Chapter 64

On Monday I called Sharon to ask her about Carol's student project movie. As I expected, she agreed immediately. We talked about the project and then Sharon asked me if I had plans for New Year's Eve. She and Roy were having a party at their house again and she hoped that I could come. I told her that I'd love to and that I'd be there.

I had only just replaced the receiver after saying goodbye to Sharon when Oliver called to invite me to another party. I told him that I couldn't because I had already accepted Sharon's offer. He said that he'd been invited to a party at the studio head's house and that he'd really like for me to come so that he didn't have to show up alone. There wouldn't be any other singles at the party and it would make him feel awkward to be there alone, especially at midnight.

I didn't really want to go to a party where I wouldn't know anyone except for my date, but Oliver did everything short of begging me, and before he lowered himself to that point I gave in and agreed to go with him. Then I had to call Sharon back and tell her that I wouldn't be there after all.

My next call was to make an appointment to have my hair done. Since this was a studio head's party I knew that it would probably be very formal. I managed to get a last minute appointment for late Wednesday afternoon. I lucked out due to a last minute cancellation.

With the arrangements made, I went to select my dress for the party.

*****

I bathed before going for my hair appointment, so when I returned home I was ready to begin getting dressed. I had gotten a manicure at the salon and the girl had repeatedly commented on the beautiful engagement ring but I had avoided her questions about it, changing the subject every time she had gotten too inquisitive.

I was ready at seven o'clock when Oliver arrived. We still had more than an hour's drive to the party so he had allowed plenty of time. If traffic was bad it could take almost two hours.

Oliver was in the living room with Mom and Aunt Jess when I came down. He stood up as I entered the room and he whistled.

"Wow, you look terrific, honey. Even more terrific than usual."

"Thank you, you look great also. I like that tux." Oliver reached for me but I backed away smiling. "No you don't. No bear hugs. I just spent an hour getting my makeup just right. I don't want you messing me up." I held his hands and leaned forward to let him kiss me gently.

After the kiss Oliver held up my left hand as he looked into my eyes. "You're still wearing my ring?!" Oliver said, half as a question and half in surprise.

I looked down. "I haven't been able to get it off. It looks like I'll have to wear it for a few more days. It was so tight getting it on that the finger has to be completely normal before trying to remove it because I'll only get one try before damaging it again. We'd better get going."

Traffic was moderately heavy and it took more than two hours to get to the party. As we pulled up to the house, I put on the opera length gloves that I had brought with me. I was actually glad that the party was to be formal so that I had an excuse to wear them. I didn't want to spend the evening explaining the ring.

The host and hostess greeted us warmly. I hadn't met them before but they made us feel like we were old friends. We were a little late but only about a third of the guests had arrived so far. Oliver and I made the rounds together, with him introducing me to executives from the studio and their spouses. I thought that I had been so clever about covering up the ring, but almost every woman that I met took my left hand and, while it may have been my imagination, it seemed like she was feeling for the ring.

We had met about half the people when someone said from behind me, "Is that Miss Ramsey?"

I turned around and recognized the face from my past. "Mrs. Vincent, it's so nice to see you again."

"I'm surprised, and flattered, that you remember me, Miss Ramsey. It has been a long time. This is my husband, Hal."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Ramsey. May I call you Crystal?"

"Of course. Please do."

"And you must call me Hal, and my wife is Gail."

"Thank you. Do you know Oliver Addams?"

"Yes, we've met a couple of times. Hello, Oliver."

"Hi, Mr. Vincent. Hello Mrs. Vincent."

"Hal and Gail, please. We're all friends here."

"Okay, Hal."

"Crystal," Mrs. Vincent began, "I've been amazed with how quickly your star has risen. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Gail. I've been very lucky."

"No such thing; you're extremely talented. Luck can possibly get you an Academy nomination for 'Best Supporting', but won't get you two 'Best Actress' nominations in a row."

"I wish that I had followed Gail's advice a few years ago," Mr. Vincent said. "She told me about meeting you when you came to look at a living room set, and that she thought that you really had something special. I did call Paul Daniels but he wasn't interested in the small parts that I had to offer. I wish now that we had been able to find something and that I had signed you to a five-year contract. If you ever tire of working on the big screen, I hope that you'll let me know. I'm sure that we can come up with a vehicle that will suit your talents."

