The Glass Heart, Page 2

never does business with you again. Ever Again! You Hear Me!” She slammed the phone down.

  “Mother! You're making me the most hated actress in this town.”

  “I can make you what I want. I created you.”

  Elisabeth moved closer to her mother. “I'm tired. I'm taking time off.”

  “You don't take time off. I give you time off. It's sweeps week. No time for time off.” Natasha put the pocket watch on her desk.

  “I'm taking off at the break. Going to Mexico or someplace.”

  “No chance. I scheduled you for a Movie Of the Week.”

  “I feel like crap.”

  “You'll feel like crap if you blow all I've done for you.

  “You should say 'Oh, darling, go get a checkup. Take your time. We can always get back to this business of making millions and millions of dollars.”

  “You ungrateful little crumb-crusher. Now you're telling me when and where you're going to work?”

  “I’m ill. I'm tired. For some reason you're unable to act like a mother. I no longer want you as my manager.” Elisabeth stepped toward the desk and swept the watch off onto the floor. And then she walked to the office door. As she exited, she slammed the door behind her.

  Natasha scrambled around the desk and retrieved the watch. She checked it and put it in her pocket. She dialed the phone. “Arnie, I got problems. Elisabeth's gone crazy. I think she just fired me. She can't do that. I'll take legal action. She doesn't work in this town unless I'm her manager.”

  Inside an acting studio, a drama teacher stood in front of a class. “Class, I have a surprise for you courtesy of Candy.. Welcome Elisabeth Gooding. Star of Wednesday's Child on the WB.”

  Elisabeth and Candy entered. The class clapped and cheered. The Teacher pointed toward the stage. Elisabeth walked up the stage steps. “Thank you, Candy was kind enough to ask me to come down and watch you perform. This will be my take. It doesn't mean yours is wrong.”

  Later, Elisabeth was on stage answering questions.

  “Is Travis your boy friend away from the show?”

  “I have a boy best friend. Jason. But we're just best friends, nothing else.”

  “Do you go on secret dates?”

  “No time. I work from 5:00 am to sometimes after midnight. All I want after that is sleep.”

  “But you're making tons of money.

  “Yes, I’m making tons of money.”

  “Can I make tons of money?”

  “You've already failed if you're in it for the money.” Elisabeth said.

  “How do you find all those emotions at such a young age?”

  “I figured early on that we're all in the same boat. If one human hurting all humans are hurting. You suffer, I suffer.”

  “The tabloids say you're going to play a bad girl in a Movie Of the Week. I can not picture you as a bad girl.”

  “Ah, the tabloids. I'm not doing that movie. But a good actress can play any part.

  “If I played a bad girl, I'd be worried what my family and everyone would think.”

  “See this necklace?” She held out the glass heart hanging from her aristocratic neck. “A gift from my Grandma. She was an actress. The necklace is called a ‘Glass Heart.’ I didn't want God to see me, as a bad child, in an Independent I was doing. Grandma said ‘You're an actress. God understands that you're only pretending to be bad. This Glass Heart reminds me that God can always see into my heart.’ An actress can play any part, and God will look into her heart and forgive her.”

  Outside a pharmacy, Doctor Matt Voss walked from the pharmacy with a large envelope under his arm. He was dressed all in black. He held a drug vial in one hand. He saluted Elisabeth. Elisabeth leaned over a rail above the Doctor. She was dressed in a big, floppy hat and sunglasses.

  “Doctor, thanks for meeting me here.”

  He walked up the stairs and to the rail. “Last time, you were at the clinic, the Press stuck around for two weeks.”

  “You bring the bad news? You're dressed like a Priest. Do I need a Priest, Doc?”

  “I'm the last guy to suggest a Priest.”

  “Remember, Doc, you said it would be the truth no matter what.”

  “I've been at this ‘Death Watch’ for thirty years. Only twice have I begged and prayed to take my patient's place. The first was my daughter. I couldn't save her and I can't save you.”

  “It's my heart, right, Doc? I can feel it.”

  Doctor Voss pulled an X ray from a large envelope. He held it up so Elisabeth could see the large, dark patch in the center of the X ray. “Congenital heart disorder. It began before birth.”

  “So it's my Witch mother's fault as usual.”

  “Back then, Doctors were just learning that expectant mothers had to live without chemicals, drugs, or potent medications. It all endangered the fetus.”

