Hearthstone Entertainment
35 Moving On
WHEN WE WERE FINALLY FINISHED, I headed back to the house. Mom, Dad, and Anna had arrived to see the finished product. They hadn’t been able to be here during the install, but were excited to see the result. There was more finish work in the basement and the back deck to be done, but the house still looked pristine. As soon as the studio was cleared, we moved the living room furniture and the dining tables and chairs. We had to do some negotiating. Originally, the tables were for the casa and clan, so it was logical they would move to the new house. But there was also a problem of needing a large dining table for shows. We wouldn’t be using them for every broadcast, but many of the planned shows involved sitting down to eat the results. And there were people living in the loft dormitories who deserved to have a comfortable place to sit down for dinner.
The same was true of other items that we needed for the show or residents, but that we needed for the home as well. Things provided by our sponsors, like the appliances and the cookware, had to remain in the studio. But we still needed cookware in the new kitchen. And dishes. That was another tradeoff. We’d bought the dishes to feed the clan. We wouldn’t have dishes to set the table we didn’t have.
We had a beautiful fireplace in the new house with a huge open room for dining and relaxing. That was something that we kept the concept of from the barn. But the fireplace wasn’t rustic like the barn. I couldn’t help but think I liked the one we’d built ourselves better. I guess I was just staring at the cold fireplace when Dad came up to me.
“Something bothering you, son?”
“Oh. Uh… Not really, I guess. I was just thinking about how closely integrated all the areas of our lives have been until now. We ate in the kitchen we taped in. We sat in front of the fireplace to study and then taped Elaine’s talk show there. It feels… like we’re getting divorced.”
“Sometimes that’s a good thing,” he said. “I know divorce is painful and there are some issues you have to deal with, but separating your business from your family will have a positive effect eventually. It gives you a space in which to develop your relationships and a space in which to conduct business. You still work together, but you can leave the office now. Leave work behind when you go home. And my advice is that you leave your work roles at the office. Living with your family is a different dynamic than living with your coworkers.”
“Gosh, Dad, that’s profound,” I laughed. “But you’re right. We worked so hard getting this started that it was easy to make the business be our family instead of having our family run the business. I know we all missed having our living space when we were using the whole studio for taping this summer. I just need to adjust.”
“Brian,” Courtney called. “Will you come tell me what you think of this?” I walked to what was technically the front of the house, though I supposed the real center of activity would always be the great room.
“What is it, love?”
“Our study room,” she said. We walked into what would be the formal living room if any of us had an interest in being formal. There were six desks set up with computer monitors on them. Our old laser printer and dot matrix printer were on a table on one wall with a brand new inkjet printer. There were three comfy old chairs and lamps opposite the computers. There was no harsh overhead lighting. Each chair had a lamp and each computer had a desk light.
“Wow! Where did we get all the computers?” I asked.
“Oh, Geoff said he needed to do something this summer besides wash dishes and he built them for us. Don’t worry, we paid for them and paid for his time, too. Everything was stored in the lower duplex. Theresa and Larry were glad to get them out of their home this afternoon,” Courtney said. “There’s still some work to be done. Everything is equipped with Ethernet cards so all the computers can access all the printers. We still have to run the cables. But what do you think? Is this a good study area?”
“It’s brilliant! Can we get on the school network from here?”
“Yes, but it’s slow. We’re still on a dial-up modem and really only one computer can get on at a time. We’ll set up email accounts for everyone and you can order scientific papers, but that’s pretty much everything. It’s really so we can do our homework and print out drafts and final copies.”
“Where’s my Mac?”
“About that. You kind of quit using it for chemistry experiments since we got down here. The recipe database is really business, so it is still currently in Stall Four. I believe we will be expanding the equipment in that room. Hannah and Louise have the business computer in Stall One, but she said she wants to convert Stall Four into our control booth. We’re looking at acquiring another Mac, only one that is like the big brother of your little guy. We’re looking at acquiring a Macintosh II like the media lab has. There is some new software available that might make it possible for us to do our own non-linear video editing. It’s going to take a little while, but I convinced Hannah to hold off on acquiring used video editing equipment for now. There’s no sense buying into the past.”
Wow!
