My mother was the live-in housekeeper/nanny to the Blumenfeld’s. They were both doctors. They had two children, both girls. Mother took care of their children, Rebekah and Rachel, and cleaned their home. In return, we were provided with the studio apartment over the old carriage house that now served as a garage for their classic car collection. My mother worked hard all day cleaning while the Blumenfeld’s children were at school. Then she would pick them up, help them with homework, and make dinner. We often ate dinner with them. The Blumenfeld’s were usually home by six o’clock. Then she would be off until seven the next morning. But the time in between belonged to us. She would read to me short stories she had written while she combed the tangles from my unruly hair. Then we would lie in our full-size bed, and she would hold me, telling me how much she loved me, and I would fall asleep in her arms.

      I loved my mother. She was the best person I ever knew.

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      Liam decided that I would go to the school of his choice, since he was paying my tuition. So I was sent to an all-girls Catholic school, Holy Trinity, until I was in the eighth grade. Then I was transferred to a finishing school, St. Mary’s Sacred Heart. I hated it—the nuns, the uniforms, and all the religious dogma. Hated it. But I dealt with it for my mother’s sake. Liam blamed my mother for any poor behavior I displayed. So, for her sake, I was the model student.

      My mother continued to work for the Blumenfeld’s and began taking night classes once I was in my senior year. I took an interest in the performing arts. Singing and theater became my passion. My first job was at a local café not far from our apartment. My coworkers pretty much consisted of other actors. We all looked out for one another and helped each other find auditions in the area. By the time I graduated high school, I had landed a few short roles in small stage productions. Liam and Angela bought me a powder-blue VW bug for my eighteenth birthday. I decided to stuff it with everything I owned and headed off to LA. My mother offered no resistance. She only pleaded that I be careful. Don’t trust anyone and don’t be naive. Liam was beside himself. He insisted that my mother stop me. But when it became clear to him that she would not, he and Angela presented me with a full ride to any college I could get in to. Plus, a large sum of money if I would reconsider. I refused and informed Liam that he did not have the right to keep me from pursuing my dreams. After all, I was eighteen, and he was a weekend father, at best. I guess this must have wounded him because he ended up giving me enough money to rent a small apartment in the city. For that, I was grateful.

      My apartment was much smaller than the apartment I shared with my mother. But I loved it. It was my little piece of LA. My acting and singing career was slow going. So I took a job at a little coffee café about two blocks from the UCLA campus. I worked from six in the morning until two in the afternoon as many days as I could. I went to every audition I could find in between. Sundays were for hanging with friends and calling my mom.

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