Falling Stars (excerpt)

Starstruck

Sam had taken his marriage vows to heart, even if Karen had not. True, they'd never been in love, but he'd never even looked at another woman. Til death do us part. These days, it seemed as if she were rushing to fulfill that prophecy by drinking herself into an early grave. None of his efforts to stop her had succeeded. They'd only served to push her further down the bottle neck.

A sliver of light from a crack in the curtains fell across her features. Karen mumbled in her sleep and turned over. Sam tried to remember the last time he'd watched her like this. Unguarded. She had become so defensive that he could barely remember a time when she wasn't. Her temper flared whenever he showed the slightest bit of concern, as if he didn't have a right. Sam thought he'd earned the right with nearly twenty years of his life devoted to her and to them.

He ran a rough hand across his face. He was going to go through with this project. He owed it to himself to try. And if he failed, well...

Sam covered his wife's bare shoulders with the blanket before he turned and faced the door, afraid and excited by what awaited him on the other side.

****

ValSaunders_WTP Off to the set of my new TV show! #SoExcited #NewExperiences

The billboards over Sunset Boulevard were filled with the beautiful people. Unattainable and unapproachable, they were the toned, tanned and tucked royal court of a glittering kingdom. Looking up at them from her car as she waited for the light to change, Val Saunders knew the price many of them had paid for their fame. The white of their smiles was as artificial as their blemish-free faces. In Hollywood, beauty wasn't the only thing that was skin deep. Souls were wafer thin in the city of angels.

But there were other ways to make it there. You didn't necessarily have to make a deal with the devil, at least Val hoped not. She'd paid her dues through nameless bit parts on TV and in low-budget films, and refused to play ball (or was it with balls?), quickly shooting down the sleazy producers that offered to let her sleep her way into bigger roles. She'd never risked her reputation on a casting couch, and her hard work was paying off. Her last film had gotten her some Golden Globe buzz. The nomination had been a long shot. So, her heart hadn't been broken when she wasn't on the list of nominees. The fact that people thought she was deserving was enough.

For now.

Her phone rang as she pulled away from the intersection. The caller ID showed Senator Todd Sandoval, her main target for funding for her current project: New York's inner city arts program. She tapped her Bluetooth earpiece to accept the call.

"Senator Sandoval, thanks for getting back to me."

She could hear the resignation in his sigh before he even spoke. He was going to turn down her proposal for increased funding. Sandoval was the final holdout in her bid to get the federal grants, without them she wouldn't get her corporate sponsors to offer matching gifts. Val had grown up with some privilege, a fact that only made her want to help those without those same opportunities. She'd always been one to pay it forward. Funding the grant would provide after-school musical instruction for some of the city's most vulnerable youth. If only Sandoval would stop sitting on his hands. While he went on about those hands being tied and "nothing more I can do", Val interrupted the pending brush off.

"Senator, I know you understand the importance of arts education. I was at your son's recital last month and it's amazing, what he's accomplished. All I'm asking for is...Yes, I know you can't guarantee anything, but if you would just consider... Yes, thank you. That would be great. Thank you! Looking forward to it. Take care." Val disconnected the call, and slammed her palm on the steering wheel with triumph. Finally, a yes!