“No, we need that line,” the director said. “Just relax, don’t rush it.” Unfortunately, Annie had messed up the line so many times, her brain no longer knew how to deliver the words correctly. She tried unsuccessfully another ten times, until she was almost in tears. Phil came to the rescue.
“I got an idea,” he said. The director and engineer were willing to try anything at this point. “Let me just have a private moment with her.”
“Sure,” the engineer said. He cut the audio feed to Annie’s voice-over booth. Phil entered Annie’s recording booth and sat beside a thoroughly rattled Annie.
“Look at me,” he said softly. “When we get home we’re having stew and soup. Say that.” Annie paused and looked right into Phil’s eyes.
“When we get home we’re having stew and soup.”
“Again – stew and soup,” Phil said.
“Stew and soup,” Annie repeated. “Stew and soup. Stew and soup.”
The director and engineer looked through the glass at Phil and Annie talking.
“What are they saying?” the director said. “Can you make it out?”
“No, maybe they’re ordering lunch.” Phil waved to the engineering room.
“OK, she’s ready,” Phil called out. The engineer cued the film and signaled to Annie.
“That’s such a stew-pid soup-erstition,” she said. Everyone broke into applause.
“Way to go,” Phil whispered to her.
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
What did he say to her?” the director asked the engineer.
“Who cares – it worked.”
They managed to finish all her lines before lunch. The engineer flicked on his microphone.
“Good job, Annie. That’s it,” he said. The director got on the mic.
“Beautiful. Loved it. We’ll be in touch.” Phil and Tony congratulated each other with a hand shake. Tony excused himself to talk to the director, and Phil met Annie in the hallway.
“Way to go, girl. Just like a pro,” Phil said.
“Thanks. You think I did OK?” Annie said.
“I love it, but what do I know?” Phil said. “Are we done now?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’ll check with Tony,” Annie said. She chatted with Tony and circled back with Phil.
“Tony is having lunch with some people and wants to know if we can just call a cab back to the Beverly Wilshire,” Annie said.
“What about tomorrow?”
“He’ll pick us up at 9:30. The audition is at 11:00.”
“OK,” Phil said. He asked the receptionist to call a cab.
“We’re on our own,” Annie said. “What shall we do?”
“You know this town better than me,” Phil said.
“I always wanted to go see the Queen Mary down in Long Beach when I lived here, but never got around to it,” Annie said.
“Let’s go. How far is it?” Phil said.
“About 30 miles south of Hollywood. Middle of the day freeway traffic is usually light,” Annie said.
“Perfect,” Phil said.
“They got back to their hotel, ate lunch, rented a car, and hopped on the 101 freeway.
“This is so exciting,” Annie said. “It’s like we’re on a date.”
They were not on the freeway more than a few miles when traffic began slowing to a crawl.
“What’s up with this?” Phil said. “You said midday traffic would be light.”
“It usually is light, but who really knows?” Annie said. “It could be construction, it could be an accident.” Traffic ground to stop-and-go. Phil checked his watch – 1:45.
“What time does the Queen Mary close?” Phil said.
“I’ll check,” Annie said. She pulled out her cell phone and got on the Queen Mary website. “5:00 pm.” The front seat fell silent for the next half hour.
“Tony said the movie you are reading for will start shooting in the summer,” Phil said. “Isn’t that going to conflict with your ‘Rangeland’ shooting schedule?”
“No. Actually, we’ll probably wrap up season 2 filming in June,” Annie said. “Filming for this movie won’t start until July or August.” More awkward silence. Phil checked his odometer.
“We’ve covered one mile in the last 20 minutes,” he said. “We’re never going to make it.”
“Let’s just keep going. Maybe it will clear up,” Annie said.
“Tony said it would be better if you just lived in LA,” Phil said. “Has he ever said that to you?”
“Yeah, but I’ve told him I already did that once. I’m not going to do it again.”