"Thank you, Hal. My schedule is a little full right now, but I'll keep your offer in mind."

"Crystal has signed to three movies in a row," Oliver said, "without a break. I wanted her to do another guest appearance on my show but it doesn't look like it will happen for a while."

"Three lead roles?" Mrs. Vincent said. When I nodded she said, "My dear, I wish that I still had energy like that. What kind of parts are they?"

"The first is an action adventure type, a sunken treasure hunt in the Caribbean, the second is a comedy adventure set in Europe, and the third is a romance film set in Victorian period Virginia."

"I've noticed that you change film types with every picture," Mr. Vincent said.

"Yes, it's the easiest way to avoid being type cast."

"But you don't do many straight dramatic roles."

"It may seem that way but I just finished 'Weep for the Lonely Hearts' and that's a straight dramatic role. 'Morning Mist', 'Under the Scarlet Maple' and the two 'Open Spaces' movies would have to be categorized as dramatic roles, Although 'Under the Scarlet Maple' is a romantic drama."

Mr. Vincent nodded. "You're right. I guess that I was tending to focus on your other movies. The comedy set in Mexico, the outer space movie, and the 'Princess to the Mob' were all talked about a lot more at the network. In fact, there's been talk of doing a television series based on the 'Princess' movie. It would be sort of like the old 'Fugitive' series done back in the black and white days, except that it's not the police almost catching the main character every week. Would you be interested in starring in such a series?"

"Thank you, but no. I couldn't see wearing that phony nose and chin all week for twenty plus weeks a year. I thought that the itching would drive me crazy on the movie set."

"Okay, how about a 'Moons of Kapatia' spin off if the movie deal falls through?"

"What movie deal?"

"You haven't heard? The producer is negotiating for the rights to the sequel. If that falls through the author has promised to talk to us first about a series."

"I hadn't heard. Maybe they want somebody else for the lead, or perhaps the sequel deals with another character in the story."

"Not from what I understand. The main character is the same and it picks up from where the last one left off. The book title is 'With Love, From All of Me'. Of course they don't have the movie rights yet and then they'd still have to get the Screen Play written. The SP could take months to prepare depending on how the book is written."

I shrugged. "I guess that it doesn't really matter. I'm busy for the next fifteen months anyway."

"That would leave you free just in time to start work on a series to be ready for the new season a year from now."

I laughed. "I'll think about it, Hal. I can't promise any more than that right now."

Oliver and I moved along to other guests after that. More were arriving now that it was growing later. I hadn't had any real contact with studio executives during the time when I made the episodes for Oliver's first series so I didn't know anyone, but Oliver at least knew who most of them were. I received at least a dozen offers to help me get a series and I thanked them after telling them that I wasn't available for more than a year.

At midnight, everyone whooped, yelled, or cheered and then got down to some serious drinking. Both Oliver and I stuck with bottled water and excused ourselves about one a.m. after thanking our hosts.

It was almost three by the time that we got back to the house. I couldn't see Oliver driving back to his house tonight so I invited him to stay over, in a spare bedroom. He accepted and took a small overnight case from the trunk of the car.

"I see that you were all prepared," I said.

"I always keep a small bag in the trunk with pajamas, clean underwear, and a shaving kit. Just in case I break down someplace. Of course, my cars are a little more dependable these days, but they say that old habits die hard."

"Un huh," was all that I said as I nodded and looked at him sideways.

The downstairs of the house was dark except for the stair and hallway floor lighting that stayed on from sunset to dawn. When your eyes were used to the dark, the tiny wattage bulbs provided more than enough light to see and move about the house easily.

I showed Oliver to an empty bedroom and checked to make sure that he had enough towels. I said goodnight, but he wasn't ready to let me leave that easily. He took my arm as I walked towards the door, and pulled me to him, then gave me a long goodnight kiss, several times. I guess that he wanted to make up for not being able to kiss me when he arrived. He tried to maneuver me towards the bed but I wouldn't budge in that direction. Finally he said, "Stay with me."

"I can't."

