Turning Point

by Lara Zielinsky

  “Ah, so that makes it okay?”

  “It’s just acting, Lou.”

  “Kids don’t see it that way. My kids don’t.” He added, “Yours didn’t.”

  Cassidy lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t think I believe that line Gwen told me about Ryan misinterpreting things. You aren’t just acting.”

  “Whatever it is you’re talking about, it’s not your business,” she pointed out.

  “No, but it is Mitch’s.”

  Cassidy inhaled. She wasn’t sure why he was doing this now. “You don’t like me. I get it. Give me Ryan and I’ll go away.”

  He remained an obstacle, meeting her eyes for a long assessing moment. She felt the beginnings of real panic. “Please.”

  Lou Talbot finally stepped back. “Get him, then go, so I can go back to sleep.”

  She moved quickly to the back bedroom where Gwen typically put Ryan down on the trundle bed in Chance’s room. She collected him and his school bag, cradling his sleeping form against her chest and hurrying out the door. She stood on the stoop with Ryan in her arms and watched as Lou shut the door. The front porch light was turned off, leaving her in the darkness in more ways than one. Obviously talking openly to Gwen had not been a very good idea. Resigned, she tucked Ryan in the car and quickly drove the short distance home.

  As she collected him again, he stirred. “Shh, go back to sleep,” she whispered. With the ease of practice, she wrangled her key into the deadbolt and let them into the house. She walked through the dim hallway and placed him on his bed. He was already in pajamas, the pair she left with Gwen each week in case he had to sleep over.

  She sat on the floor of her son’s bedroom for a long time after she tucked the covers up to his chin and smoothed the hair off his forehead, just watching him sleep. She hoped that, at least tomorrow, she could manage to get Ryan to and from school and then keep him at the set with a minimum of fuss.

  Standing, Cassidy glanced up at the small clock on his dresser. It was almost three in the morning. With a stretch that was only slightly successful in loosening her muscles, Cassidy crossed the hall to her bedroom and pulled off her shoes. StripŹping down to her underwear, she crawled into bed. Cassidy spread herself across the sheets, and her body, well-trained by hundreds of nights of knowing she would only get a couple hours of sleep, was unconscious before she had finished curling around a pillow, imagining Brenna’s warm body instead of the cool linen.

  Chapter 30

  The next day, during a quick break from shooting, Cassidy ran to fetch Ryan from preschool. Traffic conspired to make her return to the studio much later than she had hoped. A small backpack on over his tan coveralls and blue shirt, Ryan jogged alongside her long strides as she crossed the lot toward the tutor’s trailer.

  A young girl scampered down the path. Cassidy knew Sandy Tillman was fourŹteen, though with blond hair styled in pigtails, she looked much younger. She had a recurring role as Lilibeth, the daughter of one of Time Trails’ base administrators. While her father frequently challenged the existence of the program, she was a proŹponent of the program and planned to grow up to be a Time Squad member.

  “Mrs. G said you have—” The girl charged directly for Ryan. “This is your son? Cool!” She skidded to a halt as they all met on the walking path. “Hi, my name’s Sandy.”

  Ryan looked up at his mother. “It’s all right, Ryan. This is Sandy Tillman. She works with me sometimes.”

  Satisfied, her son looked back at Sandy. “I’m Ryan.”

  She looked at the paper bag in his hands. “What’s that?”

  “His dinner,” Cassidy supplied. “We were running a little late.”

  “My shooting managed to speed up a little bit for the afternoon session, so I got a long dinner break. Ryan here is going to help me get out of homework, aren’cha?”

  “Where’s Mrs. Grinaldi?”

  “Mrs. G’s in Trailer Fourteen. Come on, I’ll lead the way.” Sandy offered her hand to Ryan, who looked at his mother uncomfortably.

  “It’s all right.”

  “Yeah. There’s cool stuff. I’ve got my school books, but there’s games and toys, too.”

  Ryan took Sandy’s hand, and with Cassidy following behind, the trio crossed to Trailer Fourteen.

