Hollywood Remake (A Celebrity Love Story)

Chapter 5: When Katie Met Halley

Kate gazed into the mirror and reapplied her lipstick, acutely aware of the five-inch height difference and seven-year age gap between her and the woman standing beside her. To be fair, Halley probably wasn’t purposely avoiding conversation. It probably wasn’t easy to make eye contact while re-gluing a pair of false eyelashes in a restaurant bathroom.

“So how long have you and Paul been together?”  Kate asked, attempting to break the silence.

“Oh, a few months,” Halley responded off-handedly. “You know, can I just say again how amazing it is to meet you? You’re, like, a legend!”

Kate laughed. She was a legend? In a town full of movie idols and rock stars, she was a legend.

“Aidan said he was bringing someone, but I never thought in a million years it would be you. I mean Kate. The Kate.”

“Who did he say he was bringing?”

“Oh, no one. He just texted that he was bringing a friend.”

Kate nodded. It explained Paul's reaction when they’d shown up at the restaurant earlier. Clearly, Aidan hadn’t told his friends that she was coming to stay with him. Paul had nearly fallen out of his chair when he caught sight of her. “Holy shit!” he’d exclaimed. “Holy fucking shit!”

Kate had been aware of heads turning to look at them. She didn’t know if it was from the noise or from Aidan and Paul getting recognized, but the rest of them seemed unfazed by the attention.

“Kate!” Paul had stood to give her a hug after he’d recovered from the surprise. “Look at you! Holy shit! You turned into a grown up!”

Kate had laughed, but she cringed inside at his words. A ‘grown up’? Was that code for ‘old’? She hadn’t missed the fact that Paul’s date for the evening looked to be in her early twenties. Was that why Aidan had been so intent on staying in tonight? 

“Holy shit!” Paul had exclaimed again once they all sat down to eat. “Do you guys remember the last time we all had dinner together?”

Aidan shook his head and looked at Kate, and she’d felt her own eyes go wide as the memory struck her. “Oh my God!”

“Katz’s!” Paul had cackled.

Aidan had nearly choked on the maki roll he was stuffing into his mouth. “Shit, I forgot about that.”

“I swear to God – this kid.” Paul pointed his chopsticks at Aidan. “Admit it, Kate. That’s why you broke up with him, wasn’t it? That little incident.”

Kate remembered the meal he meant. It was that night, of course. The night Aidan’s band had been booked as the opening act in a one-night-only show at the Bowery Ballroom. The night the band got their big break, signed by a record label after the set. The night that had ended with Kate walking out on him, her boyfriend of four years, and never coming back.

That was how the night ended, but she’d forgotten until now how the evening had begun. They'd all gone for sandwiches before the show at Katz’s Delicatessen, but Aidan hadn’t been content simply to enjoy a quiet meal with friends. He'd decided to warm up his vocal cords with a little dinner entertainment for the crowd. Katz’s Delicatessen. Who had chosen it? She couldn’t remember. In any case, they’d all sat down to eat when Aidan had the bright idea to reenact the famous movie scene that was set there. The one where Meg Ryan decides to prove a point to Billy Crystal by enjoying her pastrami sandwich just a little too enthusiastically.

Of course, that wasn't really the reason she and Aidan had split up all those years ago. It wasn't until a few hours later – a different knee-jerk decision of his that caused their whole relationship to unravel. They'd had an agreement between the two of them, up until that night. She'd supported his adolescent music fantasies for four years, but they'd agreed it was time for him to grow up. Put the band aside. Go back to college and finish his degree. Get a real job – a job that could support a wife and family and a nice little house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. That was what they both wanted. Or so she thought.