The Heartbreak Cafe (38 page)

‘
He’s fine.’ Her tone changed unmistakeably at the mention of
her husband and Nina’s radar went up. ‘So were you able to finish
your errands?’ Jess went on, smoothly changing the
subject.

Nina
nodded and now it was her turn to feel uncomfortable about the
topic of conversation. ‘Pretty much.’

‘
So did you have a doctor’s appointment or
something?’

‘
Um no …I was just … shopping actually.’

‘
Really?’ Jess said and Nina realised the stupidity of this
excuse in that of course Jess would have noticed that she wasn’t
carrying any shopping bags.

Both
women were silent for a moment, until finally Nina sighed.
‘Actually I wasn’t shopping.’

‘
I kind of figured that,’ Jess said with a grin. ‘But look,
don’t mind me, I was only making conversation, not trying to pry
into your business or anything.’

‘
No, it’s fine, actually, it’s sort of the reason I phoned you.
I wouldn’t mind talking to somebody about this. I did have an
appointment but not with a doctor.’

‘
OK.’

Nina
sighed again. ‘You’re going to think I’m a horrible person but
honestly I don’t think I was thinking straight.’

‘
I doubt that,’ Jess snorted. ‘Goodness knows we’ve all done
regrettable things on the spur of the moment,’ she added
cryptically.

As she
began outlining her experience at the agency, Nina relaxed a
little, relieved to have someone to open up to about this. Maybe
that was partly the problem; she had been shouldering so much
lately, stress over the situation with Steve, guilt in keeping
secrets from her mother, and then what to do about it all that some
kind of mental distance might be exactly what she
needed.

She
recalled how relieved she’d felt after confiding to Jess her doubts
about the pregnancy a while back. She was such a good listener and
completely non-judgemental and from the sounds of it, seemed to be
having some personal problems of her own.

Jess
looked thoughtful. ‘So what’s bothering you the most is that if you
give the baby up, you’re worried that you’ll never see it again –
never be part of its life?’ she asked, when Nina had finished
telling all.

She
nodded. ‘That’s it in a nutshell.’

Jess took
a deep breath. ‘Well, I think I might just be the person to talk to
about that, but before we go any further…’ She looked at Nina, her
expression solemn, ‘Ihave a little something of my own to confide
...’

When Ruth
touched down at LAX she was mentally spent. She had been juggling
too many thoughts for too many hours and was eager to get off the
flight so she could focus on something else.

While she
was of course eager to get back to LA and find out from Erik and
the producers about all the wonderful things in store, there was
also something eating at her, an internal voice nagging that
perhaps she was making the wrong choice again.

Determined to silence that voice, she focused on other
things. Namely that she wouldn’t make the same mistake as last time
when arriving at Dublin airport. This time she had brought all the
essentials – plenty of makeup and a change of clothes, and most
importantly she hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in ages so there
would be no hangover. No, this time she would look perfectly
fabulous when she got off the flight.

Feeling a
stirring in her stomach, she put her hands on her bump. Imagine,
she thought, no doubt her son or daughter would some day see the
pictures of this very moment, Mom strolling triumphantly out of the
airport on her way to meet her agent to talk about a
career-changing movie role. She smiled and patted her belly,
feeling more movement from inside.

‘
Ouch,’ she said out loud, attracting looks from other
passengers. ‘Oops, I don’t think Junior likes flying,’ she
laughed.

Her
thoughts immediately went to Charlie. He would have loved to hear
about what just happened; what she’d just felt and she wished again
that she’d managed to persuade him to come with her.

‘
Ruth I have the dealership to run. I can’t just hop on a plane
and fly half-way across the world whenever it suits me,’ he’d
insisted.

But even
if he had been able to, Ruth suspected he wouldn’t have come. While
he’d (reluctantly) gone along with her decision to fly back and see
what was on the table, he would have been just as happy if she’d
ignored the offer and given up Hollywood altogether. But Charlie
hadn’t fought as hard as Ruth had; in fact Charlie didn’t really
understand having to fight for anything. He’d walked into a
ready-made family business and had nothing to prove to himself or
anyone else.

