Gun Brooke: Course of Action

Settling against Annelie's shoulder, Carolyn closed her eyes. "Same as before, but with a twist." She sighed. "He started asking me how my latest weeks have been, and at first I thought, no more stressful than usual, considering how I live my life. Then I began to list everything that's happened. It's been crazy, Annie. Falling in love, the contracts, the imposter, the movie, Beth…The CAT scan was negative, so no reason to think it was anything else than my usual migraines gone awry."

Annelie brushed Carolyn's disheveled hair from her forehead.

"I'm glad they did a thorough check. And you're right. It has been one thing after another. So what did Dr. Standoffish think?"

"That I need to start taking much better care of myself. My blood pressure was elevated—not dangerously high, but still up there. My level of stress, well, the list says it all. I'm not on the most effective medication for my type of migraines, so he's going to take care of that. I'm going to see a dietician—or perhaps it was a nutritionist—I don't remember, to learn more about my condition. The only thing I was doing right was the exercise. He told me to keep swimming."

"Whatever it takes, darling," Annelie sighed, kissing the top of Carolyn's head. Feeling her stiffen, she pulled back. "What?"

Carolyn looked at her with wide eyes. "You called me darling."

Annelie opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Blushing faintly, she cleared her throat. "So I did. Do you mind?"

"No, no. It was just such a surprise. You never use terms of endearment." Leaning against Annelie, she closed her eyes again. "Why now? Because you were worried?"

"I don't know. Perhaps. I never use words like that because they're so common and meaningless. I guess it happened because that's what you are."

"I'm what? Common? Now I'm confused."

Placing soft kisses along her lover's hairline, Annelie finally realized Carolyn wasn't in any danger. "Silly. You are my darling. I love you."

Carolyn held on closer. "I love you too."

"What happens now?" Annelie didn't think she could let go of Carolyn.

"They wanted to keep me here overnight, but I refused. I'll be very careful and not do anything but rest this weekend, I promise. I just want you to take me home."

"All right. Home it is."

***

Jem stirred one pot while lowering the temperature on another. "Was that the doorbell?"

"Yes, I'll get it. Helen's on her way up."

Carolyn stayed in a chair by the kitchen table. She felt better but was still shaken from her ordeal earlier in the day. "It smells wonderful, Jem. Casseroles are the perfect autumn food."

"Couldn't agree more. Easy to make, and if there's enough left for the next day, it usually tastes even better. Ah, here's Helen now." Jem wiped her hands on a towel and greeted their guest.

"Nice to see you again, Jem." Helen smiled. "I better warn you, I'm starving."

"Good. I've made enough to feed a small country."

"I'm glad you could join us," Carolyn said. "You don't need to be alone when you just banged your head. Or should I say, I banged your head."

"Didn't they want to keep you in the hospital?" Jem asked while they all sat down around the table. "I thought a twenty-four-hour observation was routine."

"The doctor was pretty exasperated with me, and Carolyn, for going against his recommendations. I pointed out I never lost consciousness so he agreed I could take care of myself. He sent me home with pretty strong pills to take if the headache gets worse."

"Well, I'm glad you're staying with us," Annelie offered, reaching for a bottle of mineral water.

"To be honest, I agree." Helen sighed. "I feel okay, but I do feel headachy."

"Some food and rest will fix that," Jem assured her, rising to check the stove again. "We're lucky Annelie has plenty of space for all of us."

"How long are you staying, Jem?" asked Helen.

"I have to leave Tuesday. I hate to go, because I've really enjoyed evaluating manuscripts in a different environment."

After devouring Jem's chicken casserole, Annelie and Jem took care of the dishes, having pushed Carolyn and Helen into the living room. The actresses sat down on the couch, Carolyn looking at Helen appraisingly. "I never got to thank you earlier. Gregory said you saved me from a nasty fall."

"It was nothing."

"And that nothing made you have several stitches in the back of your head."

"Better that than a broken neck." Helen gazed back. "Really, apart from this silly headache, I'm fine."

Carolyn looked down at her hands, not sure how to phrase what she wanted to say. "Listen, Helen, I'd like to talk to you about something." She paused, looking squarely at the other woman. "I know you're aware of my reputation for being ambitious and competitive. Rumor has it I'm prepared to walk over corpses to get the role I'm after."

Helen propped her arm on the back of the couch, waiting for Carolyn to continue.

"For a long time that was true. First, because I needed the work and the money, and then…because of habit and ambition, I guess. Since we're becoming friends, it matters to me what you think. I used to not give a damn about other people's opinions, and I've never really been friends with another actress, but lately that's changed. I'm tired of competing with everyone."

Carolyn fiddled with the hem of her shirt, twisting it between trembling fingers. "And it's not just about me anymore. I've got someone in my life I care very much about. I want this someone to be proud of me, not only as a professional, but as a person. One way to do that is to be friends with a few special people like you, and to be true to them." Carolyn tried to disentangle her fingers from the shirt, while giving a faint smile. "Am I making any sense at all?"

Helen returned the smile, reaching out for Carolyn's restless hands. "Carolyn, don't worry about it. Yes, I've heard through the grapevine about your ambition. I'm a fairly uncomplicated person with a simple outlook on life. You, Annelie, and now Jem have never treated me with anything but kindness and respect. That's so much more than I bargained for when I agreed to do the audiobooks and the movies. To be accepted into this inner circle of wonderful, caring individuals—that's pretty awesome. As for our budding friendship, I'd say it's more than budding. You're a good person underneath your facade, Carolyn. You just have to realize that for yourself."

Tears rose in Carolyn's eyes at her unexpected feelings of vulnerability.

"Hey, no tears," Helen exclaimed. "Annelie will fire me on the spot." Her face turned serious. "Maybe you've bought into the rumors a little too much? If people say things about you enough, you start believing them. When you go into your professional mode, you're very much Carolyn Black, diva extraordinaire. Maybe it's easy to lose sight of who you really are."

"The last few months have helped me see things from another perspective," Carolyn said. "Being in a relationship and seeing my sister several times, not to mention my niece, have helped keep me grounded."

"Are you happy?" Helen's voice was soft.

"I've never been this happy and content…or dizzy and infatuated either, for that matter." A tender smile played on Carolyn's lips. "You guessed pretty quickly, didn't you?"

"It took me a while, but when you rushed home to Annelie when her so-called father entered the scene, I was sure. You've got a bad case, my friend." Helen gave a cheeky grin, making Carolyn roll her eyes.

"Yes, I do."

"You're keeping it a secret?"

"We haven't discussed that yet. I guess we'll have to agree on a course of action before the whole hoopla around the movie begins."

"What hoopla would that be?" Annelie entered the room with a tray of steaming mugs. "I know you're supposed to cut back on caffeine, Carolyn, but I didn't think a very mild café latte would hurt."