Chapter 9
NINE
I left Kenneth to get my hair and makeup done. As I sat in the chair getting my hair pinned up just right, I thought of the children. And as my face was being powdered, I thought of the women.
Slipping into the pretty dress that I was going to wear for my next scene, I considered what my life would be had I not been born where I was, and to whom I was.
With slow steps that didn’t hold the usual bounce and enthusiasm, I reached the music room for a group scene; the occupants of Mansfield Park were putting on a theatrical play.
I looked at the other actors. Did any of them know how the opulence around them was being maintained?
Before shooting the scene, Keely went from one actor to the other, giving suggestions and letting them in on her vision of their part.
She came to me. “You’re looking a little tired, Darling.”
“Am I?” I said, surprised.
“That’s just fine. You’re perturbed and unhappy in this scene. You find the play they are putting on immoral, and you’d like to see it stopped. The tiredness in your eyes should play well with the lines that you have.”
I smiled despite my concern over her statement.
“Get into place everyone,” Keely called out. “The Crawfords on the settee, Darling, right where you are. Edmund, please come forward a bit... a bit more. Right. Perfect.”
I pulled in a long breath.
“Action!”
“Edmund,” I said. “I do believe you’re in over your head. Have you not thought of your father and his wishes. He would be devastated to see this display of debauchery.”
“It’s not that bad, Fanny.”
“I do wish you would reconsider.”
“Cut!” Keely called out. “Could we start it again, but...” She came to me.
“You’re right to play Fanny as angry, but your words are a little too biting.
Remember, you are actually in love with Edmund, even though you may not fully realize it in the moment.
Your words are to be firm, but still amicable.
” She turned to the group. “Okay. Let’s try it again. ”
We got into place and, once again, action was called.
“I do believe you’re in over your head, Edmund,” I said.
“It’s not that bad, Fanny.”
“I do wish you’d reconsider.”
“Cut!”
We all turned to look at Keely, but I knew that I was to blame for cutting the scene. She came to me and pulled me aside.
“What’s going on?” she said. “It’s unlike you to miss the tone of a scene. This last attempt was harsher than the one before.”
“I’m so sorry. Can you just give me a minute? I’ll get my head into the right place.”
“Sure. Take a minute.”
I walked out of the room, took a few deep breaths and pushed my conversation with Kenneth aside. Feeling a little calmer, I returned to the group, and we began the scene again.
This time, my first lines were acceptable until we reached another emotional scene.
“Cut!” Keely called out. “Okay, everyone. We’ll take a little break. Don’t go too far. We’ll start again in about twenty minutes.”
As I turned to walk out of the room with the others, Keely called my name.
“Can I see you a minute?” she said.
With a heavy sense of dread, I went to her.
“What’s going on?” she said. “Really, this time.”
I shook my head. “My head is filled with... negativity. Horrifying negativity.”
“Why? What has put you in this headspace?”
Closing my eyes, I sighed, suddenly so tired. Keely guided me to a chair... a large, red velvet chair that had been brought in for the theatrical play. She, in turn, sat on the royal blue ottoman in front of the chair.
“I don’t want to pry, but if something is going on and you need to take a break, we can reschedule this scene.”
“I don’t want to delay your progress. I know you’re tight on time.” I looked at her, longing to tell her what I had on my mind, but I didn’t know where to begin.
“I’m all ears if you need to talk,” she offered.
I nodded, ready to explode if I didn’t share what I’d learned. “You know that Matt’s brother, Kenneth, is back home?”
“No. I wasn’t aware of that. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know he had a brother.” She patted her belly. “I have enough on my mind without looking into everyone’s family ties.”
I smiled, even more reluctant to go on. “That’s precisely why I don’t want to burden you with this.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about that.”
“I’ve spent a good amount of time with Kenneth. He’s recently back from California where he’s been working with his father at their vineyard there.”
“Okay,” she said, waiting for me to go on.
“It seems that California is making things difficult for many business owners there. Kenneth was talking about regulations, taxes and more regulations. There are policies that seem to be distinctly put into place to hinder businesses, especially the smaller ones.”
Keely smiled. “Ah, yes. I am well aware of the corruption in California.”
“You know of the governor?”
She nodded. “His administrative decisions are the major reason my father moved his law firm from Newport Beach in California to Las Vegas in Nevada. And he’s not the only one to do so.
You know, Vegas is only a few hours away from Los Angeles.
Many choose to move there and travel back and forth when need be. ”
I was stunned.
“As it turns out, however, moving to Las Vegas wasn’t quite enough for my father. Los Angeles has become such a cesspool that he doesn’t even want to go back... not even for an hour. It’s just as well. I wanted him here for when the baby comes, and now, that’s precisely what’s going to happen.”
“I had no idea things were that bad over there.”
“Dad is also tired of representing good, honest hard-working people who repeatedly get ripped off, only to have the criminal get a slap on the wrist... if that.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Turns out that, in California, under the right conditions, crime pays. You can steal hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise and get... nothing. No consequence. No jail time. How can a society survive such a thing?”
She let out a light laugh. “We don’t really discuss state government much out here, but anyone who has dealings with California in particular is aware of the odd policies, strangulating regulations and confusing leadership.”
“It’s hard to comprehend how a leader could make it more difficult for people to live in his state. Why would he do that? He must have some reason.”
“You should ask that to the thousands... nay, the hundreds of thousands of people who have left the state. I mean, there’s been a veritable exodus.
People who just can’t survive anymore. Property taxes are ridiculous.
Gas prices are unbelievable. He wants to censor free speech.
Billions of dollars meant for the homelessness crisis suddenly disappear.
There was the horrible wildfires that destroyed beautiful cities like Palisades and Malibu, yet the millions of dollars raised to help suddenly disappeared, but was discovered to be funneled into the governor’s wife’s non-profit allegedly.
So much corruption that people are calling it out finally, and the federal government is looking into it.
” She turned to look pointedly at me. “But he’s just added extra taxes on top of all that.
The corruption runs so deep, they’ve rigged elections so it is only one party so it’s like a total dictatorship.
Californians who are hard-working and who pay taxes have left.
Voting by moving. A friend of mine moved her small production company out of Hollywood, California and brought it to Hollywood, Florida. ”
“And...?”
“While she’s doing the same amount of work, charging her clients the same rate and paying her employees the same salary – yes, they all followed her out of the state – well, she now has forty percent more of her own money in her pocket and her team is also living better and easier.
She was able to buy a house twice as large as the one she had in California and this, for nearly half the price. ”
“You’re adding even more to the story than Kenneth had shared with me. He’s specifically perturbed by the migrant worker situation. I thought we were beyond this. I thought that we... the West... we were past treating people so shabbily.”
“We’ve got a long way to go still.” She smiled.
“I can understand why Matt’s brother wanted to share all this with someone.
It’s all so unbelievable that you need to say it out loud.
It’s all unbelievable that even a fellow Brit-turned-American citizen who have been living in California by the name of Hilton is so fed up, he’s now running for Governor. ”
“Wow,” I said. “Kenneth was telling the truth.”
Keely patted my hand and said, “The way to help him get better is to be supportive of him. And to pray. Dealing with the truth can be difficult, especially a truth like that, and confronting his own father with it. Pray for Kenneth. Pray for Matthew. Pray for their father to do the right thing, and pray for California.”