The Director's Cut (23 page)

On Thursday I left my house before the sun even came up. Rex had arranged for breakfast on the set, then I would meet with the various department heads to go over the shots for the day. At that time I would make my final decisions for how each scene would be shot. By the time the cast and the rest of the crew arrived, we would have a plan set in motion.

As I drove, I had the most unusual sense that something big was about to happen. I'd had that feeling only a couple of times before in my life, and both times the “something” had turned out to be bad. Still, with my faith firmly intact, I kept a positive outlook. Why, in the last two weeks alone, I'd practically delivered a baby on my own and had a blind date stolen. Surely I could handle whatever life threw my
way.

When I arrived at the studio, everything seemed in perfect order. Jason greeted me with a warm hug as I entered, and Lenora seemed to be completely coherent and normal. Well, except for the Ben-Hur costume, but I'd come to expect that from her.

Yes, God was in his heaven, and all was right with the world, as Anne with an
e
would say. And despite my earlier concerns, this day would go down in history as one of our finest. How could it not with Brock Benson still on board, along with his new love interest?

Around nine thirty, the cast and crew arrived. I prepped them and then slipped back to my office for a couple minutes. For whatever reason, I felt the strongest urge to pray. Afterward I headed out to the soundstage, smiling as I saw the ushers seating our audience. I glanced at the crowd of people, stunned to see my father in the second row. What in the world?

I hurried his way, and he gave me a shy smile. “Hey, Tia-mia.”

“Dad . . .” I wanted to add, “What are you doing here?” but decided that would come across as rude. “You've never been to one of our tapings before. Glad you could come.”

“I figured it was about time. Besides, Beni asked me to. She's very proud of her work here.” His eyes filled with tears. “She's proud of you too, Tia-mia. I heard all about it last night. She thinks you're the best director in town.”

“Really?” Looked like our little sister-to-sister chat had paid off.

I'd just started to ask, “Where's Mama?” when she appeared at the end of the aisle, looking lovely in a colorful new blouse and black slacks.

“Tia-mia!” She began to rave in Spanish about how excited she was to be here at the
Stars Collide
set. I gave her a hug and headed off to make sure my cast was ready to roll.

By ten, our stage manager had the audience prepped and ready. I buzzed back and forth between the greenroom and the set, making sure everything was in place. Hopefully we could get this episode knocked out in a few hours.

As always, we started by introducing our cast to the crowd. An extra-loud roar went up as Brock entered the stage. He waved and smiled, which sent the women into a tizzy. Hopefully they would be just as enthused by his characterization.

With the snap of the scene board, we were off and running. Usually the first scene was the toughest, but not today. Even though Lenora had several lines to deliver, she did so without missing a beat. I could hardly believe it. No retakes at all. Well, unless we noticed something in the dailies. Could things get any better?

We were about halfway into the second scene when the floor underneath my feet began to tremble. For a moment, I thought I was imagining it. Sometimes when the larger cameras rolled across the floor, they created that same eerie vibration. But only a couple of seconds later, the shaking intensified.

Halfway into her line, Erin stopped cold and stood frozen. Over her head, the chandelier began to sway. Then the sofa slid a few inches to the right. Several audience members screamed. By now the whole room was quivering, and set pieces were tumbling around me.

I'd been through dozens of earthquake drills, of course. As a child, I had vivid memories of hiding under my desk during one. But this was different. I yelled, “Cut!”—probably not necessary under the circumstances—and Jason jumped from his spot behind the camera to rush my way.

I watched, completely in a mental whirl, as members began to scramble. I wanted to holler, “Stop! Stay where you are!” but couldn't. The words were stuck in my throat. Besides, what did one yell in the middle of an earthquake? All of my directorial skills went straight out the window.

I watched as Brock, who'd been sitting on the back of the sofa, flipped off and disappeared behind it. Erin did a swan dive of sorts, also disappearing behind the couch.

Jason held me tight as the tremor now shook us both. I lost my footing and went sprawling. As I began to crawl, Jason called out, “Find a door, Tia. I'll be right back.”

Somehow I made it to the doorway, only to realize it wasn't a real door. It was just a set piece. Still, I had to think I'd be safer here, so I settled into the doorjamb and didn't move.

Off in the distance, the cries of the
Stars Collide
children rang out. I could hear Candy's shrieks and Joey's wails. They pierced my heart. I wanted to run to them but couldn't make them out through the crowd. Oh yes, there they were, just beyond Scott and . . . Jason.

Yes, Jason had gone to be with the children. God bless him. I would have to remember to kiss him later. If we survived.

Stop it, Tia. Of course you're going to survive.

The shaking continued, and I held my breath. Surely this whole thing was a dream. I would wake up and laugh about how silly it had been.

No, this was no dream. As the shaking intensified, I thought of my parents, seated in the audience. I tried to find them but couldn't. I'd never prayed in such a frantic way before, but a thousand prayers went up at once, all of them involving my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.

Behind me, Lenora began to trill with glee. “Ooo, we're on a roller coaster! Look, there it goes again!”

The room swayed, and a camera toppled from its stand, nearly hitting Rex. Thank God he managed to get out of the way just in time. The roar of what sounded like a train coming through the building now took over. Most of our audience members added their voices to the fray, and the cacophony of sounds nearly deafened me.

The walls of the set began to tremble, and strangely, in that moment, I was reminded of the conversation I'd had with Jason about the walls I'd built up in my life. Who knew it would take something like this to bring them down?

