Little Pleasures

"It's mostly cloudy and 58 degrees tonight. It's 9:05pm on the East Coast. I'm Douglas Cort, WCDJ News. And now back to The Eric Ralston Show."

The intro to Smokey Robinson's "Quiet Storm" played as Eric moved two newspapers to the right side of his desk. He smiled as he waited for his producer, Henry Ellsworth, to give him the cue to speak. Once he saw Henry's hand, he cleared his throat and began what he hoped would be the best interview of his career.

"Good evening. Over the years on this program, we've had the opportunity to speak to some of the finest writers, singers and actors in the world. Rarely do we get the chance to interview all of them at the same time. However, we've got such an opportunity tonight. It is an absolute honor and pleasure to have in the studio with us tonight the two-time Academy Award-winning actress and three-time Grammy Award winner Alyce Keeney, who has written a new memoir entitled 'Little Pleasures.' Alyce, you have no idea how great it is to meet you."

"You have no idea how great it is to meet you as well!" Alyce replied. "I'm a huge fan of your show. They started broadcasting it in Los Angeles a few years ago, and I caught it one night driving back home and immediately fell in love. You're the brightest voice on the radio."

"Well, we don't have much competition," Eric chuckled.

"You really don't," Alyce smiled.

Eric laughed so hard his glasses nearly fell from his face. "Well, let's go back to the beginning. Did you really grow up on a farm in Australia? I didn't know if that story was true."

"Yes, I did, in Gunnedah in New South Wales. Our family had a large cattle farm that I had to work on growing up. And I...hated it."

"Really? It wasn't any fun?"

"No...not at all. I mean, I love my family, but I couldn't wait to get the fuck out of there-oops, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, we have a seven-second delay," Eric replied, shaking his head.

"A good thing! I'm so sorry," said Alyce, her pale complexion turning bright-red with embarrassment. "Anyway, I knew that farming was not what I wanted to do when I grew up."

"So you ended up becoming a model."

"Well, not exactly-I never intended to be. I actually wanted to be a teacher, but one day I was going to the shopping centre with my sister, and someone from a modeling agency was there and saw me and asked if I was interested. I don't know what made me say yes, because I never thought of myself as being traditionally beautiful."

"Mmm-hmmm," Eric responded, unsure of what to say. He thought Alyce was one of the most beautiful women in the world, and he still couldn't believe that a lady of such incredible elegance and glamour, a lady with such luxurious long red hair and shining bright blue eyes, was sitting across the room from him.

"Anyway, I did some modeling for a few years...it was OK when I started out, but I eventually started hating it too. I even hated reliving some of the horror stories I mentioned in my book...I hope things are improving now, but it was a very nasty industry when I was there."

"I assume Hollywood and the music business weren't any better."

"Well," Alyce smiled, "you have to read the book to find out."

"Indeed. Well, let's take a brief break. The phone lines are open, and we invite you to join us tonight. We're talking to the legendary actress and singer Alyce Keeney, the author of 'Little Pleasures.' We'll be back in just a moment."

As Henry cued up the commercials, Eric and Alyce removed their headsets.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Alyce smiled. "Didn't want to ask it on air."

"Sure."

"Did you ever consider modeling when you were growing up?"

"Me? Get out of here."

"No, no. I'm serious. I've seen some photos of you when you were younger...you looked almost like Tyson Beckford."

"You are the first person, and maybe the last person, to say that I looked like Tyson Beckford."

Alyce laughed. "I mean, I have to admit, I wouldn't have minded doing a photo shoot with you back in the day."

Eric's eyes lit up. "Really."

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Hey, can we take a quick photo before they're back from commercial?"

"Sure."

Alyce jumped from the couch, pulled out an iPhone from her purse, pressed her head next to Eric and snapped a photo, which she immediately forwarded to Eric's e-mail before returning to her seat. As they both put their headsets back on, Eric was briefly distracted by the sight of Alyce's beautiful bare feet; she had slipped her red shoes off before returning to her couch, and Eric marveled at her flawless ankles and lovely toes. Control yourself, Ralston, he thought.

Eric's affection for Alyce was clearly shared by his audience, as caller after caller praised her for her movies and albums. Alyce accepted the compliments modestly, heaping praise upon the screenwriters, directors, songwriters and producers she had worked with over the years-"the good ones, anyway," she humorously noted.

The hour flew by, and Eric desperately wished for another hour with her. It was a struggle for him not to gush with excessive praise for her-he was as taken by her lovely face, gorgeous neck and expressive hands as he was by her acting, singing and writing talent. One caller had asked Alyce about her two contentious divorces, and Alyce diplomatically said that both marriages "just weren't destined to work out"; Eric thought to himself that if he had the honor of being Alyce's husband, he would have done everything within his power to make it work.

Eventually, 9:58pm approached, and Eric knew he had to wrap things up.

"Well, Alyce, it has been so amazing to have you here with us tonight. Is there anything you wish to leave our audience with?"

"Well, I just want to thank all of your listeners for supporting me so much over the years...I would not have been able to keep going without you. I thank you so much! You have all my love."

"And you have all of ours. Alyce Keeney, the author of 'Little Pleasures.' Thank you so much for joining us. In the next hour, it's open lines-bring your own topic!"

Henry cued the commercials and signaled to Douglas to enter the adjoining studio for the top-of-the-hour news update. Alyce put her shoes back on and headed back to Eric's desk.

"Thank you so much for the interview!" she smiled as Eric rose to bid her goodnight.

Alyce kissed Eric on the cheek and turned to walk away. Then she turned back.

"Oh, fuck it."

Suddenly, she kissed Eric full on the lips, in plain view of Henry and Douglas. Eric was stunned.

"I'm not kidding-I would have loved to have been on a photo shoot with you. Have a nice night."

Alyce left the studio as Henry gave him a thumbs-up and Douglas quickly prepared to deliver the news. Eric sat back at his desk and looked at the photo Alyce had taken. He had to admit that they looked quite good next to each other. He smiled to himself, and thought about what a photo shoot with the two of them would have been like back in the day.