As the temporary caretaker of the Lancaster shares in Studio 27, I need to ensure amicable relations continue. From the way Reeve’s will was constructed, the forty percent stake in Studio 27 will now pass to Bodhi when he turns eighteen. It’s why it made sense to have the company produce our movie. If it’s as profitable as the analysts expect it to be, it will significantly enhance the value of Bodhi’s investment.
So, it’s a win-win all around.
“Dillon.” I place my hand on my husband’s arm. “This isn’t the time or the place.” I fully intend to request an investigation into how this happened, but I don’t want anything to put a stain on tonight.
“Learn to own up and accept responsibility,” Dillon growls, glaring at the man as he releases him. “And if you ever put my wife in that kind of position again, I will punch first and ask questions later.”
“I’ll find out how it happened and ensure it doesn’t happen again.” Deke smooths a hand down the front of his tuxedo jacket as he turns to me. “I apologize for any upset, Vivien.”
“We’ll discuss it next week,” I curtly reply.
I don’t have a controlling interest in the studio, and I’m not on the board of management, but I will be strongly advising James—the current head of Studio 27—to let the incompetent Rawlings go. James listens to me, and I was thrilled when he agreed to let me adopt a special child ambassador role. It’s something I’m working on pitching in a more official capacity within the industry.
Having seen what Reeve went through, and becoming more familiar with the stresses and pressures placed on child and teen actors, I want to help to create a better working environment for kids who act. I also want to ensure that when the Studio 27 shares pass to Bodhi he is inheriting a production company that is not only profitable but one that sets and maintains high standards extolling family values and a nurturing environment where child actors thrive without unnecessary responsibility, stress, or peer pressure.
Safeguarding children within the movie industry is something I am very passionate about, and I’ve spoken to Dillon about creating a company in Reeve’s name. Some kind of governance or regulatory body with a set of guidelines every studio would have to adhere to. It’s only an idea right now, but it’s something I’m invested in exploring and developing at some point.
Rawlings walks off, feeling the daggers Dillon is embedding in his back, no doubt.
“I can’t stand that prick,” Dillon seethes.
“I think everyone in the room can see that, and I think the feeling is mutual.” My lips twitch. Dillon has been breathing down Rawlings’ neck for the past week, wanting to know all the security measures in place. Deke isn’t the kind of man who appreciates being put on the spot or being challenged, so they’ve been butting heads nonstop. “Come dance with me.” I take his hand, leading him out onto the dance floor as the song changes, and a slow number begins to play.
I wrap my arms around my husband’s neck as he pulls me in close, placing his palms on my hips.
“Are the kids okay?”
I nod. “I just spoke to Charlotte. They are all sound asleep. The boys are in East’s room.”
Dillon chuckles as we move in sync to each other and the soft, sultry beat. “I don’t know why we bothered giving them separate bedrooms when they always sleep together.”
“It was important they each had their own space, but I love they’re so close. It warms my heart to see them together.” When we moved into our new home in the Hollywood Hills, we had adjoining rooms built for the boys, but we put twin beds in both rooms because they love rooming together. Now, they alternate between the rooms, making them happy, and that’s the main thing.
“Yeah. Me too.” Dillon smiles. “Sometimes, when I look at them, I imagine that’s what it would’ve been like if Reeve and I had grown up together.” There are only six months between Bodhi and Easton, and they look so alike they could easily pass for twins.
A veil of sadness shrouds his face, and I feel it deep in my heart too. “I think the same way on occasion.” I cup his face. “Are you okay?” This is the first opportunity I’ve had to speak to my husband alone since we left the theater. Everyone has wanted a piece of us, and it’s been exhausting. I’m just about ready to call it a night and go home to my kids.
“I should be asking you that.” He leans down, kissing me softly. “I know watching it, with an audience, can’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t, but I’m glad we did it. I just hope the people who turned on Reeve, after they discovered the truth about Bodhi, understand him a little better now. I want people to see he wasn’t a bad person. I want people to know his actions were driven by love. It may have been misguided and wrong, but he was tragically flawed, like we all are in some way. I hope people see the damage that abandonment and neglect can cause. He craved love and acceptance his whole life, and it twisted his reality of things.”
“It twisted mine too.” Dillon moves us around the dance floor, swaying us in time to the music.
“It did, but you overcame it because you had a loving family to help keep you on the right path and you were more self-aware. When the chips were down, you did what you had to do to be there for me and Easton. You accepted your responsibilities and fully owned them in a way Reeve didn’t do.”
“Seeing your childhood play out on the screen helped me to put the last few things into perspective.”
“In what way?”
“I see what you’ve been saying all along. He was a part of you the same way you were a part of him. Watching those scenes, rather than just reading about them, really made it come alive. I understand it better now. I understand how it was you came to love each other and how it was he came to rely on you so much.”
“I love it out here in the moonlight,” I say, nestling into Dillon’s side on the stone bench. I tilt my head up. “Look at all the stars.”
“It would be so much more romantic with a lake and swans.” I hear the pout in his tone and see it on his face under the illumination of the moon and the dim nightlights dotted around the memorial garden.
“We’ll have our swans when the kids are older,” I reassure him, resting my chin on his shoulder. We decided to forgo our plans for a lake with swans because it’s not really advisable to have either when you have young kids. Dillon was really hung up on the idea, so it’s a bit of a sore point.
He peers deep into my eyes as he links our hands. “Do you still feel him around?”
I told Dillon how I feel Reeve is still with me, explaining the instances where I’ve felt his presence. We’re both still shocked over Bodhi and the rose that day we first met. I know some people don’t believe in an afterlife or spirits or that our loved ones look after us when they are gone, but there is nothing anyone could say that would convince me that wasn’t Reeve’s work. “Not in a long time.” I snuggle in closer to him. “I like to think it’s because he sees how happy I am and he knows I don’t need that reassurance or comfort anymore.”
“I bet it makes him happy too. To know his two boys are with the love of his life, like he always wanted.”