by Pamela Bauer
Nick continued to stare at Kika in disbelief. She was carrying on as if she had just offered him the chance of a lifetime. Again, he found himself at a loss for words.
“All you have to do, Mr. Miller, is bring Melody to Minneapolis for an audition. We can make it whenever it’s convenient for you. Of course, the sooner the better.” She flashed him another of her dazzling smiles, and Nick felt a surge of adrenaline.
“So what do you say? What date would be good for you to bring Melody for a screen test?” She flung open an appointment book and looked at it thoughtfully. “Next week is the Fourth of July, which means it’ll be hard to get a crew together.” She flipped another page and wrinkled her nose. “Is there any possibility you could come to Minneapolis the following week?” She looked at him hopefully.
“No.”
“What about the second week then?”
“No.”
“The third?”
“No. You can close your appointment book, Ms. Mancini. I’m not bringing my daughter to any audition,” he stated firmly.
The sparkle in her eyes disappeared. “If you’d like some time to think this over, I understand, Mr. Miller.”
“I don’t need any time.”
Her lips tightened as she searched for the right words. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any child.”
“Melody isn’t ‘any’ child, Ms. Mancini. She’s my daughter and I don’t want her innocence exploited.”
Kika rushed to the defense. “I understand your concerns. You wouldn’t be a good parent if you didn’t question the circumstances. But I can assure you that there are very strict child-labor laws that protect children. The welfare of the child is always the primary concern in situations like this. Melody would be treated with exceptionally good care,” she said with a sincerity that would have sold almost any man. But Nick Miller was not any man.
“She’s not going to be part of any TV commercial,” he declared unemotionally.
He could see by the gleam in Kika’s eye that she was not about to give up. “Mr. Miller, do you realize that thousands, no probably hundreds of thousands of parents would love to have an opportunity like this for their child?”
“Then you shouldn’t have any problem finding Fancy’s Baby, should you?” he retorted.
While they had been talking, Melody had lifted her head from her father’s shoulder and was staring at Kika. In fact, the normally shy toddler was rather enchanted by the woman with the animated facial expressions and hand gestures.
Kika closed her datebook and looked him squarely in the eyes. “Maybe before you make any decisions you should talk it over with your wife. If you like, I’d be happy to speak to her, answer any questions she has.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’m a single parent, Ms. Mancini,” he said soberly. “I make all of the decisions regarding Melody.”
“I see.” She regarded him pensively, then said, “Mr. Miller, may I ask what you do for a living?”
“I’m a mechanical engineer,” he answered.
One eyebrow lifted delicately. “I see. Then you’ve had no experience with AFTRA, the actors’ union.”
“No, nor do I intend to,” he assured her.
At that point Angela came over carrying a tray of fruit cups. “You will stay and have snack time with us, won’t you, Kika?”
“Actually, I should be going so that I can catch my plane back to Minneapolis.” She closed her briefcase with a snap and slung her purse strap over her shoulder.
To Nick’s dismay, Melody watched in fascination.
“You are such a cutie,” Kika said to the toddler, reaching out to touch her cheek tenderly.
Nick expected his daughter to shy away in fright, but to his surprise, she smiled at the casting director.
“I hope you’ll think about what I said, Mr. Miller.” She batted her long lashes in a soft plea that Nick assumed she often used to get her own way. He mentally shook his head. People in the entertainment industry would do anything to get ahead.
“Melody is not for sale,” he told her, ignoring the temptation to respond to that plea.
She sighed. “This isn’t a question of selling your daughter. It’s an investment for her future.” She extended her hand to Nick. “You have my card. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions at all.”
Reluctantly, he shook her hand and felt her warmth penetrate his skin. He liked the feel of her hand in his. As she walked toward the exit, he decided it wasn’t the only thing he liked about Kika Mancini.
Nick watched as she exchanged words with Angela before leaving. He had a feeling she’d be back. She had that look of determination in her eye.
Part of him wasn’t sorry.
* * *
“I’M GOING TO DO a talent search in Tyler, Wisconsin.” Kika told her aunt Lucy the following morning.
At forty-six, Lucia Vescio looked young enough to be mistaken for Kika’s sister. She had the same golden-blond hair, only Lucy tamed hers with a scarf, pulling it straight back and securing it at her neck. As a modeling agent, she had launched the careers of many young men and women, earning the respect of her peers. To Kika, she was like a second mother, someone her niece could turn to whenever she needed sound advice.
“You really think that you’ll be able to find the Fancy baby in a small town of ten thousand?” Lucy asked as she perched on the corner of Kika’s desk.
“I have a hunch on this one,” Kika replied, tossing a wad of paper into the wastebasket.
“Then you’d better do it. Your hunches are usually right on. So when is all this going to happen?”
“I’m going to set it up for the second week in July. I thought I’d spend the Fourth in Tyler and get to know some of the people, see what I can find out about the babies in the area.” She leaned back in her chair reflectively. “You know, I should have thought of this sooner. What better place to find a fresh face than in a small town?”
