by Amy DeMeritt
“Let’s just say, I was passing through but missed my ship out and have been waiting for the right ship to come along to get me the hell out of here.”
“Where you looking to go?”
“As far away from Capitol Row as possible.”
“Sorry, I can’t help you. I’m headed straight into that giant shithole.”
Sydney quirks her eyebrow like she’s going to ask me why, but then looks behind me and mumbles, “Shit”, under her breath as several capitol officers walk into the bar.
Brett calls, “Cut. Keep your positions. I need to review the footage.”
Sydney grins at me, and teases, “You like my boobs, don’t you?” My eyes involuntarily scan down to her cleavage popping out of her vest and she giggles, making me blush. “You’re adorable. That was a good take, don’t you think?”
“It was. You did great.”
“Something’s happening over there. Look.”
I look over at the sidelines where Brett is sitting with the film crew and Angie, his assistant. Brett is watching the footage from the scene while he’s on what appears to be an intense phone call. He hangs up and looks at Sydney and me with a curious kind of grin. He takes a puff from his e-cigarette, then starts walking towards us, calling for the rest of the actors and actresses to crowd around us.
“We’re going to call it a day and pick up again early Monday morning. Angie is working on the call sheets now for Monday’s schedule. Go get changed and see Angie before you leave. Kayla, Sydney, hang back.”
Brett waits till everyone else clears the set, then looks at us with something like excitement or urgency in his eyes. “First off, thank you for pulling it together. That scene was great. The producers want to meet with us in an hour to discuss some big news. You’ll need to call your agents and managers and have them come to the studio.”
With caution in her voice, Sydney asks, “Big news as in good news?”
“Very good news for the rest of us, and for you as well if you can keep performing like you did with this last take. Go change and make the calls.” He looks at his watch, then adds, “They need to be here before noon.”
He walks away and Sydney steps in front of me looking nervous, and at a whisper, she asks, “Kayla, you don’t drink, right?”
“No, why?”
She looks around and takes a step closer to me, and lowering her voice again, she says, “Whatever this news is, I need it. How you talked to me before, no one else talks to me like that, not even my manager because he’s my uncle and he treats me like I’m still seven years old – basically I’m this perfect little girl that can’t mess up. He doesn’t see it, even when I’m falling oven drunk in front of him, he doesn’t see it. My friends always blame everyone else for not being fun enough or whatever. Anyway, I know I have a problem, ok? But I’m not around the right kind of people to be strong enough to help myself. I know you don’t owe me anything, but I need you to…” She takes a deep breath as she closes her eyes, like she’s embarrassed to be saying all of this. With her eyes still closed, she says, “I need your help to get through Monday sober so I’m not replaced.”
“Ok.”
She opens her eyes wide. “Ok?”
“I’m not the kind of person to walk away from someone who needs help, especially someone who makes the difficult effort to ask for it. I need to talk to my wives, and we need to call our agents and managers. But we’ll work something out before we leave here today so we can get you through the weekend without getting trashed and without going through a horrible withdrawal or something.”
Sydney wraps her arms around me, giving me a tight hug and kisses my cheek. “Thank you. You’re really sweet.”
“You’re welcome.”
After giving me a bashful smile, she walks away to go get changed, and I walk over to my wives and Sorina.
“You want to come with me to change? I also need to get Kathy and Sara here. The producers want to meet with us about some kind of good news.”
They get in step with me to walk to my dressing room, and Sam asks, “Why did she hug you?”
“I’ll tell you about it in the dressing room.”
Sam exhales hard as she takes my hand. I know she’s going to hate this, but having her hand in mine feels really good. I have been missing this so much. It might seem simple and not all that noteworthy, but just holding her hand and having her walking next to me, having all of them walking with me is significant – it makes me feel whole and warm.
As they close the dressing room door, Sam starts unzipping my fighter pilot jumpsuit, and says, “Explain.”
