Hello, Hollywood! (12 page)

I thought about Kat’s words all evening, in between thoughts of Snidely Whiplash and the furniture chaos in the office. I found myself daydreaming about our upcoming episode as I made the drive home, imagining myself as sweet Nell tied to the railroad tracks. Would my hero sweep in and rescue me? My luck, he’d take one look at the cellulite on my thighs and change his mind. Rescue someone else.

Just as quickly I pushed aside those thoughts.
You’re doing okay on your own, aren’t you? Not every female needs rescuing.
In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered what sort of message we might be sending twenty-first-century women with this episode. Hmm. Maybe we needed to rethink this whole thing, or at least add a clear takeaway at the end so that an “I am woman, hear me roar” message rang out.

Nah. That wasn’t the right message either. Maybe we’d better just forget the whole thing. Start from scratch.

That night was spent wrestling with the sheets. I tossed and turned in between flashes of full-Technicolor dreams. On Saturday I awoke feeling more conflicted than ever about the episode we’d just written. Since when did I second-guess everything? Still, I tried not to fret over it. After all, we had all weekend to shift gears, should we decide to do so. Not that I wanted to shift gears. No, I just needed to lay down my anxieties and go with my gut. It had rarely failed me in the past.

As I showered and dressed for the day, I thought about the conversation I’d had with Kat. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask Scott to help us with the script. Surely he would run interference with Stephen. Yes, the more I thought about this, the better the idea sounded. By the time I headed downstairs to breakfast, I’d decided to sweep Scott into the writing fold. Might be fun. Maybe he could fill in the void Bob had left.

Mama sat alone at the breakfast table, still dressed in her nightgown. She looked up from the newspaper as I entered the room.

“Good morning, Athena-bean.”

“Morning. Anything exciting happening in the world?” I asked as I gestured to the paper. My words were followed by a yawn.

“Trouble in the Middle East. Seems like there’s always so much happening near our homeland.” She sighed and glanced at the paper. “There’s another hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, and there’s talk of a volcano erupting on some Pacific island. Other than that, nothing big is stirring.”

“Wow.” I paused to think about what she’d just said. “Sometimes I forget there’s a life outside of the script I’m writing. My whole world revolves around Jack, Angie, and a bunch of children.”

“I’d imagine it’s tough to separate fiction from reality in your line of work.”

“Right.” I reached inside the refrigerator and came out with the orange juice. “Sometimes I need a wake-up call that there’s a life outside of the studio. I forget that my characters aren’t the only ones with problems to be solved. Real people and real problems exist too.” I sighed. “Wish I could write those resolutions as easily as I do in the script.”

“No kidding.” She closed the newspaper and laid it on the table. “But that’s why we lean on God, I guess.”

In theory.
The next sigh that erupted took me by surprise. As much as I claimed to lean on God, more often than not I found myself leaning on my own ideas. My own creativity. My own want-to. Tough to admit but oh so true.

I shook off my fretting and focused on the weekend ahead. I would go with my mother to Super-Gyros, where Paul, Stephen, and Brooke would meet us and spend the day. The plan? To watch my parents. To see how they interacted in good times and bad. No doubt Stephen would tell me just where they fell on the plotline of life. I was pretty sure they’d reached the happily-ever-after stage. The resolution.

Maybe one day I’d get there too.

We arrived at the shop at 9:30, and I helped Mama and Aunt Melina prepare the phyllo dough for the day. Larisa arrived with her kids as well as two of my teenaged cousins, Mary and Trina, who had come to babysit. Hopefully they would sweep Brooke under their wings and make her part of the family.

As we settled into our work routine, Mama looked my way. “I hope you don’t mind, Athena-bean, but I’ve asked Milo to stop by today as well.”

“Oh? You did?” Interesting.

“Yes. I thought it would do him some good to share a good Greek conversation with someone. He seems so lonely, and he’s really such a nice old man. Aunt Melina loves to talk. I think she’ll remind him of home.”

If his home happens to be a distillery.

Stop it, Athena. Pray for your aunt. Don’t judge her.

I shook off my ponderings and agreed to do just that—pray. Not just about Aunt Melina but about the weekend ahead. Along with the day’s activities, the guys also planned to come back to the house with us tonight and spend the night in our guest room. That should be interesting. According to Stephen, they needed to see my parents in both environments—work and home. I wondered if they would be interested in going to church with us in the morning as well. Time would tell. Sure would be satisfying to see Paul in church.

At 9:58 Paul arrived with his usual declaration: “I’m starved! What’s for breakfast?”

Mama ushered him to a nearby table and served up a beautiful croissant and hot coffee, along with a tray of fruit.

A couple minutes later, Stephen entered the shop with Brooke at his side. For whatever reason, my heart fluttered as soon as I saw him in those jeans and that fitted T-shirt.
Be still my heart.
For a second there, I almost forgot we’d come here to work.

I quickly introduced Brooke to Mary and Trina. The preteen seemed shy around her peers at first, but before long I could hear the gaggle of girls laughing and talking from the back room. I also heard the squeals from Larisa’s toddlers, who seemed to be enjoying the company of the older ones.

“Sounds like they’re having fun back there,” my sister said as she entered the room with a tray of sliced meats and cheeses. “Just what my babies needed today.” As she set the tray down, she gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s hard having a houseful of kids when you work. And with my hubby in the Middle East . . .” She shook her head and dabbed her eyes. “Anyway, it’s not the life I signed up for, but I’m doing the best I can with it.”

“Balancing work and family is always tough,” Stephen said. “That’s one reason we’re here today, to see how that plays out in the real world.”

“You’ve come to the right place.” Babbas looked up from his work at the stove. “Welcome to the Pappas family.”

