8
I pull into the parking lot where we’re shooting this week and turn off my engine. As much as I tried to not focus on everything with Rose, I couldn’t help checking my phone every few minutes... still hoping that she would text me at some point.
My phone rings and I lunge for it, assuming that it’s Rose calling me. No. It’s my agent. I sigh as I swipe my finger across the screen and lift it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Amy… it’s Brian.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure… I guess. I just got to the set, but I’m a few minutes early.”
“Are you free tonight to have that dinner we talked about?”
I pause for a second before answering. Last time we talked, I did tell him we could meet for dinner… but I’m already feeling like I’ll just want to head straight home when we’re done today.
“I guess. What were you thinking?”
“There’s a small restaurant, the Brass Lantern. The food is decent, but it’s quiet enough there that we can have a conversation.”
Brian was a little vague the last time we talked, when it came to what he wanted to talk to me about, which is a little worrying.
“Sure, that’s fine.”
“Do you need the address?”
“No… I’ll just look it up.”
“Just text me when you finish up today… and we can meet there,” Brian says.
“OK… I’ll see you later.”
I end the call and drop my phone into my purse. I get out of my car and start walking toward my trailer, but stop when I see Jarvis pull into the lot. He waves at me and I nod in response. I walk in his direction as he locks his car and starts to walk toward his own trailer.
“Did you have a fun party?” I ask.
He glances up from his phone, nods briefly and keeps walking.
“Hey, I know it’s a long shot… but did you ever see my friend, Rose, at your party?”
Jarvis slows and looks up at me. I have no idea why, but he seems mildly irritated that I’m bothering him.
“No… I don’t think so.”
I get the feeling, from the tone of his voice, that he’s lying to me… which makes no sense.
“You’re sure?”
“I didn’t meet anyone named Rose. Sorry.”
“Huh… that’s weird.”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“Well… her phone was at your house last night.”
Jarvis looks at me for a few seconds without saying anything… and then starts to walk again.
“Jarvis….”
“Amy,” he says, stopping and turning toward me. “I have to get to wardrobe. I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to take this film seriously.”
I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth to respond, but he’s already turned and practically running toward his trailer. I really feel like he knows more than he’s letting on, but there’s nothing I can do. It’s not like I can make him tell me the truth. I do wonder what he might know… but it looks like finding out is going to take some time.
I head toward my own trailer and set my purse down on the couch. Another day of running around and getting filthy… all in the name of art. I guess I can’t complain… this is still so much better than any of the jobs I had before Dex cast me in his film. The thought of working another dead-end restaurant job sends chills down my spine—I’m quite pleased that part of my life is over.
It’s my hope that I’ll continue to get acting jobs for as long as I want because it’s really the most amazing job ever. I mean, it’s hard… and the days are long, but it’s still so much fun. I’ve reached the point where I finally appreciate how amazing my life has become since I moved here. I’m looking forward to many more years of the same. Spencer seems to really like this life, too, so I’m sure he’ll want to act for as long as Hollywood will have him.
Time for wardrobe. I walk out of my trailer and start to walk across the lot. As much as I’ve loved working on Day One, I’ll be excited when the next film I work on allows me to wear more than one outfit for the whole shoot. The clothes I have to wear on a daily basis seem so grubby after everything we’ve done. The girly part of me is also really tired of wearing the same thing all the time.
I knock on the door of the wardrobe trailer and walk in. Jarvis isn’t inside, which is surprising. I’m thinking he said that just to get away from me. He was so intent on inviting me to his party and now he’s seemingly avoiding me at any cost. Weird.
Whatever. I don’t have to get along with Jarvis… not that I’ve ever been particularly fond of him. We just need to have a working relationship for a handful of weeks and then I never have to see him again.
There’s no one in the wardrobe trailer right now, which is strange… but my outfit is already set out and waiting for me. No reason to waste time. I glance out the window, just to check and make sure Jarvis isn’t about to walk in, and I change as quickly as possible. Him walking in while I’m changing is… I think I would die from embarrassment and awkwardness. I’m out of the trailer and heading toward the tent where Harriet is standing before he shows up.
“Hey,” I say, as she turns and looks at me.
“You ready?”
“Yes… I am.”
“Good. Have you seen Jarvis?”
“Like ten minutes ago… in the parking lot.”
“He wasn’t in wardrobe?”
“No… I just came from there and I was the only one.”
Harriet sighs and shakes her head. It seems like her patience for Jarvis is wearing thin. I have a feeling she’s thinking the same thing about him as I am—just a few more weeks and he’ll be a thing of the past.
