Prompt#307 –Hope Chest – Where Thoughts Dwell - Tekia - Original

[tekia.livejournal.com]

Title: Where Thoughts Dwell
Fandom: Original
Prompt: Hope Chest
Warnings: none
Rating: PG
Summary: Rewrite of my story of the same title; Billie is living her life just as she planned it. But you cant always plan for everything.
“Hello, Billie.” He shook her hand with both of his hands around hers. She had to swallow hard twice before she could force herself to speak.
“H-Hello. You’re,” She stopped to lick her lips, her eyes flicking from Lauran to Richard. “I don’t think I understand what’s going on.”
“Please, sit, and I’ll explain,” Richard said, smoothing a hand down his shirt and motioning to the booth opposite him.
Billie felt nerves building up in her stomach. She wasn’t good in situations like this. She had never met a famous person before and this was just crazy. As she lowered herself to the faux leather seat, she remembered her mussed hair and work clothes and scuffed shoes that were long overdue to be replaced.
Even dressed down, Billie could see that the two of them were leagues above her.
She sat and clenched her fingers together in her lap. He was staring at her, and it was all she had not to spill just how much of a fan of his work she was. He was famous for his eyes, she thought, how deep and expressive they could be on the big screen. Being the recipient of his stare was just as nerve wrecking as she thought it would be. Her cheeks were red, she knew they were.
Finally he smiled and leaned back in the seat. “About three weeks ago, I found out that my father, Lauran’s father, isn’t my father.”
Billie’s eyes snapped to Richard’s face. “Okay? What’s that have to do with me?”
He smiled, just a small curl at the corner of his lips. “Robert is my biological father.”
“My dad?” Billie squeaked. She sat back in her chair, stunned. Richard was nodding, smiling now.
“We’re siblings.”
Billie glanced at Lauran. She was watching Billie nearly as intently as Richard was. Her eyes were blue, not at all like Richard’s dark brown. Lauran smiled encouragingly. Billie looked back at Richard.
“You’re not upset by this?”
He shrugged. “I was, but I got over it. I met Robert two weeks ago. Thought, you know, I ought to at least meet the man that fathered me.”
Billie snorted. “Were you impressed?”
“Not really.”
“Yeah, neither was I.”
Richard put his arms on the table and leaned close. “I’m told he hasn’t seen you in years.”
She nodded. “Wants nothing to do with us, I suppose.”
“He said you don’t keep in contact.”
“How are we when he moves and doesn’t tell us?” Billie shook her head. “If you met him, why are you here?”
“I wanted to meet my siblings. I’m told I also have two brothers?”
Billie stilled. She searched his face, wondering what she should do. On the one hand, he wanted to know about his blood family, but on the other, her brother was very angry at their father. Would he want to meet him?
She mentally snorted. Who wouldn’t want to meet a famous actor?
“I’m sorry. My oldest brother died last month.”
Richard’s eyes went wide and his skin went pale under the Malibu tan. His smile slipped away and grief filled his eyes. “I’m sorry, too. Jacob, right? He was the oldest?”
Billie nodded and didn’t miss how Richard’s shoulders dropped, how Lauran’s hand settled over his in comfort.
“What happened?”
“He committed suicide.”
Richard took in a sharp breath and reached for her with his free hand. Billie hadn’t put her hands on the table, so leaning back was enough to abort the action. He dropped his hand to the table with a thud. “I’m so terribly sorry.”
She shook her head. She closed her eyes so that she didn’t have to look at him, and for a long moment they sat in silence. Finally, she looked up.
“You wanted to meet my other brother, Eric?”
“Yes,” he said, without any hesitation. Billie couldn’t hold back a smile at his smile. Richard Starter was one of the most famous men in movies. He had multimillion dollar movies under his belt and his most recent movie was still in the theaters raking it in.
What could he possibly want with their middle class selves?
“My niece is having a graduation party today, at four. You’re more than welcome to come, I’m sure.”
His eyes lit up. “Niece?” He shot a look toward Lauran, who rolled her eyes at him.
Billie smiled. “Nieces. I have five nieces with a sixth on the way, and a nephew.”
“Oh, wow,” he breathed. Now that Billie was looking, she could see the excitement in his eyes, the hope. If she remembered correctly, Lauran was his only sister, and she was single still. So their family had been just the four of them. Well, and Richard’s own children. He had two sons, one nearly an adult, and one newly born.
Billie waved away the waitress that had finally shown up and gathered her purse. She gave them the directions to party, and then stood awkwardly as Richard demanded a hug. He wasn’t much taller than her, and she caught Lauran’s eyes over his shoulder. She shrugged and made a helpless motion with her hands.
Once he released her, she shook hands with Lauran and left the restaurant. She sped home and quickly changed out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable before sitting before her computer and pulling her phone toward her.
