Through All Time (c) 2005 Rosada Hesselfeldt
Prologue
Her heart stopped beating as the radio belted out his soft twangy country voice. Her heart always stopped whenever she heard one of his songs. And each time she was taken back to the time she spent with him. God, their relationship had been something. He had been the only man to ever truly hold her heart, the only man that understood her. But like with many great loves time and outside factors took it’s toll. It had been wonderful for a time but Fate had stepped in and decided it was not to be her destiny, not her road to travel. She had been ok with that choice even though it wasn’t hers. She would have followed him to ends of the earth had he asked her to. And her attraction to him, in all honesty, didn’t have a damn thing to do with his career or his money or his status. It had simply just been him. They had met while he was on his summer tour. Her uncle was director for their towns assembly hall and she had went to work for her uncle that summer. Most of the girls that worked there were students just looking for something to do and didn’t take their jobs seriously enough so her uncle had asked her to be his own person secretary. And Raleigh had accepted. She was no stranger to the work and honestly didn’t think twice that morning when she saw his name on the morning agenda. As she listened to the song she was taken back to that morning they met.
“Leigh! James is on the phone!” Janna one of the girls in the office, yelled to Leigh as she went by. Leigh rolled her eyes and stomped in the office.
“Mr. Lennings Janna.” She said glaring at her.
“Yes?” She asked taking the phone.
James chuckled.
“Good to know that you’re keeping those girls in line for me. Listen I’m going to be about half an hour late, Linda’s doctor appointment is running behind. Would you mind entertaining Mr. Davis for me?” James asked.
“No but this will put me an hour behind so I’ll be staying late for paperwork tonight.” Leigh replied.
“No don’t stay late it could wait until morning.” James answered.
He loved what a hard worker Leigh was.
“No that’s not what you hired me for, I won’t stay late I’ll just take it all home with me ok?”
James smiled. “Ok, ok there’s no changing your mind,” He sighed.
“That’s why you hired me,” She joked.
“Oh listen just keep him busy until I get there go over the agenda and the blah, blah stuff.”
Leigh laughed. “Ok don’t worry.”
“I won’t, not with you there anyway, ok see you in about half an hour.”
“All right bye!” Leigh said firmly. She hung up and turned around to Janna.
“Janna there’s been a change of plans, Mr. Lennings is going to be late so when Mr. Davis gets here could you send him into my office please?”
“Wow!” Janna said.
“What?” Leigh asked.
“Well it’s just that he’s such a babe!” Janna answered.
“Janna please when he gets here please act professional, I’m beggin’ here ok?”
“Yeah sure but…wow!”
“Janna he’s no different than me or you. Besides that he’s probably one of those stars whose ego is too big for his head.” Leigh said looking down through her meeting schedule. When Janna didn’t reply Leigh impatiently looked up at her. Janna had a huge smile on her face.
“Janna what on earth is the matter with you?” Leigh asked.
Janna just shook her head and continued smiling.
“Well I’d sure like to change your idea of me,” A male voice said behind Leigh.
Leigh squeezed her eyes tight.
“Shit!” She muttered under her breath. Leigh mustered up what was left of her pride put a big smile on her face and turned to greet Peter Davis.
“Mr. Davis so nice to meet you please won’t you step into my office?” She asked extending her arm.
“Why to go,” Janna whispered.
Leigh turned and glared at her. Since Leigh couldn’t come up with anything to say about her comment she decided to just ignore it.
“Please have a seat.” She said leading him into the office.
“I’m sorry but my uncle, Mr. Lennings, is going to be a little late so I’ll just go over the agenda and that kind of thing, if that’s ok with you?” Leigh said.
“Sure that’s fine but I’d really like to change your mind about me.”
Leigh sighed. She could see that he wasn’t going to drop it. Might as well face up to it, Leigh ol’ girl. Her mind said.
“Look Mr. Davis…” She started.
“Peter,” He interjected smiling.
“Peter I’m very sorry that you over heard my comment to Janna. It was wrong of me to say given the fact that I don’t know you or anything about you. Please….”
“Well how about we change that,” Peter said.
“Excuse me?” Leigh said.
“How about you get to know me?” He cast a sly grin her way.
Leigh was speechless. Literally! She couldn’t think of a single thing to say to that.
Peter chuckled. “Tell you what, you give me your number and address and I’ll come by after the show and we’ll go out.”
