The Director (Hollywood Nights) by Cara North

His family
had been overwhelmingly positive in their response to her. She wasn’t used to
it.
    They entered the house and Helen
handed Shay the bowl. “Try a cup at a time, dear. Just   a sip until he can hold it down long enough
for another sip. Then keep trying it every half hour he keeps it down until he
can drink a whole cup. But not tonight. The first eight hours are the worst. I
could strangle Poppy for this. Not ten minutes after you called my grandson
started complaining of a headache. I’m heading to Janice’s house next.”
    Shay stood there holding the
container of soup for several moments after Helen Gunner disappeared up the
stairs. The fact that the woman was there tending her oldest son, a man over
forty, and then would be going to see her grandson said a lot about her
commitment to family.
    After placing the soup in the
refrigerator she headed to the room. Jed must have made another bathroom run
since the boxers were off the nightstand and nowhere to be seen. He was
sleeping. His mother didn’t stand close to him, likely because she was going to
see Buddy Junior afterwards.
    She smiled at Shay and said, “That
beard. He’s had it since he was eighteen. The year after Dana died he grew it
out, quit acting, quit college…I thought he was going to quit life for a while.
You have no idea how hard it is to mother such an independent and emotionally
deep child like Jed. I was so relieved when he started taking an interest in
the behind the camera activities. Then he started working for a few places
doing documentaries. Next thing I know, he’s grown, gallivanting all over the
world in the most dangerous places…”
    She put her hand to her heart and
took a moment to collect her emotions before she continued in a very Harvey
Agency fashion letting Shay know that Harvey was indeed his mother’s older
brother. “Take care of my baby, Shay. If you need me to come back here, you
just call. I’m going to head on over and take some soup to Janice. Both of her
boys are down. She’s wearing a facemask and trying to handle them and not get
sick herself. My poor little girl. You know, no matter how they are, when you
have children they are always going to be your babies.”
    “Is Frankie okay?” Shay asked. She
didn’t want to shatter the illusion of good mothers being everywhere.
    “That’s right, you know Frankie.”  
    Shay nodded.
    “She and Jonas are both fine,”
Helen smiled. She started to say something, but then stopped. She settled on, “I’ll
leave my number on the counter downstairs.”

 
    ***

 
    At some point in the night she
fell asleep. The moment she heard him wrenching his guts up in the bathroom she
bolted upright and almost fell off the foot of the bed where she had apparently
been napping.
    He stumbled back into the bedroom
and crawled into the bed. Shay moved to cover him and he touched her arm at her
elbow and then slid his hand down to hers. He pulled at her until she was
sitting in the bed with him. He moved and adjusted in the bed until he had his
head in her lap.
    Shay grabbed the pillows,
flipping them over as she did, to avoid his germs the best she could. She
leaned against them, still sitting up more than lying down, and began to stroke
his hair. He was too hot for his covers. She knew that would not last. He was
asleep within moments and within an hour he was shivering cold. It went on like
that. She fed him soup. She covered him when he was cold and she uncovered him
when he was hot. She found herself sitting in the bed stroking his hair, his
back, his beard every time he returned.
    She had fallen asleep that way,
sitting up in the bed, petting him. She opened her eyes as he rolled over. He
was on his back looking up at her.
    “Hey,” he said.
    “How are you feeling?” She
touched his forehead. His fever was gone.
    “I’m hungry.”
    She smiled down at him. “I bet
you are. I’ll go get you some soup.”
    “No,” he frowned. “No more soup.
I’m