Chapter 64
Time Alone
After the reception, and taking time to change, Martin drove his dad, Addison and Rafa to the airport. There had been a teary goodbye between mother and daughter but Martin knew, as his mother and Randi began chatting, his mother’s blues would soon fade.
Martin glanced at his dad as they were driving home. He was waiting on the usual lecture. His dad seldom missed a chance to preach to a captive audience. Starting as he normally did, Ethan cleared his throat. “Your mother told me about your troubles with Randi’s mother. It seems she has the same opinion about some parts of your career as your mother and I have.”
“You would be right and Randi’s also voiced her viewpoint. She’s not as adamant, but I can see she’s hesitant.”
“As she should be! Being a Pastor and a Father, I understand any mother’s hesitancy in putting the stamp of approval on a marriage to an actor. I knew one day if you found a woman with true grit this would be an issue.”
Martin wanted to sigh, but for a change he was looking forward to what his dad would say on the matter. He didn’t want to make any changes in his life, but he also didn’t want to lose Randi. “I can’t change careers at this point. I’m making a good living at what I do.”
“I understand but if you can’t have the young woman of your dreams, what good is money? Honestly, Martin, I’d rather have you working as a carryout boy and see you married and happy. I could handle the kissing scenes as long as you were single. But if you want Randi, you’re going to have to consider her feelings.”
“I know what you’re saying, but some women don’t mind.”
Ethan laughed. “They may love the fancy lifestyle that the money buys but I will never believe they don’t mind. Tolerate it, maybe, but what other people think or want is not your concern. What you need to think about, and the only thing you need to be concerned about, is how does Randi feel and what does she want?”
“I know. It’s just that I’ve spent all of my life to get to this point and now I could end up throwing it all away.”
“What you have to think about is, what will you gain? If you want to think about loss, consider life without Randi and compare it to doing love scenes with women you don’t even know. The marriage bed is sacred, Martin. It's not something to play with and it's not something you share with other women.”
"But it's not real, it's make believe."
"Martin, when your hands touch the body of another woman, it's real. Randi's mother is right. You may not do the actual act of sex, but you touch parts of their bodies that should be off limits. I bet we'd be having a different conversation if Randi was the actor here. What would you say then? How would your heart ache at the sight of another man's hands on her body? Let that sink in deep and hard into your soul and then consider what you're asking Randi to do."
Martin let his dad’s words play through his head on the ride home. Randi and his mother were out for an evening stroll when they got home so he went to his old room to be alone. He laughed when he found a contract lying on his bed. “Funny, Addison, real funny.”
He sat looking at the three pages. The first page began with the facts. It contained his name, Randi’s name and some legal terminology that, in the end, said he agreed to the following two pages of information. He read through the pages and smiled. Addison had done a great job explaining his problem to Rafa.
Once he signed the contract, he would be agreeing to never accept a role that contained scenes with another woman that were romantic or sexual in nature, without Randi’s consent. If the filmmaker wouldn’t allow Randi to stand in for, and during, these scenes, he would agree to pass on the film.
The document stated that Randi would be willing to do the scenes with Martin if they both deemed the movie was viable and profitable. The document was well worded and would make Randi and her mother very happy.
Martin knew the papers wouldn’t be binding, but his word would be. If he signed the contract, he would know in his heart that he would have to stand by what it said. People could say what they wanted, but no one could ever say he went back on his word. He laid the papers face down on the bed and found a sticky note on the back. He pulled it off and read it.
Randi is the one. I can see it in your eyes.
Don’t let her slip through your fingers.
No amount of money on this earth could be
worth losing the woman of your dreams.
Love you,
Addison
Martin laid the papers face down on the bed. He ran his fingers through his hair letting out a sigh. Deep down he knew Addison was right. If he had all of the money in the world and didn't have love, it would all mean nothing. He had lived that lifestyle with Celia and he did not want that again.
He wanted a woman who cared about him. He wanted a woman who would be jealous if he flirted with another woman. He had just never put any deep thought into how this would affect his acting career.
Martin got up and left the contract lying on the bed. He walked into the living room to find his mother walking in the front door. He expected to see Randi step in also, but his mother closed the door.
"Where's Randi?"
"I didn't know how long you'd be staying so I asked your dad to show her the new kittens out by the barn. They just opened their eyes yesterday."
"First, she's on a walk with you and now she's out with Dad. Do I smell a conspiracy?"
"Not much of one. Did you and Dad have a talk in the car?"
"He lectured me on my immorality." His mother gave him a stern look as he continued with a note of hesitation. "Well, I'm not sure what else to call it."
"You could call it advice. And, if he told you what we discussed, it was sound advice."
Martin glanced toward the front door. "It sounded more like preaching."
"Did you find any of his advice useful?"
"It confirmed what I was thinking."
"Good. I like Randi and I think she'd make a fine addition to our family."
Martin rested his hands on the back of a chair and looked searchingly at his mother. "Do you think it's too soon to know she's the one?"
"No, and looking back, I knew the first time I kissed your Father that he was the one. But, it never hurts to ask the hard questions to see if you're on the same page. Marriage is something you want to do only once, if at all possible. So, have lots of long talks . . . see how you work together, have a few fights and pray, and pray, and pray . . ."