Back to One Take 3: Cinema Verite

By Antonia Gavrihel

The story of Back to One becomes quite stark in Cinéma Vérité. Cate and Kyle’s pasts haunt their present disrupting their idyllic world with their children and flourishing careers. As the pandemic slows life enough to appreciate time with loved ones, it doesn’t halt public scrutiny, jealousy, or descent.

The strength of their love and friendship sees Cate and Kyle through this challenging time, clutching their children’s hands and venturing bravely into their collective futures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hidden Shelf Publishing House
• Release date: Feb 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781955893251

Antonia Gavrihel

Antonia was born into a show business family. Her father was a comedian and actor and her mother was a big band singer. She was surrounded by the entertainment business all her life. Growing up, she would quietly sit and do her homework while her mother would cut an album or tape a variety show or her father would film a scene on a movie set. Her older brother is an executive in the radio industry and when she was a kid would sit her in front of microphones from the time she was tall enough to reach them.Antonia’s mother, ultimately, put her in front of the camera at a very young age. There she found a home in acting and has been acting ever since.Being raised by entertainers gives one an interesting perspective on life. When Antonia was in college she went to her father and told him she wanted to go on to law school to become an attorney. In his entertainer’s mind he had the perfect solution.“Honey,” he said. “Why don’t you just get a part in a TV show or film and play a lawyer. Hey, you can even play a doctor!” That was classic entertainer-speak for everything. Just play a new part.Although she enjoyed acting, the most consistent dream in her life was to be a writer. Her love affair with words, and the visual pictures they create began at a very young age to amuse herself. Being a latch-key child, writing stories and plays allowed her into a world of adventure, drama, love and laughter as she sat isolated at home. Writing was her passion, writing was her salvation.Back To One came into being when her son was two years old. After work, after settling her son to sleep, Antonia would sit at her brand new (1994) computer and create the story of a woman, not unlike herself, whose life and adventures she could only wish to have. It took about a year to write and fine-tune and then came the real work of selling the manuscript to a major publishing company.So, for the next 25 years, on and off, she would submit the manuscripts to publishing houses, literary agents and production companies. It made the rounds and came close a couple of times—once with a Beverly Hills literary agent and once with a production company filming in Arizona.Redefining her ambitions, she decided to put herself through law school to finally become the attorney she originally wanted to be as a young college student. However, the intense commitment of law school while still working full time meant the manuscript found a comfy home in the drawer beneath her bed for a time.The manuscript would make an appearance when the stresses of everyday life became too much to handle. Rereading it somehow gave her a sense that all was right with the world.The summer of covid, Antonia retrieved the manuscript at her son’s beckoning and updated the 1995 story to 2005. Passion for writing reignited, she continued Cate and Kyle’s journey in a second manuscript.It is a truth that everything comes to you in its own time. You just have to be persistent and never give up. So when Antonia least expected it, a serendipitous meeting would change her life. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Book preview

Cinema Vérité

Copyright @ 2023, Antonia Gavrihel

Hidden Shelf Publishing House

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-955893-25-1

Table of Contents

The Journey Continues: Back to One

Chapter One

­­Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

About the Author

To my mom and dad, who, through their shining creative example, taught me that one’s choices always make a difference in life—so reach for the stars.

Cinéma Vérité: Truthful Cinema is a realistic film style that unveils the veracity of a story, capturing it without artistic enhancements. Originating in the 1960s, this French film movement documents life as it is and reveals it authentically in the moving image.

As Two Lives Become One…

Love is Composed of a Single Soul Inhabiting Two Bodies.

- Aristotle

Antonia Gavrihel’s third novel— Cinéma Vérité—continues the story of Cate and Kyle; two people who became dearest friends amidst society’s suspicions about the existence of such love and devotion.

In Gavrihel’s debut novel—Back to One—when Kyle Weston meets Catherine Leigh at a studio party in Beverly Hills, their connection is immediate and undeniable. One of the biggest movie stars of his generation, Kyle is single, handsome, and charming, with a tabloid reputation. Visiting from Alabama, Cate is beautiful, trusting, and married. Despite ensuing gossip fanned by the press, they dare to develop a profound friendship based on respect, understanding, and sexual boundaries … a platonic relationship that is not only rare but nearly mythical.

