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Chapter 6
Babs walked across the floor to her mark and stood, recalling the opening line in her mind. “It’s not as though I have a choice is it? I’ll pick up the tickets directly at the airport and fly out to meet them tomorrow. If the deal’s sound, I’ll get them to sign the contract straight away. It saves the pen-pushers getting tangled up in it.”
Her suit fit snugly in all the right places and emphasised her beautiful figure. The long slender legs beneath her ran down to a gorgeous pair of black patent stilettos. It still felt strange to feel her feet beneath her sometimes.
She slammed the phone down on the glass-topped desk just as the script called for her to do. There was a yell of “cut!” from the director and a sigh of relief from Barbara as she felt the tension drain away. The last of the ‘before’ scenes finally put to bed.
The director came over and gave her a hug of thanks. “Well done. I knew we made the right choice in giving you this role. We could have used a more established name, but when this is over, you will be the established name.”
She blushed at the thanks. “I’ve loved making this movie and learned so much from you and from the experience. I just hope I’m lucky enough to get more great roles like this in the future.”
“I think you will be heading for your pick of great roles once this hits the big screen.”

There were still some more office scenes to film though and Barbara went out to get changed for the next one. She arrived back on set shortly after, still wearing a suit and killer heels, but this time the jacket was shorter and the heels hung off the back of the footrest on her wheelchair. “I don’t travel across the country at the drop of a hat these days, Mr Field. Especially not on a weekend, this had better be a good deal.”
She paused a short while, waiting for the non-existent response on the other end of the line. “Then I’ll see you Monday morning.” She quickly made a second call on her phone. “Hello I need to book a flight to Boston from LA tomorrow if possible. Yes please, and I need some assistance to board the aircraft, can you make a note on my booking?” Another pause. “Yes I’m paralysed from the waist down and am unable to walk at all. No I can stay in my own wheelchair until I get to the gate, but need to pre-board if possible and will require an aisle chair to get to my seat.” Another pause. “Business please, charged to my account,” and she continued to reel off her character’s name and account number.
Again as she finished, “Cut” was yelled across the set and she grinned at another completed scene.

At the end of the day, she was on her way out of the studio doors and heading for her car when she found she was being followed by a photographer. Recognising her as the star of the new film, he was thrilled to catch her in the wheelchair.
“How’s filming going?” he asked her.
“Very well thanks,” she flashed him a quick grin as he lifted the camera to his eye. She wasn’t a fan of celebrity magazines and much preferred proper interviews with journalists rather than the paparazzi-style of reporting that this guy was involved in, but like most others, the last thing she wanted was negative press.
“What’s it like having to act in a wheelchair all the time?”
“It’s been very interesting and I’ve learned a lot,” she replied in a pleasant tone. “I must dash though, I have to be somewhere in half an hour.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but she did intend to be with Jake in thirty minutes.
He didn’t show any sign of leaving her alone though, so she went ahead and started to load herself into the car from her chair.
“That looks very realistic,” he nodded at her as she lifted her legs in as though they were still paralysed.
“I’ve been in character for the duration of the filming to practice, but thanks.” She nodded nicely to him and then closed the door as he continued to snap away at her car. Silently, Babs was cursing a little. She hadn’t intended to get caught out like that, but it was inevitable now that one or maybe more of the celebrity mags would get a hold of the pictures and she steeled herself for the reaction to them and no doubt the calls for her response that would be prompted via her agent.

The following morning, she was back at work, this time the aircraft scene of her flying out to Boston. She had a sense of how disabled people felt boarding a plane for real as she was lifted from her chair and into the waiting aisle chair. It was a narrow, flimsy-looking thing with tiny wheels on the corners and as she was strapped in and instructed to keep her arms folded across her chest until she was in her seat. They actually had employed airline staff to do this as it would make it more authentic, even if the plane they were about to board was at a distant gate of LAX, currently undergoing a re-fit and it was six am. The chair was tipped back a little so she could be lifted in through the aircraft doors and then it was pushed down the aisle to the large first-class seats. She was again manhandled into her seat, with a sense of having had her dignity stolen in the process. She couldn’t say why, but Barbara felt the annoyance rise in her chest as though she wanted to yell out ‘surely there’s a better way of doing this?’ but didn’t think anyone would be listening and even if they were, they would think she was probably a bit crazy.

