17
I roll over in bed and open my eyes, expecting to see Spencer next to me. He’s not there, which is a little disappointing… but I have a feeling his sleep schedule is messed up because of the traveling he did. I sit up and reach for my phone to check the time. It’s just after eight, which is a nice surprise. I really thought I wasn’t going to sleep that much. I’m still tired and going back to sleep crosses my mind for a brief moment.
The bedroom door opens and Spencer walks in. He walks over and gets back into bed.
“How did you sleep?” he asks.
“OK… I guess. You?”
“Eh… I managed a little nap, but it’s hard with the time difference.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured. I guess you’ll have to take a nap today.”
“I’ll give it a shot… but I’d much rather spend every moment with you.”
“Aww.”
He smiles as I move my head to his chest. Spencer gently kisses the top of my head.
“When do you have to go back?” I ask, expecting the worst.
“The day after tomorrow. Sorry.”
“It’s fine… I knew you wouldn’t be staying for long.”
“You know I wish I could stay longer, but we’re on a pretty tight shooting schedule.”
“I totally get it… no worries.”
“I was thinking… once you feel like getting up... we could go get Arte. I’m dying to meet her.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. I missed having her around yesterday.”
“Good,” he says, kissing my head again.
“Are your mom and Dex still here?”
“No, they left this morning and went back to his house. I told them we would meet up for lunch if you’re feeling well enough.”
“I should be fine… I think.”
“Good. I know my mother really wants to spend a little time with us before she heads home tomorrow.”
“Is Dex going with her?”
“No… I think he’s getting ready to start shooting his next film, so he’s going to be pretty busy.”
“Oh… he didn’t mention it to me last night.”
Spencer laughs and runs his hand through my hair.
“I’m not surprised… he said you still seemed pretty out of it. He’s filming on location in Omaha and then in Arizona before finishing up here, that’s the plan at least.”
“Crazy… I’m going to miss seeing him.”
“You could always go visit him in Omaha,” Spencer says.
We both laugh.
“Yeah… I’m not going to miss him that much. Plus, I want to head to wherever you’re going to be once I’m done on Day One.”
“Good… I think that’s a perfect plan.”
“You won’t mind coming back to your hotel room and seeing me every night?”
I tilt my head and look up at him.
“Nothing would make me happier,” he says.
He presses his lips against mine and we share a brief kiss before he pulls back.
“You don’t mind taking some time off?”
“No… not at all. I know we’ve talked about how important it is to keep taking jobs when they are offered, but I’m feeling a little burnt out… and more than anything I miss you terribly when you’re so far away.”
“We talk almost every day.”
“I know… but I’m a girl… I need more than just texting and a few phone calls. I need to see your handsome face… and to see you first thing when I wake up each morning.”
“Then it’s settled—you can come to me when you’re done. I think we should be in Kiev… but that depends on if either of our shooting schedules gets changed because of yesterday.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I still haven’t heard from Harriet, which is kind of weird.”
“Or not. She’s probably trying to let you rest.”
“Fair enough,” I say, nodding. “I just kind of wish I knew what was going to happen next.”
“Let her worry about that. You need to just relax, take it easy… and get better.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath—Spencer is right and that’s exactly what I should do. The idea of sitting around and not doing anything is not appealing. The only thing making it bearable is the fact that he’ll be here with me… and we’re going to go get Arte. I miss her terribly… those floppy ears and cute face.
“OK… you win—I’ll relax for as long as you’re here.”
“Good. The first part of that is I want to take you out to breakfast.”
“Really? I thought we are supposed to meet Dex and your mom for lunch?”
“We are… but there’s not exactly anything to eat in the house.”
I wrinkle my nose and nod. He’s certainly right about that.
“Did you end up eating the leftovers?”
“Yeah… sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” I say, “I just didn’t want them to go to waste.”
I lift my head off his chest and we both get out of bed. I suppose I should take a shower if we’re going to breakfast… I never showered after yesterday and I’m feeling kind of gross.
“You crashed last night… and I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and ate.”
“Good.”