We all wore gis at the campfire that night in deference to the parents. They wore gis, too. I wasn’t sure when they got them. They were white with gray belts.
“Dad? Have you formed a casa?” I asked.
“The tribe of elders,” Dad said. “Not all of us have adopted it, but several of us have talked. We thought we didn’t need to have insignia, but we needed to be identified as part but different. That’s why simple white gis and gray belts. Your friend Leonard made them up for us.”
“Who all has them?”
“Oh, just us and the Davises. And, of course, Lily and Sly. And the Duvals.”
“Make sure John and Bea Clinton know about them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They could use your support, Dad.”
We didn’t talk longer because Rose was next to the fire and when she raises her hands in the air, everyone gets quiet—whether she’s wearing clothes or not.
“We have a house,” she said. We all started clapping. I noticed Sheriff Donaldson had come for the celebration and was standing with one arm around his daughter and one around Doreen. I think he’s had his grandfather gene activated. “Tonight is a night of celebration. It is also a night mixed with sadness as we of Casa del Fuego move out of the barn we all worked on so hard a year ago, and into a house designed especially for us by our cousin Rhiannon. Anna would like to say a few words.”
“Clan of the Heart, thank you. Up until this time, I have been your landlord. I want to announce to you that your properties are now officially separate parcels. The El Rancho del Corazón subdivision has officially been platted and approved. Instead of a landlord, I have now become a developer. It’s a little after the fact, but I will be working with each casa that pays rent and construction costs to discuss the sale to you of the parcels on which your homes sit. However, this evening is about welcoming Casa del Fuego to their new home. And thus, I offer you, Rose, representing your casa, the key to your new home.”
“Brian,” Rose said. “Will you join me?” I went to her and we accepted the key. Of course, we had a couple dozen keys already but there were rituals to complete. Anna kissed us both and stepped back beside Mom and Dad. We went to our casa and distributed keys to each member. We had two left for Nikki and Sarah.
“Casa del Agua,” I said approaching Doug, Doreen, Rhiannon, and Sandy. I held out a key on a ribbon. “Mi casa es su casa.” I moved on to Carl, Brenda, Louise, and Cathy and held out a key. “Casa de la Tierra, mi casa es su casa.” I went to Lionel, Sugar, Renee and Lamar. “Casa del Sol, mi casa es su casa.” Theresa and Larry hadn’t been at the first ritual but were thrilled when I approached them. “Casa de los Caballos, mi casa es su casa.” Larry reached out to me.
“Patrón, mi casa es su casa.” He handed me a key to the lower duplex where they’d moved in over Labor Day weekend.
“We have one key left for Casa del Arco Iris,” I said. “We have each offered and received keys to the others’ houses. Our hope is that there will be no need for locked doors between the cousins in our clan. We all are the Clan of the Heart.”
“It should be easier this time,” I said. “I don’t even need to cut class since her flight doesn’t get into Indianapolis until three-thirty. We’re going to use the Suburban as a limo. I’ll drive. Adam will go in to meet Heaven at the gate. Amy will jump in the front, Adam and Jessica in the back, and we’ll be gone. No problem. Once we are inside our gates, we’re safe and sound again.”
“Don’t forget your communicators,” Rose laughed. “Adam should let you know when they are headed out so you are sure to be ready.”
“We’ve had the CB in the Suburban for a long time now. I’ll make sure there are fresh batteries in the handhelds.”
“I think Tim and I should ride along,” Whitney said. “Use all three seats in the Suburban. I’m not as worried about photographers now as I am about crackpots. Even places you wouldn’t think. Coach had a team meeting last week and part of our orientation was on the rights of students in reporting assaults on campus. Congress actually passed a bill about it when that girl was raped and murdered in her dorm room at Lehigh. The Clery Act took effect last fall, but this year they’re making sure everyone gets an orientation.”
“We’re going to an airport,” I said. “It’s not like we’re walking down dark alleys.”
Ultimately, though, Whitney won out. She, at least, would ride shotgun. It changed again, though, when we found out Adam could not go to meet Heaven. After getting stomped by Notre Dame a week ago, the football team was in lock-down as they prepared for Saturday’s game against Kentucky. Adam wouldn’t even be free to come to the ranch until Sunday, just before Jessica took off again. We’d end up taking her to campus one day this week so she could have lunch with him. Plans were going to hell in a handbasket.