Ambient Light—the second novel in the Back to One series—opens with the welcoming acceptance of true love. Together, Cate and Kyle form an unstoppable partnership of successful careers and a tight-knit family. But the world of cynicism is even more invasive and ultimately dangerous, threatening their happiness and their lives. Surviving these early years of scrutiny and jeopardy leads to developing an even more vital, impenetrable bond.

Now, in the pages of Back to One: Take 3Cinéma Vérité, their lives take an unexpected twist …

Back to One flourish

Chapter 1

Live to Tell

Edward’s car idled on the deserted street. Cate rolled down the car window and stared at the tenantless, eerily empty office building. The wind carried the sound of a distant church bell. The tolling of the hour made her skin crawl. At once, vomit rose to her throat, and she choked down the rising terror the memories inflicted­—her life changed forever.

Sadness overtook her. Facing the demons of that dreadful day, she wondered if she might reclaim the girl she once was … the one who trusted too much.

Edward studied his sister’s intensity, his hands clutching the steering wheel, tapping his fingers, a brew of apprehension.

Catherine, what’re we doing here?

I’m not sure, Cate sighed, hypnotized by the For Lease sign. Turning a page.

Sis, what do you have to gain from this? You’re terrified.

He must answer one question, she whispered. Let’s get to the prison.

Back to One flourish

Cate entered the small interview room. It was sterile and cold, blandly institutional. There was a large table, two chairs on each side across from the other, and additional chairs along the far wall. A small camera in the upper corner of the room had been turned off.

Her legs shook a bit, and her heart pounded. She had never been to a federal prison.

Making her way around the table to view the door, Cate took a seat. To calm herself, Cate purposely tried to view the task as a movie scene she might be acting. Somehow it gave her strength.

A moment later, Edward entered and situated himself in the chair next to Cate.

Cate turned to him. Can you sit over there, please? Today you’re my lawyer, not my brother.

Are you kidding? No! Edward griped.

Cate peered at her brother and pointed to the chairs near the wall. Edward scowled at her and stomped to the farthest seat.

Back to One flourish

Rex Talbert was serving time for armed robbery, his third conviction. Three’s a charm, ensuring he’d spend most of his productive years behind bars.

Strutting in with a tough-guy swagger, Talbert looked older than his late sixties, with stringy sparse gray hair and an ever-shrinking muscular build. Life in prison must have been depleting, Cate thought with a trace of satisfaction.

The guard loosely shackled Talbert to the table for Cate and Edward’s security, reminding them they had an hour to talk, and if needed, he’d be standing outside the door. Cate turned on the recording feature on her phone and set it in the center of the table.

So, you’re the actress chick who needs some advice on a movie script?

Edward marched over, put his hands on the table, and leaned in aggressively. Let me remind you, Mr. Talbert, you’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement for this information which you’ve been generously compensated. And according to the contract, there’s no danger of self-incrimination. We expect honesty. When Edward finished, he gave Cate a dirty look and returned to his seat.

What kind of research is this? Talbert asked with a deep tone of condescension. For a role you’re playing?

Cate scrutinized every muscle twitch and movement he made. He wasn’t as terrifying as she recalled. Do you recognize me?

Sure, you’re a big-time movie star. I like your films. You were red-hot in the one where you were naked. What was the title? He snapped his fingers. "Piercing something? And then that Way Down movie with the sexy song. I’ve got every word … no, every move of that delicious body etched in my mind, never to leave. Because the Night … scorching!" He tossed off the comment, studying her reactions to each utterance he spouted.

You have lots of fans in here. I’ll be a celebrity for talking to you, Talbert laughed, settling into the seat.

Fascinating, Cate said sarcastically, focusing her intent. How did you end up in prison, Mr. Talbert?

Please call me Rex, and I can call you Catherine. He eyed her suggestively.

No, she tersely responded, her look cold. Let’s keep this professional, Mr. Talbert. Why did you end up in prison?

"I was framed. I wasn’t part of the shakedown. I hear there were a lot of weapons involved, and I’ve never even picked up a gun. I prefer to use my wits. Wrong place, wrong time!"

What about your first time in prison? How long ago was that? Nearly thirty years?

Busted for dealing drugs.

Sounds like amateur hour, Cate said, the lines flowing from her as if scripted. I was under the impression you were a shrewd man.

Dealing was what I’d fall back on when times were tight, or I was working the long con and needed some quick coin.