"You're wearing my engagement ring. This isn't a one-night thing. I'm looking for a long-term commitment. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"We're not engaged, Oliver. I'm only wearing the ring because I don't want to damage it to remove it. I'll give it back in a few days."

"I don't want it back. I want you to keep it and wear it. I want other men to know that you're promised to me until you're ready for marriage."

"I don't even want to think about marriage right now."

He smiled and said jokingly, "Okay, let's just have sex."

I giggled. "No, no sex either. Now be a good boy and go to bed."

"Let's go to bed. I promise no sex. Just kissing and hugging."

"We're going to bed, but you're going to your bed and I'm going to mine. Goodnight."

I finally disentangled myself from his embrace, slipped out the door, and walked to my room.

*****

I slept until after eleven a.m. Mom and Aunt Jess were up when I went down, but Carol hadn't made an appearance yet. She had gone to a party at her friend Jackie's house and not gotten in until after me according to the security log, Mom said. Mrs. McGuire made a couple of eggs for me as I drank a glass of OJ.

I had finished eating by the time that Oliver came down. He said good morning to Mom and Aunt Jess and then kissed me on the cheek and said "Good morning, dear" to me. As he took a seat, I asked him what he wanted for breakfast. When he had decided I went into the kitchen, returning with his eggs, bacon, and toast when it was ready.

We told Mom and Aunt Jess about the party while Oliver ate. I did most of the talking so it didn't really interrupt his breakfast. I told Mom about meeting Mrs. Vincent and her husband there and about everything that they had said.

"A new 'Moons' story is going to be made?" Mom said.

"Yes, but it's not called 'Moons of Kapatia II". It's going to be called something like 'With Love, From All of Me'. The new novel continues on where the other one left off."

"That's a funny title," Aunt Jess said.

"It's science fiction so it could mean a lot of things. I wonder who the director will be if they get the rights to make it?"

"I'm more interested in who gets the lead," Mom said.

"It has to be Crystal, unless she turns it down," Aunt Jess said.

"They might go with someone else to save money. I'm getting a lot more money now than I was back then."

"But you're also a bigger name now and that's valuable," Mom said. "They made a ton of money on the last one, and that was only the box office. They're still getting money from video distribution, and television will pay off big when it gets there."

"I guess that we'll see."

"I thought that you were going to consider doing a series on television," Oliver said.

"Right now I'm trying to take advantage of the movie work while it's being offered. I enjoy the variety of different roles. With television I'd be doing the same role for five or more years if the series is successful."

"With a one-hour show, and your popularity, you could get a half million per episode."

"That's only twelve or thirteen million for seven or eight months work. I'm getting fifteen for three months work in Europe this summer."

"You're getting fifteen per picture now?!" Oliver said.

"That's what Mr. Daniels has been negotiating for me."

"Damn, I only get a hundred thou per episode."

"That's two and a half million dollars for seven months work. If your series continues to be successful, you'll make a lot more with your next contract."

"Yeah, but it's not 15 million."

"How much did you make three years ago, for the entire year?"

"Uh- eight thousand dollars."

"Two and a half million for seven months work is a pretty good increase. You can even afford to get a nicer house now."

"I've been looking. There's a great house in Malibu that I like. It's four million plus but it has a spectacular view of the ocean. It's nothing like this palace, but it has six bedrooms and seven baths in five thousand plus square feet on two and a half acres."

"Sound wonderful, Oliver," I said. "Have you tendered an offer?"

"Not yet. I just looked at it a week ago and I had to work on my finances. I have enough to put about a third down. It's a lot more than I was looking to spend, but it's a great house and it has a forty-two-foot pool in the back yard. Oh, and the back yard faces the ocean."

"Is it on the beach?"

"No, it's up the cliffs. The beachfront houses are small, have almost no land, and cost twice as much."

"You'll be a lot closer than you are now, if you move," I said.

"Yes, I'll only be about forty-five minutes away instead of a hour and twenty minutes. It's still quite a ways though, and I'll be commuting to the studio instead of just being able to jog over, but the area is much nicer."

"It sounds really great. Good luck."

"Thanks, honey."

