Page 57 of Cinematic Destinies
“Then I’d want to spend it making love with you,” he whispered, and he began kissing her as they slowly undressed each other.
ROO WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, WIPEDthe sleep dust from the corners of his eyes, and noticed Georgia fully dressed sitting across the room in a chair. He stretched his arms and smiled at her, but it morphed into confusion. “Did I oversleep?”
She shook her head. “I woke up early.”
He got out of bed, put his underwear and pants on, and sauntered over to her. “Just give me a minute to brush my teeth, love.”
When he returned a few minutes later, she was sitting hunched over with her eyes glued to the floor.
“Darling, what is it?” he asked, kneeling in front of her.
She looked into his eyes, stroked the side of his face, and softly said, “Roo, I’ve decided to go back to LA. There’s this place that does short-term rentals, mostly for actors. I stayed there a while back, and I left some of my stuff in their storage room. I emailed them this morning and there’s an apartment I can have right away.”
“I don’t understand. I thought we were going to explore Iceland a bit more before settling on a home base. Have you landed a job or something? I’m happy to go to LA, it’s just a bit of a surprise.”
“No, I didn’t get a job, and I wasn’t suggesting you come with me. I . . .”
He furrowed his brow. “What are you saying?”
“I think I should go to LA and you should go back to London. Or if you want to see more of Iceland, then . . .”
“Georgia, what on earth are you talking about? I wanted to see Iceland with you. I wanted to see everything with you. We were planning a future together.”
“Roo, I told you I’m not good at relationships. I tried to warn you, but . . .”
“The past doesn’t matter. Only what we do now. This isourrelationship, no one else’s. We can make it as we wish. I have complete faith in what we share together.”
“I can’t do it,” Georgia said. “I’m sorry. Truly, I’m so sorry. I love you. More than I ever thought I could, but I want my life to be an adventure. I’m not ready to give that up.”
“No one’s asking you to. We can have an adventure together,” he said, profound hurt in his voice.
“Roo, I want to be an actor going from project to project, and I want to travel wherever I’m inspired to go. That’s not how relationships work. You’ll grow tired of it, and you’ll resent me, or I’ll resent you.”
“Darling, don’t you know I love you for exactly who you are? I don’t want to change you or hold you back. I believe we can blossom together. Please, if you’ll just take a chance on us, on love.”
She took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He looked at her like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, rose, and walked to the door. “Georgia, I know you don’t believe that people belong to each other, but you’re wrong. Deep down, you know it. That’s why you cry at the end ofBreakfast at Tiffany’s. If you’d only take the risk, you’d see: love isn’t a tether, it’s a set of wings. I won’t beg you. It has to be something we both want.”
With that he left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. Georgia sat perfectly still, trying to breathe.
An hour later, after Gunnar brought her bags downstairs, she went to the dining room to say her goodbyes.
Jean and Michael were sitting at the table finishing breakfast.
“Georgia, join us,” Michael said. “But don’t talk too loud. My head is throbbing.”
She tried to muster a smile and replied, “I can’t. They called a car to take me to the airport and it’s here. I just came to say goodbye and thank you both for an extraordinary summer.”
Jean looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. “You are leaving on your own?”
She nodded. “I need to go back to California for a while.”
“What did I miss?” Michael asked, looking bewildered.
Before Georgia could respond, Roo came into the room. They exchanged an awkward look, avoiding each other’s eyes, and Roo stammered, “Uh, fellas, I’m going to hit the road. Thank you for everything. It was . . .”—he stumbled as if unable to find the right word, glancing at Georgia—“it was unforgettable.”
Jean nodded and said to Roo, “Please send my regards to your mother.”
