the emphasis she placed on the word escape.
‘Oh, I can only imagine, especially now,’ Trish laughed. ‘What with all this business with you and Troy, eh?’ she added jokingly, and Nina shot a daggers look at Trish, unable to believe her friend’s lack of tact.
Ruth’s smile was gone in a flash, and too late; tears were forming in her eyes. She blinked hard as if trying to hold them back, but there was no denying she was under serious strain.
‘Are you OK?’ Nina asked her gently, and Ruth bit her lip and ever so faintly shook her head. She looked as if she wasn’t sure which was worse, breaking down in front of a couple of strangers or losing it in front of the entire town.
Nina decided to act fast. ‘Trish, is there a backroom around here?’ she asked.
‘What?’ Trish hadn’t noticed anything amiss. ‘If you mean the Ladies –’
‘No, I meant somewhere private,’ she cocked a surreptitious head towards a slowly crumbling Ruth.
‘Ah Ruth, I’m sorry for upsetting you; I didn’t mean … I just thought it would be a bit of a joke, you know, we’ve all shagged people that –’
‘For goodness sake, Trish,’ Nina groaned. ‘Is there a hallway, or a back kitchen or something?’ Ruth was now seriously close to losing it.
‘Oh, uh, over here,’ Trish led the way, suddenly realising that they needed to get Ruth out of there; and the last thing she needed was to start crying in front of all the great and good of Lakeview. Nina watched as they passed by locals and Ruth’s admirers, and she noticed that the actress did a great job of keeping her head down while she rifled through her trendy evening bag, pretending to look for something. Trish ushered them down a hallway and turned the corner, out of sight of prying eyes. Hearing noises from behind, Nina looked to the left and spotted a door, which she hoped was unlocked.
Her prayers were answered and holding the door open for Trish and Ruth, she waved them both inside. Trish switched on an overhead light and the three of them looked around the small space, which was littered with cleaning supplies.
‘Ah, kind of reminds me of when we used to sneak into the janitor’s closet at school for a fag, doesn’t it Ruth?’ Trish offered, and despite herself Ruth smiled. ‘Hey look, that was a really stupid thing to say back there. I mean, I just forgot really –’
‘What she’s trying to say is she left her manners at home,’ Nina scolded good-naturedly.
‘It’s just been a tough couple of days,’ Ruth ventured, her tone weary.
‘I can imagine. I mean, the hangover alone must have been horrible, let alone having to deal with your knickers, or lack thereof, being splashed –’
‘Bloody hell Trish,’ Nina’s mouth dropped open and she nudged her in the arm. ‘Will you please shut up?’ Now tears were spilling down Ruth’s cheeks. ‘Ah no sweetheart, don’t cry,’ she soothed. ‘You’ll ruin your lovely makeup.’
‘I’m…so…sorry,’ Ruth gulped. ‘I’m just so stressed out, the last few days been absolutely dreadful, all the questions …accusations and cameras following me around. They’re all treating me like some kind of common tart and I’m not. They have no right, no right to say such dreadful things about me!’ She was getting more and more animated by the second and Nina knew that they had to try and calm her down, after all, you never knew who might be watching or listening outside the door for that matter.
‘Shh, shh, I know, I know, it’s all very unfair,’ Nina soothed but Trish was too busy listening to the fresh, straight from the horse’s mouth gossip that was coming out of Ruth to worry about calming her.
‘It’s just so hard, I mean, I’m a public figure, a celebrity for Chrissakes, I deserve to be treated with some sort of respect.’
Ah, so there’s the diva, Nina thought. She grabbed her purse and fished out a tissue. ‘Look Ruth, this will all blow over in the next few days. I’m sure Britney Spears or Paris Hilton will do something outrageous soon and this will all be forgotten about in no time,’ she said encouragingly.
‘Yeah, after all, no one pays much attention to what happens in Ireland,’ Trish offered.
Ruth looked at the two women and Nina could see she was somewhat torn about the idea of being old news, and the fact that for the summer she would be geographically somewhere that no one paid attention to. She wondered then if Ruth actually got a kick out of being in the lion’s den that was Hollywood with paparazzi following her everywhere. She was reminded briefly of her earlier thoughts about that drama following Ruth everywhere, and now she wondered if the woman didn’t actually feed off it, as opposed to actively try and avoid it.
Ruth sniffled into the hanky. ‘Thank you for being so nice to me,’ she said, looking at Nina.
‘Not a problem,’ she replied with a smile.
‘Yeah, not a problem,’ Trish added, completely oblivious that she’d caused much of the strife in the first place. ‘I heard you were staying on here for the summer, is that true?’
Ruth nodded. ‘That’s the plan anyway. Shooting doesn’t start back till October, so I’ve got a bit of time on my hands.’
Nina guessed that the notion of spending the summer in Lakeview basking in the glory of her Hollywood success had sounded a lot better in theory. Instead the poor thing had been thrown to the wolves.
‘Do you think you’re OK to go back out there?’ she asked.
‘I guess so.’ Ruth took a deep breath and Nina helped her up from the stool she was sitting on. ‘Trish, why don’t you pop out and make sure the coast is clear.’
‘Of course.’ Trish did as she was bid, leaving Nina and Ruth in the closet.
‘Does my makeup look all right?’ Ruth asked self-consciously.
‘Absolutely – you look amazing.’
Ruth stared blankly at the door ahead of her and Nina wondered what she was thinking. Yes, she was beautiful, and had been blessed with fame and fortune, but was she really happy? She wondered when was the last time the girl had the opportunity to go out and be herself or behave like a normal person. LA was renowned for being fake and cutthroat, and from what she could tell Ruth had fought for a very long time for her success. She couldn’t be sure but she got the impression that Ruth wasn’t particularly used to people being nice to her, and was genuinely grateful and hugely surprised by the intervention.