Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star (10 page)

“Thank you. Thanks for calling Dr. Santini.
I’m sorry that we’re such a hassle.”

“You’re welcome, Babe. It’s not that bad.
It’s been a long time. I should be over him by now.”

The two of them went upstairs. Matt had
started dinner, but Kate took over that chore. Carlos and Kurt were
watching the football pre-game show. Runyon watched them for an
indecisive minute, and then he went into the living room and sat
down. It was Los Angeles playing, after all, he thought.

As she prepared dinner, Kate strained to
listen to what was being said over the noise of the television. At
first, all she could hear was the sounds of the game. But after a
while, she heard some angry words being spoken. She paused, while
wondering if it would do any good for her to intervene. But she
could not help herself. She hurried to the entrance from the
kitchen into the living room, in time to hear an angry exchange
between Kurt and Runyon.

“I did try to stay in contact with you,” Kurt
was insisting.

“One lousy card on my thirteen birthday,”
sneered Runyon.

“I sent you plenty of cards and letters,”
answered Kurt hotly. “I can’t help it if you never got any of them.
The only reason that the one on your thirteenth birthday got
through, was that The Lady was in Europe, and your au pair felt
sorry for you. It got her fired and me a restraining order telling
me that if I contacted you again, I would go to jail. Dammit, I
tried.”

“You said that you were my father. You didn’t
try hard enough,” replied Runyon coldly.

Kurt took a breath, and was silent for a
minute. At the entrance, Kate looked pleadingly at her Dad who saw
her, but who gave her a small negative shake of his head. Carlos
stayed silent.

Then Kurt spoke again in a calmer tone of
voice.

“You’re right, Runyon. I didn’t try hard
enough. I should have thought of something. But, please, try to
understand. Your mother divorced me after my company went bankrupt.
I was scrambling to pay all of my suppliers, a lot of whom were on
the verge of bankruptcy because of me. I didn’t have a dime to my
name. I didn’t know what to do. I thought that you were safe,
because you had a big house to stay in and people to watch over
you. I know that was stupid thinking now. I didn’t realize it
then.

“I thought that you would get back in touch
with me when you turned eighteen. But you never did. And when I
finally got in touch with you, well… You were not exactly happy to
see me.”

“Oh, so this is my fault?” asked Runyon
bitterly.

“I didn’t say that, Runyon,” said Kurt
patiently. “It’s The Lady’s fault. It’s my fault. I don’t care
whose fault it is. I care about you. I think about you almost every
day. I just wish that you would believe that.”

Kate was desperate. She stepped into the
room.

“Supper is ready,” she said it what she hoped
was a cheerful voice.

“Thank you, but I need to be going,” said
Kurt sadly.

He got up and made his good-bye to Carlos who
walked with him out the door and then shut it. Kate came over to
Runyon’s chair and slipped down onto his lap. She put her arms
around him and held him. Neither of them said anything for a
minute.

Then Runyon said, “I don’t really feel very
hungry.”

“Come sit down and have something to drink,
at least,” said Kate.

“All right.”

He followed her into the kitchen. Runyon
realized that the boys had disappeared to their rooms. Carlos came
back into the house and went into the kitchen. Kate left to find
Matt.

“I guess you think that I’m being a jerk,”
said Runyon.

Carlos shrugged. “My daughter was missing for
five days, and I didn’t know it. I’m not exactly a candidate for
Father of the Year. But I do see one thing, Runyon. That man cares
about you. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come here today.”

“Maybe. Maybe, he was just paying a
debt.”

“In that case, he wouldn’t have stayed to
talk to you.”

Kate and Matt came into the kitchen. The boys
appeared. They all ate quietly. When they finished, Juan and Matt
began to clear the table, because it was their turn. Runyon and
Kate started down the hall toward Runyon’s room. Carlos followed
them to Runyon’s door.

“Katey.”

Kate turned at the sound of her father’s
voice.

“Yes, Dad?” she inquired.

“Katey, I want to tell you that I love you,”
said Carlos. “I love you every bit as much as I love the boys. I
know that I don’t tell you that enough. I know that I’m kind of
awkward around you. It’s easier for me to deal with the boys. But I
love you, Katey. And I’m ashamed that I didn’t know that you were
missing. I should have told you that before now.”

