The audience was just leaving, the requisite number of young women hanging around Freddie's dressing room door. Molly excused herself to get by them, smiling inwardly at their sneers and glares, and knocked on the door. "Freddie? You almost ready to go?"
His voice was muffled by the closed door. "Just about, come on in." Not hearing him clearly, she opened the door a crack, and saw the back of a petite blonde. They were at opposite ends of the small room, no quick jumps apart, but still she was a little shaken.
"Oh, 'scuse me," she retreated in a hurry with a knot in her stomach.
"No, wait, c'mere!" he called after her. He reached through the door and pulled her back in, nodding to the girls outside. "Just a minute, ladies."
Once inside Freddie introduced the blonde as Ruth Watson, from Baltimore. President of the newest Freddie Prinze fan club.
"I was just giving her your name and the office number and address." He took Molly's arm and told Ruth, "This lady keeps me all together, no lie. You got a club, get in touch with her and she'll set you up."
Ruth shook Molly's hand, still looking star-struck at Freddie. "Hi nice to meet you. I'll be in touch."
"Did she get a photo, Freddie?" She just managed to keep the edge out of her voice.
"Yeah, it's in her notebook."
"Okay, Ruth, I look forward to hearing from you. Are you in LA for long?"
"Just a few more days."
"Well maybe you'd like to come by the office, and I can give you some start-up stuff in-hand, okay?"
"Sure!" She knew, obviously, that Molly's office was in Freddie's apartment. Freddie looked supremely uncomfortable.
"What about tomorrow, then," he told them, "I'll be taping here and won't be around to bother you."
"That'll work," Molly told him. Ruth looked disappointed; Freddie looked relieved.
"Okay, here's my card," Molly instructed. "How about, uh, one o'clock? Does that work?"
"Sure. Thanks." She was still staring at Freddie as she left.
As the door shut he gave Molly a monstrous hug. "Thank you thank you thank you. Jack brought her to the door, I swear he has it in for me…" She looked at him closely and figured he was telling the truth, he looked so relieved. But he caught the hesitation.
"What, you think I'm ordering in little girls? She's only about sixteen, for godsake. Man I got all the woman I can handle now! I'll take out an ad in Variety to say so."
"Th'hell you will. Look, I'll go in tomorrow and get all the stuff together for Ruth. Tonight I go my way ,and you go yours. We both need the sleep!"
She got to the office at eleven; Freddie had gone to the studio hours before. The fan club stuff was easy to assemble; it was all by the numbers. She didn't want to give the kid too much stuff to carry but figured she'd be happy to have a pile of Freddie material to show off back home. Ruth seemed like a nice kid; she was embarrassed by her initial response. Freddie said he didn't want those little girls any more. Well if he'd wanted them so much for so long what the hell did she offer him that suddenly turned that off? It didn't matter. Whatever he told her, she believed. She could look in those sleepy brown eyes and believe the world was flat. Maybe he was right, she just worried too much.
Ruth arrived on the stroke of one, obviously hoping Freddie would still be there, but he'd left by ten o'clock. Molly took Ruth in to the office, answered a million questions about working with Freddie. She gave the girl the fan club materials she'd assembled.
"Molly, I wonder if I could ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Well, we were gonna have a sort of a launch event for the Baltimore club chapter, a sort of get-together convention and Mr. Komack said we can show a couple episodes of Chico. What I was wondering, it would be really great, if Freddie could come to the convention and maybe do a comedy thing or just questions and answers."
"Well, Freddie does do personal appearances. What's the date?"
Ruth told her; it was next month, about five weeks away. As it happened it was at the beginning of taping hiatus, and he had nothing scheduled for the four days it would take to get out there, participate, and come back home. "Well it looks doable. Now we don't charge for those fan club appearances because they promote the show and Freddie's career but we'd need to ask you to at least split travel and accommodations with Komack Productions. If you can cover it a hundred per cent that would be even better, but we understand you have some constraints. But fan club dues can cover a lot."
"Wow! That sounds great. Covering Freddie for travel isn't a problem, and somebody could put him up!"
"Well to get some details out of the way, I always travel with Freddie. I handle every detail of his appearances and itineraries so all he has to worry about is remembering to get dressed and what to say. And Freddie always stays in hotels, though offers of private accommodations are appreciated a hotel offers more privacy and he gets more rest that way. Just so you know, we usually share a suite so it's easier to communicate and keep on top of things."
Ruth looked a little suspicious. "You share a suite?"
"Sure. Two bedrooms. If there isn't a suite available, two connecting rooms. Don't look at me like that honey, we've been working together almost three years now. There are lots of things to keep together, and that's my job. Like I said, Freddie's job is to do his appearances and 'looook good.' But you can check out our necessaries in the contract."
"Contract?" She was looking more and more disappointed, that this wasn't going to be some freestyle visit.
"Don't let it get to you, Ruth. It's not that complicated, just a way to keep things professional and no surprises for anyone. It's just a list of what to expect, no lawyers or anything. I can give you a copy right now, it's really not that scary."
She pulled a personal appearance contract out of the file and went over it with Ruth. The kid admitted it wasn't a big deal, but was still a little put out that she wouldn't have Freddie at her house.
"Don't worry, he'll be very accessible once we're there. That's our part of the bargain. You give us a decent place to stay and some reasonable down time, and Freddie will give you all the charm and laughs you can handle, okay? We do it all the time."
"Okay. I'll bring this stuff back and go over it all with the secretary of the club."
"Ruth it sounds like a great time and that you're planning it well. If you need any help with ideas or arrangements give me a call because I've done it before."
She brightened a little. "Okay." She was casting eyes out the office door, wanting to see the rest of the apartment. Finally she lost some of the grown-up demeanor and reverted to the sixteen year old she was. "Do you think I could take a look at Freddie's room?"
Molly shook her head firmly, but with a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Ruth, off limits. It's a pigsty anyway, probably looks like your brother's room, if you have a brother." Ruth smiled widely.
"Yeah I do. And he's a pig!"
"Okay Ruth, I hate to hurry you but I have a load of work to do. So I'll wait to hear from you, and for the time being will pencil the dates into Freddie's calendar. How about you call me a few days after you get back to Baltimore?" Ruth agreed. As Molly showed her to the door, by coincidence Freddie was coming in. Ruth got that dreamy star struck look again.
"Well ladies," Freddie smiled his most charming smile, "have you gotten everything sorted out?"
"Yeah," Ruth told him. "Molly gave me lots of stuff and we talked about your appearance at the fan club kickoff in Baltimore." His eyebrows went up.
"Oh you did, did you?"
Ruth missed the ironic tone in his voice.
"Yes, Freddie, a promotional appearance. I gave Ruth a copy of the standard contract so she and her officers can go over it. Don't worry, your schedule is clear for the dates and I'll handle everything."
"As always. Well Ruth, have a pleasant trip back to Baltimore." He kissed her cheek and retreated to the office. Ruth looked about ready to faint, so Molly steered her out the door.
"Talk to you soon, Ruth." She closed the door after the girl walked out.
"Molly!" Freddie called from the office, "we need to talk!"
She strolled back into the office. "I looked at the calendar. Those dates are right at the beginning of hiatus."
"Well can we at least request a Jacuzzi?"
"Smartass. How about mirrors on the ceiling while we're at it?"
"Sure. Think a bunch of teenagers can afford that?"