A New Beginning

Candice Everglades spent New Year’s Eve partying hard and dancing all night with her friends at her glamorous downtown Los Angeles loft. It had been a long year of her struggling to make a break into the entertainment industry. She was the well-endowed daughter of Robert Everglades, the Oscar winning actor. Growing up so close to Hollywood, all she wanted to do was be apart of it. With 2020 coming, she had yet to land a leading role. She spent New Year’s Eve drinking as much champagne as she could and tried to dance away the sinking feeling she had in her stomach. 

At one point in the night, golden confetti rained down and a jazzy tune filled the loud speakers. Prompting people to swing to the music and laugh in drunken joy. Candice had always been a fan of the 1920’s, an era of classic glamour she admired. The music, the ambiance, and of course the flapper girl look. There was something so genuine about that time or at least what she knew about the era. The music did quickly turn back to pop however, and everyone broke into a trending dance. Candice could feel the liquor and was swaying a little by the time they all started to count down. When they all cheered, Candice made her way clumsily up the stairs to her room. Which she made sure to lock before the party began. She fell onto the bed, and the room spun as to be expected. Soon the roar of the crowd below tapered out as she fell into a drunken sleep. 

Expecting to wake up to an apartment littered with empty bottles, the smell of spilled booze and confetti, Candice begrudgingly got up out of her stupor. When she rose out of her bed, she found that her bed had somehow shrank and the sheets were of a deep red. The walls were exposed brick unlike the sheer walls of her loft. Looking around, dazed by a hangover, Candice wondered if she was dreaming. She hastily walked over to the curtained window which had once been ceiling to floor, and looked out expecting to see the U.S. Bank Tower and her Mercedes parked on the street below. What she saw made her take a step back, she could not breathe. For what she saw looked just like the pictures she had seen of old LA, from the 1920’s. Complete with model T’s and a trolly making its way down fifth street. She quickly closed the antique looking curtains and opened them again, hoping to see the downtown LA she knew and loved. Still, she saw what she had saw the first time. Shocked, she ran down the stairs which were now made of wood to find that there were no remnants of a party from last night. In fact, the décor had completely changed. The living room was full of green and golden yellow furniture. A hanging candelabra chandelier had replaced her all glass one. The room smelled of cigarettes and must. 

Unable to process what was right in front of her, she opened up the door and walked outside. Meanwhile, she had not realized that her skin tight short silver dress from the party that she fell asleep in had been replaced by a long-sleeved flapper dress with a beautiful floral pattern. Once on the street, she heard the sound of a horn and the light roar of the crowds of people walking down the street. Bewildered, Candice stopped a lady that was walking by and asked her what year it was. 

Looking Candice up and down with a confused smile, the lady said, “well it is 1920 my dear, and the decade has just started.” 

Unable to speak, Candice kept walking down the street and looked around in awe. The thoughts that ran through her head were as to be expected. How did she get here? Could she get back, and how? If she went back to bed would she wake up in 2020? Los Angeles was not as she remembered, it had a nice charm to it, with all the buildings being a more classic style. Down the street she heard a jazzy tune being played by a street performer. His hat was full of change. It was all too much for Candice to handle, and she ran back to the apartment and went upstairs to her bed. She laid down and tried to fall back asleep, hoping this would return her to her time. She finally fell asleep for about an hour and woke up hungry and dehydrated. 

Looking out the window again she found that she was still in 1920. Frustrated and hungered, she headed down to the kitchen. Which was full of what to her seemed like antique appliances. The fridge luckily had half of a spiced glazed ham, which she brought out and decided to eat cold. She rummaged around in the cabinets and found a plate and some silverware and sat at the small tableclothed table. Which had replaced her large all black table. Whilst eating her delicious yet cold ham, she contemplated what to do. Once she finished her meal, she went back up stairs and found a purse near the door that was full of cash. 

