Virtually Mine: a love story (12 page)

Kate couldn’t help marveling to herself
that, apparently, this was Dustin’s definition of urgent. “So, what did they
say?”

“Thank you,” Dustin spat. “Don’t you hate
that?”

“Back home thank you means they
appreciate you.”

Dustin shook his head. “Yeah, well, it’s
the kiss of death here. Wissy barely spoke to me. She said she’s going to call
you, though.”

There was something almost amazing to
Kate that anything about this conversation had to do with her. “Wissy is
calling me? Why?”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Some other commercial
they’re casting Monday. She said you’re perfect. But trust me on this: whatever
she says about wardrobe, still wear a shirt.”

Kate nodded, covering how oddly this
struck her, let alone how surreal this entire conversation was beginning to
feel. “Dustin, why did you come over?”

Dustin crumpled his candy wrapper into a
little ball and put it on Kate’s desk. “I needed to talk to you. You wouldn’t
believe how bad my day was.”

Kate reeled, struggling to fathom what
she’d ever seen in Dustin.

“She’ll never call me in again,” he
pouted.

Kate cocked her head quizzically. “Oh, I
don’t know. She seemed fairly into you in class.”

“That was acting,” he corrected.
“Remember?”

Exasperated, Kate headed for the door.
“Dustin, I’ve gotta go.”

Dustin sat up, a look of shock on his
face. “What, you’re kicking me out? I’m having a crisis here.”

“Which you can feel free to have without
me.” Kate offered. “Stay, go, do what you have to do. I’ve just gotta... Bye.”
With that, Kate bolted out the door.

As Kate flew down the apartment
building’s stairs, she kicked herself for having stayed at all.
How long
would Brad wait for her?
She could only pray that she wasn’t too late.
 

Charlie was near the foot of the
apartment stairs, refilling the swimming pool with a hose. “Kate, hi. Where’re
you going?”

Kate picked up speed. “Where I should
have gone half an hour ago.”

Kate blasted by. Charlie whipped around
with the hose, dousing the walk with water. As Kate quickly sidestepped the
flood, Charlie dropped the hose, which, taking on a life of its own, curled up
and thrashed about, spraying water everywhere.

“Sorry!” Charlie called after her as she
disappeared into the garage.

It wasn’t so often that Kate stalled out
her old manual transmission, but this night, of all nights, was an exception. “
Come
on
...” Quickly Kate restarted the car and motored down Ocean Avenue toward
the pier. The sun had long since set and the bright lights of the Ferris Wheel
beckoned her. “
I’m coming, Brad! Please stay
...”

Kate thanked God when she found a parking
place. She knew most people thought the Almighty had better things to do than
to manage such conveniences, but she swerved into the lone open spot
gratefully, paid for it, and dashed down the pier.

Kate pressed through the meandering
crowd, searching for Brad’s now familiar face as she hastened toward the Ferris
Wheel. “
Please still be here
...” Kate hated herself for being late. It
wasn’t that she blamed Dustin for coming over as much as she blamed herself for
giving into him. She resolved that it would be the last time.

Finally, Kate skidded to a stop at the
ticket gate below the Ferris Wheel. She scanned the nearby crowd, searching
desperately. “Brad!
 
Brad...” Not seeing
him, Kate slumped in defeat.
How long had he waited for her?
Surely,
she’d missed him. Sadly, Kate turned to go

Suddenly, the ride’s attendant called out
to her. “Hey, are you Kate Valentine?”

Kate’s eyes brightened with hope. “Yeah,
yeah. That’s me. I’m Kate Valentine.”

“Some guy told me to give these to you.”
With that the attendant handed Kate a ticket for the ride and a fluffy white
polar bear with a
VM
heart logo on its chest.

Kate glanced around. “Did he leave...the
guy who gave you this?”

The attendant nodded. “He said to tell
you he had to go, but he hopes you have a good time.” With that, the attendant
opened the gate to the ride.

