Along Came A Prince (29 page)

“What is this?”
she asked.

“Open it,” Linda
said.

Stacia did and
took out an untitled book. She thumbed through its pages, her mind slowly
accepting the realization of what she was looking at. “Is this what I think it
is?”

“I’m sure it is.”

“Mark’s journal? I
don’t deserve this. I can’t accept this gift.” She put the book back into the
box and put the cover on it. She gave the box back to Linda.

“Farrell wanted
you to have it. He was very explicit about his decision,” Linda explained. “He
said you were the only person who would ever appreciate its sentimental value. With
all the publicity circulating around
London Affair,
Farrell was
terrified Mark’s journal would fall into the wrong hands. He felt it was meant
to be private and not for the world to share. That’s why he bought it and
willed it to you, because he believed you’d treat it with the proper respect. He
didn’t want someone who had dollar signs for eyes to buy it, and then sell it
to someone else or make its contents public.” Linda put the box back in front
of Stacia. “Anyway, you have to accept it. It’s all legal and binding. Farrell
figured you wouldn’t want to agree to accept it, so his will reads the journal
is to go into trust until you do want it and claim ownership of it. So either
way, it’s yours. Unless you prefer to let it stay in trust until you die, and then
one of your heirs can claim it. But by that time, it’ll probably have to be
sold to pay for the fees of the trust account. It’s in your best interest to
accept this gift now.”

 “I don’t have to
read it right away, do I?”

“Of course not,” Linda
replied. “Farrell also said you’d know when the time was right to read it.”

“But how could he
afford to buy this? The newspaper said the buyer paid millions.”

Linda smiled. “The
media exaggerated somewhat. It did take all Farrell’s life savings, plus his
salary from
London Affair
to purchase it, however.”

“He willed this
journal to me. I just can’t believe it,” Stacia said, overcome with Farrell’s
generosity. “And I can’t even thank him.”

“According to
him,” Linda said quietly, “you made his days
sunny,
so I think you
already did.”

When Stacia went
home that evening, she sat on her sofa and opened the journal to Mark’s first
entry.

“How long does
it take to die when there is nothing left to live for? I could kill myself in
some cowardly way using a gun or hanging myself, but then I wouldn’t know if
Audra would come for me. How would she know where to look? So I will wait for
my beloved here where I know I will see her again. Here where some of our most
precious memories are. Here…is where she will find me.

Tears flooded
Stacia’s eyes. “I can’t read this,” she declared out loud. It’s too intimate,
and not on the day Farrell was buried. It was like the end of an era. Audra,
Mark and Farrell were all gone now. Only Helen was left. By some twist of fate,
she had been thrown into their world.

She opened her
safe and put Mark’s journal in it.
So now I have another “right” time to
wait for,
she thought as she closed the door to the safe and locked it.

“That’s a wrap.” Nathan
called out three weeks later. A round of applause and cheers echoed around the
set. Nathan executed a bow and turned to Stacia. “If everything goes well, we
may not need you at all anymore. Otherwise, we may contact you for some
additional filming. We’re shooting for a target time period of six months of
intense work on our part before we can release the final cut. We’d like it to
be done in time to qualify for next year’s Academy Awards, that is, if the
industry votes to nominate it.” He offered Stacia his hand to shake. “It’s been
great working with you. You met and exceeded Arthur’s and my expectations. I
hope we can work together again.”

“I only wish
Farrell was here to see the film finished.”

Nathan smiled. “I’m
sure he’s been watching closely from wherever he is.”

Stacia looked at
Farrell’s stool still planted in the corner. “I think so too,” she agreed.

♥♥

Ahh, free time
at last,
Stacia thought as she checked the time on her clock. It read ten
a.m. She snuggled deeper into her bed, tucked her blankets under her chin, and
contemplated what she’d do with this free time after the grueling work schedule
she’d just completed.

She could go back
to Wisconsin for a visit, but her parents would be coming to California in less
than a month for the wedding. She decided to scratch that idea.

She guessed she’d
be busy with Josie, helping to finalize the wedding plans. There’d be a lot of
things to transport up to Oregon, hotel reservations to make, and so much more
to do. Where would Josie want the reception to be held? Everything seemed
pretty overwhelming to Stacia, but she was certain the wedding would work out
well. After all, wasn’t it the Universe’s job to work everything out for the
best? She knew Josie thought that way.

The telephone rang
and Stacia sat up, kicked off her covers, and reached for the phone next to her
bed, and as usual, checked the caller ID.

“Hi, Helen,” she
said. “How’s it going?”

“You were right,
Stacia. SwissDen is Camelot. And guess what? I’m the happiest person ever.”

“You mean...”

“Yes, I do. That
is, I’ll be saying
I do
very soon.”

“Sam proposed?”

“Last night. On
the bridge over the lake. Clay said you’d remember where it was.”

“I remember...”
How
could I forget?
She willed herself to think only what Helen was saying.