  “I should have known Moms would endanger the fetus.”

  “Why the Hell couldn't you get a physical in the last three years?”

  “Mother said. I couldn't leave the show. No time. I think she knew.”

  “No mother's that cruel.”

  “You've got to meet Moms. How long do I have?”

  “Depends.”

  “No ‘depends’ crap. The truth. You know within days, hours, minutes.”

  “Could be days.”

  “And if you operate?”

  “Can't. It's what I call a ‘Glass Heart’. You need to tell your mother and father.”

  Elisabeth lifted her necklace and looked at it quizzically. “My father’s never been in the picture. And Moms would just try to wring the last days out of me. Wring the last minutes of my life out of me.”

  Inside an attorney’s office, Elisabeth sat with Candy.

  “Your mother's well taken care of.” The attorney says. “She holds a five million dollar policy on you. Let’s decide what to do with the balance of your estate. Should Candy be here?”

  “I want her to be Executrix of my Trust for T.J.”

  “That position usually goes to the mother or father or someone in the family.”

  “T.J. will have a zero life if mother controls the Trust. I want Candy to have control. She's always been able to stand up to my mother.”

  “Can you Candy! Can you stand up to me?” Natasha entered the office.

  Elisabeth jumped up. She swooned and sat back down. “What she doing here?”

  “I called her,” the attorney said,

  “This is a private meeting,” Elisabeth said.

  “I'm sorry. Your mother is one of the most powerful women in this town. I could see my life flash before my eyes.”

  Elisabeth and Candy both stood up. “This meeting's over.” Candy said.

  “Sit down! This meeting's not over until I say it's over.” Natasha said.

  Elisabeth and Candy move toward the door.

  “If you walk out that door, you're finished in this town.”

  Elisabeth and Candy exited.

  Natasha walked over and took a seat. She took out her pocket watch and checked it. “Sit down, Ace. Figure some way to stop this.”

  “There's no way.”

  “There's got to be a way to stop her from throwing away eighty million dollars.”

  “Eighty million dollars?”

  “Eighty million! She'll give it to her friends or the Church or some God-awful thing.”

  “You didn't know she's dying?”

  “She's not dying. She’s just little ‘Miss Drama,’ regardless; we have to stop her from blowing eighty million dollars.

  “If we could prove her incompetent.”

  Natasha jumped up from her chair. “I knew I liked you.”

  “I don't 1ike me.”

  Inside Elisabeth’s dressing room, she talked to her makeup artist. “Word is that you and your mother are battling.”

  “Sorta.”

  “Is something wrong?” The makeup artist pulled the comb away from Elisabeth's head and examined the wisps of hair. “Elisabeth! You're loos
ing you hair! Something's dreadfully wrong!”

  Elisabeth turned and brought the makeup artist close to her and whispered. “Don't tell anyone!”

  “You know I won't.”

  Travis Taylor entered. “Tell who, what?”

  “Travis, it's none of your business.”

  “Okay, Slugger. I don't want to know. But I want to meet you later. Just want to talk.”

  “Such a serious face, from you? Must be important. At the riding trails later?”

  “Good. See you at the afternoon break.” Travis exited.

  He bumped into a process server as the process server entered. “Miss Elisabeth Gooding!” He handed Elisabeth legal papers.

  Travis and Elisabeth walked slowly along the trail. Travis reached out and took Elisabeth's hand. “Okay, Slugger, what's the trouble between you and the Witch?”

  “I fired her. But she had me served with this.” She handed him the Notice.

  He speed-read the Notice. “I was going to tell you to give in. My mother pretty much struck out my career when I attempted to replace her. But your mother, the Witch, has taken the Stage Mother Psychosis to a new level. She's going to try to prove you incompetent.”

  “She's can try.”

  Travis took her hand again and they continued to walk. “Slugger, you haven't got a chance. The Judge is going to figure you're just a beautiful child with too much money.”

  “Do you think I'm just a beautiful child with too much money?”

  “I think you're one special chick.”

  Elisabeth stopped but continued to hold Travis' hand. “Special chick? How about intelligent, charming?”

  “Are you making a pass at me?”

  “Maybe?”

  “Elisabeth, if I wasn't such a scoundrel, I would have whisk you off the minute you turned eighteen.”

  “I would have gone.”

  “The Witch would have put a contract out on me.”

  “That could be her next move on me.”

  “Make it easy on yourself. Just