"How It May Have Begun…"
A Ghost and Mrs Muir Story
By TunnelsOfTheSouth
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"You have no control over how your story begins or ends. But by now, you should know that all things have an ending. Every spark returns to darkness. Every sound returns to silence. Every flower returns to sleep with the earth. The journey of the sun and moon is predictable. But yours, is your ultimate art…"
Suzy Kassem
Hope Lange was enjoying her new role. Over the last four days, she'd been deep into the filming of the new pilot for a television series called The Ghost and Mrs Muir.
She'd been coaxed out of semi-retirement, and away from the care of her two small children, to accept the role. The producers had phoned to say they needed a big-name star for the title role of the widow, and they immediately thought of her.
How true that was, Hope had no idea. Privately, she'd had her doubts about the work. The script was romantic and intriguing, too good to put down until she'd read it from cover to cover. They'd employed an excellent female scriptwriter to turn the original book into a television series.
But this sort of work wasn't Hope's normal fare. She still wasn't sure about the lighter, comedic side of the show. She worried she would look too foolish while trying to appear funnier than she was.
But then, she had no great expectation of the series being picked up by the network. Or if they did, not much in the longevity of such a project. It was a classical romance revised from the book of the same name. A ghost and a mortal woman in a romantic relationship. Somehow, she doubted any network exec would ' get it' or decide to keep it going.
"Maybe, just maybe, we'll all be looking for new work once they wrapped the pilot." She hoped not…
"Oh, but what the heck? It's cool…" she murmured, shrugging her slim shoulders as she walked slowly towards her next position on the set. She tried to look unconcerned at the excited chatter around her, and the many furtive glances being cast her way.
She managed to maintain her carefully composed air of disinterest. Fate had a way of dealing with her life as it wished, with or without her help. She'd learned that the hard way. She'd learned to roll with the punches as best she could. Today was just another day to get through, at least that's what she'd said to anyone who asked.
Inside, of course, she was secretly fizzing, sensing the atmosphere on the set becoming more electric with expectation as the moment came ever closer to reality. They'd all had the word, today was finally ' The Day.'
The 'Ghost' had finally been summoned on this morning's early call sheet. Until now, there had only been the widow, her two small children and their housekeeper on the set working to get the ghost's old, rundown house back into some state of order with the help of some minor players and an annoying dog.
There had been some funny, light-hearted moments with her other new co-star, Charles Nelson Reilly. He was an incredibly funny and gifted man and very giving of his time and energy. The producers had only contracted him for the first eight minutes of the Pilot. But Hope was determined to make a push for her new friend to be included in further episodes. If there were any. They might all be looking for new jobs soon.
But during the last four days she, her other co-stars and the crew might as well have been making a chick flick about a young widow determined to escape her managing mother's plans for her immediate future. The hours were long and complex, but it was good work and she had no complaints.
Except for one. For all she knew there simply was no ghost because no one had seen him in his new role or costume. He'd been left back at the 20th Century lot when the rest of the cast and crew drove out to Montecito to film the first scenes of the Pilot in a truly beautiful old house that had been built by ship's carpenters for their captain. Hope was very sorry her new co-star hadn't accompanied them because she knew he would love the house.
"Maybe the studio had already pulled the plug on the whole project and just forgot to tell anyone. We're all working for nothing." She shook her head.
Things like that did happen in this business. The black humour of it made her lips curl slightly.
"Yeah, well…" She huffed a small laugh as she passed a frustrated hand over her face as she waited for something to happen.
She took comfort from the fact her other new friend, Edward Mulhare, had been cast as the ghost to her young widow. But no one on the set had seen him in his alter ego of Captain Daniel Gregg. Or anyone that had was sworn to complete secrecy on pain of excommunication. ' Could it be that bad? Or truly that good?'
Hope was dying to know. She prayed the make-up people wouldn't mess too much with her co-star's gorgeous blond curls and deep blue eyes. She liked him just the way he'd been when he appeared on the first day, they had all assembled on set for the first time.
