“We can’t all be sluts. We can’t all be asking for it. I felt this crushing sense of powerlessness when I found myself blackballed and no longer able to do what I’ve always wanted because I turned Zander Lewis down. It’s time I take my power back. Before I came here, I knew that there would be people like you who would try to silence us,” she said, pointing at the reporter. “I am prepared to fight this, now that I know I’m not alone. I came forward for all the women who have been silent on this matter. And for all the young actresses who’ve been blacklisted when they even thought of saying something,” Phoebe continued. Then she turned to the camera.
You could see the pain and emotion in her eyes. This woman was barely holding it together.
“It’s okay to stand up for yourself. People forget that there’s a human being who was involved in this without having any choice in that matter, and who was hurt—sometimes traumatized—and wronged. When it happened, I was honestly furious, but that was just the beginning of what happened to me. I learned the power of the system. They did everything they could to keep me from raising my concerns even further. It was like the fix was in. I was nineteen years old and working on my first movie. Zander laughed at me and told me I would never work in movies again. And, as it turns out, he was right.”
I just stared at the phone for a minute.
“At some point, this will have to change; it simply can’t continue like this,” I said.
“I agree,” Caryn said. “I just don’t know what it’ll take. The press is spinning it that Zander was a lone wolf and should be punished. From the reporters’ tone, it doesn’t sound like they plan to dig too deep on this. Frank said that they’re part of the problem. They feed off Hollywood and have no desire to get on the bad side of any of the studios.”
“Can you call everyone and let them know you talked to me? I need to get home and get ready for Homecoming tonight. Let Rita and Halle know I will do whatever they want to support them,” I said.
“I’ll take care of it. Megan and I are flying back tonight. I want to sit down with you on Sunday and share what we did while we were in LA.”
“Sounds good. Talk to Dad and set it up,” I said and hung up.
◊◊◊
When I got home, I stuck my head in the back door. Duke was there and insisted I let him out. I could understand why: there were crying babies. I debated whether to go to my apartment and bypass this mess or not. The debate stopped abruptly when my mom heard me.
“David, get in here,” she called.
Damn!
I wanted to laugh when I saw her. Mom’s hair was going in twelve different directions, she had stains on her shirt, and she looked like she’d been crying. I resisted the urge to remind her that I had suggested we get some help for her. Her grandiose scheme to take the little ones out of daycare until this flu epidemic was over was well-intended but was simply too much for one person. I was sure that if I opened my mouth, she would throw back in my face that it was my idea to begin with.
“I take it that I’m paying for you and Dad to go out tonight,” I suggested.
“Just make them stop crying,” she said, pointing to the living room.
I wobbled in on my crutches. Nate saw me first and held up his hands, the universal sign to ‘pick me up.’ Mom must have decided her duties were over because she grabbed a bottle of wine and went upstairs. I was sure a long soak in the tub was on her agenda.
I sat down on the floor, and Nate, Mac, and Kyle all ended up in my lap. The only happy baby was Coby, who was in his playpen, chewing on a squeaky toy. It looked suspiciously like one of Duke’s. Little David crawled over, and I picked him up. It was hard to believe he was almost one.
Fifteen minutes later, Angie and Greg, with Duke on their heels, came strolling in and found me with babies napping on or beside me. Coby was still being a good baby and entertaining himself.
“Why can’t you get them to take naps like that?” Angie teased Greg.
He just ignored her and picked up Nate to go put him in his car seat. I was always amazed that little ones could sleep through almost anything once they were out. Nate didn’t even blink when his dad picked him up.
Angie and I caught up with each other while Greg took care of his ankle-biters. Peggy arrived just as Greg and Angie left.
“Were they any trouble?”
“We need to figure out a way to get some help for Mom. She underestimated what it’s like to watch five of them. She’s abandoned me and gone to her room with a bottle of wine.”
Peggy winced. She knew all too well what a handful they could be. She took Little David from me so I could get ready for the dance.
◊◊◊
