Who Knew? - Part Seventeen
Orlando was due to return to his movie set a couple days later. We’d spent two glorious days in bed, watching movies and eating. Lisa joined us when she could, but, unlike me, she still had to work. The day Orlando was to leave, I resigned myself to being without him yet again, telling myself it was only for a few weeks.
“Do you have everything?” I said from the bed as he threw some last minute things into his suitcase.
“I think so,” he said, putting his suitcase by the door and coming over to me. He sat down beside me and took my hands in his. “I can’t believe I have to leave so soon.”
“We’ve had almost two weeks,” I pointed out, smiling softly. “That’s the longest we’ve had together since the beginning.”
He sighed. “I know, love,” he said, pulling me into his arms gently. “I don’t want to go back to work, at least, not until you’re fully back on your feet again.”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” I said, kissing his neck lightly. “I’m almost back to normal. And with each day, it’ll get easier. Before you know it, I’ll be back on stage every night, working myself to the bone.”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ring my mobile, okay?” he said, looking into my eyes, a serious expression on his face. “Night or day, understand?”
“I understand,” I said, knowing it was not the time to joke with him. He worried about me entirely too much, and though I loved him for it, it became overwhelming at times. “Orlando, I love you.”
“I’m glad,” he said, a small smile on his face. “I love you, too, Charlie.” He kissed me gently, a lingering kiss, as though he didn’t want to let go. I couldn’t help it, I threw myself into his arms and clung tightly to him.
I don’t know how long I was in his arms, but it took Lisa knocking on the door to break us apart. “The car’s here,” she said, then closed the door again.
“I have to go, love,” Orlando said, standing up. I stood with him and he hugged me again. I couldn’t help it, tears were already streaking my face. I didn’t know how I’d get on without him, having come to depend on him so much in the past week or so. “I’ll ring you when I land. Go back to bed, and get some more sleep.”
“I’ve been in bed for too long,” I said, caressing his face. “I can at least walk you to the door.”
“Fine, but then you’re going back to bed.” He kissed me warmly, his hands sweeping over my back. “I love you,” he whispered against my mouth.
We went out into the living room, Orlando holding his suitcase in one hand, and my hand in the other. He turned at the door.
“Remember what I said,” he said quietly, holding me to him again. “If you need anything, I don’t care how small, phone me.”
I hugged him tightly again, kissed him once more, and he was gone. I turned to Lisa, not sure what to do with myself.
“Wanna have a slumber party tonight?” she said, a giddy expression on her face. “Girls only?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Okay,” I said. “When you get home from the show, we’ll camp out in my room with popcorn and a movie.”
“What are you going to do while I’m gone?” she asked, grabbing her bag from the couch. She was due at the theatre in less than half an hour.
“Cry,” I said, only half serious.
“Oh, Charlie,” she said, a sympathetic expression on her face. She came over to me and hugged me lightly.
I chuckled. “I’m okay, Lise,” I said as she released me. “I think I’d like to watch Troy, though.” I winked.
“Mmm, Brad Pitt in a skirt,” she sighed, closing her eyes, a dreamy expression on her face. I laughed.
“Not exactly what I was watching it for, but okay,” I said, heading back to my room. “I’ll see you tonight after the show. Say hi to Nick for me.”
I curled up in my bed, with Orlando’s pillow, after popping the DVD in the player. I know, it’s pathetic, but I needed to see him again, to hear his voice, just to keep the ache away. I was quite disgusted with myself, but at the same time, I didn’t care. I fell asleep with visions of Orlando as Paris dancing in my head.
Lisa woke me up a few hours later, when she got home from the theatre. She’d picked up ice cream and an assortment of other goodies on the way home, and she was grinning like an idiot as she stood over my bed.
“Prepare to get fat,” she said, laughing. She disappeared for a few minutes, then came back with bowls, spoons, and a bunch of DVDs. I shook my head as she bounced around, already in her pajamas. She flopped down on the bed beside me, and sat with her legs crossed under her, much the way children do.
“You’re crazy,” I said as I dished out the cookie dough ice cream.
“I know, but you love me for it,” she said, her eyes bright. If I didn’t know her better, I’d have guessed she’s already been into the sugar before she ever got home. But no, it was just her natural adrenaline after a successful performance. “I have a wide selection of movies to choose from. It’s up to you, I’m game for anything.”
I looked at the pile she’d brought in, then laughed. “I thought the point of this slumber party was to take my mind off of Orlando,” I said, grinning over at her. He was in every movie she’d brought in.
