Seeing Her (Grace)

Grace shook her head with a wry smile. "Currently my only pair of flip flops has heels." she countered as she stepped into the cab. "I've worn heels since I was a child. Literally, they were a part of my school uniform." She wrinkled her nose. Her memories of her time at her preparatory school came with mixed emotions, but they'd been among the happier moments of her childhood. They had been the times when she was surrounded by friends. When she could turn and by her side she'd always see... She forced her mind away from her ex husband before the train of thoughts turned into a rabbit hole. She'd been young and foolish back then. Now she was an entirely different person.

"So, tell me! How was filming a TV show?" she asked eagerly. Personally, she'd always stayed away from TV shows. They were too much of a commitment and she had always liked being able to change directions at a moment's notice. Of course, with the kids living with her that was impossible now.

Grace rolled her eyes. This certainly hadn't been the first comment on her shoe choice, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She'd been shown the damage shoes could do, but she also knew that only really happened to about 30% of women and she was careful enough. She knew how she was supposed to wear heels. What she didn't understand was how people wore flats. They were too uncomfortable for her liking.

She blinked as the question was turned back to her. "Oooh, this and that," she shrugged. "Not much in the past couple of years, really. I did one play." Normally she'd be getting more work, even if it was just little things. Extraneous situations kept that from happening now, though. "Oh! And I did a poetry reading thing at my daughter's request. Not super mainstream, but surprisingly fun." she added with a broad grin.

"Of course, Rose isn't very happy about all of it." Rose was sort of Grace's on and off publicist. They had an odd contract where Rose got a percentage of Grace's income and helped out when it came to hyping movies and such. Really Grace just considered her one of the few friends in the industry that wouldn't turn around and stab her in the back at a moment's notice.

Grace chewed at the inside of her lip. "They're fine," she muttered. Then, thinking better, added "Despite me, not because of me." She didn't think she'd been able to do much to keep her kids happy. She'd kept them from their next of kin, and from what Grace remembered of them that was probably a good thing, but that didn't mean Grace herself was a good mother. She'd never had that maternal instinct that was expected of her. Especially not when it came to two teenagers going through quite a bit of tough shit.

"But my problems aren't yours. You just got back." she shook her head, then smirked up at him. "And yet you already landed a movie? Are you sure you didn't lie to me and get back earlier?" she narrowed her eyes. She knew it was more complicated than that sometimes. Some movies just fell into place and others required a bit of hunting. "Who's the director?" she added curiously

Grace gave a tight smile but didn't respond to Charlie's question. It was too complicated to get into her kids. She was pretty sure Carter had come around, but with Charlotte it was hard to say. In some moments she was more open, but overall she was just as cold and stiff as she'd always been around Grace. She was ok with that. She'd done enough to earn her children's anger. Time wasn't a cure to the wound she'd left on them.

Jackson Mitchell. She hadn't had the pleasure of working with him, but she'd been in the scene long enough to have seen him around at various events. He was a good person, and he did some amazing things. "Now that just seems like bad form," she drawled, her British accent returning to her voice. There was a teasing glint behind her eyes. "Mitchell is a good director, but it takes all the fun out of it when you don't have to at least pretend there's some competition."

Grace smiled at his offer but shook her head. ”I’m not sure that’s the best idea.” she sighed. It would be so much easier to let someone come in and clean up her mess, but she’d never liked accepting help from others. ”I have to get through to them on my own. And I am. Bit by bit.” She was reluctant to admit that last part because she wasn’t sure how true it was. Things had to get worse before they got better, and she’d stuck to that when they first arrived, but after 2 years it felt like there should have been more progress, not just the tense understanding they’d developed. It reminded her so much of what she’d had with her parents, and she didn’t want that for anyone.

”I just wish things had been different from the start. I never wanted to leave them, just everyone else in that damned country.” Grace had avoided talking about her family for years, whether it be about her parents or her children, but since Charlotte and Carter had arrived she’d found herself forced to think about the whole mess she’d left back in England more and more. She wished it was just them she had to mend ties with, but the past had been dug up. She knew it was only a matter of time before the rest of the people she’d been avoiding decided to get in contact with her again, and knowing them that seemed like something she should actively be preparing for.

Grace chewed at the inside of her cheek at his next question. She preferred to go into auditions alone, but she didn’t want to leave Charlie in the taxi. Plus she wasn’t ready to part ways with him quite yet, even temporarily. ”Come in with me.” she said after a moment of deliberation. ”You can see me wow the crowd. It is a closed callback, but for you I don’t see that being a problem.”

Grace offered a small smile. "It's very a very kind offer but I think it would make things worse. I have to put in the time and effort, not hand it off to someone else." she sighed. Although she'd had the kids for a while now it was still difficult for her to actually be there for people. She'd spent so long trying to make it blatantly obvious that she wasn't the sort of woman who could be depended on, who's reliability could be abused.

Grace slid across the seat and followed Charlie out of the cab. She took a deep beath before starting towards the building. She had prepared enough that she should have been confident in her ability to get this part, but she always got a familiar gnawing anxiety in her stomach when she had to audition. There were so many things that could go wrong that she would have no control over, like her unique spin on the character being one the directors absolutely hated or something about her appearance that she couldn't change even if she wanted to. Plus if she messed up badly enough she could forever discredit herself in that particular director or casting crew's eyes.

(OOC: I think for this one we were gonna have her 'ex' be a surprise additional co director or something right?)