“Thanks for letting Brooke come with me,” Stephen said. “I don’t think it would have worked out for me to come this weekend if she hadn’t. I get tired of leaving her alone, and I know she gets really lonely.”

“It’s the perfect solution,” I said. “We’re happy to have her. And I think the girls will sweep her into the fold.”

“Thanks. I thought about bringing Zeus too, but decided he could use a day at the doggy day care.”

“Doggy day care?”

“Yes. He’s being groomed. I even paid extra for the doggy massage and whirlpool.”

“Whirlpool?”

“Yeah.” He groaned. “I know. It was Brooke’s idea. She felt like he needed the royal spa treatment. I opted to do it so we wouldn’t have to be back till six to pick him up. Didn’t want to miss a minute with you.” The smile that Stephen flashed my way almost took my breath away. As I gazed into those gorgeous brown eyes and saw the twinkle there, I found myself captivated. Suddenly I didn’t want to miss a minute with him either.

See how gullible you are? One minute you’re questioning his ideas, the next you’re attracted to him. What’s wrong with you?

I couldn’t help but notice the twinkle in my mother’s eye. Likely she’d read too much into Stephen’s words. To my great relief, she did not comment.

“How are things going with Zeus, by the way?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. “Ready to send him back yet?”

“Nah. He’s definitely a member of the family now. I spent a fortune at the pet store the other day. I could have furnished a room with the money I spent.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Dog bed. Food. Treats. Toys. Went all out. And you don’t even want to know how much it cost to have his nails done and get him groomed.”

“You’re taking this very seriously.”

“No, Brooke’s taking this very seriously. I’m taking her seriously.” He paused and appeared to be deep in thought. “I love her. And if caring for the dog gives her something to do—someone to care for—then so be it. I’ll work overtime to pay for it.”

Wow. His desire to show love to his daughter through the dog was admirable. I had to give it to him.

Mama’s words interrupted my thoughts. “Tell me again why you’re here,” she said. “Not that I mind, of course. You’re all wonderful people—so creative and fun. I’m just trying to understand what Athena was saying about the purpose of this visit.”

“We’re going to study you,” Stephen said with a sly smile.

“Yeah. See what makes you tick,” Paul added.

“Study us?” My mother gave me a funny look. “That’s a little unnerving. What do you mean?”

“None of us have a clue what makes a marriage work,” Stephen said. “We’re all children of divorce or have been through divorces ourselves.”

Paul held up three fingers, and my mama’s eyes widened. She pulled him into her arms. “You poor, dear boy. May you come to know the greatest love of all.”

He grinned—likely thinking she was talking about the love of a good woman. I knew otherwise. Paul could search for the rest of his life, but until he recognized the void in his heart that only God could fill, there would never be lasting love. Not the happily-ever-after kind, anyway.

“We want to see what makes a good marriage work,” Stephen said. “If we can figure this out, then we’ll know how to develop Jack’s and Angie’s characters so they can withstand even the most difficult challenges in their marriage. We still have to take them through Step 7 in the plotline.”

“Step 7?” Mama looked confused.

“The ‘Belly of the Whale’ scene,” he explained. “They have to hit a low point in their relationship where they feel trapped. We know, of course, that they won’t stay there, but it’s got to come. It’s inevitable.”

“Well, that’s true,” Mama said. “There are low points in every relationship whether we expect them or not. I love my husband, of course, but I’m ready to kill the man about every third day. Oh, I don’t, of course. I suppose that’s what makes our marriage work.”

Not killing him is what makes your marriage work?

“I’ve often thought that if I murder him, I’ll end up in prison,” Mama said in her sweetest voice. “And what sort of life would that be?”

“Mama!” My mouth dropped open. In all my years I’d never heard her talk like this. So all of those years of thinking she and Babbas had a near-perfect relationship were nothing but a sham? And she had to reveal all of this with Stephen and Paul present?

Paul scribbled down notes as fast as she shared her thoughts.

“Wow. I’m so glad to hear this. I thought I was the only one who ever had a rough marriage.”

Babbas stepped beside Mama and laughed. “Oh no. Marriage is hard work.”

“I like to say marriage is
heart
work,” Mama added. “And thank goodness, the high points in a marriage outnumber the low ones.” She smiled. “Otherwise we’d be in big trouble.”

“Exactly,” Stephen said. “That’s the work of great plotting.”

“Great plotting, eh?” Babbas laughed. “Well, the only one plotting my life is the Lord. And frankly, I don’t care to know what step I’m at on his plotline, thank you very much. I’d rather just be surprised by what tomorrow holds. For today I know one thing—you kids have come to the right place to learn about the love between a husband and wife. We might have our lows, but they make the highs even higher.” He swept Mama into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. Embarrassment flooded over me until I saw the smile on Stephen’s face. It put me at ease.

I thought about my mother’s words all morning long. Surely she’d been joking. Right?

By 10:45 the breakfast crowd had thinned, but by 11:30 half of Los Angeles had entered the premises. My parents continued to work, visiting with the customers and stopping on occasion for a peck on the cheek, or even a quick kiss on the lips. I had to wonder if they were going a little overboard with the affection because they knew they were being watched. Likely. Still, it did my heart good to see them so tender toward one another. Why not? So many people grew apart over the years. It felt great to know they still cared so much about each other. In between thoughts of murdering one another, anyway.

Stephen noticed it too. I observed him jotting down notes in his notepad. I would have added a few myself, but I ended up working on the sweets and baking breads. Aunt Melina fussed over the details of the baking process, pausing only when Milo entered the shop at noon. From that point on, she seemed distracted by him. Their back-and-forth chatter in Greek made me smile and feel a little homesick. Not that I’d ever actually been to Greece. Still, I pined for the homeland I’d heard so much about.