Chapter 96: Money Matters

Monday, May 13, 1985

The rest of our grades were posted, and we were all straight-A students through two semesters. That wasn’t a big surprise, but it was definitely an achievement, one that warranted some celebration. Mom and Dad would be happy when we got the Dean’s List letter.

In this case, the celebration was quiet conversation and good wine (and good food) at The Grapevine. We didn’t have the place to ourselves, but it was very quiet now that summer was here.

All of us were going to Houston tomorrow, even Cammie. Cammie’s plan was to see Penelope and David and spend some time hanging out with the Rileys. Mark, Morty, and Emily would be in town, so they’d have more ‘cover’ than they would otherwise.

The three of them were all taking summer classes at UT, so they wouldn’t be in town that long. A couple of weeks, though, which was enough to make parents happy.

Perhaps even enough to make parents who’d gotten used to their empty nests wish for some peace and quiet? It might just be the case.

Cammie was only staying a week. Andrew wouldn’t arrive until after Memorial Day, so there would be no overlap. The Nguyen house was, by now, her unofficial ‘home’ in Houston, and I imagined it would stay that way for a while.

The rest of us were staying for only a few days. We would leave Houston on the 18th for Omaha. The idea of the shareholders’ meeting being on a Tuesday seemed strange, but it would still be fun, and we would still get things done.

With that in mind, we did two other things today: packing and shopping for lawn furniture. The latter turned out inconclusive. We picked up some very inexpensive resin chairs that would serve very well for parties and would be fine for Cammie and Mel this summer. They had resin Adirondack chairs, too, and Cammie really liked those. They were a lot better than the vinyl-webbing folding chairs, at the very least.

We would get some better things later, but these would serve us well for parties even after we had better furniture. We would, at most, wind up with seating for 10 or so in quality furniture (residents plus a couple of guests). That would also work in a hypothetical future where the other second-floor bedroom was occupied.

Jess surprised us with a call that evening. The call itself was enough of a surprise, but the news was much more of one.

Once we got her on the speakerphone, she said, “You’ll never believe what’s happening!”

“Movie role!” Paige said.

“Starring TV spot!” I said.

“Unexpected stage production!” Angie said.

Jess giggled.

“Well, okay! Enough guessing! Honestly, you’re sort of right, Paige.”

“Knew it!” Paige said, raising a fist in the air.

“It’s a tiny one, though. It’s just ... it’s a cool tiny one.”

“Tell us!” Jas said.

“So...” Jess said. “They’re having do some reshoots in Michael’s movie. I mean, Michael J. Fox’s.”

Angie and I exchanged a look. ‘Reshoots’ weren’t a surprise. In my first life, ‘Back To The Future’ had had its problems (and had overcome them!). It had been in production right up until it had to go to theaters, though. Mostly special effects, but reshoots in May weren’t a surprise.

Jess being in any way involved, though — that was a surprise!

“They’re redoing a scene at a high school dance. There was an opportunity for one of the students to get a couple lines, and the person they wanted wasn’t available. Michael pointed them to me, and ... I’m in!”

“Yay!” everyone erupted.

“It’s literally two lines,” Jess said. “Still, I get to wear a really cool 50s outfit. It’s ... seriously, it’s awesome!”

“What?” all of the girls said, pretty much simultaneously.

“So,” she said. “I showed Deborah — she’s their costumer, and I really like her — the photo from ToC where I wore that ‘Rear Window’ outfit. Now, that’s not a dance outfit at all. But, Deborah knew about this really cool promotional photo of Grace Kelly for ‘Rear Window’ where she’s wearing a black top and a really long white ballerina skirt. It’s amazing! Anyway, that’s pretty much my dress. She whipped something up for me that looks just like it. It looks like something a high schooler would wear in 1955.”

“Wait!” Mel said. “The movie’s set in 1955?”

“Oops!” Jess said, giggling. “Don’t repeat that! Please! Part of it is, yes, and that’s the part I’m in. Pretty much, I just get to tell Michael where I saw some other people going. It’s little, but it matters to the story, and it’ll be my first film credit. Even better, I get to hang around the set for a few days and talk to people! I already got to talk to the director and writer for a bit. Not much, but still! It’s a huge opportunity!”

“Yay!” Paige said. “Steffie will explode! Even for a tiny part!”

“Steffie cannot know until it opens! Or, maybe, until after the world premiere!” Jess said.

“We won’t tell,” Angie said.

“We promise!” Paige said.

“Good!” Jess said. “Also, there’s one more thing.”

“Oh?” Angie said.

“It’s ... okay, it’s major, but I think it’s also minor.”

“What?” I said, chuckling.

“There’s this movie. It’s really a blatant rip-off of ‘The Breakfast Club’. The working title is ‘Saturday School Special’. The character is a cheerleader snob who secretly hates the social scene and all the pressure to be ‘cool’ and ‘popular.’ And, I mean, I know this stuff inside and out, but ... well, that’s the thing: whoever wrote this dreck was never a cheerleader! Or a girl, for that matter! It’s ... it’s so bad! I’ve already told my agent I’m not doing it if I can’t make changes, and they’re not giving a nineteen-year-old unknown that, so I’m sure I’m out. My agent doubts it’s happening anyway, though. They’re having a lot of trouble getting funding.”

“Sounds cool and awful all at once,” I said.

