22
There’s a knock on my trailer door just as I finish tying my shoes.
“Come in… it’s open.”
The door opens and Harriet steps in.
“How are you doing?”
She leans against the wall and looks at me.
“I’m OK. How are you?”
“I didn’t have a house fall on me.”
“Don’t forget… it was on fire, too.”
She cracks a smile and rolls her eyes.
“I’m glad you have a sense of humor about the whole thing—I was really worried about you.”
“I’m fine… and I’m sure you heard the doctor cleared me.”
“Good… and yes, he called me yesterday after you left. He still wants you to take it easy, just in case.”
I stand up from the couch and shrug.
“I’m feeling good… I don’t see any reason why we can’t get back to filming the next scenes.”
“OK… but you need to let me know if you feel out of sorts… seriously.”
“I will… I promise.”
“Good, that’s what I wanted to hear.”
“I’m not that stubborn.”
Harriet smiles and shakes her head as she walks back to the door and opens it.
“We’ll be ready to shoot in about five minutes.”
“OK… I’ll be right there.”
I put my phone in my purse and hide it in the same closet as I always do, just in case. Jarvis is standing outside of my trailer when I step into the bright sun.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing… that’s all.”
“I’m OK… thanks.”
“I still can’t believe you ended up doing such a dangerous stunt.”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding, “not the smartest thing, especially in retrospect, but I felt like I needed to do it at the time.”
“That makes sense… I’m just glad you weren’t really hurt.”
“Me, too.”
“Also,” he says, as he looks down at the ground, “Rose told me what you said about us… and I… I really appreciate it. I know you have your reasons for not trusting my feelings toward her… and I totally get it. I have a certain… reputation, but I promise you my feelings toward her are completely genuine and my intentions are pure. I really care about her… and I’m not going to do anything to mess it up.”
He looks up and me and stares right into my eyes. I believe him. This is the only time I’ve believed every word he’s said to me.
“Good… I’m glad that you’ve found each other. Try not to do anything stupid to mess it up.”
“I won’t,” he says, shaking his head.
“I believe you. Now… we should get over there… we have a lot of scenes to film today.”
He nods and smiles at me as we turn and start walking toward the set.
I plop down on the couch in my trailer and take a long swig from my bottle of water. So much for taking it easy today. I’m feeling pretty good, though, so I guess it doesn’t matter—as long as we’re getting caught up.
I unlock my phone and see that I have a text. I’m expecting it to be from Spencer, but it’s actually from Ann.
Amy, I hope that you don’t mind my texting you. I tried calling, but there was no answer… so I figured I could try this. I talked to the credit union this morning. They were hesitant at first and they tried to convince me they wouldn’t drop the price. I told them who you were… and they caved. They think having a local girl turned celebrity buying a house here will be good for the town. Anyway, they agreed to the ten thousand off asking. Give me a call later and we can figure out the details. Thanks.
Weird. I never mentioned to Ann that I was from Greenville. I guess she put two-and-two together and figured it out. Whatever. It’s not like I was trying to be sneaky about it. I only have a few minutes right now, so I decide to not call her and text Spencer instead. We chatted on the phone for a few minutes this morning, but I didn’t tell him about the house thing… mostly because I didn’t want to jinx it. I write out a text to him and hit send.
Hey, it was really lovely to talk to you this morning. I still miss you terribly, though. So… you know how I was telling you that my mom might be released soon? Well, I decided Greenville would be the best place for her to go once she gets out. I was browsing real estate there and it turned out our old house was still for sale. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew for sure, but I contacted a real estate agent and made an offer on it. It looks like things are moving forward and the credit union accepted the offer. I just kind of thought it would be good for her to be in a familiar setting. If it doesn’t work out… well… then I own a home there, which isn’t a terrible thing. Anyway, just wanted to let you know the news. We’re working our butts off on set today and I have to go back out there in a couple of minutes. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.
I put my phone away and take another drink of water, nearly finishing the bottle in the process. I walk out of my trailer and see Nadia walking right toward me. She looks furious.
“Nadia… what’s up?”
“Get back in your trailer.”
“I’m due on set in a couple of minutes.”
“Now!”
I jump a little and turn back around. She follows me into the trailer and slams the door behind herself.
“What were you thinking?” she asks.
I know exactly what she’s talking about, but I’m not going to let her intimidate me… not anymore.
“I made a decision… and stuck by it.”
“You do realize that you just ruined your career?”
“Maybe… maybe not.”
“Maybe? You stupid little girl. You’ll never act again, not if I have anything to say about it.”
“I’m sorry that I’m such a disappointment, but I just felt like I didn’t want to be like every other girl in Hollywood. If that means I’ll never act again, well… then so be it.”
“So… you’re going to throw it all away because of your pride?”
“No… because I don’t want to be something I’m not.”
Nadia shakes her head and bites her lip.
“Unreal. There’re thousands of girls who would kill to be where you are. All this because you’re a little overweight. We would’ve never even had to have this conversation if you didn’t eat so much.”
I shake my head and laugh a little.
“You think this is funny?” she asks.
“No… I don’t think it’s funny… I think it’s sad. I’m embracing who I am… and I’m not going to change because you say so. That’s not how I want to live my life. You can threaten me all you like, but no career is worth not being true to one’s self. That’s what I think.”
“You’re going to regret this… you’ll see.”
“I regret nothing about what happened.”
“Sure… keep telling yourself that.”
Obsessed with getting in the last word, Nadia turns and walks out of the trailer before I can say anything else. Everything she just said to me only reinforced that I made the right decision. I wouldn’t be the same person if I bent to her will. I’m happy with who I am and I want to always feel that way. It helps that Spencer supported me in my decision, but I guess that’s what being married is all about—loving each other unconditionally and being supportive, no matter the circumstance. As long as we have that, well, I know everything is going to work out just fine.
I smile and shake my head as I walk out of my trailer. There’s a chance Nadia is right and I won’t ever work again in Hollywood… and that’s OK. I have Spencer, Arte, Brenda and Dex… there’s nothing else I need in my life to make me happy.
The only thing left is for me to finish filming Day One and head to Romania. It’s my motivation to put one foot in front of the other because my reward is spending time with Spencer… and waking up next to him in the morning, something I miss dearly.
I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of opportunities life will hold for me, whatever they may be. I’m excited, really. Life is good.