The stars disappeared in the city. New York’s tall buildings and bright lights, or Los Angeles’ smog, covered the night sky and made the nights unbearably dark and lonely. She missed the stars. She missed being able to just get into her car and drive out to the country, or as country as you could get in California, and just look up at the night sky and enjoy the peace and serenity that exuded. That had been her favorite part about filming in Utah. There was nothing to hide the stars from her there.
As it was, she couldn’t see the stars from her hotel window. Really, she couldn’t see much of anything from her window, just… more windows. She loved and hated the feeling of being in the city. On the one hand, she could feel it’s heart beat, the constant movement and sounds were (at times) soothing. On the other hand, there was the feeling of being trapped, of never having a moments’ peace.
Right now was one of the moments where she felt trapped. She was alone, and Matt was on the other side of the country with her daughter, by this point, he'd probably managed to convince Salome to get into bed with some bribe; either he was going to let her stay up late and read, or the next day he'd take her shopping. As if he could sense her thoughts on him, her computer screen lit up: Matt was on Skype. She accepted his incoming call with a soft smile.
The sight of her boyfriend's ridiculous grin on her computer only made her smile even wider. They were thousands of miles apart, but seeing his face made her feel a little more at home. They talked for a little while, and Matt told her about his day with Salome. He did, indeed, promise to take her shopping the next day. Matt did love to spoil her. He spoiled both his girls, really. Matt would do anything and everything to make sure that the Kingston girls kept smiling. And he was very good at it.
"So, what are you up to tonight?" he asked.
"Oh, you know," Alex sighed out. "The usual. Standing ovation, lots of photographs, open bar, lonely hotel room, lack of stars in the city."
"Well, I'll tell you what," Matt grinned devilishly. "When you get home, we'll take a trip to the countryside to visit your favorite star-watching rock."
The star-watching rock was a place Alex liked to go to to escape from the city, sometimes to escape some of her friends, and sometimes just to escape life every once in a while. She had brought Matt out to her hiding place several times, and it had become very special to them. While her original reasons for retreating to the countryside had been to escape, now her reasons had changed. Now she went there to relax, to feel special and loved. The star-watching rock was just what she'd need after being trapped in the city with no stars in the sky.
After talking with Matt for almost two hours, they finally said their goodbye's and good night's. Tomorrow would be another long day of performing and smiling for the crowds and cameras. While she loved her fans and her co-workers, sometimes enough was enough. She couldn't wait to get home, to her daughter, to her boyfriend, to her star-watching rock.
