A Daughter's a Daughter

by Irene Vartanoff

  “Because I called them and pitched it.”

  There was great satisfaction in Linley’s tone. Her daughter was triumphant at having arranged an opportunity for Pam to be an object of pity on national television.

  “You wouldn’t believe how many news agencies are interested,” Linley continued. “The Today Show is the big deal.”

  “That’s nice, dear. Couldn’t you do it by yourself?” She’d never been comfortable as the center of attention.

  “Of course not. They want the story from the person directly involved. From you.”

  The impatience was in her daughter’s voice again, the undertone that said Pam knew nothing.

  The moment stretched out silently.

  “You’ll do it, right?” Linley prodded.

  Pam cringed at the idea of exposing herself in public. She’d like to help Linley, of course, but she did not want to be on television. “Why not interview Magda instead? She has a more dramatic story. Magda works with—” she corrected herself, stumbling over her words, “she worked with me. She has a son she’s putting through college. Tuition is due in a month and she has no way of making payments if she doesn’t have a job.”

  “The interview is with you and me, not with Magda.”

  “I’d rather not be on television,” Pam said.

  “Say yes.”

  “I’d freeze up.”

  “I promised you’d be on. Don’t make me a liar.”

  “I hate being the center of attention. I can’t.”

  “How can you be so selfish?” Lindsay wailed. “You’re ruining my day.”

  Linley clicked off.

  Pam stared at the phone. Linley had hung up on her. Oh, technically, Linley could not hang up a telephone she carried in her pocket, but it was the same thing.

  Her daughter had hung up on her.

  Useless tears trickled down Pam’s cheeks. Why was she so weak? So afraid of being in the public eye?

  She and Linley hardly communicated anymore. Unlike her, Linley was ambitious. Linley’s quick success in her glamour career had reinforced her opinion that she was far superior to her mother. An adolescent attitude that hadn’t changed in a decade.

  Ten minutes later, the phone rang again.

  “It’s me,” Linley said, her voice hard. “You’ve got to do the Today Show. Otherwise, I’ll lose the spot.”

  “I—I…”

  “If you don’t do this for me, I’ll never speak to you again.”

  Pam gasped.

  “I mean it,” Linley said.

  “You’ll be interviewed, too?” Pam choked out the question.

  “Yes.”

  “I won’t have to be alone?”

  “Yes,” was the impatient reply. Linley didn’t bother to coax.

  Pam knew what hung in the balance. “It will help your career?” Pam asked, anyway.

  “Are you kidding?” Linley named the time and the address. “Be there. Or I’ll never speak to you again. Never.”

  She clicked off.

  Pam hung up the landline and stared into space. Linley had not asked her for anything in years. Now suddenly, she demanded this from her mother.

  What if she made a fool of herself? Being on live television was exactly the kind of public exposure from which she had always shrunk. What if she started crying? Would Linley feel guilty? Would she care?

  No use going there. All Linley thought about was the publicity for herself.

  Was there a chance that caving would revive their old mother-daughter closeness? In case there was, Pam would go on the Today Show. But how could she keep from making an utter fool of herself or breaking down?

  She picked up the phone again. When Dorothy answered, Pam said, “Mom, I need your help.”

  Chapter 3

  Before they convened for their weekly planning meeting, Linley couldn’t resist telling Jason about her coup. Though broadcast network television was kind of passé, the decades-old Today Show still averaged nearly five million viewers. An impressive difference in magnitude from their cable show’s audience.

  “Good move, Lin,” Jason said, “your appearance might pull in a crossover audience for us later in the day. We could use it.”

  “You’re unsatisfied with our paltry half-million viewers?” she asked.

  Jason smiled. “I love each and every one to death, but I’ve got enough love to go around if we could attract more. Remember, our contracts have escalator clauses.” He cocked his head inquiringly. “Or are you above such petty considerations as mere money?”

