Tales of the Ragoon, Kate's Movie Star (14 page)

“What are you talking about?” protested Kate.
“You’re a great actor.”

Runyon laughed. “No Kate,” replied. “I’m not
a great actor. I’m not bad, but I’m barely good, if that. Mostly,
I’m a pretty face and a body that girls can fantasize about.

“But I did a good job on this production,
Kate. When I get back to Los Angeles, I’m going to look into this
aspect of the business. I think that I might have a real talent for
the production side of the entertainment business. Maybe, I’ll take
some classes.”

“I think that you’re a good actor, Runyon,”
said Kate loyally. “But I think that you will be good at anything
that you decide to do.”

Runyon turned his head to look at her. He
smiled.

“Thank you, Katey,” he said. He kissed
her.

On graduation night, Kate lined up with the
other members of her graduating class and marched across the stage
that had been erected in the middle of the football field. The
principal asked the audience not to clap until everyone’s name had
been called, and of course, the audience ignored him.

To Kate’s surprise, when her name was called,
there was a spontaneous outburst of applause. The principal frowned
at her, as he shook her hand. Then she returned to her seat, a few
more remarks were made from the podium, and then the principal
pronounced them graduated.

They cheered and threw their caps into the
air.

Much to her public annoyance and secret
pleasure, her father had invited a crowd to his home to celebrate
his daughter’s graduation. She put in a quick appearance, and then
she ducked out with Runyon to go to other teenager’s graduation
parties, including Ashley’s and Britney’s parties. Then she and
Runyon hurried home again.

Kate spent a lot of her time mingling with
the guests and accepting their congratulations. While she was
occupied, Runyon found himself apart, but watching her.

“She’s a good person,” he heard.

He turned slightly to see Kurt Santini come
and stand beside him. He looked back at Kate who was laughing at
something someone had said.

“Yes,” Runyon agreed. “She is a good
person.”

“Probably wouldn’t fit into the kind of
lifestyle that you and your mother have.”

Swiftly, his eyes flashing, Runyon turned to
face Santini.

“Get this through your head, Santini. I’m
nothing like, ‘The Lady.’ Don’t ever suggest that we are anything
alike. Got that?” he demanded.

“Yeah, okay,” answered Kurt mildly.

“Still, you have to admit that, given the way
you live, you’re not likely to make her happy. You don’t have a lot
in common.”

Runyon stared at the laughing girl, and then
he answered, “You’d be surprised. We both value the same thing very
highly.”

“What’s that?” asked Kurt.

“Fidelity,” replied Runyon.

Dr. Santini thought about that. “I think that
you may be right, Runyon,” he said. “But that still doesn’t mean
that you could make her happy. Or that she could make you
happy.”

Runyon was silent for a few moments and then
he replied, “I know that she make’s me happy. I think that I make
her happy. I think that she would be happy with me.”

“Care to make a little wager on that?” asked
Dr. Santini.

Runyon turned to stare at him.

Kate noticed Runyon speaking to Dr. Santini.
Suddenly, she wanted to be next to him, to be in his presence. She
broke away from the group that she was with and walked over to him.
She had a big smile on her face. The two men ceased speaking and
turned toward her. Kurt Santini stepped forward.

“Congratulations, Kate,” he said.

To his surprise, she opened her arms and
hugged him.

“Thank you,” she replied. “And thanks for
coming to my party.”

“Glad I could be here,” Kurt answered. He
glanced at Runyon and said, “I’ll see you later.” Runyon just
grunted.

As Kurt Santini walked away, Kate murmured,
“I think that he could be a very good parent.”

“He certainly manipulates like one,”
responded Runyon sourly.

Before Kate could ask him what he meant, her
father came by.

“I’m going to kick everyone out at one,” he
told them. “That way, we can all get a little sleep tonight.”

Kate looked at Runyon. Runyon looked at
Kate.

“What?” asked Carlos.

“Umm, Dad, Runyon and I are going to leave
about then,” said Kate.

“You are?”

“Yes. We got permission from the Ragoon to go
out of town. Runyon and I are going to drive to Tracy and catch
BART to San Francisco. We’re staying at the Fairmont Hotel. We’ll
be back on Tuesday.”

