floundered he urged her forward, brooking no resistance, and by the time she could think clearly they were in the Departure Lounge.
‘Travis, how did you-?’
‘A little bit of stage management. When I booked your ticket I booked one for me as well. Then I called Rick, told him what I was doing. He’ll be halfway back to town by now.’
‘But you told him to-’
‘To wait in the car park, yes. But he knew I didn’t mean it. It was just to fool you, so that you wouldn’t suspect until it was too late.’
‘Travis, please, be sensible. The studio bosses will be furious-’
‘Let them.’
‘Your family-’
‘I called Darius. He said I was doing the right thing and he’s going to explain things to the others.’
‘And your father?’
‘I’ll have to call him separately. In fact I’ll do it now.’
But he was saved the effort by the ring of his phone. It was Amos, speaking in a voice so sharp and loud that Charlene could hear it from several inches away.
‘Have you gone mad?’ Amos raged.
‘Father, I’m sorry to let everyone down like this, but I had no choice.’
‘Of course you had a choice. You’ve risked everything you’ve worked for, you’ve insulted me. What kind of a fool do I look now, turning up to see you win prizes and you can’t be bothered to be there?’
‘I never meant to insult you. I hoped you’d understand.’
‘I understand that you’re doing something criminally stupid. That any son of mine-’
‘Right this minute I don’t feel like your son,’ Travis interrupted him. ‘And that makes me glad.’
‘Stop talking like that and get back here at once. I’m telling you, no woman is worth it-’
His voice stopped suddenly. Travis had hung up.
‘You cut him off,’ Charlene said, aghast. ‘He’ll never forgive you.’
‘And I will never forgive him for insulting you.’
‘But listen-’ she seized him ‘-it’s wonderful of you to be prepared to do this for me, but you mustn’t do it. Go back. It’s not too late.’
‘Haven’t you understood yet? It was too late from the moment I met you. I didn’t realise it then. It took me too long to see it, but now I know that you’re the only woman I could ever love.
‘I’ve never been able to speak of love before because I wasn’t sure of you. First there was Lee. I thought you wanted him, but then you seemed to let him go easily, and I began to hope. But you see-’ he made a helpless gesture ‘-I don’t just love you. I need you. I depend on you. We’ve always made jokes about that but I began to be afraid in case you just saw me as some clinging juvenile. Suddenly it wasn’t a joke any more.’
One day she would try to explain that she rejoiced in his need of her. Being needed was almost as beautiful as being loved. But there would be time for that later.
With shining eyes, she gazed at him.
‘But think of all you might be giving up-’
‘All I can think of is what I’ll gain. If I’d let you go alone it would always be between us, that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. You’d have been nice about it, but we would always have known. And something would never have been right for us.’
‘But do you really understand what you might be losing?’
‘Yes, I know what I might lose. I might lose
Now she was beyond speech, gazing at him, trying to understand the glimpse of his heart and soul he’d given her, and which was so unlike anything she’d imagined. She’d thought she understood Travis so well. Now she saw that she’d never understood the first thing about him.
‘You didn’t know I felt like that about you, did you?’ he asked gently.
She shook her head. ‘I thought the love was mostly on my side. I love you so much it scares me.’
‘But you always kept so cool. Even when you agreed to marry me it was as though you were being cautious-’
‘I was. I thought you only half wanted to. I heard Joe talking to you on the phone. He suggested that you should marry me, and you lost your temper at the other end.’
He groaned. ‘Of course I lost my temper. I was mad at him for daring to think I’d marry you as a PR stunt. I loved you. I was trying every way I knew to win your love, and I felt he’d insulted you. That’s why I got mad. And you thought- Oh, good grief!’ He pulled her against him. ‘How did we ever find each other when we’ve taken so many wrong turnings?’
‘But we found the right road in the end,’ she said.
‘You thought I asked you to marry me as a career move? That’s why you didn’t want me to come to London with you?’
‘I don’t want you to risk losing everything.’
He shook his head. ‘If I don’t lose you, I haven’t lost anything. If I do lose you, I’ve lost everything. Promise to stay with me, and that’s all I ask.’
‘I’ll stay as long as you want me.’
He kissed her, and would have said more but for the loudspeaker. It was time to board.
They said little on the journey. Everything that mattered had already been said, and they sat resting against each other, sometimes dozing, sometimes basking in their mutual contentment and joy.
In London a cab took them to the hospital. As they arrived they exchanged a fearful glance. In a moment they would know-
Frank looked up as they entered the little ward.
‘Thank goodness!’ he said fervently. ‘Emma, darling, look who’s here!’
Her eyes were open, and even in her dreadfully weakened state she could recognise them.
‘Charlene-I knew you’d come.’
‘And look who I’ve brought to meet you,’ she said.
‘But he’s- This is-’
‘This is your future grandson-in-law,’ Travis said. ‘And now you’ve got to get well fast, because we want to see you in Los Angeles for our wedding.’
‘Oh, darlings! How wonderful!’
‘Don’t get agitated,’ the doctor warned.
‘I’m not agitated. I’m happy. I’m going to be there.’
She closed her eyes, smiling.
They stayed in the hospital for the rest of the day and all night. Now and then Emma would awaken, always a little stronger than before.
‘The doctor says her chances are improving by the minute,’ Frank told them. ‘It means the world to her that you gave up so much to come here. Thank you with all my heart. But were you wise to do it?’
‘It was the wisest thing I ever did,’ Travis said with a tender glance at Charlene.
They left the hospital that evening and spent the night in a nearby hotel, ready to return if there was an emergency call. But no call came.
As they snuggled down in each other’s arms Charlene’s thoughts were far away in Los Angeles, where the crowds would be gathering for the award ceremony, and people would be exclaiming in surprise, and perhaps annoyance, because the star of the evening wasn’t there. She wondered how Travis felt now that the moment had come. But when she looked at him his eyes were closed. He might almost have been asleep, except that he turned and pressed his lips against her forehead.
Was he regretting his decision? Would he tell her if he did?
At last she fell asleep. In the early hours she awoke to find him just hanging up the phone.
‘Any news?’ she asked tensely.