  Since their boss, Marty, had just walked into the cramped meeting room, Linley wasn’t about to say that money didn’t matter. She wanted to ensure she was being paid on a par with the men. Although she didn’t much care about money. She only used it to keep score.

  “I’m not doing this out of the sheer goodness of my heart,” she replied.

  “Here I always thought you were an angel, come down from heaven to show us the error of our money-grubbing ways,” Ernie quipped, coming into the room.

  Marty started laughing, if one could call his hoarse croak a laugh. It was the signal to shift the topic. She hugged to herself the excitement that tomorrow she’d be doing a star turn on the Today Show. Maybe this would be her big break.

  #

  Dorothy turned off the television once Linley’s afternoon show ended. Somehow, her youngest grandchild would find a way to make that show her own. Linley was a fighter.

  Heredity was strange. None of her children were go-getters. Pamela was the meekest of them all. Among four children and nine grandchildren, all the rest were like Malcolm, the embodiment of the conformist "man in the grey flannel suit" typical of men in the 1950s. They were solid, but they lacked daring. Yet Linley had it in spades.

  Dorothy had high hopes for that girl. This was only Linley’s second television network, but she was already very visible and only twenty-eight years old. With each move, Linley achieved more airtime and prominence. She was building recognition as a personal finance expert, making herself a hot commodity in this era of financial chaos.

  Linley hadn’t let herself get distracted by men, either. Things were different for young women today. They didn’t see marriage as their ultimate career. Dorothy had enjoyed that life, herself, but times had changed. Young women like Linley wanted to make their mark on the world with business careers.

  Did Linley have any idea how much her old grandmother was rooting for her? Probably not. It didn’t matter. Linley would succeed on her own. She did not need Dorothy’s help.

  As for poor Pamela, Dorothy had given her some sensible advice when she phoned earlier, whining about being forced to go on television for a few minutes. Pamela needed to toughen up.

  #

  As the evening hours wore on, Pam’s initial determination faded. She paced through the house, picking up objects and setting them down restlessly. How could she face those cameras? Why had she been stupid enough to agree? She’d freeze up, she knew it. She would not be able to utter even a single word. Linley would be mortified.

  Pacing had brought her in front of the liquor cabinet. Why did she even have one? She didn’t drink, although right now she wished she did. She was going to bomb out on national television tomorrow morning.

  Oh, think of something else. What to wear. Linley would be in the usual newscaster’s garb of a man-tailored blue or white shirt under a severe suit, and discreet accessories, probably plain gold earrings and a thin gold necklace. Pam should look what she was, a suburban housewife. A camera-shy, terrified, middle-aged widow.

  Pam’s next stop was the bathroom medicine cabinet, but there was nothing in it to take away her growing panic. A few pills for headaches wouldn’t calm her.

  How did her mother do it? Dorothy gave interviews on the spot when she was leading protests. She eagerly sought air time on television and radio during her frequent community campaigns. Linley had inherited Dorothy’s love of the limelight, but the gene had skipped Pam. She
had spent much of her youth cringing from the public attention her mother’s activist lifestyle had brought. Dorothy thrived on it, used it to her advantage. Linley was following in her grandmother’s footsteps. Pam was proud of her daughter and her mother, but she was not like them. This would be a disaster.

  After stewing for what seemed like hours, Pam forced herself to go to bed. There she lay rigid, unable to connect with her soft mattress and relax. She was miserable with stage fright. She even allowed herself a few tears in the dark.

  She could call Linley and cancel, but that would make her daughter furious. Besides, it was the coward’s way out. No, she had to see it through.

  Perhaps she could take Linley out to lunch or brunch afterwards. Maybe Linley would show her where she did her own job. Yes, and maybe the sun would rise in the west for a change.

  She sighed. Linley had been such a sweet little girl. That ended when Linley had hit her late teens and ambition became her god. She had looked around at the snug domestic life Pam had created and disdained it. This little adventure wasn’t going to change Linley’s attitude. As soon as Linley had gotten what she wanted from Pam, she’d walk away.

