A New York Love Story (3 page)

He had felt an urgent need for a complete change of scene, and the pleasant, yet anonymous house in Staten Island seemed perfect for this purpose. It wasn't too far away from the lively social life of Manhattan, nor too central to be chaotic. It was the ideal hideaway to keep the journalists off his trail for a little while. They would look for him in Aspen, logically, since he often used to spend his winter holidays there. Even his crazy red-headed neighbor had pointed out that this wasn't a place for Hollywood stars! Nobody would find him here. Although… to stay locked in the house watching old movies wasn't exactly his idea of fun…

He decided to go for a walk. He put on a heavy coat, his woolly hat, and left. When he had first arrived by taxi, he had noticed a large park, a sign pointing to a museum, and a couple of stores that he wanted to check out. Suddenly, he was filled with fear at the thought of being recognized, but quickly pushed it away. The only alternative he had was to stay confined inside the house, and the very idea was enough to bring on claustrophobia.

As he stepped out into the wintry day, the icy air caught him by surprise. The temperature in New York was no higher than thirty-eight, and the weather report announced a further drop. It was weather that suited the holiday season perfectly, and in the Big Apple one could already breathe in the Christmas air. Cade wasn't accustomed to this temperature. Right now in Los Angeles it would be around seventy. He put his gloves on, turned up his coat collar and went down the stairs.

In the distance he heard cheerful music – lively notes and jingling bells – that made him smile. He wondered where it came from, but the loud, clanking noise of a pickup truck passing by distracted him. His eyes followed the truck. It was an old jalopy, its flatbed loaded with Christmas trees, being driven without any concern for the speed limit. The driver seemed unaware that his load was rocking dangerously back and forth, and of the voice shouting behind him: “Thanks a lot for your help and Merry Christmas, you fucking idiot!! I hope your trees fall out of your stupid truck! We don't need crazy bastards like you around here!”

Trying to restrain himself from laughing, Cade looked at the woman partially hidden by a potted Christmas tree she was trying to drag behind a gate. His outspoken neighbor seemed to be struggling. Curiously, Cade approached the small white house. He heard mumbling and cursing through the dense foliage. The curses were directed at the driver, who had apparently left the tree outside the gate, without helping her to bring it inside. Cade wondered if the truck driver drove off after some exchange with that eccentric girl. Three days earlier she had given him a hard time too. He hadn't forgotten.

Never before had he met a woman so unimpressed to find herself in front of a famous actor. Usually, people were excited and anxious to get an autograph or to take a selfie with him. On the contrary, his new neighbor had addressed him as if she rather looked down on him and his career and she had teased him mercilessly. On second thoughts, that truck driver did the right thing by leaving her to deal with the tree by herself!

But watching this wisp of a girl trying to drag an eight-foot spruce tree along her pathway, the gentleman in him suddenly sprang to life. Yes, she was arrogant, but still, she was a
damsel in distress
.

He went over to the gate. “May I help you?”

With a shocked yell the girl lost her balance and fell on her backside.

“Damn!” She mumbled.

Cade came around the Christmas tree and saw her. She looked comical, sitting in a flowerbed. She wore a giant sweatshirt, shapeless stained pants, and her hair was tied up on the top of her head. But he couldn't see her face because it was buried in the branches.

“Are you trying to hide?”

“Is it working?”

“Not really. Your hair color is too flashy to go unnoticed.”

Sighing, the girl stood up. He noticed the light blush on her cheekbones for she wore no makeup. She was clearly embarrassed, but Cade could tell from her proud posture that she wasn't going to show any emotion openly. She stared at him with the big hazelnut eyes that he had already noticed on their first encounter – rather
collision
– and raised a mahogany eyebrow.

“Mr Star, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

Ignoring the sarcasm of
Mr Star
, Cade pointed to the spruce. “I was taking a walk, when I saw you struggling with this tree. I imagine you scared the delivery man away before he could help you bring it into the house… Am I right?”

