4/10/12

She came up out of the water...
By Michael Plesset


She came up out of the water, the big waves pushing her forward each time they came in, until she walked unsteadily up onto the sandy beach. She looked around as though lost, as though she’d been swimming and was far from where she started. She went up onto the dry sand, coughing from some of the water.

She looked confused, and he called over to her “Are you ok?”

She looked around a minute, then said “I don’t know where I am.” He stood up from where he was lying and went over. “Which way did you come from, when you went into the water?”

“I don’t know” she said.

“Is there someone I can call for you, I have my phone right here” he said.

“No, I’ll just rest a minute, then I’ll be ok.”

“Want to sit down?” he said, pointing to the big beach towel he had spread out on the sand. She didn’t answer but sat down. It was a hot day but she was shivering, so he asked if she wanted to use a towel he had, which she silently took and wrapped around herself.

“Won’t people be looking for you, and be worried about you, don’t you want to call somebody? If we tell the lifeguard they communicate with each other in case they’re looking for you.”

“No, please don’t, the lifeguards won’t be looking for me, I came from a boat. Don’t ask me about it, it’s complicated.”

“Ok, just let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Thanks” was all she said.

After a while, even with the hot sun she was still shivering. “Look, can I get you some coffee or something?” he asked.

“I’ll be ok, I just swam a long way.”

“Ok, just let me know if I can be any help.”

She paused a minute, then said “Well, like I said it’s complicated, but when I left the boat I didn’t bring anything with me, so I don’t have any money or anything. If you could call me a cab I can take it from there.”

“Sure no problem. I was just going to leave anyway, so I can drop you someplace if that helps.”

She looked at him, as though evaluating him, then said “Yeah, ok, if you could, which way are you going?”

"Back down to Santa Monica, then in to West L.A."

“That’s fine, I’ll tell you where to drop me.”

They went to his car and started out. She was silent for a while, still wrapped in his towel, then suddenly said “Do you know who I am?”

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, why?”

“I’m in movies and on TV.”

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t …”

“That’s ok. Besides, it’s not as great as I thought it would be. I’m sick of supporting my boyfriend, my agent, my financial person and my relatives. On that boat they were all arguing about what I should do next and I wasn’t even in the conversation, I just wanted to get away, and I had a sudden urge to jump off and swim ashore.”

“Good thing you’re a really good swimmer.”

“I am, and it really felt good, even though it was a long hard swim I felt liberated and relaxed.”

“I guess that’s the kind of success lots of people wish for, but there’s a lot that comes with it that’s pretty difficult, problems people never think about.”

“Right, half the time I love all the attention and recognition, and the money, but half the time I wish I had normal relationships, people that just know me and like me for myself, people I could trust.”

“I can understand that,” he said, “I’ve always thought that being very good looking, especially for a woman, sounds great because they get all kinds of attention from men, but the trouble is they’re all interested for the wrong reason, because physical attraction isn’t the basis for a successful relationship. It’s the same kind of problem wealthy people have, not knowing who’s really their friend and who’s just attracted by the money. I guess you have both, the people attracted by how you look and the ones attracted by the money.”

“So what’s the answer?”

“In any kind of relationship all the things that people think are important don’t last – physical appearance is guaranteed to deteriorate, money comes and goes, common interests can change over time, the only thing that lasts is character things. It sounds really boring, but honesty, loyalty, being reliable, being thoughtful and considerate, if someone has those things when they’re young they’ll be that way when they’re old, and you appreciate them more and more as years go by. And, you can’t find out by looking at somebody, or in one or two dates, or by a computer matching you up.”

“You sound like you’re talking about a different planet than the people I’ve been surrounded by.”

She gave him directions to her house, and when they pulled up in front she said “Listen, as you might guess from the situation, I don’t exactly have any plans this evening, would you like to go get something to eat?”

“Ok”, he said, “but I’m buying, not you, which means we’re not going to some wildly expensive place the big stars go.”

“I invited you, how about we go dutch?”

“Deal, go put some clothes on. It’s up to you of course, but shouldn’t you call someone to tell them you’re ok, they might have the Coast Guard looking for you by now.”

“I know, I know, I’ve been putting it off because I didn’t know what I wanted to say.”

“How about starting with ‘You’re all fired, I’m going to run my own life from now on.’”

“That sounds about right, I’ll call when I get inside. Come in, I’ll just take a minute to put something on.”

She changed into some jeans and a shirt, was ready to go in a couple of minutes, and said “There’s a little Italian place about 5 minutes from here, how’s that?”

“Fine, let’s go.”

It was a noisy little neighborhood restaurant, and when they got seated and relaxed in the big red booths she said “Sometimes I feel like just giving up the whole show business thing.”

“But you really like the things you’re doing and the success that you’ve worked hard for, it’s just that entourage you have that’s the problem.”

“Yes, that’s true, how did you figure that out so quick?”

“I didn’t, I’m just reflecting back what I hear you saying. You mentioned a boyfriend, at least he must be an asset.”

“Well, he’s very talented and extremely good looking, but he’s the most self centered, selfish person I’ve ever met, absolutely 100%.”

“And you’re putting up with that because …?”

“Damn, you do ask hard questions.”

“Don’t feel bad, we all make some irrational choices, especially when it comes to romance.”

They noticed two young girls were standing next to their table, and when they looked up at them they very shyly asked her “Can we have your autograph?” “Sure,” she said, and wrote on the pieces of paper they brought. They giggled, blushed, both said “Thank you” and hurried away, flustered to be in her presence.

“This is beginning to sink in to me,” he said, “that must be really cool, at least for the first hundred times or so.”

