His schedule was so tight that he wished he could be in two places at one time. It started to take its toll on his body. He often came home to Charlie without anything left.
“There’s a closing party tomorrow night, we should be there,” Vicky said. Vicky was the manager Maxine had appointed to take care of Tommy’s affairs.
Tommy threw himself back on the chair and exhaled, “Do we really have to?”
Vicky sat on the table in front of him, “Of course, Maxine wanted you to be there, everyone should be at the closing party, it’s where you can get your next contract,” she lit up a cigarette and handed it to him.
He already has a shooting schedule lining up for the next week, it’s not like he needs to pile up more jobs urgently. He rubbed the back of his neck, and lifted up his feet on a chair, “Can Charlie come with?” he took a long drag from the cigarette.
“Oh … Charlie called … she said something about her mom is visiting, she’s at her hotel … she’s probably busy with her mom,” Vicky was the one answering his phone now.
Tommy tilted his head back with a grunt, “Shit … I have to see them, I don’t think I can go to that party, Vick.”
“But you have to! It’s part of the job, Tom.”
Vicky took out a small plastic bag from her purse, placed it in his hand, “This will help you out, everybody needs a little help around here.”
He looked at the packet, he knew what it was and gave it back to Vicky. She pushed his hand back, “Keep it … there’s plenty where that came from, trust me, you’ll need it, otherwise you won’t cope with the schedules … Maxine’s movie is starting next week, and two photo shoots on top of that.”
He paused, all he wanted to do was go home to Charlie and made love to her, but he wasn’t sure he could even do that anymore. He put the packet in his pocket.
“Courtesy of Maxine Roberts … everybody uses it around here, Tom, it’s no big deal … consider it as vitamin,” she patted his shoulder.
It was almost midnight when he finished his day. He took a cab home because he was too tired to drive, he fell asleep halfway there.
Charlie was already asleep. He stood by the door frame of his bedroom and watched her sleep peacefully, a sight he wanted to see every night. He wanted to crawl under the blanket and kiss her soft lavender-scented skin, instead, he sat on the armchair to take his shoes off and dozed off until the sunlight woke him up.
**********
“Tom! How wonderful to see you!” Catherine greeted him at the hotel.
“How are you, Mrs. Ludlow?”
“Very well, Tom, thanks for asking,” she hooked her arm around his as they walked into the Royale Blue Lounge for brunch.
His country boy look was no longer visible, Tom Raven had turned into a high-end brand image, endorsed by the brands he was modelling for. He was starting to look like someone her husband might approve of, although it was a far stretch.
“I hear everything is doing well for you here, Charlene updated me on your progress, as well as hers, … I have to say I’m impressed, it’s only been less than two months,” she took the seat Tom pulled out for her.
Tommy curved a smile, “Life seemed to move a lot faster here, Mrs. Ludlow … I’m just happy to get work to pay for the bills.” He was hiding his nervousness, Charlie’s mom seemed to have that effect on him.
Catherine clasped her hand together, her eyes pierced through the young man who was sitting across from her. “Hmm … about that … I guess I’m just gonna go straight to the point here, Charlene told me about her plans to attend a film school here, run by your employer, Maxine Roberts?”
He cleared his throat before explaining the situation from his point of view. Catherine listened intently and studied his gestures. Charlie was ordering food and drinks for everyone.
Of all the times he got naked in front of an audience, or even celebrities, he found talking to Catherine Ludlow more nerve-wracking than any of his experiences. They had a long conversation about their plan, leaving out the private photo shoot they did for Maxine out of the equation. He left an impression that it was all happening because of Maxine’s generosity for the both of them.
“How generous of her … does she do that to other young couples around here? She must’ve helped a lot of people?”
Tommy and Charlie shrugged with an awkward laugh, they didn’t know what to say to that.
Catherine let out a deep exhale, “I think it’s brave of you to follow your own path, Charlene, and you too Tom, I’m glad that you’re figuring out what you want to do with your life and I respect that … but if I may share my motherly advice for the two of you … coming from my experience and hopefully for a better outcome?”
“Of course, mom, we really need your support right now,” Charlie said.
“Since you initially came here for a summer vacation … and it looks like it shifted to a long-term plan … please understand that I need time to process this myself.”
Charlie nodded, she expected to get a harsher reaction from her, so this was doing well for her.
“Your father will not approve this, I think you know that … he will not have any part of this which means you can forget any financial support from him, so the reality is … financially, you are on your own,” she began sharing her insights.
Tommy nodded, it was why he had agreed to sign up with Maxine in the first place.
“I appreciate what you’re doing for my daughter, Tom, but please … hear me out, you’re young and you barely know each other, your relationship has only just begun … it’s the ‘honeymoon phase’ where everything is just nice and sweet, and this path you’re about to take needs a huge commitment … it’s not gonna be nice and sweet all the time, and I need to know if you’re ready for that?”
Tommy and Charlie looked at each other. Catherine saw how in love they were, the more reason she couldn’t oppose what they were doing. Made her question irrelevant because the only answer she will get was, “We’re ready.”
Catherine raised her eyebrows, “Wonderful … now … someone is going to explain this to your dad.”
“I’ll do it, I’ll talk to him,” Charlie said.
“Good, I was hoping you would … and I will have to defend your decision when I get back home.”
Charlie looked down, she knew she was getting her mom in trouble.
“If you want my support on this, I only have one thing to ask of you … or otherwise I cannot give you my blessings.” Catherine immediately got their full attention. “If you’re going to do this, I don’t want you to live together, you have to live separately.”
They both stared blankly at her. When money was an issue, they couldn’t figure out how they can afford to have another place.
“Don’t worry, I will provide the place for you … and you can’t lie, because I’ll know … no offense, Tom, you are my daughter’s first boyfriend, she’s 18 years old and barely legal in this city … I will allow you to stay in the same city, but not under the same roof, so how about it?”