Being a celebrity has taught me to hide, but being an actor has opened my soul – Meryl Streep
"Hurley, come."
Ten feet away from where Claire stood near a fenced section of the South Slope Dog Run in Brooklyn, a giant yellow Labrador stared at her. Tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, a look of pure exhaustion covering him – yet there was still mischief in those dark brown eyes.
If she took even a single step towards him, he was going to bolt. There was no game Hurley loved more than 'pin the leash on the dog'. Especially when it was time to go home.
It wasn't Claire's favourite dog park in the city – that would be the Prospect Park Dog Beach where some of Claire's more adventurous water-loving dogs liked to frolic – but the Dog Run did the trick when she had a dog who just wanted to be in movement.
Sometimes, like today, she had only one dog to bring to the park. Other days, she might have three or four. Today though, it was just Hurley. At least for now. When she was done with the Lab then she had to head into Manhattan where she was going to be walking the dogs the son of one of her mother's employees. It was a temporary thing while Brandon was visiting his grandparents in Chicago for two weeks. Good money since Brandon had offered her ten dollars more than the rate she usually charged.
Of course, if she didn't get Hurley on his leash now then she was going to be running later than she wanted to pick up Spaghetti and Meatball from Brandon's apartment.
"Come," she ordered again.
Hurley just blinked at her like he didn't care what she said to him. He wanted the chase, she knew. He did this every week. No matter that the second he'd gotten off of his leash, he'd sprinted around the dog park like a maniac, chasing balls and sticks and even other dogs that wanted to play with him. The entire time, he'd promptly ignored her.
Which was why he evidently wanted to play with her now that she was ready to go home.
"You're the worst, you know that?" Claire said – not really meaning it as she took a step forward.
That one step was an unleashing. Hurley barked twice and then sprinted away, tail wagging, running in fast circles around her. Darting one way and then back again, all the while looking at her like he knew it was a game that he was winning.
On the other side of the dog park, a few people were laughing as she tried to catch Hurley. Watching as he ran past her time and time again, too fast for her to grab him. It took five minutes for Claire to clip him to his leash after Hurley, panting and exhausted, finally walked to her side.
"Oh, now you're ready to go home?"
Hurley made a small noise in the back of his throat that very well may have been a confirmation. Claire paused long enough to give him a drink of water and then led him from the park. The South Slope Dog Run was convenient for its prime location near Claire's house which was only a few doors down Hurley's mom Thalia lived.
It was only after Hurley was back home, curled up on the edge of a couch with his eyes fluttering shut, that Claire allowed herself to take a breath. Not that she had a lot of time for one since she was already running late for Brandon's place. Ten minutes later she was on the subway towards Manhattan. Halfway there, she had to swap for a different subway track.
When Claire emerged into the sunlight after the second subway ride, her phone rang. An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen but she answered it as she turned in the direction of Brandon's apartment. "Hello?"
"Is this Claire? Claire Shaffer – from the deli counter at Eden Organic's?"
She wasn't sure that she was breathing at that male voice – supple and deep and slightly nervous. More from surprise than anything else. It had been several days since she'd handed Jay Dawson her cell number – long enough that she hadn't really expected that he'd ever contact her.
"Uh, yes. It is. Is this Jay?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Hi."
There was a distinct smile in his voice. "Hi. Are you busy right now? I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee like we talked about a few days ago?"
Claire cursed her luck as she crossed the street. Brandon's apartment loomed on the other side of the road – twenty-three floors up. "I—I am. I'm sorry. I'm working."
"Oh." Was that disappointment she heard?
She entered Brandon's apartment and dashed for the elevator. "Can you give me a second? I'm just about to enter an elevator. I might lose you."
Jay sounded surprised. "Um, sure. Yeah."
The call, as she expected, disconnected the second the elevator jolted into movement. When she reached the twenty-third floor, she quickly redialed the last number that had called her. On the first ring, Jay picked up.
"I didn't know deli counters had elevators," he said dryly.
Claire laughed as she headed down the hallway to Brandon's apartment. "I'm not at the deli. I have a second job walking dogs. You caught me just as I was heading to pick up a few clients."
Swiftly, she unlocked the door with the key Brandon had left for her and was met by two dogs: the bouncy Australian Shepherd was Spaghetti while the wiry Jack Russel was Meatball.
"Say hello boys," she purred to them as she held the phone out slightly. As if they knew what she wanted, both dogs barked. Meatball jumped up, his paws digging into her leg as Spaghetti spun in excited circles.
On the other end of the line, Jay laughed. "Seems like you've got some excited clientele."
"Excited is one word for it."
