I said, “I’m Tracy Ellison from Philly, and this is Kendra Dayton from Baltimore.”
He smiled even wider.
“East Coast,” he said. “So what brings you out west?”
“I’m just getting my feet wet in the industry,” I told him. “And Kendra already lives out here. She’s a schoolteacher.”
He nodded to Kendra and looked back to me. “You’re getting your feet wet in what industry?” he asked me. I still didn’t know who the hell he was.
I said, “Well, I’m not out here to cheer for the Lakers. I’m talking about the business of television and film.”
I was beginning to set myself, and it never took me long. Who was this guy?
“Oh really? So what do you do for a living until you can get all the way wet? Because you do know that some people never get a chance to jump in the pool, don’t you?”
“I hear some people don’t even get a chance to try on their bathing suits,” I teased him. I didn’t care anymore, frankly. No damn party was going to make or break me, so I played along with him. I could feel people listening in on us too, but so what? In the meantime, I kept asking myself, Where the hell is Juanita?
“And that doesn’t discourage you at all?” he asked me.
“What is your name again?” I finally asked him back.
Kendra nudged me in my side. I guess she thought that I was getting too bold and bad for my own good, but to hell if I was going to continue to stand there while this guy ran off twenty questions at me. I would leave his damn house before I allowed him to do that. I wanted to at least know who I was talking to. I had dignity, and I was not being interviewed for a position. If I was, then I would like to know about it in advance.
All of a sudden, a shorter brother wearing brown and black stepped out and introduced himself to us instead. “How are you doing? I’m Harold Wiggins, creative producer of Laugh Out Loud Wednesdays on Warner. Let me introduce you to one of our head writers, Joshua Pendleton,” he said, motioning to the guy in all blue who had been asking us twenty questions.
That’s when we realized that we were the guinea pigs in an ongoing joke. Apparently, Joshua had been embarrassing newcomers with the “Who are you and what do you do?” routine.
He laughed along with a few others in the crowd who had been watching us.
“She’s tough. She was holding her own,” he joked to Harold.
I said, “Yeah, because I didn’t even know who you were, and you were asking us a million questions about who we were.”
“Well, this is my house. Remember that,” he told me.
Harold said, “Correction. This is my house.”
“Well, I still haven’t found my friend Juanita yet,” I told them.
“You’re looking for me?” Juanita slipped from behind me and asked. She was dressed casually formal herself, in black.
“Now who invited you?” Harold asked her.
“Reginald,” she answered him.
He looked relieved and nodded to her.
“Oh, okay. Reginald just stepped out about a half hour ago. He should be back soon.”
“Who is Reginald?” I asked for my own knowledge. They were kicking his name around as if he was someone important.
Harold said, “Reginald is pretty much a creative talent hawk. He runs around this town and pulls together anyone coming in with raw, untapped talent that we might be able to use.”
“If you don’t watch out, he’s gonna have your job soon,” Joshua joked to Harold before he slipped away to join the crowd.
Harold smiled it off. He looked in his early forties, but he was possibly younger. Joshua looked thirty-something or younger himself. I couldn’t quite tell their ages. They all had a youthful, energized presence about them. I guess you would have to be energized in a fast-moving atmosphere like Hollywood’s.
Harold looked past us toward some other arriving guests. “If you’ll excuse me. HAAY!” he screamed as he moved on.
“God!” I snapped, cradling my ear.
Kendra shook her head and finally spoke up. “Tracy, you are just too much.You do have what it takes to make it out here, I’ll give you that. Just don’t push it too far.”
I turned and introduced her to Juanita.
I said, “Well, we have Philly, Baltimore, and New York. All we need now is New Jersey and D.C., and we’d have a full East Coast Nation out here,” I joked.
We all laughed and held our space, but it wasn’t as if we were doing much there. It seemed like one of those parties where people had to warm up to each other for a full hour before they really started talking. Unless, of course, everyone knew who you were already, because when Martin Lawrence and then Jamie Foxx walked in with their separate posses, people started running to get up close and personal. I just sat there and laughed.
“I can’t see myself doing that,” I said out loud. It looked like a groupie convention from then on, as other A-list entertainers walked in. Or at least A-list for Black Hollywood. No one in that place could command the raw income that many white entertainers could. However, as all of the people there ran for attention from the incoming stars, I felt lonely as hell and insignificant. I guess that was supposed to be the time to “schmooze,” as they called it, but that wasn’t my thing anymore. I didn’t want to be with a star, I wanted to be the star.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kendra asked me.
“I’m just thinking,” I told her. Hollywood made me feel like I was a nobody.
I looked to Juanita, and she was in her own world too, as if she was searching for someone. When this slim, busy body of a brother walked in she nearly jumped for joy.
“Reginald!” she called out to him.
I read his face immediately. He didn’t want to be bothered with her, but his look was snap-finger fast. You had to pay close attention to catch it. Let’s just say that I had plenty of experience in reading Reginald’s type from dealing with so many players in Philly before I even made it to college. In reading guys, I considered myself a veteran.