Lucy pinned her with her gaze. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right with this one? Yesterday you called to tell me you were having trouble with the whole project.”
“The trouble’s no different than I’ve had with every job that’s involved babies. Every time I see a little girl I can’t help but wonder what my own daughter would have looked like had she lived....” Her voice faded with emotion.
Lucy moved around the desk until she stood in front of her. “Kika, you have to let go of the past. How long are you going to punish yourself for this?”
“How long am I going to believe I deserve to be punished?”
Lucy took her niece’s hands in hers. “Listen to me. Babies die during labor even when mothers do everything right. That’s a fact of life.”
“Maybe I didn’t do everything right.”
“You don’t believe all that junk about Sophie Carzone losing her baby because it was illegitimate? Kika, God doesn’t punish anyone for conceiving a child outside of marriage.”
“You’re right,” she stated smoothly.
“Yes, I am, and you’re a smart woman. You know better than to believe the old wives’ tales of your grandmother’s cronies.”
Intellectually, Kika did. So why did that tiny kernel of guilt refuse to disappear? “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does if it interferes with your work. Would you like me to come with you to Tyler?”
She shook her head. “You have too much work to do. Besides, I think I can take care of everything in a week.”
“You’re convinced you can find Fancy’s Baby in Tyler?”
“I’m hoping I already have.” Kika told her aunt about Melody Miller and her father’s lack of interest in the project.
“You think you can change his mind?”
“I think it’s worth a shot.” As she talked about her work, the sadness disappeared from her eyes, replaced by an enthusiasm that brought color back to her cheeks.
“We’ll distribute flyers, run an ad in the newspaper—the Ty
ler Citizen—and do some radio spots. We need to get the word out that we’re coming to town to find a baby.”
“This is going to cost a few extra bucks. I’m surprised Fancy went along with it.”
“He’s the one demanding we get a toddler who looks like the little girl next door. What better place to look than in small-town America?”
“I think it’s a great idea. I’m just worried about you. Being so far away from home and around all those babies.”
The concern in her aunt’s eyes touched Kika deeply. “I have a good feeling on this one.”
“Well, I want you to know you can call me if you need me.”
Kika give her a hug. “Thanks.”
Later that evening, Kika sat with notepad in hand, watching the Video Playmates series. However, very few words appeared on the paper, for she kept playing one segment of the tape over and over—the part where Nick Miller appeared.
“So he’s not an actor, after all,” she mumbled to herself. “Nor is he married. But there is still the problem of the handcuffs.”
* * *
“WE BROUGHT FOOD.”
Nick looked up from the pile of boxes to find his sister-in-law, Cece Baron, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a pan of brownies in her hands. Standing beside her were her three-year-old twins, Annie and Belle. One held a package of hot dog buns, the other a stack of paper plates. Cece’s husband, Jeff, carried a small cooler.
“It looks like you could use a couple of extra hands,” Jeff commented as he stepped around boxes to get near the table.
“This is the stuff my mother called odds and ends,” Nick explained. “She said she’d pack it up for us and send it on ahead. I thought with all the furniture being sold, there’d be hardly anything left. I was wrong.”
“Speaking of mothers, where’s mine?” Cece asked, setting the brownies on the counter. “I thought she was going to help.”
“She’s still packing up the stuff the kids left at her house, then she’ll be over,” Nick told her.
Cece took the paper plates and hot dog buns from her daughters’ hands and set them beside the brownies. “Where is everyone?”
“Melody’s still napping,” Nick answered. “Zach and Patrick are out in the backyard scoping out where they want to build a tree house.”
“Maybe I should take Annie and Belle out to see how they’re doing,” Jeff suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Cece agreed. “That way I can help Nick in here.”
Jeff sandwiched himself between the two little girls and led them to the back door. While Cece transferred food from the cooler to the refrigerator, Nick attempted to clear the clutter from the kitchen table.
“It’s a bit of a mess in here. I’m not sure about dinner...” he said apologetically.
“Don’t worry.” She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “We’ll eat outside. Everything’s already made except for the hot dogs, and Jeff can put them on the grill.” She lifted a corner of the curtain covering the window. “Oh, good. You have a picnic table.”
“I guess completely furnished means completely furnished,” Nick commented, moving one of the cardboard boxes onto the floor so that Cece could have space to work on the counter. “I’m not sure what’s inside the cupboards or what I need to unpack from these boxes.”
“Here. Let me check it out and see what you have,” She opened cupboards and drawers at random. Before she had finished her inventory, Annabelle appeared.
“You’re never going to guess what I heard,” the older woman said anxiously.
“Mom always gets the latest town gossip because she works at the post office,” Cece told Nick.
“I didn’t hear this at work,” Annabelle interjected. “I ran into Gina Santori at Marge’s Diner, and she’s the one who told me.”
“Told you what, Mother?” Cece faced her with her hands on her hips.
“That some big Hollywood agent is in town looking for a baby to star in a TV commercial.”
Nick, who had been shoving pots and pans into a cupboard, nearly bumped his head as he jerked upright. “What Hollywood agent?” he asked.