She had to warn her brother before the event, but she hadn’t a clue as how to tell him that they had a long lost brother. Who was none other than Richard Starter. The famous superstar.
It felt all surreal now that she was back home, with her cat meowing over her shoulder for her attention and her computer humming away.
The phone rang in her ear twice before her brother’s voice came over the line.
“Hey,” she said, then paused as she tried to pull the words from her mouth. “Uh, did Mom ever tell you about Dad having a kid before us?”
“She said something about it, a while ago. What of it?”
“He found us.”
“Oh.” It was always hard for her to read her brother’s voice. He never put any inflection into his words. As far as she could tell, he could either be extremely angry that she had just brought up their dad, or ecstatic about it all.
“He wants to meet you, and the kids, so I invited him to Tasha’s gig.”
“Did you tell Mom?”
“No, but I don’t think anybody will mind.” Hell, the girls will be thrilled to meet someone so famous. True, he had had a problem in his past, but he was still quite a big deal. “You’re not angry, are you?”
“Whatever.”
She rolled her eyes and finished the call with promises to see him later. She cupped her forehead in her hand and stared at the screen saver on her monitor.
Dad had had another child, and he was Richard Starter, famous actor, musician, and sex symbol.
~*~*~
She pulled up to the pizza parlor to discover Richard and Lauran already there, leaning against the hood of their car, waiting.
She braced herself and slid out of her car. Richard smiled behind his sunglasses. “That car’s got character.”
“It’s a piece of junk,” Billie said with a fond look at the machine. “But it keeps running, so I keep it.”
She led them into the small building and instantly spotted her family gathered in the far party room. She paused before going any farther, giving Richard time to catch up with her. “Are you sure this is how you want to meet them?”
He shrugged. “What better way than at a party?”
She chuckled and led the way into the room. She spotted her brother right away, seated next to his wife and their daughter standing between them, pointing to the cake on the table. Her sister-in-law waved at her and her niece turned to her with a grin.
“Lee!” She rushed over and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I missed you.”
Billie leaned down and patted Andi’s back. “I missed you too, hon.”
The little girl peered around Billie’s knees to gaze up at Richard and Lauran. By then Eric and his wife Jess had turned toward them. From another table Tasha made a face and disgusted sound. “Ew, it’s my aunt.”
The young girls at the table giggled and Billie rolled her eyes. “Ew, it’s my mini clone.”
“It’s about time you got here.”
“Love you too, hon.”
Eric stood and crowded her out of the room, making Richard and Lauran exit as well. His eyes were narrowed as he held out his hand. “Eric Marr.”
Richard took off his hat and shook her brother’s hand. “Richard Starter.”
Eric’s narrow eyed glare turned to Billie. She shrugged and stepped around her brother’s large frame and back into the party room. She ruffled Tasha’s hair and then teased Tasha’s younger sister Ruth. She claimed a chair and Jess’s sister’s son came up to her and offered her his toy.
She chatted with the boy a bit before Richard and Eric returned. She nearly laughed out loud when Jess realized who Richard was, her eyes going wide and her mouth dropping open. Tasha wasn’t too impressed by Richard’s fame, nor was Ruth. One the other hand, Billie’s mother turned into a mess when she met the famous actor.
Joan was a fan of the man’s work, and meeting him was a real pleasure. Eric and Billie, with unspoken agreement, decided not to tell Joan why he was here, other than that Billie had meet him and pulled some strings to get him there.
He sat amid the family, chatting amicably with their nieces. He had brought a small gift for Tasha in the form of cash in a card and an elegant pen set. “I hear you’re off to college.”
Tasha nodded and held her cup up for a refill as Ruth filled her own cup. “I’m going to attend the local community college for a year before transferring out of state.”
“Moving away from home?” Lauran commented. “Do you have things for your dorm picked out? A hope chest filled with supplies?”
Tasha sipped her drink, shaking her head. “Dad had one started for me, years ago, but I don’t know what happened to it.”
“I think it he may have sold it,” Ruth put in. Tasha frowned, but then shrugged.
“Probably.”
The kids suddenly returned with their prizes from the game room and the youngest screeched and giggled, snagging everybody’s attention.
Two hours later, Tasha and her friends were off and her sisters and mother with her. Billie’s own mother and step father went out right after. Eric shook hands with Richard and invited him to his house, as the girls were going to go back to his place later and Jess had planned a grill out.
Richard expressed his willingness to attend and agreed to meet up there later. Billie gave a noncommittal answer, but really planned on just going home. She really wasn’t any good with being with her family. Even if her family now included someone so rich and famous. In fact, that made it so much worse.
She stood and made to leave, but Richard called her back.
“Billie, you’ll show me to Eric’s house, won’t you?”
Unhappiness curled in her stomach and she nodded. “Of course. It’s really not that far, you can follow for the drive.”