She put the fashionable little purse on her shoulder and headed out into this new to her city. Walked around until she found a grand theater down seventh street. The movies Within Our Gates, and The Mark of Zorro were playing and she bought a ticket for The Mark of Zorro. As she had always enjoyed the look of old silent films. Now, she could experience seeing one in a theater. Entertained, she watched on with pure joy. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was where she belonged. There was a feeling of home, something she was not expecting, being that she was a whole century away from home. 

After the movie she headed down the street to Cole’s French Dip Sandwiches, a place she had been to back in her own time. It was familiar in a way and boasted charm with its leather seats and red walls. Lucky to get a seat, she sat down and ordered a sandwich and a California Cream. Enjoying the delicious food, a young man dressed in a nice suit and a fedora leaned across the isle and offered his hand. She shook it and he asked her what her name was. She replied and asked the same of him. He told her that his name is Charles, giving her a kind smile. They went on to speak about the movie she had just seen, as he had seen it the day before. After they finished their respective meals, Charles asked her if she wanted to come with him to a party. Eager to enjoy her current circumstances, she agreed to go with him. 

What she found herself in was a darkly lit speakeasy. Being that Candice had heard about the fabulous speakeasys of the roaring 1920’s, she was excited. Once there, Charles led her to a makeshift bar and ordered himself a whiskey sour and her a sidecar. Then Charles took her over to a group of people who were laughing so hard that they looked like they might fall out of their seats. A small band belted out a spritzy tune. They took seats next to the bunch, and Charles subsequently introduced Candice to the group. There was Elizabeth, a beautiful blonde lady, adorned with jewels. Tom, who looked a lot like the mobsters Candice had seen in the movies. Carol, who was spilling her drink and was a dark beauty. Lastly, there was Roger, a slight man in a nice three-piece suit and glasses. They spent the evening making jokes, telling stories, and getting drunk on illegal alcohol. 

Charles kindly walked Candice home, and they made lovely small talk the entire way back. She soon found out that Charles was a producer of many silent films. That although he did not help to make the one they were talking about earlier, he had been a part of the making of many hits. Excited to hear about this, Candice blurted out that she was an actress, not a known one, but an aspiring actress. Admiring her beauty, Charles asked her to come to the set of his new movie the next day. No longer having a car, she explained to Charles that she would need a ride and he agreed to come and pick her up in the morning. That night Candice got into bed and hoped that when she woke that she would not be thrusted back to 2020. For she had enjoyed her day in 1920 and wanted many more. 

When she woke up, the room looked as she had expected, red and full of twenties charm. She once again looked out the window, seeing what she had seen the day before, and she screeched in delight. Something she thought was a nightmare, was in fact something she was grateful for. Charles had not shown up yet, so she headed down to the kitchen after picking out a fine dress from her stocked full closet. She wondered how she woke up to find a fully stocked apartment after previously being in a different time. Not knowing the answer to her question, she decided to make the best of it. She found some eggs in the fridge and whipped up some scrambled eggs on the adorable white and blue stove. 

Not too long after she finished her meal, she heard a knock on the door. Charles looking handsome, smiled at her and took off his hat in a warm greeting. They went to his Model T, and headed for Hollywood. When they came upon the studio, they got out and met a couple of crew members. On the way over, Charles had lamented to Candice that they were holding auditions for the leading lady. It was to be a silent romantic film, with a title she actually recognized. She had heard about it from her father years ago, for it was one of his favorite classic films. Just the thought of having the chance to follow her dream in this decade instead made her happy. An emotion she had not felt in what seemed like years.

Once inside the studio, Charles told Candice that he had to go meet with the director but he directed her to a lineup of women waiting to audition. The line was full of a nervous bunch, one beautiful lady looked like she was going to shake herself to death. Candice felt some nerves but being that she had seen silent films before and grew up around film all her life, she felt like she had a shot. Plus, she thought knowing the producer may give her a leg up. She watched as the line dwindled, until she was the last one ushered into the makeshift audition room. 

