Interruption in Paradise

We finished our cupcakes in due time and with a quarter of the mess. It was not as bad as having batter splattered on the wall and flour in our faces, but it was still messy. There were cupcake crumbs all over the floor and icing on the table when we dropped our food while talking.
“So, who are you really?” she asked as we cleaned up the kitchen.
“You don’t believe that I am a secret agent? Damn, I thought I had you fooled,” I replied.
“No, but you almost did,” she said with a smile.
“When I first turned eighteen, I bought a lottery ticket. I was lucky and won.”
“Wow, that is quite special.”
“Yeah. Other than that, I am just a graduate student. I am going into electrical engineering.”
“How is school going for you? I wish I continued to go to school, but I decided to drop when I began singing and acting.”
“You know, it isn’t too late and there are online classes.”
“Maybe I will go back to school,” she said as we finished.
“Well, it is 10 PM. Do you think there are still guys staking out your house?” I asked.
“Probably. Do you mind if I stay here for a little bit longer?”
“No, not at all, want to watch some television?”
“Sure, I haven’t done that in a while.”
We walked over to the living room and sat on my couch. My couch has three cushions. We sat on either end. All though that night was very intimate, I don’t think either of us felt comfortable enough to make any bold moves. It’s funny that I even say this; she did give me a peck on the cheek the first night I took her home but now we distance ourselves from each other.
“Uh, so what do you feel like watching?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Choose a random channel,” she said.
I randomly punched in a combination of numbers. The first thing to pop up was The Thing. Ironic, I thought to myself.
“This movie still terrifies me!” she exclaimed.
“How old are you? This movie isn’t as scary anymore,” I said, although I myself was afraid of the movie.
“Didn’t your mother tell you it was rude to ask a lady her age? Besides, this movie is scary no matter what!”
“Fine, I just hope that you don’t end up screaming in my ear,” I joked.
I couldn’t concentrate on the movie. It seemed as if my eyes would wander over to her every other second. Every time I would see her she would be chewing on her nails. She was absolutely terrified. It was comical to see her with her legs tucked under her and to see the childish expression of fear on her face. It was so difficult to hide my amusement.
“Don’t judge me!” she said.
“Haha, if only you could see yourself then you would understand,” I said.
She suddenly screamed and dived at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she hid her face on my shoulder. I began to laugh at her.
“I am glad you find my fear so amusing!” she snapped.
“Sorry, but you are kinda choking me right now,” I coughed out.
“Whoops, I think I became a little bit too into the movie.”
“Yeah, you did, but that’s okay,” I gasped as she released me.
She gathered up herself and sat back down. This time, she sat on the cushion adjacent to me. She laid her head on my shoulder and I slowly put my arm around her shoulder. She was so warm. Her soft skin gave me goose bumps as we touched. I laid my head on hers. There was a slight fragrance of Head & Shoulders mixed with a very light scent of perfume. It was intoxicating. Each breathe I took pulled me deeper into a paradise that was unknown to me.
She tilted her head and looked into my eyes. Her eyes searched mine, looking for—something. I did not have a single hint at to what she was searching for. My eyes searched her as well. I searched for my soul mate that could possibly be hidden behind her brown eyes. I remember the next few moments so vividly. The Thing was over and there was an elderly man and woman trying to sell CD’s of songs that came from their youth. My kitchen light was flickering; it was time to change the fluorescent bulbs. Outside, there were sounds of crickets. Inside, all I could hear was my heart beating. Her eyes still searched me. There was a longing within them that called to me.
My head began to move on its own towards her. It was making a preemptive move without me fully comprehending the situation. Our lips touched. They were soft and wet. I could taste her berry chapstick. I pulled away, fearing that I made a mistake. A second after our lips parted, she moved forward and our lips reunited. We continued our previous engagement and now all my fears of being to bold were diminished. The kiss ended and all was silent. The television was off. We must have accidentally hit the remote. Neither of us minded. I was in paradise.
My paradise was suddenly shattered by my phone cell phone ringing. I grabbed in my pocket and checked the caller ID. It was Thomas. Did he know how to ruin a moment or what? I remember thinking to myself “this makes us even now”. I answered the phone.
“Hello?” I said into the phone.
“Mr. P?” a strange voice said from the other line.
“Yes, who is this?” I asked.
“Elizabeth. Thomas is in the hospital . . .” Elizabeth said. I could hear her suddenly bursting into tears on the other line.
“What? How? Where?” I asked.
“Please come down to the hospital, I don’t really know all the details yet,” she somehow managed to say.
“Okay, I will be there soon,” I said.
I hung up the phone and looked at Miss C.
“Do you mind coming with me to the hospital?” I asked.
“Sure. What happened?” she asked.
“I don’t really know, but a good friend of mine is in the hospital.”
“All right.”
We got up and left. The crickets have gone silent like the television. As I was heading out the door, I double checked the house. The light was flickering weekly. It was going to die soon. When I began to shut the door, it died. Darkness was all that remained in my house. I shut the door and got into my truck. We drove off and in my rear view mirror my house disappeared.

