Page 26 of Spit Screen

“I don’t follow, Em. Part of the reason I started writingDomesticatedwas to find a way to bring us all back together.”

“Mm-hm. And you think we can’t make it happen now because Christie will be working in Boston?”

“On a major show. Geez, Em. She’ll be taping almost half the year—on the other side of the?—”

“World?” I ask lightly. I chuckle when Addison groans. “It feels like the other side of the world,” I say. “It isn’t. I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me.”

“I’m always honest with you.”

“Maybe. You also hold back sometimes—even after all these years. I want you to tell me the truth—all of it, Addy. Okay?”

Addison nods.

“Are you willing to uproot our lives—all of our lives—to take a chance on this project?”

Addison stares at me.

“Are you, Addy? Because if we decide to do this—to move our kids, we need to commit to staying—to giving it time, even if the project tanks.”

“I know. If you’d asked me this a week ago, my answer would have been yes.”

“What changed in a week?” I ask.

“Tam and Christie. Em, if Christie had a job in LA, it would be different.”

“Because they would still be close.”

“Yes.”

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. I’m about to propose something to Addison I know she doesn’t expect. “What if they were close?”

“What are you talking about?”

I reach beside me and hand Addison the pilot script forDomesticated—complete with my plethora of red lines. She looks at it, flips a page, studies it for a moment, and looks back at me.

“Em?”

“Why not let Emma’s life unfold in New York?” I suggest.

“Emma. New York? You want to move our family to New York City?”

“No. But I’m confident there are places close enough to the city which would provide the kids the type of childhood we both want them to have.”

Addison stares at me.

“I love the concept,” I tell Addison. “And I know all the reasons you created it. You know me better than anyone. I miss it, too, Addy. The kids need us—but they’re happiest with their friends at school, and we both know that will only become truer as time passes.”

“Em. New York? It’s so far from?—”

“It’s a plane ride, Addy. No matter what we decide, we will be a plane ride from someone we love. Maybe it’s time for us to settle closer to your dad.”

“Is that why you’re suggesting this?”

“No—at least, not entirely,” I reply. “Tam and Christie are family, too. The kids miss them, and God knows, Vicki misses Brody.”

“I know. But they’ll miss your parents and their cousins.”

“True. Evan will be a senior in high school next year. They’ll be missing their cousins no matter where we live.”

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