Powering Through: A Sequel to Learning To Swim For Real

Epilogue

So here I am at the LaGuardia Carlisle house, at long last. I've been wanting to interview this couple for at least a year, but when you get to a certain level of superstardom, you just don't have to talk to people anymore, I suppose.

Kelsey Carlisle by herself was a star, you could say. She was a model first, then a supermodel, then an actress, then a movie star. She'd been in the public eye for over half her life.

Jack LaGuardia wasn't famous at the beginning. He was a student and a swimmer, then Kelsey's coach, then her fiancé, then a law student.

Then they got together.

And this was definitely a case of the sum equalling more than the parts. They were who they were apart, then, when they got together, something magical happened, and suddenly they were a Hollywood super couple, people couldn't get enough of them, they were the hottest couple on the planet. Word got out that they were engaged, that she was pregnant, and their trajectory was set, they were heading for the stratosphere.

So here I am, representing you, the public, trying to get an interview for People magazine. An interview that they've been promising for over a year now, by the way. I first met this couple when they were doing press for Power Through, the Academy Award winning biopic about Olympic gold-medalist Marian Lowell, and we really hit it off, I thought. Enough so that I didn't feel I was trading on anything to ask for a follow-up, more in-depth interview about them as a couple, you know?

What a rude awakening.

They avoided me like I was Typhoid Mary. It didn't help that my actual name was Mary. Citing various, nebulous reasons like being on another continent, or childbirth (I mean, really?), this slippery couple has backed out on no fewer than four scheduled interviews with yours truly.

I could almost believe they were avoiding me.

But I'm here now, and lo, Kelsey Carlisle herself has answered the door, throwing her arms around me and greeting me like I'm her long lost sister (she only has brothers, and if she ever does tie the knot with Jack, she will only gain three more). For our meeting today, she's wearing a UC Santa Maria tank top, a nod to her fiancé's under grad alma mater, and mismatched sweatpants that are droopy in the butt. The tank top appears to have smoothie spilled on it.

Wow, she's really pulled out all the stops for me.

"Mary!" Kelsey exclaims, smiling. "Thanks for coming, and welcome."

I'm led into a beautiful, Spanish-style bungalow (really, only in LaLa land could this mansion be called a "bungalow"), and we follow the sound of laughter and barking to where her baby and their dogs are happily frolicking in a large, sunken family room.

Baby Jed, or Jet, as he's known, makes a bee line for me, followed closely by their dogs, Moss and Roy (Kelsey said I must be sure to include that these dogs are mongrels who were rescued from the local shelter, here you go), who were named for characters on The IT Crowd.

General merriment ensues as this reporter unashamedly gives in to her baser instincts and rolls around on the floor with the baby and the dogs before remembering why she came here in the first place. She is reminded of this fact by the arrival of Jack LaGuardia, who ambles in, fresh from swimming somewhere.

"Hi, Mary!" he calls with a wave. "Nice to see you." He kisses his fiancée, then gives his attention to his boy, who is obviously the apple of his eye.

"Hey there, baby boy!" he calls, picking up the child, who has run into his father's legs like a, well, like a toddler running to his father.

"Here we go, Jet, up so high!" Jack continues to shout, lifting the curly-headed mini-me over his head and making airplane sounds as he flies the baby around the room.

Kelsey just looks on, smiling, as the dogs bark and add to the noise and carnival-like atmosphere.

A few minutes later, when things have finally settled down, this reporter is finally able to ask her first question.

"So, is what I saw the reason why you call him 'Jet'?" I make airplane gestures and point to the baby, who is now contentedly (and sleepily) resting his head on one of the dogs.

"Well, no," Jack answers from his place on the couch, where he sits with his arm around Kelsey. "Jedediah was my grandfather's name, and we're all J names in my family, so we liked it, but it's kind of a mouthful for a baby, you know? So we just called him 'Jed,' and when he started talking a few months ago, and he started to say his own name, it was how he said it." Jack shrugged.

"And, not surprisingly, he's a really fast swimmer, so it's really apt," Kelsey continued.

This reporter expresses surprise that this child, who is in fact a baby, very nearly an infant, can swim already. He is still pretty uncoordinated at walking, I think we can all agree.

Kelsey laughs fondly, watching the tiny person in question, who is falling asleep on the dog. "Well, he's his daddy's boy, you know? He could swim well before he could walk, if you want to know the truth. So yeah, he's an amazing swimmer, I think 'Jet' is a great name for him."

Kelsey watches her son close his eyes, and asks me if I'd like anything to drink. I ask for water, and while she's gone, I ask Jack about the Southern California Poverty Law Center. Is it really going to happen?

"Yeah, I think so," he muses, and I can hear the satisfaction in his voice. "People don't really think about poor people around here, I think, because of the opulence and excess of Hollywood, but it exists, you know? And me being with Kelsey, well, it's given me an incredible opportunity I never would've had. I mean, I still have a year of law school, and I need to pass the bar and all that good stuff, but I have high hopes. And Kels supports me in this, which is so amazing."

Kelsey returns with my water, and a smoothie for Jack. She covers the baby with a blanket and sits down.

"I really want to focus on women and their rights, but to do that would really be sexist, which is something I'm trying to avoid," Jack continues, taking a big drink of his smoothie and thanking Kelsey.

"Has he told you about his brothers?" Kelsey asks me. I shake my head, and she continues. "We think that within the next couple of years they're all going to join him at the Law Center. All of them have skills that can be put to use there, and there's going to be so much to do to get it up and running, you know? It's going to be amazing to have them so close."

She leans her head on Jack's shoulder. "I still have eight weeks left on this movie"(more about that in the actual interview), "and now that we're expecting another baby, we're just going to be so busy."

You heard it here first, folks.

She sits back and waits for the meaning of her words to sink in.

"What?" Jack chokes on his smoothie, so they now have matching stains on their shirts.

Kelsey laughs. "Surprise!" She flashes jazz hands at her fiancé, along with a huge smile.

"I thought we were going to get married pretty soon!" Jack said, sitting up and kissing Kelsey.

"I guess we'll just have to put it off a little longer," she replies with a chuckle.

"I think you did it on purpose, just so you could put off the wedding," Jack accuses.

"Jack, how can you say such a thing? You know I want to marry you more than anything," Kelsey responds, slapping at his shoulder.

Jack accepts the slap, and gives this reporter a look. "There you have it, Mary, a typical day in our happy household." He grabs his affianced in his arms and bears her down, kissing her all over as she laughs, trying not to wake up their baby.

Full interview to follow in our next issue.