Personal Assistant

by Cara North

  “Wait, are you saying you were never dating?” Frankie asked as she took a decent bite of the cake. It soothed her instantly.

  “Not really,” Ivy shrugged. “I mean Jonas is…was a bit of a…and I’m still a virgin. I mean we had to get naked on screen. Completely naked. I was so nervous. It was my first film like this and he’s, well, he’s him. So sure, I did fall a bit in puppy love with him, but he was easy to fall for. You know that.”

  “I’m still not sure I understand,” Frankie said. She sat the spoon down and rubbed her forehead. She leaned forward and asked, “You never had sex with him?”

  Ivy shook her head no and said, “Not in reality, no. I’ve never had sex with anyone. I don’t share that with a lot of people. I just thought he would have told you. I don’t like the role I’ve had to play in this town. I just know that I saw you here and I knew that you were here because I needed to tell you that I don’t like what my fans are saying about you. I don’t like what his fans are saying. I wanted you to know that I thought you are perfect for him. I was almost excited to see a familiar face when I saw you that night, but…”

  “You remembered I was friends with Shay and that she hated you, therefore I hated you.” Frankie groaned. If she only knew back then what she knew now.

  “I never really understood why she hated me. I auditioned for those parts, I spent hours…” Ivy waved her spoon and then decided to change the topic as she dug into the cake again, “I tried to be friends with everyone. I can’t do that anymore. I also can’t stop eating this cake!”

  Frankie had to laugh. She was a normal gal, a virgin for crying out loud, and talking to regular Ivy was easy. “I’m sorry I judged you back then. I didn’t know anything about your relationship with Jonas other than what I had read prior to coming to work for him. I was mad that you stood him up. Actually, I was mad that I enjoyed the fact you stood him up.”

  Ivy nodded. “I think it worked out for the best.”

  “I can’t disagree with you there.” Frankie looked at the woman sitting across from her. Ivy had fans, yes. She also had critics, mean people who had been ugly to her. People like Shay who had always been ugly to her. “So how do you deal with the critics? How do you deal with what these people say? I am putting on a brave face, but I have to say, some of it stings a little.”

  “I don’t have social media accounts for a reason. I have an assistant who manages the official feeds and he only posts work related news on them. I try to avoid the gossip rags, calculate where I go, pay attention to what I wear, and I am cautious about who I am seen with. Also,” she said with a bit of mischief in her smile, “I just keep my fingers crossed for another actress to mess up and then the attention fades a bit. My real fans look for my work and support me. Everyone else moves attention to other people. Unfortunately, right now that other person is you. Don’t worry, Frankie, if I can take it, you can take it. And we can both feel better knowing someone really spectacular is about to announce her divorce and reveal that she has been bumping uglies with her new co-star, her really young new co-star.”

  “Is it bad I feel relieved?” Frankie laughed a genuine laugh for the first time in days.

  “No,” Ivy smiled. “It can’t be. Sometimes I feel like I am waiting for that eye in the Lord of the Rings movie to turn and look at me. Right now, it is kinda winking from the peripheral vision since I am being mentioned with you. You are getting it full on, but soon, it will fall on someone else and who knows, maybe one day all of the snarky wicked comments won’t matter to us.”

  “Thick skin. I thought I had it. I was sure teaching had prepped me for criticism of any kind. Students can be pretty ugly when things do not go their way.” Frankie sighed. “I guess I was a little more vulnerable than I thought.”

  “It’s harder when they are picking at things you can’t control. Students knew in advance your class had requirements. We never know in advance that someone will love or hate your haircut, the dress you wore, the color of your toenail polish. Nothing prepares you for those jabs. Maybe mean older brothers? I don’t know. I’m an only child.” Ivy offered up a genuine smile before digging in her purse. She pulled out a pen and wrote her number on a piece of paper. “Here, I’m still old-school. I don’t have a smart phone. My assistant does, but I don’t want that much access to information. It’s dangerous. If you get bored or need more chocolate, call me. I uh…don’t really have a lot of real people to hang out with.”