Her co-star was in place by the door after a host of extras had been shipped into the scene. He was about to enter at the last minute before the doors close in a rush and see her for the first time.
“Sir, I need you to place your bag in the overhead locker and take your seat as we are about to depart the gate.” The flight attendant helped him to put away his bags.
“Thanks, downtown traffic was hell, sorry I’m so late.” He flashed her his perfect, Mr Hollywood smile and sat next to Babs.
“I was a little worried they would leave without me there,” he turned to her with the same perfect smile.
“I doubt they would leave a frequent flyer at the gate,” she replied with a smile and went back to reading her magazine.
“You’re in investment banking as well?” He nodded at the trade magazine she was studying.
“I am. Surprised to find a woman playing a man’s game?” she gave him her best impish grin.
“Not at all, I have a number of colleagues who happen to be female, not many I’ll grant you and none as good looking as you.”
“Ah, you’re a charmer as well as important enough for them to let you through after the gate has closed.”
“Well, that burst my bubble didn’t it?” He looked a little downcast. “Is there any chance I’ll survive this flight with my dignity intact?”
“Dignity is not something I worry about much,” Babs laughed a little.
“Then there’s hope for me at least?”
“That depends entirely on what you’re after.”
“Let’s start with Champagne!”
She laughed in a flirtatious way, just as the script called for, as her co-star’s character was supposed to be oblivious to her paralysis.
“Ma’am, my name is Alicia and I’ll be taking care of you on this flight. Is there anything you need right now?” The flight attendant gave her a bright smile.
“I’m fine thanks,” she replied and the attendant moved off.
“And you accused me of being important!” her companion raised his eyebrows.
Babs looked at him quizzically. “You don’t give up do you? If we’re going to share this flight at least we can be on first name terms, I’m Joanna.” She held out her hand.
“Michael,” he took hers and they held on for a little longer than normal.
They continued to film the rest of the scene with normal type shots of attendants giving out drinks and food in flight. ‘Michael’ and ‘Joanna’ chatted about their business interests and found they had much in common where work was concerned. Michael was intrigued by the beautiful woman who was obviously well-dressed and from similar social standing as himself. He had checked her fingers and there were no rings so it was a good sign that she might be single.
Joanna was enjoying flirting with Michael, it had been a long time, or at least it seemed like it. She felt a bit guilty that she was hiding her disability from him, but it would make the journey pleasant enough. Joanna knew though that at some point, her fun would be over because she would have to use the bathroom and that would mean the aisle chair and the end of Michael’s interest. So the question was how long should she let the pretence at normality continue?
“Michael forgive me for saying this because I’ve enjoyed speaking to you, but I’ve been keeping something from you and I’m about to do something that would probably freak you out if I don’t mention it first.”
He looked puzzled. “You’re married aren’t you, I mean I looked for the ring but you don’t wear one so I guess you leave it at home maybe, but I should have known that someone like you wouldn’t be available.”
“No, it’s not that. I am single if you must know, but I’m also disabled and I need to use the bathroom so it’s about to become obvious and I feel guilty that I didn’t mention it earlier, because let’s face it, we both seemed to enjoy the flirting and I think I let myself get carried away.”
“What do you mean? Disabled how?”
“I’m a paraplegic, paralyzed from my waist down from a car accident a while ago.”
His face fell immediately and changed from the perfect grin to a look of faint horror. “Oh.”
Joanna waved at the attendant and explained that she needed the chair. When the attendant brought it, Joanna lifted the arm of her seat and lifted herself across the small gap. She was unable to push herself to the bathroom so the attendant did it for her and then the moment that she dreaded the most. Getting from the aisle chair to the toilet seat. At the best of times it wasn’t easy, but aircraft toilets were designed specifically to be the most inaccessible room known to man.
Joanna managed to open the door and then the attendant pushed her in a little more. Reaching for the rail inside, Joanna transferred herself across and the attendant withdrew the chair and waited for her to finish. It took her some time of course and by the time she was done there was a queue outside.
The drawn out process only served to embarrass Joanna further as the queue was now blocking the aisle and everyone had to shuffle around to allow room for her to be pushed back to her seat.
