Page 15 of Spit Screen

I know Vicki understands TV shows aren’t taped in outer space—even ones about galactic empires and space travel.

“Or like a princess. Then you’d be in a castle.”

This conversation seems more age-appropriate, and I smile. “You realize we wouldn’t live in a castle?”

“Yeah, but you’d work in a castle.”

“Or on a set,” I remind her.

“Yeah, one that looks like a castle!”

“Well, I’m afraid I haven’t had any offers to pilot spaceships or slay dragons.”

“Maybe if you do Momma’s show, someone will ask you,” Vicki says with a grin.

“Victoria, is the entire reason you want me to go back to work so you can pretend to be a princess?”

“Nooooo.”

I burst into laughter.

“No,” Vicki says. “I just think you want to.”

I sigh.

It surprises me when Vicki leans close and kisses my cheek. “You take care of everyone, Mom. You should get to have fun, too.” She leaps up from the sofa and smiles. “But if we move to Boston, I want to work in the aquarium when I’m old enough!” Vicki flashes me a grin and heads toward the kitchen.

I shake my head. “Oh, boy.” I pick up the script and flip to the first page.

INT. Emma’s Rowlands’ Car

We hear the beeping of horns as Emma sits in traffic. Her phone buzzes, and she moves to grab it, spilling the coffee in her hand all over her blazer.

I scratch my head and turn back to the synopsis of the show.

“Emma Rowland is a successful entertainment lawyer living in a swanky beachside home in Malibu. It’s not the fulfilling career she envisioned, but it keeps her busy. She spends her days and nights tirelessly preparing to assist clients with contacts and negotiations, all while actively avoiding personal relationships. Her only close friend is Kate Morrisey, her former college roommate and girlfriend (known only by Kate and her wife, Nia). Kate owns a local LGBTQ bar and restaurant called Idgie’s.

Emma’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, fellow lawyer Dennis MacMillan, wants to make their relationship permanent, but Emma continuously dodges the conversation.

A year ago, Emma’s mother, Claudia, passed away, leaving Emma feeling adrift without her anchor. Her father, Geoffrey, a successful businessman and investor, was always traveling for work. While he attended Emma’s milestone events, he was rarely home for more than a few days at a time, and she’s learned to be content with the occasional visit and weekly phone call from her father.

Emma’s predictable life takes an unexpected turn when she receives the news that her father has been killed in a car accident. She travels to Florida to identify his body and meet with his attorney, only to discover a shocking secret: Geoffrey Rowland had been carrying on a ten-year affair with Jenna Maddox, a 33-year-old bartender in his favorite watering hole. Not only that but he’s been married to Jenna since shortly after Emma’s mother’s death and has kept it all a secret from Emma.

To make matters worse, Geoffrey has three young children with Jenna: Willow (7), Meadow (4), and Geoffrey Jr. (1). With both of Jenna’s parents deceased, Emma becomes the legal guardian of her siblings. Without warning, Emma’s world flips upside down in ways surpassing even her wildest imagination.

Things take an interesting turn when Kate suggests Emma hire Chloe, a friend from her high school days, as a nanny. Chloe, a 35-year-old music teacher, recently moved to LA after catching her girlfriend in bed with the principal at her school back in Boston. Emma, with no other choice, reluctantly agrees to hire Chloe as a live-in nanny. Little does she realize her choice will transform everything she believes about herself and the life she wants to lead. Emma is about to face the one thing she has managed to avoid her entire adult life—becoming “Domesticated.”

“Well, she’s always said she finds value in my red pen,” I muse. I grab the papers, head into Addy’s office, and retrieve my trust red pen. “So, Emma, where should life take you?”

CHAPTER THREE

addison

It’srare for something to leave me speechless.

Tamara interrupts my thoughts. “Addy?”

“I’m sorry, Tam. That’s amazing news,” I reply.

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