Lucy Gordon - Plain Jane in the Spotlight

In London a cab took them to the hospital. As they arrived they exchanged a fearful glance. In a moment they would know-

Frank looked up as they entered the little ward.

‘Thank goodness!’ he said fervently. ‘Emma, darling, look who’s here!’

Her eyes were open, and even in her dreadfully weakened state she could recognise them.

‘Charlene-I knew you’d come.’

‘And look who I’ve brought to meet you,’ she said.

‘But he’s- This is-’

‘This is your future grandson-in-law,’ Travis said. ‘And now you’ve got to get well fast, because we want to see you in Los Angeles for our wedding.’

‘Oh, darlings! How wonderful!’

‘Don’t get agitated,’ the doctor warned.

‘I’m not agitated. I’m happy. I’m going to be there.’

She closed her eyes, smiling.

They stayed in the hospital for the rest of the day and all night. Now and then Emma would awaken, always a little stronger than before.

‘The doctor says her chances are improving by the minute,’ Frank told them. ‘It means the world to her that you gave up so much to come here. Thank you with all my heart. But were you wise to do it?’

‘It was the wisest thing I ever did,’ Travis said with a tender glance at Charlene.

They left the hospital that evening and spent the night in a nearby hotel, ready to return if there was an emergency call. But no call came.

As they snuggled down in each other’s arms Charlene’s thoughts were far away in Los Angeles, where the crowds would be gathering for the award ceremony, and people would be exclaiming in surprise, and perhaps annoyance, because the star of the evening wasn’t there. She wondered how Travis felt now that the moment had come. But when she looked at him his eyes were closed. He might almost have been asleep, except that he turned and pressed his lips against her forehead.

Was he regretting his decision? Would he tell her if he did?

At last she fell asleep. In the early hours she awoke to find him just hanging up the phone.

‘Any news?’ she asked tensely.

‘Yes, I called Joe. The awards ceremony was a success. I won the dramatic actor in a series award.’

‘Not the other three?’

‘No, but one is enough for me. Joe said they told the audience where I’d gone and why, and they applauded. We’ll start work again as soon as I return. So you see, I’ve suffered no harm.’

‘What about the film part?’

‘Well-’

‘Oh, no!’

‘That’s gone to the other guy. But who cares? I still have the series. And I have you. There’ll be other film parts. But there won’t be another you. My darling, try to understand. I’ve made my choice and I won’t regret it. At least, I won’t regret it as long as you stay with me, and love me.’

‘Do you doubt that?’ she whispered.

There was a strange look in his eyes, a mixture of teasing and adoration.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘I was thinking that if Joe was here, he’d want you to say something nice to me. You wouldn’t like to do that, would you?’

She considered. ‘I might. I could say that I love you, that I’ve never loved anyone in my life as I love you, and I know that I never will. You are my life. I can have no other, and I want no other. I’ll stay with you for ever, loving only you. And when the end comes I hope we’ll still be together.’

She reached up to touch his cheek. ‘Do you think that will do?’

He smiled, taking her hand and brushing it with his lips.

‘That will do perfectly,’ he said.

Lucy Gordoncut her writing teeth on magazine journalism, interviewing many of the world’s most interesting men, including Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston and Roger Moore. She also camped out with lions in Africa, and had many other unusual experiences, which have often provided the background for her books. Several years ago, while staying in Venice, she met a Venetian who proposed to her after two days. They have been married ever since. Naturally this has affected her writing, where romantic Italian men tend to feature strongly.

Two of her books have won a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award.

You can visit her website, www.lucy-gordon.com.