“Sam gave me a
gorgeous engagement ring. It’s so big I’m afraid to wear it in public. He said
he picked it out when we were in Harrods in London. I was dress shopping at the
time.”

“That’s wonderful.
So you’re having a good time in SwissDen?”

“It doesn’t get
better than this. I understand now why you called it paradise.”

“And the king and
queen, how are they?”

“Don’t you mean,
how is Clay?”

Stacia laughed. “You’re
always too smart for me, Helen. How is he?”

“He misses you. I
can tell, but he’s much better than when we first got here. He’s made some
major life changes, and according to Sam, the old Clay is back.”

“Does he ask about
me?”

“We talk about you
often. He’s anxious to see your new movie. He said he’s watched your other ones
enough now and wants to see you in something new.”

“I miss him too. Especially
now that the picture’s finished, and I have time to think.”

“Well, I have
something to take up some of your excess time, if you’re willing. Sam and I are
going home tomorrow, and we’re planning on eloping to Las Vegas the next day.”

“That’s got to be
the shortest engagement on record. You sure are full of surprises today.”

“We both know what
we want, and that is to never be apart till death do us part, as they say. So,
why wait, we say.”

“You do know
Farrell died, don’t you? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said something so sad when
you’re so happy. But you used the word
death
, and my mind jumped to
Farrell.”

“I was extremely
sorry to hear he’d passed away. Hal said you and Farrell had become good
friends since he’d quit drinking. I’m glad you were, Stacia. The Farrell
Fontaine I remember as a child was a great guy. I’m happy you got to know him
as he was before he started drinking.”

“Did Hal tell you
Farrell bought Mark Bennett’s journal and then willed it to me?”

“No, he didn’t. Farrell
must have thought a lot of you to do that.”

“I don’t plan on
reading it, for a while anyway. He said I’d know when the time was right.”

“Is the time
right
for Clay yet?”

“Hey, Helen, let’s
talk about your wedding plans.”

“Sam and I are
getting married in Vegas. Since you and Clay brought us together, we want the
two of you to stand up for us.”

“Is this your
matchmaking way to get us together again?”

“Hmm,” Helen said
and continued with her plans, avoiding Stacia’s question. “Hal will give me
away, of course. We’ll bring Clay with us tomorrow. The six of us will fly to
Vegas the next day. We’ll pick you up in the morning on the way to the airport.
Sam’s taking care of the reservations. All you need to do is say
yes. Can
you do that?”

“Has Clay agreed
to see me? He hasn’t answered any of my calls. I thought he’d found someone
else.”

“The only thing
he’s found is himself. There’s no one else. So, are you going to say yes?”

Stacia thought for
a moment before answering. She couldn’t disappoint Helen by saying no to being
her maid of honor. Yet, she should be angry with Clay for not answering her
phone calls, but how could she be? She missed him. Mixed feelings exploded
inside her, and in the end, the positives erased the negatives. It seemed like
a small price to pay for the huge benefits she’d derive from seeing him once
more. She gave in to the happy feeling she had just thinking about being with
him. “Yes,” Stacia finally said.
Such a simple little word
yes is
and by saying it, I get to see Clay again.

“Then everything’s
settled. We plan to honeymoon in Vegas with you, Clay, Hal and Linda. Although
I doubt if Sam and I will spend
all
our time with you four.”

“What should I
wear to the wedding?”

“Oh, we’re keeping
it simple. Any semi-formal dress like whatever you wore for dinners here at
SwissDen will be fine.”

“I have a red
evening gown. Will that do? Or is the color wrong?”

“It sounds perfect.
Well, I’ll see you soon. Bye for now.”

Stacia set the
phone down. She jumped out of bed and threw her arms up in the air. “I’m going
to see Clay.”
Calm down, Stacia girl. You’re not sixteen going to the prom
with a gorgeous hunk.

No,
she
corrected her thoughts,
I’m twenty-four and going to Vegas with the man I
love!

♥♥

Thinking about
seeing Clay again, the doubts led a question rampage through her mind. Did he
still love her? Did he want to go on with their relationship? Should she pack
her little green second-chance outfit? No, she quickly answered, dismissing
that idea.

With each piece of
clothing she placed in her suitcase, a new question arose. Did he want to marry
her? Did she want to marry him? Why was she even thinking about marrying him?
Probably because she’d be attending two weddings in less than a month, and
she’d be a maid-of-honor at both. Who wouldn’t get marriage fever with that
agenda?

But things hadn’t
changed as far as getting married was concerned, so she couldn’t even think
about that. Destiny wasn’t all of a sudden going to give her permission to
marry anyway. Wasn’t she supposed to listen to what was going on inside her? Wasn’t
that what Josie had taught her?

She closed her
luggage and took it out to her entrance hall. When Clay had come to pick her up
at what seemed eons ago, he’d kissed her on this very spot. And when he’d
finished kissing her, he’d said they could take up where they’d left off. But
that was long ago and far away, and before he’d decided to discard her like a
ripped-apart sagging shoe. With the way things were left between them the last
time they’d spoken on the phone, nothing could be resolved, or different,
unless they talked about the issues between them.