Feeling that she was red-faced from exertion and blushing, Joanna got back in her seat as quickly as she could, noticing that Michael had avoided eye contact with her. She had expected as much and reached for her seatbelt.
“Do you need a hand with anything?” he asked as she tried to pull the belt round. In her haste, she was now sitting on half of it and it was refusing to pull out from beneath her.
“Damn seatbelt,” she muttered. “Sorry, but if I lift myself up can you pull the belt out for me please?” She pushed down on the arms of her seat and raised her hips clear of it, allowing him to free the belt. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he replied. “I understand now what you meant when I mentioned keeping my dignity intact.”
Joanna shrugged. “It’s that or stop living, so I choose to ignore the embarrassing bits of my life in order to make the most of it.”
He was quiet for a moment thinking about her words. “That’s very profound,” he said softly. “Can I ask what happened?”
“I was rear-ended by a car on the freeway going out to Vegas for the weekend. My car swerved off the road and I ended up in a ditch with a broken back.” Joanna was still rearranging her legs as she spoke and realised Michael was watching her.
A brief look of anguish passed across his face. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must have been a terrible experience.”
She nodded. “It was, but I survived and I’m fine now.”
“How long ago?”
“Ten months,” she replied. “It seems like ages ago, but it’s not really. I just feel like I’ve come a long way since it happened and it feels longer somehow.”
“I think that’s impressive, to be back at work so soon.”
“You think so?”
“I doubt most people could just pick up their life again so quickly after something like that happens.”
“I try not to think about it too much to be honest, I’m just glad I survived and I’ve managed to stay independent. It helped having good insurance too!” She allowed herself a chuckle at her own joke.
As the flight came to an end, Joanna was a little sorry to hear the captain announce they would shortly be landing. Michael had been good company throughout and didn’t seem too freaked out by her, however, they would soon disembark and that would be the end of things. As they landed and taxied into the gate, everyone stood and began to take their things from the overhead lockers. Michael did likewise, but of course Joanna would have to get the attendant to get her bags. Michael lowered his laptop case to the floor and then his carry-on, as he did so he glanced back up at the items left in there.
“Are these your bags in here with mine?” He asked, looking down at her.
“Yes, I think so.”
“Black backpack and small purse?”
“Yes,” she flashed him a grateful smile as he handed the purse over and carefully placed the backpack down by her feet. “Oh my cushion as well,” she remembered. “Is it in there as well?”
Michael saw the only other item in there was a thick, black square pad. “Is this it?”
“Yes thanks,” she took it from him.
Michael hadn’t realised that the ‘cushion’ in question was for the seat of her wheelchair and had been looking for something resembling the type you have on the sofa. The cabin was starting to empty and he realised that she hadn’t moved, because of course she couldn’t, at least not without help. “What happens now for you to get off the plane?”
“I wait until everyone’s off; it’s easier because they’re probably still getting my chair from the hold anyway. They’ll bring a transfer chair to get me ‘cause mine won’t fit in the aisle.”
“Is anyone here to meet you?” Michael knew she was here for business and wondered if an associate was meeting her.
“No,” she replied. “I have a meeting in the morning. I’ll just be getting a cab from here downtown.”
The row of seats opposite was now empty as was most of the aircraft. Instead of leaving, Michael sat instead.
“Aren’t you going to disembark?” Joanna gave him a curious look.
“I thought I would wait until they come for you. If nothing else, I could carry your bags for you if you like?”
“There’s no need, the staff will take them for me until I get back in my chair.”
“I’m sure they would, as you say, frequent flyers get treated well, but I wouldn’t be offering if I didn’t want to, besides I want to make sure you leave with your dignity intact,” he gave her a grin now.
Joanna was just wondering about the guy when the staff turned up with the transfer chair to get her off the plane. She just went along with them letting them buckle her in and carry her out. Michael followed along after her, carrying her bags and cushion. When they got outside the door, he saw her refuse the help of the ground staff in getting out again. Beside her sat a very narrow framed wheelchair which looked sleek in design and if he had to guess he would say it looked expensive. She unfastened the buckles holding her in and looked towards him.