  Or perhaps not. Maybe if Pam did this thing right, she could get her little girl back. That was her last thought before the exhaustion of the day finally claimed her.

  Chapter 4

  Linley held in her excitement as the appearance on the Today Show proceeded. Pam was tastefully dressed and made up, looking like the ordinary housewife she was. Linley naturally wore a power suit softened with simple gold jewelry. The interviewer was Matt Lauer, who was a winning choice for big exposure because TV executives liked to keep an eye on him, as did the housewife viewers. More eyes would be on the screen than when the women anchors were interviewing.

  “The Wall Street collapse isn’t about executives earning millions. Here in New York, it strikes close to home. You may already know Linley Ridgeway, a regular on our sister cable company, WFWF. Linley Ridgeway keeps track of personal finance concerns for Jason Egan’s show, Hot Tracks. Today, Linley has a very personal story to tell, right?”

  “Yes, I do, Matt. My mother, Pam, worked for Menahl for ten years. Yesterday, she and all thirty thousand of her coworkers were laid off.”

  At that, the camera moved to show Pam, seated on the couch next to Linley. Matt turned to Pam and spoke in his most sympathetic tone.

  “How did it feel to be laid off abruptly after many years of loyal service, Pam?”

  “I was in shock, Matt,” Pam said.

  “Why is that?” he prompted.

  Pam continued, “It was hard to grasp that such a big, important company had fallen apart overnight. We were told to leave immediately, too.”

  Linley interjected, “Matt, Menahl announced it wasn’t paying any severance or even a final paycheck.”

  Matt turned to Pam again. “How did that make you feel?”

  “Stunned. Is it even legal?” Pam’s confusion showed on her face.

  Linley said, “The D.A. has moved to freeze Menahl’s remaining assets, pending payment of wages to the former employees.”

  Matt nodded. “That’s a step in the right direction. But Pam, how did you and your coworkers take the layoff?”

  Pam sighed. “We were all upset. Some of us more visibly than others. Most of us packed up our personal items silently. Many of us were in tears.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I—uh…I put out a fire someone had started on a desk,” Pam said, stumbling slightly over her words. Linley had made sure she’d shared that in the briefing session earlier.

  Matt expressed suitable amazement, and the interview proceeded along the lines they’d predetermined. On cue, Pam described her coworker, Magda. “She’s a new citizen from Eastern Europe. Because we all lost our jobs, she has no way of paying her son’s college tuition.”

  Then it was Linley’s turn again. “Matt, here are some simple steps for workers caught in a mass layoff. They can attempt to negotiate better severance terms, or ask for use of the office to look for work, or for outsourcing assistance.”

  “Good advice. Unfortunately, these services are unlikely to be available to the thousands left high and dry when Menahl went bankrupt. What are you going to do next, Pam?” Matt asked. “How will you rebuild your life?”

  She smiled tentatively. “I don’t know. This has been a blow.”

  Linley leaned in protectively, and Matt finished the spot. “Good luck, Pam. At least your daughter has a job. Linley Ridgeway can be seen regularly on our sister cable network show, Hot Tracks.”

  He turned away and wrapped up the segment before they went to commercial.

  Then he pivoted to face Pam again and offered his hand graciously. “Shocking story, Pam. I hope everything works out for you. Thanks for bringing it, Linley.” After he and Linley shook hands, Matt moved to another part of the set and they were hustled off by an assistant.

  “Great job, Mom!” Linley said.

  “I did okay? What a relief. Now, do you have time for a cup of coffee or something?” Pam asked.

  “I’m due at my studio.”

  “Oh.”

  Linley didn’t usually feel sorry for her mother. Pam had chosen to lead a small, useless life. Although now, after hearing the pain in her mother’s voice during the interview, Linley felt a tug of something.

  “Why don’t you come with me? We’ve got coffee and maybe a bagel.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful!” Now Pam was smiling broadly. “If you’re sure I wouldn’t be in the way?”