There was something dreamlike to Kate
about accepting Brad’s gifts and walking through the gate. It felt as if there
were much more to the steps she was taking than met the natural eye. Though she
walked through and boarded a Ferris Wheel car all by herself, somehow she
sensed that she was far from alone.

As the attendant started the ride, Kate
set the polar bear beside her and lowered the security bar. Then, just as the
Ferris Wheel began to turn, Kate’s cell phone rang.
Private Caller
flashed on her screen.

♥   
♥    ♥

Charlie pulled the brim of his cap low as he waited for Kate to answer her
phone. He watched, a safe distance away, obscured by the throng. He had set it
all up with the attendant on his way home. He’d raced back over to be with
Kate, unnoticed.

“Hello?”
Kate answered.

Charlie
couldn’t help but melt at the sound of her voice. It had a musical lilt to it,
just like his mom’s used to have.

Taking
on Brad’s persona, Charlie answered. “
Hey, there Katie-girl. I’m so glad you
came.” Charlie watched as Kate glanced around below, confident that with
hundreds of people milling around the pier, she’d never pick him out.

“Brad, where are you?”

Below, Charlie hung back as he watched
Kate’s ascent on the Ferris Wheel. “Closer than you think, Darlin’. I’m afraid
my boss was monitoring my IMs with you this afternoon. She said if I met you in
person she’d have to let me go.”

“Oh, no.”

Encouraged by Kate’s sympathetic tone,
Charlie continued as Brad. “That’s why I brought Bubba along to keep you
company. I warned him not to get fresh.” Charlie saw Kate as she looked over at
the polar bear, charmed.

“So far, he’s behaving himself very
well,” she replied.

Charlie breathed a bit easier. It was
working. “Anyhow, I figured this way we could at least be together without me
breaking any promises. Much as I want to be right there beside you, I have a
thing about bein’ true to my word.”

“And you’re really right here?” Kate
asked.

“Not a stone’s skip away. Close enough to
see how cute you look with your hair blowin’ in your eyes like that.”

Kate brushed her hair behind her ear.
“Thanks for staying. Sorry I was so late.”

“Don’t you worry ‘bout that a second,
Girl. You are so worth the wait.” Charlie craned to see as Kate’s car crested
the top of the Wheel, giving her a breathtaking view of the city lights.

“I always liked Ferris Wheels,” Kate
replied. “But it’s been forever, since the county fair back home. All these
months here and I’d never ridden this one.”

“Life just seems simpler up there,
doesn’t it? Lookin’ down on all those twinklin’ lights...”

“Yeah,” Kate agreed.

“I used to ride one whenever I’d had a
hard day. And I thought it might put a smile back on that pretty little face of
yours.” As Kate’s car started its descent, Charlie saw the smile that curled on
Kate’s lips. “There it is.”

Kate quickly covered her face, clearly
delighted. “You saw that?”

“I did,” Charlie answered. “Hey, you want
some kettle corn?” He watched as Kate’s mouth dropped open.

“How did you know? It’s, like, my biggest
weakness.”

Charlie glanced back down the pier as he
spoke into the phone. “Well, go on over to the stand when you get off ‘cause I
got you some waitin’.
 
Don’t forget
Bubba, now.”

“Oh, I won’t.”

When Charlie saw Kate put an affectionate
arm around Bubba, he just about passed out on the spot.

The fact that things were going so well
helped Charlie to work up his nerve. As himself he’d always been so skittish
around Kate, but as Brad he was finally able to say what had been on his heart
since the first time he’d laid eyes on her. “Speakin’ of weaknesses, you know
what my biggest weakness is gettin’ to be?”

Kate adjusted the phone at her ear.
“What?”

Charlie smiled softly, gazing across the
crowd to the loveliest girl he knew. “My biggest weakness... It’s you, Katie
Mae Valentine. It’s gettin’ to be you.”

nine

♥

E
very once in a while, M.J. happened upon
what could only be described as a stroke of genius, at least by her own
personal assessment. It was Saturday, which meant that the local animal
advocates would have any number of potential pets penned outside to show off to
passing pedestrians in the popular shopping district.