Claire pushed her way into the apartment, scooting around the dogs to grab their leashes from where Brandon's boyfriend Marcus had left them that morning. It had become their habit over the last two days – Marcus walking the dogs in the morning while Claire took the afternoon shift when he was at work. Marcus was crashing at the apartment while Brandon was out of town but due to his work schedule, he'd be home late in the evening. Too long for the dogs to go without a second walk of the day from Claire.
At least they were excited to see her. Spaghetti trailed in her wake, not moving an inch from her side as if she would disappear in the span of one step.
"Are they friendly dogs?" Jay asked. "Good with people and pets?"
"Yeah. The guy I'm walking them for says they're total angels. Spaghetti sometimes plays a bit rough, but Meatball shoves him back into his place easily enough."
"Great names."
Now it was Claire who was laughing as she scooped up the leashes and bent to clip them onto collars. "Right?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line as if Jay was debating something, and then he said, "What if I come and join you?"
Claire hesitated. "I'd be glad for the company but...I'm heading to Central Park. It's near the apartment these boys are from so that's where I've been taking them but it'll probably be pretty busy."
"That's fine," he said quickly. "I'll be in disguise. I'll meet you near the Bethesda Fountain in about twenty minutes. That work?"
"Well..." She didn't have any arguments to say to that and he seemed nice from their few encounters. If a little lost and aimless. "Okay, sure."
Quickly, Claire got the dogs ready to go – pausing long enough to retrieve a bottle of water and bag of treats that Brandon and Marcus had left for her. Spaghetti was practically bouncing as she led them out of the apartment and locked the door; Meatball was a tad more reserved but there was a pep in his step as they headed for the elevator.
It wouldn't take her long to get there and so she took her time, allowing the dogs to sniff and wander. When they reached the fountain, Jay was nowhere to be seen. Claire found a bench nearby and took a seat as the dogs relaxed in a patch of shade, content to watch the world go by.
Claire tried to let her nerves not get the better of her. It was strange – well, more than strange – to fathom that she was waiting for the infamous Jay Dawson. A Hollywood A-Lister, movie star, famous...
She had never met anyone famous, really. Like many New Yorkers, she'd seen celebrities in passing. On the other side of the street or on film sets, the occasional spotting in a café. But Claire had never known any of those people, hadn't even shared a conversation with them. Of course, she didn't really know Jay either. She only knew enough to know that he seemed a little sad and lonely.
And though she was still appalled that he had asked to spend time with someone so far below his social standing, she also thought that it seemed like something he needed. For the look in his eyes when she'd seen him last had been a little lost, confused. More so than any other twenty-one-year-old she'd ever met.
Claire tried to picture herself in three years and could only see what she currently had – good friends, doting parents, a career that she was still on her way to figuring out. She couldn't fathom the idea that she would be as lonesome as Jay had looked.
Perhaps that was why she'd agreed to meet. Not because she was interested in his fame or fortune, but because no one should be an island floating down the river of life in such solitude.
"Claire?"
She glanced up, her heart beating unsteadily for just a second as she jumped to her feet. "Hi."
A few feet away, Jay grinned at her – teeth unnaturally bright in the sun. As he'd been in the grocery store, he was wearing a baseball cap but he'd accentuated the look with dark sunglasses. Though it was warm, he had on a thin red sweater with a hole on the sleeve, beneath which she could see a rumpled white shirt, and a pair of black shorts. He had done something to his posture, slouching a little.
He looked, Claire thought, like every other college guy she'd ever seen. Somehow, the clothes and the posture had made him look unremarkable. Cancelling out this movie-star handsome looks and exchanging them for mediocrity. The kind of person that might garner a second look but not a face that someone would linger on.
Next to him, sitting with perfect behaviour, was a dog. Nothing much could be said about it in terms of breeding because Claire had no idea what kind it was. Truly, the thing was a mutt. Floppy brown ears, a scruffy coat white and brown coat, dark eyes and a lolling tongue.
"How are you?" Jay asked. He smiled but it quivered for a moment. Nervous, it seemed.
Well, that made two of them.
"Good," she said and nodded towards the dog. "Who's this?"
"This is Scout. My dog."
Claire knelt to the ground and Scout popped out of his sitting position to come to her. He balanced steadily though he had only three legs. She glanced at Jay curiously as Spaghetti and Meatball rose from where they'd been surveying the park to introduce themselves to their potential new friend.
"Rescued him from a shelter in Louisiana when I was filming a movie there a few years ago," Jay explained. "He had a tumour in his leg and I had the cash to pay for its removal. Scout lost the leg in the process, but he gets around okay. Faster than me most days."
Jay reached down to give Scout an affectionate pat but the pup, who was occupied in the sniffing of Meatball's tail, didn't notice.
"Who are these two?" he asked.
"Spaghetti and Meatball," Claire introduced, pointing to each dog respectively.
He blinked at her and then laughed. "That's amazing." Jay gestured to the path. "Want to take a walk?"