Deep inside, Carlos could not help feeling
old at that moment, but bravely he smiled and said, “Well, have a
good time in the City.”

Abruptly, he turned and walked away.

Kate sighed and leaned into Runyon as he put
his arm around her.

When they left the Tracy station, Runyon
suggested that Kate should rest on the way, but she was too hyper
to even try. She stared out at the black night as their carrier
sped along Interstate 580. They transferred at Dublin to the track
that ran north and south between Walnut Creek and Fremont, and then
transferred again in Walnut Creek.

Kate was asleep when they arrived in San
Francisco. If they had arrived in the daytime, Runyon would have
made his way to Powell and Market where they would have ridden the
cable car. Now, he hired a cab.

Sunday, they did not leave their room until
after noon. They traveled by cab that day. First, they explored the
few art galleries’ that were open on Sunday, and then in the late
afternoon, they climbed Coit Tower. They had a brief friendly
argument about where to have dinner, and then Kate conceded to
Runyon’s more experienced palate, and they chose the French
Laundry. Gary Danko was postponed until Monday night.

They were tired when they arrived back at the
hotel. They slept for a couple of hours and then, when they woke
refreshed, they were ready to come together in a bout of sweet
intense love making. They slept some more, and then they made love
again.

Monday, they were up earlier. Kate was eager
to ride the cable car, so they climbed aboard and rode to
Fisherman’s Wharf. They explored the Wharf, ate sourdough bread and
shrimp cocktails, and then walked along the water front, and shared
a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli Square.

Afterwards, they hurried back to their room
at the Fairmont and fell into bed again. After a trip to Gary
Danko, Runyon and Kate relaxed together in the huge bathtub.

“Ahhh…,” Kate moaned as Runyon’s fingers
massaged her tired neck muscles. “This feels so good. And this is
so, so, wrong. People shouldn’t live this extravagantly.”

She felt Runyon’s fingers pause for a moment,
and then he started massaging again.

“Do you think that it would be wrong of me to
have something like this in my house?” he asked.

Kate was now sensitive enough to his moods
and feelings to know that her answer was important to him. She
turned her head, so that she could meet his eyes.

“Seriously? No, I don’t think that it would
be wrong for you to have this. I just meant that I’m not used to
this kind of treatment. I’m enjoying it. But that’s because I’m
here with you. If I was by myself, I wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as
much.”

Runyon smiled a genuine smile. He liked her
answer.

Late that night, they made love again.
Afterwards, Kate once again waited until she thought that Runyon
was asleep.

Once again, she whispered, “I love you.”

She could barely keep her eyes open. She
closed them and fell asleep.

In the darkness, Runyon did not smile. He
searched his memory and his mind, writing and rewriting a scene
that would work.

The next day, they left the Fairmont at
eleven and arrived home in the middle of the afternoon. Carlos and
Matt were still at work. The boys greeted them politely before
returning to a movie that they were streaming. Kate started dinner.
Runyon went down to his room.

On Thursday, Runyon and Kate received email
from Jane Laurence. The messages stated that, since they had caused
no other incidents as far as the Ragoon were concerned, their
probation would end on the fifth of July. They would report to the
MHRC that day, but Laurence assured them that the interview was
strictly pro forma.

Runyon began winding down his affairs. He
closed a bank account. He closed charge accounts at various
merchants. He and Kate still spent most of their time together, but
they were not intimate. They politely avoided arguing now, and Kate
soon realized that she missed that mentally stimulating aspect of
their lives.

Kate tried not to grieve, at least not when
he was around. Sometimes, in the quiet of the midnight, she buried
her head under her pillow lest someone hear some sudden outburst of
emotion from her room and ask her what was wrong. Two weeks passed.
It was just past the middle of June.

She was rereading one of her old Krentz
romance novels one afternoon, when she heard his car pull into the
driveway. She waited until she heard the kitchen door open and
shut, and then she put down the book and went to find him.

He was standing in the middle of the living
room. Her heart gave a lurch when she saw the two suitcases
standing there too.

