Chapter One

As the blazing ruins lit the night sky, he pulled her close, whispering into her ear. “My love, life with you is never boring.”
She leaned away to look deeply in his eyes, a slight smile on her beautiful face. “Darling, I couldn’t leave it to you alone to light up my world.”
Their lips met as the screen faded to black.

“Moooooooom,” I groaned. “Do we have to watch Midnight’s Dawn EVERY time it’s on??? Just every once in awhile couldn’t we watch something new – like maybe a Logan St. James movie or something. Sorry, but he’s much better looking than your leading man.”
We literally had to watch it every time it was on. And it never failed to horrify me. Just imagine your mom as a huge movie star sex symbol. YUCK!! Unfortunately, my mom had been just that - one of the biggest in fact. Of course that had been before she had me.
“I hate to break it to you, Kate, but Kyle Thomas is definitely better looking than any of the new teenage heartthrobs, even your Logan St. James. Take it from me – I know.” Mom winked at me and smiled. “Besides, Midnight’s Dawn brings back good memories. I met your father when I was making that movie.”
Like I could forget. I’d heard the story a thousand times – from Mom, Dad, and the occasional “Where are They Now” show on cable.
Mom had been born Betsy Brown in Lubbock, Texas. At age 18, fresh out of high school, she left Lubbock in search of the Hollywood dream.
She immediately reinvented herself as Bridgette Broucheriou, and within a short six months of arriving in Hollywood, she had her big break – a small role in a big movie. Her natural talent caused that small role to gain notice by the Academy of Motion Pictures, and Wham! Bam! Bridgette Broucheriou (aka Betsy Brown) received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar (which now prominently serves as a paper weight in her office).
However, a single Oscar wasn’t enough for Mom. No, she took her first Oscar and used it to springboard into starring roles in even bigger movies. She did everything from comedy to drama to ultimately what she was best known for, Action Adventure. By the time she was 25, she had three Oscars and enough money to support herself comfortably for the rest of her life. She was also completely and utterly bored. The scene had lost its luster when it stopped being a challenge.
Enter Dad.
Dad is a Minnesotan. That sort of says it all. He’s steady and loyal, slow to action and resistant to change. After graduating high school from a small town in Southern Minnesota, he did what few of his classmates ever considered. Leaving the family farm, he headed up to St. Paul for college. After college, Dad was expected to return to Mapleton and take over the farm, but, for what was probably the only time in his life, he did the unexpected.
He ran away to Hollywood.
Unfortunately for Dad, even with his blond haired, blue-eyed good looks, he lacked Mom’s talent. So, instead of arriving in Hollywood and making an immediate splash like Mom, he ended up working in crafts service (sort of like snack catering) for one of the studios. Not exactly acting, but at least he was, loosely, a part of the movie industry.
Enter Mom.
Dad obviously knew who Mom was, so the fact that he noticed her wasn’t surprising. What was remarkable was her noticing him. Amongst the bagels and donuts, she saw Dad refilling the large coffee pots that were fixtures on set. Tall, blonde, and thickly muscled due to years of farm work, Dad looked the exact opposite of the soft Hollywood types Mom was used to.
She didn’t speak to him at first; strangely shy despite her superstar status. He certainly didn’t speak to her; it just wasn’t done. Eventually, after a week of admiring Dad from afar, Mom finally gave in to her desires and asked him for……another cup of coffee.
Yep, that always gets me too. There she was, Miss Sexy Superstar, and the best she could come up with was to ask for coffee from the coffee guy. As silly as it seems now, it somehow worked for Mom and Dad. Coffee turned to small talk, which eventually led to a date. The rest was history.
It was unconventional, to say the least. A movie star and a wannabe actor, coffee guy. Actually, it was more than unconventional – it was frowned upon. By the time the movie was complete, Mom and Dad were married. Talk about whirlwind romances! About six months (and a minor scandal) later, I was born.
For my first year of life, Mom continued to work. Dad valiantly tried to break into movies, but even with Mom as a powerful force behind his career, he didn’t get anywhere. Then Grandpa Swanson got sick – very sick.
It was Grandma who called. Dad was needed back at the farm. It was time for him to stop playing and come home to do his duty. His family and the farm needed him.
At first he resisted. Mom’s career was as strong as ever, and he wasn’t about to leave us in Hollywood. Only when Mom insisted did he return home for what was supposed to be a visit.
Dad never came back.
Within days of his arrival in Mapleton, Grandpa died. Mom quietly wrapped up the movie she was working on, packed up our belongings, and followed Dad to small town southern Minnesota. She never altered her course, regardless of the astounded disbelief from most of the movie industry.
At first she got daily calls from her agent, but slowly those calls faded to weekly, then monthly, until finally they stopped altogether. Meanwhile, Mapleton welcomed Mom with little fanfare. While the tight knit community didn’t exactly open its arms to its new celebrity member, it didn’t reject her either.
Mom settled into her new life with as much focus as she’d approached her acting career. First, she set out to organize the farm while Dad worked to right its operating side (Grandpa had let it go for years). Under Mom’s direction, a new house was built on a piece of property adjacent to the original farmhouse where Grandma still lived. When the new house was complete and the farm organized, she began balancing the farm’s accounts using a combination of business skill and a portion of the vast fortune she’d accumulated while acting.
By the time I entered Kindergarten, the farm was operating efficiently and profitably, but Mom and Dad were no longer happy, having unremarkably grown apart over the years. Not long after, they divorced.
Dad stayed at the farm, and Mom chose to remain in Mapleton. Too many years had passed to resurrect her career, she said. Besides, Dad was in Mapleton, and she didn’t want to rip me away from him. She was happy - in a contented way of being happy.
Now, ten years later, Mom owns a specialty dress shop, one of the most popular shops south of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul for those of you not from Minnesota). Dad still runs the farm, raising soybeans and a few cows, and I am Kate Swanson, an average small-town girl.
Only on rare occasions, like tonight, do I catch a look of wistful longing in Mom’s eyes. A look of remembered joy. Only on these occasions do I realize she misses her old life – more than I can possibly understand.


© 2008 - 2009 Elizabeth Johnson