Thank goodness the physical walls remained intact, though several things that had been attached to them—a picture frame, a shelf, and a faux window—came toppling down, nearly striking one of our tech guys who'd sought refuge nearby. He managed to scramble away just in time.

All of this I watched as if I were someone in a movie. It was real. No, it couldn't be. And yet it was.

Just as quickly as it had started, the shaking stopped. The sofa was somehow back in its original position, but not much else remained intact. Everything we'd worked so hard to put together—the set, the cameras, the lights—were all tipped, tilted, or broken.

Not that I cared. Not one whit. No, right now only one thing mattered to me—we had made it through.

Jason rushed my way, grabbed me, and whispered, “You okay?”

When I nodded, he offered up a “Praise God,” then took me by the hand. We made the rounds together, checking on the children first, then Lenora, Scott, Brock, and Erin. Though badly shaken, no one appeared hurt.

“I've got to find my parents.” Staring out into the audience, I finally caught a glimpse of my father rushing toward me with my mother just behind.

I'd seen my father emotional before, but never like this. He grabbed me and held me close. Mama joined our circle, and seconds later, Benita linked arms with us as well.

My father dove into a lengthy speech, all in Spanish, about how much he loved us, about how scared he was that he might've lost us. Everything we'd longed to hear him say for twenty-plus years came out in less than a minute.

My mother's tears broke my heart. I did my best to be a big girl. To nod and say everything was fine. But it wasn't. Inside, I quivered like Jell-O.

As my father cried out words of love over me, every bit of self-control I'd fought to maintain on the set of
Stars Collide
unraveled. I released my hold, my control, and just let 'er loose. The tears came—slowly at first, then in a river. All around, my cast and crew watched in what I could only guess was stunned silence. So much for the charade that I was tough as nails. Now they all knew the truth . . . I was anything but. And all it took was an earthquake to prove it.

My father continued to whisper words of love and comfort, and for the first time in years, I relinquished my anger toward him long enough to be comforted. As I rested in his arms, years of internal pain melted away like butter. Right now I was just my daddy's little girl. Not a famous director. Not someone in control. No, I was someone willing to let her guard down long enough to get real. To stop pretending. To be me, even if it meant looking vulnerable.

And it felt good. Very, very good.

It took a few minutes, but the Morales family finally managed to get things under control. I took a step back and tried to remember where I was and what I should be doing. Strange. We'd trained for all sorts of problems on the set, but never an earthquake. How did one go about putting a set back together after something catastrophic?

Hmm. Probably the same way one would go about putting a life back together—by handing it over to the only one capable of handling something so big.

Jason drew near, phone in hand. “Just checked the headlines. That was a 6.1.”

“Are you serious?”

He nodded. “There's been a lot of damage around the city. But from what I can tell, the Topanga Canyon area was hardest hit.”

I shook my head, still unable to take it in. “We made it,” I whispered.

“
A mas honor, mas dolor
,” my father said.

“The more danger, the more honor,” Jason echoed from behind me. “I agree. I think a lot of people deserve honor today.”

“Yes.” My father turned to him and gave him a respectful nod. “I watched you taking care of my daughter.” He extended his hand. “Thank you.”

Jason shook his hand, and they ended up in a bear hug.

Minutes later, the ushers opened the back doors to release the audience. Many stayed put—clearly shaken—but several went shooting out of the doors in record time. My parents headed out to check on the rest of the family, though we'd already received word that everyone was safe and sound.

Our remaining audience members were mostly on cell phones. Interesting, since they weren't supposed to have them inside. But who could fault them? All around the room I could see the concern etched on people's faces as they checked on loved ones.

I made the rounds from one crew member to another, grateful to see that our writers and wardrobe folks were fine. Athena seemed more shaken than the others, but Stephen never left her side.

After calling home to check on Kat, Scott took off in a hurry. I didn't blame him. Thank God Kat and the baby were both fine. Brock and Erin left next, in a rush to check on his after-school facility.

After they left, I walked the perimeter of the soundstage with Jason and Rex, taking inventory.

“Looks like much of the damage is cosmetic,” Jason said. “The cameras are intact, and the set pieces are all fixable. Nothing huge. In the grand scheme of things, I mean.”

Thank you, God.

“How much time are we talking to pull things together?” I asked. “Days? Weeks?”

“Days.” He took my hand. “But we should probably look at pushing production back a full week.”

I looked at Rex, who nodded. “Our viewers will understand. Nothing—and I repeat, nothing—is more important than caring for our cast and crew. They come first, before the viewers.”

“Amen,” I whispered, feeling completely at peace about this decision.

We dismissed the rest of the cast, and the tech crew got busy right away, cleaning up as much as they could. I made my way back to my office, finding things topsy-turvy. Hardest hit? My Prada handbag. When the desk toppled, the bag was destroyed for the most part. Oh well. What were expensive things when my life had just been spared? I could always get another bag.

I returned to the soundstage and joined Rex and Lenora as they helped with cleanup. We were all still badly shaken—so much so that we scarcely spoke a word as we worked alongside one another. The whole thing just felt surreal. I wanted to go home and soak in my bathtub.

My house! Was my house still standing? Would all of the work we'd done on it be for nothing?

Deep breath, Tia. It's just a house.

I released a slow, steady breath, remembering my vow to take a calmer approach to life. Of course, when I'd made that promise, I hadn't exactly counted on an earthquake. But a promise was a promise. And if I'd ever been given an opportunity to prove that I wouldn't overreact, this was it.