Stranded (11 page)

In the morning, Kendall had called his mother and told her there would be one more for Christmas. Johnny had tried to stop him, but Kendall wouldn’t hear of it, and as soon as he hung up with his mother, she apparently went shopping, because she called him four more times that day asking all kinds of questions, including sweater sizes. On Christmas morning there had been tears in Johnny’s eyes when he realized some of the presents under the tree were for him.

Kendall’s mother still went all-out each Christmas for both of them. He simply wished they’d remembered to continue to go all-out for each other. He ate the rest of his meal and then took care of the dishes. Once he was done, he grabbed the script off the table and sat in the one comfortable chair in the apartment, attempting to concentrate.

People occasionally passed his door as they walked down the hall, and Kendall barely noticed them until he thought he heard someone stop. Kendall paused and tensed, listening, and sure enough, a few seconds later he heard footsteps move away from his door. Kendall got up and hurried to the door. He pulled it open and saw two pink roses just outside the door. Kendall leaped over them and raced down the hallway toward the elevator. The elevator was heading down already, and Kendall ran back down the hall to the stairs and took them two at a time as he hurried toward the lobby. Whoever it was would have to go out that way, and Kendall was determined to find out who in the hell was stalking him and, more importantly, why. He banged through the door, charging into the empty lobby, but there was no one there.

Kendall moved out of sight, leaned against the wall, and watched the elevator display as the car descended. The door opened and an older lady he’d seen in the hallway multiple times gingerly stepped out. “Hello,” she said with a smile. “Waiting for someone?”

“Sort of,” he said. “Did you happen to see anyone in the hall as you were getting on the elevator?”

“I think a young man passed me as I was getting in, but I didn’t see which way he went. Was he a friend of yours?” she asked with a smile. “I heard you were making a movie. You’re definitely handsome enough for it.”

“Thank you,” Kendall said, smiling back. “And yes, I’m making my first movie. I’ve done shows on Broadway since I was a teenager, but this is my very first film.”

“I was in films when I was younger and worked with Bette Davis on a film. She was incredible. But that was a long time ago, and things have changed so much with all the special effects and computer graphics stuff. Now you don’t know what’s real and what was dreamed up on some computer screen. In my day, actors had to really act or the film was flat. Today, the people sometimes seem like wood, and they fill in around them with all that fancy stuff so no one notices.”

Kendall smiled. “I suppose you’re right. The movie I’m working on doesn’t have much in the way of special effects.”

“Well, good,” she said and began walking toward the front door. “Let me know when you’re done, and I’ll be sure to go see it.”

“I will,” Kendall promised and pushed the elevator call button. The doors slid open and Kendall rode back up to his floor. When the doors opened again, he stepped out and strode down to the apartment. The flowers still sat on the floor, and Kendall noticed a piece of paper under them. Kendall picked up the flowers and the paper and carried them inside. Then he shut the door and locked it, listening for anything unusual, but heard nothing. After taking and releasing a slow, deep breath, he carried the flowers into the kitchen and dumped them in the trash before opening the folded piece of computer paper.

I saw you gave my flowers to Barbara the Bitch, so I thought I’d replace them.

That was all the computer-printed note said, and Kendall shivered. Whoever this was, he wished they’d either come forward so he could talk to the person, or simply leave him alone. Kendall reached for his phone and called Johnny, not giving a damn what time it was. “Johnny, I need to talk to you,” Kendall began when the call went to voice mail. “Please call me back when you get this. I need your advice and I want to talk about when you can come to see me.” He’d feel a lot better when he wasn’t alone. Kendall carried his phone with him to his chair and set it next to him so he could grab it when Johnny called back. He still had plenty of work to do before tomorrow, and he forced himself to concentrate on the script.

An hour later, his phone rang and Kendall snatched it up. “Johnny,” Kendall said as he answered it and then checked the time.

“Sorry I didn’t call earlier, I’m just getting home,” Johnny explained. It was after midnight in New York. “I lost track of time at the university library and then stopped to get something to eat on the way home. Is something wrong? You sounded a bit frazzled when you left the message.”

“I was wondering when you were going to come out for a visit.”

Johnny paused, and then Kendall heard a sigh. “Will you even have time to spend with me?”

“I’m going to be busy, but there’s only a few weeks until we go on location and it probably won’t be practical then. I was hoping you could come out the week after next. I’m only scheduled to be on set for three days that week, and the rest of the time we could do things together.” Kendall’s excitement ramped up. He was looking forward to seeing Johnny and having the chance to rekindle their relationship.

“That’s a long way to travel for just a few days,” Johnny said slowly.

“If you don’t want to come, then just say so,” Kendall snapped.

“It isn’t that,” Johnny told him. “I do want to see you and I miss you every day. But the book I’m working on is coming together faster and better than I ever imagined, and I can’t take a break or I’ll lose the train of thought.”

“It must be flowing, what with all the research you’re doing,” Kendall observed, trying to keep the skepticism out of his voice.

“For this book I have all the research I need. I’m working with a student at Columbia to research some ideas for my next book. He’s been a huge help in a lot of ways.”

“I’ll bet,” Kendall muttered very softly.

“It isn’t a really good time right now, and you’re not going to have time for me anyway. Your schedule will change, and I’ll be sitting alone while you’re working all day. I can sit alone here and work.”

“Fine. Whatever you want to do is fine,” Kendall said quietly. “I just miss you.” God, he sounded needy. If Johnny didn’t care enough to come out and see him, then there was nothing he could do about it.

“I know, and I miss you too. But I need to get this done, and you need to get your work done,” Johnny told him, repeating the same thing he’d said all along.

