Chapter 31: Vee

I had spent more than a year in Los Angeles, chasing a dream that, at times, seemed unattainable.

And finally, I had a breakthrough. Scott offered me a small role in his next movie.

Filming a movie was nothing like I had imagined countless times. It was a demanding, complex process, and not always glamorous, though in my mind, everything had a brilliant nuance that made it extraordinary.

I quickly became part of the team, even though my role in the eyes of others was insignificant. The first time I saw the main cast, I was so starstruck that Scott scolded me like a child. Until that moment, Deborah Mall and Ray Finn had existed for me only on screen. Suddenly, they were flesh and blood, and I discovered that Deborah was addicted to peanut butter and that Ray smoked secretly because he was afraid his wife would find out. There was a lot of kinetic energy on the set as they jockeyed to establish a relationship with each other.

They were real. And so was I.

Raven Black was a nineteen-year-old girl whose inexperience represented the fresh rebellion of youth.

I played Kandy, a prostitute whom Deborah’s character met one night by chance and who turned out to be the catalyst for her divorce. Kandy appeared in three scenes and was more focused on observing what was happening around her than acting. She had almost no lines.

However, her presence was crucial to the story’s resolution.

It was a great story. I adjusted the neckline of my lace dress for the umpteenth time and sighed. With makeup and clothes on, I did seem to be a new person, one more distant and conflicted than the one who had arrived in Los Angeles a year before. One who still didn’t know herself very well, but who was beginning to take shape as she wanted to be.

“Kandy, on set in two minutes.”

I looked in the mirror one last time and took a deep breath. I spent several minutes trying to calm myself down and get into the role. I had to make Kandy believable.

I smiled at my reflection and saw Scott’s face peering through the door of my dressing room. I had suggested some changes to my clothing, and surprisingly, the costume designer had approved them.

“Ready?”

I nodded.

“I was born ready. I thought I made that clear to you,” I said, taking the hair out of my face with a shake of my head.

Scott laughed and rested his hands on my shoulders. In a very short time, his attitude toward me had changed so much that I considered him the kind of father figure I had never had.

We talked about my life. I told him who I had been before becoming the girl he knew. I told him about my father, about Barnaby, about Yaron. I talked to him a lot about Yaron.

I had received a brief text from him on my birthday but nothing else.

I texted “Happy Birthday” back to him three days later.

Scott listened to me, gave me some advice, and helped me release some of my own demons simply by giving them a voice.

“That was your past, this is your future. It’s going to be okay. And you know why I know that? Because you shine with your own light, Vee. And people with light can only shine, even if they are terrible actresses.”

I kissed his cheeks in gratitude, not only for his overwhelming sincerity but also for the opportunity he was giving me.

It was my time to shine.