He walked over with a fake smile and hugged Juanita.
She said, “This is Tracy, the one who I told you had a book out.”
When he looked into my face, I read “dog” all up and down his body. It even seemed like he was panting.
“So, you have a book out?” he asked me, searching everything with his rapid eyes.
“You need to be the one with the book,” I said to him. “Everybody talks about you,” I bullshitted. I wanted to see if my hunch was right on the dog vibe that I felt from him.
“Was it good things or bad things?”
“I’ll never tell,” I hinted at him.
I caught a look from Juanita that didn’t appear too friendly, and I knew immediately that she was screwing him. She probably thought that I wanted some, but I didn’t. I was just having fun.
“Let me introduce you to somebody real fast,” he said to Juanita, pulling her away from us. I guess he was outright rude too.
Kendra turned to me with a grimace and said, “Tracy, what the hell was that all about?”
I played innocent and said, “What?”
“Why were you flirting with him like that, right in the girl’s face? You don’t plan to be friends with her long?”
I said, “What, you thought they were a couple?”
Kendra looked at me as if I should know better.
“That was pretty obvious to me.”
“And you think that he’s loyal to her?”
She started to chuckle.
“That was obvious too. He looked like he wanted to get rid of her as quickly as he could.”
“That’s what I was reading,” I told her. “So I was just trying to find out if my hunch was right, that’s all.”
She grinned at me. “Sharpening up those skills from your youth, hunh?”
I laughed admittingly, and responded, “I guess so.”
Kendra said, “Well, I don’t think your New York girl read any of your book y
et, because Reginald is as obvious as they come.”
We shared a laugh before this good-looking, caramel brother stepped up to me with a drink in hand.
“What video did I see you in?”
I looked at Kendra. Kendra looked away and grinned.
“Ah, you didn’t see me in a video,” I told him.
“Are you sure?” He actually looked puzzled.
I said, “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Were you an extra in a recent film or something?”
Kendra couldn’t hold in her laugh anymore, and that made me laugh right in the brother’s face.
“An extra?” I asked him as if I were appalled.
He said, “Don’t tell me you’ve starred in a film already and I don’t know who you are. Or was it in a television show?”
The brother was making a deeper fool of himself by the minute.
I put my hand on his arm and said, “Don’t strain yourself, brother. I just came out here about a month ago. Maybe you just saw someone before who looks like me.”
“Well, you do look good,” he told me.
“Thank you. You do too, but if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to go stuff my face before my stomach begins to growl and I turn you off.”
“That wouldn’t turn me off. That would just mean that you were hungry. What’s your name, anyway?”
“I’ll answer that when I come back,” I told him, spotting the table of food ahead of me. I pulled Kendra’s hand forward to follow me.
“You know what I’m beginning to notice?” she asked me as we headed toward the barbecue chicken, mixed fruit, drinks, and miniature sandwiches.
“What?” I asked her.
“No one seems to pay me any mind when I’m with you. Usually, I get all kinds of comments and propositions,” Kendra told me.
“Aw, girl, go ’head with that,” I snapped at her. “You’re the one in here walking around like you don’t have a tongue. And I know you do, because you talk my damn head off about education and the lack of black politics in LA.”
“Yeah, and I bet these people in here don’t even think about those kinds of things. They just take things for granted. That’s exactly why the affirmative action bill will be wiped out next month in the state of California.”
“You want to go make up some fliers and pass them out in here?” I joked with her.
“Hmmph,” she grunted. “Don’t waste my time and energy.”
We loaded up on the food to settle our stomachs and looked around through the crowd again.
“Once you’ve seen one of these parties, Tracy, you’ve seen them all. These people are all so obvious in here.”
“That’s the same with the party scene anywhere, really. I mean, do you really care what everyone else is doing, or do we just make casual conversation?” I asked her.
Kendra nodded. “That’s exactly why I don’t really do parties. It’s all nonsense. That’s why I have nothing to say in here.”
“So you’re ready to leave then?” I asked her.
She took one last look around the room and asked me, “Are you planning to mix and mingle?”
I looked around myself at all of the “schmoozers” waiting in line to talk to more important people than us and decided that it was time for me to go. I had seen enough, and felt enough, enough of the cold shoulders and corny come-on lines.
I finished my punch, slapped the empty cup on the table, and said, “Yeah, we might as well go.”
“Are you going to say bye to your friend?” Kendra asked, referring to Juanita.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I barely know that sister. I’ll just see her in class next week.” I just wondered what she’d think after she had read my book.
Before we could make it out of the door, another tall, chocolate brother attempted to grab my hand.
“Leaving so early? I was just about to find out who you were.”
I pulled my hand away ever so gently and said, “Maybe another time.”
“Do you have a card?”
“Sorry, I didn’t bring any with me.”
“Well, what studio are you with?” he asked me with a grin, assuming things.
I smiled back at him. “When I finally make it in one, I’ll let you know.”