“Because my job is in Billings, and I’m not going to move to LA just to get stuck in traffic like this every day.” Annie chose not to escalate the conversation further. By 4:00 they were not quite halfway to Long Beach, and traffic remained logjammed. Phil noticed that the northbound 101 Freeway flowed freely.
“We’re not going to make it. Even if we pulled into the Queen Mary parking lot right now, we’d only have an hour to see anything. I’m going to turn around and just go back to the hotel,” Phil said. Annie offered no objections.
Chapter 10
When they got back to the Beverly Wilshire, the desk clerk flagged down Annie as they passed through the lobby.
“Miss Belmont, there’s a package for you here.” Annie collected it and turned to Phil.
“It’s from Tony,” Annie said. In the elevator she opened the package.
“It’s the script for the audition tomorrow,” she said.
“They want you to read the whole thing?” Phil said.
“No, but I don’t know which sections they especially want to hear me read. So, I’ve got to get familiar with the whole thing,” Annie said.
“Sounds like you’ll be busy tonight. Let’s get some dinner, then you take the living room to rehearse, and I’ll take the bedroom and see what’s on TV,” Phil said.
“Are you sure you’ll be OK?” Annie said. Phil softened his edge and gave her a reassuring kiss.
“I’ll be fine. If I need you, I know where to find you.”
After a light dinner of salad, Italian bread with dipping oil, and white wine, they retreated to their suite. Phil settled in the bedroom and turned on the TV. Annie began scanning the script. She quickly discovered it was a screwball romantic comedy about a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in the Bahamas. The script called for a lot of kissing, a passionate bed scene, and an incident where the wife loses her bathing suit top on a large water slide. Annie got on the phone with Tony.
“You didn’t tell me this movie was going to be R-rated,” Annie said.
“Yeah, they really want it to be an edgy comedy, more for adults,” Tony said.
“Does that combination really work?” Annie said.
“If it’s done right. A lot of R-rated comedies have been very commercially successful,” Tony said.
“Like what?”
“The Hangover, Pretty Woman, Wedding Crashers, Beverly Hills Cop. Shall I go on?” Tony said.
“I don’t know,” Annie said.
“Look, I know you’ve never had to cross this bridge with ‘Rangeland’, but if you really want to be more than a Hallmark queen, you’re going to have to take some risks,” Tony said.
“Doris Day never had to deal with this,” Annie said.
“Doris Day didn’t have to try and satisfy 2 million Twitter followers, either,” Tony said.
“Can’t they just use body doubles like they did for Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’.”
“Probably. Would you be OK with the kissing and love-making scenes otherwise?” Tony said.
“I’d probably be OK, but I don’t know about Phil. He has a hard time with just the kissing scenes on ‘Rangeland”. I need to clear this with him.”
“Well, that could be a deal breaker,” Tony said.
“I’ve heard that Kate Blanchett has a ‘no-kissing’ clause in her contracts,” Annie said.
“The trouble
is, you’re not in her league yet,” Tony said.
“Why don’t we cross that bridge when we get to it?” Annie said. “They may not even like the way I read my lines.”
“You talk to Phil tonight,” Tony said. “Then let’s talk in the morning.”
Annie walked over to the bedroom door and knocked.
“You can come in – you don’t have to knock,” Phil said. He sat up in the large bed, propped up by three or four pillows, with one hand on the TV remote. Annie sat down on his side of the bed.
“Can you turn the TV off?” Annie said. “I have something I need to ask you.” Phil pushed the off button and set the remote on the night stand.
“Sure, what’s up?’ Phil said.
“A few months ago when you came out to watch us film the stampede scene, and you saw me kissing Gordon, my TV husband, you left early, and when I asked you about it later, you said the scene seemed a little too real, especially the kissing part,” Annie said.
“Yes, I remember,” Phil said.
“I got the feeling you’re not one of those guys who’s OK with their actress wife doing love scenes, but we never really talked about it since then.”
“What brought this up now?” Phil said.