  A nearby trailer door swung open, and Rachelle Cheron appeared on her steps. “Hey, Cass, glad to see you made it back. Coming to dinner?”

  “In a minute. I’ve got to get Ryan settled first.”

  “Ryan?” Then the woman spotted Cassidy’s son. “Oh, hey there!” She waved. “Meet you in the commissary later.” Still in costume, she crossed the lot at a fast walk.

  Cassidy turned to see her meeting an extra who was out of costume. Once inside the tutor’s trailer, Cassidy shook hands with Karen Grinaldi. “Thank you for doing this.”

  “No problem. Kindergarten?”

  “Pre-K.”

  “So, no homework.”

  “He usually stays with a neighbor after school, but some changes occurred recently and she can’t do it any more.”

  “I’ve worked as a set tutor for a dozen years. Ten right here at Pinnacle.” They turned to see Ryan had settled with Sandy on a rug near a set of shelves. The girl had pulled down a copy of Candyland which Ryan had excitedly pointed out.

  “I know this one,” he was saying.

  “Looks like they’ll get on fine.” Mrs. Grinaldi set Ryan’s dinner on a nearby table. “I’ll get him to sit and eat when he’s hungry. The rest of the stuff’s kids are already gone. I watch the writers’ and execs’ kids too from time to lime. Sandy just has to stick around for an hour now until her mother can pick her up, but she’s finŹished her shooting for the day. I’ll keep Ryan here until you’re done.”

  “It won’t be too late. I just have a rerecording session and a handful of C.U.S. I’m really sorry about this. Might be ten o’clock?”

  “Like I said, no trouble at all.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Grinaldi.”

  “Call me Karen.”

  “Thanks, Karen.” They shook hands, then Cassidy crouched and hugged Ryan. “Take care, buddy. I’ll see you later.”

  Outside, Cassidy found Brenna standing at the foot of the steps, leaning on the railing. The way the other woman’s gaze sought hers made Cassidy’s breath catch. She saw so much warmth in those eyes.

  Brenna’s hand covered Cassidy’s on the railing as she reached the bottom of the steps. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t even know this was here. I mean I did, but I figured it was just for the underage actors.”

  They walked across the lot together, and Brenna shook her head. “I used Karen’s services myself. James was only ten when I started here. Thomas was twelve. A year later, I felt they were old enough to go home as long as I had my housekeeper, so I stopped needing to bring them here.”

  “Rachelle must use her from time to time when Rose is sick. I should’ve thought to ask her.”

  Brenna shook her head. “Rachelle has Jacques, and they have daycare in the city. Nope, it’s just us single moms who need these.”

  “Single moms?” Rachelle was at the condiment stand when Brenna and Cassidy entered, and she’d caught the end of Brenna’s statement. “What about single moms?”

  “Cassidy just left Ryan with Karen Grinaldi. I was telling her that I used her services, too.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Rachelle nodded. “Certainly didn’t think you were single now.”

  “With Kevin in Michigan, it’s still much the same thing.”

  “Oh. Well, come on over when you’ve got your plates.” She finished gathering up her ketchup packets and napkins and walked across the busy commissary.

  Looking out across the crowded tables, she spotted no familiar faces until she got to the cluster of tables pulled together for the Time Trails cast on their break. While Pinnacle was the shooting home of Time Trails and a handful of other first-run series, it also shot dozens of movies —
both for television and theater release.

  Brenna and Cassidy stepped into the buffet line and selected salads. Brenna picked up a diet cola and watched as Cassidy collected a coffee. “Are you going to make it?” she asked in a low voice.

  “Yeah. I should be out of here by ten.”

  “I’d love to listen in. If I finish up my C.U.s before it’s too late, would you mind?”

  “All right.”

  “I’ll pick Ryan up and bring him with me.”

  “I’ll call over and tell Karen it’s okay.”

  Brenna smiled as they stopped at the condiment counter before walking over to join the rest of the cast. They settled into the remaining empty seats, between Rache-

  He and one of the Time Trails regular extras, who played an officer in Luria’s departŹment.

