Sara's Port, Ch. 27

Chapter 27

Ben promised to call Oliver at the set the minute he found out anything about Sara.

Before he departed for the studio that morning, Oliver decided to try to get into Writing.Com again. This time he was successful and immediately saw that there was something in his inbox. Clicking on his mail he winced when he saw he had one e-mail with no subject - from Sara.

Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he clicked on the mail and read:

Dear Ollie,

So, you read my journal, when do I get to see these poems? Talk to you later.

Love,
Sara

Grinning with relief at her light, flirtatious tone, he felt a little glimmer of hope, momentarily that perhaps she didn't see Entertainment Hollywood after all. For the first time it occured to him that perhaps there was another explanation for why he couldn't get in touch with her at the Corbins.

'Maybe she just went to Cindy's to spend the night or something,' he thought optimistically. If that were the case, then he knew he still could explain everything to her. Even though he was exhausted from worry and late for the set, he did what he usually did after reading his mail - clicked on her portfolio.

His hopes took a dive when he saw that there was only one item showing in her portfolio - her journal. Then, he saw the date and time of the entry and the title, which was: Tuesday Morning.

And he knew, even before reading it, that it was going to hurt.

Piercing his heart like a knife were her words:

I won't be here for a while so I have marked everything private. And to you, you know who you are - Please just let it be and leave me alone.

"Oh, Sara, no," was all he could think to say as tears filled his eyes. So thoroughly depressed was he, Oliver could barely pull it together enough to get ready and drive to work.

Meanwhile, by the time Ben arrived at the Corbin's House, that Tuesday, Sara was on a plane bound for Savannah, Georgia.

However, Ben was able to talk to the elderly couple and he phoned Oliver on the movie set, as soon as he returned to the video store that afternoon.

"Hey Ollie."

"Where is she? Can I talk to her?" Oliver asked eagerly.

"No, she's gone," Ben said with a grimace, waiting for the explosion.

"Gone? What the hell do you mean, she's gone? Gone where? How could you let her go?" he demanded, his voice breaking.

In all their years as friends, Ben couldn't recall hearing Oliver sound so frantic and worried.

"They said her friend Cindy took her to Dulles this morning. She was flying south somewhere - they don't know where, and if they do, they're not saying. Just that it's south and she's moving in with a relative," Ben explained. "At least until her hearing in January."

"Oh my God! What am I gonna do? What relative? She never mentioned visiting any relative to me," Oliver fumed miserably, running his hand through his hair. He reasoned correctly that Sara left to get away from him, in addition to the situation at work.

"Well, maybe I can catch up with Cindy at work tomorrow. I called her there and the guy said she took the whole day off. I figure she'll be back tomorrow," Ben suggested, trying his best to mollify his friend.

"Did you tell the Corbins that it's a misunderstanding about me?"

"No, Ollie. I'm not sure they know about the situation with you. They didn't seem like they knew about it anyway. They said they were real sorry to see her go. She's the nicest tenant they've ever had and they felt bad about her having so much trouble at work. They didn't mention her personal life and neither did I. I just said I was a concerned friend."

A forlorn Oliver sighed dejectedly.

"Yeah, Sara's a very private person, unlike me on national TV like some sort of clown."

"Ol, you're too hard on yourself. I'm sure once I explain things to Cindy, she'll talk to Sara. It'll all work out, you'll see," Ben reassured his friend with more confidence than he truly felt.

"I still deceived her about the Oliver Lane thing," he argued miserably. "What if she can't get past that?"

"Yeah, well...if she loves you, she'll forgive and if she' doesn't maybe you're better off without her," Ben argued loyally.

"No way, Ben. No way would I be better off without Sara."

"I"ll do my best with Cindy tomorrow, then."

"Thanks, Ben."

Armed with his good intentions, Ben called Cindy's office on Wednesday morning, but was told she wouldn't be in until late Thursday afternoon.

In the meantime, for Oliver there was no choice but to cool his heels in California and try and focus on the job at hand - rewriting the screenplay for Simon's Choice. Throwing himself into his work as never before, he accomplished an astonishing amount in those three days. Unable to sleep, he worked through the night, only stopping once to log onto Writing.Com in order to write an email to Sara just in case she might log on before Ben's visit to Cindy on Thursday. The one thing that gave him a sliver of hope was that she didn't completely delete her port and thereby close the door on Oliver and Sara forever.

He could see no sign that she'd been there or that anything had changed.

Instead of holding back, this time, Oliver decided to lay it all out in an effort to win Sara's heart, and so he wrote:

"Dear Sara,

It seems like I'm always asking you to forgive me for screwing up, and here I am doing it again. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you right away that I am Oliver Lane.

I wish I had leveled with you from the beginning. You gave me a chance to get to know you even though you were afraid. I was afraid too, but I took the coward's way out.

Oliver Kelly is my real name.

Lane is my mom's family. I decided to use a penname so I could keep my private life private. Before I found your port on Writing.Com, I had no life to speak of, except for my work and my friend, Ben, and reading on Writing.Com. I went on a blind date with Dina Derson and she turned it into a huge publicity stunt - and she tried to do that again Monday. She found out from the studio what flight I'd be on and where I was coming from and made up all that stuff she said on TV.

When I got off that plane, I was imagining what it would be like to have you meet my plane. She surprised me, Sara, and I was tired and confused. I'm not very adept at handling situations with people, particularly aggressive women like Dina. When she and I went out, I faked a stomach ache to get away from her because I didn't have the nerve to tell her I wasn't interested.

I have been in love with you from that first night I visited your portfolio and my love for you gets stronger all the time. It's sort of overwhelming for a goofy guy who's been alone most of his life. I know it must seem arrogant of me not to have told you, but I kept thinking - we'll get through this weekend and then I'll tell her. With most people, I'm afraid they'll pretend they like me because I'm Oliver Lane.

With you, I was afraid of the opposite, Sara.

Once I got to know you and spent time with you, I was afraid you wouldn't want a guy who would deceive you like this, no matter who he is. I know that the money and the fame aren't important to you because I know you loved me as Ollie and you loved me as Kelly too. I know that from reading your journal and then from the way you responded to me when I kissed you. I love you, too, Sara, with my whole heart and soul.

Last weekend wasn't about any story research. It was about meeting the love of my life and spending time with you. Somewhere, down deep, I think you know that, but you're angry and afraid. I don't blame you, but look where fear got me, Sara. I can barely eat or sleep and I'm worried about you every minute of the day.

I love you, Sara.

Please write back to me and let me know where you are, so I can spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.

I hope you read this soon and write back to me. I'm working on a movie set as a script consultant - I made the commitment to do this for at least another week, but I may finish earlier. I'm working around the clock. I'll fly back this weekend to try and see you or fly anywhere you say, Sara. Or, I'll fly you out here to be with me on whatever terms you say.

I hope you read this because I'm worried sick that I've lost you. I know I'm an idiot, but that doesn't change the fact that I love you and I hope you love me.

I'm so sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth while we were together. I'm your idiot if you want me.

Love always,

Your Idiot, Ollie

p.s. I will make those poems public as soon as I send this e-mail.

Continued in "Sara's Port, Ch. 28"