Kate felt her eyes sting. “It’s okay, Daddy.
I know that you love me.” She hugged her father.

Carlos looked at Runyon who stood there
feeling out of place. Runyon’s hand was tapping his thigh.

“I’m glad that you came into our lives,
Runyon. It’s been good for all of us, especially Katey. Thank you
for calling your father for me. I can see what that cost you. I
appreciate it.”

“Uh, it’s cool, sir,” Runyon said
nervously.

Kate started talking to her father about his
medicine, so Runyon opened his door. For a moment he paused and
watched them as they walked down the hall together. An intense
longing came over him as he saw father and daughter smiling at each
other. He had never known what a true family was or how they dealt
with one another. Now he was beginning to learn.

He went down the stairs and lay down on his
bed. He was used to being alone, he had grown up with the feeling,
but he felt more alone now than he ever had. He was hurting
emotionally and even though intellectually he understood why, it
still did not ease the intense hurt.

Presently, Kate opened his door. Without
asking, she came down the stairs. Once again, she climbed onto his
bed and lay down next to him. Silently he lifted his arm and she
snuggled into him. Neither of them spoke. But Runyon no longer felt
so alone.

Chapter Five

Runyon Gets an Education

Runyon wasn’t happy when Carlos informed him
that he had invited Dr. Santini to have Thanksgiving dinner with
the Garcia’s, and even less happy when he discovered that Kurt had
accepted the invitation. But he was polite to Kurt that day, and
there was no drama as on the previous occasion. It helped, he
thought later, that they were both rooting for Los Angeles to beat
Dallas.

Runyon’s only complaint was that he was
putting on weight as a result of living at the Garcia’s, and the
huge turkey and the accompanying meal did not help his waist line.
He was flabbergasted and indignant to hear Kate suggest that he had
been a little skinny when he had arrived at their home and that now
he was much sexier looking. If you liked the type, she added.

Later, while she was cleaning up, she heard
raised voices once again. She went to the entrance to the living
room and peeked around the corner.

“You guys are crazy!” her father was
proclaiming. “Joe Montana was the best quarterback to ever play the
game. The Forty Niner teams that he played for were the greatest
ever.”

Kurt snorted. “Yeah, right. They won a few
Superbowls against inferior teams. Rick Sanchez was the greatest
quarterback in the history of the game, and Anaheim is the greatest
team.”

“You have to admit, Carlos,” added Runyon.
“That game with Dallas was the best Superbowl ever. Sanchez was
incredible.”

“Big deal,” snorted Carlos. “The Adventurers
barely got by the Sacramento Raiders.”

Kate shook her head and went back into the
kitchen.

As December entered, the weather turned
cooler. Kate and Runyon could not swim comfortably in the local
lakes and rivers now. Besides that, Runyon was often busy on the
weekends building props for the talent show that was scheduled for
mid May.

“So, how is Luke working out,” she asked one
afternoon after he arrived home. They were sitting on Runyon’s
bed.

“Luke’s great. He likes Ashley and as for
Britney…” He grinned.

“With that chest, what’s not to like,”
continued Kate wryly.

Runyon laughed. “Yeah, she’s got quite a
rack,” he agreed. “But I prefer yours.” He reached over and tweaked
a nipple through her blouse.

“Hey,” she said, but smiled to take the sting
out of her protest. And then she asked, “How come you haven’t made
the big move on me yet?”

Runyon sighed. “Well, it’s not because I
don’t want to, Katey,” he explained. “But to be honest, I don’t do
virgins and besides that, you’re jail bait.”

“Jail bait!” exclaimed Kate. “I’m almost
seventeen and a half. I’m practically an adult!”

“Like I said, jail bait,” answered Runyon.
“Katey, try to remember. I’m on probation. Ragoon probation. I
don’t want to end up doing very small theater on the moon.”

Kate thought about that. “So making out and
feeling me up is okay, but we can’t go any further than that?”

“Yes, sweetheart, those are the limits.
Believe me, I not any happier about it than you are.”

“I never said that I was unhappy about it,”
objected Kate.