  “Thanks,” Frankie said as she took the paper. “I will. And Ivy,” Frankie took a deep breath and continued, “Thank you for this. I know I didn’t deserve it.”

  “I knew you were her best friend.” Ivy shrugged as she stood up and situated her bag over her shoulder. She looked down at Frankie and said, “I wish I had a friend that loyal. I was envious of her. I still think she could be a big star if she would apply herself. People make it look easy, that’s part of the job. It isn’t.”

  No truer words had been spoken that day.

  ***

  “You’re sure?” Jonas looked at her sincerely.

  “Yes,” she insisted. If they were going to be together, she had to stop avoiding public places with him. Now that Ivy’s prediction of a major media fiasco had ensued, Frankie knew they might get some attention, but they might go unnoticed altogether.

  “Okay,” he nodded. Jonas opened the door for her and they headed to the car. “You’re driving.”

  “Of course I am.” She smiled at him. He had not pushed the issue for her to go out after the dinner. She still dropped him off at work most mornings and since that was at the crack of dawn, not many shutterbugs were anxious to camp out and get a picture of him getting out of a car.

  They began the drive to Santa Monica. Ivy had suggested Giorgio Baldi’s as a perfect little place to eat dinner. The California sun was setting, the heat of the day turned into a crisp evening air.

  “Where are we going?” Jonas asked as he looked out the window of the car. “I have to work tomorrow afternoon.”

  “It’s not even five o’clock,” she shook her head. “We have reservations, early reservations. I know where you have to be. I just thought this would be nice.”

  “Where are we going?’

  “Patience.”

  In his newly acquired accent he demanded, “Dammit woman, I insist on knowing!”

  She giggled.

  “Is it bad?” She knew he had been working with a dialect coach for a few weeks.

  “No,” Frankie shook her head. “In fact, it’s kinda sexy.”

  “Kinda? That’s reassuring.”

  “Well I’ve only heard one line so…”

  Jonas spent the rest of the trip talking in character. It was fun to play along with him. He got to practice the dialogue, the accent, and to settle into the mind of the character a bit more. As a method actor, the more time he spent in character, the better he seemed to feel about it.

  By the time they arrived for dinner, she wasn’t sure if she was eating with Jonas or Sir Theodore Hamilton of Airship “Maiden’s Rogue”. Either way, she was entertained and enchanted by him. He never failed to give her a look or touch that communicated with action what words would fail to convey adequately. Love, what is the word compared to the look in his eye when he feels it? She was reminded of that song When You Say Nothing At All by Alison Krauss. Her mother used to play it sometimes when she was extra happy in the morning.

  They were almost to the door when she had to say it, “Jonas, I want you to know that you make me the happiest person in the world.”

  She was sure it stunned him a moment, he was probably sorting through who should respond to her, and finally he said, “I try.”

  She knew he did. That’s what made him so special.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Several weeks later…

  The day had started off with a quickie. She felt a little off, but chalked it up to the fact it was three in the morning and she was pretty tired.

  Frankie ignor
ed the ache she was feeling as she dropped him off at the lot. They were testing out some new sets, wardrobe, props, and extras today and she wouldn’t see him until late if she saw him at all. In true fashion he had left his car there the night before and asked her to come pick him up. She knew he did it so he had extra time with her. Those rides gave them at least twenty more minutes of face time in an otherwise text-messaged day.

  She had time to go back to the house and take a nap before starting the day proper. She wondered if she was getting the flu or something. Her stomach cramped, her back ached. It wasn’t PMS. Her birth control allowed her almost exact calculation of those dates.

  Later…

  Frankie pulled into the emergency room parking lot and headed inside. Something was wrong. She signed in and asked the nurse, “Call my mom.”