  Did her mother always have to be needy? Didn’t she have a life?

  “No, Mom. Let’s go.”

  #

  An hour later, Pam watched Linley on another television show. She herself had been tucked away in a viewing room, because this was a small studio without seats for an audience. Linley stood by and then was called to sit at the anchor’s desk for one short segment of the program. The viewing room was a small box to one side of the studio entrance. Next to Pam was a larger box with all the production equipment and people in it. Except for the cameras and operators, of course.

  Pam was still amazed at herself. She had lived through being interviewed on network television without falling apart. She had answered Matt Lauer’s questions in complete sentences, with poise. She hadn’t stuttered much, or frozen up. She had even remembered to mention Magda’s difficult situation.

  The Today Show set had been cozy, with couches and greenery like someone’s living room. She had felt comfortable. She had never been in danger of losing her composure. Why had she been so frightened beforehand? Why had she thought this was so difficult? Had she been such a mouse when she was young? She was a grown woman now who had suffered tragedy yet lived through it. Was that the reason she had not fallen apart on camera? She must think about this amazing experience, but not now. It was Linley’s turn to speak.

  Linley’s daily appearances were on what they called “talking heads” shows because they usually featured people sitting at desks and sometimes only from the shoulders up. She had shown Pam quickly through the studio where Jason Egan’s daily program was broadcast. On that show, the panel of men and her daughter yelled at each other. Pam already knew some of these details because she recorded the show for later viewing daily, not because Linley had invited her to stay and watch it. She didn’t tell Linley she watched her on television regularly. As interested as she was in Linley’s life, she had to give her daughter space.

  On this current program, Linley made deft professional comments, but was not the prominent contributor she was on the show with Jason Egan. Pam had noticed something between Linley and the host, Jason Egan. He had been introduced to Pam briefly at the studio as Linley had dragged her quickly through, and she’d marveled at his conventional handsomeness. He looked like the heroes of her romance novels.

  Not that she said such a thing. Linley might think Pam was unsophisticated, but it wasn’t true. Linley had hardly sp
ent any time with her once she had become an adult, so how would Linley know? Oh, no need to think about that at this moment. There was her baby, at ease on the second television show in one morning. Quite an accomplishment.

  Did Linley have a secret crush on Jason? She had looked at him the way she’d looked at that boy in seventh grade. Now she hid it better, but Pam was not fooled. She could always recognize the signs of interest on Linley’s face. They were clearly visible when Linley looked at Jason.

  #

  Later, during a solitary lunch, Pam thought about Magda. It was less painful than considering Linley’s casual parting from her earlier. Pam’s reward for doing the Today Show, at emotional cost to herself, had been a grudging extra hour, and then a quick goodbye. She should stop hoping that Linley would come around.

  How to help Magda? There was a chance that people would send money for Magda to the Today Show. That nice assistant had explained that it often happened if a story touched people. Unfortunately, Magda needed more than a one-time gift. College tuition cost many thousands of dollars, even after all the scholarship money Marc merited, and the government loans. Other loans Magda had obtained didn’t qualify for forbearance because she’d lost her job. As it was, unemployment compensation would hardly support Magda. Without vacation pay, current pay, or severance, Magda would struggle merely to make her usual household expenses.

  That damned corporation. It made Pam angry to think about how hard they had worked all those years, only to be kicked to the curb. There ought to be a way to even things out. The D.A.’s actions against Menahl could take years to complete and might result in nothing more than a little back pay. If that.

  Linley handed out nice-sounding clichés when she did her personal finance expert thing, such as, “Keep six months of living expenses in savings.” Single mothers like Magda had too many day-to-day calls on their income. Yet Magda had come far in the years Pam had known her, conquering English and supporting herself and her son. Magda was proud of that boy, determined to ensure he had a better shot at life than she’d had as a single mother. There must be something that Pam could do to help.