“Peter I don’t think that my uncle would approve I mean you’re a client and….”
“Ok I understand, but I’m not a client tomorrow night.”
Leigh didn’t know what to think. This couldn’t be happening to her. Things like this just didn’t happen to girls like her. At seventeen Leigh was 5’ 5’’ and close to 200 hundred pounds. But she was a very pretty girl, she had bluish-hazel eyes and long auburn hair that went down to her waist. She had very little confidence in her looks but she had a very detailed mind that was why her uncle loved having her in the office.
He’s only doing this to be a big shot in your eyes. Her mind told her.
But there was something about the way her heart had thumped when he talked about taking her out. There was something in his eyes that told her that just maybe he might be sincere about his intentions.
“Oh come on now there can’t be any harm in just a little dinner? Maybe some dancing?” Peter asked her.
Leigh sighed and smiled at him.
“Maybe.”
“Please? Give me a chance?” Peter asked.
“Why do you want to take me out so badly?” Leigh asked.
Peter was silent for a moment, just looking at her.
“I don’t know there’s something about you. The way you’ve treated me so far,” Peter finally said.
“What? Have I done something wrong?” Leigh asked mortified that she had.
“Oh no, no that’s not what I meant.”
“What do you mean then?” Leigh asked confused.
“Well most women that I meet act like that Janna or whatever her name is out there and you didn’t. You didn’t act like some immature high school girl. You don’t seem to care about my money or anything or the fact that I’m a singer.”
Leigh looked into Peter’s eyes and could see the pain that he must have been through before, similar to the pain and scorn that she had felt before. And Leigh knew all too well the pain of someone just using you for their own gain.
“Peter I don’t judge people based on income, looks or anything else. I’m not like that. I like people for who they are.”
“You’re a special woman then. So does this mean I can take you out? And not tomorrow night. I want to take you out tonight after the show, please?”
Leigh smiled as she felt her heart beat quicken.
“All right.”
Leigh couldn’t believe what she had just agreed to.
Are you stupid or what? Her mind screamed.
But at this point she didn’t really care she just starting to let herself believe that there might be something to this.
Ten minutes later Leigh’s uncle came in and she was excused. She hung around the office door waiting for Peter to come out. And finally he did. Janna’s eyes turned green as she watched the scene between Peter and Leigh unfold. Leigh walked over to Peter and he smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“I’ll see you as soon as I’m done with the show. We’ll be out late so if you need to let anyone know I suggest that you do so soon because you’re all mine tonight girl!” He whispered and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
The Hollywood Wife (c) 2005 Rosada Hesselfeldt
The car behind me started honking as the stoplight turned green but I didn’t hear it I was too absorbed in the radio announcement
“We’ll be right back after this, with an interview with actor Rob Urban who just got married over the weekend!”
As the announcer’s voice faded the car behind me blared its horn once more. I quickly pulled into the gas station on my right and put the car into park.
Did I really hear that right? Did he say Rob got remarried? Tears filled my eyes and then I started kicking myself.
Jesus! What’s wrong with you? Your divorce from him was final eighteen years ago. Did you think he’d stay single forever? You didn’t! My mind screamed. It was true I myself had remarried. But it was different hearing Rob had remarried. I had a mixture of anger and happiness.
He couldn’t get off the drugs long enough to take care of me or Anthony but he wants to play happy homemaker now? He hasn’t even seen the grandkids!
With shaking hands I reached into my purse and pulled out my cigarettes. I took a drag as the announcer came back on.
“Welcome back today we’re talking with actor Rob Urban. I guess the third time’s a charm? You got married to actress Sarah Jacobs over the weekend,” the announcer said.
“Yes we did. It was magnificent; we went to the
Fresh tears came to my eyes as I listened to Rob’s smooth deep voice. The last time I had seen Rob was five years before when our son Anthony got married.
“You were married twice before, correct?” the announcer asked.
“Yes my first two marriages were failures. I was too into myself and the drugs and booze to make them work,” Rob answered.
“That’s for damn sure!” I said loudly. I turned the radio off and put my car back into drive.