Oliver stayed for another half-hour after finishing his breakfast and then headed home. Carol came down while Mom and Aunt Jess were having lunch. Mrs. McGuire smiled and made her some eggs instead of a sandwich. I wasn't hungry but I sat with them and talked.

"Crystal," Mom said, "what are your intentions towards this boy?"

"Oliver?"

She nodded.

"I haven't changed."

"Have you decided to complete your transition or reverse it?"

"I'm still undecided."

"You told your father that you had already done it."

"No, he jumped to that conclusion. I only told him that I wasn't Cary any more, which is true. I decided not to correct his assumption because then I'd have to go through it again if I decided that way. If I become Cary again, I figured that he wouldn't really be upset."

"Well- you can't keep Oliver dangling on a string for years."

"I don't want to, Mom. I tried to make him understand that I'm a long way from being ready to get married. I can't do anything more. I don't want to hurt him so I won't tell him that I don't love him, and I can't tell him the truth. I don't know what to do."

"But you're still wearing his ring."

"It's stuck. I can't get it off."

"Is that right? Can't or don't want to?"

I put my hand flat on the table and looked at it. "It still a little swollen. I think that it should be back to normal in a couple of days. It can't hurt to leave it on for two more days."

"Okay, a couple of more days. It's Thursday now. If you haven't been able to remove it by Monday, we'll go to a jeweler and get it cut off, Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

I got up and walked to the living room where I slumped into a chair. I held my arm out and looked at the ring. I smiled at the way that the lights from the room danced on the surface of its diamonds. I did want it off, didn't I? I hadn't put it on my finger, after all. I had even tried to dissuade Oliver from having any of the expectations that wearing such a ring is supposed to evoke. I knew that I didn't want to hurt him, but was I afraid to admit how I really felt? Aside from Sharon, he was my best friend. But was it more than that? He was a boy and I was a girl, mostly. It's true that I didn't feel any sexual attraction towards him, but I didn't feel any towards any men. For that matter, women didn't hold any attraction for me anymore either, and I did enjoy kissing Oliver more than most other men that I had kissed. He was kind, considerate, and fun to be with. If I were a real woman, would I want him? Of course I would. For the first time I tried to envision what it would be like to have sex with Oliver if I was a woman. I didn't have much of a frame of reference because I had never had sex with any person, but I knew what went where, even if I didn't have the necessary equipment to engage in sex. Not regular sex, as I thought of it, anyway.

The whole thing seemed to boil down to, 'Was I a woman or a man beneath the surface?' If I completed the transition and became a complete woman, would I want to have sex with men, or women? I had read that changing your sex didn't change your sexual predisposition, but what was my real sexual predisposition? I had just started to sort out my feelings towards women when I had been thrust into their ranks and had my body develop as theirs did. Since I had been living as a woman during most of my teenage years, would that form the basis for my sexual desires? Would I enjoy sex as a woman since I had known no other? It was the uncertainty of these questions that was causing me so much pain and anguish, and the only way to answer it would be to complete the trip to womanhood. If only I could try it before I had to make the final choice.

*****

I waited until Sunday before trying to remove the ring. Mom poured a small amount of undiluted dishwashing liquid soap into a saucer and I soaked my finger in it for a few minutes. Then I got a good grip on the ring with my other hand and pulled gently until the ring reached the finger joint. Preparing myself for pain, I twisted and pulled at the same time and the ring slipped over the joint and dropped to the table as I lost my grip on it with my right hand. The four of us sat there looking at the ring on the table.

"It's off," I said.

"We see," said Mom.

"Did it hurt?" Carol asked.

"Are you okay?" Aunt Jess asked.

"No, it didn't hurt at all, and yes, thank you, I'm okay Aunt Jess. I'm actually relieved. I've never seen anything so small that was so heavy."

Carol, Mom and Aunt Jessica just looked at me for a minute, then Carol picked up the ring and slid it onto her finger.

"Carol!" Mom said sharply.

"Don't worry Mom, I'm not putting it all the way on. Just to the middle of the finger. I want to see how it would look on me. It's such a gorgeous ring. I simply love it. I'm so jealous, sis."

"It's not just a piece of jewelry, Carol. It's an obligation, a commitment, a promise, a responsibility."

