Reaching for a Dream

For as long as Victoria Archer could remember, she'd wanted to get into acting. But, she was constantly discouraged from pursuing it as a career. Coming from Midwest small town Kalamazoo, Michigan, people around her insisted that her dream wasn't really a job.

The city was famous for its four popular local breweries and brewpubs producing a variety of beer styles, from light bodied wheat ales to stouts and barley wines. The brewery business has expanded from its original Kalamazoo location to a modern, state-of--the-art brewery facilities located in nearby Comstock. Family and friends often told her that she needed to invest her time in that area instead, if she ever wanted to make any money.

But largely due to its college-town influence, Kalamazoo has always been notable as a center for the arts. Celebrating local artists, the city's Arts Council held an Art Hop every first Friday of the month, circulating among many local businesses in the downtown area. Big-name stars and groups often perform at the State Theatre, Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University.

Victoria was determined to follow that path, so she sent her resume to several of the local acting agencies and managed to schedule a few auditions. Although she was very happy when she learned she was given her first small role, she was a bit disappointed with the salary. As a matter of fact, the initial wage she was offered as an amateur actress was simply not enough to cover her expenses, including the Dramatic Art course she was attending.

It forced her to look for another part-time job, in order to increase her income, but Victoria wasn't willing to postpone her professional endeavor. She got a job as a stage assistant at the local theater, and that actually helped her develop her acting technique. She was a fast learner and the opportunity to interact and watch experienced actors and actresses work was more than she could ever ask.

Victoria was very talented, but that alone wasn't enough to catapult her career, so she worked hard to maintain a nice figure. Strict diets and exercise routines were part of her daily life. She knew she was shapely with 38C breasts and a firm, pear-shaped ass that looked great in tight jeans. Long reddish hair falling straight passed her shoulders, large green eyes, full pink lips just made for kissing, a thin waist which gave her a light hourglass figure, and a pair of smooth legs that seemed to reach on forever. Guy's were all over her.

Four years later, at 24, she was armed with an impressive resume from the various projects she'd worked on. She felt more experienced and wanted to try something more challenging. It all started to change when she married her former college mate, Henry Archer, who was a local architect and freelance photographer. Henry was also fond of any type of art and, contrary to what Victoria was used to, always supported her desire to be an actress.

Henry worked for a small but solid firm and made a good living. They were happy together and had decided to wait a few years before trying for a family. Two years after the wedding, now at 26, she had the most surprising news. Apparently, some big shot agent from LA heard that a redneck actress from Kalamazoo was getting highly regarded reviews for her acting and wanted to schedule a meeting.

Victoria hated these protocolar meetings with a passion. She initially enjoyed the formalities and even worked hard to know how to use the best approach and what kind of role to play. But now, with a lot more background, she hated being politically correct and pretending to be someone she wasn't.

Still, Victoria was overjoyed. She wasn't going to get an opportunity like that again anytime soon and she couldn't wait to visit Hollywood. Even though she was excited about her trip to California, she needed to talk to her husband about it first. When Henry told her it was something she couldn't miss and fully supported her to fly out and meet the agent, Victoria could hardly believe it.

She had never been to California and Henry sounded like he really understood how she was feeling. He even asked Victoria to enhance her wardrobe by buying some stylish, sexy clothes there. Victoria was thrilled, their sex life was great and it was indeed a good chance to spice it up a bit further. She always tried to buy sexually provocative outfits to temp Henry; his request indicated that she was succeeding.

The day of Victoria's flight she got up early to get ready. After her shower, Victoria pulled the pink thongs over her hips and slipped into the matching push-up bra. It was indeed Victoria's very own Secret. She modeled in front of the mirror and really liked the way the thin strip of cloth from the thongs disappeared between her shapely behind.

Victoria pulled the pale, also pink button-up dress over her chest, then over her small waist and tight ass, leaving the top two buttons open. She once again checked herself at the mirror and appreciated the way the dress showed off her amazing figure, specially the tops of her breasts. For the final touch, she wore high heeled shoes with ankle straps.

