Belonging Read Online Free PDF Page A

Carter, I really object to your language and your style. My crew—”
    “—will take advantage of you at every turn if limits aren’t set.”
    “What is your problem! That poor young man—”
    Carter interrupted her again. “That ‘poor young man’ can’t keep his fly zipped. He pulled a stunt just like this on one of the shows I was producing last year. This year he got Linda Rosenbloom over in Legal pregnant.”
    Joanna’s jaw dropped. “Vern Cook?”
    “Vern Cook.” Carter paused to let this sink in, then continued, “It’s a mystery to me, but some women go wild for him. After Linda had the abortion, I called him in and told him in no uncertain terms that if anything like this ever happened again, he was out of CVN for good.”
    Quickly the implications of what had just happened raced through Joanna’s mind.
    “Carter, I apologize for countermanding you in front of an employee. I acted hastily.”
    “That’s right,” Carter said.
    “On the other hand, all this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t made a unilateral decision to fire Vern without consulting with me,” Joanna pointed out. “If you’d told me about Vern’s background, and asked my opinion, I probably would have agreed with you.”
    “Look, I’m trying to save you some time and trouble. You shouldn’t have to attend to every detail.”
    “I consider our crew more than a detail,” Joanna retorted. “Look, let’s agree not to make major decisions without consulting the other first. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    After the first confrontation, the others were easier to navigate and Joanna found that to Carter’s credit, once a decision was made, even one Carter didn’t like, he did not try to subvert her, and he did not carry any kind of grudge. Carter wanted the show to be a success; that was his first priority, and he didn’t let petty disagreements distract him.
    Even better and completely unexpected was the elegant balance their personal styles provided. Joanna’s vision was soft, warm, diffuse, forgiving; Carter’s electric, cold, swift, critical. At first this difference was an irritant. Eventually they were able to discuss their managerial styles, to analyze and anticipate and even to use them in a kind of good cop/bad cop way with their staff. Joanna was so reasonable and personable that she was often inefficient, and people took liberties with her they’d never think of in dealing with Carter, who managed with clear-cut and unflinching authority.
    Their alliance was especially helpful in dealing with Dhon Rodriguez, the lovable, theatrical, adorably witty and easily wounded young man who took care of Joanna’s makeup and hair for the show, working the miracles that kept her looking gorgeous on camera in spite of heat, humidity, or cold. He entertained the FH crew while they traveled, cheering them through the most cataclysmic shoots with wickedly realistic imitations of celebrities and network dignitaries, singing Ethel Merman songs when the rest of the crew was exhausted and depressed. Dhon was priceless. Everyone loved him, and Joanna didn’t want to face a camera without him. But Dhon had never learned to appreciate solitude or even to accept those few seconds of silence that helped people regain their equanimity. He didn’t know when to stop and there seemed to be no subtle way to get through to him. Once when a rainstorm persisting over an entire week ruined their plans for a shoot in a house on the Vineyard, Joanna snapped at Dhon, “For God’s sake, will you close your mouth a moment so the rest of us can think?” Dhon had instantly gone into a major sulk, which didn’t end until Joanna sent him red roses. She and Carter had a private discussion about Dhon after that, and from then on if Dhon needed subduing, it was Carter who did it, in his cool, indifferent way. Dhon accepted it from Carter; Carter was known for his heartlessness and Dhon didn’t take it personally, as he did with Joanna.
    As Carter and