She sighed. “Can’t imagine why.”
I pointed at her with my fork. “I saw a van of tourists down by the lodge on my way here.”
“Tourists? You sure?”
I took another bite and shook my head. “A group of people. A dozen at least.”
“There’s a photo crew that’s flown in. Ski gear’s what I hear.”
I perked up. “Models?”
“Male models. It’s for a gay magazine. Though, that part I can’t confirm.”
I chuckled. “Why not? Didn’t you go down there and chat up the models?”
She swatted down my comment and twisted her mouth into a disapproving frown. “What would I want with a bunch of ski-gear models? I got all the man I could ever want right here.”
I cocked my head to the side and took another bite. Still chewing, I said, “Even if I’m fat.”
“Only if you’re fat. So eat up!”
3
Greta
Ten days was a long time for a photoshoot. But it turned out, ten days had been wishful thinking. We’d planned on getting started straight away with some outdoor shots as the sun was setting.
It would have been a good shoot, if we’d actually had the clothes we were meant to shoot. Instead, the airline had sent our luggage to Paris. Even the airlines were rubbing it in.
Fashion week in Paris? No, you must have us confused with a successful modeling agency. We’re the modeling agency that’s three months behind on rent and about to go bankrupt. We needed our luggage in Perth, Montana.
We hadn’t even arrived at the lodge and already we had fallen behind by at least three days.
“Look on the bright side,” said Delvin, one of the models, “at least now we have time to do some sightseeing.”
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and waved a hand at the mountain and the view of the rooftops of the small town below. “There, we’ve seen all the sights. Now what?”
Delvin gave me a shoulder bump. “Ah, come on, Greta. I’m just trying to lighten the mood.”
“I know, Delvin. I’m sorry. But the prospect of sightseeing in Perth…well you guys go on ahead. I’ve seen it all before.”
“You have?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Hans and I spent a few years of our childhood here.”
“So, maybe some sightseeing and a stroll down memory lane?”
I shook my head. “I’d rather not.”
Delvin shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He turned to Andy, who trailed Delvin everywhere and all but worshipped at Delvin’s feet. “Come on Andy. Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into in this mountain town.”
Hans saluted them as they passed. “Have fun.”
To save money, we stayed three in a room. Hans and I shared our room with Kurt, a model-slash-actor-slash-waiter from Indiana who had moved out to New York with big dreams. Then he met us and had been rudely awakened from his dream into reality.
I suspected Hans had a crush on him, so I asked my brother, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to share a room with Kurt?”
Hans looked at me perplexed. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
I whispered, even though Kurt was clear on the other side of the lodge lobby, staring out the window at the mountains. “It could complicate things. Plus, I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
He gave me a double-take, looked from Kurt to me then back to Kurt. “You mean, you think me,” he pointed innocently at himself, “and Kurt?” He shook his head enthusiastically.
“What? Why not?”
Hans furrowed his brow. “Kurt’s a child.”
“He’s twenty,” I said. “A year younger than you, and a year older than me.”
“Yeah, like I said. A child.” Hans shook his head. “No, you don’t need to worry about me hooking up with Kurt. If I’m going to complicate things, it’s going to be with a man. You know,” he straightened and stuck out his chest, ”a man! Not a child.”
I put my hands up defensively. “OK, my mistake. I was only asking.”
He nudged me with his elbow. “If anyone should be worried about being a third wheel, it should be me.”
I furrowed my brow. “Why would you say that?”
He cocked his head to the side. “On the plane, you and Alex, talking and laughing.”
I smirked and swatted down his silly comment. “Oh, please. Our conversation was purely professional.”
Hans twisted his lips into a dubitative grin. “I bet.”
“It was!”
Hans put his hands up defensively. “You don’t need to convince me. You know my motto - don’t mix business with pleasure—”
I joined in and we completed the saying in unison, “Unless you can.”
“That’s right,” said Hans. “And the way business has been going lately, I say we ought to mix as much pleasure with it as we can muster.”
I shook my head. “Believe me, Hans. I have no intention of getting any kind of pleasure here in Perth, except maybe the pleasure of leaving it.”
After settling into our rooms, the crew and the models - eight people in all - split up and either went into town or for a hike in the mountains. Hans and I were left with the evening falling and not much of a plan or desire to do anything with it.