  ***

  He had called nine times already. Something was wrong. Very wrong. The day seemed to drag on. When a piece of the set collapsed he immediately found his phone and started the hunt for Frankie all over again. His final voice message, "Where the fuck are you?" came as a furious shout followed by a temper induced slam of the phone to the ground. The screen shattered.

  Everyone in the craft services area had stopped to stare at him. "Fuck!"

  He groaned as he picked up the phone. He wanted to drop to his knees and cry because he felt so helpless. Something was wrong and he could do anything but wait for the news. His gut twisted, he felt sick. He heard footsteps approaching as he tried to make the shattered phone cooperate.

  "She's not answering the phone?" A feminine voice asked quietly.

  "I'm in no mood for sarcasm," he growled.

  He didn't look up at the woman until he heard her say, "Momma MacBeth, this is Shay. Do you know where Frankie is?" Then she said, "Oh my God."

  She had his undivided attention.

  "Yes ma'am. I'll be right there. Jonas will come with me." Shay looked at him and said, “Let’s go.”

  "Where?"

  "Hospital. She doesn't know what's going on yet,” Shay was leaving without thinking twice about it. “You coming?"

  He didn't want to go with this particular woman, but he had no choice in the matter if he wanted to see Frankie sooner rather than later. By the time he called around to track her down he could be there if he left with Shay. He walked after her and told a reliable Grip on the way out what to tell the director.

  "She is not going to like this," he said as he followed Shay to her car. The woman moved with a sense of purpose, and though he appreciated what appeared to be genuine concern, he couldn't let his guard down.

  "I know. I don't blame her. I...I've changed a lot in the past six months."

  He made a grunting sound as he got into the luxury SUV.

  They didn't speak for a while. Shay was not like Frankie when it came to driving. Frankie drove smoothly through traffic and was extra cautious. He was pretty sure Shay just clipped the bumper of the car in front of them as it was turning right. He decided to talk to her to keep his mind off the ride.

  "I thought they were only using agented actors for extras," he mumbled.

  "I have an agent," she said. “A new one actually, Harvey."

  "Liar," he snorted before he could hold the thought back. He did not like this woman because she had hurt Frankie. No matter how urgent she seemed to be to get to the hospital he would not think she really cared. “Harvey hasn’t taken on a new client in three years.”

  He watched her fingers open and close slowly and purposefully on the steering wheel. She took in a deep breath and he could have sworn he heard her say ten before she answered to his reply.

  "Harvey is my agent. I am not lying. You can call to verify it." She took in another breath. Let it out and continued, "I am not the same person I was six months ago. I am still a work in progress, but I am better for it. I know I hurt her. I know I don’t deserve her, but I can't help but hope one day it will be like it was, only better. Because this time I know. I know how much she means to me."

  Now he felt a bit awkward and jealous to tell the truth since he knew Frankie and Shay had an experimental moment in their past. He looked out the window. He was unsure of all the meaning behind the words.

  "I love her," Shay said.

  That was it. He’d had enough. "So do I. Look, I don't know what you think you are going to get from her but she is mine. And man or woman, when it comes to Frankie, I am putting up a fight to keep her."

  Shay laughed out loud. It unnerved him. She explained, "I'm not in love crazy. I love her. She is family. The sister I always had but was too stupid to realize what it meant. I was a shitty person for most of my life. I get that now. I'm dealing with it. I don't know. I just know that when we fell out in high school we would not talk for a while and then one day we would run into each other, have a good cry, and it was over. We were back to being besties. As we got older, I became more…wicked. Bitter. Jealous.”

  “I can’t really deal with this right now,” he admitted. He looked out the window and realized they were going to a local hospital. What it meant was that Frankie had not made the trip to Palm Springs as she had planned to do. She hadn’t made it out of the city. His gut clenched, lurched. He grew more anxious and irritated by the minute.

  Once inside the hospital they were met by Frankie’s mom.

