Powering Through: A Sequel to Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 38: Happily Ever After

🐬🐬AN: FAIR WARNING--Last Chapter, except for maybe an epilogue, okay??🐬🐬

So they went through the line and met the royal couple, a first for both of them, and neither one of them committed any faux pas, with both of them remembering the proper forms of address, how to bow and curtsy and all that, and knowing when to move on. Jack was looking around to see if he could catch a glimpse of Phoenix anywhere. Kelsey saw him and guessed what he was doing.

"Jack, please, please, no scenes tonight, okay?" she murmured into his ear. "Today has been an absolutely perfect day, a pearl, no, a diamond of a day." She fixed luminous gray eyes on Jack, her touch gentle but insistent on his arm. "Don't let that loser, who's just, so, not even important in our lives ruin it for us? For me? Okay?"

Jack looked at her. He held their joined hands out a little, so he could take her in from head to beautiful toe. "I won't do anything to ruin today for you, Kelseylove, I give you my word," he vowed. "And that especially includes doing anything to Phoenix McTaggart."

"Thank you," she acknowledged. "Now, let's get some champagne, okay? At least for me. We can find some Kool-Aid or something for you," she added with a grin.

So they grabbed drinks and wandered through the crowd, and Kelsey introduced Jack to everyone she knew, people Jack never, ever thought he'd meet in his lifetime. These people were different from the people he met in Hollywood, even though most of them weren't nearly as well-known. There was something about them, a patina of self-assurance, of class, for lack of a better word. Put another way, it was a lack of something; they were missing that feeling of desperation, that aura of scrabbling for an angle, a way in, a way to work the situation to their best advantage.

And Kelsey blended with them. They were members of the royal family, of course, and their extended family. In addition, they were philanthropists, ambassadors to various countries, directors for the different famous charities of the world. Jack recognized the pins and sashes of the Peace Corps, the UN, UNICEF, the World Wildlife Federation, the World Health Organization, and the IOC, just to name a few. In addition, there were a few celebrities like Kelsey, the glamor factor, people who represented the top tier of Hollywood, and he realized how important it was for her to be seen here. It really solidified her place in the world, in the strata of who was whom and where they fell.

No wonder Don Simonsen was so desperate to be seen here with her.

Kelsey herself was a little starstruck at times. "Oh my god, Jack!" she said, tugging on his sleeve. "Look! Those tall guys who just came in!"

Jack looked over. "You mean the guys with that gorgeous redhead and the pretty brunette?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes at him. "You dick," she said, laughing. "Anyway, yes, those guys, with those women, are UK Crush! That's Gethin Wren, that's Ronan Donohue, that's Theo Shelley, and next to him is Matty Campbell!"

"Oh my god!" Jack did his best imitation of Kelsey. "I'll hold them down, and you rip off their clothes, okay?"

"Jack!" Kelsey gave him another look. "I can't help it, I'm still just a simple thing from Iowa at heart, you know?"

Later on, she pointed out George Wilder, who hadn't been seen in public in over a year, and after that Jack himself recognized Pete Santangelo. Kelsey actually introduced Jack to Charles McAllister, with whom she'd made a movie the previous year.

Kelsey was approached over and over, by just about every group present at the event, to work with them or for them, to take a trip to Africa or Southeast Asia with a film crew to highlight one crisis or another. Kelsey was prepared, with Ray's business cards that had her signature on the back, and she passed them out to people whose interests she shared.