So, Cate exhaled, sitting back in her chair, what was it when you were arrested? Tight on funds or a long con?

Catherine, Edward warned from behind her. She jerked her head.

Talbert slid forward with a huge grin. This gets you hot?

When she didn’t react, he slouched back and glared at her. What bullshit are you trying to get out of me? I was busted for dealing drugs, okay? 

And fraud, Edward argued from the back.

Cate raised her hand to quiet her brother. She attained a sense of comfort in this character she portrayed, tough and determined, not easily moved. She held fast to the distancing it provided her.

Sitting quite upright, Cate stated her position, Mr. Talbert, I’ve given your attorney escrowed funds which will pay you exceedingly well to tell your story completely and truthfully. If you’re uncomfortable or ashamed and choose not to answer my questions, I can pull this offer and walk away with my money safely in my pocket.

Tough bitch, aren’t you? No, I’m not ashamed. I’m proud of how smooth I was. I love to brag about it. Yeah, a long con. He directed his attention to Edward, who was fidgeting in his chair, forcing himself to stay put. Classic fraud, Mister Attorney.

So please tell me, exactly what kind of fraud? Cate persisted.

Talbert, feeling cocky, moved forward toward Cate as if to share a secret. Sure, my most cunning scam, the one that worked well in L.A., was a movie producer. I raised tens of thousands of dollars for movies that didn’t exist and banged several stupid actresses who thought I could help them with their careers. That was the life. Talbert reclined and put his feet on the table, relishing the memory.

Once again, Cate’s stomach churned as she fought the urge to scream. "And I’m sure all those women were willing participants?"

Leering at her, Talbert’s grin spread across his face. "I can be persuasive. But you already knew that didn’t you, Catherine Leigh? Did you think I’d forget you?"

Cate struggled to maintain a blank expression, her façade beginning to crumble.

Oh, I remember you well. You were just a kid, he laughed, a real sweet kid.

Chills slinked through her being. His laugh was the same sick cackle she had heard long ago in that empty office space.

A kid you raped. She breathed hard and fast.

Yeah, well, sometimes things get a little rough. Talbert stretched his arms and yawned.

In Talbert’s line of vision, he watched with great satisfaction as Edward became increasingly infuriated.

A little rough?! Cate panted. Her anger was no longer hidden. You beat the hell out of me. Cracked my rib … and worse. Did I consent to any of it?

Talbert stared at her, smirking, enjoying the recollection. You came to the audition, didn’t you?

Horrified at his remark, she gaped at him. Was he shifting the blame to her? Breathe, she told herself, breathe. Stop taking his bait and get to the point. She shook her head, steadying herself. How many more after me? 

There it was—the question she needed answered. The crushing shame of not being brave enough to go to the police after the incident troubled her for years. How many other girls were harmed because of her cowardice?

Talbert bit his nails and examined his hands, occasionally glancing at her to see what her expression would expose.

I expected a woman to walk through my door, experienced, easily manipulated into giving up the goods to get a movie role. You, on the other hand, were … pure … pathetic. Pissed me off. I couldn’t work my con on you. Catching himself revealing too much, he goaded, "Didn’t matter. I dined out on that memory for months, reliving it in my mind. Please stop ... please don’t ... you’re hurting me. Please, no," he mocked, sounding like a little girl sobbing. Cate’s mind flashed the echoes of her actual voice, crying out from his relentless thrashing, trying to keep her concentration on the present.

Edward, red with fury, was about to come out of the chair. Sensing her brother’s driving ire, Cate glimpsed back at him, giving him a telling look. Talbert saw the exchange between them, putting the picture together.

You’re her lawyer or something more?

I’m her brother! Edward was enraged.

Cate rested her head in her hand. Oh damn, she mumbled to herself. Now it would escalate.

Talbert ramped up his deriding. Well, brother, it was sure sweet popping your sister’s cherry.

Edward jumped out of the chair and charged to the table, roaring, You twisted bastard!

As he reached over to grab Talbert by the shirt, Cate sprung up and blocked him, holding him back with her arms as he wrestled to get beyond her.

Big brother couldn’t protect his little sister from a real man. Talbert’s smugness was intolerable.

You’re not a man. You’re an animal! Edward spat.

Enough! Cate shoved Edward back.

Talbert resumed his heckling, and Edward gave him a murderous stare. Taking a tight hold of Edward’s