“He had his other kids. I doubt he even thought of me.”
“I’d bet he thought of you every second of every day. Andthose stepkids of his aren’t anywhere near as special as my niece.”
“What do we do now? I mean your retirement depends on this. And I?—”
“My retirement has nothing to do with this. You say the word and I will pull out of the deal.”
“You’ll be sued.”
“I bet a judge would understand that they bamboozled us.”
“But they didn’t. His company was listed on the contract. I checked after I left. I just didn’t put the two together. I had no idea he’d changed companies.”
“Neither had I or I never would have agreed,” Opal said vehemently. “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
Opal’s hand stroked Poppy’s hair, just like her mom used to. “Oh, Popsicle, don’t cry.”
“I’m not a crier,” she sobbed into Opal’s flower-printed blouse.
“I know.” She delivered comforting little pats to her back. “You’re a tough girl, just like me.”
Poppy looked up through blurry eyes. “But you cried all the time.”
“Nonsense. I’m not a crier either,” she said.
Right there on the porch swing, wrapped in Opal’s arms, Poppy remembered that she came from women who survived.
DIARY ROOM:
Decker: What the fuck is going on?
Producer: It seems the little family reunion didn’t go as planned.
Decker: You think? She looked like you killed her dog.
Producer: Where are you going?
Decker: To see if I need to put my fist in someone’s face.
8
Monday morning, Poppy awoke early and with a mission. She was going to prove to her auntie and herself that she didn’t back down when things got tough.
She’d had a good and long talk with Jack who promised her he had no idea that there were problems between Poppy and Steve—had no idea they were estranged. He just figured it would be a fun surprise and a way to bring a family feel to the show.
With a promise that Steve would only be on set when absolutely necessary, and that Poppy would get twenty-four-hour notice, she’d agreed to move forward.
A promise she was starting to regret as she walked onto the set. It felt as if Steve were lurking behind every corner. Or another surprise was about to drop. Her body felt too big for her skin.
But big-girl panties and all, she wasn’t going to turn tail and run.
“You sure about this?” Kiki asked.
“Absolutely.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