Whereas
Ruth felt she still did.

She got
off the plane and having collected her baggage, went through to the
arrivals area. Almost as soon as she appeared through the doors,
Chloe rushed forward to greet her.

‘
Oh my goodness, you’re huge!’

Ruth
grimaced, that was the last thing she needed to hear. ‘Thanks,
that’s awfully nice of you.’

‘
No, no, I mean it’s adorable! It’s not like you have double
chins or anything like some actresses when they’re knocked up.
That’s not what I meant.’ Ruth thought she spotted her assistant
give a brief eye roll before she looked away. It was strange
because Chloe was always so enthusiastic and complimentary towards
her. Or Ruth wondered, had she just wanted to see it like
that?

‘
Anyway, there are loads of press outside waiting for you and …
well, there’s another surprise too.’

‘
Oh. What kind of surprise?’ Ruth couldn’t help but picture
Peter Jackson waiting for her with a glass of champagne, ready to
whisk her away in his limo.

‘
Well he mentioned it to Erik, and he thought it would be great
for publicity, so we arranged to have Troy here for your reunion.’
She grinned as if this was the best idea ever.

Ruth
blanched. ‘What? Oh no!’

‘
But I thought you would like that?’ Chloe pouted as they
walked outside into the LA sunshine.

‘
No, I want absolutely nothing to do with Troy, and I certainly
don’t want to be photographed with him.’

‘
Uh, I think it might kinda be too late for that …’

Before
Ruth could react, Troy stepped forward and caught her in his arms,
completely blindsiding her. He must have been aiming for a dramatic
passionate reunion, purely for the benefit of the swarms of
photographers flashing away right behind him. Ruth went to push him
away and he moved expertly out of their embrace and ran his hand
over her stomach, before finally kneeling down to kiss
it.

What the
heck…? Ruth was still too shocked to say or do anything, before
Troy suddenly jumped up and grabbed her face, kissing her
passionately. The photographers ate it up and then in a final
flourish, he flung Ruth backwards holding her in his arms and
halfway to the floor, like some scene he’d stolen from a movie.
Come to think of it, the idiot probably had.

Finally
Ruth went from shocked to helpless to completely outraged. She
pried her mouth away from his and brought her hands to his chest,
pressing away from him. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
she hissed and he looked at her, surprised.

‘
I’m welcoming home the mother of my child of course. Babe,
what’s up? I thought you’d be happy to see me.’

Managing
finally to get some distance from him, Ruth straightened her
clothes. ‘Chloe, get me the hell out of here now. NOW.’ Her
assistant duly started pushing their way through the photographers
and Ruth hoped Troy would be swallowed up in the throng. But no,
apparently he was determined to play a role, and he took Ruth’s arm
gallantly leading her through. He then put the other arm across her
stomach, as if now protecting her from the greedy lenses of the
paparazzi.

No doubt
it made a good picture and Ruth knew that was all he was after –
press. Charlie’s words echoed in her brain. ‘Would they still want
you if you didn’t have a story?’ And she knew that the man who’d
rejected her so completely now only wanted her now because her star
was on the rise, and by association his would go even
higher.

As Chloe
and Troy rushed her into a waiting car, Ruth started to realise
that Charlie was right and this whole thing could very well be a
runaway train. When the doors closed and the limo pulled away from
the kerb, she rounded on Troy.

‘
What the hell are you doing here?’

‘
What babe? Come on – that was great! You know you loved it.
We’re gonna be on the cover of every magazine in the world! Our kid
is already famous and it’s not even done cooking.’

‘
How dare you! How dare you!’ Ruth raged. ‘My baby is not a
marketing opportunity for you. You wanted nothing to do with me a
few months ago and yet now because you’ve suddenly clicked it’ll
help raise your profile even higher, you’re all over us!’ Ruth
huffed and puffed, furious about what had just happened.