Golden Silence

I was relieved to find that the front of my house did not have a swarm of vehicles in front of it. Then again, why would there be? No one of celebrity merit knew who I was and where I lived. My house was at the tip of a cul-de-sac and my neighbors always kept to themselves. I wondered a few times if they were collaborating against me to take my hammock but that was definitely pushing it.

“Do you mind if I park in your garage? Everyone knows how my car looks like, well at least ‘they’ do,” she asked.

“Sure, let me just move my truck,” I replied.

I ran out and went inside to grab my keys. When I went back outside I was expecting to suddenly see a mob of cars coming down the street. Nope, it was still clear. I moved my truck out of the way and opened up my garage. With a quick rev of her engine she was inside. I stepped out and joined her inside the garage. I quickly closed the big metal door and we went inside.

“Do you usually have that intense of a first date?” I asked.

“No, only for special occasions,” she said with a wink.

“Well, are you still hungry? You were barely able to eat your meal earlier.”

“Yeah, let’s make something from scratch. I have never done that in my life,” she said, excitement glowing in her eyes.

“Sure, I haven’t made anything from scratch in a long time. It would be an adventure, except not like one of yours. I don’t think I would be able to handle that,” I said.

“Yeah, maybe I should stop with that stuff. I am getting quite old,” she joked.

We went into my kitchen and raided the fridge and pantry looking for possible dinner ideas. After several minutes of turning my kitchen upside down we decided to make the most delicious creation that mankind has ever had to offer. It required lots of patience, stamina, and skill. We had all the ingredients laid out in front of us on my table. When mixed all together, it would create an army of sweets. I feared for my kitchen and our lives.

“Do we have to do this?” I asked nervously.

“Yes, it’s the only way,” she said with conviction burning in her eyes.

“Fine, but I sure hope that you know what you are getting us into.”

“Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, I have a wonderful doctor.”

“Well that is reassuring. Let’s do it then. Let’s make cupcakes!”

We began to create the batter. It was a frenzy of egg cracking, flour adding, and egg beating. We were a mess. Anyone could see that we were definitely not even close to being the next Iron Chef. All over my walls were hints of the batter. Once that was done, we started to create the frosting. This time, we made it without a mess. Well, not a big mess at least.

“I think we added too much sugar Mr. P,” she said.

“I am living on the wild side, this was your idea by the way,” I replied.

“True, but I don’t always have the best ideas . . .”

“Don’t be a big baby, a little bit of extra sugar won’t kill us,” I boldly said.

“So when it comes to baking cupcakes you are high and mighty, but when I go over the speed limit a tiny bit you freak out?”

“A little? A little bit a lot is more like it. That was life and death, ma’am. This is for pure enjoyment.”

“So was that!” she snapped.

“Haha, don’t get your undies in a bunch Miss C, we still have cupcakes to bake. Shit . . .”

“What?” she asked.

“We forgot to pour the batter and bake the cupcakes. We could have killed a good thirty minutes.”

“See what happens when you get to excited?” she joked.

“Hey, you could have reminded me,” giving her a small push as I said it.

“Well, what should we do until everything is ready?” she asked.

“Clean ourselves. You have a bit of flour on your face.”

“Where?”

“All over your face,” I motioned with my hand.

“Oh, haha,” she blushed although it was difficult to exactly see her face.

“You can use my bathroom, I will use the sink,” I said.

“Thanks, do you mind if I change back? I think I should have changed before we started.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

She left the kitchen and I began to clean up. I had a fair share of cupcake ingredients on my face as well. It was worth it, I hadn’t had this much fun since . . . ever. As I put the bowls inside the sink I began to wonder if there was anything between the two of us. I may be a fool for thinking this but one must remember that she is an actress. All the emotions that she presents to me could just be a game to her, just like driving away from the paparazzi. There are many reasons why she could be doing this. I will test this theory out, I thought to myself. When everything is done, I will see if she is interested in me or her public persona.

