was, I was surprised that he didn’t take any calls while we were fishing. Come to think of it, he hadn’t taken any calls at all while he was with me.
His fingers tapped two more times before he held the phone up to his ear. “Hi Dad,” he said cheerfully. “What are you up to?”
I looked over at him and smiled. I was glad that he was the type of man who thought enough of his parents to call them. Ryan smiled back at me.
It was impossible not to listen to his conversation since he was sitting three feet away but I tried to appear distracted. While he talked, I flipped
through the channels looking for something to watch.
“You’ll never guess what I did yesterday and today. I was fishing!”
He told his father all about the lake and the cabin and how relaxed he felt. It secretly delighted me to know he was happy and content.
“Taryn, where’s my bag?”
“They’re still down in the kitchen.”
He slipped out the apartment door and trotted down the steps. When he left, I figured he would have continued his conversation in private, but he
just ran downstairs, grabbed our bags, and came back instantly to resume his position on the couch.
“Did you book a flight yet? I have to check my calendar.” He started tapping the screen on his phone.
“Dad, just hang on a second. Okay,” he said while touching through a calendar. “Mom’s birthday is Friday the thirty-first. No, I’m scheduled to be
on set. If you fly in Wednesday night then you can stay for the weekend.” It was apparent by his tone that he was looking forward to seeing his
parents.
While he talked, I wondered what his parents looked like. Did Ryan look like his mother or did he take after his father? The way he spoke to his
dad made it clear that they had a great relationship.
“I have to work on the seventeenth. It’s no big deal. We can celebrate my birthday when I come home for Thanksgiving. Okay, let me talk to
mom…”
I looked over at him when he indicated his birthday was coming up, apparently in November since he mentioned Thanksgiving. He’d be turning
twenty-seven this year too.
“Hi Mom. How are you? I’m at a friend’s place. Her name is Taryn.” He winked at me. “It’s a long story; I’ll tell you later… because she’s sitting
right next to me, Mom. She’s a sweetheart! You are going to love her.”
I thought he might like some privacy and I was kind of hoping he might say more if I wasn’t in the room, so I uncovered my legs quickly and went
to the kitchen. I filled my glass up with water and searched through the pantry for something bland to eat. I had just found a box of crackers when
Ryan came into the kitchen, still on his phone.
He started to rub his forehead. “It’s getting worse, Mom. I can’t go anywhere.” I didn’t need to hear her questions to know what they were.
I leaned my elbows on the counter and rested my head in my hands. I had a slight headache from being sick and not having any food in my
system. The cabinet closest to the refrigerator was where I kept most of my medicine. I found the aspirin but Ryan snatched the bottle right out of my
hand.
“You shouldn’t take these now. Mom, Taryn was going to take some aspirin but she shouldn’t take them on an empty stomach.”
I looked at him, puzzled.
“It could upset your stomach even worse,” he said.
“We’ve both been sick, Mom. I think we had food poisoning last night but Taryn still isn’t able to keep anything down. Can she take aspirin on an
empty stomach? I didn’t think so.” He smirked.
I dropped my shoulders; I was doomed to deal with the pain. Ryan stepped closer and felt my forehead again. I guess my temperature was
acceptable; he opened the box of crackers and tore open a sleeve for me. I was perfectly capable of opening the cracker box, but at the same time
I loved that he was taking care of me. And here I thought that he was the one who needed taking care of.
“My mom says you should try and eat some toast and we should drink lots of water.” He swept my hair off my shoulder with his finger, gazing at
me again. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet her when you visit, Mom.” He smiled, appearing so happy. “I’ll tell you all about her… later,” he whispered.
Toast sounded good, but hearing him telling his mother that we’d get to meet each other one day completely stunned me.
“All right Mom, I love you too. I’ll call you later tonight.” He ended his call and popped a cracker in his mouth.
“Do you have a toaster?”
I opened the lower cabinet where it was stored.
“Why don’t you go relax? I’ve got this.” Ryan took hold of my shoulders and guided me towards the hall. I smiled on my way back to my living
room. I could not believe that Ryan wanted to make toast for me. My heart suddenly felt very full.
“So what do your parents think of all this attention you’ve been getting?” I asked while we both munched on toast out on the couch.
“I guess they’re overwhelmed. Their lives have changed too because of me. My mom and dad tell me that they’re proud, you know, but they also
let me know that they’re concerned. My mom keeps telling me to keep my feet on the ground.”
I nodded in concurrence. “You’re going to have to always keep it in check. Just don’t let the fame and notoriety turn you into someone you’re not.
Your parents love the son that they raised, not the celebrity you’ve become.”
He looked at me funny and grinned. “Do you know that my mom said the same exact thing to me? And you’re right,” he answered dryly, “but you
don’t know how it is.”
“No, I don’t,” I agreed in my softest voice. “And I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I have a clue of what this is like for you. You’ll have to
explain it to me if you want me to understand.”
He shook his head and shrugged. “When I’m on set working, things are great. I love it! But since I did Seaside, things have been crazy. The
whole fan thing is… I don’t know… incomprehensible. It’s constant pressure to live up to the hype. Some days it squeezes harder than others.” It
was apparently difficult for him to find the words to talk about it.
“Well, just remember who you are, and try not to let this get bigger than that. The minute you stop being humble, you’ll be in trouble.”
He nodded his head in agreement.
“Ryan, you don’t seem to be the type of person who got into acting because you have to feed your ego. You’re apparently really good at it, and
you love doing it. It’s the career path you’ve chosen to follow, but it’s not who you are in here,” I said as I patted my own heart with my hand. “Just
keep focused on the fact that it’s your job and don’t let it define you. You’ll be okay.”
“You sound like my mother,” he informed.
“No, I’m not trying to mother you,” I defended quickly.
“No, no. That’s not what I mean!” He laughed. “I mean that you’re saying the same things my mom has said to me. It’s bizarre!”
“Well your mother is obviously a brilliant woman,” I amended.
“She keeps telling me to be careful who I trust. Like I need the reminder.” He rubbed his forehead again.
“Ryan, I have a pretty good idea why you have a hard time trusting people and why you have to question the validity of everything and
everyone.” I tilted my head until his eyes met mine.
“And I know I have to earn your trust – just like you have to earn mine. We’re just two people trying to be friends. We both have a lot to risk. But I
know your risk is much higher – it takes away your freedom and puts you in danger.”
“I know. This business makes it hard to trust people. Then when trivial things like what I had for dinner becomes headline news, it really messes