Chapter Five

Meetings, meetings, meetings... boring, boring, boring! Do you think published writers go to as many meetings as us normal middle management types? I'm not sure, but I'd be willing to find out! So, finally, I got to do some more writing last night. Not on Hollywood Dreams. That's been finished for a while. I wrote a bit of my new story. It was hard since Wednesday nights are the only weeknight that the whole family is actually at home, which means it can be more than a little chaotic. I'm proud of myself, though. I managed to focus (a little) and write. I'm looking forward to tonight. Only one of the three kids is at home, and she is no trouble at all. Yeah!! Peace and quiet!

Oh, good news! I have a fourth follower. Since I'm at work, I can't see the followers list, but (keep your fingers crossed) I hope it's some random person who just has the immense good sense to love my writing!! Smile I'll let you know tomorrow. Whoever you are, welcome. I'm so happy to have you. When I'm rich and famous, my first followers will NEVER have to stand in line overnight to get a wristband to attend one of my readings. Front row and signed, personalized copies of my books for you all. I promise!

I actually made my husband do that once - standing in line to get a wristband. It was to Stephenie Meyer, so it was so worth it. Coincidentally, that was the day I decided to start writing. That's another thing I'm going to do when I'm a rich and famous published writer. I'm going to meet Stephenie, and we'll become BFFs. For now, though, she isn't aware of our bright, shining future.

Here's what you have all been waiting for - Chapter 5! This chapter is one of the racier chapters, meaning there is some kissing/making out. Now, remember Kate is in the summer between her junior and senior year of high school. It's hard to remember that long ago, but I'm pretty sure I did that at that age. As my Mom is one of my followers, I refuse to say any more than that. Unfortunately, I have a 15 year old of my own which is way too close to Kate's age, so everything I write as far as kissing is concerned stays pretty PG. I just get weirded out if it gets too hot.