“Do you mind if I shower before we go?”
“Of course not… take your time.”
He gives me a quick kiss and I walk toward the bathroom. He starts to walk toward the door, but stops and turns to look at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing… you’re cute and I like looking at you.”
I smile and sigh. Everything that happened yesterday doesn’t even matter… having him here, right now, is worth it.
I walk down the hall and into the living room as I dry my hair with a towel. Spencer is sitting on the couch and talking on the phone.
“Yes… I understand,” he says.
He looks up when I walk in the room and smiles. I wave at him and head into the kitchen to grab some water.
“Look… I’ll… let me see what I can do.”
I find myself eavesdropping on his conversation… which is kind of hard since I can only hear his side of it.
“Fine… I need to go. I’ll call you later.”
I finish my water and cringe as I set the glass down in the sink—we really need to get some bottled water for the house because this tap water tastes… funky.
“Is everything OK?” I ask, as I turn around.
“Yeah… I mean… it is what it is.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened… but the producers are breathing down my neck to get back.”
I walk over to Spencer and wrap my arms around his waist. He looks down at me and I can tell that he’s stressed out about the phone call.
“Sorry.”
He forces a smile onto his face and kisses my forehead.
“Whatever. They will survive without me for a couple of days.”
“Do you think maybe you should go back today?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head, “I want to spend at least one more day with you.”
I feel responsible for the pressure they are putting on him, but I did tell him that it wasn’t necessary for him to come—that was a choice he made. I mean… I’m glad he did, but I would have been alright if he didn’t.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Thanks, baby… but I don’t think so.”
I know Harriet gets immense pressure put on her when we get behind, so I can only imagine what’s happened with Pandora, Spencer’s movie. It has to be much worse because of how much more expensive the production is.
“Should we get going?” I ask.
“Sure. Are you hungry?”
“A little. You?”
“I could eat.”
“Let’s go.”
“I just need to grab my phone out of the bedroom.”
“OK.”
I smile at him and walk down the hall. I’m feeling much better today… and not dizzy at all, which is a good sign. That was kind of scary because I was starting to feel like it I was going to keep feeling like that. The doctor, at the hospital, made it sound like being dizzy could be a sign that I wasn’t out of the woods yet and that I wouldn’t be able to go back to work until it passed. He also said I’d have to go back and see him again if I wasn’t better by today, which I didn’t want to mention to Spencer. I knew it would only stress him out even more and that’s the last thing I wanted.
Spencer is standing in the living room, looking down at his phone, when I walk back down the hall. He must be doing something important because he doesn’t seem to notice me until I’m standing right next to him.
“Sorry,” he says.
“No worries. Is everything OK?”
“Yeah… just texting my director.”
“Is he pushing you to get back ASAP?”
“Yeah… kind of.”
I shake my head and take a deep breath—it’s an impossible situation. As much as I love Spencer, I can also sympathize with his director and producer. He made the choice to come and I told him he could leave if he needed, so I’m not going to keep bringing it up.
“Sorry,” I say.
Spencer shrugs and does his best to put a genuine smile on his face.
“Whatever… it is what it is. Anyway… let’s go get some breakfast and then pick up that little girl of ours.”
“Sounds… perfect.”
We head outside and pause when I see his car out of the garage and realize that my car isn’t here.
“Oh… I totally forgot that my car is still at the set.”
“I kind of figured that’s where it was.”
“I feel like we should go get it… because Arte has already been riding in it and I don’t want her to get your car all furry.”
Spencer smiles and waves his hand at me.
“Whatever… it’s only a little fur and I can always just clean it out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
We walk over and get into his car. I’m not going to lie, it’s actually nice to not have to drive for once… I’ve gotten really tired of the L.A. traffic.
“So,” I say, “I love Arte, but I’m worried about what’s going to happen to her once I finish filming and I come to visit you… wherever.”
Spencer turns his head and backs out of the driveway before responding.
“Well… there’s a couple of possibilities. We can always leave her with the breeder and they can work on training her… or… you could bring her with you.”
