Hollywood Remake (A Celebrity Love Story)

Chapter 38: Say Anything

Aidan gripped the steering wheel with both hands. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on the road. Probably best if he didn’t try to sneak another glance at Kate, riding in the passenger seat beside him. Only ten more minutes and they’d be at the airport. Ten more minutes with Kate by his side. Ten more minutes to try to hold it together.

He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Neither of them had. They’d been up late, curled up together on the couch, watching the movie. Say Anything. Whose bright idea was it to watch Say Anything?

He’d forgotten what it was about at first, but he remembered once the movie started. It was that one with John Cusack as an 18 year old kid – just some loser guy with no prospects and no future. Not much going for him at all except for his beautiful, brainy girlfriend. That girl he falls head over heels for, and then she inexplicably dumps him. Leaves him crying at a payphone at the Gas 'N Sip.

Under the circumstances, probably not the best movie to watch.

He hadn’t made much of a plan for last night. Kate was expecting something big, but all his energy had been focused on setting up the open house. That was the big plan. The date afterward was just an afterthought. A celebration. Instead it had turned into a goodbye.

She hadn’t seemed to mind though. She’d been in a good mood yesterday. She'd hummed in the car all the way home after they finished looking at the house. That was nothing compared to the look on her face later that evening when she met him in the lobby in her new dress. Worth every penny, that dress. Every head in the place had turned to look at her the moment she stepped out of the elevator. He would've bought her a hundred dresses just to witness that moment – that look that lit up her eyes, the moment she understood at last how beautiful she truly was.

The thought had crossed his mind then that maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe he should give it one last shot. Propose again. What did he have to lose at that point? Nothing much, really. Nothing he hadn’t lost already.

The whole time they watched the movie, he’d gone over it and over it in his mind, weighing the pros and cons. In the end, he hadn't gone through with it. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. He knew that. It would only spoil her mood again. Better just to enjoy the night for what it was. One last night, cuddled up on the couch with the only woman he’d ever loved. The only woman he seemed to be capable of loving. Better to leave it at that – a nice date, a sweet memory. Better not to sour it with another botched proposal, since that memory was probably all he was going to have to live off of for the rest of his life.

He’d been lost in thought, his arms wrapped tight around her, his face buried in her hair, when he’d felt her shift and pull away.

“Aidan?”

He’d opened his eyes and saw her craning her neck around to look at him.  

“What is it?”

“It’s over.”

It had taken a moment for the meaning of the words to penetrate. He’d opened his mouth to protest, until he looked past her to the television screen and saw the credits rolling. Over. The End. How was it already the end?

“Did you fall asleep?” she asked.

“That’s OK. I saw the important part.”

She’d raised her eyebrows at him.

“You know,” he said with a shrug. “The boombox part?”

He’d forgotten what movie that scene was from – that famous scene after the girl breaks John Cusack’s heart, and he goes and stands outside her window all night, holding up a boombox.