She returned to
her bedroom and picked up the gown she’d worn to Clay’s Ice-On-Ice exhibit –
the night he had ice-sculptured her with the red spotlight on her hair and an
eight-million dollar diamond necklace around her throat. Memories of that
evening caressed her mind. She also had worn the gown in SwissDen. Okay, so maybe
it wasn’t the height of fashion to wear the same dress more than once, but she
didn’t care. After all, it might bring back excellent memories for him too. Sighing,
she draped the dress in its clear plastic bag over her suitcase in the entry
hall.

Clay would be here
any second now, and her stomach started churning again. Then she began to
suffer a
maybe
attack. Maybe he wouldn’t even come to the door. Maybe
Hal might. Maybe her intuition was right, and he wasn’t interested in her
anymore. Well, that thought was certainly a given. She touched her temples with
her fingertips.
Stop!
she ordered the commotion inside her.
Breathe
deeply. Focus on your breath. Get to your special place as quickly as possible.
Relax.

Security buzzed
her phone. At long last, Clay was here. She gave her permission to send him up.
Suddenly, he was knocking on her door. She reached for the knob and opened it.

“Hello,” Clay said.

“Hi,” she managed
to say, her heart racing. He still looked like the most handsome guy in the
world. “Let me grab my bag in the other room, and I’m ready,” she called out to
him.

“I see red’s still
your favorite color.” He grinned and nodded toward her plastic-covered gown. “I’m
rather partial to green myself.” He bent over and picked up her suitcase and
dress.

Stacia felt a
blush heat up her face. She was certain it was redder than her dress he now was
holding, so she turned her back to him and walked away fast. “I’ll just be a moment,”
she called out, her fingers instinctively feeling her face.
Oh, it was red
all right!
She gathered up the rest of her things and went back to him.

“How are your mother
and father?” she asked.

“They said to say
‘hello’ to you. Mother wanted to know when you’re coming back to SwissDen.”

Small talk. This
was good. Maybe her blush would leave now.
They took her elevator to first
floor and walked past the security guard to the limo. Clay handed her bags to
the driver and opened the door for her. Sam, Helen, Hal and Linda were waiting
inside. When she got into the limo, she hugged Helen immediately. “Congratulations,
you two. I’m so happy for you.”

Sam put his arm
around Helen and pulled her to him. “Happy is what this woman makes me.” He
received a kiss on his cheek from the bride-to-be.

“So where are we
staying, Sam?” Linda asked.

“I booked four
villas at the Bellagio. The wedding chapel’s there also.”

Four?
Stacia questioned in her mind. That had to mean Clay and she would have
separate villas. Well, what did she expect? Still, it seemed rather extravagant
to her. They could have stayed in just one. After all, they had stayed in separate
bedrooms before at her condo. Maybe Clay wanted it this way and paid for the
extra villa.  

 Helen began
talking and broke into Stacia’s thoughts. “Each villa has five bathrooms, eleven
phones and its own swimming pool and terrace. Also, a butler and chef if you want
them, but the best part of it all is we’re getting married there tonight.”
Helen squeezed Sam’s hand. They exchanged the secret look between them that Stacia
thought only two people in love could decipher.

“Sam and Clay have
stayed there before,” Helen said and snuggled closer to her almost-husband.

Stacia glanced at
Clay, who now seemed to be deep in thought. Maybe he was planning his strategy
for the gaming tables. It seemed fairly obvious to her that he was there
because Sam had asked him to be his best man and not because he wanted to see
her again.

Her own thoughts
were quieted when the limo arrived at the L.A. airport, and the group
transferred to the waiting chartered plane. The flight to Vegas went smoothly
and quickly. Soon they were on the ground once more and in another limo headed
for the Bellagio.

“What are the
plans for when we get there?” Hal asked.

Sam smiled at his
bride-to-be. “You four are on your own until we meet at the chapel at seven
forty-five. Helen and I have errands to do, which includes picking up our marriage
license.”

Stacia remembered
how Sam loved to travel to Monaco with Clay’s father to gamble. She bet he
wasn’t going to miss his gambling today... or tonight. “Helen, do you need help
with your wedding dress or anything?” she asked.

“I’m fine. You and
Clay enjoy yourselves. I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I don’t know
about you, but I’m heading for the crap tables,” Hal said.

“And I’ll be
playing blackjack, in case anyone wants me,” Linda added.

“What about you,
Stacia?” Clay asked. “What do you want to do?”

“See everything I
guess. I haven’t been to Vegas before.”

“Well, you’re in
for a treat,” Linda said. “Vegas has everything to offer. Gambling, shopping,
glamour...anything you want is here.”

Everything I
could ever want is sitting next to me,
Stacia admitted to herself, but confessed
something quite different to the occupants in the car. “I’ve never gambled,”
she said.

“We’ll have to
change that,” Clay offered. “We’ll start at the Bellagio and gamble our way
across town, leaving you some time to shop and sightsee, of course.”