Along Came A Prince (20 page)

…Victoria visited
Dean in the hospital each day. As part of her ritual, she placed his hand on
her stomach, hoping he could feel her continued growth. “Feel the life, Darling,
and come back to it,” she pleaded, even though consultation with the doctors
offered no new hope.

Finally the
time came for Victoria to give birth. Later, when she was settled in her
hospital bed, she cried bittersweet tears as she snuggled with her sleeping
baby lovingly. If only Dean could see his new daughter.

Suddenly, a
nurse opened her door. “Someone wants to see you. Are you up to having
company?”

Victoria nodded.

The nurse guided
a wheelchair into the room. “This guy just woke up,” she said. A wide smile
covered her face. “He’s still kind of groggy, but he kept murmuring, ‘my
baby...my baby,’ so I thought I’d better bring him in to see her.” She wheeled
Dean closer to the mother and infant.

Victoria leaned
over and kissed him. She motioned to the nurse to give Dean the baby. The nurse
complied and supported the baby in Dean’s arms.

His face lit
up. “I love you,” he whispered to his baby and then Victoria.

“And tell me,
you two proud parents, have you decided on the baby’s name yet?”

“Her name is
Lily,” they both replied together.

The End.

♥♥

The following day at home, Stacia decided she’d practice meditating like
Josie had instructed her to do, and she’d just arrived at her serene spot next
to the waterfall at SwissDen when the phone rang, breaking into her focus. She
let her machine pick up, but when Helen’s voice came through, she answered
immediately.

“We haven’t talked for a while,” Helen began. “I know you’ve been busy
with the movie, and I’ve been busy with –” 

“Sam, right?” Stacia asked, unable to restrain from interrupting her
friend.

“You know?”

“Just what Hal
told me when he visited me on the set, and I asked about you.”

“I wanted to thank
you, Stacia, for bringing us together.”

“I don’t deserve the
credit. It was Clay’s idea.”

“But
you
thought of me. Neither Sam nor I were aware we had a void in our lives until we
began to see each other all the time. Now the hours we’re apart are empty and
lonely. I only wish things had turned out the same for you and Clay as well.”

“How is he?”

“He’s pretty much
in seclusion at SwissDen, according to Sam who calls him a couple times a week.
He’s not accepting any requests for his ice sculpture exhibits at the present
time.”

“I’m sorry to hear
that.”

“Why don’t you
call him, Stacia?”

“He’s the one who
made the decision to stop seeing me. It’s his place to call first.”

“Does it matter
who calls who if you’re both in love?”

“No, but...”
Stacia couldn’t think of one reason to back up her negative answer, so she
decided to change the subject. “What have you and Sam been doing?”

“We went to Clay’s
exhibit in Kentucky, and then went to New York to catch all the hit shows. I
hadn’t been to New York for years, so it was fun sight-seeing too. Sam travels
constantly, and I’ve stayed home forever, it seems. He says he enjoys
introducing me to the world, and he has been all around it. I feel as if I’ve
been in a mad whirlwind, and I’m ecstatically happy every moment we’re together.”

“It sounds as if
you two are getting serious. Is there a wedding in your near future?”

Helen laughed.
“According to Hal, he’s ready to give me away.”

“I know,” Stacia
agreed. “I had the same conversation with him.”

“Is there any
message you want me to deliver to Clay? Sam and I are going to London for a few
days, and then he’s taking me to SwissDen. He’s worried about Clay.”

“Clay will be fine
as long as he’s home,” Stacia said confidently. “SwissDen is another name for
Camelot, or Brigadoon or...paradise. You’ll see why when you go there.”

“A forever
paradise with your prince. That doesn’t sound too bad to me.”

“I wish it was
that simple,” Stacia said sadly.

“Isn’t it?” Helen
asked.

“On the surface,
maybe.”

“How’s the filming
coming?”