Runyon gave her a side look.

Kate blushed.

“Okay, maybe I’ve thought about it,” muttered
Kate. “My virginity is one thing that you don’t have to worry
about. I’m not a virgin. Haven’t been one since this time last
year.”

“Really?” asked Runyon who was genuinely
surprised.

“Yeah.” Kate lay back on his bed and stared
at the ceiling for a moment. Then she continued.

“This guy at school asked me out. We went on
several dates. After a couple of months, he made it plain that he
wanted to do it with me. Not that he pressured me or anything. I
was curious, so I did it with him. It was nice. I liked it. I
thought that we were a couple. He told me that I was the only one.
But it turned out, that I wasn’t the only girl he wanted to do it
with. So I broke it off with him.”

Runyon didn’t say anything. He thought about
the circles that he was a part of in his industry. The people he
knew would think that the young man’s behavior was perfectly normal
and acceptable. Runyon had always thought the same until now.
Gazing at Kate lying on her back and staring at the ceiling, Runyon
was overtaken by a strange feeling. It was disturbing and yet
thrilling at the same time. What if Kate was really his girlfriend,
he thought. How would that change his life?

What was more important he realized, was how
it would change Kate’s life. Would she fit into his life and his
lifestyle. Probably not. The thought depressed Runyon.

“Well, that doesn’t change the fact you are
still jail bait, Babe,” he said. “Ask me again when you are
eighteen.”

“I didn’t ask you now, Your Coolness. Damn,
you are so annoying.”

Runyon laughed and changed the subject.

Later, Runyon admitted to himself that his
make out sessions with Kate would occasionally get perilously out
of hand. They were physically attracted to one another, and their
bodies were demanding more than their minds knew was wise. Luckily,
the demands on her time by her two younger brothers interrupted a
lot of those dangerous moments.

He hadn’t purchased a swimsuit for Kate yet,
thought Runyon, but he had a plan. It was a clever plan, he hoped.
One that wouldn’t get his butt kicked by Carlos, but still might
give him a chance to see a little more of Kate. Which is exactly
what he should not be thinking, he admitted to himself. Maybe he
was being a little too clever.

On Christmas morning, the family opened their
gifts after breakfast since the two youngest boys decided that it
would be really uncool to act like little kids and be eager to see
what was inside their presents.

As she waded through the gifts from her
father and brothers, Kate found a colorful artfully wrapped present
from Runyon. She smiled and glanced mischievously at him. He was
sitting on the floor across from her, smiling, his hands resting
peacefully on his thighs waiting for her to open the gift. Her eyes
narrowed. Slowly, carefully, she opened the box, lifted out the
garment and held it up.

“What is this?” she asked in stunned
disbelief.

“I told you. I bought you a swimsuit,”
replied Runyon with a grin. “Show it to your Dad.”

The garment was a swimsuit, one from about
1900. It had a blue bodice, and a white and blue striped collar
that was tied at the neck. The half sleeves were also striped as
were the pants that came down just below the knees and were also
tied. Included in the box was a striped swim cap designed to fit
snugly over a woman’s head.

The three younger male Garcia’s took one look
and began to roar with laughter. Carlos tried to hide a smile.

“It’s perfect for you, Kate,” snickered
Juan.

“I love it,” asserted Matt. Pete just kept on
laughing.

“It’s very nice,” said Carlos.

“Dad!” yelled Kate.

“Well, perhaps it is a bit old fashioned,
Katey” sympathized her father while covering a chuckling cough .
“But you really would look cute in it.

Giving Runyon a look that said, ‘I’ll get you
for this,’ Kate shoved the garment back into the box and through
gritted teeth said, “Thanks,” to Runyon

The movie star’s grin was a mile wide.

That night, Kate was still grumbling to
herself as she entered her room to prepare for bed. When she turned
on the light, she noticed another wrapped box on the bed. There was
no label on the box.

Curious, Kate opened the box and lifted the
pieces of the garment. She caught her breath. There were two
pieces, both barely scraps of cloth. It was a thong and a tiny
matching top. Neither was really designed to be worn in rough
water, rather they were designed to be seen by one’s lover.