I finally put the cupcakes back into the oven and I put the icing in the fridge. When I closed the door, I saw her coming down the stairs in her sweatshirt. She was beautiful even in casual clothes. I think she looks a lot more elegant in regular clothing than in ritzy clothing. She seemed more . . . normal. Don’t get me wrong, she looks beautiful either way, but just seeing her with a ponytail and a blue sweatshirt seemed unreal. I suppose it is because I have only seen her in something that would take most people a few paychecks to pay off.

“Almost done cleaning,” I said.

“You could have waited, I wanted to help. I made most of the mess by the way,” she said thoughtfully.

“It’s fine. I put the cupcakes in as well. So, all we have to do it wait.”

“Cool, so what should we do until they are done?”

“Would you like to continue our date?”

“Gladly,” she said with a smile.

She walked over to the table and sat down. I joined, sitting in the seat across from her.

“So, how is a graduate student able to afford such a big house? Do you sell drugs? Roomies? Special agent perhaps?” she asked.

“Well, I am really a special agent trying to root out terrorist cells in America. My current assignment is to do some recon on this beautiful actress, whose name I cannot disclose to you. At the moment, it is difficult to say if she is currently involved in any unpatriotic activities,” I said.

“Oh dear, this sounds very important. Now, how were you able to come in contact with this ‘terrorist’?” she interrogated.

“My partner, whose name I also cannot disclose to anyone, got me into a party of a famous person. I knew that the person I am investigating must be there so I decided to attend. Alas, I was right. She was there. Her camouflage was perfect. She was in a beautiful red dress. Absolutely gorgeous. I was about to confront her that night but then I feared to blow my cover. So, instead I wandered into the garden and pondered.”

“My my, that is a truly remarkable tale,” she joked.

“I would tell you more of the story, but if I did the cupcakes would become burnt.”

“You must tell me after we finish with the cupcakes,”

“All right, but I must warn you, most of this stuff is classified information,” I somehow said with a straight face.

“You can count on me,” she said with a comical salute.
We got up and started to put icing onto our cupcakes. We didn’t talk during the whole process. There were a few moments where we would just quickly glance up and see the other staring and we would return with a smile and continue decorating each cupcake. White icing. Brown Cupcakes. Golden Silence.

Unwanted Encounters

We drove all the way to Long Beach. Normally, it would take me and hour and a half to drive there, but it took her forty five minutes. I have no clue how we got there without being hit or pulled over. She looked so happy while driving. I heard somewhere that there is no such thing as multitasking. It originated with computer being able to do processes so quickly that they just considered it doing several things at once. They’re wrong. She was talking while stepping on the clutch. Her hand changed gears while the other moved the wheel. My mind raced between admiring her and thinking about death. I would say that my life flashed before me but I was so preoccupied by the cars flashing past me that I didn’t have time to think about it.

“Hey, so do you have a dinner reservation or do you like to play around with Death this often?” I asked.

“Oh you big baby, you have to live a little. Besides, I am trying to outrun ‘them’. Those damned bastards always know where to find us,” she calmly replied as we swerved in and out of traffic.

“Uh, who is this ‘them’ and ‘us’ you speak of?”

“The paparazzi are ‘them’ and ‘us’ refers to celebrities” she said.

As she said this, I could tell that she had a deep hatred for “them”. There was a small glimmer of discomfort as we spoke of this so I decided to drop the subject. Something must have happened in the past, I thought. Maybe she will tell me one day.
We arrived in Long Beach at around 6:15. I thought we were going to go to some fancy restaurant that all the starts go to, but yet again she surprised me. We went to an In N’ Out.

“I absolutely love this place!” she exclaimed as we pulled into the parking lot.

“I haven’t been to one of these places in forever,” I replied.

“You are missing out. I hope my agent doesn’t know I came here. He said that I should really start eating healthy, but how can one live that way? This food is so delicious,” she said as we were walking through the parking lot.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw some type of flash. I turned my head but when I looked, nothing was there. It must have been the car reflecting of a passing car.

“What’s wrong?” Miss C asked.

“Nothing, I just thought I saw something,” I replied.