“Remember, it’s not Orlando, it’s the character he’s playing.” she teased, grabbing the Lord of the Rings set from me. “Give the boy some credit for his acting abilities. Besides, he’s hot, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to see him. Lord knows I do.”
I playfully shoved her. “Hands off,” I growled, before laughing. “He’s mine, remember?”
“How could I ever forget?” She winked at me.
We ended up putting in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, because, as Lisa pointed out, “That’s what he looks like now.” We gorged ourselves on junk food, and laughed and gossiped about our friends in the show. I felt like a kid, and I appreciated being able to be so carefree for awhile. My body still hurt, but I was more worried about the ache of Orlando leaving than I was about the bruises.
Around two o’clock, halfway through Ned Kelly, the phone rang. Lisa reached over and answered it. “Hot Stuff Ranch, save a horse, ride a cowboy.” She paused. “Oh, hi Orlando.” Pause. “Yes, she’s here, in bed, watching your hairy mug on the TV.” Pause. “No, she hasn’t been doing too much.” Pause. “Yeah, just a sec.” She handed me the phone.
“Hello, darling,” Orlando said when I’d said hello. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, Orlando,” I said, smiling at the sound of his voice. “Are you home now?”
“I’m at the house, yes,” he said. He sounded tired. “I figured you’d be awake, and I wanted to talk to you before I turned in.”
“We’re watching movies and pigging out on junk food,” I said, smiling at Lisa as she made rude gestures with her hands. I threw a pillow at her and turned away.
“As long as you’re in bed, that’s fine by me,” he said, and I could practically hear him grinning through the phone. “I can’t talk long, I have to be onset early tomorrow.”
“Okay, you get your sleep,” I said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said, then yawned. “I’ll talk to you soon, love.”
We hung up and I rolled over to cuddle his pillow. Lisa lightly stroked my head, but I couldn’t stop the tears that dripped from my eyes onto his pillow.
* * *
The following afternoon, while Lisa was out shopping and I was curled up in bed with a book and a cup of tea, the phone rang. I reached over to grab it, not looking away from my book. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Charlie?” a very British, female, voice said.
“Yes,” I said slowly. It didn’t sound like Orlando’s mother or sister, and I didn’t know any other British women. “May I ask who’s calling?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m such a prat,” she said, her voice tinkling as she laughed. “I’m Keira, I work with Orlando. I hope you don’t mind me ringing you like this, out of the blue.”
“No, no, not at all,” I said quickly. “What can I do for you, Keira?” Of course I knew who she was the instant she said her name. Keira Knightly, one of Orlando’s co-stars in Pirates. I had just watched her the night before, in the first Pirates movie, with Lisa.
“Orlando’s birthday is coming up next week,” she said, her voice full of excitement. Her accent was even more beautiful than Orlando’s, if that were possible. “We’re putting together a surprise party for him here, and were wondering if you’d like to fly in to join us.”
Orlando’s birthday had completely slipped my mind, what with all the excitement we’d had over the past few weeks. She was right, it was coming soon, in less than a week, and I hadn’t even thought about it yet. “I’d love to,” I said. “But I don’t know if I’ll be working or not. I’ve kind of had more time off lately than I should have, so it may be tricky. When would I need to be there?” I’d already been off six days, I only had eight days left before I had to be back on stage. Orlando’s birthday was the thirteenth, the day before I had to be back.
“His birthday is on a Friday, so we were thinking of having the party that night, after we’re done shooting for the day,” she said. “We’d like to surprise him by having you there for it.”
“I start back to work on Saturday night,” I said sadly. “I don’t think I can make it.”
“Oh, right, well, that’s okay,” she said, sounding disappointed. “We just thought it would be a nice surprise for him. Johnny suggested it, but we didn’t know your schedule.”
“Johnny?” I said. “As in, Johnny Depp?” I couldn’t help it, I was going into star-struck-fan mode.
“Yes, that’s the one,” she said with a chuckle. “The party was his idea.”
“Okay, um, I may be able to come in for the weekend,” I said, trying to figure out how I’d manage it with Nick. It would only be two more performances, I’d go back on Sunday, and be on the stage again Monday evening. “Leave it with me, and I’ll get back to you. Do you have a number where I can reach you?”
“Sure,” she said, and gave me the number. I wrote it down, unable to believe Keira Knightly was giving me her phone number. I didn’t get star-struck around Orlando anymore, obviously, but his friends? Now that was a different story.