“I’m reading my script in the other room, and I see it calls for kissing and love making in bed,” Annie said. “So, before I consider this role, I need to know how you feel about that stuff.”
“I’m glad you asked, and you deserve a full and truthful answer,” Phil said. “I Have to admit I’m not really okay with you kissing another guy, even play acting. I’m just not wired that way. When I saw you kissing Gordon in that stampede scene, I just got a pit in my stomach.”
“But it’s just acting - it’s just pretend,” Annie said.
“I know you say that, but it’s really not, though,” Phil said. “Two lips actually touch – that’s real, and to see you do it with someone just bothers me. I’m just not equipped to turn those feelings off. I’m sorry.”
“But as long as I’m in this business there’s going to be kissing scenes. That’s what love stories are all about.”
“I know. When we first met and you told me that you were once a struggling actress. I was relieved that it was over. And so, when you told me you got a part in a TV series, I got scared. Because I knew this day would come.”
“But, Phil,” Annie tried to respond, but Phil stopped her short.
“Let me finish. It’s not just feelings of insecurity, or jealousy, because I know you love me. It’s just that I feel that your lips, your body, our intimacy is not for sharing, not even in make-believe. I’ll never stop you from doing what you want, but I hope that you will consider my feelings about this.”
“But that would be like a doctor being told by his wife, ‘You can do everything a doctor does, just don’t touch any of your patients.’ What kind of roles can I accept that would never involve romance? Nurse Ratchet from ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’? Warrant Officer Ripley from ‘Aliens’?”
“Well, you asked me how I felt,” Phil said.
“My mom told me when Dad took her to a scary movie like ‘Poltergeist’, she would go out and get popcorn during the scariest parts, ‘cause she hated to be scared. After a while it got to be a running gag in the family. Whenever a movie got to a scary part, we would all yell out, ‘Mom, time for you to get popcorn’. Maybe that’s what you’ll have to do during my kissing scenes – go get popcorn,” Annie said.
“Is that the way it’s going to be forever?” Phil said.
“I’m closing in on 40,” Annie said. “I’ve got about a ten-year window for romantic roles, and that window is closing fast, so your worries are short lived. After that I’ll be relegated to grandma roles, and you’re home free.”
“OK, it looks like I’m getting popcorn for the next ten years,” Phil said. They shook hands.
“It’s a deal,” Annie said.
It appeared the universe heard Phil’s plaintive disclosure and took pity. The audition ended with the casting crew tactfully confessing to Tony, “We’re actually looking for someone a little younger.” Annie carried her bruised ego out to the parking lot.
“Tony, don’t ever do this to me again,” Annie said.
“I’m sorry. I apologize,” Tony said. “I thought they knew what they were getting.” Phil and Annie got in their car. Annie rolled the window down.
“I’ll see you next week for the Globes,” Annie said. Tony waved them good bye. Phil looked at his watch. It wasn’t even quite noon.
“I’ve got an idea,” Phil said. “Let’s go to Disneyland and act like a couple of kids.”
“You’re on,” Annie said.
From Hollywood is was a straight shot down the Santa Ana Freeway to Anaheim and ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’. By 1:00 p.m. they strode down Main Street.
“I can see the difference between the Magic Kingdom in Orlando and the original,” Phil said.
“Like what?” Annie said.
“Everything is smaller here – like a toy. Just look at Sleeping Beauty Castle down at the end of the street,” Phil said. “It’s so much smaller than the gigantic Cinderella Castle in Orlando.”
“Is that good or bad?” Annie said.
“I like it here. It has an intimate feeling,” Phil said. “Let’s go for a ride.”
“How about Pirates of the Caribbean?” Annie said.
“Perfect,” Phil said.
True to their word, they behaved like little kids, squealing on the Matterhorn bobsleds, gasping on the Tomorrowland Astro Jets, and giggling in the Peter Pan ride. And just as promised, they stole a kiss in the Haunted Mansion. They sat on a bench under a shade tree along the Rivers of America and watched families strolling by. The kids in particular made them smile.
