Page 38 of Spit Screen

“Are you telling me Tam and Christie are moving to Boston?” Mom asks.

“To the area—yes.”

“Wow. And that’s why you want to make a show in New York?”

“It’s part of the reason. Listen, I’m not even certain it will happen, Mom. We haven’t talked to everyone yet, and we’d stillhave to pitch it. But I’m confident if Sandra is on board, selling it won’t be an issue.”

“Sandra? Is this a reboot ofOffScreen?”

“Hardly. No. This one features a frazzled, closeted, forty-year-old, single, workaholic who finds herself taking custody of her father’s three young children—siblings she never knew existed.”

Mom’s eyebrows arch into her hairline, and she bites her lip to keep from laughing.

“I know!” I chuckle. “If you think hearing me explain it to you is funny, wait until youseeit unfold.”

“It sounds to me like this is a part made for you.”

“Oh? What gave it away? It can’t be the closeted part. Frazzled?”

Mom laughs hysterically.

“I guess that answers my question,” I say, joining in the laughter.

“If anyone could create a show about the chaos of raising three kids, it’s you and Addy.”

“Mm. It’s brilliant,” I tell her. “Addy at her best.”

“Better thanOff Screen?”

“Different,” I reply. “Warm, sincere, painful, funny—honest.”

“You’re excited about it,” my mom says.

“The moment I read it, I knew it was the part I’d been waiting to play.”

Mom smiles, reaches across the table, and squeezes my hand. “You have a sparkle in your eyes.”

“Do I?”

“Yes—a sparkle I’ve missed seeing this year.”

I sigh. “It hasn’t been easy.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“And I won’t pretend I’m not terrified. The idea of leaving here—of starting something new in a place where I’ve never lived is?—”

“An adventure,” Mom says. “The best ones always come with a little nail-biting.”

“True. I hope I’m not being selfish. The kids?—”

“Emmie, you are a wonderful mother. Those kids love you and Addy and more importantly, they trust you. They’ll resent you for something—just like you harbor a few grudges with us.”

“I don’t.”

“You do. We all do—just a little. You still cringe when I suggest you wear anything pink—even nail polish. I have it on good authority the reason we never saw you wear pink onOff Screenwas the, and I quote, ‘aversion my mother caused with her obsessive pinkness,’ end quote.”

I laugh. “Addy told you that?”

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