“Great, I’ll call you in a day or two and let you know,” I said. “I’ll have to swing some things around with my director, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Wonderful,” she said brightly. “Orlando said you were a sweetheart, and you really are. We’ll speak again soon.”
“Definitely,” I said, a smile on my face even though she couldn’t see me. “Thanks for calling, Keira.” We hung up. I immediately picked up the phone again, and dialed Lisa’s cell phone.
“Bucky’s Fish ‘n’ Chips, if it’s still wigglin’, it’s free,” she answered.
“You’ll never believe who just called here,” I said, practically yelling into the phone. “Oh my God, Lisa!”
“Who?” she said.
“Keira Knightly,” I almost screamed. I had to fight the urge to jump up and down. I was still way too sore to do that. “Can you believe it?”
She laughed. “Yes, I can,” she said, in her usual blunt way. “She’s a friend of your boyfriend’s, remember? God, Charlie, you need to get over this star-struck stuff if you’re going to date an A-lister like Orlando.” She laughed, letting me know she wasn’t serious.
“Oh yes, and you’d just be so cool around these people, wouldn’t you?” I teased. “She asked me to fly down to the Caribbean for Orlando’s birthday next week, to surprise him. I really want to go, but I’d have to take two more performances off, and I’m pretty sure Nick will have a problem with that. How do I do this?”
“Tell him you’re not feeling up to snuff yet,” she said. “I’ll cover for you, and tell him you went home to your family for a few days.”
“I can’t lie to him,” I said. “If he found out, I’d lose my job. No, I’ll just tell him straight out that I need two more days.”
“Good luck getting out of that conversation alive,” she said. “He’s been in the pissiest mood since you went off. Steph’s good, but she’s just not what he wanted for the part. You’ll have to do some pretty fancy talking to get the time, especially since you’re taking two weekends in February.”
I’d forgotten about Ramsey’s trial and Cooper’s show in the craziness of the past few days. Cooper had sent me the songs he wanted me to do, and Nick had already agreed to give me the second weekend off to do the show. “Damn it,” I said. “I’m not going to get the time, am I?”
“I don’t know, honey,” she said. “But it’s possible he won’t give it to you.”
“Okay, I’m going to call him right now,” I said, pulling myself up even straighter in the bed. “I’ll talk to you when you get home.”
I hung up the phone and dialed Nick’s number, figuring he’d be at the theatre in the middle of the day, fighting with the tech guys.
“This is Nick,” he said when he answered.
“Hey, it’s Charlie,” I said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Oh, my dear, of course,” he said, his voice bright. He seemed to be in a good mood, which was good for me. “What can I do for my star?”
“Uh, I think I need a couple more days off before I come back,” I said, figuring it was best to jump in with both feet and not beat around the bush. “Like the Saturday and Sunday next week. I’ll be back on the Monday after.”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” he said, sounding harassed all of a sudden. “Stephanie doesn’t have your stamina, and I’m afraid she’ll be burnt out by then. What do you need the time for? Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’ll be fine by then,” I said quickly at the concern in his voice. “It’s just that I have a commitment in the Caribbean that weekend that I don’t know if I can get out of.”
“Sounds like something Orlando-related,” he said. I couldn’t read his voice to tell whether he was teasing, or whether he was annoyed.
“It is, yes,” I said, figuring it was best to just be honest. “It’s his birthday on the Friday, and some of his friends down there are throwing him a party. They want to surprise him by having me there.”
Nick sighed heavily. I could almost see him squeezing his stress ball as he thought for a moment. “Okay, here’s the deal,” he said. “I’ll give you the extra two days, but I want you to add an extra week on to your contract, at your current pay. I know if you renew, you’ll get a raise, but I think you owe me the extra week for this. Is that fair?”
I smiled. “Yes, it’s more than fair,” I said. I hadn’t even thought about being asked to renew my contract, or I would have offered the extra time at the same pay rate myself.
“Then you have until the Monday,” he said. “But I want your butt back on that stage Monday night, no excuses, okay?”
“Of course,” I said, so excited I was fair to bursting with it. “Thanks, Nick, you’re a lifesaver.”
“As sweet as one, yes, but not nearly as small,” he said, a teasing tone in his voice. “Now you go rest those pipes of yours. We’ll need you back at one hundred percent next week.”
“I will,” I said. “Thanks again.” I hung up the phone.
I sat back against the headboard of the bed, smiling to myself. Now I would get to see Orlando much sooner than I’d originally planned, and I’d get to meet Johnny Depp and Keira Knightly. How would I ever get through the next week?