Chapter 5

The sun glinted off the blue water as it trickled down the rocks set across the back of the pool. The soft sounds of the water soothed me while I let the sun slowly seep into my tired muscles and contemplated sinking into the pool’s cool depths………
Ha! As if! The only “pool” in my backyard was the birdbath Mom placed on the side of our covered porch last year, and the only thing sinking into its blue “depths” was the occasional crow. There were no pools in a Minnesota backyard. Texas, apparently, was a different matter altogether. Mom assured me we’d have a pool in Houston – yet another positive added to my growing list of reasons I to be excited about my summer vacation.
I’d yet to figure out how to break the news to the two people on the negatives side of my list. Things had gone so horribly with Dad. I was determined to do a better job telling Erik and Melanie about my plans.
Mom and I were still reeling from the night before. We’d both said things to Dad that we shouldn’t have and there was no taking them back. The fact that our angry words were true didn’t make us feel any better. Mom escaped to Chic early in the morning to nurse her wounds and begin preparing the store for her departure. I was left alone with the task of figuring out how to deal with two of the most important people in my life.
Somehow, although Erik, Melanie, John, and I had sat on my back porch most of the afternoon, I couldn’t figure out how to begin. Every time I opened my mouth to say the words, they got stuck.
“Do you want a hotdog or hamburger, Kate?” Erik asked as he deftly flipped a thick hamburger onto an already overflowing plate.
“What??” Erik’s words startled me out of my daze. I’d been drifting off into my own world all day, losing track of space and time until someone or something would bring me abruptly back to the present. I could tell Erik and Melanie were getting suspicious.
“Food, Kate. What do you want?”
“Oh, a hotdog I guess.” Not that I would be able to eat. Even though I’d transitioned from devastated to marginally excited, the prospect of leaving my friends, still caused me physical pain. I kept reminding myself it was only three months, but that didn’t help much. They’d be so upset. We’d never been apart for more than a week before. Three months would seem like an eternity.
“Kate! I swear if you don’t tell us what’s wrong, I’m going to go crazy.” Erik was standing in front of me holding out my hotdog. His face showed confusion at my distracted behavior.
Shoot! I must have drifted off again. I obviously wasn’t any good at keeping secrets.
“I………,” I tried once again to tell them. The words got stuck in the back of my throat just as they had each of the hundred times I’d tried to speak them today.
“What?!?! Are you sick? Did you rob the mini-mart? Did you kill Mr. Pearson and bury him in your Dad’s soybean field? What?!?!” Erik’s tone was joking, but his face was serious. I opened my mouth to speak as Erik set the hotdog on the ground and wedged in beside me, completely filling the remainder of the space available in the large outdoor chair.
“I….. I love all you guys. This is just so hard.” I reached out to grab Erik’s hand with one of mine and Melanie’s hand with the other. My eyes filled with tears as I struggled to continue, “I’m leaving. Mom’s agreed to do a sequel to one of her old movies. She’s going to act again.”
Melanie gasped, putting her free hand to her mouth partially muffling the loud noise. Erik didn’t move. He looked unsure of how to respond. People just didn’t leave Mapleton.
“Leaving?!? What are you talking about, Kate?” Melanie was the first to speak.
“Only for three months. I’m spending the summer with Mom on location in Texas. I’ll be back before school.” Darn. My nerves were causing me to mess it up. Pulling my hand away from Melanie, I moved to fully sit on Erik’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Erik. I’ll be back. It’s just the summer.” I leaned in to kiss him. Only with persistence did I finally feel his lips start to move under mine and his arms wind around my back. When I heard the screen door squeaking shut behind me, I knew Melanie and John had moved inside to give us privacy.
I slightly shifted, lifting my lips from his enough so I could talk. Our bodies remained touching, forehead to forehead, chest to chest, and arms to arms. “Erik, I love you. No amount of distance or time will change that.”
This time he kissed me. Where my kiss was soothing and persuasive, his was intense and passionate. His arms, originally stationary around my waist started to drift slowly up and down my torso. Of its own regard my dazzled body shifted to straddle Erik’s waist, winding my legs around him as he shifted forward in the chair and his mouth began to pay loving attention to the side of my neck. I impatiently pushed my hips into his as he grasped my bottom, intensifying the result of my unconscious attempts at intimacy. The feel of his mouth moving from my neck to my collarbone brought me swiftly back to earth.
“Erik, stop. Not now. Not here on my back porch.” I moved to unwind my legs from around his waist and put some needed distance between us. My body practically hummed from the pleasure of Erik’s touch. It took all my willpower to resist the instinct to fall back into his embrace.
“Why not, Kate? I love you, and you’re leaving me. I need you now.” Erik’s arms pulled me forward again, his face imploring me to agree to his demands. Rather than answer, I stood up, breaking his hold, and walked to the other side of the porch.
“Stop it Erik. I’m leaving for the summer. I’m not leaving you.” My eyes urged him to understand.
“You’re leaving, Kate. I can feel it.” Erik’s handsome face was filled with uncommon vulnerability.
“I’ll call and text. I’ll email every hour. I’ll send you pictures. It’ll be like I’m not even gone.” I walked back to him, bending over to grasp his hands.
His face was dubious, but he allowed himself to be calmed by the soft kiss I placed on his lips. “Do you promise, Kate?”
“I promise. I love you. I’m not going to forget just because I’m in a different state.” I kissed him once again, allowing myself to be drawn onto his lap a second time. This time he held me chastely, and as the sun started to sink, Erik continued holding me as if he never intended to let me go.
Surprisingly enough, Melanie seemed to take my revised summer vacation plans in stride. She chose to focus on the positives (I made sure to share my list!!) rather than the fact that we wouldn’t be spending the summer together. As she put it, how often did your best friend get to spend the summer on the set of a major motion picture? Maybe some of the glory would rub off!!
Over the course of the following week, while Mom readied our lives for our change in location, I spent every moment with Erik and Melanie. It was as if they were both determined to shove an entire summer into a single week. It was fun, if a bit exhausting. By the end of the week, though, I found myself almost looking forward to some rest and relaxation in sunny Houston.
“Kate. Finish packing up. The car’s going to be here any minute,” Mom called to me from the living room where she was lining up her numerous suitcases by the front door. The studio had arranged for a car to pick us up. A limousine. It would take us directly to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport where we would be escorted as VIPs into the first class section of a direct flight to Houston. Limousine! VIP! First Class! I could already feel my life changing.
I shoved a final pair of jeans and my favorite picture of Erik into my overflowing suitcase and zipped it close. This was it. I was ready.
“Coming, Mom.” I yelled back and, yanking the suitcase off my bed with a thud, headed to the living room. The enticing aroma of coffee altered my direction as I passed the kitchen doorway. It was 6 AM, and I was definitely not a morning person. Coffee was a must. The doorbell rang as I was pouring the strong, black brew into my favorite travel mug.
I had said my goodbyes to Erik and Melanie the night before. Melanie tried to put on a positive face, but I could tell, despite her almost casual acceptance of my departure, the reality of my leaving was difficult to take. She said her final goodbye early in the evening, leaving the rest of the night to Erik and me.
Saying goodbye to Erik was much harder than saying goodbye Melanie. Erik, unlike Melanie, had never fully accepted my news. So, although he tried to be supportive, the final smile he gave me when I turned to walk into my house, way past my normal curfew, didn’t reach his eyes.
“Mom, the car’s here,” I called as I headed to the door. Mom had returned to the back of the house for a final suitcase, a total of eight for her. Comparatively, my two smaller suitcases looked inconsequential. Hey, she promised new clothes, right?
I opened the door and turned to point toward the mountain of luggage, “All of these are going, and one more is on its way.”
“Hello, Kate,” Dad said tentatively. He didn’t move to hug or kiss me.
“Dad!” A mix of emotions hit me hard. We hadn’t spoken since the disastrous night at the farmhouse. I had been certain he was going to let me leave without saying goodbye.
“Katie Bears, I’m so sorry,” Dad whispered, reverting to his baby name for me. I watched as his eyes clouded with tears.
“I love you Daddy. I’m sorry too.” I reached out to wrap my arms around his waist, and he gathered me into a tight embrace. How could I not be sorry? He’d hurt me, but the tears in my big, strong Dad’s eyes showed me how much I’d hurt him too.
“I didn’t mean it, Kate. I trust you. You’ll make me proud.” He laid his cheek on top of my head. “I’m just scared of losing my little girl.”
“I know. I’ll miss you so much.” I could hear the comforting thump of his heartbeat as he held me close.
The sound of the approaching limousine intruded on our embrace. The slam of the driver’s side door echoed through the still country air as I pulled away and turned back towards the suitcases. Mom stood next to them, her eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you, David,” she said softly as she reached out to pull Dad into a hug of her own.
“You keep my girl safe, Bridgette. Please. I know you’ll do great. Hollywood has always welcomed you.”
Placing a single kiss on the top of Mom’s head, Dad turned to me for a final embrace before turning to walk down the sidewalk towards his truck.As I watched the quiet streets of Mapleton pass by the darkened windows of the limousine, I could feel the grasp of the small town loosening its hold. It was as if the world knew I had left my small little farm town and was eager to claim me for its own. Images of Dad and Erik and Melanie passed through my head. I would hold onto them with all my strength. The draw and allure of Hollywood magic – even if it was transplanted to Houston, Texas - might be strong, but I would remember that Mapleton was where I belonged. If I forgot, I might just forget who I was. And that was a risk I wouldn’t take.

© 2008-2009 Elizabeth Johnson