“You want to know the truth” she said “it’s still cool, I’ll hate it if it stops. So, what kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a psychologist, a therapist.”

“Ahh, so I’ve been getting therapy all this time.” she said.

“No, not at all, this is probably just the first rational conversation you’ve had in a while.”

“I’m really appreciate the chance to talk like this, it’s a real relief from all the stress that was building up, everybody sounded perfectly reasonable, but I was getting pressured and pushed in too many directions.”

He looked around and said “I’m worried that this is some kind of reality show, hidden camera, it seems too unlikely, movie star rises out of the ocean and leaves her entourage to have dinner with me in a little neighborhood restaurant.”

“Here’s your assurance, I’m a real actress, I don’t do reality shows!”

“Yikes, sorry, of course not, my mistake.”

When they went back to her house he walked her to the door, and said “I really enjoyed meeting you, I sure hope it works out for you with that group that’s around you.”

“Thanks,” she said, “this was very nice, a real relief, I hope we can get together again, call me.”

“Ok, sure” he said.

“No really, I mean it, please do, give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.”

“Ok, but let me translate,” he said, “when I say I’ll call you it doesn’t mean maybe and maybe not, or there’s a 50 – 50 chance, it means that it’s 100% sure that I will.”

She smiled, “Right, in Hollywood-speak it means, well, actually now that I think about it doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” he said.

He did of course, and asked if she’d like to get together that night.

“Sorry, I’m going to a fancy movie premiere.”

“Going with the boyfriend you described?”

“Yes, he’s great at making public appearances, we look like such a dazzling couple, it’s just that when we’re together one on one he’s insufferable. I’m always in a terrible mood when I get home.”

“I’d tell you to call me when you get home but it will probably be really late.”

“No, this thing’s early evening, I’ll call you by 9 or 10 at the latest.”

When she called they talked for two hours, about nothing serious, where they grew up and went to school, what their families were like, failed romances from the past, and so on.

When they got together a few days later he said “I rented three of your movies and watched them.”

“Hey, that’s nice, I know you’re not a big movie fan.”

“Actually I like some of the ones that were made in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.”

“So what did you think?”

“You’re really good, although I shouldn’t even give an opinion, you’re a professional in the business and I’m certainly not. But what I notice is that you can really play very different roles, a lot of actors and actresses always play basically the same character regardless of the story, think John Wayne for example, very strong character but always exactly the same. A lot of present day actors do that too, though I suppose it may get pushed on them if there’s a successful movie or two.”

“Well,” she said, “the industry isn’t as unimaginative as it might seem, if you’re going to invest $50 million or so you want to minimize the risk, so if something worked you make something else that’s not too different.”

Over the next few months they would get together and he’d help her with memorizing her lines for the next day, they talked on the phone when she was away on location, and they’d eat early when she had to be on a set first thing the next morning.

One evening when he had brought over some of their usual take out food, they were just sitting on the couch eating when he said, “I want to explain something important. I’m guessing that ever since you were a little girl, whenever anybody said they loved you, they talked about how beautiful you were, and as a result you grew up with the idea that to be loved you have to be beautiful. I sure do think you’re attractive, but a relationship based on that alone doesn’t last long. I love you, but it’s because of the person you are, the way you speak, that you’re intelligent, have a sense of humor, and I like how you treat me. I love to hear your voice on the phone, I think I’d love you even if we never met in person.”

“Wow, that’s really wonderful, and you’re so right about the beauty thing, that has been my way of relating with people as long as I can remember, and deep down I knew there’s something wrong with that. It hits me whenever I get fan mail from some character I’ve never met who’s seen me in movies and says he loves me and wants to marry me. Some guy I’ve never met!”

“So, can I have your autograph?” he said.

“What?!”

“Here” he said taking out a piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“It’s an application for a marriage license, I filled in my part, just needs your autograph.”

“Wow … wow, so you’re proposing!”

“Yes, don’t tell me you haven’t at least thought about it.”

“Yes, I have some, it’s a big thing that takes time to get used to.”

“Look at it this way, you don’t have to adjust instantly, you’d have the next 50 years to get used to it. By the way, I’ve thought about the fact that you must have a ton of money from your work, so I think we should have a pre-nup.”

She answered “As far as that goes, I have a lot of trouble with some of my people, including my relatives, it would make that easier if everything was joint with both of us rather than just me.”

“Or you could tell them that’s how it is but still keep some things in just your name. But, that sounds like working out the details of a corporate merger, the big question is whether you love me and want to marry me.”

She was silent for a long minute.

“This can’t be good” he said softly.

“No, that’s not it, I do love you, I really do, it’s that this is the first time I’ve ever said that to anyone in my whole life. I’m not sure I even knew what that really means until now. In my family it’s well, complicated, and the definition in Hollywood-land matches the stories that fit into a two hour script, with a mandatory passionate sex scene.”

“Don’t feel rushed to make a decision, there’s no hurry, maybe I could have worked up to this more gradually, but I don’t know how. Maybe you want to talk to your family.”

“God no, they’d just be on the phone to my agent to get the publicist going. Maybe try to arrange an exclusive interview with somebody, and feel bad that I didn’t marry somebody high profile in the industry instead, to make a better publicity angle.”

“I guess the old custom of my asking them for their daughter’s hand isn’t the way to go.”

“Nope, this is the first decision that’s all mine, and I’m really happy about it. I don’t have to confer with anyone, the answer is yes.”


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Michael Plesset did undergraduate and graduate work in mathematics, philosophy, sociology and English literature, and attended seminary at one time. He has published poetry, short fiction and non-fiction articles. He has worked in the space program and the computer industry, wrote material for a stand-up comedian, and has taught English to Chinese students for the last 10 years.