Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Four

'Your whole family is so much fun,' Lauren said at lunch outside Urth Caffe. 'I had so much fun this weekend.'

'That's good,' Ecie said. 'I love seeing all of mom's brothers and stuff. They're so funny.'

'You're mom seemed to be a bit pissed at them,' Lauren said. 'Does she mother them at all?'

'I don't think so,' Esme replied. 'They all sort of mother each other. I think it's just worst because she's pregnant and the hormones are kicking in.'

'Oh right,' Lauren nodded. 'Well I still love your whole family. They are so cool and fun. When are you next going to see them?'

'I don't know,' Esme said. 'Probably in a couple of months or something. It sucks we can't see them as often as we'd like.'

'Do you ever see your grandfather?'

'Sometimes,' Ecie said. 'But now his kids are all grown up and stuff he just works non-stop.'

'How old is he?'

'He's seventy eight,' Ecie said. 'He does not know the meaning of slowing down.'

'But it's cool because he only looks about sixty,' Esme said. 'He's really healthy and energetic. Him and Jackson are avid hikers and they go camping and all sorts.'

'That's cool,' Lauren nodded. 'I can see where you all got your sporty stuff from. It's interesting to see how you all look really similar and you all kind of talk the same. Obviously there's lot of Jonathon in you two.'

'Yeah,' Esme said. 'I feel like when we all come together we're just one big person.'

'Does Ross ever feel put out when you all hang out together?' Lauren asked. 'I mean with your mom's family and stuff.'

'Oh no,' Ecie laughed. 'Not at all. Ross has known them for longer than we have, so sometimes we feel more put out, because they're all older than us and they talk and laugh and stuff.'

Lauren nodded. 'Ross is like five years older than you, right?'

'Yeah,' Esme nodded. 'Cassie had Ross when she was nineteen but then she and dad split up and divorced. Mom met dad a couple years later and then had us.'

'So you're parents were young when they got together?' Lauren asked. 'Kind of like mine.'

'Yeah,' Ecie said. 'Because Cassie was an actress from when she was small, she sort of grew up quickly. I think she met dad on the set of this movie; he was working with the director and she was the main character. How old would they have been?'

'I think they must have been twenty and seventeen when they first got together,' Esme replied. 'They got married pretty much straight away then had Ross two years later.'

'Yeah,' Ecie nodded. 'They divorced a year later because dad was always working and Cassie just felt that it would be easier if they split. She thought it'd be easier on Ross and everyone if they went their separate ways.'

'But they still loved each other so they stayed best friends,' Esme said. 'Dad met mom about four years later, but she was in a relationship at the time, but they stayed in touch; they met again the next year and got together. They had E and me but they split up because work and home life kept overlapping and they found it hard being around each other all the time.'

'So that's pretty much the whole family history,' Ecie sighed. 'Everyone was so close and connected that we all grew up with this big family.'

'So how old was your mom when she had you guys?' Lauren asked. 'My mom was about twenty two when she had me and stuff.'

'Mom was twenty one when she had us,' Esme replied looking at Ecie. 'Yeah, she was.'

'Did she not go to college or anything?' Lauren asked. 'Or did she have to drop out.'

'This is where it gets really interesting,' Ecie laughed sitting back in her seat and brushing some hair back. 'Basically, mom's been an author since she was like ten years old. She won this writing competition and they published the book. People loved it, so she started writing professionally right away.'

'Because of granddad, she was homeschooled and was ahead in school,' Esme said. 'She graduated early and went to college when she was about seventeen or something, but she was still writing books and stuff. She met dad at this meeting for something and then she had us. She became a travel journalist sometime before she had us and continued to do that for a few years.'

'She dropped out of college because she already had a job at this newspaper and was writing their travel section and she was also writing books and stuff,' Ecie said. 'She and dad collaborated on some movies and stuff and won some awards or something.'

'How old were they?' Lauren asked, interested.

'Mom was twenty five when she won her first Oscar,' Esme said. 'Then she was twenty eight when she won her second one. She won them with dad; and I think he was thirty one and thirty four. But dad won his first Oscar when he was about twenty nine.'

'That is so impressive,' Lauren said wide-eyed. 'That's really astounding, it's not even real. You're parents are even more awesome than I thought they were.'

'Well they started up their own production company eight years ago,' Esme said. 'So now they can write and produce their own stuff. It's really great because they get to be as creative and have as many fights as they please.'

Lauren laughed. 'So what exactly do your parents do?'

'They both produce,' Ecie replied. 'Dad writes both fiction and non-fiction, screenplays and he directs. He lectured at USC for a couple of months a few years ago. Mom writes travel articles, non-fiction and screenplays. She's also the face of this Italian brand Il Mio Cuore and then she's got her own charity.'

'And is Cassie still acting?'

'She's wants to stop acting, but people keep offering her roles,' Esme said. 'She's trying her hand at producing and she's developing a TV show that sounds really good.'

'Was she in Twickenham? I think I remember her face from it.'

'Oh yeah,' Ecie laughed. 'She always laughs when people recognize her from there. She thinks it's so hilarious because that was the movie that brought all the attention to her.'

'She was awesome in that movie,' Lauren said. 'Did she write any more children's books? My mom bought my little brother one a few years ago.'

'She only wrote the one,' Ecie replied. 'I think it was a story she made up to try and get Ross to get to sleep.'

'Okay,' Lauren nodded. 'I have one last question before I never speak about how cool and amazing your family is.'

They laughed.

'So does everyone want to work with them?'

'You have no idea,' Esme said. 'Loads of actors, directors, screenwriters, editors; they all want to work with them because they know that if they do, they'll be in with a chance at winning some cool awards.'

'Yeah,' Ecie said. 'Mom and dad have won numerous awards of different kinds and people want a piece of the success. The only thing mom and dad really agree on is how hard it is to find a genuine person in the business. It's hard finding people who are actually passionate about what they're doing. Most people these days have ulterior motives.'

'I can imagine,' Lauren said. 'I mean if I were them, I'd be worried about people just using me for their own personal gain. They must get it quite a lot.'

'I think they've learnt how to handle it,' Esme sighed rubbing her eyes. 'All this sun is making my eyes sore.'

'Are we done?' Ecie asked looking at their nearly empty plates.

'Yeah,' Lauren said reaching for her bag and pulling out her black Mulberry Continental leather wallet and pulling out some money. 'Let's go.'

They left enough money to cover their food and a tip, then collected their things and left Urth Caffe.