I glance over at Spencer with a shocked look on my face. He glances over and smiles before looking back at the road.
“Is that… possible?”
“Yeah… why not?”
“I just… well… I didn’t even think of it. Will whatever country you’re in allow me to bring her in?”
“I don’t see why not… but we can always check.”
The idea of taking her with me is amazing. I would love to have her there and then it would give me something to do while he’s working all day… and I wouldn’t have to be away from her for an extended period of time, which was one of my biggest concerns when Spencer got her for me.
“That would be… amazing,” I say.
I move my hand to his knee and squeeze it gently. He’s so amazing. I’ll never get tired of how good he is to me.
“I guess if we can make that happen… all we would have to do is figure out a way to get her there. I’m not crazy about the whole thing where dogs have to go in the cargo hold of planes… but there’s not really any other way, I guess.”
“Yeah and I agree,” he says.
He glances over at me and raises one of his eyebrows.
“What’s that look for?”
“There’s a simple solution for that.”
“For the dog thing?”
“Yes.”
I tilt my head and shake it slightly as I think about what he could possibly mean.
“I have no idea,” I say.
“Well… I was thinking that we could just charter a flight. That way you and Arte don’t have to worry about any of that… plus then you can be more comfortable. I don’t mind paying for it, either.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course… anything for my girls.”
We’ve done well, financially, over the last few months and both of us seem to be on track when it comes to landing every roll possible… but spending money on stuff like chartering flights still seems excessive. I felt the same way when I started flying everywhere in first class, but Spencer is right about it being the best way for us to get Arte to Europe. I guess it’ll be OK if we just do it a couple of times, but I’d hate for him to keep throwing money around like that.
“Thanks, baby… you’re the best.”
He turns his head and winks at me.
“I know.”
I giggle and smile at him.
“I think I’m going to be heading to Romania next, so maybe you can do some research and see what the restrictions are?”
“I will,” I say.
I don’t want to get overly excited before I know for sure that I can take Arte with me, but it seems like it would be the best option. Leaving her overnight at the breeder was tough enough, so I can’t imagine doing it for any amount of time… although we didn’t talk about how long I’ll be with Spencer.
“How long did you want to come and stay with me?” he asks, almost as if he’s reading my mind.
“Uh… I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. Why?”
“I was just curious.”
“Oh… I guess I need to think about it.”
I have thought about it… just a little. I’d really like to stay with him for as long as possible, but I guess that will depend on what’s happening around here. Brian hasn’t mentioned any roles that he thinks I might be good for, but I still have a little time because of Day One.
“Have you talked to Brian?”
“Not since I did that photo shoot.”
“Did he mention anything else he thinks you should audition for?”
“No… he didn’t, but that’s kind of OK. I know we’ve talked about taking rolls when they are offered… because there’s no telling what the future holds, but I’m also feeling like I need a little break.”
“I totally get that. You should take some time off… it’s a good time for it.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I do. I’ve been missing you.”
“Aww… I’ve missed you terribly.”
“That’s good,” he says.
Spencer pulls up to the curb and shifts into park. I lean my head down and look out the window. This looks awfully familiar.
“Do you recognize it?” he asks.
“I do. This is the coffee shop where we came on our first date.”
“Was it a date?”
I nod and roll my eyes.
“Yes.”
“I thought we were just friends having coffee.”
“We were,” I say, as I get out of the car. “But… I decided after we started dating that I changed my mind—it was retroactively counted as a date, as far as I’m concerned.”
He shakes his head and puts his arm around my waist as we walk toward the door.
“Do you want to grab a table out here and I’ll go order?”
“Sure.”
He leans down and gives me a kiss before disappearing inside. The table we sat at our first time here happens to be open, so I sit down quickly before someone can steal it. I take out my phone and write out a text to Harriet.
Hey, just wanted to check in and see how everything is going. The doctor said I would need at least two more days before I’m ready to go back on set… that is assuming I’m not feeling any symptoms (which I’m not). Let me know if there’s anything you need from me. Talk to you soon.
