... not in love with Kale Eddison (18 page)

Kale had woken
on Christmas morning to find himself all alone; his mother had some
concert that she needed to stay in America for and his father was
directing some major movie that required a lot of crucial
re-shoots. Kale hadn’t been all that surprised when Alicia had
passed on the news; it was the story of his life and he was well
used to being alone during Christmas. In fact, if he had been
shooting a movie, he wouldn’t have had time to celebrate Christmas;
he figured he wasn’t missing much and had thought it best to
decline Alicia’s kind offer of celebrating with her.

Kale got up and
wandered around the empty house; it was quite strange to not hear
noises coming from the kitchen or not see somebody cleaning. Kale
felt quite relieved to be alone; it was nice to have a bit of
solitude for once; no reporters, no photographers – nothing.

He made his way
to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, while the kettle
boiled; he helped himself to some croissants that Mrs Wilson – the
cook – must have left out for him and that was not all. When Kale
went to the fridge for some milk, he noticed a note stuck on the
door; Mrs Wilson had plated him a Christmas Dinner and had left it
in the fridge for him. Kale was touched at this; the kind, elderly
lady always looked out for him more than necessary; it must have
been her maternal instinct. Kale smiled to himself; at least he
would actually be able to eat some turkey today.

He grabbed his
coffee and made his way into the living room to watch some cheesy
Christmas movies since he had nothing better to do. He had just
settled in front of the widescreen plasma when his gaze flickered
over to the tree; it was a surprise to him to find a few presents
under it.

It wasn’t that
he never received presents; it was more the fact that there seemed
to be one more than the usual ones from his parents, Alicia and the
staff. It was then that Kale remembered that Izzie had given him
one; he eagerly abandoned the TV and decided to open hers first. He
looked at the neatly wrapped parcel and felt bad about ripping the
paper; he tore it off and discovered an early copy of ‘Much Ado
About Nothing’. He smiled to himself and opened it to the front
page where he found an inscription:

Kale, I
thought you might like this to remember at least one good high
school experience It will hopefully remind you that
you
can control your choice of roles and when the
right one comes along, you’ll know … just don’t be afraid to go for
it!

Izzie x

Kale laughed;
it was so typical of Izzie to tell him something that was
appropriate for his most recent dilemma – to decide whether or not
to take the role of playing another dashing hero that he had been
offered. Now he felt his choice had been made; he had to turn it
down; he wanted something new – a challenge – and he would wait
until that opportunity appeared and then he would ‘go for it’!

After Izzie had
showered and dressed, she decided to join her grandmother in the
living room until dinner had been served. She settled down on the
sofa beside her Gran and watched the Christmas film her grandmother
was engrossed in.

“So,” Izzie
began, “what are we watching?”

Her grandmother
turned to her and pointedly stared at Izzie’s neck where the
necklace Kale had bought her was currently hanging.

“So, have you
thanked him yet?” Her grandmother merely said, purposely ignoring
Izzie’s question.

Izzie shook her
head, “No, I feel really stupid when I think about the silly thing
I
gave him.” Izzie shuddered and her grandmother looked
curious.

“Oh and what
did you get him?”

Izzie shrugged,
“Something that cost a hell of a lot less than this necklace.”

Her grandmother
shook her head, “Izzie, it’s not the amount spent; it’s the thought
and effort that went into choosing the gift that’s important.”

Izzie nodded,
“True, I did do a lot of research on his present.”

“Well there you
go,” her grandmother reassured her, “but I really think you should
call him and thank him … he’ll think you don’t like it.”

Izzie debated
with herself; she knew she would have to do it sooner or later and
she really didn’t think she’d be able to do it in person … Izzie
nodded to herself; her mind made up. She fished her mobile out of
her pocket and scrolled through the phonebook until she found
Kale’s number, she hit ‘call’ and waited for Kale to pick up. As
the phone was ringing, Izzie noticed her grandmother had edged
closer – obviously she had wanted to eavesdrop on Izzie’s
conversation but Izzie wasn’t going to give her the chance. Izzie
left the room and went to sit on the stairs while her grandmother
huffed with her and turned the TV volume up a little louder. Izzie
rolled her eyes to herself and finally Kale answered.

