The Prime Minister's Daughter

  Chapter 4

   

  The last time Kevin was in Los Angeles, he was nine years old on a trip to Disneyland. The Wells family was middle class and therefore forced to live on a budget. Accordingly, they stayed at a Motel Six rather than the Disneyland Hotel and ate fast food rather than dining in expensive restaurants.

  This time it was different. Kevin and his family were picked up by a limousine and taken to the Century Plaza Hotel. There they were given a luxury suite and every amenity money could buy. Early in the afternoon, a representative from NBC knocked at their door and informed them it was time to go to the studio. Kevin and his family went downstairs and were taken away by limousine to the NBC studios in Burbank. Kevin was taken back stage and his family was seated in the audience. The show began at four o'clock.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, from Burbank, California, it's time for the Tonight Show starring the one and only, Jaaaaaay . . . Leno!"

  Jay Leno appeared from behind the curtain and walked out onto the stage. Elegantly casual, he paused long enough to shake hands with dozens of people who had crowded up to the base of the stage. The Tonight Show band played in the background and the crowd yelled wildly. Finally, Jay went back up onto the stage and started his monologue.

  "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We've got an excellent show tonight. The sexy Uma Thurman, the music of Crimson Tide and a special treat–America's newest hero, Kevin Wells."

  The crowd yelled and screamed in delight. Kevin was back stage watching on a monitor. He was very excited and extremely nervous at the prospect of being on national television. And the thought of sitting next to Uma Thurman did little to calm his nerves. As Jay's interview with Uma moved towards its conclusion, Kevin was moved to a chair directly behind the curtain.

  "Well Uma, are you excited about meeting Kevin Wells tonight?" Jay asked.

  "Oh God, yes. He was so brave, I could just kiss him," she cooed.

  "Uweee...," the crowd roared.

  "Oh. Well, now I know what it takes to impress a woman. All you've got to do is take a bullet, guys. . . . So, now you know."

  Uma giggled and the crowd laughed hysterically.

  The Tonight Show band then struck up some music and Jay Leno beat his pencil on the desk.

  "Okay. The moment we've been waiting for has arrived. Ladies and gentlemen, meet America's teenage hero, Kevin Wells!"

  Kevin walked out from behind the curtain and waved at the crowd. As he approached the guest chair, Jay intercepted him and shook his hand. The crowd went wild. Before he could sit down, Uma Thurman grabbed him, put her arms around him and gave him a big hug. Kevin didn't know what to do, other than enjoy the moment. Then, she kissed him passionately and the crowd went ballistic.

  "Did you see that?" Jay asked. "Uma never kissed me like that. I’m telling you, see what a bullet in the chest will do for you, guys?"

  Uma finally let go of Kevin. She returned to her chair, sat down and crossed her legs. Kevin stood in front of Jay's desk, seemingly paralyzed. Jay got up, went over to him and waved his hand in front of his face.

  "Okay, Kevin. The kiss is over, you can sit down."

  The crowd roared. Kevin smiled and sat down.

  "It's all right, Kevin. Uma has that effect on a lot of men. Isn't that right, guys?"

  The men in the audience howled in response.

  "Okay. Seriously. I've been wanting to ask you a bunch of questions about what happened. Tell me, Kevin. What possessed you to follow an assassin into the Prime Minister’s room when you were unarmed."

  "I don’t know. There wasn't time to think about that. I just knew if I didn’t get in there immediately something bad was going to happen.”

  Jay laughed. “So, did you know the man had a gun?”

  “No. Not for sure, but I suspected he did. I could tell by the look on his face he was up to no good.”

  “Now, I understand that you asked a nurse if she knew the man entering the room.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Well, I didn’t know for sure that the guy wasn’t an orderly. I didn’t think he was, but I wanted to be sure before I challenged him.”

  “The nurse said once she confirmed that he wasn’t an orderly that you didn’t hesitate. You just took off and ran right into the room.”

  “Right. I knew it wouldn’t take long for him to kill the Prime Minister.”