Since that affected Tim, as well, Josh and Hannah decided to go. They would meet Heaven and Amy at the gate and escort them to the car. We called Jessica in New York and confirmed the arrangements. I wasn’t happy about it. But Whitney was our chief of security for the clan.
Before I left to pick up Jessica Tuesday afternoon, there had been another change. Hannah was not going to accompany us. Maggie was. Of course, it made perfect sense in a way. Maggie was the producer of Heaven’s new show, Redress. It put her arrival in Indianapolis on a professional level to have Heaven’s producer meet her at the airport. And Josh would be equipped with a camera as their official photographer. Whitney would carry the handheld radio and be nearby to handle security with Amy if it proved to be necessary. I put on my chauffeur’s hat and waited by the car.
The car had been scrubbed and polished until it shone. The interior had been vacuumed and every surface was sprayed with some kind of stuff that made it smell new. It hadn’t looked this good since my eighteenth birthday, almost two years ago.
The pickup wasn’t as strenuous as we had feared. The paparazzi had apparently missed the fact that Heaven was flying to Indianapolis today. The biggest problem was with a group of teenage girls who were on their way to a choral competition in Philadelphia. Of course, they recognized Heaven immediately and began squealing and snapping pictures. Maggie acted quickly to set up an impromptu photoshoot with Heaven for the girls. They all had cameras, so each of the dozen girls and their chaperones got to have her picture taken with Heaven. Josh snapped off a lot of photos, too, though we wouldn’t be able to use them anywhere. Maggie recorded the names of each girl in the order of the pictures and then got the name and address of the school from the chaperones. We’d get the photos developed, Heaven would sign them all, and we’d send the bundle to the school for the girls.
I was getting antsy, waiting at the curb. You’re only supposed to be in the pickup zone for five minutes and I’d driven around the loop twice before Whitney squawked over the CB that Heaven was on approach. Then, of course, I had trouble getting a spot back at the curb. They finally came out and I had the passenger doors open for them. Amy and Josh took the back seat. Jessica slid into the middle seat with Maggie beside her. Whitney secured the doors and jumped in the front, just as I put the car in gear.
“Well, that was exciting,” Jessica said. “Maggie, that was quick thinking the way you handled the teens. I really don’t mind having photos with fans, but I hate being mobbed. You kept control and I felt safe with Whitney and Amy nearby. I hope the photos all turn out, Josh.”
“If not, we’ll send them each a signed picture of just you,” Maggie said. “That will be almost as precious to them. And we’ll get good publicity at Richmond High School. Our demographics show that Redress will draw its largest audience from junior and senior high school girls.”
“I’m so used to dealing with Dior that the idea of appealing to high school girls is a little strange to me. Usually, it’s men’s magazines and expensive fashions I’m working with,” Jessica said. “When can we pull over and switch drivers so Brian can come back here and make out with me?”
“Only on the ranch, darling,” I said. “Since your last visit here, the campus has been buzzing about you and Adam. We aren’t going to risk your pure image by having you seen making out with the executive producer.”
“Spoilsport. When am I going to get to see my boyfriend?” she asked.
“Late lunch on campus tomorrow,” Maggie answered. “I talked to Coach Mallory and sold him on the idea of a spirit booster to have the team invite their girlfriends and the cheerleaders to lunch at the training center. The guys have to practice at four, but lunch at one will be another great publicity moment. It will be very public. Shelly Ames will be covering it for WIUB-TV, but I’m pretty sure there will be at least one television crew from Indy and one from Louisville there as well. And, of course, the usual sportswriters.”
“How much attention am I going to get,” Heaven sighed. “I’d really like to be just one of the girls.”
“Oh, there will be some attention, but mostly from the guys’ dates and the cheerleaders. Here in Bloomington, you’d have to be bigger than Heaven to get more play than Vaughn Dunbar. Even in the loss against Notre Dame, he was the top rusher and scorer and is the main reason your boyfriend won’t start,” Maggie said.
I was impressed with the way Maggie was managing the production, and managing her star.
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