Mom looked at me, smiled slightly, and nodded. When everyone had finished their close examination of the ring I washed off the soap, dried it, and placed it back into its small box.

*****

On Monday afternoon I received a call from the agency.

"Hi, Mr. Daniels."

"Hi, Princess. How are you doing?"

"Just fine. Happy New Year, by the way. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you. Princess- is there anything that you should have told us about?"

I froze. Was he talking about my partial transition?

"What do you mean, Mr. Daniels?"

"I received calls today from two newspapers that claim to have photographic evidence that you're engaged. They wanted to know if I wished to make a comment."

I breathed easier. "Photographic evidence? Pictures?"

"Yes, photographs."

"Mr. Daniels, I'm not engaged. I was simply trying on a friend's ring and it got stuck, then the finger swelled up and I couldn't get the ring off. I couldn't damage the ring so I had to wait until the swelling went down. It's off now and it's staying off. I'm not engaged."

"That's a relief. I told the newspaper that it must be a mistake but they didn't believe me because they have the pictures. I'm going to call them now and give them the full explanation. There's no more, is there?"

"No, that’s all there is to it."

"Okay, Princess. Who was the friend, by the way?"

"This isn't for publication, but it was Oliver."

"Oliver? Oliver Addams? What's he doing with a woman's engagement ring- Oh! Are you saying that Oliver proposed?"

"Yes, but that's not for publication."

"And you're not engaged?"

"No, I turned him down. But he wanted to see if he had guessed the right size so he put the ring on my finger and then I couldn't get it off. I finally got it off yesterday after the swelling had gone down."

"Okay, Princess, we'll keep that last part to ourselves. We don't want to cause Oliver any embarrassment about being refused. I'll pass the word to Jennifer to start some spin on this. I'm sure that the tabloids are going to run with it, though."

"I'm used to it."

"Okay, anything else going on?"

"Hal Vincent told me that a 'Moons' sequel is in the works. Who's up for the lead?"

"I hadn't heard that. Hal Vincent you say? I didn't know that you knew him."

"Actually, I've known his wife Gail since I first came out here. I ran into them the other day at a party at Russ Brady's house."

"Russ Brady's house? You're starting to move in powerful circles, Princess."

I giggled. "Not really. I'm still the same old recluse. It was just a New Year's Eve party that I went to with Oliver."

"Oh. With Oliver?"

"Yes. What's wrong."

"Well, people are going to put two and two together and come up with Oliver as your intended. You were with him while you were seen wearing an engagement ring. We'll just have to stick with your story and ride it out."

"What’s the big deal? We didn't do anything illegal or immoral."

"No, you didn't. It's just that you and he are promoted as 'available'. Every young man in America is in love with you and dreams of marrying you, and the young girls love Oliver. Sometimes these things turn the fans off. We'll just have to see."

"I'm sure that it'll be okay when you explain and Jennifer sends out a press release."

"We'll get to work on it. I'll also look into the 'Moons' sequel. I take it that you're interested?"

"If you think that it's a good move."

"We'll see. You take care, Princess. Give my love to the family."

"Okay, Mr. Daniels. Goodbye."

*****

Within a couple of days the tabloids were loudly proclaiming my engagement to Oliver. Pictures clearly showed the ring on my finger, and the denials issued by Mr. Daniels and Jennifer were dismissed as attempts to hide the fact. All of the pictures seemed to have been taken at the two restaurants that we had stopped at while Daddy was visiting. I decided that it was best to stay holed up at the house until interest waned. I spoke to Oliver several times but I refused to let him come over until things died down. I spent a lot of time on the phone with friends, explaining that it was all a mistake. My biggest surprise came when Debbie called.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Great. How are you, Deb?"

"Okay. I called to congratulate you."

"Don't believe everything that you read in the tabloids. I'm not engaged."

"The pictures are phonies?"

"No, they're real, but there's no engagement. I was only trying on a friend's ring and it got stuck. Then the finger swelled up from trying to remove the ring, making it impossible to remove it without damaging it. I had to wait for ten days for the swelling to completely disappear before I could take it off. But the pictures were already taken and it's like trying to put and egg back into its shell. Of course the tabloids believe that I'm trying to cover up, but the more responsible papers at least printed the explanation."

