I was flipping through the next few pages, looking for anything that felt salvageable, when someone sat down one chair over from me. I glanced at them quickly before turning back to my work, but then... my brain stuttered and I looked up again. A kelly-green sundress lined with embroidered margaritas and open-toe slides encrusted with huge chunky gems.
“Ruby?” I asked. Of all the places in Southern California, my grandmother washere. We lived in the same retirement community and I’d managed to avoid her for weeks, but somehow here we were in LA just one place setting apart.
She scoffed and shook her head. “Would you believe that I came all the way out here to spend time alone thinking at the one place you and your mother always forced me to sit with my own damn feelings? And as my luck would have it, I’m not alone at all.”
I nodded. Of course,shewas the inconvenienced one. God, something about her made me revert to an enraged fourteen-year-old. “Right. I guess there’s no use in pointing out that I was here first.”
She sighed and untied the silk scarf she was wearing over her hair and then put on her reading glasses to peruse the menu.
I forced my attention back to the pages, even though there was no use. As Ruby placed her order and shuffled through her purse to find her compact mirror, I read the same scene heading over and over again.
I made an attempt at the next line as I sipped some of my broth.
“You sound like a farm animal when you slurp like that.”
Instead of responding, I slurped again, but louder.
The waitress brought Ruby a yuzu lemon drop martini and I managed to make it through a few more pages, even though I hadn’t formed a critical thought since she’d walked in.
After I pushed my bowl of ramen to the side, I felt Ruby watching me as I dug out my credit card for the waitress.
“Well,” she finally said, “aren’t you going to tell me what you’re reading?”
Without looking up, I said, “I thought you came here for some quiet time.”
“The quiet is boring.” She paused for a moment before swiveling her body to face me. “I could never understand it. Why you two would go to the trouble of going out to dinner only to sit together in silence.”
“Haven’t you ever had that with someone? A person you could do nothing with.”
She shook her head. “I don’t like the quiet.”
“What about Hollis?” I asked.
She drummed her nails on the countertop. “The woman invented stoicism. But she doesn’t seem to mind when I fill the silence with chatter.”
“Sounds like you’ve met your match,” I told her as the waitress came back with the check.
“I fear that is the truth.” She sounded despondent. Regretful.
“It’s an old screenplay of mine,” I said, holding up a page. “Brody’s starting a production company and he wants to option it.”
She grinned tightly, doing a poor job of hiding her delight. “Well, it’s about time that job paid off.”
I shook my head, unable to hold eye contact with her as I said, “I’m not going to say yes.”
With that, she slid off her stool and came to sit next to me. “Vera.”She rapped her knuckles on the counter. “You’re not getting any younger, dear. This business is tough, especially for a woman of your age.”
I wanted to respond with a quip about how out of touch she was, but I couldn’t in good faith. The film industry had progressed, but not so much that she was entirely wrong. Still, I was angry at her for pointing out the truth. This could very well be my only shot.
“I started writing this when I was in college,” I told her as the waitress brought my card back, and I thanked her before signing the receipt. “I want to tell stories, but I don’t think this is what I want to say anymore. And I know that you know this industry, and that you have opinions, but I think I need to do this on my own terms. I took my time getting here. I don’t want to throw away my first impression on something I don’t even connect with anymore. Something I’m not really proud of.”
She inhaled through her nose for a long moment. “Forgive me. Perhaps it’s gauche, but I believe there’s something to be said for taking every job. Every deal. It gets your name out there, Vera.” Her voice was desperate now. “This could be that for you.” She shook her head. “As someone who has seen the underbelly of this town firsthand, I’m offended that you would turn your nose up on a perfectly good offer.”
I opened my mouth, ready to defend myself, my temper beginning to rise.
She held up a hand to stop me. “I know you think I don’t understand you, Vera. And I know I wasn’t the ideal grandmother. You’ve made thatveryclear, and you’re not entirely wrong.”
She paused, waiting for me to correct her, but that wasn’t going to happen.