Satisfied with her outfit, she applied her makeup, accenting her gorgeous green eyes. Not that was something she needed, but she wanted to be sure to give a good impression. She also applied bright pink lipstick that matched her outfit. Before leaving, Victoria fixed her long, reddish hair into a loose bun on the back of her head. She just finished when her husband parked at the front of the house to take her to the airport.

Henry commented on how great Victoria looked. She swelled with pride as they chatted away about future plans and the possibility of her becoming a star. When they finally arrived, Victoria realized she still had plenty of time, so she suggested they sat at a Starbucks Coffeeshop, for breakfast.

By quarter to ten they had finished breakfast and wandered down the ramp to her gate just around the corner from the Starbucks. Other people seemed to have the same dilemma, as most were sitting around reading, quietly talking, or listening to music, and all of them had the same heart broken expression. Victoria kissed and hugged her husband dearly, and waved goodbye for a while as her husband watched her check in and walk down the long corridor of the boarding terminal through the check-in lounge's window.

She boarded the plane and took her seat in business class next to the window. She couldn't believe that she was on a flight to LAX. Finally, the cabin door closed in preparation for the push back, and one of the stewardesses went to the front of the cabin for the safety demo. Victoria looked up, for the demo, but her eyes never made it there. She looked out the window, tears filled her eyes as the plane took off. The flight went surprisingly well and Victoria did manage to rest all the way to LA.

At the airport's arrivals lounge, Victoria was aware of men staring at her as she walked by. She knew she looked inviting and she held her head high and thrust her chest outward displaying her breasts prominently. She walked purposefully relishing the stares; she could see the lust in their eyes.

The thoughts of all the men wanting her caused Victoria's sexual desires to stir. She couldn't help but feel the moisture between her thighs in response to the attention from the men.

Finally, she saw a man holding a board with her name written on it. Most people would be a bit surprised to see a high profile agent dressed as a tourist visiting Hawaii, but Victoria though he could be one of those eccentric guys who have their own alternative style. She introduced herself and he promptly led her to his waiting car.

*** Following morning ***

"Hello?" Henry picked up the phone, after a couple of rings.

"Hi, baby! It's me Vicky!" Victoria greeted her husband.

"Hi, honey! I was wondering when you would call. How are things back there?" He asked her.

"Good. Sorry I didn't call you yesterday, had a really busy day." She apologized.

"Don't worry about it. How did the meeting go?" Henry was curious.

"I don't know. He certainly showed a lot of patience with me and told me he saw a lot of natural talent in my acting skills." Victoria replied, with a hesitant voice. "He gave me a script for the audition today, but I am not sure if I am suited for that kind of role"

Last night, Victoria eagerly gobbled up the script. When she got a few pages into it, she couldn't help but be a bit shocked. The story was a romance, and the writers had included some pretty realistic, not to mention nude sex scenes between the couple it was about. She told Henry she didn't think she could go through with acting out a nude sex scene and that she wanted to give up and return to Kalamazoo.

"I know you, honey. Being an actress was what you always wanted," he argued. "If you don't at least attend the audition, you'll always regret it."

"Won't you be jealous?" Victoria asked, curious about his answer.

"Of course I will," he laughed. "But I know it's not real, right? Isn't that what you're always reminding me of?"

"Yes, baby." She assured him. "I don't know where I would be without you." She was willing to put aside her fears and give it a try. It was her dream, after all.

"You are going to be a star, honey." Henry cheered her up. "I want to know all about it when I pick you up at the airport tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, baby. I love you." She softly spoke as she hung the phone.

*** Following day, late night ***

Henry was impatiently waiting for his wife at the airport's lounge. Her plane had to make an unscheduled connection which led to an inevitable four hour delay. He was glad when the digital board displaying her flight status finally changed from "delayed" to "now arriving". He promptly headed to the gate to meet Victoria; he missed her and was anxious to know how she performed at the audition.

"Zack?" He was surprised when he saw another familiar face coming from the gate.

"Hey, Henry!" Zack greeted Henry after he recognized him. "It's been a while, pal. Four years, at least?" Zack Houser was Henry's high school buddy. After graduation, he went to New York to study Cinema theory and photography. Zack was the one who introduced Henry to his hobby.

"Feels like a lot more, my friend. You should have called me, do you need a ride?" Henry asked him.