I close my eyes and let the morning sun warm my face. It feels good to have the day off... and the opportunity to spend it with Spencer. My phone vibrates. I open my eyes and look down.
Amy, glad to hear you’re feeling better. I agree with the doctor—as much as I’d like to get back to work, we need to make sure you’re 100% before we do anything. Try to rest up and take it easy. There’s nothing you need to do, apart from recovering. Keep me posted if anything changes.
I set my phone down on the table as Spencer walks up. He sets my drink down in front of me and then puts his down.
“I’ll be right back,” he says.
I smile and nod as he turns and walks back inside. He comes back a few moments later with two plates, each holding a muffin. Spencer sets them both in the middle of the table and sits down.
“Which one is mine?” I ask.
“You can have either one.”
“What kind are they?”
“This one is blueberry,” he says, pointing to the one on my left, “and the other is chocolate chip.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Chocolate chip?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll take the blueberry.”
I reach out and pull the plate toward myself. I tear off a piece of the muffin and pop it into my mouth.
“Have you ever noticed that muffins are basically cupcakes? I mean… what’s the difference?”
I laugh and shake my head as I chew.
“What do you mean?”
“Think about it. They are both made from flour, sugar… whatever else. The only difference is the frosting?”
I finish chewing my second bite before I answer.
“You know… this isn’t making me feel any better about eating one right now.”
“Sorry. The thought just popped into my head.”
I smile at him as I lift my coffee cup and take a sip of what turns out to be a mocha.
“So,” I say, setting my cup down, “not only are you feeding me a giant cupcake for breakfast… you’re giving me chocolate and sugar to go with it.”
He smiles and pretends to cringe.
“Sorry… do you want a different drink.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head and smiling back, “it’s fine, but thank you.”
I feel so alive. I’m not sure if it’s just my near-death experience from yesterday… because I feel like it’s just from being with Spencer. He makes everything easy… everything fun.
Spencer stops the car in front of Sheki’s house and I get out.
“Do you want to wait here?” I ask.
“Sure.”
I close the door, turn and walk toward the house. I’m so excited to see my little girl. I hope that she’s not mad at me for leaving her here overnight. I knock on the door and take a step back as I wait.
Sheki opens the door and smiles when she sees me.
“Amy… how are you?”
“Eh… mostly better.”
“Good. I read about what happened… that must have been scary.”
“Yeah… not something I want to experience ever again.”
She smiles and nods.
“Let me go get your baby.”
“Thanks.”
Sheki leaves the door open as she retreats back into her house. It sounds like a dozen dogs start barking all at once as she nears the part of the house where she keeps them. I love Arte, there’s no doubt about it, but I don’t think I could handle that many dogs barking at me at the same time. I guess it’s a good thing there’s people like Sheki in the world to take care of all the animals.
She comes back to the door with Arte on leash and smiles as she hands her over.
“How much do I owe you?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I always include some day care when someone gets a dog from me.”
“That’s good to know.”
I bend down and scoop Arte up.
“Well,” I say, “thank you so much… I’ll see you soon.”
“Take care… and be well.”
“Thanks.”
I smile and wave to Sheki before turning and walking back toward the car. Spencer is watching us the whole way and I see his face melt as I open the door and sit down with Arte on my lap.
“She is… so freakin’ adorable.”
“I know… right?”
Spencer reaches over and scratches her between the ears. Arte leans her head into his hand and licks him as he pulls away.
“Wow.”
“She’s something else,” I say.
He just smiles and shakes his head.
“Do you want to put her in the back seat?”
“No, I’m OK.”
I set her on my knees as I put on my seat belt. Spencer starts the car and I wrap my arms around Arte to make sure she doesn’t fall all over the place while he’s driving.
“Do you mind if we just go back to the house and hang out with her until lunch?” Spencer asks.
“That sounds lovely.”
I look over and see a huge grin on his face as he turns the car around. Spencer looks so happy right now. I wasn’t worried about him liking Arte, but I wasn’t sure he’d be this in love with her. Our little family has grown by one and I couldn’t be happier about it.