Los Angeles! Beryl Grace launched herself out of the van before it had completely come to a stop in the gas station's parking lot. She stretched her stiff limbs and her hair fluttered in the cool night air. The teen and her friends had been traveling like crazy for more than a week. Finally, Beryl could see the city's glow. After this emergency bathroom break, it was just a few more miles to the city. Just think, past two or three scrubby hills and they'd be standing in the City of Angels! With a crazy smile on her face, the teen ran back to her boyfriend's van, gripped the silver railing on the roof, and hoisted herself up. Beryl crossed her jean-clad legs and ecstatically daydreamed of things to come; the possibilities were endless. She could ditch her friends now and walk the rest of the way. She could stay at this gas station/convenience store for a while; maybe earn some more money of her own. She could run, screaming, in any direction and wave her arms around, because her parents wouldn't shame her for it later.
The blonde's boyfriend walked out of the convenience store. She waved him down and called out to him: "Ricky! Up here!" He saw Beryl and returned her crazy smile. "Hey, babe," said Ricky. He grabbed onto the van and climbed up, making the vehicle sway."You dropped your hat," murmured the young man, bringing a folded felt beret out of his pocket and dusting it off. Leaning over to hand the hat back to Beryl, he kissed the young girl's neck. Beryl smiled at him, thinking 'This one is so much nicer than the past few.' She grabbed her hat and quickly kissed Ricky on the lips, avoiding his rough beard. Looking back towards the city's glow, Beryl unfolded her hat. She felt something drop from it and clink onto the roof beneath her. What was that? The teen glanced down at her lap and saw a tiny golden glint of whatever had fallen. She picked up the metal object. Ricky scooted closer to Beryl, wanting to see her reaction.
"Oh," gasped Beryl, holding out the necklace by its gold chain. She looked into Ricky's plain brown eyes with uncertainty, having learned to never assume that an object belonged to her. And yet, Ricky was smiling at her. He gently grasped the necklace and put it over his girlfriend's head. "For my graceful girl," he said. "I picked it up at our last stop. I know, we're kinda short on cash. But you're worth going hungry for, Beryl."
The teen's sparkling blue eyes lit up. She'd never felt like she was worth anybody's time before, much less their meals. Somehow, that cheap necklace with the laurel-leaf charm made all the difference. As the young couple's travel companions hollered for them to get down or ride the van up there, Beryl threw her arms around Ricky's neck and kissed him in that exaggerated movie-star way. She didn't even mind the beard. In fact, she kind of liked it.
Six months later and Ricky wasn't buying gifts for his girlfriend anymore. The past few months had been hard for him. Beryl had gotten an agent and appeared in a few commercials. Meanwhile, Ricky was living out of his van. The young actress' agent, a man named Hank, let Beryl live in his apartment. Her boyfriend hadn't approved of this arrangement, but the blue-eyed teen went ahead with it. "You are not my father," she'd hissed at Ricky. "I don't have to live in a van. So I won't."
"Look, Beryl," Ricky had pleaded, "I'm telling you I don't trust that man."
"You mean you don't trust me? Hank is perfectly decent and trustworthy," Beryl said, trying not to shout.
At this, the young man looked away. He sighed heavily and began, "To be perfectly honest, no. I don't trust you, babe."
The young blond was stunned. Ricky had every reason not to trust her, of course. She was cheating on him with Hank, who was married. The promise of being loved so much that a man would risk his entire marriage for her... Well, it was such a romantic sacrifice. Beryl believed in her agent. She was devoted to him. And Hank was much better off than Denise's brother; he'd already bought her several pairs of gold earrings. What surprised Beryl was that her acting skills weren't good enough for her bearded boyfriend.
"I don't know if you love me," continued Ricky. "I don't know if you've ever loved me."
The young Miss Grace wasn't one to give up. She went into full actress mode, bursting into tears. Her beautiful blue eyes locked onto the now-helpless young man. "Of course I love you. I left my family, my home, everything that I ever knew," cried Beryl, sniffling. "Just to be with you, Ricky." She rushed forwards and embraced her fool. "How could you ever doubt me," the girl whispered into his shoulder, voice shaking with sadness.
Ricky hugged the actress back. He immediately regretted what he'd said. He couldn't see Beryl's triumphant smirk. They only stayed together for about two years in total. One day, Ricky and his van were nowhere to be found. That shouldn't have hurt Beryl as much as it did; she was sad for weeks afterward. Even though she had Hank and a path to stardom, Ricky had been her first real relationship. She resented him for leaving so abruptly, as if she didn't matter to him at all. It was 1983 and Beryl Grace had advanced to bit parts in TV shows. After losing Ricky, she wanted fame more than ever. She wanted her ex-boyfriend to see her face everywhere and regret leaving her. That was the year she started trying publicity stunts.