"Oh. I was wondering why you'd get engaged, to a guy."

I didn't respond right away. I knew what she meant. "So how have you been doing? You didn't answer my last two letters."

"I know. I'm sorry. I've just been so darn busy with school that I don't know which way is up. I'm determined to finish up with a 3.5 or better average. I was 3.51 last year so I couldn't afford to slip even a little bit."

"Do you think that you made a 3.5 for this past semester?"

"I think so. Grades should be out in the next couple of weeks. I run to get the mail every day."

"I'm sure that you made it. And just one more semester to go."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to being finished with school. How about you? Are you going to go to college?"

"Eventually, but it seems to get further away every year. I keep telling myself that I have lots of time."

"You do. You're only what, twenty, now?"

"Yeah, as of last August. This August I pass the big twenty-one. Then I can do whatever I want."

"What do you want to do?"

"Oh, nothing wild. It would just be nice to be able to do things like rent a car. Right now I can go out and buy a hundred thousand dollar car with a personal check, but I can't rent a car at an airport because I'm underage."

"Yeah, I know. It's crazy. You're an adult and you can die for your country in war, but there are still things that you can't do because of your age, such as take a legal drink in a bar or restaurant."

"Yeah, well not for much longer. Hey, have you been down to the theatre?"

"I stopped in a few days ago. They're working on the February production. Some play called 'The Gumdrop Fell Up."

I groaned. "It sounds like Neil is still picking those off-Broadway plays."

"I think that even the off-Broadway people rejected this turkey. Most of the old regulars won't even come to try-outs anymore. The performance schedule has been cut to two performances per weekend on two weekends, and their total attendance isn't enough to fill one performance's seating. If not for the money that we took in while you were there, the theatre would be closed."

"That's too bad. I thought that Neil would wake up to the reality of the situation by now."

"Barbara said that he still believes that people will 'come around'. I think that senility has set in."

"I wish that there was something that I could do."

"How about coming back and directing a play for us?"

"I can't. I'm booked solid for the next year and a half. I've signed to do three movies. I won’t have more than a week or two in between them."

"That's too bad. I mean that it's good that you're so much in demand, but too bad for the theatre."

"How about you getting involved this summer and trying to guide Neil back onto the correct path?"

"I don't know if I'll have time. I'm already set to start work at my dad's company in June."

"I guess that we're both too busy to help out. We'll just have to hope that someone else comes along to straighten the place out."

"I guess."

"What are you doing for the next couple weeks. It'd be great if you could come for a visit."

"I'd love to, but I'm interning at the company. I'll be there until it's time to go back to school."

"Oh, too bad. I'll only be here until next month and then I have to report to the movie set. I guess that it'll be a while before we see each other."

"Looks like it, unless you can come back here?"

"No, I can't. I promised Carol that I'd help her with her senior class project. We're going to be shooting a movie here at the estate. It's important, so I can't get away."

"That's that then, I guess."

"I guess."

"Crys, I have to go. My lunch hour is over and I have to get back to work. It's been great talking to you."

"Same here. Take care and good luck with your final semester at school."

"Thanks, you take care also. Bye."

"Bye, Deb."

After I hung up the phone I thought about Debbie. I still considered her to be one of my best friends but I didn't feel the sexual attraction that I had once had. Was it because we hadn't seen one another for several years, or something else? Would the old feeling come back if we were in the same room, or was it completely gone? Was it due to the medicine that I took to suppress sexual urges, or my now thinking of myself as a woman most of the time? Was there any way that I could find out?

*****

We began working on Carol's project a couple of days later. She had the script ready but we altered it a little as we did our run throughs. The plot wasn't too elaborate. It was intended to spoof sci-fi movies of the fifties and sixties. Sharon and I were to play spies who were caught an evil doctor. The doctor shot us with a ray from a machine in his lab and we were turned into small children. That's where the twins came in. Although age regressed, we retained our minds and voices. We just lost size, strength and motor skills. The diminutive spies are largely ignored by their captors and manage to escape. Much of the rest of the movie are chase scenes, until the end when they manage to reverse the effects of the ray and then blow up the lab. Carol had put together a team made of classmates for camera, sound, props, and makeup work. Her roommate Samantha was the wardrobe person. She had contacted Chet and he had agreed to do the explosives work for her. The actual detonation work would take place in the desert, but most of the rest would be done at the estate. There were also some exterior establishing shots to be done, once the right locations were found. Mrs. McGuire would handle the catering duties.