It
wasn’t that M.J. frequented the doggie rescue mission she’d seen set up on the
corner every weekend. What with her allergies, if anything she’d steered clear
of it. But it was situated right across the way from her favorite yogurt shop,
and something about the combination of non-fat Mango Splash and seeing all
those dogs frolicking behind temporary fences gave her an idea.

M.J.
spooned the fruity confection into her mouth as she scanned a diverse lot of
pups. The assortment was worlds apart from the purebreds and show dogs of the
doggie day care place the Westside elite frequented, the one where she’d
written scores of double-parking tickets, as the rich dropped off their
perfectly groomed pets to be pampered.

With
a blast from her inhaler, M.J. ventured closer to the pet adoption cages. It
wasn’t that these dogs weren’t cute in their own way, but the mix of mutts and
older breeds did look sorely in need of rescue.

For
a little while, M.J. watched as passersby gravitated to the best looking dogs
in the lot. That was the way it always went, M.J. thought. Feeling somewhere
between a mutt and a runt herself, M.J. sympathized. She’d lost count of the
number of times she’d been overlooked in favor of prettier girls. So, there was
something in her that understood why the homelier pups wagged their tails so
eagerly and ate up any affection they got all the more.

A
volunteer approached M.J. “
The Dalmatians make wonderful pets if you’re
looking for a bigger dog, but I just adore the little Sheltie mix. Don’t you
want to just eat her up?”

“Actually, I had breakfast,” M.J.
cracked. “How much are they?”

“They’re free to a good home.” The woman
scooped up the Sheltie before M.J. could stop her. “Shortie, here, will need to
be fixed soon.”

M.J. examined Shortie skeptically.
“Fixed? So, what’s wrong with him?”

The volunteer looked M.J. over with a
more than condescending smile. “You’ve never owned a dog, have you?”

♥   
♥    ♥

Locals trolled a yard sale just in front of Charlie’s building. When Kate had
knocked on Charlie’s door to ask for a hand setting it up, he’d been all too
happy to assist. He’d gone beyond simply carting her housewares, old clothes,
knickknacks, and furnishings down to the walk. He’d also stuck around to help
arrange things attractively for display. What Kate needed yard sale money for,
he didn’t know for sure, so he kept his ears peeled as he spread out her
belongings.

Charlie
winced with concern when he saw that Mrs. Teasdale had ventured out of her
apartment to inspect Kate’s brocade Victorian chair. For starters, he knew Mrs.
Teasdale was a bit of a packrat, and he couldn’t imagine where she’d find room
for it. He was also pretty sure that it wouldn’t be a week before one or the
other of her cats would claw the upholstery to shreds.

“I
don’t
know,” Mrs. Teasdale picked. “It’s got this little scratch on the leg.”

Clearly wanting to make the sale, Kate
returned a winning smile. “That’s from where I nicked it with my ice-skates
when I was seven.
 
Every imperfection
tells a story. They give it more character. Truth is, I kind of hate to give it
up.”

“Fifteen dollars,” Mrs. Teasdale
quibbled.

Kate pursed her lips congenially,
considering the offer. “I know it’s worth a hundred. I need at least forty.”

“Twenty or I’ll live with what I’ve got.”

Kate shot a weakening glance over to
Charlie. He could see her buckling under the pressure. Quickly, Charlie pulled
some bills out of his wallet. “Kate, just a... I’ll give you fifty.”

Mrs. Teasdale whirled about. “Charlie!
You know very well I spoke for it first.”

Kate turned appreciatively to Charlie.
“Really?
 
You’d want it?”

Charlie nodded as calmly as his pounding
heart would allow. “You can come over and sit on it any time you want, Mrs.
Teasdale. But you have a lot of chairs and I could really use this one. For
sitting purposes.”