The Seeds Of A Daisy: The Lily Lockwood Series: Book One (Women's Fiction) Read Free

everyone was doing, God was clearing theway so I could get to the airport on time. Airport, damn it! There was no way I could fly without Xanax! I burst into tears and cried for my mother, who was in a hospital three thousand miles away, and for myself, so alone, helpless and Xanaxless…

    The first class cabin was relatively empty when the plane finally took off. We had been delayed on the tarmac for what seemed to be hours, yet when I checked my watch, I saw that only ten minutes had passed.
    I white-knuckled it during takeoff. As soon as we were cruising high enough for them to serve alcohol, I relaxed my death grip on the armrests long enough to reach for and down a rum and Coke.
    Shit, I’d forgotten to call Franny to let her know I had arrived at the airport on time. I hoped she had a driver set up to meet me at the gate. Usually my assistant Jody takes care of all that. I’d given her the week off so that she could be a bridesmaid at her friend’s wedding in Hawaii. What was her name? Laura or Laurie—something like that. They’d been best friends for years, and for the last three weeks, Jodi has gabbed nonstop about her friend and the wedding. I got pretty good at keeping a smile on my face, feigning intense interest while thinking of other things. Frankly, I was relieved when she left. If I had to hear one more thing about bridesmaids’ dresses or shoes dyed to match, I would have jumped out of the fucking dressing-room window.
    How was I going to maneuver through the airport without Jodi or my mother’s help? Thank God I didn’t have suitcases to lug—but that meant I didn’t have any clothes. This was becoming even more of a nightmare. No clothes, no Jodi, no Mom!
    Before I hired Jodi, my mother did everything for me. She was my manager, lawyer, personal assistant, bodyguard, protector of all things big and small, my tutor, fashion coordinator, and acting coach on and off the set. She was not just good at all of it—she was
great
at it. Maybe it was because she had a knack for sizing things up quickly and listening to her instincts. Most of the time she was spot-on. That’s something I could never do, but I didn’t have to. She did it all for me. I mean all. And she did it seamlessly and gracefully. People love my mother. She has an adorable openness that people are drawn to.
    Within a few minutes, she has anyone she meets eating out of her hand. It could be a director, an agent, a studio boss, or a taxi driver. It doesn’t matter who they are or what their status in life—they all love her. Many times she has shared her approach to life. with me: “Lily, if you treat people honestly and are open and fair with them, more often than not, they’ll do the same for you.”
    I looked around first class. Seated a few rows in front of me, on the opposite side of the plane, was an actress with whom I’d worked with on a film when I was about fifteen years old. Shit, what was her name? Sandy something…. Please, Dear Lord, don’t let her see me and decide it’s a great time to chat. Already I’d finished my second drink in two gulps, put on my night-shades, and leaned my seat back. Shit! What was the name of that movie? I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I remembered. Recalling names and events—that’s another one of Mom’s strong points.
    “Quick, Mom,” I’d say. “I recognize that guy coming toward us. Who is he?”
    Without skipping a beat, she’d say, “Oh, that’s Eli Brodsky. He’s a producer we met at such-and-such movie premiere.” Just like that, matter-of-fact, like everyone can do that —pull that kind of info out of their ass.
    It was really bugging me. I couldn’t rest until I remembered which film we worked on together. I thought of all the movies I’d shot since I was a kid. One by one I discarded them—until, hallelujah, I remembered it. Sandy had played the role of my mother in the movie
Time for Fools
.
    I relaxed and thought about that movie and another plane ride