Part 9
“Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul
-and sings the tune without words, and never stops – at all.”
-Emily Dickensen
Part 9
There were nights when Hayden would wake to the sound of gunfire – shots he
had never actually heard. That dark day when he had held Melissa’s wounded body
and pleaded into space to spare her still haunted him. Mylene had claimed to be
a fan, she claimed to love Hayden and set about to win his heart by eliminating
the life in Melissa’s. Logically he knew she was off balance but that day,
holding her cold lifeless body, he had vowed to protect his wife until his own
dying breath. Now here, in the middle of thousands of fans, photographers and
guests, he saw everyone thru cautious eyes.
Quite the contrary, Melissa had no fear of the fans. In fact, she cherished
them, understanding their admiration of the man she loved gave them common
ground. As Hayden stood with the cast on the red carpet, Melissa shook hands and
signed autographs for the crowd even though the desire for her signature made
very little sense in her mind. She wasn’t a celebrity, but it made them happy.
Close beside her were Tove, her personal protector in Hayden’s absence, and
little sister Kaylen who was taking in the electric atmosphere of the gala that
is the Cannes Film Festival.
"I think they’re getting ready to go in," Tove spoke directly into Melissa’s
ear so she could hear him.
"OH MY GOD!" screamed some fans. "TOVE! TOVE! WE LOVE YOU! Can we get a
picture please?"
"You heard the ladies Tove," Melissa laughed as she scooted him over to the
girls. "Smile!"
After the photos were snapped, Tove had Melissa on one arm and Kaylen on the
other as they followed the Star Wars cast into the theater while being showered
with confetti. Hayden and Natalie were pulled to another round of interviews, so
the trio made small talk, each noticing Hayden looking back over his shoulder on
a regular basis.
"Do you think he’ll ever relax?" Kaylen half joked.
Melissa shrugged her shoulders as Tove added his thoughts. "Never. He’s
looking out for someone that’s precious." Realizing how that sounded, he added a
hasty "to him" before grabbing three flutes of champagne from a passing waiters
tray and handing one each to the girls.
While the air around them had suddenly thickened, Melissa understood and
lightly punched his tuxedo covered arm. "Now, don’t go getting all mushy on
me."
Her words relaxed Tove and he breathed a little easier, but Kaylen decided to
keep one eye firmly fixed on her older brother. The family all adored Melissa
but she couldn’t help but wonder if she was a little something extra to
Tove.
Hayden joined them a short time later and Melissa happily took his arm to
walk into the theater. As they strolled he took his free hand and rested it on
top of hers relishing the pressure of her hand on his bent arm. "Now, this is
how I like things."
"We saw you peeking looks. Kaylen wanted to know if you’re ever going to
relax."
Having conversations in front of a sea of flashbulbs wasn’t new for them.
Anything said on an arrival carpet needed to be done while not making odd faces
that would end up plastered through supermarket tabloids the day after with
completely unrelated captions, so it did present some challenges. Looking
forward and smiling he asked her sincerely, "Does it bother you?"
"Only because it bothers you," she glanced at him and smiled before returning
her focus to the crowd. "I understand why you’re cautious and I appreciate it,
but…"
He turned to look at her, oblivious to the cameras and the fans, one eyebrow
rose slightly. "But?"
"Listen to your gut more than your head," she said as she waved and smiled to
the crowd. "Mylene was never in a crowd, she was never this obvious."
"That doesn’t exactly help Beautiful – now all the quiet understated people
are the ones I’ll worry about," he laughed as he waved along with her.
"That wasn’t exactly the point I was trying to make. Regular fans want to be
seen by you, they don’t hide or pretend. They want nothing more than what you’re
giving them – a glimpse of yourself and a moment of your time…but you know
that."
"Knowing what you often try to say is one of my more finely tuned
abilities."
"It does seem to come in handy from time to time."
As they reached their seats, he held her hand as she sat down, softly kissing
it before taking his place beside her. As the lights began to dim, he held on
tight, weaved his fingers through hers and mouthed "I love you" just as the
crowd cheered the start of the movie. She was here, she was safe, and he could
touch her which was just how he liked it.
