At this point, the question was, ‘working towards what?’ What I needed to do was go to that psychic who told me I had five kids. His big reveal had been that some woman would put me off marriage, and I would do something unexpected. He did nail it with the five kids. Of all his predictions, I’d figured that one had had the longest odds of coming true.
“Any suggestions?” I asked to get his take.
“I suggest that you find some way to combine your pursuits.”
Maybe it was time I quit kicking the can down the road. What Mr. Nomura just said tickled a thought I’d had lurking in the back of my mind.
◊◊◊
Before our big kiss scene, I saw Mr. Nomura in a heated discussion with our director, Mr. Otsuki. I was surprised when Mr. Otsuki nodded to him and then called Haru, Hana, and me over to talk.
“I’d hoped to push the boundaries with public displays of affection and have Haru’s character kiss David in a public place. It was understandable that David would walk up and kiss her in public because this is America. But it was pointed out to me was that a good Japanese girl would never do the same. We need to rethink the scene,” Mr. Otsuki explained.
“When I want a little privacy, I pull the girl into an empty classroom,” I said without thinking.
Both Haru and Mr. Otsuki gave me shocked looks. They knew enough English that Hana didn’t have to translate for them. I’d found out that all the cast spoke English and did it well. Mr. Otsuki used Japanese on set, which forced me to rely on Hana most of the time. I didn’t complain because it gave me a chance to learn Japanese.
“I want to hear all about what you do in empty classrooms,” Haru said, and then blushed when she realized that Mr. Otsuki was standing next to her.
He was a good sport and chuckled at her discomfort.
“This sounds very American and solves my issue,” he said and left to set it up.
“We should practice kissing,” I ventured.
“You’re a brat,” Haru said.
“No, really. A movie kiss isn’t as easy as you think,” I said and shared what I learned in my acting class.
We did end up practicing. The sad part was that once we transitioned into acting mode, it wasn’t near as fun as it sounded. We finally settled on how we would do it for the scene and went and shot it. On playback, it turned out to be precisely what a first kiss initiated by a girl should look like. I was destined to star in a Hallmark Channel show if I kept up this sweet, innocent stuff.
◊◊◊
I was so done when Mr. Otsuki finally let us all go at three in the morning. He’d extended our day to get the balance of my scenes completed. He decided that it fit their process better to wrap up the shooting on Wednesday. We would be back on set come Sunday.
◊◊◊
Chapter 11 – Not in Desperate Straits Thursday December 15
I slept in like a real teenager and didn’t roll out of bed until ten. When I saw the time, I realized I had to get going because I had lots to do today. There were a few scenes in Halle’s movie and a late afternoon appointment with Jett for further singing lessons.
I got ready and rushed downstairs to grab a bite before I would head to the studio. What I found was my dad looking somber.
“What’s with you?” I asked.
“Cassidy was arrested last night. She was released this morning when the police saw the video,” Dad said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“You should just watch it. I want you to know everyone’s fine,” he said.
If that didn’t set off alarms in my head, nothing would.
He opened his laptop and hit play. The video showed our living room; I could tell it was late afternoon by how the light was coming from the kitchen. I could see Duke lying next to the playpen while Coby, Little David, and a baby I didn’t recognize were having naps. Apparently, they had just gotten home from daycare.
Coby woke up, and Duke jumped up and left to tell Peggy they were awake. I had a smile when I saw my little monkey grab onto the playpen bars and begin to pull himself up.
Duke came down the stairs, followed by Aaron, the male nanny we’d hired. I was shocked to see he wore only a pair of boxers, and it was evident that he was aroused. I assumed that Peggy must have acted on her crush. My momentary distraction was snapped back to the screen when I heard Aaron’s angry voice.
“I’ve about had enough of you,” he said and shoved Coby back into the playpen.
My son was at first startled and then began to cry.
“I’ll give you something to cry about,” Aaron said and drew his hand back.
That was when I heard the deep growl that meant Duke wasn’t playing. The hair was up on his back, and he was showing his teeth. I’d only seen him do that once with me and a couple of times with Precious.
Thankfully, Aaron turned his attention to Duke. I wasn’t happy when he kicked Duke and sent him flying into the coffee table. Aaron wasn’t done; he charged my dog and kicked him again. You must understand that Labs are made out of rubber. I swear they have no feeling, so I knew that Aaron had hurt him when I heard his yelp.