“Can you pass me the cushion, please?” She flashed him a smile of thanks as he did. Dropping it into the seat, she pulled the chair closer and then in a swift and fluid move slid herself into the chair. Adjusting her legs into place, he saw how her heels dropped off the back of the footrest. Her calves were slender and she tugged at them until she was sitting comfortably in the chair. When she was happy, she reached out for her backpack and slipped it over the back of the chair, which he noticed had no handles with which to push. Finally she took her purse and slipped it over her head so the strap went across her body and it nestled between her hip and the guard for the rear wheels. “Thanks very much for your help,” she turned the chair with a confident flick of her hands on the back wheel and dismissed the man in the day-glo jacket who had obviously been sent to help her.
Michael followed her up the ramp to the exit and they followed the signs to the arrivals hall. “Do you have luggage to collect?”
She shook her head. “I travel light for business,” she patted her backpack. “I’m only here for two nights.” She pushed the button for the elevator to get to the exit on the level below. “Do you?”
“No I’m the same,” he nodded to the small case that he was now rolling along.
The elevator arrived and they rode down together. Both had been to Boston before and knew where they were headed. “Where are you staying?” He asked her.
“Back Bay, I’m at the Hilton.” He laughed briefly and she looked up at him. “You too?”
“Not quite, but next door at the Sheraton. We’re across the street from each other.”
It was her turn to chuckle now. “Fancy sharing my cab?”
“Well I was going to get the T, but how can I turn down an offer like that?”

Filming was paused for a while; the props people were covering the LA signs with those for Boston. Fortunately, the summer weather negated the need for relocating to the eastern seaboard for filming the meeting scenes, which was a pity in the eyes of the cast, most of whom would have liked to go on location. There were a number of green screens up covering the windows so they could CGI the view of the Boston waterfront behind the glass of the terminal building.
Similarly the stock footage of Boston had already been filmed locally and sent for them to edit into the final cut, so the only part remaining was leaving the airport and arriving at the hotel. For this they would use the local airport hotels and the crews were already in place.
After the short break, the principals were guided back to their previous positions to continue filming.

When they got to the arrivals hall, Joanna looked around as though she was expecting someone. “I should have a driver here, ah,” she waved at a man holding a board by the rail. “There we are.”
“Ma’am,” he nodded as they made their way over. The driver was smartly dressed in shirt and tie. “Can I take your bags?”
Joanna handed over her rucksack and Michael his carry-on.
They followed him outside to the waiting car, a nice, black executive saloon. The driver put their bags in the trunk, then opened the rear door for Joanna.
“Can I help at all, Ma’am?”
“I can manage thanks,” she replied, lifting her left leg into the car and then using the handle above to swing her hips across, before pulling her right leg in. “Let me take the wheels off here for you,” she insisted just in case he was unfamiliar with the quick-release axles. When they were off, Michael handed them over to the driver for stowing and then joined her in the back.
“Your chair weighs nothing, I expected it to be much heavier.”
“Titanium, very light. Makes it easy to lift in and out of my car as well as push around all day.”
“It’s pretty cool-looking as well. I mean, no offence but when you said you were disabled, it kind of freaked me out a bit. Especially when I saw how difficult it was for you on the plane, but then when I saw you get in your own chair, you don’t really seem disabled at all. If you know what I mean.”
She laughed at him. “You’re such a smooth-talker, how come you’re still single?”
He grinned at her. “You make me nervous.”
“It’s the first time anyone has said that about me,” she quirked an eyebrow.

“Cut,” the director yelled. He shook his head, a little troubled. “Babs, a word please?”
She slipped from the back of the car and into the waiting wheelchair. Rolling over to him, she was worried. “Anything wrong?”
“We need to do that part again,” his brow furrowed.
“Why?” Babs looked a little concerned that he was unhappy with something, and as he was talking to her, she must have been to blame.
He looked down at the small screen displaying the last scene. “It was your transfer into the car, I can see your leg muscles moving as you shift your weight,” he held out the screen for her to see and she could indeed see what he meant. It wouldn’t be very convincing to anyone watching that after the way she had performed throughout the rest of the paraplegia scenes.
“Okay, let’s go again,” she sighed. It was so much easier to make things look right when she was really paralysed.
They headed back in the car again to the airport and filmed the exit scene again in its entirety as it was easier than trying to cut in a small section of her getting in the car on its own.