Edward hadn't known how his looks would be changed. They'd talked over the casual drinks and dinners they'd shared in the 'Getting to know you… hope to God there's some chemistry here…' first moments of their professional relationship. They hadn't known each other before. Only Charles and Edward had met while they were both performing on Broadway.
Edward had come from the stages of London and Broadway, as well as the heady heights of My Fair Lady stardom. While Hope had gone home to be with her small children and the semi-retirement she wanted to enjoy with her second husband. She'd acted since she was young, and it didn't hold as much magic for her as it once did.
She found she enjoyed Edward's company, his self-deprecating humour, old-fashioned charm and easy courtesy, which he said his mother had drummed into him from a very early age. And he was Irish, despite the clipped British accent he'd assumed in the intervening years since he'd left the Emerald Isle.
He could still beguile her with tall tales of his early life. In his way, he was a far more serious actor than herself, but they both found common ground in worrying about the more comedic aspects of their new show. Charles had promised to help them out and show them how to do comedy the right way.
Hope shook her head as she waited for something to happen. Standing a full head and shoulders taller than her slender five foot, two inches, Edward made her feel safe and comfortable in his solid and powerful presence, almost as if they had known each other their whole lives. It was comforting to know he thought well of her and her acting abilities.
She knew she could look into the welcoming depths of his incredible blue eyes and know she was okay. That things would be all right, and that fact had become very important to her. He would truly be there for her if she ever needed him.
Just as she heaved a tremulous sigh, a movement through the doors leading onto the set brought her wandering attention back to the present. Someone had just arrived, sauntering onto the scene as if unsure of their welcome, and it took her several seconds to grasp that the dark-haired, bearded man who had just entered, was indeed her long-looked-for co-star. He was now dressed in a dark naval jacket, a roll-neck sweater and dark trousers that made him look very severe and uncompromising.
"Well, this is quite a change…" Hope breathed in equal measure of dismay and fascination. "I get to strut my stuff next to that… Hold the phone..." Her heartbeat was set racing with anticipation.
Standing tall and proud with his thumbs hooked casually into the naval belt at his waist, beneath his unbuttoned jacket, Edward looked every bit the taciturn and troublesome ghost of a nineteenth-century sea captain who had returned to haunt everyone out of his beloved house.
"Okay…" Hope's smile broadened with the commotion and the chatter around her increasing in volume as everyone rushed towards the newest member of the cast, leaving her momentarily alone. Not to be outdone, she swiftly picked her way across the various hazards of the set floor and managed to be one of the first to reach her captain.
She looked up once more into those incredibly blue eyes that saw her for the person she truly was. Those eyes that she knew would never let her down. They held a smile wider than the entire universe, and a seriously questioning look of wonder as if Edward was asking, 'Is this truly enough makeup to cover all my flaws?'
"Hi, there…" Hope smiled back, not hesitating to throw her arms around his waist to hug him, before going onto tiptoe, reaching up to kiss the unfamiliar bristles covering his cheek. He was even taller than she remembered and somehow broader than before.
"Hi…" Edward murmured even as he stiffened a little in her arms.
Hope gasped. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. I forgot…" It was only then that she remembered Edward had recently injured his back while saving a whole black Wedgewood dinner service from destruction.
He told her he'd twisted beneath the box as he tripped over the curbing outside his Van Nuys house and crashed down on the pavement. But his unstinting heroism had saved the service which had landed on top of him.
"It's okay," he replied as she stepped back to hold his hands in hers. "It was a really nice hug. From the script, there won't be too many of those. I'm just a cantankerous old ghost, remember?"
"Are you going to manage everything with your back like it is?" Hope asked worriedly as they turned to cross the set to rehearse together for the first time.
"I'm wearing a back brace beneath my sweater," he confided. "That's why I can't button up this jacket. I'll need to keep the brace on if I going to be on my feet all day. I hope to get my back fixed sooner rather than later."
