Our initial hostility towards each other has mellowed to a thin veil of mutual irritation but for the past few days, we’ve been poking at each other, testing our mutual limits as more of a joke than anything else.
There’s a crunch of gravel outside and I watch the film crew’s van come to a stop. I hop off the trailer and walk to the door. Georgiana comes to stand next to me as the filming crew piles out of their van.
“Ready?” she asks.
“R-ready.” I’ve been briefed from A to Z about how we’re going to tackle this shoot, because no way is she appearing in a similar screw-up to last week’s. Yes ma’am.
Obviously, I’m shower fresh and beer free. I’ve also practiced a few scripted lines, because we’re not going forward with this unscripted and me sounding like an idiot.
“Oh good. Both of you are still here,” greets the presenter.
During rehearsals with Georgiana, I’ve caught on that his name is Jack.
Jack is giving me an eagle-eyed inspection as he pulls a cigarette from its box and digs for a lighter in his pants pockets. “And cleaned up too, I see.”
“We sure are,” Georgiana says. “Wait until you’ve seen what we’ve accomplished this week.”
We greet the camera crew and as Jack heads into the barn, I raise a hand. “No smoking.”
“Ah. Right.” Jack takes a deep drag. “So, progress?”
This is my cue. I shoot Georgiana a glance and she looks up at me expectantly. There’s no Miami Glare in sight, only two big grey eyes gently urging me on to say the words.
“Floor’s up, frame’s up. Electrician’s checking in on Thursday to do the wiring.”
“Good.” Jack tosses his two-drag cigarette to the ground and stomps it out with a sigh. “Let’s not waste anything then. Least of all time.”
Georgiana leads the way into the barn, and I fall into the background, as we agreed, so that they can decide what, where and how to film.
Jack gives a low whistle. “Well, progress. This is looking good.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Georgiana takes him to the wall where she’s pinned up printouts of her drawings. I haven’t reviewed them yet, but at a glance she did an amazing job. She had the drawings printed while she was in Burlington and walks Jack through each one.
He nods, intrigued to see the model in two-dimensional form, and compares it with where we are in the build. “Interesting. How does this skylight open?”
“There’s a hatch and then you can swivel and push it up to open to the sky,” Georgiana says with a smile. “Raiden’s idea. I’ve never come across something like this before, but it’s brilliant, don’t you think? A bit of building genius right there.”
I stare at her. That wasn’t scripted. Couldn’t be. She had no clue that Jack was going to ask questions about the skylights in the roof of all things. It’s a German concept I’ve refined for our tiny house. I can’t take any credit for the basic engineering, but to hear someone use the words brilliant and genius in relation to anything I’ve done makes heat push to my face.
“Yes, I can’t wait to see that in action,” Jack says as he looks closer at the drawings. The cameraman closes in on them and I step even further aside.
“Actually, there are a few design concepts here that I found quite intriguing as I drew them up. Some of them are brilliant, especially the storage concepts, which we all know are a challenge in a tiny house.” Georgiana continues to go through the plans and at some point, I become aware that the cameraman to my left side is filming this.
I’m rooted to the spot and my heart is in my throat, which is stuffed full of barbed wire. If they ask me to say something now, I’ll sound like a cat being strangled.
“These are all great ideas.” Jack glances at me for some reaction, but when I say nothing, he continues, “They’re different, and all of them will be crowd-pleasers for sure. This is what this competition is about: innovation and expansion. Getting different ideas together in one place. You seem to have a good thing going here.”
The cameraman zooms in on Jack as he talks, and I step away quietly. Then Jack goes silent, and the cameraman cuts.
“I didn’t know you were going to film,” Georgiana says. “I thought we’d go over a few things first.”
“Yeah, last week was too much of a clusterfuck. We decided to see what we could get filming without warning.” Jack leans closer to take in the scale. “You might want to verify the competition’s specs and the terms of the build. And send copies of the plans to the organizers in Boston. I know they’re waiting for them. You have the secretary’s number?”
They exchange numbers and then continue their walk around the trailer, Georgiana leading the way and talking, the cameraman filming again.
Jack looks for me where I’m following two steps behind them. “Not much of a talker, are you?”
I shrug and inhale. Exhale. “I’m a hands-on kind of guy.”