“Good, until
today. We were doing the car scene where Victoria and Dean make love for the
first time. I kept blowing my lines for some reason. This was the first time
I’d seen a close-up of Dean, or should I say Mark’s face, and being on a large
screen, it was big. Anyway, every time I looked into Mark’s eyes to say my
lines, I’d see Clay instead, and I’d start crying. Then makeup had to come,
etc. Finally, we did so many takes, Nathan said we’d shut down for the day. He
ordered me to go home and rest. Otherwise, I’d have missed your call.”

“And why do you
think you kept crying?”

“Because I miss
Clay, and I love him.”
And I know he’ll never get his second chance
.

“Perhaps the two
of you are both feeling the same way. My prescription for both of you is to
call each other and get together somehow, even if it’s just to talk.”

Stacia smiled.
“Okay, doctor. I’ll have to see what I can do about filling that prescription.”

“And so will I,”
Helen said softly.

“Have a fantastic
trip with Sam, especially at SwissDen. And tell the queen and the king hello
for me.”

“And Clay?”

“Yes, Helen. And
Clay too.”

♥♥

When
Stacia returned to work the next day, she was positive she was through crying.

Nathan
started the scene showing Dean’s car cruising down the road to his grand-mère’s
house after Victoria’s and his intimate dinner. A path came up in his
headlights, and he pulled onto it and shut off the motor.

Stacia
prepared to be photographed as a close-up of Mark’s face appeared on the
screen, except his face again turned into Clay’s. She started crying.

“Cut!”
Nathan yelled. He walked over to her. “What’s wrong, Stacia? Why can’t you get
through this scene?”

“I
can,” she said, smiling through her tears. “See? I didn’t cry so hard this
time. I’ll do it right next time. I promise.”

“Okay,
Stacia,” Nathan said quietly and then raised his voice. “Pick up the scene from
before with Mark Bennett’s close-up,” he instructed his crew.

Once
again Mark’s face appeared, and the screen became alive and real as Clay gazed
into Stacia’s eyes with tenderness and love.

“This
is bad timing, and I shouldn’t do this, but I can’t go another minute without
giving you one kiss.”

Stacia
closed her eyes as Clay gathered her in his arms.

“Forgive
me, Darling,”
he said as he began to kiss her.

She
kissed him back...a long caressing kiss, reminiscent of the one she and Clay
had shared at the London airport.

“Tell
me to stop, and I will,”
he said.

“I
never want to stop with you.”

He
kissed her again.

“Cut!”
Nathan’s voice commanded. “You did it perfectly that take, Stacia. Great job.”

She
opened her eyes. The movie screen was black. Mark was gone. Dean was too.

And
so was Clay.

♥♥

After completing
the love scene so successfully, Mark Bennett and Dean Fulton were replaced
permanently by Clay in Stacia’s mind. She didn’t know why Clay’s face started
to appear to her in every scene from that time on. Was it the actress in her
using experience to make her job more effective? Or did she miss Clay so much,
she was ready to accept an image of him when she couldn’t have the real man? Or
had she taken on Victoria’s life as her own, as she knew happened all the time
in the acting profession? At least, that way she’d be assured of a happy ending
in her life.

♥♥

Days later, after
executing this acting change, she arrived at the studio and found everyone on
the set whispering and talking among themselves. Her curiosity piqued, she
asked Nathan what was going on.

“You haven’t read
the newspaper or watched TV today, have you?”

“I didn’t have
time.”

“Well,
London
Affair
got some great unexpected publicity,” Nathan exclaimed, his
excitement echoing in each word he spoke. He shoved a newspaper under her nose.

The headline read,
MARK BENNETT’S JOURNAL FOUND...

Starlit Studios
announced today that Mark Bennett’s journal had been located several weeks ago
in their vaults. The studio claimed ownership of the journal after Bennett
died, saying he left no family. When the police officials closed their files on
the case, they agreed to turn the journal over to the studio.

Starlit Studios
also released the information that prominent Beverly Hills attorney, Linda
Montgomery, has purchased the journal on behalf of an anonymous buyer,
reportedly for millions of dollars.

When questioned,
Montgomery confirmed the purchase of the journal for an interested buyer. She
would divulge no further details.

