Ex-con Alpha (Alpha Meets Omega 3)

Travis laughed at the mention of the director who had caused her to streak to her car in a fit of rage. He leaned forward and hugged her, careful not to hurt her fragile frame. Taking baby Vivianne from Kat’s arms, he watched as she hugged her too. They had become quite close in the months that led up to this day, and despite their original thoughts on what Vivianne Demonte was about, they learned that she was never a woman you should think you understood. Her beauty ran deeper than her vanity, and her kindness was a hidden gem.

They watched her leave, walking gingerly along with her head held high as Bob maintained his steady arm around her. Travis felt a tear run down his cheek as he considered it might well be the last time they saw her, then quickly wiped it away. Once again, he was struck by how devastating it would be to lose Kat and considered how lucky he was to have her at all.

“I love you, Kat.”

“I love you too, Travis. Quit crying.”

“I’m not crying. You’re crying,” he teased.

Baby Vivianne let out a loud belch, and they both laughed, handing her off to her Uncle Mike as they made their way to the dance floor, enjoying their first dance as man and wife. Travis intended to dance with Kat forever. She was his forever, and she had given him a life beyond his wildest dreams when he’d only been expecting to get by, at best.CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXVivianne

It would be another two months before Vivianne finally succumbed to the horrible disease that took her away from Bob. Rather than returning to the home they had shared in Hollywood, Bob sold it and bought a place near the lake and not far from Mike. He kept her ashes above his mantle for months before finally being able to part with her and spreading them across a favorite trail they had discovered during their time there. A place where they used to lie at night and watch the stars.

He was surprised to come home one day from a fishing trip with friends to find a statue had been erected where an old birdhouse had once been. It was a found metal sculpture of a petite woman looking up toward the stars. Like Vivianne, it was the only one of its kind. On his door was a simple note that read, “I owe her so much that I can never repay, but I know she’s still looking at the stars, and I know she always was one of the brightest ones. – Travis.”

Twenty-five years later, a young actress sat down in a chair beside the desk of a prominent late-night host for an interview.

“So, you are named for a very famous actress, I understand.”

“Yes. Vivianne Demonte.”

“Her films are classics. I suppose you were too young to have ever met her.”

“Almost. I met her when I was just a baby. Her husband, Bob, remains a close family friend.”

“And I understand that the late Vivian Demonte left behind a bit of advice for you. What was that?”

“She said I should never become an actress.”

“Advice you did not heed, obviously. Was that it?”

“No. She said that if I did, I should never work for Nathan Parker.”

“Nathan Parker? He’s a pretty prominent director. Did she say why?”

“She said he was a prick,” Vivianne replied, garnering loud guffaws from the audience.

“Wasn’t your last film with Nathan Parker, though?”

“Yes.”

“And how was that then?”

“He’s a prick.”

The audience erupted into more laughter.

“Tell us about your father then. He’s quite well known for his art. Do you have any of his work displayed at your home?”

“No, not yet.”

“You can’t get your own father to make a statue for you?”

“I can’t afford him.”

There was more laughter, but the host waved them down.

“Surely your father would make you a statue without charging you for it.”

“No. He says that if he does it for one of us, then he’ll have to do it for all of us, and he just doesn’t have that kind of time on his hands.”

“Right. That brings us to an interesting topic, something not everyone may not know about you. You have twenty-three brothers and sisters. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy. Your mother must have been pregnant like every year for the past two decades or so.”

“No. My mother is a very special woman. She had three sets of quintuplets and one set of octuplets.”

The audience gasped, and Vivianne smiled out at them.

“No wonder your father doesn’t have time to make you a statue,” the host joked.

“Right?” Vivianne laughed.

“Alright, well, thank you for coming, and we appreciate you stopping by to see us. Of course, we would be letting down our audience if we let you go without giving you a big send-off, so we’ve nominated our left section of the audience to stand and give you a salute.”