Julian
Holy fuck, last night. I find myself grinning like an idiot as I drive back to Kincaid Castle. Not even the condition of the house can get me down today.
Last night was everything.
Ten years ago, I should have tried harder to stay in touch with Sophia. Why hadn’t I? My mother falling ill had been part of it. But deep down, I didn’t think I deserved her.
All my life, I’ve had things handed to me. My parents treated me like the golden child. When I started making comics, I struggled for a few years. But right before I met Sophia, Kingdom Night hit it big.
There’s no fairness in publishing, no rhyme or reason why some comics and games make it and others don’t. Several of my peers are still searching for their big break. It’s all so random. So unpredictable. When Kingdom Night exploded, I was overjoyed, of course. But deep down, my success felt undeserved. Unearned.
Ten years ago, I hadn’t fought for Sophia. But I’m not the same person I used to be. I don’t give a fuck whether I deserve her or not. Lady Luck has smiled on me, and I’m going to grab this second chance with both hands. She wants me, and she wants Damien, and if she’s unfazed by being in a polyamorous relationship, then so am I. This time, I’m not going to give her up.
Monday is a shitshow.First thing that morning, Chris Quinn swings by to look at the greenhouse floor. “It should have underfloor heating,” I tell him. “But it doesn't seem to be working. Can you figure out what’s wrong with it?”
“Hmm,” he says. “When was it installed?”
“Twenty-five years ago?” I guess. “Maybe thirty?”
Quinn gets to work. An hour later, he has an answer for me. “There’s good news, and there's bad news,” he says. “Good news, the coils under the concrete are intact. Bad news, your boilers are busted. Both of them need to be replaced.”
The news is not unexpected. “Okay. Let's do that. How long will that take?”
“To replace the boilers? A day. But that’s not the issue. A boiler large enough to heat a place this size is a custom job. I can place the order today, but they're not going to show up until the new year.”
My mouth falls open. “January? You have got to be kidding.”
“I wish I was. The cold showers can’t be pleasant, I know.”
“Is there anything you can do to speed things up?” I ask, a desperate edge in my voice. “It’s not the cold showers. My sister is getting married here at Christmas, and we have to have heat and hot water for the guests.”
The electrician looks around at the state of the greenhouse. “Is your contractor going to be done in time?” he asks skeptically.
“I can't find a contractor,” I confess. “I'm doing the work myself.”
He gives me an even more dubious look. “Well, you certainly will have your hands full.” Some of my desperation must be obvious because he relents. “I'll talk to the manufacturers. See if they can put a rush on it.”
If that wasn't stressful enough, the day continues to go downhill. Come afternoon, I get an email from Francisco Flores. “I've been thinking about how we’re going to work together,” he writes. “I talked to Kyle Donovan about it. You know the material the best, so I think it makes the most sense for you to write the first draft. Once you’ve done that, I can tweak and polish it. And I'm always available as a resource, of course.”
What the fuck?
“Given the aggressive timeline, I think we should aim for a finished screenplay in the next five weeks,” he finishes.
I read the email again to see if I’ve missed anything, but no, I haven’t. My temper rises. This is complete bullshit. Flores is obviously pissed off at having to share credit with me, so he’s retaliated by dumping all the work on my plate. I can’t write a screenplay in five weeks—I’ve never written one before. I have no idea what I’m doing.
And Hannah is coming to look at the greenhouse in five weeks. It was already going to be a challenge to get it ready. There’s no way I can do both the screenplay and the construction. Something’s got to give.
I start to forward the email to my agent and then hesitate. What is Shaun going to do? Flores says he’s cleared this with Kyle Donovan, the producer. If that’s the case, I already know what Shaun’s going to say. He’s going to tell me to be a team player. If I insist he takes it up with the production company, I’m going to sound like I’m complaining. Like I’m afraid of hard work.
This is a big deal for Shaun too. Getting Revenant made will be a feather in his cap. It’ll be great for his career, not just mine.
He worked hard to make this deal happen, and I don't want to seem ungrateful. If I tell Shaun that I can't do the screenplay because I'm renovating my house, he'll tell me to re-examine my priorities. He's going to remind me that getting a show made is the kind of thing that can send a writer's career to the stratosphere. He'll point out that this is a big, huge, once-in-a-lifetime deal.
And he would be right. If there was ever a time to put my career over my personal life, it's now.
Everything is happening at the same time, and I don't know what to do.
I grit my teeth. I cannot let Hannah down. I cannot scuttle the Revenant deal. And I will not give up Sophia. Letting her go ten years ago was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I will not repeat it.
Things will fall into place. They have to.