“Hey, Merry
Christmas … is everything ok?” came Kale’s voice.

Izzie laughed,
“Hey, same to you, um, yeah, everything’s fine … I um, I just
wanted to thank you for the beautiful necklace, you really didn’t
have to do that and I’m sure it cost a fortune!”

She heard Kale
chuckle, “Nah,” he told her, “I thought it was perfect for you …
I’m glad you like it. Thanks for mine, by the way. It’s actually
been really useful … in more ways than one.”

Izzie was
intrigued, “Oh yeah? It’s pretty lame in comparison to yours … so
what has it helped you with, other than learning your lines?”

Kale was quick
to correct her, “Hey, it was really thoughtful and unique … and I
loved it which is what counts. Anyway, your little bit of advice
helped me with a personal matter …” he trailed off cryptically.

Izzie sighed,
“Yeah, thanks for explaining
that
fully,” she quipped
sarcastically, “it’s not like I’m curious or anything.”

Kale chuckled
again, “It just helped me figure out my next career move, that’s
all … there’s no need to be shirty with me.”

Izzie had to
laugh at that, “Shirty eh? You certainly know how to express
yourself … anyway, what are your plans for the rest of the day
then? You’ve probably a big fat and juicy turkey cooking this
minute, am I right?”

Kale looked
around his surroundings; if only Izzie knew how far from the truth
she was. He turned the Christmas film he had been watching up; the
characters were all enjoying their festive dinner and Kale wanted
to give the illusion that he was not alone; he really didn’t want
Izzie to pity him if she knew the truth.

“Yeah,” Kale
said louder, “as you can probably hear … everyone’s getting into
the Christmas spirit here.” He forced a laugh and he heard Izzie
chuckle.

“Same here …
although, I can probably say - with total confidence – that my
family is significantly more insane than yours; you should’ve seen
my dad with the turkey this morning! Every year he buys the biggest
turkey … and every year, he struggles to fit it in the oven.”

Kale laughed,
“Sounds like fun. Well, I’d better let you go … I’ll see you
later.”

“Yeah, ok …
I’ll talk to you later if I can escape this mad lot. Merry
Christmas.” Izzie hung up the phone and made her way through to the
living room again where her grandmother hurriedly found the TV
remote and hit the ‘mute’ button.

“So …” her
grandmother looked at her eagerly, “did he like his present?”

Izzie nodded,
“Yeah, he loved it … sounded like his family were getting in the
festive mood. Anyway, why are you so interested in all of
this?”

Izzie watched
her grandmother shrug, “No reason … now, do you think it’s safe to
go into the kitchen or will we find a ‘Yuletide Homicide’?”

Izzie roared
with laughter, “How do you think of them Gran? I guess we had
better check, we wouldn’t something like that putting a dampener
our Christmas now, would we?”

Chapter
Fourteen

For once,
Christmas Dinner in the Frank household passed without any
arguments, and Izzie was enjoying relaxing on the sofa after her
turkey indulgence when her phone bleeped. She noticed her
grandmother look at her inquisitively and Izzie avoided her eye
while she clicked open the text message from Kale.

‘What u up
to?’

Izzie was
curious; it was quite random of Kale to text out of the blue and
with no real reason, nevertheless, Izzie decided to bite and
reply.

‘Feeling
stuffed from dinner. U?’

A few seconds
later, her phone bleeped again, ‘Not much, same with me.’

Izzie felt like
Kale wasn’t telling her something; she left the living room,
avoiding her grandmother’s knowing look, and went up to her bedroom
for some privacy. She worded her reply carefully.

‘Is everything
ok? Do u wanna talk?’

‘No, I’m fine.
Promise ;)’

Izzie wasn’t
fooled that easily, she replied, ‘Ok, talk later’ but grabbed her
car keys. She popped her head around the living room door and saw
her grandmother and father dozing but her mother was watching
TV.

“Mum, I’m just
going to visit a friend. I’ll be back later, ok?” Izzie watched her
mother nod and not pay much attention to her so she set off out the
door.