“Hey, Babe,” he began. “I got two suitcases.
One for each of us. I figured that we could have the rest of our
stuff shipped down later.”

He smiled his trademarked smile, and it’s
wattage was the greatest that he had ever given her.

She frowned at him. She stared down at the
two suitcases for a moment. Then she looked up at him. His smile
faltered.

And then Kate noticed a movement. At his
side, almost hidden from her sight, his fingers were tapping
against his thigh, so fast that they were almost a blur.

The chance of a lifetime, thought Kate. She
smiled and took it.

“Yeah, one suitcase apiece ought to do
it.”

Runyon’s trademarked smile vanished. He
realized that he had been holding his breath. He sucked in air.

“Kate,” he said in wonderment. “I love
you.”

She crossed the room to him, and she wrapped
her arms around him. She leaned against his chest. She felt his
chin against her head.

“You could have just asked, Your Dorkiness,”
she said softly.

She looked up at him. He gave her a genuine
smile full of happiness and thanksgiving. Then he kissed her long
and deep.

When they broke apart, she sighed.

“My Dad’s not going to be happy about this,
you know,” she stated.

“But you’ll come with me anyway, won’t you,”
stated Runyon confidently.

“Yes.”

“We better start looking for a ring.”

She looked startled. “That’s not
necessary.”

“Trust me. Your dad will think that it’s
necessary.”

Carlos took the news glumly, but he nodded
his understanding.

Matt said to Kate, “I told you so.” Kate was
too happy to argue.

The boys were ecstatic.

“We’ll come with you when you drive down to
your house,” said Pete. “So we can go to Disney Universal like
Runyon promised.”

“No you won’t drive down with us,” responded
Kate. “I need some time to settle in. You can come down with Dad
and Matt in August.”

Dismayed, Juan moaned, “That’s almost two
whole months, Kate.”

“Tough,” replied their unsympathetic sister.
“I’m not letting you come down unattended anyway. I want Dad or
Matt to be there to keep an eye on you.”

“Why?” demanded Pete. “What could we do
wrong?”

“I have a list that I could tell Dad about,”
Kate reminded him.

“Never mind,” said Juan hastily. “August is
fine.”

Carlos was troubled about this situation. A
week later, after thinking long and hard about it, he confronted
Runyon privately.

“Look, I know that you love Katey, and I know
that she loves you. But she is very young and so are you. Have you
thought about what should happen if you have a child right
away?”

“I thought Kate told you," responded Runyon.
"The Ragoon put something in her that blocks the formation of her
eggs until she’s twenty one. Besides, we’re getting married in a
couple of years so what’s the problem?”

“You’re getting married?” asked Carlos
clearly relieved at this news.

“So Kate didn’t tell you about that either,”
stated Runyon wryly. “Of course, we’re getting married. My child is
not going to be born out of wedlock, and I intend to see that he or
she is raised in a very traditional household. Trust me. After the
way I was raised, the more traditional the better. That’s one of
the things that I love about your family, Carlos.”

Carlos scratched his chin. “I’m not sure that
we are that traditional, Runyon.”

“Close enough,” replied the movie star. “So
yes, we are getting married. Some day. But right now, Kate is
having too much fun playing Naughty Girl.”

Carlos winced. “Here is a netflash for you
Runyon. A man does not want to hear that his daughter is having fun
being naughty.”

Runyon laughed. “Sorry,” he said, obviously
not sorry at all.”

Carlos nodded. “I will light a candle, and I
will pray that your first child is a daughter, and that she is
exactly like Katey.”

Runyon lost his smile. “Man, that’s cold,” he
complained.

“So, what is Katey going to do while you are
working?” asked her father. “Get a job.”

“Okay, don’t tell her yet, but she entering
Pepperdine University in September,” replied Runyon.

Carlos was astonished. “How did you do
that?”

Runyon grinned. “Hey, I’m Runyon Silverstar,
remember?”

Carlos thought about it. “Santini?” he
asked.

Runyon lost his grin. “Kurt’s alum,” he
admitted.

“So you haven’t told her yet?”