Daddy's Girls (41)
“Sounds terrific. It’s not on the moon. He can drive down, or fly down if he wants to see them. Let him make some effort to redeem himself, that’ll tell you something too.”
“Thank you, Charlie. I’m sorry to tell you all this.”
“I’m sorry it’s happening to you. I’m going to charge you a dollar for this consultation by the way, to protect the attorney-client privilege.”
“Thank you.”
She felt better when they hung up. She had a plan. And a lawyer. She sent Peter an email, and told him they needed a break, or she did, until the end of August, and he needed to stay somewhere else in the meantime. She didn’t mention the children or the ranch, and wouldn’t until he did. She wanted to give them a few days to see their friends in Marin, which she had promised, and then she wanted to go back to the ranch until the end of the summer. She was happy she had it now. It was hers too. And this time, when she left, she wouldn’t be running away, as she always had before. She would be going home. There was a difference. And she wasn’t going to let Peter get away with this. He couldn’t cheat on her and lie, and not be accountable. She wasn’t going to be the silent, invisible wife anymore. Those days were over.
Chapter 9
Shortly after Caroline and the children left the ranch for San Francisco on Sunday afternoon, Gemma’s agent called her. He had an audition for her in L.A. He wasn’t overly enthused about it, and didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she had said she would try out for anything, and he took her at her word.
Walking into the audition, Gemma had a shock. Most of the girls trying out were half her age. None of them had appeared in anything worthwhile, and it was a second-rate made-for-TV movie for a less than stellar cable network. They were auditioning her for the part of the star’s mother. She had no idea what they were going to pay her if she got it, but whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to humiliate herself to that degree. She was profoundly depressed when she left the audition, called Jerry on his cellphone, and got him in his car.
“Okay. Uncle. I give up. I said get me anything, maybe we should notch that up a little.” Knowing that Thad was going to buy out her share of the ranch, and her summer tenant was promising to make an offer on her house and wanted to buy some of her art, she felt a little less desperate than when her show was canceled. “They wanted me to play some little hooker’s mother, and I think it was a vampire movie. Either that, or the starlet I auditioned with needs to see her dentist immediately and get her eye teeth filed down.” Jerry laughed at her description.
“I’m sorry, Gemma. I took you at your word. I’ve actually got something interesting cooking right now. They’re not ready to cast it yet, but you’d be perfect. It’s being put together by a brilliant British producer/director who’s had nothing but hit shows. He does quality period dramas, and there’s a fantastic role for an American in it. It spans both world wars, and you’d play an American doctor who left the country for some reason. They won’t start shooting till the end of the year, and they’re casting in September. It’s high quality stuff for British TV, which will play in the States subsequently. There’s only one hitch, two actually.”
“I need to be twenty-two years old, and the part’s for a guy. No problem. I’m not afraid of a little surgery.” He laughed again.
“No. They shoot a lot on location, in some pretty exotic places. They’re starting off with a safari in Africa, and not everyone is dying to spend Christmas with a bunch of snakes and lions and tigers, living in a tent. The Brits love that stuff, and they don’t mind being miserable on location. You’d get double pay for it, which could be an incentive. And the other hitch is that the show is based in England. They’re shooting thirteen episodes to start out, and with a show like that with major costumes and complicated hair, you can’t commute from L.A. They want someone based in England. You’d have to move to London to do it. I didn’t know how you’d feel about that.” She thought about it as she listened to him, and she wasn’t sure herself.
“It depends on how good the show is.”
“The guy never misses.” He reeled off some of his shows and Gemma knew them all, and had watched them and loved them. It was high quality work.
“Keep me in the running and I’ll think about it. I don’t really have anything to tie me down here, but that is a big change.”
“I’ll let you know if they’re interested.”
“What’s the age range?”
“About right. Mid-to-late thirties. You can’t be a kid if you’re playing a doctor. They want someone with substance, experience, looks, talent, and a name.”
“It sounds a lot better than the vampire movie, playing the mother of Dracula’s daughter with the pointy teeth. She almost deafened me when she screamed in the audition.”
“I’ll keep you posted. How are you? Recovering from the shock of the show ending?”
“Trying to. I miss it already.”
“We all will, for a long time. I think they made the right decision, but it always hurts to shut down a successful show while it’s still working. You always wonder if you should have kept it going for a couple more seasons, but that’s probably the right time to call it a day. Sad, though. It’s a loss.”