Sara's Port, Ch. 24

Chapter 24

For Oliver and Sara, it was totally a matter of timing that evening - horrifically bad timing.

Normally, she would have been at class, but at 7:30, Sara was home watching television, killing time until Ollie's call. She usually watched the gossipy show, Entertainment Hollywood, on nights when she didn't have class, mostly because it offered sneak previews of upcoming movies, in addition to the celebrity news of the day, of course.

One of the teasing headlines of the day caught her attention immediately.

"We have the exclusive interview tonight with Dina Derson, who shares with us the secrets of her hot romance with reclusive novelist, Oliver Lane, one of the most sought after bachelors in Hollywood. In fact, Dina was there to greet him at LAX today when he returned from what's being described as his "top secret research" trip to his home on the East Coast."

The tease interested her and for some reason she started to feel decidedly uneasy. She always believed that Dina Derson was over-rated as an actress, but she couldn't deny that the statuesque brunette was beautiful and had a killer body. Dina always seemed to be in the public eye and on the arm of a new man every few months or so.

Since Oliver Lane was also one of her favorite novelists, she watched with interest to hear the entire story. The millionaire author was always described as quiet and reclusive and Sara wasn't even sure she knew what he looked like, except for a vague recollection of him being dark haired and good looking - at least on the jacket cover of his books. He didn't seem like the sort that would be paired up with the likes of Dina - that was certain.

The segment didn't air until the show was nearly over.

Hoping that Ollie would call, Sara looked at the phone and even picked it up once to make sure there was a dial tone.

At precisely that moment, she suddenly recalled a conversation with Ollie's friend, Ben, the previous week, when he bragged that he knew the author of Revelations, Oliver Lane.

'What a coincidence!' she thought nervously, starting to get a sickening, sinking feeling that she might know Oliver Lane, too.

When she turned her attention back to the TV, to her dismay and revulsion, a picture flashed on the screen - a picture of her Ollie passionately kissing Dina Derson at the airport earlier that day. In contrast to his encounters with Sara, he didn't appear to be holding anything back from Dina.

It was almost like watching a terrible accident, where she was the only victim. Sara's eyes were all but glued to the screen for the remainder of the program and her agony grew more intense with each word.

"Yes, we're very serious," Dina chirped happily to the fawning interviewer.

"Is a celebrity wedding something we can look forward to?"

Dina laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulders, as if she was the happiest woman on the planet. 'And why not?' thought Sara, sadly. 'She has my Ollie.'

"Oliver's busy researching his next novel - you know playing around with story ideas, that sort of thing. That's what he was doing over Thanksgiving - research, but I've got him for Christmas and who knows? I've always dreamed of a Christmas Wedding!"

"Is it true you're going to be married on Oprah?"

"No comment," Dina demurred, coyly dodging the question. Then the interviewer thanked her for her time and it was over.

Sara felt as if she'd been hit by a train - a train of lies and deception named Oliver Lane.

The words echoed in her head, piercing her heart and soul.

'Research for his upcoming novel. Playing around with story ideas.'

That was all she'd meant to him. His betrayal was one of the worst blows of her life. Being suspended from her job was difficult, but nothing like this. And it all happened on the same horrible day.

Although she didn't express the words anywhere but her journal, Sara let herself fall completely and totally in love with Oliver Kelly.

She knew now that her sweet Writing.Com Ollie didn't exist. All that existed and remained was a fantasy - just a dream or worse yet, a story idea.

Nothing about their weekend together was real or true. And, at last she knew the reason he kept his distance after that first kiss.

And that reason was Dina Derson.

At almost the same moment she came to that horrible realization, the telephone rang. But Sara didn't answer it, knowing in her heart, who it was.

"What's the point?" she said angrily to the telephone as it kept up its persistent ringing. "You've got enough of me for your story. It's all you're going to get!"

The entire day was one of sadness and loss for Sara. Her heart was completely shattered and for the first time she wondered, briefly, what the point of living was anyway. Life seemed so full of loss, cruelty and betrayal. But, Sara was not one to wallow in self pity for very long.

Gradually, the anger set in.

Seeing Oliver in Dina's arms, she started to feel angry and the more anger she felt, the more determined she was to rise above the situation and survive. Her father always told her to look forward and make up her mind to be happy and she would be. And Sara was determined to do just that.

"Sometimes that's more of a challenge than others," he warned her.

"What an understatement, Daddy!" she said quietly, but in her anger, Sara found strength and resolve.

She knew somehow, she would make it through, if only to show Oliver that he'd lost something very precious indeed - Sara's love.

Continued in "Sara's Port, Ch. 25"