He said, “Well, sometimes it’s who you know who can get you in the door.”
I paused and thought about that, and decided to pass on his game. I wasn’t out in California to meet a man, I was out there to do my thing in the industry, and I’d rather get in on my own hard work and merit than through knowing someone, especially a fine, chocolate black man. Excuse me for thinking it, but I had a hard time imagining us being only business associates. Maybe that was how Juanita got hooked up with Reginald, but I was not the one for sideshows. I was a main-attraction type of woman.
I said, “I’m sorry, but that’s not the way I want to go about things,” and stepped off before he could say another word. Sometimes you just get tired of dealing with new guys.
Outside, Kendra looked into my face and asked, “Do you still want to be in this business? Because you can see how slimy it is. And I’m not saying that everyone in the business is slimy, but it just seems to me that the business of Hollywood is slimy in itself.”
Kendra was echoing my mother, and I didn’t even have a chance to respond before Mr. Reginald slipped past us and dashed to his car. He was parked right across the street from the house, a black Lexus Coupe with gold trim.
Kendra and I looked at each other and smiled.
On his way back in, Reginald proceeded to throw out his hook and bait, his real reason for dashing to his car like that.
“Hey, you two are leaving already?” he asked us. “Yeah, we’ve seen about enough,” Kendra spoke up for a change.
I smiled at her.
Reginald pulled out two business cards and handed them to us.
“Get in touch with me if you need anything. Tracy, right?” he asked me before he looked at Kendra. “And what’s your name again?”
Kendra paused and came up with “Suzanne.”
I grinned my ass off and didn’t say a word.
“All right, well, you know, get in touch with me. Maybe I can introduce you to some people who are good to know.”
I’m sure you can, I told myself.
I nodded to him and said, “I’ll do that.”
“As long as Juanita doesn’t mind,” Kendra instigated. I guess she decided to be naughty her damn self since we were leaving.
Reginald froze and looked stunned, but only for a hot second.
“Oh, we’re not like that. We’re just real cool. What would make you think that?”
This brother was full of it.
“All right, well, I’ll just ask her in class next week up at UCLA,” I told him.
“Ask her what?”
“You know, if it’s okay to go to Hollywood functions with you.” I sweetened up the pot and looked at his car. “I’ve never been in a Lexus before,” I lied.
Kendra had to look away again.
Reginald laughed it off and looked nervous. I guess he realized that he wasn’t dealing with amateurs.
“I’ll see you around,” he said, backing away.
“You promise?” Kendra added.
Reginald shook his head and grinned. “You two need to stop,” he warned us.
We laughed while we walked away.
$ $ $
When I got home that night, I was worn out. I looked around through the emptiness of my bedroom and wondered exactly how long it would take me to fill my place up with furniture. I didn’t plan on kissing too much ass to get there though. If I had to kiss ass at all I planned to plant my lips right at the top with someone who could green-light whatever I was working on and get me started without all of the bullshit.
I told myself, “There’s no way in the world you’ll find me hanging out with that set.” Was I too real and too forward for the bullshit machine of Hollywood? I guess I would soon find out.
$ $ $
Early that next morning, my telephone rang. It was Raheema on the line.
“Hey, Ra, what’s going on?” My voice dragged and I was barely conscious.
“I have some big news for you,” she said. She sounded peppy, as if she had eaten a big breakfast and was ready to run a marathon.
I looked over at my alarm clock. It was thirteen minutes after seven. I guess Raheema had forgotten about the three-hour time difference from New Jersey to California.
I said, “This better be good, Raheema.”
She actually giggled as if she held the biggest secret in the world. I sat up and asked myself, What the hell is going on?
Raheema said, “I’m getting married at the end of January. I want you to be my maid of honor. And I’m three months pregnant.”
“WHAT?”
She said, “I know, I know, it’s a shock, but I was just calling everyone up and letting you all know. I know it’s short notice, but my plans are nothing real fancy. I’m sending the invitations out this coming week with the wedding colors.”
“Well, how long were you planning on keeping this all a secret?”
I couldn’t believe her! I thought I was her girl!
“Tracy, we’re grown women now, and we do have our own personal lives.”
“Obviously,”I stressed to her.
“Well, we’re still brainstorming all of the details, so I just wanted to give you a heads-up on it, and I’ll probably call you back this week with more.”
“No, no, no, no,NO! You are not getting off of this phone with me yet. I don’t even know this guy’s name. How could you do that to me? Does your family even know him?”
“His name is Ernest. Ernest Neumann. And we’re going to be visiting my family next week.”
“Three months pregnant? So what about getting your Ph.D.”
“I’m still going for it. I’m focused.”
“You weren’t that damn focused if you got pregnant.”
“Oh, grow up, Tracy. I’m twenty-five years old. Twenty-six is a good age to have a baby. I’m prepared, I’m mature, I’m educated,and we want to do this the right way.”
“The right way would have been a pregnancy after marriage,” I snapped at her.