Raindrops Keep on Falling on my Head
"Things can be replaced, people are priceless."
Debbie Reynolds cannot remember where she heard such a generic phrase, but she wished she had stood by the sentence when her home had been invaded and she came close to the brink of death, the Sharon Tate of the 70's and all over some movie props and costumes.
It's not like she thought her life was less than the items stolen, nor did she have a death wish right after life was starting to get good again and she had reconciled with her children and expanded her family with Bruce. Although perhaps it could be said that Carrie's marriage had played a small role in her decisionmaking on that fateful day, not as a direct cause, but one part of many actions that made who she was.
While Carrie and Bruce lived less than ten minutes away and happily took the effort to visit or play host to her and Todd for half the week, there were still many days where they didn't see each other and the two spouses preferred to spend time to themselves. Their departure for half a year to work on a space film together had cemented to Debbie that Carrie had well and truly left the nest and she was no longer her little girl, but a grown woman and rising star of film along with a wife.
Debbie still had Todd, but with his graduation a year away he was likely to leave to start his own life, with Debbie having accidentally overheard on the landline plans Todd was forming to either live in an apartment with his best friends or his girlfriend Donna if she was receptive. By next summer Debbie was likely to be an empty nester, her reconciliation having the misfortune of happening on the twilight of her children's childhood, leaving her alone in a castle too grand.
At the likely midpoint in her life, Debbie had little going for her in spite of her fame and prestigious lineup. Two marriages both ended in bitter divorces thanks to her falling in love with bastards masquerading as knights, so many years wasted and never truly knowing love. Her once large social pool had dried up as her peers grew distant or became forgotten by Hollywood. She could count on her the number of real deep and close friends on both her hands, and while they were good to Debbie at the end of the day they had their own careers, families and lives that came first.
Then there was Debbie's career where in contrast to the resurrection of the King of Rock and Roll, her restoration was frozen as if Charles II was eternally locked in the English Channel on his way to reclaim his throne. While Irene had been one of her greatest performances, Debbie had been unable to capitalize off of it thanks to sacrificing her prospects to ensure Carrie's dream film would be made. It was a choice that Debbie would never regret and she would always follow through if given the option again, but in return for her daughter's happiness and greatest of film debuts, her future was put on hold. Aside from sporadic guest appearances on television, Debbie was kept out of casting by Universal so that they could profit off of her after Some Nights. When Some Nights took its spot as the greatest, Debbie had been locked in for a starring role, but conflicts over which film to place her in by the studio and Carrie's wedding continually postponed work. Then when she was just about to start, the greatest strike in Hollywood history happened.
Outside of her children, movies had been Debbie's entire life and know all she had known, all she would have left when Todd moved out, was growing further out of reach by the day, what was left of her career being left in the hands of a studio who saw her as a commodity than a person. In such days of isolation, Debbie desperately clinged to anything that was in reach, one of which being her growing film memorabilia collection.
It was a passion that started after Debbie had noticed one day after production ended how so many props, costumes, set pieces and production items were just discarded into the trash without thought or care even though they were critical pieces of the film mosaic that so greatly shaped American culture and history, and no one cared about their value. To someone who loved movies like Debbie as the greatest of art, it was a crime against culture itself, and so Debbie collected, spending the majority of her fortune scavenging for film memorabilia from the first silent works to modern films. It was a hobby where Debbie felt happy, at peace, and that she was doing something valuable.
Such sentiments combined with learned traits of her personality such as her father's stubborness, her Texan pride, and most recently Bruce's viscious streak; pushed Debbie to defend what was rightfully hers. She got a few good wacks in, and in return got shot like a street rat. As Debbie bled out on the floor, she truly believed that it was the end of her life. It was a depressing send off and one she never could have possibly imagined. But she could at least go in peace knowing that she was finally a great mother for her children and she saw her daughter walk down the aisle to the man she loved. That was more than many, and it would be enough for her.
Only instead of the pearly gates, when Debbie next regained consciousness she was met with a gray and clinical cube of a room. What confirmed that she was not in the afterlife was a laugh track and voices of the cast of MASH, which originated from a television hanging a few yards in front of her.
Debbie then registered the soothing torrent of rain and as her pupils dilated, she realized she was in a hospital room. Turning her head in weak exhaustion, she felt at ease when she saw Carrie and Todd, sleeping next to each other on a couch to her left. To her right sat Bruce, maintaining a silent vigil while reading a Catholic bible in his hand, looking upon the book with a stern and somber gaze, eyes barely glazing.
"I hope you're not going to read my last rites." Debbie joked rather hoarsely and weak, feeling for the first time the extreme dryness of her mouth.
Bruce in a rare moment of surprise, jumped in his seat, briefly looking at her in bewilderment before registering that she was awake, his look transforming into a great smile. "Hey Mom."
Before Debbie could say anything further, Bruce dropped the Bible on his chair and rushed to hug her. Debbie would have reciprocated were it not for the strong hiss of pain from his firm contact. "Ow, ow, ow." Debbie cried weakly.
Bruce jumped back in alarm, remembering why she was in the hospital. "Sorry!" He panickingly apologized.