  “Hi, honey,” she looked at Shay and opened her arms to her. Shay squeezed Frankie’s mom tight. When she let go the woman looked up at him with a scowl. She sighed and said, “You got here just in time. She just woke up. I’m going to do something I am having a hard time letting myself do. I’m going to let you go in to see my baby first.”

  He looked past her to the doctor in the doorway. “Sir, you can follow me.”

  “Jonas,” Mrs. MacBeth caught his arm as he passed. He looked down at the older version of Frankie and tried not to let his emotions get the best of him. She was sad, and hurt, and… “I’ll be right behind you, so just know that I am waiting as long as I can to get to her.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he nodded. He made quick steps towards the doctor and followed him down the hall. He asked, “What happened? Was she in an accident?”

  “I’ll explain it to you both if you’ll just step right in here,” he opened the door and closed it behind them.

  Frankie was in the bed. She was awake, a bit confused to see him, but her arms opened up nonetheless and he moved to embrace her. His heart thundered as the fear left him, replaced by relief. He stopped kissing her face long enough to pull back and look at her, “What happened?”

  She shook her head no.

  He turned to look at the doctor and asked, “Doc?”

  “Do I have permission to discuss this in front of him?” the Doc confirmed. Frankie nodded. “So he is the father. Okay. You should know that this just happens sometimes. It isn’t anyone’s fault. You should be able to try again starting next month. You don’t want to be intimate for at least two weeks…”

  Jonas was still processing the first sentence. “Wait…wait.”

  He held his hands up towards the man stopping him from his lecture.

  “Start over, and go slower. I don’t think I understood you.”

  “You are the father, right?” The doctor looked a bit nervous now. He looked past Jonas to Frankie. “Oh, I see. You didn’t know. I was called in after you were sedated. I apologize. You had a miscarriage. We performed a dilation and curettage, commonly referred to as a D and C.”

  If he wasn’t already sitting on the bed he would have fallen to the floor. He was feeling faint, his heart was breaking. Her grip loosened on his hand. He turned to see her eyes round in surprise. She didn’t know. He didn’t know.

  “This morning…” Jonas started.

  “No, no. Don’t do that to yourself. There is no evidence that physical activity, including sex, causes these things.” He said in a reassuring voice. “There is nothing wrong with you. Try to go home, get some rest. No sex for at least two weeks, okay? You can follow
up with your regular doctor then and if you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call. Take your time, call for the nurse when you are ready for the release paperwork.”

  He walked to the door and that was when Jonas realized the doctor had locked it. Frankie’s mother began giving him a piece of her mind in the hallway affording him another moment with Frankie alone.

  “Jonas…I,” she was bewildered, still dazed from the anesthesia, and he could see painfully clear she was nervous about his reaction.

  “Shhh,” he pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m devastated.”

  The next moment her mother was in the room. “Well? What happened?”

  “Can I talk to her alone?” Frankie asked. Her eyes were cloudy. He didn’t understand why she wanted him to leave, but he nodded, kissed her lips gently, and left them alone.

  Shay paced the waiting room. When he emerged, she asked, “Is she all right?”

  He wasn’t all right. How did he know if Frankie was all right? Feeling more like a zombie than a man he staggered to a seat and slowly lowered himself into it. Everything surrounding him was distant, foreign, he was out of sorts. He shook his head no.

  “Are you all right?” Shay propped her hand on her hip and tilted her head to look at him. He shook his head no.

  “She is alive?” Shay prodded. He shook his head yes. “She is awake?” Again he nodded. “Is she injured on the outside of her body?” He shook his head no. Shay sighed. She moved to sit next to him and asked. “Inside?”

  He looked at her. He didn’t nod or shake his head no. He just stared at her.

  “Who do you want me to call?” she asked.

  “I…I don’t know.”

  “I’ll call your momma, then. What’s the number?” Shay punched in the numbers as he said them. She handed him her phone.