  “Good to see you again, Alex,” Brenna offered. “How’s life on the outside?”

  The Amerasian male shrugged, chewing a bite of his Salisbury steak. “I’ve been lucky, picking up commercials, but a lot haven’t been so lucky. Projects are dying quickly and quietly. The writers’ strike looks like it might happen.”

  “Just as pilot season is prepping?” Brenna asked in disbelief. “I doubt anything will happen. Someone’s going to blink.”

  Cassidy shook her head. “Actually, I’m not sure. Even Paul was anxious about it last week.”

  “I’ve read the party lines. What’s really at stake?”

  “The way work is credited,” Sean put in. He was the most experienced among them on the other side of the camera. “I haven’t figured out how I’ll vote yet.”

  Brenna nodded. “Won’t get me straddling the line. If you wrote it, you should get the credit for it. End of story.”

  The actor-director groaned. “And a director’s vision doesn’t count? Many of them rewrite whole sections of scripts.”

  “You don’t.”

  “I don’t have to; I work with the original writer. In some cases, they’re not on set.”

  Brenna shook her head. “I still don’t see the argument as valid. Put the direcŹtor’s name in as co-writer then. Or as teleplay writer.”

  “Then the original writer gets less of the take.” Sean changed focus. “And what about all the reality shows? Writers do have a decent gripe about that.”

  Cassidy saw that Brenna and Sean were going to really get into it and decided to intervene. “We won’t solve the issue here. We’ll just have to wait to see how the vote turns out.” Brenna shook her head, hair falling across her face as she bent to eat. “Right?” Cassidy prompted, trying to draw up the blue eyes to look into, just once.

  The woman’s head came up and she smiled. “Right.”

  Conversation switched to catching up. While Brenna had heard about Rachelle’s Thanksgiving, it was a chance to find out what everyone else had done. Across the table, Will elaborated on his time off, spent in Arizona with his sister.

  “She’s ready to pop,” he said with a sigh. “So’s her temper. Man, I don’t think I’ve put my foot in my mouth that often since I was in junior high trying to ask a girl out. She jumped on everything.”

  Brenna remembered him telling her some time ago that his sister was expectŹing. “Pop? Your sister hasn’t had her baby yet?”

  “No, and she and Alex are just dying of anxiety.”

  “Do they know whether it’s a girl or a boy?”

  “Nope. They want it to be a surprise.”

  “Do they still need anything?” Rachelle asked. “We could get together a care package and send it to them.”

  “That’d be a nice gesture,” Sean agreed. “They’re extended family after all.”

  Will shrugged. “I guess they could always use things. All right. I’ll give the office the address.”

  “We’ll pack the stuff up ourselves,” Terry Brown suggested. “I’ll bring some wrapping paper.”

  Brenna looked around at the others and smiled. “Looks like your sister’s going to have reason to forgive you for foot-in-mouth disease.”

  “Here’s hoping.” He lifted his cola in mock toast. Everyone laughed. The meal

  finished quickly after that.

  Brenna found herself alongside Will in the hack of the group as they returned to the set.

  Finally he broke the silence between them. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you.”

  “I know.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Cassidy told me what you did. Why, Will?”

  “I’m sorry if it hurt.”

  “What you did was pretty strange.”

  “But things are working out?”

  “I haven’t exactly figured out what to do yet.”

  “You will.”

  “Since you’re playing matchmaker, maybe you can break it to Kevin for me,” she said sarcastically.

  He shook his head. “You’ll have to do that yourself, but I think you’ll find a way.”

  She sighed. “I’d love to know where you get off being so intelligent about this.”

  “Let’s just call it deja vu.” He did not sound pleased but rather resigned at his knowledge.

  “All right.” Brenna shook her head and walked ahead, stepping up onto the set and taking her place. She watched him set up across the way and waited for the director’s instructions as everyone else, stagehands aligning them, also took up their positions.

  “We’re going to do the C.U.s in short order, but everyone is to hold their marks to keep the background consistent.”