‘
Like you aren’t loving this,’ Troy sneered. ‘You’re just like
me, you want your name in lights too – fame, money, the whole lot –
I know you do. Don’t act like the Virgin Mary now babe, cause I
know better. If I remember correctly, the very night we made the
kid I had you howling at the top of your lungs. “We’re celebrities!
We can do whatever the hell we want!”’ he mimicked with a wolf-like
grin, and Ruth cringed. ‘You may not remember that sweetheart, but
I sure do.’

Through
new eyes, she studied the people she was travelling with – her
co-star, minders and so-called ‘protectors’. Chloe was sitting
directly across from her and possibly for the first time ever, Ruth
took a closer look at her appearance.

She was
bleached blonde and her skin was tanned to the point of resembling
shoe leather. Her breasts were surgically enhanced, larger than
they should be on such a tiny frame, and her gaze kept flipping
from her BlackBerry to the scene that was taking place between Troy
and Ruth. Ruth thought morosely that she was probably recording all
of it and would sell it to TMZ at the first opportunity.

Troy was
sitting next to her, looking unaccountably smug. She studied the
face she used to think was so handsome, but could see now just how
tired he looked, how worn and jaded. How many women had he been
with, she wondered? And how many had he used, or indeed
impregnated? Was she the first one that he’d decided to use as a
merchandising opportunity?

He kept
rubbing his nose, which looked red and irritated. He’d probably
been doing cocaine last night; or maybe even on the way to the
airport, Ruth thought disgustedly.

Looking
away, she stared out the blackened windows of the limo as they made
their way to the studio offices in Santa Monica. The city which had
always looked so vibrant and glossy to Ruth, today looked
smog-filled and grim. And instead of focusing on the
thirty-foot-high movie posters hanging on the buildings, her gaze
shifted to the wandering beggars on the streets beneath; some of
them even younger than she was. Just like her, they had come to
Hollywood searching for the dream but eventually found out that
they were as disposable as the coffee cups they picked up off the
ground.

She
looked away, wondering if returning to LA after all that time spent
in Lakeview was forcing her into some kind of epiphany. But no, she
wasn’t like those dreamers – never had been – she had a successful
TV career and was here today to talk about an incredible movie
offer. She would never have to pick empty cans and coffee cups off
the street – she, Ruth Seymour, had made it.

In Santa
Monica, the limo eventually came to a stop outside the studio
entrance and Ruth and her entourage stepped outside.

‘
Where do you think you’re going?’ she asked Troy, who was
making no move to leave.

‘
Erik is my agent too, babe. In fact, if I remember correctly,
didn’t I give you the recommendation?’

‘
So? I’m here for a private meeting with the studio people and
you’re not part of it.’

‘
But Ruth, you and me – we’re a team!’

‘
The hell we are,’ Ruth said, turning her back on him. As she
headed into the building she thought she heard Chloe mutter
something about waiting in the car. ‘What is it with him?’ she
commented to her assistant on the elevator up. ‘Ugh, talk about a
leech.’

The other
girl shrugged. ‘Well, you are shit-hot right now. Like I said,
people haven’t stopped calling since the whole Soldier’s Daughter
thing broke.’

Ruth
smiled, feeling undeniably smug that an A-lister like Troy
Valentine was now trying to get kudos from her. My, how the tables
had turned!

She
checked her appearance in the mirror, making sure that she looked
every inch the leading lady. Her hair was held back by her D&G
sunglasses and the silk Matthew Williamson maxi-dress she’d changed
into upon arrival looked suitably glamorous, but more importantly
she thought somewhat guiltily, was especially effective in hiding
her bump.

‘
Ruth … darling!’ Erik was all smiles and hugs when she entered
the boardroom. The studio suits hadn’t yet arrived; typically they
were taking the power-play to the max by making everyone wait. Ruth
didn’t care; if anything she welcomed the opportunity to talk to
her agent beforehand.