"It's okay." Debbie whispered dryly. She then looked downward at her arms and chest, and felt a rush of sadness for the very visible scars now inflicting her body, deep punctures that would never heal. Her beauty had always been one of her greatest assets in casting and drawing an audience, and now she looked more like a Vietnam veteran than a starlet.
Sensing her sadness, Bruce held her hand reassuringly, "You know there's better ways of method acting for a crime drama." Bruce joked, making Debbie chuckle weakly as he had said a similar joke to describe his shooting a year ago.
"I look like a freak." Debbie said sadly.
"You look like a strong survivor who stood her ground and defended her home." Bruce protested. "Besides, you're still the second most beautiful woman in Hollywood."
Debbie raised a playful eyebrow at such a statement, to which Bruce casually shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? I'm married to the first."
The statement caused Debbie to let out as strong a laugh she could give, which should have been the best medicine though she seemed to have an allergic reaction with the fit causing her to cough a storm, her chest still feeling like it was on fire.
Bruce once again panicked over what he had done, with Debbie setting his anxiety at rest with soft smile and firm patting of his hands.
Speaking of Hollywood's most beautiful, the current title holder groggily awakened at the commotion, and in an instant the dark storm clouds that had flooded her mind for the past few days rapidly dissipated at seeing her mother awake and conversing with her husband. "Mom!" Carrie shouting in excitement, jumping and nearly greeting Debbie with a bear hug, though a fortunately swift intervention from Bruce and a reminder of her current state kept Carrie at bay, making her go for light pats that were just as loving. A few seconds later, Todd would join the group embrace, and Debbie felt happy and safe with her family staying right beside her.
For the next several weeks, Debbie's life remained confined to the hospital, her body fighting a war of attrition to heal back to shape while the doctors did all they could to speed the recovery with treatments and therapy. Throughout it all her two, no....three children stayed in an ever present vigil. Aside from a single night where she sent them home to recover, at least one would stay by her side. Todd kept company when Bruce and Carrie went to Church, Carrie remained on most days when Bruce checked in with his company or Todd visited friends and prepared for school, and Bruce would happily sub in to give her first two some much needed rest. Most of the time they would stay together for most days, showing her with love and support, even though at times Debbie felt she didn't earn it.
Her other family and friends were sure to show up and provide support. Joseph and Sarah had arrived the next day, the parents of the young man who saved her family. Sarah made sure to bring some of Debbie's favorite deserts and established a system with a promise that the two would visit her family in LA on rotating holidays so they could be reunited outside of shootings. In that regard Joseph had provided some much needed advice and wisdom from his own experiences in Korea and his New York shooting, showing her that it would get better and she would heal by simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Her beloved older brother William and his family showed up around the same time as her in-laws. It was a bittersweet moment, with Debbie happy to see her brother and sister-in-law, but with it came unfortunate news that her parents while keeping her in their prayers were unlikely to visit for the short term, not out of a lack of love as William passed along from her father, but out of fear of making the situation worse. It was an unfortunately understandable situation as her relationship with her parents had decayed over the past year when her devout Nazarene mother practically disowned Carrie for becoming a "Papist Whore", with Carrie in return lashing out at her grandmother for years of abuse and hatred; and in the end Debbie sided with her daughter and cut off her mother, though on occasion she spoke with her father. William promised to do his best to mend bridges and get their mother to repent and visit by Christmas, with Debbie holding hope with how she reconciled with Carrie.
It wasn't just family who arrived with old friends such as Gene and Frank and new such as Clint making their respective visits and wishing her the best, the constant company definitely helping to ease the persisting pain. It wasn't just her social circle arrived, but everyone and anyone who was a B-list or above seemed to do their best to visit. Old co-stars, people from before and after her time, even people she never worked with or crossed paths socially like Al Pacino and Carol Burnett made their dues to the Queen. The hospital became so crowded with celebrities that they had to triple their security and a waiting list with dozens of names was formed to see Debbie, though her children would always be allowed without question.
Then came the most shocking show of support of all, her fans. For the past year she had been referred to both in the media and on the streets as Carrie Fisher O'Brian's mother and Bruce O'Brian's mother-in-law. More than once she had been approached in public, only to be asked where Carrie and Bruce were. Yet it seemed to millions she was still Debbie Reynolds, the Queen of Hollywood and Star of Starlets, with the news showing people across the country and even across the world holding vigils for her, her house flooded with gifts on the outside and hundreds of fans gathered outside the hospital. Bruce once arrived with a giant bag full of letters that rivaled Santa's sack in size, and she had been told that this was only the first of more than a dozen bags and rising. While she wished that such shows could have come other than the aftermath of a shooting, it was still nice to know she was appreciated and loved, her works still leaving a deep impact after all of these years.
Eventually thanks to the constant support and the singer regaining some of her old fighting Texan spirit, Debbie had progressed enough in her healing to finally be discharged. Her body was far from a return to full health, and there would be several more weeks of therapy and regular checkups to make sure nothing permanent would be damaged, but she was no longer caged and could walk towards a brighter future.