What happened
after the release of the original London Affair in 1949 has always been
shrouded in secrecy. It seems the mystery still remains some sixty years later
while Nathan Sterling and Arthur Keyes are busy filming their remake of this
classic.

Stacia put the
newspaper down and walked over to Farrell who was enjoying a cup of coffee and
a roll.

“Do you know
anything about Mark Bennett’s journal being sold?” she asked.

“Not a thing,” he
said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I thought you
might because you seemed to know so much about it when you did that interview
on ET.”

“You forget,
Stacia, studios were different fifty years ago. I was privy to more information
then as a producer. Today, my value is extremely less.”

“Who do you
suppose would want Mark’s journal?”

Farrell shrugged
his shoulders. “Maybe someone’s hoping it’ll be worth more than they paid for
it when the remake is released.”

“Can you tell me
what’s in it?”

“I’ve always
treated that information as being confidential.”

“I’m sorry,”
Stacia apologized. “I wasn’t being nosey, just curious.”

“I know, but Mark
was my friend, and it was his diary...” He hesitated before continuing. “I
don’t like to talk about it.” He bowed his head.

“I understand. I
really do. I’m sure everything the three of you went through had to leave
permanent scars on you. Helen told me the story of what happened to Audra and
her.”

“She did? You can
consider that a high compliment if she would confide in you about the details.”
He bowed his head and muttered, “It was horrible and unbearable to live with.”

“I don’t know how
Helen survived at all and turned out so healthy and happy.”

“The young are
very resilient,” Farrell commented.

“You know she’s
seeing Sam Prescott,” Stacia volunteered. “They’re very happy together.”

“Good for them,”
Farrell said.

“I’ve got to get
back on the set. Nathan’s motioning to me.” Stacia waved back to her director.
“It’s nice having you here, Farrell. I enjoy talking to you, and I feel we have
a lot in common. I admire you for how you’ve had the courage to turn your life
around. I hope you’ll always be my friend.” As she said the last sentence, the
same déjà vu feeling she’d had before when she talked to him, swept through her
again.

♥♥

Stacia’s cell
phone was ringing when she entered her dressing room at lunch break. She
grabbed it off the table and collapsed on her sofa as she answered it.

“Hi, Stacia,” her
assistant said.

“What’s up,
Jamie?”

“The media has
gone crazy again just like when you were in London. Ever since the story broke
about Mark Bennett’s journal, they’ve been calling, wanting an interview with
you, or at least some type of statement. I’ve logged them all on my computer
and sent them to yours.”

“Thanks, Jamie.”
Stacia stood, picked up her laptop and sat back down on the sofa. “I’ll call
you when I check the messages over and see what I want to say. My first
instinct, however, is to tell them they know more about the journal than I do.”

“I’d recommend
another route, but I’ll go with whatever you decide, of course.”

“Why don’t you
write up something for me, and you can read it to me when I call you back?
Okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Stacia laid her
phone down, took a sandwich off the lunch tray the studio had delivered and
turned on her computer.

She wondered who
the anonymous purchaser of Mark’s journal was. Maybe it was the same person who
was the mystery backer of
London Affair
. If he had enough money to
finance a movie, he’d certainly have plenty to buy the journal. But why would
he want it?

Jamie’s list of
callers popped up on the screen. As Stacia scrolled through them, she
discovered there were fifty-one calls. And what could she say to this assorted
group of newspapers, TV programs, radio stations and magazines about the
journal?

She only knew what
she’d heard. Helen had said it was filled with love letters to Audra, and also
included Mark’s thoughts while he was dying. She couldn’t release any of that
information to the press. Farrell wouldn’t say anything to her about the
contents, and even if he had, it would also be confidential.

The old standby
“no comment” sounded too cold and uncooperative. It would be bad publicity to
give out to fifty-one different kinds of media.

One thing was
certain. She didn’t want to do any interviews about the journal. So her only
alternative was to issue some sort of statement. And Jamie, who was also her
publicist, was well-equipped to come up with the right thing to say.