“I did not make him flee, he was in a hurry! I was stuck in the attic and I couldn't get down quickly enough.” She crossed her arms to protect herself from the piercing cold.

“Stuck in the attic?” Cade was perplexed.

“Yes! I suppose that in your billionaire mansion you don't have a cramped space where you put things that you hardly ever use, like Christmas decorations. And, if you do have it, I'm sure you have hired help who does the dirty job… unless you buy everything new each year.”

“To be honest, I usually buy a ready decorated tree…”

“Ah! Just as I suspected. I'm sure that your life is so busy with social events, you don't have time for simple things, like decorating a Christmas tree,” she said, returning to pull rather ineffectively at the big pot.

“Here…” Cade touched her arm, “Let me do it. Christmas will be over by the time you get your tree into the house!”

“It doesn't go into the house, but near the front door. I have all day to work on it. I can figure out.” The girl attempted a protest, but Cade didn't give up.

“Let my
imposing physique
be of some use, besides making fragile girls stumble in the street.” He flashed one of the smiles that usually made women sigh. Yet this particular woman seemed to be made of marble. Instead of giggling and melting, she limited herself to raising that eyebrow again. However, he must have confused her for a moment, because she didn't find anything to say. Cade took that moment of silence to move the tree to the indicated spot. “Is it ok here?”

“Slightly to the left… umm… no, it's better on the right. Wait, hold on – please push it more to the back…” Putting a finger to her full lips, she was considering his work with a critical eye, pacing back and forth. “No, perhaps it is better like it was before.”

Exasperated, Cade stood up, “You've got to be kidding me?”

“Yes.” She smiled, showing two pretty dimples.

Cade looked at her, feeling a curious vibration in his stomach. She was beautiful. He had noticed it the first time he met her, but this unexpected breezy smile had illuminated her face, making him forget her definitely shabby appearance.

Incredible, but true: he found this bizarre girl attractive.

Perhaps misunderstanding his silence, she offered an apology. “I'm sorry. Don't listen to what I say. I'm so plain-spoken, without filters. A hopeless case! These are only childish jokes; I didn't mean to offend you…”

“I'm not offended.” He reassured her.

Suddenly a merry version of
Jingle Bell Rock
floated out into the air. Only then he realized that the music he heard was coming out of one of her open windows facing the courtyard. A small television was broadcasting Christmas music.

“Isn't it too early for Christmas songs and decorations?”

“It's
never
too early. December is here, and for me it's time to light up everything!”

“I understand. Do you want some help reaching the highest branches?”

She looked baffled. “Oh… Seriously? You really want to do this?”

“Why would I ask otherwise?”

“To be kind?”

“I'm not so kind.” Cade took off his gloves and rubbed his hands. “It's been at least seven years since I have decorated a Christmas tree. It will be fun.”

Her face brightened up. “Ok. I will go and get the decorations… be right back!”

While waiting, Cade began to open up the spruce's branches, the way his father taught him when he was a child. They must be well separated so there is enough space for any kind of decoration. He found himself whistling the cheerful song that came from the television. Curious to say, but the idea of placing lights and glass balls on this tree really pleased him. It was one of the many
normal
things that he just didn't do any more. Also, being in the company of this girl was amusing – he couldn't explain why. This fun little diversion would help to chase away the boredom that had pushed him out of the house.

While he was taking off his scarf to free up his arms, he heard an all too familiar sentence.

“My god… I can't believe it!! You're Cade Harrison!”

Shit
… Cade looked up to see a woman of about thirty-five-years old in front of him, staring at him with an open mouth. The irritation of being interrupted when he was doing something he liked, flashed in his eyes for a second, but he was quick to hide it. It was always a bad idea to turn a fan into an enemy, especially if the secrecy of his stay in Staten Island depended on
this
particular fan.

Giving her his legendary smile and casually running his fingers through his blonde hair, he said, “Well yes… you got me!”

“Oh my goodness, impossible! Cade Harrison in my neighborhood! May I hug you?”

