Life With Lenny

By B.L.Cunningham

Life with lenny was never dull, as laverne quickly discovered; Now married 15 years with a very intelligent 11 year old daughter Lavinia, called linnie. and a comfortable  three bedroom home in Glendale. Lenny's career as a songwriter had proven to be a success
and for the past six months had collaborated with a long time associate Mike Warren on creating the soundtrack for a major Hollywood film "The swans of August "  a lush, romantic film adapted from a French novel. Lenny had insisted that they work as much as possible at his house "Otherwise my wife & child   may file for a separation "  he  joked.
 As it was, the final six weeks  of the project had to be done at a studio with lenny working 10-12 hours  a day and coming home only for a shower and an occasional dinner.
 Laverne smiled as she remembered the romantic 3 day getaway to San Diego Lenny  had surprised her with when the film was completed.Holding hands over quiet dinners, walks along the beach, a silly fun day at the  zoo, and slow, unhurried hours of making love and just enjoying one another.
"The swans of August" received excellent reviews and the musical score was given high praise , the buzz thru Hollywood was the film was sure to capture Oscar nominations.Lenny's work continued; Jingles for commercials, lyrics for pop songs, and the steady flow of royalty checks brought a level of financial security to Lenny & Laverne that had been only a dream a few years ago.Once, Lenny handed Laverne a royalty check and asked her to deposit it to her account. Laverne's eyebrows  raced to her hairline when she read the figure on the check "Len.. this is for nine thousand dollars !""Yeah, I know.. you remember the time I was working on the Cheshire Cat  Food commercials..and I was reading those Alice in wonderland stories to Linnie and if it wasn't for  you, none of this would have happened; so put the check in your account and enjoy it .." he leaned over and kissed her on the lips " I love  you " he said
In spite of their financial well-being; Lenny & Laverne continued to enjoy an ordinary middle class existence in Glendale.While they were a two car household, both were practical Volkswagen's, one  a second hand Volkswagen van used for grocery shopping and hauling linnie & her friends to soccer practice and family outings to the beach
Three months after the premiere of Swans of August; Laverne  answered the door and was asked to sign for a piece of registered mail "Lenny.. it's for  you, you better sign it" lenny came to the  door in a pair of denim cutoffs and a favorite T-shirt with Snoopy, faded from countless wash cycles and signed  for the envelope ; sitting on the sofa in the family room, Lenny read the return address "Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences" puzzled, lenny carefully slit open the stiff cream colored envelope "Dear Mister Kosnowski, we are pleased to inform  you.... swans of August.. nominated.. Best Original Score.. Best Song.. Goldwyn Theater.. "
Lenny slid sideways  on the sofa, the envelope loosely held in  his fingers  "len.. what is it ?" laverne asked in a concerned tone, worried by the dazed expression on her husband's face "Nominated... for an Oscar.."Lenny mumbled; just before he passed out .

To Part 2
THE END









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