"Nah, I'm cool. I was planning on calling you. I'm staying for a while this time around; we have a lot of catching up to do!" Zack laughed.

"The same old Zack!" Henry mocked him. "So where are you coming from?"

"LA, I was on a small filming gig there." Zack answered.

"Sounds nice! You probably came in my wife's flight." Henry concluded.

"Oh, right, you are married now." Zack's tone was a bit more serious now. "I did not have the chance to meet your wife yet. Actually, I don't even remember her name, sorry."

"You would have met her, if you attended our wedding, Zack" Henry reminded him, laughing.

"I know, I am terribly sorry about that, man." Zack apologized. "But, I'll tell you what, as soon as I have a break on my new job, my girlfriend and I are taking you both to dinner. What do you say?"

"That would be nice, Zack." Henry replied.

"It's set, then. I am sorry, but I can't wait to meet your wife, Henry. I am very late already, my girlfriend will kill me." He laughed again.

"No problem, Zack. We'll talk later." Henry shook his hand.

Henry watched as Zack exited through the main sliding doors and took a cab. Couple of minutes later he saw his wife coming from the gate.

"There you are!" Victoria hugged him tight.

"Missed you, honey." Henry whispered in her ear.

"I missed you too, baby." She smiled.

"How was your flight?" Henry asked as he kissed Victoria on her pink lips.

"A bit bumpy." Victoria kissed him back.

"I just met with Zack! Can you believe you both took the same flight back?" He shared the coincidence.

"Oh, too bad. You talk so much about him; I'd like to meet him." She looked a bit disappointed.

"I will arrange that. Now tell me all about the trip." Henry told her as he grabbed her luggage and led her to their car.

"It was a good experience, but I turned him down." Victoria stated.

"Really?" Henry asked, incredulous. She seemed so excited; it's hard to believe that she rejected such an opportunity.

"Yeah. I think he didn't appreciate me for my talent, if you know what I mean." She confirmed.

"Did he do anything inappropriate?" He was clearly concerned.

"Nothing to worry, baby. He did make some passes at me, but I turned him down. I told him our relation would be strictly professional." Victoria assured him.

"Besides, he wasn't much of a threat, just an older, overweight and eccentric guy. People call him 'Big Joe', so you can probably imagine what he looks like." Victoria laughed.

"Obviously, not something easy on the eyes!" It was his turn to laugh.

"I am just gonna keep working on my career. I am sure I will have my big break soon." Victoria sounded confident. They entered the car and headed home.

*** Two months later ***

Henry couldn't believe what was happening, it was all so sudden. Victoria's face was in every billboard he came across, she starred several commercials and plays and was already confirmed for a full feature movie. His beautiful, but small town wife was now a local celebrity.

He still didn't get used to the paparazzi and interview requests; it was still same old Kalamazoo after all. Their phone never stopped ringing. And her fame just kept growing and growing. Victoria, on the other hand, seemed to adapt just fine to her new condition. She did make clear that she owed everything she has achieved to his support and nothing would ever change the way she felt about him.

Henry Archer had everything he could ever ask for: a beautiful, talented, caring wife, a new job as a senior associate at a growing architecture firm, and a nice house. He was living large and, although a bit overwhelmed, he was enjoying all the good things that happened during those past two months.

"Honey? I'm home." Victoria announced.

"How was the day of shooting, Vicky?" Henry rushed to hug her.

"It was fun, but extremely tiresome. I'm all beat." Victoria kissed him.

"It's Friday! Tomorrow you can sleep in." He smiled.

"I shall hope so! But only if you are by my side." She winked at him. "By the way, your friend Zack left a message. He wanted to take us out to dinner tonight."

"Maybe some other time, Vicky. I see you are tired and I am not really in the mood of going out tonight, anyway." Henry declined.

"Don't be silly, honey. I know how much you want to catch up with your friend. You go ahead and have a guy's night. Just don't talk much about girls, ok?" Victoria laughed as she kissed him again and headed to their bedroom.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Zack still didn't know he was married to the newest celebrity in town and, as much as he hated to admit it, he did enjoy bragging about it. Not only that, of course, but now that his wife had contact with the filming industry, maybe she could introduce Zack to the right people. That was something he could do for him. So Henry called him and arranged a meeting at a bar close to his home.