Claire nodded and they started down the path, the dogs walking between them. "How've you been?"
"Busy. I've signed onto a few new projects and am gearing up for a press tour that I'm leaving for in two weeks. Plus, it's my niece's birthday in three days...You have any idea what kind of gift I'm supposed to get for a three-year-old girl?"
"Um...a Barbie doll? Or colouring books or craft supplies...?" Claire wracked her brain but she was the only female in a sea of male cousins. She didn't remember being three – all she knew was that she'd had a stuffed zebra that she'd carried with her everywhere until she was five years old.
Jay considered then shook his head. "She's more of a dinosaur kid than a Barbie doll type. But she's got more than enough toys, which is the problem. My sister forbade me from getting her any more stuff. Said her house is too cluttered."
Claire smiled at the normalcy. Cluttered was a topic she knew well. Her father was always clearing out their apartment, especially when her mother continually brought new things home for the shop.
"Why don't you just have her spend the day with you?" Claire suggested instead. "I used to love doing that with my aunts and uncles. They'd take me for the day, I'd hang out with my cousins, we'd grab ice cream or dinner...Gave my parents a break, too."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Nice suggestion. Giving my sister a date night with her husband will definitely win me brownie points, as well."
"Do you have a big family?"
"Two parents, three siblings, one niece with a few other nieces and nephews on the way, and Scout, of course. You?"
"Two parents, no siblings, and no dog."
Jay raised a brow and a crooked smile quirked up the edge of his lips. "No dog but you walk everyone else's? Man, you must love the poop-and-scoop."
Claire rolled her eyes and stepped to the side as a group of joggers raced past. None of them spared her or Jay so much as a glance. "My dad is allergic so we could never get one of our own, but I've always wanted one so until I get a place of my own, dog walking it is."
They rounded a corner, walking past a gaggle of teenaged girls. Jay visibly hunched, cringing away from them as he turned his head so that he was staring directly at Claire as they passed. It was only when they were gone that he straightened and relaxed once more. She remembered what he'd said that day in the deli. A side effect of celebrity.
She almost mentioned it but then she saw the look in his eyes and asked, "What do your siblings do for work? Are they in the film business too?"
Jay shook his head. "No, it's just me. My brother, Cody, is a social worker and one of my sisters, Grace, is a physical therapist. Dad is a fire chief with Engine Forty-Two and my other sister, Daniella, followed in his footsteps and is also a firefighter. My mom is a hospital administrator. So we're all over the place. Your family?"
"Dad is a financial manager and my mom owns an antique shop with her best friend."
"And you? What do you want to do with your life?"
"Surgical nursing," Claire said. At Jay's raised brow, she flushed and added, "I watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy growing up. Loved the idea of medicine but don't want to be a doctor."
Jay laughed. "Grey's Anatomy – I auditioned for it once. Didn't get the part."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It was for this teenager who fell off a roof and got impaled on a garden post. I don't know if it was a plotline that ever moved forward."
Claire couldn't remember either. "You've been in a lot of television shows and movies. What's been your favourite filming location?"
Jay hesitated and then smiled ruefully. "New York. It's home for me, as you know. I like to go to work and then go back to my place and sleep in my own bed instead of being in a hotel. Having access to my mom's cooking is nice too." He laughed.
Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Jay was only twenty-one. He seemed so worldly – experienced and mature. Next to him, Claire felt young. But then he made comments like this and Claire was able to look past the movie star exterior even more to see the truly young man beneath who was just trying to experience life and figure things out.
"What about you?" Jay asked, flipping the conversation back. "Been anywhere cool? What's the dream destination?"
"Antarctica."
He stopped, nearly stumbling over Scout, and gaped at her for a moment before he burst out laughing. "I've received a lot of answers to that question over the years but never that one. Why Antarctica?"
Claire, a little bit embarrassed, said, "I had a teacher in high school who went to Antarctica once. She said that she went on a research expedition in college and it was the best place she'd ever been. Quiet. Empty. She told me that she climbed the top of this hill with her group and when they got to the top it was just a huge expanse of nothing. No buildings or sounds. Just silence and a great empty space. I decided then that I wanted to go one day. There's something beautiful in that kind of simplicity, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Jay replied, a little hoarse. His green eyes sparkled at her, bright even beneath the shadow of his hat. Like glowing emerald gemstones. "I do."
They continued on their walk, completing the loop they were on before Claire had to go drop Spaghetti and Meatball back home. The dogs were panting, ready for a midday nap. Before they split up, though, Jay asked if he could call her again. If another walk could be in their future.
Perhaps it was because he looked so hopeful and relaxed after their conversation; as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Or maybe it was just because she wanted to see that sparkle in his eyes once more directed at her.
For whatever reason, Claire agreed and the look Jay left her with was brighter than a hundred-watt bulb.