While she was free to return to her home, lingering trauma for both her and Todd and a lack of comfort until she knew everyone responsible was locked up and there was no greater conspiracy made her inclined to request to stay with Bruce and Carrie as Todd had been. She felt it to be a terribly selfish request, imposing on her daughter's marriage and home life when Bruce had already made a great sacrifice of living in Beverly Hills to partially make her happy, but neither O'Brian was bothered and insisted that it was their pleasure to play host and that Debbie was welcome for as long as she wanted.
Unfortunately this meant even more bedrest, for the first day at least as all three of her children were fearful of potential complications and wanted Debbie to gradually ease into her recovery instead of speeding ahead and making the process messy, something Debbie rolled her eyes at as she had no intention of doing something crazy like practicing martial arts that Bruce seemed to infest Carrie with.
Thus she was plopped in her new bed in a guestroom next to Bruce and Carrie's master bedroom, forced to pass the time by watching the gluttony of game shows that had infested the networks since the Strike began. All the while her feline "granddaughter" Ginger kept loyal company as a cuddly and affectionate nurse by Bruce's playful orders, though the trio would pop in and out and make conversation while Natalie walked in and kept a loyal watch at the side of her bed.
Currently she just so happened to by luck stumble upon a rerun of Bruce and Carrie's famous appearance on The Newlywed Game. While she had a long talk with Carrie the night after over what her and Bruce meant by having a spirit of a career in making "whoopee" overall she had a fun time watching it when it aired, it being such a joyful sight to see Bruce and Carrie compete and being so openly in-love, assuring her greatly that the Reynolds Romance curse was likely dead.
"And you don't mind the constant company?" Bob asked, to which Bruce shook his head with a smile.
"Not at all Bob. Debbie's a real sweet woman and she's always been so kind since we started dating. Honestly I consider myself to be extremely blessed to not only have married the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world, but to have married into such an incredible and loving family."
Debbie cried happy tears at hearing the words once more. When she first saw the episode, she thought Bruce was being his usual sweet and flattering self, giving the audience a nice show. The past several weeks showed her that Bruce meant every word.
Speak of the devil, a soft knock on her open door occurred with Bruce then walking in, shaking his head at seeing his and Carrie's episode again. "I swear, they've played that episode more times than they have episodes."
"Well it is quality television, after all how else would America know the O'Brians first kiss tasted like hot sauce." Debbie joked, with Bruce groaning at the reminder.
"Well how do you like your stay at Hotel Casa de O'Brian so far madame?" Bruce asked with a faux posh accent.
"it has been quality service, though I shall half to knock off half a star for the lack of complimentary mints and the false advertising on a scenic ocean view." Debbie returned playfully. "Also I'm a bit unsure of the message you're trying to send by speeding up my journey as a cat lady." Debbie said, with Ginger currently licking and nuzzling into her arms, purring with each pet.
Bruce laughed at the joke, "Even if I didn't plop her down, Ginger would likely have come on her own to keep her grandmother company." Bruce said, then scratching the snout and ears of an approaching Natalie.
Debbie smiled as she gave Ginger a few pets. She had grown rather close to the clingy kitten while Bruce and Carrie had been away filming Star Wars, Ginger along with the return of Natalie helping to pass the many days of monotony during her current streak of unemployment.
With Carrie and Todd likely on the other side of the house, Debbie decided to ask Bruce something she had been thinking of heavily as of late, "Bruce, do you think I'm at fault for my injuries?"
Bruce looked scandalized at the question, "Mom, you're not responsible for some crooks trying to rob you-"
"I'm not talking about blame for the burglary happening, I'm talking about fighting back." Debbie clarified. I should have known they had guns, and they were only stealing, not like they were Manson freaks. If I just called the police and hid, I wouldn't have been so close to death's door, and I wouldn't have been a burden on you three for the past month."
"You are not and will never be a burden." Bruce insisted.
Debbie smiled softly at that, "The other day I was talking with Carrie, and she asked why I felt the need to fight back over props."
"Carrie doesn't hold you responsible. You were scared and in a stressful situation, hell I would have fought back if I was there and Carrie's learning Karate so she can take action if ever put in a similar situation." Bruce interjected. "For a long time after I got shot, I felt a heavy weight of guilt. I saved a woman's life, but in the process I almost died, I almost left Carrie right after we began our commitment to getting married. I almost left Mom and Dad, you, Todd, all my friends and coworkers for a stranger, it felt terrible. Eventually it started to fade away."
"Saving someone's life helps to ease that." Debbie said, knowing she had no equivalent.
"That certainly helped, but the biggest factor in moving forward was all the days I spent with Carrie, reminding me that I didn't miss out on anything and life would go on and become good again. You fought to protect something you loved from being pillaged. It did lead to injury, but you're still here, you will recover, and we all love you and are going to support you every step of the way. Life's going to get good again, and you're going to be all the stronger for it." Bruce promised.
"I'm always going to be grateful that you decided to go to the library that day." Debbie said sincerely.
"Best decision I ever made in my life. Love you Mom."
"Love you too."