****
Traveling from charity premiere to charity premiere, Hayden had lots of
opportunities to practice handling having Melissa surrounded by fans. He
couldn’t deny she had a way with them and from what he could tell, they adored
her and he could certainly appreciate that. While comfortable he wasn’t, he had
at least progressed to a point where he stopped holding his breath as fans
gathered around her.
The excitement of their globe trotting caught up with her and she slept
peacefully on his shoulder during the flight back to Los Angeles. The attendants
were making last passes up the aisles before landing, so he reluctantly woke
her. "Hey, we’re not too far away from a spoiled pooch."
"She’s not spoiled," she mumbled as she woke. "She’s just well cared for."
With a yawn and a stretch she felt as awake as she was going to. "I hope she’s
been good for Kate. We might just see her tied to a post in baggage claim with a
sign that says ‘Need work – driving my people nuts’."
"You worry too much."
"Me?" she laughed. "I worry too much? Hey pot? Meet Kettle."
"Yeah, ok, got me, but isn’t Kona just like her parents?"
"Yes, I suppose so…to a certain degree."
"…and didn’t Kate raise her parents?"
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts, she’s fine. When are we picking her up?"
"We’re supposed to go right to the hotel from the airport and do the premiere
thing again so I told Kate first thing in the morning."
As they disembarked the plane and walked along the corridors of the terminal,
Hayden couldn’t resist. "Well cared for huh? Are we going to be able to keep her
in the style to which she’s become accustomed during her time with
‘Grandma’?"
"Hah! Doubtful."
Once in baggage claim, Hayden glanced around for the driver that was
scheduled to pick them up and saw a couple of familiar faces. "At least she’s
not tied to a post," he laughed as he tapped Melissa on the shoulder.
Kate held the leash of a very antsy, obviously excited Kona just outside of
the sliding glass doors. "Oh my!" Melissa exclaimed as she rushed to them,
dropping to her knees as Kona sat up to put her paws on some much needed
shoulders.
"She missed you and took every opportunity to let me know," Kate laughed.
"Welcome home!"
Hayden grabbed their bags from the carousel and met them outside, dropping
everything on the curb to ruffle the big dog’s ears. "Hey girl! You want to go
see a movie?"
"You’re not serious?" Melissa questioned.
"Why not? We won’t have time to run her to the house and George won’t
care."
"I’m sure he won’t since he’s not coming to this one."
"She just wanted to see you," Kate interrupted. "I’ll take her back home and
you can pick her up tomorrow like you planned."
Hayden gave a little wink in Kate’s direction before wrapping his arms around
Melissa and pulling her close. "Come on…she won’t be any trouble, will you
girl?" Glancing down at Kona’s dark, attentive eyes he nudged his head and
flicked his eyebrows just before Kona rumbled a low and throaty whine in
response. "See? No trouble."
"You two have been practicing that, haven’t you?"
"I’ll never tell. Kate, what do you think?"
"You’ll get no argument from me dears. Come by the house tomorrow, I still
want to catch up," the older woman smiled.
"Ok, but we’re calling Cecilia first just to make sure it’s alright," she
conceded.
Flipping open her cell phone, Melissa placed a call to George’s ever
efficient assistant. Hayden had been right, no one minded Kona attending, and
the event coordinators actually seemed pleased. With a thank you to Kate and a
hug goodbye, they jumped into the newly arrived limo and headed toward the hotel
to get ready.
As they walked the red carpet a couple of hours later he could see why the
event coordinators were agreeable. The fans were beyond thrilled to see the
family all together and had no hesitations about telling them so. Walking with
her, standing for photos, Kona at steadfast at her side, he couldn’t help but
remember back to the first day he saw her, walking the carpet to the Golden
Globes. She was still that girl that caught his eye and captured his heart.
‘Thank you again, for staying with me’ she had said back then, holding his
arm the same way she held it now. It had been his pleasure then and every day
since. Hers was the hand he wanted to hold for the rest of his life and the
brightness of his smile screamed that to every person who saw
them.
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