  When Brenna stepped off the set an hour later, Cassidy had already gone to her rerecordings, the close ups on her side of the set finished. Brenna changed in her trailer, removing her tunic gratefully. It was already after nine, so she hurried to Trailer Fourteen and stepped inside, drawing Karen’s attention when the door latched. “Hey.”

  “Hello there. It’s been a while, Brenna.”

  “Yeah. My boys are pretty much on their own now.”

  “How old are they?”

  “James turned fifteen back in February. Thomas just turned seventeen.”

  “High schoolers. Geez, time flies.”

  “Who’ve you got today?”

  “It’s just me and Ryan. I had Sandy when Cassidy brought him, but she wasn’t here long.”

  “Cassidy’s still over in recording, I think. She said she’d call and okay me bringŹing Ryan.”

  “She did. Well, I’m on my way then. I’ll walk over with you.” She collected Ryan and his backpack, and they joined Brenna near the door.

  “Hi!” Ryan said with a smile. “Are you going to take us camping again?”

  “No. I did come to take you to your mom, though,” Brenna said. “Is that okay?”

  “Sure!” He freed his hand from Karen’s grasp. The tutor looked on in surprise as he immediately attached to Brenna’s hand.

  “Let’s go, buddy.” Brenna caught a strange look from Karen and wondered what she had said.

  When the sound booth “do not disturb” light went out, Brenna pushed open the door. Ryan left Brenna’s side and charged his mother. “Mommy!”

  She swung him away from the overhead microphone and onto her lap, acceptŹing his hug as she looked up at Karen. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. He’s pretty self-entertaining. Tomorrow?”

  “At the moment, let’s say yes, if that’s all right?”

  “Sure. Good night.” Karen waved at Ryan and Brenna as she exited.

  “So, how’d it go?” Brenna asked.

  “Thankfully we did most of the work on the interior sets. I only needed to redo about half my lines,” Cassidy declared.

  Brenna laughed as she took Ryan. “Only half? When I was in here yesterday, I had over a hundred lines to redo.”

  “Slipping?”

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind lately.”

  Cassidy nodded. “I know the feeling.”

  Meeting Cassidy’s gaze, Brenna felt her hormones sit up and beg. It was embarŹrassing. She ducked her
head away.

  Lightening the mood, Cassidy asked, “Anybody wanna do a sing-a-long?”

  Brenna held out both hands in protest. “Happy Birthday’s the only thing you’ll get out of me.”

  “Whose birthday?” Ryan interrupted curiously.

  Brenna kissed his head and brushed her fingers through his hair. “No one’s, sweetheart. I’m just explaining my shortcomings to your mom.”

  Cassidy chuckled. “Not very convincingly, either,” she pointed out. To Brenna she said, “I heard you at the campground. You’re good.”

  “My first husband thought I sounded like Grable on a bad day.”

  Puzzled, Cassidy remarked, “Grable was never a singer.”

  “See, I told you.” Brenna offered a toothy smile and stood. “Time to go home, anyway.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right. That’s why they put me in command.” Cassidy laughed, and Brenna chuckled. “Let’s go home.” Ryan bounded out of the room ahead of them, and Brenna flipped off the light.

  “See you in the morning.” Cassidy reach out and captured Brenna’s hand. Their fingers meshed for a moment, and gazes caught before they parted.

  Chapter 31

  Standing at her kitchen sink, Brenna rubbed a towel over the waffle iron she had just washed. Thomas and James sat finishing their breakfasts before having to run for the bus. “How’s breakfast?” she asked.

  “Great, Mom. Thanks,” Thomas answered first.

  “Sure thing,” James added.

  After placing the iron back in the cabinet, she leaned over the counter. “ThoŹmas, honey, could you reserve the climbing wall at the gym this weekend?”

  “I guess so. Why?”

  “Cassidy— Ms. Hyland,” she corrected quickly, “mentioned that she was free this weekend. She often comments on how much fun she had on the mountain. I thought that maybe you’d like to refresh her climbing lessons.” Brenna tried to sound nonchalant. She need not have worried. Suddenly Thomas wasn’t paying any attenŹtion to her.