I drove down Sunset Boulevard in a daze thinking about Rob and the four years I was married to him. I was nothing but a kid when I married him, sixteen. Here I am getting ready to turn thirty-nine, I’ve got four kids, and my oldest is twenty-four with two little ones of his own and I’m wondering why Rob’s getting remarried is bothering me! I guess it’s because I feel cheated. I feel cheated that he couldn’t be a father to Anthony and a husband to me. I felt cheated because after awhile I became Rob’s punching bag. Am I bitter? No I don’t think that I’m bitter, after all I was a Hollywood wife and that’s what happens to Hollywood wives, we’re cheated out of a lot of things.
I was sixteen when I met Rob waiting tables at a small dinner in north
“Good evening Mr. Urban. What would you like to drink?”
Rob took a drag off his cigarette and smiled at me. “Coffee please, by the way you can call me Rob.”
I couldn’t stifle the giggle that came out of me.
“Regular or decaf?”
“Oh regular please.” Rob leaned over and looked at my nametag. “Rosie.”
I thought I was going to melt on the spot. I couldn’t say anything so I just nodded and smiled and went to get his coffee. My hands were shaking so bad I spilt the first cup.
“Damn it,” I muttered grabbing a towel to dry my hands off with.
“Here take a drag,” Mary said. She held out her cigarette for me to take.
“Thanks.”
Mary laughed. “No problem. Hell honey you think he’s the first celebrity to walk through them doors? I’ve had my fair share of ‘em. You just go over there and make him feel special without making a big scene. Ya never know, he might ask you out!”
I laughed. “And what could he possibly see in my fat ass?”
“Rosalie! Don’t talk about yourself like that! There are plenty of men that like bigger girls! Not every man likes the skin and bone and girls out here. Besides that he’s already looked over at you four times now!”
I blushed and quickly looked at him. And sure enough he smiled and waved at me. I grabbed his coffee and took it over to him.
“Here ya go. I’ll just give you a few minutes to look over the menu. Is there anything else I can do at the moment?” I flashed him my prettiest smile.
“No, thank you.”
A little disappointed I nodded and checked on my other two tables. Table 10 still didn’t know what they wanted and table 15 had just left. So I started clearing the table and grabbed my tip. Four guys and they had left me a whole two dollars.
Oh well two dollars I didn’t have ten minutes ago, I thought.
I refilled the drinks at table 10 and had just started over to Rob when my manager hollered at me.
“Rosalie, it’s ten o’clock. Off the floor Mary can’t take over your tables until Carrie gets here!”
“Aww come on Nick, I’ve only got two tables left,” I whined. Actually I didn’t give a damn about table 10!
“Gimme a break okay Rosie? You know you’ve got to be off the floor at ten o’clock. One it’s the law, second I promise your brother.”
“Ok yeah I know but I’m not in school so shouldn’t the ten o’clock thing be lifted and as far as my brother goes…”
“Rosie, get off the floor. I promised your brother I’d have you off the floor at ten and have you on your way home no later than eleven. Stick around collect your tips.”
I knew there was no point in arguing with Nicky so I went back to table 10 and told them that Mary would be taking over for me and then I went to Rob’s table.
“I’m sorry Mr. Urban…”
“Ought Rob, you make me feel old with the Mr. stuff,” he laughed.
“Ok Rob, Mary will be taking over for me. She’ll get you anything you need; it was a pleasure meeting you.”
“No thank you, it was my pleasure. Why don’t you sit and have a bit to eat with me?”
My smile widened and I know I blushed. “Oh I think that I can do that! My boss, he wouldn’t like that.”
Rob’s smiled from ear to ear. “Tell old Nicky to come over here.”
I didn’t know what to say so I just went and got Nicky and told him a customer wanted to speak with him and took him over to Rob’s table.
“Robbie you bastard! I didn’t know you where here!” Nicky said. He laughed and they shook hands.
“Well I was in the neighborhood and I thought that I would stop in.”
“What can I do ya for Robbie?”
“Well I was wondering if this beautiful young lady could join for me something to eat only she’s got this tight-ass boss who won’t let her sit with the customers.” Rob smiled and winked at me.
Nicky roared with laughter. “Sure she can, just get out of your apron first Rosalie.” I nodded and hurried into the back to take it off while Nicky and Rob made some small talk. When I came back out Mary gave me a knowing smile. I went over to Rob’s table and sat down. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Poor heavy-set little sixteen-year-old girls just didn’t get invited to sit down and eat with a celebrity. But here I was, a poor heavy-set sixteen year old little girl sitting down and eating with a celebrity.
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