While she helps me out of the jumpsuit and back into my tee shirt and jeans, I tell them about my brief conversation with Sydney.
“I know we don’t have a lot of time together while you’re here, but if they have to replace her, it will be at least another week or more that I have to stay in L.A. to finish this film. I can be a hard ass on her like she wants, but I think Madison, Shannon, and Awenasa are probably better suited for helping to get her sober for real. I know this sucks, but can you please help me with this? I don’t want to see her destroy her life and I really don’t want to lose any more time with my family.”
With a groaning exhale, Sam places her hands on my cheeks and lifts up on her toes to kiss my lips. After several moments, she parts her mouth and slips her tongue forward, pulling me into a kiss.
As she pulls away, she says, “Ok, as a family, we’ll try to help her get sober. She can spend the weekend with us. But if she tries anything with you, I’m going to kick her ass.”
I smile and scoop Sam up to wrap her legs around my waist, making her smile really big. “I love you, babe.”
Chapter Nine
Moments like this make me really happy. I’m lying on the floor of the living room on my side with Awenasa and Shannon across from me and our babies playing between us. Malana and Helaku are playing with the smooth hand carved wooden animals that have been passed down for generations in Awenasa’s family. And Montana is attempting to crawl while chewing on a bunny doll with special ears made for teething infants. It’s really cute to watch her wobble around on her hands and knees while she gnaws on the bunny.
I grab the bunny’s leg and wiggle it, like I’m going to take it from her. She squeals and tugs on the bunny, yanking it out of my hand. I laugh and tickle her tummy. She rolls over giggling and squirming. She slaps at my hand, and as I release her, she rolls back over and makes a wobbly beeline for me. With a wide slobbery mouth, she smooshes her face against mine, giving me a kiss. I scoop her up in my arms and roll over on my back. I kiss her face and neck before I lift her up in the air above me, rocking her from side to side. She giggles, and before I can react to avoid it, a long thick string of slobber drips out of her mouth and lands in my open smiling mouth, causing all of my wives to laugh.
“Oh, you little drool baby.”
I pull her down and blow raspberries on her while I tickle her tummy, thighs, and armpits. She shrieks and laughs with the most amazing smile while her legs and arms kick around. It’s so cute and makes me laugh.
“I love our little happy baby. Yes, I love you with all of my heart.”
“Mom!”
I look up at Helaku’s loud scream. His eyes are wide and his lips are puckered, like he wants a kiss. I pucker my lips to give him an air kiss and he giggles as he slams a hand down on the floor. I reach out to tickle him and he pulls my hand up to his mouth. He smooshes his parted mouth to my hand and laughs when he sees the streak of slobber he left behind.
“Mom Ayla!”
“I love you too, Son.”
Jaime lays down with us and rubs Malana’s head, making her smile. Malana drops the bear she’s playing with and turns on her little tushy to face Jaime. She shrieks as she raises and slams her arms down on the floor, then laughs hard as she leaps forward, faceplanting in Jaime’s neck. Jaime laughs and picks Malana up, peppering her with kisses.
Sydney walks into t
he room and sits down on the couch next to Sorina. She looks better today than she did yesterday. Saturday was a rough day for her and for all of us. Sydney has a bit of alcohol dependency, so she can’t stop drinking all at once or it could do more harm than good, even to the point of killing her. Shannon used to be a nurse, so she has a good knowledge of how to help someone with this problem, so she has been giving her small amounts of alcohol between doses of mild detoxing herbs and teas.
Madison and Awenasa have also been helping her with the emotional and mental stresses and pains of her healing. Sydney had a major break down yesterday morning and after a couple of hours of talking with both of them and a guided meditation with Awenasa, she was much better. It has been a rough process for her though. I wish I could do more for her, but my wives are really much more knowledgeable on how to handle this than I am and they’ve been pretty damn fantastic. I’ve been able to give her the firm nudges to accept their help, but that’s really all I’ve been able to do.