“Oh all right, well let us go in and eat. I’ve had major cravings for one of these burgers and if I have to wait any longer, I will go berserk!” she said.
We walked in and ordered. She has an appetite! She ordered a double-double with animal style fries. I myself could barely finish a single burger. Once our orders were ready we sat down at a table that overlooked the sunset and beach. It was a bit awkward having everybody look at us, well her, but either way it was still odd. I only took a bite in my sandwich and there was a little girl who walked up to us.

“Excuse me Miss C, may I get your autograph?” the little girl asked.

“Oh, sure thing,” she said with a bit of sauce on her lip.

“Hey, you have a lil’ something on your lip there,” I told her.

“Thanks, mother. Do you have a pen?” she said. I gave her a pen and a napkin.

“To my little fan. Love, Miss C” she narrated.

“Thank you!” the little girl said ecstatically. She ran back to her parents overjoyed by her encounter.

“Does that bother you?” I asked.

“Not really, as long as I can finish this before it gets cold I am fine.”

I saw another flash, this time I saw where it came from. There was a car parked outside and behind the windows I could see a bald, middle-aged man with a camera.

“Hey, I think there is someone taking pictures of you,” I discretely told her.
I grabbed a napkin and a pen. I drew an arrow and pointed it in the direction of the car. She looked over with her eyes and her mood instantly changed.

“Damn it. Let’s get out of here. There will be tons of them soon. I can see the headlines now ‘Miss C’s New Diet’ and the picture will be of me with sauce on my lip.”

“All right, you have a battle plan?”

“Guns blazing,” she said with a smile.

“So, would you like a bag?”

“No, I just lost my appetite,” she said with a sad look on her face.

We quickly got up and threw away our food. Everybody just stared at us. When we first stepped out I saw three more flashes. They were multiplying. We were only halfway to the car and we were swarmed by cameras, clipboards, and people.

“Miss C, who is your new love toy?” one of them said.

“Miss C, how is this diet working out for you?” another yelled.

“Why are you with this average guy? Are you too good for the other celebrities?” a voice cut through.

We pushed all through all of them and got into her car. She gave out a huge sigh and started the car. She slowly backed up trying not to hit one of the jackals outside. I am sure that she would have stepped on the gas pedal if she wasn’t afraid of having handcuffs slapped on her for murder. They slowly parted as if the car was Moses and they were the Red Sea. Once we were clear she sped out of the parking lot.

“Why are you driving so fast?” I asked.

“Because, they have a fleet of vehicles getting ready to follow me,” she replied.

Now I know where she learned how to drive. After several years of being famous, she picked up on another talent other than singing and acting; driving. We sped in between the traffic. I couldn’t see anyone following us. It must take a trained eye to find out which cars were the paparazzi cars. Once we got onto the freeway she began to slow down. There was a black SUV following us. The windows were tinted and it was getting closer to us. It pulled up beside us and one of the back windows began to roll down. Out popped a camera lens and a flash soon followed.

“Shit, I told you they would follow us. I have an idea, don’t freak out too much. Okay?” she said.

“Uh, okay,” I replied.

As I finished she stepped on the pedal. My head was pushed back against the headrest. She cut off a truck and went straight onto an exit ramp. My heart was racing and my palms began to sweat. I wondered if anyone was hurt. By looking in her eyes, I couldn’t tell if she was thinking about anyone else other than those jackals following us. At the end of the ramp was a stop light. I was so relieved that she actually stopped. For a second there I believed I was in an actual movie and we were about run the red light and miraculously live to tell about it. I looked back. She evaded them. Damn, she has some crazy adventures.

“Well, that was fun. Uh, I have a favor to ask of you,” she calmly said as if
nothing ever happened.

“Sure, as long as we are not going on anymore of your insane driving adventures,” I replied.

“Oh, that was nothing. If I get to know you well enough I will tell you about my craziest one,” she said with a smile.

“Let’s just hope that there is still enough time in my life for you to do that. I think you just shaved off a good remainder of my life.”

“You really need to live your life to the fullest; it’s no fun always living in the center.”

“Yeah, I bet. So what was your favor?”

“Oh yeah, do you mind if I lay low at your place for a few hours? They know where I live and they will be expecting me. I don’t feel like being an offensive lineman today.”

“Sure, as long as you promise that I will be driving from now on.”

“Deal, I hate being the driver anyway.”