Kale was
sitting watching a Christmas special of some soap and feeling very
stupid; he didn’t know what had possessed him to text Izzie and the
moment he had, he’d regretted it instantly. Just because he was all
alone on Christmas day and feeling sorry for himself was no reason
to disrupt Izzie’s celebrations. Kale came to the conclusion that
he was just feeling very lonely; after he had eaten the dinner Mrs
Wilson had left him, he craved some festive spirit but there he was
all alone – if the press could see him now, he could just see hear
the jibes about money not being able to buy you happiness, even for
a movie star like himself. He sighed and then he heard the
doorbell; probably Alicia checking up on him. Kale made his way to
the front door and hitched a smile on his face before he swung the
door open to find Izzie standing.

“What are you
doing here?” Kale asked in surprise.

Izzie smiled at
him, “I think I can tell when someone wants to talk but just won’t
admit it. Now, can I come in?”

Kale moved to
the side and Izzie stepped inside. He led her into the living room
and he noticed Izzie glancing around and looking quite
perplexed.

“Am I missing
something Kale? When did everyone leave?” She threw him a baffled
look and he sighed.

“You’re
probably going to laugh,” Kale told her, “there has been nobody
here at all today.”

Izzie looked
very puzzled indeed now, “I’m not laughing Kale; I’m just
confused.”

Kale smiled a
little, “I don’t blame you. When I was on the phone to you earlier
… the noise you heard – the party going on – it was on TV.”

Izzie looked at
him to continue, when he didn’t, she prompted him, “Ok … I still
don’t understand what it is you’re trying to say.”

Kale smiled
sadly, “What I’m trying to tell you is that I’ve been alone … all
day … my parents have work commitments and the staff are all with
their families.”

Comprehension
dawned on Izzie’s face, “Oh … oh my God, Kale why didn’t you say
something? You could’ve come to my house – I’m not gonna lie; it’s
a mad house – but at least you would’ve had some company.”

Kale shook his
head, “Please Izzie, don’t pity me. I’d rather you tell me that I
deserve it … after all, I am the egotistic movie star whose own
parents failed to celebrate Christmas with him. It just proves
money can’t buy you everything.”

Izzie frowned
at him, “You do know I was joking about the ‘egotistic’ thing … but
Kale, nobody
deserves
to be left alone at Christmas! Oh I
feel so bad now.”

Kale patted her
on the arm, “Don’t, come on, sit down and I’ll make some coffee. Oh
God, now I feel bad for making you feel bad.”

Izzie sat down,
“Ok, I think we’re both not doing each other any favours. Let’s
change the subject.”

Kale nodded,
“I’ll get the coffee and you … you sit here and relax.”

“So,” Kale
paused to take a sip of his coffee, “why did you come round – not
that I don’t want you here – because I do – but I’m curious.”

Izzie smiled,
“I just sensed something was wrong. You just sounded … sad.”

Kale grinned,
“You’re very intuitive … and
I’m
very grateful.”

Izzie laughed,
“Yeah and I missed my daily dose of Mr Pain-in-the-Ass!”

Kale chuckled
at that, “See, I knew you liked having me around.”

Izzie hit him
playfully on the arm, “Don’t flatter yourself buddy. Seriously
though, you should’ve said something earlier.”

Kale shook his
head, “I enjoyed the peace and quiet; a chance to think. It was
nice but then …” he trailed off.

“But then you
started to feel lonely,” Izzie finished for him. “Kale, it’s not a
weakness to admit you want some company.” She looked at him
sternly.

Kale laughed,
“Ok, please don’t look at me like that … I’m worried you’re going
to pop a blood vessel or something.”

Izzie rolled
her eyes, “Gee Kale, a comedian and actor … is there anything
you’re not good at?”

Kale smirked,
“Yeah, getting the girl I like to like me back.”

Izzie knew she
had walked right into that one; trust Kale to make her feel even
more confused than she already was. Izzie looked away from him and
said nothing.

Kale sighed,
“Hey, I’m only messing with you. You don’t need to tell me again
that you despise me; I get it.”

Izzie glanced
at him and then looked directly into his baby blue eyes, “I don’t
despise you Kale, really.”

Kale was
surprised at how sincere Izzie sounded, “Well then why can’t you
give me a chance? Now I know there’s a possibility you
might
like me too … why can’t we give it a shot?”