Invisible(26)

There was constant conversation at the table, and laughter, the food was delicious, and they had flaming Christmas pudding, doused with brandy. It was a perfect meal, and as far as Antonia was concerned, they were a perfect family, enjoying the evening together, across generations, with old and new marriages represented and their children. They gathered in the living room to play charades afterward, which was fun too.

Lara called her from Aspen to wish her a Merry Christmas and make sure she was all right. Antonia left the table to talk to her from the kitchen.

“I’m having a wonderful time,” Antonia said, glancing at Jake as he walked past. He was happy she had enjoyed the evening. She got along with everyone, everybody loved her, and she had been the ideal guest, joining in every aspect of the evening. She even played a game with the twins before they fell asleep on the couch during charades.

Jake and Seth helped carry them to the car while Antonia finished talking to Lara. She and Jake walked upstairs together after she thanked Lea and Ian for allowing her to be there and giving her such a happy Christmas in their midst. Jake kissed her on the cheek when he left her in Seth’s room. Having her there had made it a better Christmas for him too.



* * *



—

    Jake woke Antonia the next morning on his way downstairs in his pajamas to open gifts with his family in front of the tree. She joined them a little while later, and was surprised to find two gifts for her too. One of them was a sweater Lea had bought for her, and the other was a book Jake had gotten her with famous screenplays in it that he thought might be useful to her. She loved them both. They had breakfast in the kitchen before the caterers arrived to prepare lunch. They were having local crab, which they always had on Christmas Day. The lunch would be more informal than dinner the night before, but it was just as spirited and jovial, and they had gifts for Bob and Genevieve and the twins too when they arrived at noon. They wore jeans and sweaters on Christmas Day. Everyone was in a good mood. Antonia told Jake it was the best Christmas she’d ever had.

She called her father and Lara in Aspen before they sat down to lunch, and Lara was relieved to hear her still in good spirits and having fun with Jake’s family. They were enjoying Aspen too.



* * *



—

By the time Jake and Antonia left San Francisco to fly back to New York, she had met most of his old friends, had some serious talks with Lea and Ian, gotten to know Seth and Jamie, and even thought the twins weren’t as bad as he said. She liked Jake’s dad. It was hard to get to know Genevieve. Her remodeled face was distracting, and her conversation superficial most of the time, but she wasn’t a bad person, and Antonia agreed that Jake’s father seemed very happy with her. They had mentioned wanting to have another baby through the same complicated process she’d used before, and Jake’s only comment was that he hoped it wasn’t twins next time. His whole family was sad to see them leave, and neither of them wanted to go back to New York.

    They slept most of the way back, and took a cab to the dorm.

“I can’t thank you enough for taking me. It was the best Christmas of my life, and I love your family. They’re the nicest people I’ve ever met,” she said, as he left her at the door of her dorm room, and headed up the stairs to his own. It had been a good Christmas for him too, with old friends and new ones, and his crazy combined family, who seemed better to him when seen through her eyes. He couldn’t imagine his own family going to Aspen without him, and leaving him high and dry. He was glad she had come with him. Sharing the holiday with her had added something to their friendship. They had a memory to share now.

They had classes the next day and they both knew they’d have a lot of studying to do, as they started a new term and new classes. He had another play to audition for at Tisch. They were almost halfway through their freshman year, and it was off to a great start.



* * *



—

    In January, Antonia went to the employment office to start looking for a summer job. It took them a few weeks, but they called her and asked her to come in. They had something that had just come on the list that they thought might interest her. A major film studio in L.A. wanted an NYU intern to be a gofer on the set of a movie that would be filming there in the summer, and to work in the main office when they didn’t need her on the set. The job was for ten weeks, and worked perfectly with her schedule. She had to find her own accommodations, and the job offered no pay, which many students couldn’t afford. But her father gave her a healthy allowance, which she could use while she was in L.A. She was to report for work on June 15. It was exactly what she wanted, her dream job. They had two other candidates for it listed in the employment office, but they thought the lack of pay would be a problem for both of them, particularly with no living accommodation offered.

They called her the next day, and told her that she had the job if she wanted it. She thanked them profusely, and felt as though she had won the lottery.

“Hollywood, here I come,” she said when she hung up. She wanted to celebrate, and called Jake immediately. He was going back to San Francisco for the summer, and looking for a job there. She called him, but his answering machine picked up, which she knew meant he was in class. She left him a jubilant message about the job.

She was going to try to locate her mother once she got to L.A. She had no idea if she could find her, but she had to try. All she wanted was to meet with her once, just to see what she was like. She hadn’t seen her in almost twelve years, they were strangers to each other now. But her mother was a missing piece of the puzzle that her life had become. There were questions she still wanted answers to. She wasn’t going to tell her father if she saw her. It was something she had to do for herself. For twelve years, she had wanted to know why her mother had left and never contacted her again. Her father had never explained it to her and the mere mention of her mother still sent him into a rage.