Without waiting for his reply, the woman jumped into his arms, squeezing him with incredible enthusiasm. Ecstatic and giggling, she kissed him on both cheeks and began to search in her purse for a pen and a piece of paper.

“I need your autograph, Mr Harrison, I'm really an inveterate fan of yours… I have seen all of your films! Oh, by the way, my name is Martha… and let me tell you this, you're not only handsome, you're also a great actor!”

“That's very kind, Martha. Thank you!”

“Would it be too much, if I also asked for a photo with you?”

Cade shook his head. “Not at all, but can I ask something of you too? Can you swear to keep a secret?”

“Anything you want!”

“Great. Please promise me that you will not tell anyone about meeting me today. If the word got out, then journalists will come here and I will be forced to leave immediately.” He gave a killer smile, hoping it would be more effective with her than it had with his neighbor… By the way, what the hell she was doing? Where was she? He was hoping she would save him.

Success! His blue eyes and his famous smile obtained the desired effect. His fan nodded, blushing with pleasure, and she solemnly promised that she wouldn't say anything to anybody until she was certain he was safely back in California. Cade let her pull out her cell phone for the usual photo op.

Finally, the woman seemed ready to leave. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Martha. Hope to see you again…”

“Oh, I hope so too! And don't worry about all those bad rumors… Alice Brown was not the right woman for you!”

Cade smiled, but didn't reply. He had already given her enough material for the tabloids to have fun, he didn't want to add anything.

When he was finally alone, he massaged his face. One day his jaw would stick by constantly smiling on command!

An applause made him turn towards the door. His neighbor was leaning on the doorjamb, holding a box of Christmas decorations. She seemed to be vaguely disheartened.

“Great performance! If I hadn't noticed your expression of terror at the idea of being recognized, I would have thought you were really flirting with that woman.”

“I can't disappoint my fans…” he shrugged and sighed.

“Especially if you want something from them. This time you've secured the secrecy of your stay here, at least for a while. I'm sure that with slightly more effort, Martha Kendall would have allowed you to suck her blood!”

This was a reference to a small part he played in a vampire movie.

“I'm glad to know you've followed my career,” he said, anxious to change the subject.

It wasn't the first time he had charmed a fan to get something he wanted, but for sure it was the first time he felt guilty about doing it. Damn!

“I go to the movies and sometimes I rent them.” She said with a bittersweet little smile. Then she took the box over to the tree, without speaking or looking at him.

He felt her mood had changed and he became somber. What was the problem? Didn't she appreciate that he used his charm so that the woman swore to secrecy? He imagined she was probably happy somewhere with her photo, the autograph and a couple of smiles to remember. And he was free, hoping that Martha Kendall would resist mentioning that she had met him to friends and journalists… It wasn't the first, nor the last time he was going to use this method.

All of a sudden he asked, “Do you have a problem with me?”

She blinked, caught by surprise, “What do you mean?”

“I feel you use a disparaging tone every time you address me. Does it get on your nerves the fact that I'm famous? That I'm rich? Are you envious, or do you have some prejudice against my profession?”

Her cameo skin took a reddish tone. But it wasn't because of embarrassment. She was furious.

“I don't give a damn about your fame or your bank account. But maybe I have some prejudice about someone who's making a living using his image, and then complains when people recognize him! I don't trust anyone who's able to smile on command, just to achieve his goal. I don't know you, so I shouldn't judge, but I saw what you did with Mrs Kendall. Maybe I speak too much and out of turn, but I could never lie like that.”

Cade shook his head. “It would be great if we could be ourselves all the time, but unfortunately for some of us this is not possible. I am an actor, acting is my work, yet the fame that comes with it isn't always pleasant, believe me.”

Almost as if to confirm his words, they heard his name on the television and gave it their full attention. While they were arguing, the music program had been interrupted by the daily news, followed by a tabloid show that was giving an update on the Cade and Alice soap opera. The story had grown out of all proportion.