chapter TWENTY-SEVEN
Lesson of the Day:
Reality is only what you perceive. Try to perceive what’s real.
Mikka
Larger than life—larger than this small town, at the very least—Jay dominated the first take the next week.
He’d promised me he would, swore up and down that he had this challenge in the bag, and even went so far as to tell anyone who would listen about how we were moving in together soon.
Lorraine was thrilled. She literally patted herself on the back and said she knew the iron headboard wasn’t banging around up there for no reason.
I could have shrunk away from embarrassment, but Lorraine didn’t respect anyone who couldn’t dish it right back.
I told her Ray had stopped by the day before and I’d let him know exactly what was in her box shipped from King Chang. She cackled all the way to her bedroom.
We were called to the set at 6:00 AM that morning. I was always astonished when I pulled up and saw what they’d done to make the location match the director’s vision.
Greenville Village and its shops had been transformed. Trailers lined the street around the corner, and lights had been placed strategically for camera angles near store fronts. I knew Delilah and Ray had given the crew permission to film inside and in front of their store.
It would be a good tourism boost if the movie did well. Jay knew it, which is why he’d requested that the last scenes be done right here.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and whispered that he was ready to finish this thing.
Then he disappeared with hair and makeup and I walked the street. I introduced myself to a few people who were outside, mostly techs working on the mics and lighting.
The director and Lela were still in their trailers. Most times on these sets, they wouldn’t come out until it was time to shoot. They avoided the audience forming down the street and talking with anyone they regarded as less significant.
I knew the drill. I wasn’t a part of the elite crowd here.
I camped out with Delilah and Ray instead. I wasn’t a celebrity, didn’t belong on the other side of the barrier, even if Jay wanted me to be there.
I watched from afar for the first few takes and had tears in my eyes when the first one wasn’t cut at all. The director let them play it out. Lela and Jay smiled at each other like they knew their onscreen chemistry was explosive.
I wanted to be happy for them; I wanted to support Jay the way I always had. But, as he stared into the beautiful actress’s eyes like he had mine, I felt a little bit of our world crumble away. He belonged there, with someone like her. The power she exuded, the attention she held—it was as powerful as the wrecking ball Jay claimed me to be. The first time he kissed her, I didn’t know how to handle the stabbing feeling in my heart. It mixed with the feeling of getting lost in them, of my heart melting for the love they portrayed so well.
Delilah squeezed my shoulder, and I sighed. “I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll be back later.”
I tapped out of the situation for a while, walked the streets of Greenville to take in the colder air. Winter approached with each morning frost but was held back by each warm autumn afternoon. Down the road, the birch trees faded to yellow plums and the grass dimmed from its vibrant green to a golden brown. The colors of nature listened closely to the weather, pulling back their brilliance to make sure the snow stood out when it fell.
I wondered if I would see it, if the first snowflakes would fall while I was here, if the town would give me the opportunity to see another layer of it.
My phone rang when I rounded the corner on Lorraine’s block. Mom popped up on the screen.
“Mom, I was going to call you this week.”
“Of course you were,” she agreed, which wasn’t like her. I smiled. Maybe she missed me; maybe she wanted to chat rather than bicker.
My melancholy mood warmed at the idea that I would be seeing her soon.
“I’ll be home next week. I’ll try to fly in to see you right away. Are Bryan and Anton still there?” My mother had taken Bryan under her wing when his parents had disowned him a long time ago. Now, him and his partner came to visit every now and then.
“No. They left. When Dougie called to say he was coming to visit, I figured he wanted privacy when he asked for your hand in marriage.”
“My… wait… what?” I halted in front of Lorraine’s, my stomach twisting in knots. “He’s there?”
“I’m making him supper. There’s only one reason a man comes to visit a woman’s parents without her, Mikka. I should have kept it to myself. I was going to because I don’t think I’ll say yes.”