Sharon's and my wardrobes consisted of matching black turtleneck sweaters, black spandex slacks, and black running shoes. The twins had similar outfits for their scenes. Carol had estimated three days for shooting the scenes that Sharon and I were in, but it actually took about eight days. Sharon did the stunt work for both of us.

The twins had their second birthday while we were shooting so we took one afternoon off for a birthday party. They were somewhat able to understand what was going on this year, and enjoyed being the center of attention. Carol shot the party with her video camcorder so that Sharon would have a copy to send Roy, who was gone again on a job.

Once our parts were done, Sharon and I helped out with the twin's scenes. We did things like hide behind bushes, so as to be hidden from the camera, and then call to them to get them to run towards us. The scenes with the twins ran on for the two weeks that I had left at the estate, and still weren't finished when I had to leave for the movie site. Carol and her crew would finish their shooting and then get the film developed and edited. I would do my part of the voice over dubbing when I returned for the Academy awards, if I was invited, or for the premiere of 'Weep for the Lonely Hearts' tentatively set for early April.

*****

I arrived in Florida on Feb. 2^nd, with Des and Mrs. McGuire, to shoot the opening scenes for the movie, 'The Fair Wind'. We settled into the house that we would use for a month and I went to work the following morning.

The script called for my character to purchase a locked trunk from an estate auction. Upon arriving home I manage to get the lock open by using a key that I find in a cigar box full of old keys that I dig out of my garage and I sort through the junk in the trunk, finding nothing of any real value. In frustration I slam the lid down and it breaks off, exposing a map that indicates where a ship named 'La Feria Viento' went down in a storm. My curiosity leads me to begin an investigation of the ship and it's cargo. I learn that it sunk during a storm on its return trip to Spain laden with a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels. My next step is to find a boat and diving equipment. Funding is provided by a group of friends who get the treasure hunting fever. We form a corporation named 'The Fair Wind' for the exploration, and head off to play in the ocean.

For the part, I would have to do some very basic scuba work so I spent a week with a diving instructor learning enough in a swimming pool so that they could do my underwater close-ups. The advance people had done their jobs well and everything moved along at a good pace because for the earliest scenes I was the main focus and other actors were mostly backgrounds. When I began to work with the 'friends', things slowed down because there was a lot more dialogue, shooting angles, and close-ups.

*****

When the Academy nominations came out I saw that I had been nominated once again. As Mr. Daniels had predicted, the nomination was for my role in 'Princess to the Mob'. 'Morning Mist' didn't garner any nominations. I notified the director, who had already heard, and received permission to attend the ceremony in March.

I contacted Barbara right away to speak to her about a gown for the ceremony. She told me that it was all ready for the final fitting. She said that she knew I'd need it, and had been working on it for a month, in between her work duties for the last play, which hadn't required very much of her time. We talked for about a half-hour and I told her how much I was looking forward to seeing her and Marge in a few weeks.

My next call was to Alan Harrison. Alan had been my escort for the premier of 'Princess'. I lucked out and got right through to his cell phone and after the normal opening chitchat, I asked him if he'd like to escort me to the Academy awards ceremony. He said that he wasn't seeing anyone steady and that he'd love to attend the awards with me. For a rising young actor it was great exposure.

My last call was to Oliver. Again I lucked out and got right through. I told him that only because of the recent tabloid feeding frenzy, I would be attending the award ceremony with Alan. Having a different escort would act as a small diversion for the tabloids and mean that we could see one another that much sooner. He was disappointed but I think that he understood.

*****

We coincidentally wrapped up the shooting in Florida five days before the Academy ceremony. As the company packed up and headed for St. Croix on Wednesday, Des and I headed for my old hometown. I sent Mrs. McGuire directly back to the LA after phoning to make sure that Mom or George could pick her up from the airport.

 

(continued in chapter 65)

 

 

 

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