“Johnny, I didn’t know how hard it was going to be to be out here alone,” he admitted. “You’re there in New York, where all our friends are. I really don’t know anyone out here, and….” Kendall swallowed. “I think I may have a stalker.”

Johnny laughed. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit dramatic? You haven’t finished the movie yet. How can you have a stalker?”

“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Kendall shot back.

“You’re serious,” Johnny said, the mirth disappearing from his voice. “What’s been going on? Have you been followed or threatened?” At least Johnny seemed to care. Kendall had been beginning to wonder.

“I keep getting flowers, roses, delivered. At first I thought they might have been from you.” When he’d gotten the first ones, he’d actually smiled and gotten warm all over because of Johnny’s thoughtfulness. “I was about to call you and thank you, but the next ones I got were left inside my car, which I knew I’d locked. Now I hide stuff or keep everything locked up. The flowers keep showing up in my dressing area, and tonight someone left flowers and a note outside my apartment door. It’s beginning to freak me out,” Kendall said.

“Maybe it’s just an admirer or something,” Johnny said. “They haven’t threatened you, have they?”

“Not really, I guess. But I feel like someone’s watching me all the time and like no place is safe,” Kendall said.

“Have you told anyone?” Johnny asked, sounding more concerned but still not convinced of the threat.

“Only you, so far,” Kendall admitted. “At first it seemed so innocuous and innocent, but it’s like whoever they are is telling me that they can get to me no matter where I am.” Kendall paused. “I know you think I’m being stupid, but I’m not. And I’ve been afraid to tell people in case they think I’m just causing trouble and stuff. I’m finally beginning to earn people’s respect, and I don’t want to blow that. After all, you laughed when I told you,” he said indignantly. “Why would they believe me when you didn’t?” Kendall huffed a bit through his nose and waited for Johnny to say something.

“I’m sorry,” Johnny said softly. “I know you’re upset, and you should take this seriously, but I don’t have any advice for you.” Johnny paused. “Except maybe you should tell the studio. They must have dealt with this kind of thing before. I mean, they have huge stars and famous people working there all the time. They have to have seen this before. Maybe they can help.”

“Thanks. I’ll think about it,” Kendall said and sat quietly. “I’ll let you get to bed. Talk to you tomorrow.” Kendall hung up and set the phone aside. At least Johnny hadn’t said he was crazy, but he’d come damned close. Kendall shook his head and went back to his script. It was looking more and more likely that once this movie was over, there might not be as much to go back to New York for as he’d always thought there would be.

G
UY
did call, and by Sunday afternoon Kendall was looking for something to do. He got directions to a small bar off Colorado Boulevard. Kendall met Guy there, and to his surprise, it seemed that Sunday afternoons were for karaoke. Kendall slid into the booth across from Guy and looked around the place. It was brighter than he expected a bar to be, and cleaner. “This is nice,” Kendall said as a server walked over. They each ordered a beer.

“It’s sort of a hangout place, and the owner decided years ago that he didn’t want to own a dingy bar. So he spruced up the place, and the drunks disappeared, but the locals began to come,” Guy said as he lifted his glass. People began taking turns on the small stage singing along with the recorded music. Kendall tried his best to keep from grimacing at some of the clunky notes. They finished their beers and ordered another round. “Go on and have a go,” Guy told him.

“I don’t think so,” Kendall said, but Guy urged him on, so he got up and looked through the book to see what they had. He found the old standard “New York, New York” and couldn’t resist. When his turn came, he cued up the song. Every head turned as soon as he began to sing. Mostly people had been polite, but the room seemed to stop as he sang. When he was done, people applauded, and Kendall smiled and sat back down.

“Did you sing on Broadway?” Guy asked.

“Yeah. I just finished a musical.” Kendall sipped his beer. “I can dance too, but don’t tell anyone.” He and Guy laughed, and others got up to sing. After a while, they ordered some snacks, and when they were done, Kendall convinced Guy to take a turn. He wasn’t half bad, and Guy convinced Kendall to have another go. It was a great afternoon, and Kendall had definitely needed some fun.

T
HE
next three weeks turned out to be hectic as hell, but they were really productive too. At least that was what Lyman had told him. Filming seemed to be going very well, with most shots only requiring one or two takes. Lyman seemed to be flying high, and the entire cast and crew was running on high energy and excitement. As Johnny had predicted, Kendall’s days off had evaporated because the filming schedule compressed as the scenes clicked by one after another.

“Okay, listen up everyone,” Lyman had said a few days earlier. “We’re moving along very well, and I’ve asked the location team to be ready for us to show up Monday. They’ve assured me they’ll be ready, and so will we. I’ve revised the shooting schedule, and we should finish these last studio scenes this week.” Everyone had listened politely. “The location shooting schedule will make the one we’ve been using seem like a piece of cake because we’ll need to shoot around the heat, wind, and sun.” Lyman paused. “So let’s finish up this portion of the film.” Lyman walked back to his place behind the camera to signal he was through talking, and Kendall got into position for the next shot.

“He wants to see you,” Juan told him a few minutes later, and Kendall walked to where Lyman sat making notes.

“I need you to stay tonight. We’re going to need some publicity stills, and they want to do some here. We’ll need some on location as well.” He looked up from his pages. “Sorry for the short notice.”

Each night for the rest of the week, Kendall ended up staying for photos. Sometimes it was just him, but most of the time it was with other cast members too.

By the end of the week, Kendall was exhausted. They’d been filming full-on for weeks on end, and he’d had very few days off. Lyman was a bit of a slave driver, but Kendall could also see what he was trying to do.

“Get some rest,” Lyman told him when they were finally done with the last scene on the shooting schedule before heading to location.