  “Well, it’s just mind boggling to me that you didn’t hesitate. Weren’t you afraid?”

  “No. It’s strange when I think of it now, but I actually had a dress rehearsal for this a few days before.”

  “A dress rehearsal? What do you mean?”

  “Well, the Saturday before the assassination attempt I was at a swim meet and the cheerleaders had made a giant sign for us ten feet wide. They had worked hard on it and it really looked great. While I was waiting for my dive a couple of kids started messing around and they knocked one of the supports for the sign loose. I was watching just a few feet away when the sign started to fall.”

  “Oh, no,” Jay said. “So–”

  “So, I probably could have caught the sign and kept it from falling, but I couldn’t move. I just sat there and watched it fall and rip apart. I felt so stupid.”

  “Huh.”

  “I just didn’t react quickly enough, you know. It made me so mad.”

  “Well, it was just a sign,” Jay said.

  Kevin smiled. “Yeah, but I could have been a hero with all those cheerleaders watching.”

  The crowd roared with laughter.

  “So, I vowed the next time something like that happened, I’d do something immediately and not just sit there like a head of lettuce.”

  Jay laughed. “I see, so this time you were ready?”

  “Right,” Kevin agreed, but Jay seemed to be expecting more, so he smiled and added, “Plus I’d met the Prime Minister’s daughter earlier in the day and she’s a knockout."

  The crowd roared with laughter.

  “Oh, I get it. You save the Prime Minister’s life to impress his daughter.”

  Kevin nodded. "It was weird, actually–everything seemed like it was in slow motion. I remember the assassin looked shocked when he saw me coming at him."

  "Did you feel the bullet hit you?"

  "Not really. I just vaguely remember a pain in my chest. Then, it's a blank, until I woke up ten days later."

   "Wow! That's incredible. Okay, so what do you have planned now that you're a celebrity? Politics? Maybe a career in acting?"

   "No, I'm just going to go back to Plano and finish high school."

   "Well, that's good to hear. Ladies and gentlemen, take a good look at a true American hero, Kevin Wells."

   The crowd gave Kevin a standing ovation. He nodded and smiled back appreciatively.

   "Kevin, thanks for being our guest and good luck to you in the future,” Jay said. Don't take anymore bullets, okay?"

   "No. No more bullets."

   Kevin shook hands with Jay and then Uma gave him one last hug as the Tonight Show broke for a commercial.

   Kevin was high as a kite as he left the studio. He and his family were taken to a posh restaurant for dinner and then to a party hosted by several NBC executives. That night, when Kevin returned to the hotel, he was in a daze. Since he awakened from his coma, everything seemed like a dream. He could hardly sleep that night. Finally, well past midnight, he dropped off into a shallow slumber and began to dream.

  It was dark. He was in the front of his home in Plano. Blue and white lights from a squad car were flashing. Cameras were going off in his face. Strangers were asking questions, so many questions. He began to run toward the house. . . . "No! No!" Kevin screamed. "Oh, God! Please. No!"

   "Kevin, wake up. You're dreaming," Pat said.

   Kevin opened his eyes and looked at his mother. He sat up.

  "What’s wrong?"

  "You were moaning and groaning. You must have had
a nightmare."

  "I don't know how he could be having nightmares after spending the evening kissing Uma Thurman," Mr. Wells commented. "It was probably an erotic dream. You just misinterpreted the moaning and groaning."

   "Glen, that's enough. Uma's not good enough for my boy."

   Kevin sat up and smiled at his parents.

   "Some evening, huh?"

   "Yeah, I just hope you're ready to come back to reality, Kevin. This can't last forever. You've got to get back to school. You've missed so much already."

   "I know. I'm ready to go back to a normal life. It's been fun, but it's starting to wear me out."

  "I can imagine. You're still recuperating from the surgery for godsakes," Mr. Wells said.

  "I miss my friends, too."

  "Well, we'll be home tomorrow, so you'll have a couple days to rest before you start back to school on Monday.

  "Good, wake me up Monday morning."