“I’m just going to come out and say it – I want to have kids,” Phil said. Annie thought for a moment.
“I do too, but not just yet,” she said.
“Aren’t you the one who said you’re closing in on 40?” Phil said. “How long do you want to wait?”
“I don’t know – a few years at least.”
“We wait much longer and we’ll be grandparent age. I still want to be able to run around and play catch with my son when he’s a teenager.”
“It’ll really complicate thing with the series. I can hide the pregnancy for a while, but that last month or two they’ll just have to write me out of some episodes. It would just be better if we waited.”
Phil knew there was nothing more to say. He felt a chasm growing between them. “If she’d only gotten this out of her system before we met,” he thought. But he refused to be the one to quash her dreams. He felt she must complete her journey to her own satisfaction if they were to enjoy a life of contentment together.
They stayed until after dark for the New Year’s fireworks show, a stunning display enough to bedazzle every child and lift the spirits of any grownup.
They caught a flight back home the next morning, on January 1, giving Annie a few days to decompress and gear up for the Golden Globes. Annie stayed in Billings until January 5, when she had to catch her flight to Los Angeles for all the preliminaries leading up to the presentation night itself on January 9. Phil drove her to the airport. They parted with a curbside embrace.
“I’ll wait for you outside on the red carpet. I’m not going inside without you,” Annie said.
“I’ll be there,” Phil promised.
Chapter 11
Honolulu 1971
For Saturday’s agenda, Charlie lined up a historical, a cultural, a religious, and a scenic destination for their day’s activities. In this way he hoped to delight her with at least one, if not more, of his chosen adventures, and in so doing, he might probe her more closely held feelings and attitudes on certain topics. First stop - the “historical” venue – The Arizona Memorial, sacred resting place of 1,102 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona in the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. As they stepped into the pavilion, Diane
felt the sanctity of this place.
“I’ve never been here before, and I guess it never struck me that this is actually a cemetery – like the Custer Battlefield Memorial at Little Big Horn,” she said. “It’s like I’m waking on someone’s grave.” She chose not to linger out of respect for the dead.
“Let’s go. I’ve seen enough,” she said.
Their second stop took them up the Pali Highway to the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, a visual and tactile experience, especially on windy days. Driving north on the Pali Hwy, they took the Pali Scenic Lookout exit. The Koolau Cliffs to the east created a wind tunnel effect, channeling howling trade winds through the valley at rates sometimes measuring over 100 miles per hour. Charlie and Diane walked to the overlook platform, offering stunning views of the northern coast of Oahu.
“You can feel the wind pushing up from the valley,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, this is no place to wear a dress,” she said.
“Supposedly a man tried to commit suicide by jumping off this platform, but the wind blew him back up,” Charlie said.
“You’re kidding,” Diane said.
“I don’t know if it’s true, but it wouldn’t be hard to believe,” Charlie said. Diane let the visual splendor of this moment to sink in.
“I’ve lived here for a year and I’ve never taken the time to come up here,” she said.
They got back in the car and drove further north to Kailua for lunch at a take-out noodle shop. From there, they drove to the Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe. This popular tourist attraction was a lovingly crafted replica of a 900-year-old Buddhist temple in Kyoto, . They walked inside to see the 18-ft. statue of the Lotus Buddha, covered in and . Outside, they listened to the gonging of a large brass bell. Two acres of Koi ponds and lush Japanese gardens surrounded the structure. Set against a backdrop of towering cliffs of the , the entire visit made an emotional and aesthetic impact.
“I’ll admit, I wouldn’t have made this visit by myself,” Charlie said, “But I’m glad I experienced it with you.”
“It’s hard to put into words, but this place really touched me,” Diane said. “I do believe in God, but I never thought of myself as particularly religious.”
The Sanctuary II: Lost and Found Page 7