“Her name is Kika Mancini, and she’s staying at the lodge,” Annabelle announced with authority.
A picture of one shapely blonde with a beguiling look in her eyes formed in Nick’s mind.
“Apparently she was here last week and stayed at Granny Rose’s Bed-and-Breakfast. That’s how Gina heard about it.”
“Why would she come to Tyler to look for a baby?” Cece wondered aloud. Nick knew the answer, but didn’t volunteer any information. Personally, he didn’t want to think about Kika Mancini.
“According to Gina, she saw one of Glenna’s videos and was impressed with the babies in them,” Annabelle explained. “Dolores says she has to type up a notice for the paper tomorrow giving all the details.” Dolores Larson was a good friend of Annabelle’s, who worked at the Tyler Citizen.
Nick shifted uneasily. “She’s wasting her time.”
“Why is Dolores wasting her time?” Annabelle asked in a puzzled voice.
“I’m not talking about Dolores, Annabelle.” Nick controlled his impatience. “I’m talking about the casting agent.”
“What makes you say that?” Cece inquired.
Nick shrugged. “Look at the size of Tyler. I can’t imagine that she’d find a star here.”
“Better not say that around the mothers of Tyler!” Annabelle exclaimed. “We may not be Los Angeles, California, but there are some mighty fine-looking babies in this little town.”
Nick could see that he had offended his mother-in-law and quickly attempted to make amends. “Of course there are. It has nothing to do with the children of Tyler. It’s the parents. I don’t think people around these parts are gullible enough to fall for some casting agent telling them she can make their children stars.”
“How old a child is she looking for?” Cece asked.
“They’re going to audition girls between eighteen and twenty-four months,” Annabelle answered.
“That excludes the twins,” Cece said with a bit of disappointment. “Melody could try out, though,” she suggested to Nick. “She’s darling.”
“Maybe, but modeling is not something I want to encourage.”
“Doing one baby commercial is not exactly modeling,” Cece responded.
“The thought of a baby working...” He shook his head in disapproval.
“I’m not sure it’s actually work,” Cece continued. “There are child-labor laws to protect the rights of children. They can only be on camera a short time each day. That’s why they use twins so often when they’re filming TV shows.”
“Still, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Nick grimaced. “Children are forced to grow up much too fast nowadays. Exposing them to the glitter of a world populated with phony people only speeds up the process. I wouldn’t want any of my kids subjected to such a life-style.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Annabelle patted him on the back. “Melody has too gentle a spirit to be in with those Hollywood types.”
“Hollywood types? Mother, they’re looking for a baby for a commercial, not the movies,” Cece said patiently.
“I know, but Evelyn Palmer told me that when her niece’s daughter got involved in child modeling, she had nothing but trouble. The girl started having problems at school and none of her friends would play with her after that. She got tagged as being stuck-up.”
“I don’t think that would be a problem for Melody. She’s only a baby,” Cece argued.
“It’s no kind of life for a child of any age. All that makeup and those lights...” Annabelle frowned. “I think Nick’s right. The folks of Tyler know better than to get their kids into such an unsavory business.”
“None of the parents at TylerTots objected to Glenna making the videos,” Cece said reasonably.
“But that’s different. Glenna treats them with loving care and there isn’t anything artificial about
what she’s doing,” Annabelle insisted.
“I’m not so sure I see the difference,” Cece admitted.
“Of course there’s a difference,” her mother exclaimed.
“It really doesn’t matter, does it?” Nick asked a bit impatiently. “Whatever this Mancini woman is doing in Tyler, it’s not going to affect any of us.”
“But it will affect someone—that’s the point. Anyone who has a little girl is thinking this might be the answer to a prayer,” Annabelle contended. “People who normally wouldn’t be interested in putting their kids in show business might do so out of desperation.”
“You mean because of the fire at the F and M?” Nick inquired.
“There are quite a few families who have been out of work.”
“It’ll probably be a nine days’ wonder and blow over,” Cece predicted.
“I hope you’re right,” her mother replied, then stuck her head out the window and ordered Jeff to start the grill so they could get the hot dogs cooking.
But long after the subject was dismissed, Nick found himself thinking about the blond casting director. It had been a long time since any woman had caused such a strong and immediate physical reaction in him. It made him wonder if maybe he should start dating again.
Of course, he knew that if and when he ever became interested in another woman, it would be someone quiet and gentle like Beth, not a fast talker like Kika Mancini.
* * *
KIKA WAS NOT ONE to accept no for an answer. Just because Nick Miller had told her he wasn’t interested in having Melody audition to become Fancy’s Baby didn’t mean it wasn’t going to happen. All Kika needed to do was convince him of the wonderful opportunity this was for his daughter.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy. Kika would have to be persuasive, yet cautiously so. Although he appeared to be rather reserved, she knew that beneath that cool exterior lurked a man who carried handcuffs and a blindfold in his suitcase when he traveled.
Thanks to Susannah Santori, she had learned that Nick had rented the old Watson place on Elm Street near the edge of town. As soon as she had finished posting announcements of the audition in all the local establishments around town, she paid him a visit.