So far today, she seems a bit better. She had breakfast with all of us, then took a long bubble bath. She looks a bit more refreshed, but she still looks like she’s struggling. Before I can ask her how she’s feeling, Shannon does.
“I’m antsy, even though I’m exhausted and just want to sleep through this dry weekend. I feel like I’m going to go crazy if I don’t get out of this house, at least for a few hours.”
Sydney looks at me with her eyes pleading with me to let her leave, as if we’re actually holding her hostage or something. I stand up with Montana in my arms and sit down next to her.
“Getting out in nature is always…”
“Kayla, I am not hugging a damn tree.”
“Sydney, shut up and let me talk.”
She groans dramatically as she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest.
“Nature doesn’t judge you; it inspires you and comforts you. Nature reminds you of what you’re meant to be. It can be peaceful and terrifying at the same time. When I’m stuck in my head about things or I’m struggling with something, being in nature is like releasing a pressure valve so a steam engine doesn’t explode. How about we go to the beach? It’s too cold to go in the water, but we know a nice quiet spot we can just relax and watch the waves.”
“Fine. We’ll go to the beach.”
I smile and lift Montana up to kiss her grinning lips, “You hear that, baby girl? We’re going to the beach for your very first time.”
“We’ll pack the cooler with some drinks and snacks if you’ll get the babies ready.”
Madison stands up from the other couch, pulling Sam and Symone up with her. I lift Montana up and munch on her thigh, making her laugh.
“Come on, beautiful, let’s get you ready for the beach.”
As we’re walking back to the bedroom to get the babies ready, Sara and Keira come down the hall, hand in hand.
“Hey, we’re going to the beach. Do you want to come with us?”
“Sure. We’ll get the chairs and blankets.”
We get the babies dressed, the diaper bags packed, and the vehicles loaded, then we split up between three SUVs to caravan to our favorite spot on the beach in Santa Monica.
As we enter the city, traffic becomes really heavy and we’re moving at a crawl or sitting stationary for several minutes at a time.
Sydney groans in agitation as she lays a head back and says, “So far, this is not better than being stuck in the house.”
I pat her leg. “Yeah, I know, L.A. traffic sucks. Shannon, can you put the radio on and see if there’s anything on the traffic report to see why it’s so backed up? Maybe we can find a detour or something.”
Shannon turns the radio on and starts flipping stations to find a traffic report. Traffic through this area is typically heavy, but not this bad.
“Oh, no, I think that woman is in labor.”
All of us look towards the sidewalk where Awenasa is pointing. There’s a petite black woman with a large pregnant belly holding onto the back of a bench bent over holding her stomach. People just keep walking by her without even stopping to ask if she’s ok. She’s clearly not ok.
I sit forward as I unbuckle, and ask, “How far are we from the hospital?”
Shannon turns on the GPS and points to the screen, saying, “Two blocks. We need to go left at the next cross street and it’s on the right. I don’t know if I can get over in time to make the turn though.”
“Ok, meet me there.”
I jump out of the SUV and run in and out of cars to get to the woman. I’m really glad I decided to wear my boat shoes instead of flip flops.
“Kayla! What are you doing?”
It’s Sara voice, but I can’t stop to explain.
“Excuse me, are you ok?” The woman looks up with her face contorted in pain. She shakes her head and points to her stomach. “Ok, I’m…”
“Kayla, what’s going on?” Sara reaches my side and looks at the woman confused and concerned.
“I think she’s in labor. We need to get her to the hospital. It’s only two blocks from here. Traffic is too bad, so we’ll need to go on foot.” I wrap an arm around the woman, and ask, “Can you walk?”
She shakes her head as she winces in pain and clutches her stomach. “No, I tried. Lord, it hurts.”
“Do you mind if I carry you?”
The woman wraps an arm around the back of my neck and shakes her head as she whimpers and pants for air. I pick her up cradled in my arms like a child and I take off with Sara at my side.