*** Forty five minutes later ***

"Hey, Henry! Over here!" Zack waved as his friend entered the bar.

"How is it going, Zack?" Henry shook his hand as he sat at the table.

"Good, man. I'm glad you called, really needed to get wasted!" Zack offered him a beer and whooped.

"Let's drink, then!" Henry made a toast.

They drank and chatted for a couple of hours, bringing up memories almost faded, lost in time. They laughed at old stories and talked about their common interest in photography.

"What do you think of that redhead goddess that is starring every ad nowadays?" The subject seemed to trigger something in Zack's mind.

"About that..." Henry thought it was a good time to finally tell his friend about his wife.

"I think her name is Victoria something... Isn't she from here?" Zack interrupted him.

"Yeah, and..." Henry tried to resume his statement.

"You won't believe what I gonna tell you about her!" Zack interrupted again.

Henry was amused by Zack's commentary. He didn't know he was married to Victoria and was probably gonna tell him some tabloid crap that gets posted every now and then. Still, Henry decided to humor Zack and let him tell the surprising story. It would be fun to see his face when he learned she was his wife.

"What about her?" Henry pretended he knew nothing about Victoria.

"Do you know what that is?" Zack retrieved a pair of pink thongs from pocket of his shirt. Henry immediately recognized the item; it was similar, if not equal, to the panties Victoria used on her trip. A bizarre coincidence, no doubt about it.

"Are you wearing those now, Zack? You should have picked a color to match your eyes." Henry mocked him.

"Very funny, man. I am telling you, those are hers! I took it when I nailed her!" Zack took a deep breath at the crotch of the panties, inhaling the owner's womanly scent.

"It... It can't be..." Henry refused to believe.

"That is what everyone says, man. But I have proof!" Zack stated, full of himself.

"What? How?" Henry asked Zack, incredulous. "How could he have proof of a lie?" He thought.

"Ever heard of a guy called 'Fat Joe'?" Zack tried to prove his point.

"Yeah. It's one of those big time, scum Hollywood agents. What does he have to do with anything?" Henry asked, confused.

"Do you know why they call him 'Fat Joe'?" Zack continued.

"Because he is way overweight, everyone knows that!" Henry replied, he was simply stating the obvious.

"That too!" Zack laughed. "But mostly because he is reputed to have a very fat cock. And he is known to be quite the ladies man, despite his ugly looks."

"Bullshit!" Henry shouted.

"Remember that flight I came back from LA?" He started explaining.

"What about it?" Henry clearly recalled.

"It was supposed to be a non-stopping flight. I later learned that the air company made a connection just because he wanted to go on that specific plane!" Zack sounded like he admired the dishonest man. "The guy is very influential! He can manage to do pretty much anything he wants!"

"So he was on that plane?" Henry's wife never told him that.

"Yes, and that is only a part of it!" Zack seemed very excited, as if he was telling something quite revealing.

"I am not sure I am following you." Henry was totally lost.

"Let me tell you the story from the start." Zack began. "I was glad to return home after all that time away in LA. I had high hopes that the flight would be quick and painless. But my optimism was dashed a few minutes later. The captain told us through the speaker that they encountered a severe storm cell over Nevada that was affecting a number of flights going out of Los Angeles. He had been instructed to maintain a holding pattern which would delay the arrival by at least another 45 minutes. I'm sure you can appreciate the problem..."

"Cut to the chase, Zack!" Henry yelled impatiently.

"Ah, what the hell! Why don't you see it for yourself?" Zack finally gave in. "I had nothing else to do, so I started messing around with the pocket camera I had bought for my work."

Zack retrieved a small liquid crystal display with an imbedded speaker and started playing back the video he had recorded. It showed the plane as it was ready to take-off. The sun was already down and it was dark. The lights, as they took to the sky, twinkled below them.

Zack then focused the camera at Henry's wife; she was sitting at the front left row. The figure sited next to her was Fat Joe, no doubt about it. As the flight attendant walked by, she asked for a blanket. When the attendant came back and said they were out, Fat Joe offered to share his with her. She was chilled and figured it couldn't hurt.