"Well, let me know if I can help in any way," Hope replied as they walked arm in arm.
Around them, the crew hastily resumed their positions as the two stars entered the spacious main bedroom of the house. Everything had been set up to rehearse.
Edward and Hope took their respective positions for rehearsal of the second to final scene of the pilot. Smoothly returning to her role as Carolyn Muir, the latest, unwanted invader of the Captain's peace, she thrust open the door and walked into the main bedroom.
The Captain was standing at the window, with his back to her, looking through his telescope. He didn't appear to know she was there.
"How dare you bring us back!" Carolyn accused hotly.
The Captain turned slowly, his expression full of weary resignation. "What? You again. I thought I was rid of the lot of you."
Carolyn ignored that quip as she stormed across the room. "Why did you stop us?"
He frowned at her, looking deeply offended. " Me - stop you. You're mistaken, Madam." He stepped past her, swinging the telescope, before bending to look through it again.
Carolyn stood her ground. "I insist you spirit our things right back into the car!" She slapped her hand over the other end of the telescope.
The Captain pulled back to frown at her. "I'm not surprised you forced your way back in here. After all, it's a marvellous house."
"With a marvellous ghost," Carolyn retorted sarcastically.
"And you're in so deep. First and last month's rent. All that money wasted." He looked mournful, but Carolyn wasn't fooled.
"That is no concern of yours…" she replied, loftily. She picked up her bags and headed for the door.
"I'll admit, the house is a bit run down, but it can be fixed," the Captain called after her.
Carolyn ignored him.
"And it's ideal for the children," he continued softly.
"Those are my words," Carolyn accused hotly, turning back from the doorway. "You don't want us to leave, but you won't admit it."
She turned away, intending to leave the room again.
"You're afraid to stay, but you won't admit it," the ghost replied, wryly.
Carolyn stopped in the doorway. She turned back to face him, looking stricken.
Seeing her distress, the ghost relented. "Well, I suppose, since you're here, I might as well let you spend the night."
Carolyn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She walked back towards him and dropped her cases. "I don't need your permission. I have a lease."
"Quite. Well, um, I'll keep watch on the bridge. Right above our room." He suddenly looked very pleased with himself.
"Our room?" Carolyn gasped, staring at him in astonishment. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Well, it was my room at one time – No need to blush, Madam. After all, I'm only a spirit, remember?" the Captain reminded her smoothly.
"But I see you…" Carolyn frowned.
"Only an illusion. Now you see me – now you…"
He clicked his fingers above his head, and he was gone. Carolyn turned slowly, startled and annoyed.
"You come back here!"
"As you wish." Captain Gregg materialized behind her.
Carolyn turned, stiffening her stance. "I won't agree to stay unless I'm completely free to go…"
He smiled as he watched her with sympathy. "M'dear, when you really want to go, I won't be able to stop you…"
"You stopped me this time." Carolyn stared at him, wide-eyed with disbelief.
The Captain leaned closer, watching her with rich amusement in his blue eyes. " Did I? Did I?" he questioned, softly.
Abruptly, Carolyn realised that she could find no answer to such a bold accusation. She frowned, nonplussed. She couldn't think of anything else to say.
They both stood still, staring at each other, at a total impasse. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the bedside table, and the soft echo of the children's laughter, floating up the stairs.
"Okay, and cut!" the director finally called, nodding his head. "That was great, guys. Right on point."
He turned away. "Okay, places, everyone. Let's do it for real this time and get it right. We all want to go home sometime this year…"
"Thanks…" Edward smiled down at his diminutive co-star. "I enjoyed that. You were magnificent."
"You're welcome. Thanks, I enjoyed it too…" Hope replied, getting a little lost in the depths of his blue eyes before she retreated from the room and closed the door behind her to begin the scene again…
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"Remember tonight... for it is the beginning of always…"
Dante Alighieri