Her co-star seemed unfazed by it and once done, the director checked before they left to repeat the hotel arrival scene too.
They had to film that another twice, as the first time she knocked her shoe getting out and flinched her foot to try and hold it on; a natural instinctive reaction that she couldn’t help. While no one seemed to mind, it was a little annoying as Babs was a bit of a perfectionist and liked to get things right first time.
Once again they checked the footage carefully on the monitor afterwards and that wrapped up the day nicely. ‘Michael’ gave her a quick peck on the cheek as he departed for the day and she headed for the studio car that would return her to the airport car park, where she had left her own car that morning. The driver pulled up alongside her car and she put her chair together from the back seat, where it had been sat alongside her. Once she was in the chair, she shut the door and the driver left immediately, used to her sorting herself out in that situation. Babs was too intent on finding her own car keys in her bag to notice that her driver door had been blocked by someone parking way too close and there was no way she could get her chair down the side. She now had a bit of a dilemma; should she just stand and put her chair in the trunk or should she call someone to help her out. Jake sprang to mind, but then she thought about how ridiculous that would be to have him trail all the way to the airport to rescue her, when the reality was that she didn’t really need his help. Only she had made a promise to herself – NO CHEATING – not under any circumstances.
She tried the passenger side, but again, there was no way to get the chair down the side, not even as far as the back door. She was stranded.
She wracked her brain for a solution, wondering if she should try and find out the other driver’s whereabouts, but how would she do that? The airport was massive and the driver might not even be returning to the vehicle that day. It didn’t seem like an option. The frustration got to her, especially after having to film two scenes over again because she had spoiled them; she burst into tears.
“Come on get a grip!” She scolded herself immediately for being ridiculous.
“Are you alright?” A voice alerted her to someone else’s presence. She turned to find a middle-aged lady, towing a carry-on bag across the car park and looking at her with a worried expression.
“Yes,” she sniffed and shrugged. “Don’t mind me; I’m just having a bad day.”
“Can I help?” the lady asked.
An idea formed in Babs mind and gave her an instant solution to the problem. “Well as you can see, someone has blocked me in and I was just beginning to worry that I might have to resort to phoning my boyfriend to come and help me out because I am unable to walk at all, but if you could possibly reverse my car out for me so I can get in, I would be extremely grateful.”
“Of course, dear.” The woman’s face looked a little concerned though when she got in the driver’s seat. Opening the window, she poked her head out to look at Babs. “I’m not sure how to work the controls, dear. Can you tell me what to do?”
“Of course, sorry I should have realised. It’s really easy, honestly. If you just push down on the lever by your left hand, the engine will start.” Babs paused whilst the woman followed her instructions. Raising her voice a little over the noise of the motor, she then said “Now keep that lever pushed down and put the gear into reverse. Once you let the brake off, the car will roll back very slowly without needing to accelerate. Once you pull back past this other car, I can take over.”
Babs wheeled well back out of the way and watched her car roll back extremely slowly for a few yards, then suddenly it stopped as the woman was more heavy-handed with the brake than she anticipated.
Getting out of the car, she looked a little flustered but gave Babs a smile, which she returned with genuine gratitude. “Sorry about the stop, the brake is very sensitive.”
“It takes a few goes to get used to it, but you have saved my life and I’m really grateful.” Babs rolled up to the door and held out a hand for the woman to shake.
Taking her hand, the woman held on to it for a moment and looked at her a little sympathetically. “It must be really hard sometimes when people are inconsiderate.”
“You get used to these things happening from time to time, but you can’t let it get to you.” Babs flashed a smile.
“No, you mustn’t,” she agreed. “Well, I’ll let you get on with your day. Do you need any help getting in or putting your wheelchair in the car?”
“No thanks, I’ll be fine now, but thank you again, you were really kind to help me out.” Babs let the woman pass and then instantly lifted her legs into the foot well and slipped into the seat. She could see the woman watching her as she pulled the cushion from the chair and then removed the wheels. Once they were lifted into the space behind the passenger seat, Babs lifted the frame across her lap and into the seat next to her. With a little wave to the helpful woman she finished the reverse manoeuvre and then started to drive away, knowing that if nothing else it had been an interesting ten minutes.