A Dropped Stitches Christmas Read Online Free

the studio system. I was very appreciative of it because I had no talent.”
    —Lucille Ball

    L izabett brought these quotes to us when she was completely bald. She used to play old I Love Lucy reruns and laugh and laugh. She even got a bandana and wore it tied over her head like Lucy used to do when she was doing housework. Lizabett seldom wore a wig. She used scarves or caps or turbans instead. I think Lucy inspired her to be brave. When Lizabett’s hair grew back, it came back with a tinge of red in it. We all said it was because of all the Lucy shows she’d watched.

     
    I think Lizabett is still watching those Lucille Ball shows. That’s the only reason I can think of for her to be standing here this morning in The Pews, telling me I’ve got what it takes to become an actress.
    We took the bus down Colorado together and arrived a few minutes ago. She has a cup of herbal tea in front of her and I have a cup of black coffee in front of me.
    We’re both leaning on the mahogany counter that runs along the left side of the diner. Uncle Lou (we all call him Uncle Lou even though he’s Marilee’s uncle) keeps that counter so polished a person can almost see their reflection. I can actually see more than that. If I focus on the wood at the end of the counter, I can look into the kitchen area and see Randy working. It’s about ten o’clock and the breakfast rush has gone by now and Randy is making a big kettle of vegetable soup for the lunch crowd. He asked me last night, after the Sisterhood meeting, if I would be here this morning and I said I would be.
    Lizabett and I are both taking a class at Pasadena City College so we meet here afterwards every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning about this time. Usually Marilee comes out of the diner’s office and talks with us. We’re a little early today, but she’ll be out soon. Sometimes Becca has time off from her internship and can join us, too.
    Now and then we head out for lunch at one of the restaurants along Colorado Boulevard—Mi Piace with its white tableclothes or Johnny Rockets with its fifties décor—but usually we’re content to just eat at The Pews. It’s home to us.
    “I read that Lucille Ball once said that she couldn’t sing or act either—she couldn’t even dance,” Lizabett says as she holds up a copy of Variety and points to the list of casting calls. “It’s all about having the courage to try.”
    All of us in the Sisterhood have the highest respect for courage. Still…“I don’t think things are the same as they were when Lucy first started. Nobody gets anywhere in Hollywood without some talent.”
    Truth be told, I’m kind of touched by Lizabett’s enthusiasm for my acting career. But I’ve read enough about getting into the movies to be a realist. People have to join SAG—that’s the Screen Actor’s Guild—to get any good parts. They can hang out and be an extra in movies, but basically all they get is the all-you-can-eat buffet truck and fifty to a hundred dollars for the day. Not many people actually work up to a speaking part that way, which is what a person needs to really be in the movies. Even one spoken word does the trick. Some lucky people go from being an extra to having a bit part and, with a bit part, they have a chance.
    I have to admit I’ve read enough about becoming an actress that I know how it’s done.
    “You might have talent,” Lizabett says stubbornly. “You never know until you try. You could at least audition.”
    I’m watching the reflection in the other side of the counter so I see Randy walk to the door of the kitchen. “Audition for what?”
    Lizabett turns and sees him. “Don’t you think Carly would make a great actress?”
    “Sure,” he says.
    Okay, so he’s looking at me now in a very nice way. Sort of like he’s happy to be my cheerleader.
    “Most of the people who audition for things have experience,” I say just so no one gets their hopes up.
    “So, get some experience,”