Farrah thick binders full of scrapbook-worthy reviews. Farrah is asked to speak on behalf of battered women and does a series of interviews and events in support of the anti–domestic violence movement.
Farrah is nominated for an Emmy, but she doesn’t win. She didn’t expect to win so she didn’t prepare a speech. Her satisfaction has come from knowing she played the part well. Farrah doesn’t need public affirmation the way I do. Joanne Woodward gets the Emmy that year for
Do You Remember Love
, portraying a professor suffering from Alzheimer’s. Intruth, Farrah’s performance was more nuanced. I remember sitting with Farrah that night at the awards ceremony, squeezing her hand, both of us listening to the list of nominees being called. I was so sure she’d win. When they announce Joanne Woodward’s name, it’s a kick in the chest. She’s not even there to accept. “Let’s go, honey,” I tell her. “I’ve got to get out of this place.” I start to rise, and Farrah gently touches my forearm and gives me this wan smile. “No, that wouldn’t be fair to Joanne,” she whispers. It’s always bothered me when the media depicted Farrah as unsophisticated. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Farrah is also nominated for a Golden Globe for
The Burning Bed
, but you know who wins one? Paul Le Mat, who played the part of the guy who beats her. He wins while she carries the movie, although Paul is excellent.
That night we skipped the Emmy parties and drove back to Malibu. We took a bottle of Cristal Rose with us down to the beach, sat on the sand, and watched the moon rise over Catalina Island, and for once thought about how fortunate we were.
On the family front, the situation with Tatum is tentative at best. She reminds me of a jungle cat, graceful, commanding, and yet always wary. She started dating tennis bad boy John McEnroe a couple of years before. It will not be a match made in heaven. She managed to steer clear of addiction all those years living with her mother and brother, not to mention having a father who didn’t always set thebest example where drugs and alcohol were concerned, and then she falls for a famous athlete who you’d think would be squeaky clean, and instead they do drugs together.
Farrah and I meet John for the first time when Tatum brings him for a visit to the beach house. There I am sitting in the living room, looking at him and thinking to myself,
Dear God, he’s thin. He’s the number one tennis player?
He’s watching my face and he’s perceptive. He lifts his left wrist, twists it, and says, “It’s all in here.” Like everyone else, I knew his reputation for arrogant bursts of adrenaline both on and off the court, but seeing him with my daughter, her face beaming with adoration, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, I’m relieved that my baby’s finally found someone.
Maybe
, I tell myself hopefully,
he’ll settle her
. I was wrong.
As the birth of our child nears, Farrah and I are buoyant about the future. Patrick is delighted. Grif wonders aloud, “Why do you want one more of us?” And from Tatum we receive overly polite congratulations.
Our commitment deepens. That isn’t to say it’s perfect. When you live with someone, eventually that person will see the unvarnished you. I know that Farrah is never on time, but I’m one of those guys who likes to get there early, and early for Farrah means only being an hour late. It drives me nuts, but I’m able to restrain my annoyance. I’m also finding out that she can become cranky if she doesn’t get her sleep, and can that woman sleep! I’m always up and dressed beforeshe’s even begun to stir. At the time, I wax romantic about having my very own Sleeping Beauty.
While I’m learning to accept her idiosyncrasies, she, too, is becoming familiar with mine.
Irreconcilable Differences
opens and doesn’t meet box office expectations. The reviews are mixed and while some actors may feign nonchalance
Farrah is nominated for an Emmy, but she doesn’t win. She didn’t expect to win so she didn’t prepare a speech. Her satisfaction has come from knowing she played the part well. Farrah doesn’t need public affirmation the way I do. Joanne Woodward gets the Emmy that year for
Do You Remember Love
, portraying a professor suffering from Alzheimer’s. Intruth, Farrah’s performance was more nuanced. I remember sitting with Farrah that night at the awards ceremony, squeezing her hand, both of us listening to the list of nominees being called. I was so sure she’d win. When they announce Joanne Woodward’s name, it’s a kick in the chest. She’s not even there to accept. “Let’s go, honey,” I tell her. “I’ve got to get out of this place.” I start to rise, and Farrah gently touches my forearm and gives me this wan smile. “No, that wouldn’t be fair to Joanne,” she whispers. It’s always bothered me when the media depicted Farrah as unsophisticated. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Farrah is also nominated for a Golden Globe for
The Burning Bed
, but you know who wins one? Paul Le Mat, who played the part of the guy who beats her. He wins while she carries the movie, although Paul is excellent.
That night we skipped the Emmy parties and drove back to Malibu. We took a bottle of Cristal Rose with us down to the beach, sat on the sand, and watched the moon rise over Catalina Island, and for once thought about how fortunate we were.
On the family front, the situation with Tatum is tentative at best. She reminds me of a jungle cat, graceful, commanding, and yet always wary. She started dating tennis bad boy John McEnroe a couple of years before. It will not be a match made in heaven. She managed to steer clear of addiction all those years living with her mother and brother, not to mention having a father who didn’t always set thebest example where drugs and alcohol were concerned, and then she falls for a famous athlete who you’d think would be squeaky clean, and instead they do drugs together.
Farrah and I meet John for the first time when Tatum brings him for a visit to the beach house. There I am sitting in the living room, looking at him and thinking to myself,
Dear God, he’s thin. He’s the number one tennis player?
He’s watching my face and he’s perceptive. He lifts his left wrist, twists it, and says, “It’s all in here.” Like everyone else, I knew his reputation for arrogant bursts of adrenaline both on and off the court, but seeing him with my daughter, her face beaming with adoration, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, I’m relieved that my baby’s finally found someone.
Maybe
, I tell myself hopefully,
he’ll settle her
. I was wrong.
As the birth of our child nears, Farrah and I are buoyant about the future. Patrick is delighted. Grif wonders aloud, “Why do you want one more of us?” And from Tatum we receive overly polite congratulations.
Our commitment deepens. That isn’t to say it’s perfect. When you live with someone, eventually that person will see the unvarnished you. I know that Farrah is never on time, but I’m one of those guys who likes to get there early, and early for Farrah means only being an hour late. It drives me nuts, but I’m able to restrain my annoyance. I’m also finding out that she can become cranky if she doesn’t get her sleep, and can that woman sleep! I’m always up and dressed beforeshe’s even begun to stir. At the time, I wax romantic about having my very own Sleeping Beauty.
While I’m learning to accept her idiosyncrasies, she, too, is becoming familiar with mine.
Irreconcilable Differences
opens and doesn’t meet box office expectations. The reviews are mixed and while some actors may feign nonchalance
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