“Someone go find Jarvis!” she yells.
Harriet shakes her head and turns back toward me. I force a smile onto my face in an attempt to calm her, but she just stares at me for a few seconds and then looks away.
I guess it’s going to be one of those days.
I hand my wardrobe to the intern, who smiles at me. She turns, walks out of my trailer and closes the door behind her. I grab my phone and sit down on the couch. Brian asked me to text him when I was done today, but I need a few minutes to decompress before I can deal with anything else.
Jarvis was weird and distant whenever we weren’t rolling, but he seemed to pull it together when needed… which I guess is a blessing. He could’ve easily disrupted the whole shoot, but he didn’t. I’m not sure what his deal is. It made acting, for me at least, more difficult. It was something I can put up with for a day, but I’ll have to say something if he’s still being weird tomorrow.
My phone is still in my purse when I hear a faint chirp. I reach across the couch and fish it out. At this point I’m not expecting Rose to text me. I figure the most likely sender is Brian, but it turns out to be a text from Spencer. A smile quickly forms on my face as I read the text from him.
Hey, baby. Just checking in to see how yesterday went (the visit with your mom) and trying to find Rose. I’m in bed right now, we had a late night of shooting, but I’ll probably be up for a few minutes… thanks mostly to the hotel being right next to an abandoned warehouse that’s apparently been turned into a nightclub. Anyway… hope you had a good day. Text me if you get a chance, but if not… I love you and I miss you.
Hearing from him makes my day. It would be nice to talk, but I doubt either of us has the energy for that right now and my day isn’t close to over. I write him a message and hit send.
Awww, sorry, baby. That sucks about the location of the hotel. I hope that they don’t keep you up all night, that would suck. I had an alright day… Jarvis was being weird, but whatever. My visit with my mom was… interesting. She asked why my father hadn’t visited. I was trying to think of how to even answer her and Dex called. I stepped into the hall and when I went back in the room she seemed to have forgotten all about it. She ended up falling asleep, so I just left and headed back to the house. I’m hoping she just had a weird memory lapse and I won’t actually have to talk to her about my dad… as terrible as that sounds.
I set my phone down on the couch and stand up. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and take a sip as I wait for a response from Spencer. I can’t stop thinking about how Jarvis acted this morning… and how he continued to be weird while we were on set. He kept it together while shooting, thankfully, which is the only thing I really care about at this point. It still doesn’t stop me from being a little curious as to why he’s acting so strange.
My phone chirps, so I sit back down on the couch as I screw the cap back on my bottle of water. I read the text from Spencer and smile.
I’m sure you’ll figure it all out… you always do. It’s not an easy thing to do, telling her or not telling her… but just be prepared to do it if you feel like it’s something you should do. I love you and I hope the rest of your day goes well. I’m starting to drift off… I’m pretty tired, so I should go. I love you more than anything.
I write out a quick text and hit send.
I love you, too. Get some rest… hope you have a great day tomorrow. I love you.
It was nice to text with him for a few minutes—it’s been so hard connecting with him on the other side of the world. It’s really the main reason why I’m looking forward to finishing up Day One and heading to wherever he is.
I sigh and start writing a text to Brian. The sooner I meet with him, the sooner I can go home and rest up for the killer week that I know is ahead of me. I hit send and wait for him to respond.
Hey, Brian, just checking in. You said to text you when I finished up for the day. I’m still on set, but I’m changed out of wardrobe. Did you still feel like we should meet? Let me know.
There’s a part of me that hopes he either doesn’t respond or he’s changed his mind about needing to talk to me, as horrible as that sounds. I know I should be thankful… he’s my agent and he’s done a good job getting me work so far, but I’m feel kind of burned out right now and I wouldn’t mind a couple months off when we finish filming.
I stand up from the couch and grab my purse. My phone, which I’m holding in my hand, chirps before I can even reach the door. I stop and read the text from Brian.
Yes, I’d like to meet. There’s something I want to talk to you about. How about Café Rêves instead of Brass Lantern? Do you know it?
So much for that. I text him back, hit send and head out of my trailer.
No, but I can find it.
He texts me back a few seconds later.
How about thirty minutes?
I glance up from my phone as I walk and text. I hit send and pull up the address of the restaurant just as I reach my car.
That’s fine. See you there.
It’s about twenty minutes away, according to my phone, so I should be there right on time because there’s always seems to be more traffic than my phone thinks there will be.