My-Serendipity.net - Echoes in the Silence

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.