“That’s it in a nutshell!” Jess said. “The good part is my name is out there attached to it, but not like it’s committed, and also, if it crashes and burns, no one blames the potential cast. Just being considered for a lead gives me some credibility. I mean, in Hollywood, it’s the standard ‘that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee’...”

“I thought it was a quarter,” Cammie said.

“Have you been to Hollywood?” Jess said, laughing. “Things are expensive!”

Cammie giggled.

“Point taken!” she said.

“Anyway,” Jess said, “It’s a great learning opportunity and a fun adventure. If they fund it, and if I can’t get any say, I’ll turn it down. That might bite me in the butt. But, seriously, this thing is going to be bad unless they do a full rewrite. I seriously think any of us could write a better script than the schmuck they hired!”

“I’m not that creative,” Mel said.

“Neither is their writer!” Jess said, drawing laughter. “His ‘creativity’ is stealing ‘The Breakfast Club’, changing the names and backgrounds of the characters, then writing what he vaguely imagines high school might possibly have been like for them based on ... God knows what! I can’t even imagine, seriously.”

“Too funny!” Jas said, still chuckling.

“It really is! I’m getting a good look at how to do things right and how to do things totally wrong all at once. Hopefully, I can use that to pick my projects in the future. If you work with good people, good things aren’t guaranteed, but if you work with lousy people...”

“ ... you get lousy stuff,” Angie said, with several of us echoing her.

“Exactly!” Jess said. “Okay! I’m gonna run! I have studying to do so I can go hang around the set tomorrow!”

“Have fun!” we all said.

“Love you guys!” she said.

“Love you, too!” we said back.

After she’d hung up, Cammie said, “Is this movie ... like ... a big deal?”

Angie giggled.

“It’s seriously a damn big deal! Or, I mean, it was. Unless someone really fucked up, it will be. Whatever!” Angie said, getting some laughter. “I doubt her role is a game-changer, but...”

“But it’s super cool!” Paige said.

“It puts her around some people who’ll keep on making movies, too,” I said. “Good cast, good director, and being in any way associated with a big movie can’t be bad.”

“Can’t wait to see it!” Mel said, with everyone nodding along.

I couldn’t wait to see it, either. This time would also — literally — be for the first time. It might be mostly the same movie, but it would also never be the same, and that was big.

Tuesday, May 14, 1985

We piled into three cars for the drive, which seemed silly but was potentially necessary. Even more strange, two of the three cars weren’t driven by their owners.

My car held me, Jas, and our stuff. We brought enough clothing and the like to have plenty for long trips.

Angie’s car held Cammie and Mel. Angie was loaning it to them for the summer, after all, so they would drive it back up here. Cammie was driving for this trip.

Finally, Angie was driving Jas’s Subaru, with Paige accompanying her. We’d want it if we took an RV, so it made sense to move it down to Houston for the summer. Jas wanted to ride with me much more than she wanted to drive her own car, so that was a no-brainer!

We hit the road at ten. Cammie and Mel left us to head to the Riley house once we were close, while the rest of us went to my parents’ house to meet Mom for lunch.

Mom met us all with hugs.

“It’s so good to see you all!” she said, beaming. “It hasn’t been that long, and I know you can’t stay that long, but it’s still great.”

“We’ll be in and out,” Angie said. “Which you know, but — believe me! — we want to spend time here, too! There’s just so much to do!”

Mom chuckled.

“I see that! And, really, I’m all for that! It’s just nice to get you all here!”

We headed into the house. All four of us were having dinner and sleeping here tonight. We would have lunch and dinner at the other parents’ houses tomorrow. It seemed like the best solution overall.

We would reverse things the next two days after that. Jas and I would be back here on the 16th, while Angie and Paige would stay at the Seilers’. Then, on the 17th, we would be at the Nguyens’ while Angie and Paige would be here. That gave each couple ‘a turn’ with Mom and Dad, which everyone liked. We were happy ‘sharing,’ but it was good for Mom and Dad to be able to talk to Jas and me without Angie and Paige there, and vice versa.

Mom had cooked dinner, and I thought she was showing off a bit. She’d made mild curry chicken, vegetables, and lentils. It was plausibly ‘Indian food,’ and quite flavorful. Mom and Dad still didn’t do much ‘heat’ (not did they need to — and it might be a bad idea for Mom, considering), but this was tasty and nutritious.

We spent the afternoon talking, then greeted Dad warmly when he got home. He wanted to hear all about our adventures, and Angie and Paige had to explain again how PROMISE worked and what they were up to. The whole thing still amazed him.

Heck, it amazed me. Angie had been in this universe a bit over five years. I hadn’t even hit my five-year mark. In that time, we’d both made the national news, been referenced by pundits, I’d been quoted by a President, and we’d actually made notable changes in the country.

As we repeated (perhaps too many times, but it had to be kept close to mind), this universe might have ‘wanted’ to be this way all along. Had we not done it, perhaps someone else would have. There were no guarantees and no one to ask.

Still, the visible evidence was that we’d done it. And, conversely, if we hadn’t done it, we could only assume no one else would have.

That was quite a record!

It was even more so when one stepped back and realized how natural it all felt. We weren’t trying to force anything, but we were still guiding and shaping the world and it was responding. We had allies now — but we’d always had a few. I wouldn’t have changed things but for Lizzie and Janet. Angie and Paige were following Anne’s lead within PROMISE. The same was true for Houstonians For Equality, GSS, and other endeavors.