She was told to act out some emotions and mannerisms, and also given the context of the scene in which she was to audition with. To her, this type of acting seemed to come naturally to her. It was raw in a way, very true to her persona. Afterwards, she felt warm, whether that was from nerves or from glee she was unsure. The director then motioned for her to leave the room, as they were going to deliberate. Five minutes later, a man poked his head out and said that they will be a while. From the sound of it, there was much debate. 

At the end of what seemed like forever, probably not just to Candice, they pilled out of the room. A man who introduced himself as Calvin Newcastle, assumed to be the director, announced that Candice would be given the role as the leading lady. Barely able to hold in her excitement, she shrilled with excitement. Many huffs and chuffs came from the group of ladies, and some stink eyes were thrown her way but she didn’t even give them a glance. For she had earned the role fair and square, without her father’s influence for once. 

After the announcement, Candice was introduced to the rest of the cast and crew, and quickly took a liking to all of them. She was briefed on what the plot was and was given the story in writing. Over the next few months, whilst never returning to her own time, she studied the plot and worked hard to put on film great acting. All the while a budding relationship was about to take place between her and Charles. In her own time, she had never met a kinder man. During the duration of the progress towards the film they agreed to keep it professional but take up a romantic relationship after the release of the film.

Come June of 1920, the film was released. The cast and crew went to the opening at the famous Lincoln Theater, and enjoyed watching the fruit of their months of labor. Throughout the film, Candice sat next to Charles feeling giddy at the idea that their relationship was going to become what she had waited for the past months, what she had waited her whole life for. It seemed like finally she was going to have what she had always wanted. A career, fame, and love, quite seemingly the whole package. 

Charles, the gentleman he is, drove her back to her apartment and left her with a lingering kiss. Candice opened her door in a haze, and walked in with a huge smile on her face. She went into the kitchen for a bootlegged nightcap, and then headed up to her room. She got into her comfiest pajamas, and settled in for the night. While drifting off to sleep she thought of Charles and the magical night at the theater. Looking forward to waking up to a life full of possibilities. 

The next morning, on June 7th, 2020, Candice woke up to her original apartment. She got up and looked around the room and saw her apartment from 2020, unchanged. She cried out, and stumbled to the window too look out and hope to be wrong. When she looked out, she saw the modern Los Angeles before her sad eyes. All of what she had worked for back in 1920 was gone. She had been sent back in time to her own time just as she was on the verge of what she expected to be pure happiness. She started to weep, as she heard the shrill of her smart phone. A sound she had not missed. When she grabbed the phone off of the side table, she saw that it was her father calling. She answered the phone, sobbing. Her father asked her why she was crying. She just told him that it was nothing and that he would not understand. Not wanting to press further her father changed the subject to a potential audition that she could go to. 

Candice stopped her father, and looked at the date on her phone, and it said June 7th. The day she expected to wake up to in 1920. Seeing this, she dropped the phone, and gasped. For she realized that she did not remember her existence in 2020, while she was in 1920. She picked up her phone and asked her father what has happened over the last six months. Dumbfounded by this question, he with an accusatory tone told her that things had been hard, her mother had died, and that Candice had been in a grieving funk since February when she passed. Hearing this, she cried so loudly. She did not only feel shock and sadness but she felt guilty for not really missing her or her father while she was in 1920. She also wondered how it was possible that she was in two times at once. After containing her cries, she asked him about the film she had worked on. 

Her father laughed and told her, “don’t you remember? You were named after the leading lady, and she looked so much like you, it was uncanny.” 

The realization that what had happened to her was real, was all too much and she hastily got off the phone with him. Long after the heartbreaking phone call with her father, she tried to research what had happened to her. Coming up with nothing, she resolved to having to face the fact that she may not be going back and that while she was supposedly gone, that her mother had died. Her heart utterly broken, she laid down in her bed again unable to move, paralyzed by her pain. She wondered what would happen if she fell asleep again, and when exactly she would wake up.