***
She’d spent the first ten years of her life in Woodlawn, Massachusetts. Located about half an hour from Boxborough, the town itself covered a lot of square miles with very few people. In fact, people often joked that Woodlawn had more cows than people. Even so, her grandparents had never felt any need to leave. While she’d never admit it to anyone, she sometimes missed the town and wondered how her life might have been different if her parents hadn’t allowed her to follow her dream. Would she and her sisters still be living here? Maybe she’d be married with a few children running around.
Before taking the turn onto her grandparents’ street, Mia pulled up in front of her old elementary school. From the outside it appeared unchanged. Did any of her old teachers still work there? Some must have retired by now. They’d seemed ancient when she had them, but that might have been because she’d been so young at the time. Maybe one weekday before filming started she take a drive back and visit during school hours.
After her parents relocated the family to California, she’d never stepped foot in the school again. In fact she had never attended a regular school after that— until college. Instead she had private tutors, and because of that she missed out on so much. There had been no school football games on weekends or proms like her cousins attended. She hadn’t been able to play sports or work on a high school yearbook. Part of her resented all that. Growing up was about more than learning material out of a textbook. It was also about friends and experiences. Another part of her, however, recognized how fortunate she’d been. Her career had been launched at the age of ten and was still going strong. So many young people moved to California with the dream to make it big, but for most it never happened. Instead they ended up waiting tables between auditions, barely making enough to live on.
The two-story brick home appeared just as she remembered it. Even the wooden swing still hung on the front porch. So many times as a little girl she sat on that swing while her grandmother read her a story. In the beginning, her grandmother had done all the reading. As she got older and learned to read, they took turns reading the books from her grandmother’s bookshelves. On that very swing they’d read all the books in the Anne of Green Gables series as well as Little Women and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Mia ran a hand across the swing as she passed by it and smiled. She had become an avid reader because of that swing. Now her grandmother probably sat here and read with one of her many great-grandchildren.
Before she had a chance to ring the bell, the front door opened and her grandmother appeared.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” Sandra Troy stepped outside, her arms spread wide and a smile on her well-lined face.
“I wanted to surprise you, Gram.” Mia closed the gap between them and hugged the older woman.
“I’m so happy to see you.” Sandra pulled back and looked Mia over. “But I wish you would’ve called. I would’ve made something special for lunch.” Sandra wrapped an arm around Mia’s shoulders and led her inside. “Come in. Your grandfather’s going to have a heart attack when he sees you here. He should be back soon. He went to get a new blade for his table saw. He’s building a bookcase for Karen’s birthday.”
The familiar scent of lemon wood polish wrapped around Mia, and contentment settled over her. For as long as she could remember, her grandmother had polished all the furniture every Monday using the same furniture polish. Then every Tuesday and Thursday she scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors, using the same lemon-scented floor cleaner. And even though it had been a few years since her last visit, she was immediately comforted by the familiar scents.
“Karen’s turning seven this year, right?” Mia had not seen her cousin’s daughter in at least two years.
“Eight.”
Sandra grabbed a framed photo off the mantle and handed it to her. A little redhead with freckles and two front teeth missing smiled up at her.
“And Rae Anne is pregnant again. She’s due in December—around Christmas.”
The last time she talked to her cousin had been in October, before she flew out to location in Australia. At the time her cousin hadn’t mentioned she and her husband were trying for another child. “I’m surprised. She swore, after all the problems she had during Karen’s pregnancy, she was done.”
Mia placed the photo back on the crowded shelf that contained pictures of Sandra Troy’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The shelf wasn’t the only place with photos. Framed collections hung all round the living room. Several were new, and Mia didn’t recognize some faces. It looked like her cousins were still adding to their families.
In fact, Mia and her sisters were the only Troy grandchildren who had not yet married and started families of their own.
“Did Avery come with you?” Sandra called from the kitchen as she prepared tea for them.
“No, she’s meeting me in Boston in a few weeks when filming starts.” Two years older than Mia, her sister Avery acted as her personal assistant and travel companion. When Mia announced her plan to stay in North Salem for a few weeks, Avery had chosen to stay in California. Unlike Mia, Avery thrived on city life. The only time she left was when absolutely necessary.
“You’re filming in Boston? Then you’ll be around for a while.”
Her grandmother filled a plate with peanut butter blossom cookies, her grandfather’s favorite. Before moving to California, Mia, her sisters, and her cousins had spent one entire weekend each month at their grandparents’ house. It had been her grandparents’ way of giving their children some time alone. During those weekends all the kids would go through several batches of the homemade cookies. Mia didn’t eat cookies often anymore, but she might have to have one or two today. She couldn’t remember the last time she had her grandmother’s homemade cookies.
“I should be. A good portion of the movie is being shot here in Massachusetts.” Mia took a seat at the ancient kitchen table.
“When Avery gets here, you’ll both have to come over. We’ll have a big family get-together. I know everyone would love to see you.” Sandra spooned sugar into her tea and handed the sugar bowl to Mia.
“All set.” Mia loved sugar in her tea but stopped using it more than a year ago, around the time she put on a few extra pounds. In true Hollywood manner, the media had immediately hopped on her after a photographer snapped a picture of her in a bikini at the beach. Right away rumors started, many claiming she was pregnant by her then boyfriend, running back Eric Perry.
“But I will have one of these.” Mia snagged a cookie off the plate. Just one wouldn’t hurt, and who knew when she might have the opportunity again.
Sandra pushed the dish a little closer. “Have as many as you want. I can make more later. Now how have you been? Are you seeing anyone?”
Before she could answer, a vision of Sean popped into her head. Both yesterday and today he’d been polite and professional, which spoke volumes about his character. And the way he’d insisted his mom leave the night before indicated he cared a lot about her happiness. Most of the men she dated considered their own happiness first; she wanted someone more like Sean. Someone who put others first even if it inconvenienced him. Someone who wasn’t impressed by her career or the balance in her bank account. And she liked his face. He was handsome, in that rugged hardworking way.
“No, not right now.” Even as she said the words she remembered the spark she’d felt when Sean’s hand brushed against hers the day before. Would that happen again?