“Help me clear the way. We need to hurry.”
I take off at a light jog. I want to run faster, but I don’t want to jostle her too much and risk speeding up the process before we make it to the hospital. She’s small, but my arms and shoulders start to feel her weight very quickly and they start to burn really bad.
“That’s Kayla Johann!”
“Kayla!”
“Please move, she’s in labor.”
People immediately part, clearing our path, but they pull their phones out and follow us. The woman places a hand on my cheek, so I look down at her for a moment.
“Are you ok? Do I need to slow down?”
“No, she’s coming. I thought you looked familiar. Thank you for helping me. My name is Janell Powers.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Janell. Do you have any family we can call for you when we get to the hospital?”
“No. I was raised in foster care. I don’t have anybody.”
I look down at her as pain fills my chest. “I’m sorry. You have us. We’ll help you through this.”
She smiles and lays her head on my chest. “You’re really kind.”
“What about the father?”
“There isn’t one. I was raped when I was on vacation in Mexico last summer.”
I stop in my tracks as emotion chokes my lungs. She looks up at me with pain flooding her eyes, but before she can say anything, she starts to have another contraction. I set her down and wait for the contraction to pass. After she’s composed, I pick her up again and force my body through the fatigue and pain to get her to the hospital.
We’re rushed into a delivery room and they start prepping Janell for labor. They get her into a gown, and as she’s laying on the bed, she has a really bad contraction. I take her hand and the offered washcloth from the nurse to rub over her sweaty forehead.
“Kayla, please don’t leave me.”
“I’m staying right here. I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
The nurses look up and study my face for a moment before getting back to work.
A nurse with a clipboard walks over, and asks, “What’s your name, sweetie?”
“Janell Powers.”
“Do you have insurance on you?”
Between panting breaths, Janell says, “I forgot to grab my purse. It should be on file. It hasn’t changed. I was here last month.”
“Ok, I need you to fill this out as well as you can, and…”
Janell
screams in pain as a new contraction hits her hard. I look around the room, and panic fills my veins – everyone is just standing around.
“What are you people doing? She’s in labor! We’ll do the paperwork later. Just give her the best damn care you can.”
“And who are you?”
“Kayla Johann.”
“What is your relationship to…?”
“I just met her on the sidewalk.”
Everyone stops again and they look shocked. As I’m about to scream at them again, Janell squeezes my hand, and weakly says, “Kayla,” but she groans in pain before she finishes her sentence.
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“It hurts. Oh, Lord, it’s horrible.”
Her face pinches in pain and her torso folds forward as she screams in agony. My eyes tear up and I wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“You’re doing great.”
The obstetrician rushes in and pulls a stool over to sit down in front of Janell. After introducing herself, she says, “Ok, I’m going to check...”
Janell falls back lifeless and machines start beeping and the nurses start moving around in a hurry calling out codes and phrases that don’t sound good.
“What’s going on? Janell? Janell!”
Janell slowly opens her eyes, and with a weak and breathy voice, she says, “Take care of my baby. Please don’t let her go into foster care.”
“Janell, hang in there. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to take care of you and your baby, ok? You’re going to have a great life. Come on. You can do this.”
“She’s going into cardiac arrest. We need to do an emergency C-section.”
“What? Janell, please, you have to fight. You have to be ok.”
Janell gently squeezes my hand and her eyes close. I squeeze her hand tighter and she slowly opens her eyes.
“Promise me you’ll take care of my baby.”
“I promise.”
I start crying and bend down to hug her, but the nurses pull me off of her and they start working to revive her and start the C-section. I try to get to her side, but the nurses keep pushing me back. Sara wraps her arms around me and I hold onto her arm while I stare at Janell’s sweaty and pain contorted face, silently begging and praying that she’ll make it. My tears blur my vision and I frantically wipe my eyes, terrified that she’s going to disappear in the blurred lines.