5

I walk downstairs, covering my mouth as I yawn. I went to bed so early last night and I still feel exhausted. It’s likely the product of the numerous dreams I had, most of which I don’t remember. The one dream that I actually do remember was about my mom. I dreamt that she showed up here, at Dex’s house, and she demanded that I move back to Greenville with her and take care of her. I guess I’d categorize that as a nightmare. I shudder at the thought of that actually happening. It’s impossible, thankfully, because I’m eighteen now and I never again have to bow to her wishes.

Gina walks out of the kitchen as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

“Did you want some breakfast, Miss Amy?”

“No… I’ve gotta get to the set, but thanks.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. There will be food there. I can just grab something before we start.”

Gina frowns, but nods after a couple of seconds. It clearly pains her that she can’t feed me, but I do need to get going… especially since I need to call a cab.

“I’ll see you tonight… have a good day.”

“Yes… have a good day, Miss Amy.”

I smile at Gina and head for the front door. I pause and shake my head as soon as I step outside. There’s a black town car in the driveway and Ricardo, the guy who drove me around last year, is leaning against it.

“Amy… how are you?”

“Good, Ricardo… how are you?”

“Can’t complain.”

“Are you here for Dex?”

“No. Mr. Baldwin called me this morning and said that you’d need a ride.”

I smile and nod as I walk toward the car. He opens the back door and waits for me to get inside. I put on my seat belt as Ricardo walks around to the driver’s door and gets in.

“Mr. Baldwin said your car was stolen.”

“Yeah… last night, while we were eating dinner in West Hollywood.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It is what it is. The worst part is that it was a gift from my husband.”

“Mr. Thomas?”

“Yeah.”

“Congratulations, by the way. I read about that in the paper.”

“Thanks.”

“He’s shooting in Europe right now, correct?”

“You sure keep up with what’s going in Hollywood.”

“That I heard from my wife… she spends too much time reading celebrity news.”

I smile and shake my head. I always liked Ricardo… he just seems like a genuinely nice guy who doesn’t seem to mind driving people around. I know it’s his job, but it seems like most people hate what they do for a living and he seems to enjoy this.

“Where to?” he asks.

I look down at my phone to check the time. If I had known Ricardo was going to drive me today I would’ve had him come earlier and take me to the car dealership… but now… now I’m just going to have to head to the set and figure out the car thing some other time. Maybe if we get done early I can get over there. I didn’t have a car for so long and always got around, but I’ve been spoiled… and now I feel lost without one. It’s kind of silly, just something I never realized I would depend on so much until I experienced it firsthand.

“I need to get to the set.”

“Were are you shooting today?”

“In Topanga State Park… sorry.”

“No need to apologize, really.”

“It’s just kind of out of the way.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Anywhere in particular at the park?”

“I’ve got the exact directions in an email from the director… let me pull it up on my phone.”

“Sure thing. I’ll start driving and just let me know when you have them.”

I nod as I look down at my phone. I find the email from Harriet quickly enough, even though I really have no idea where Topanga State Park is. It’s our first day shooting there and I planned to just put the directions into my GPS, but it did seem like Ricardo knew where it was.

“It says to follow twenty-seven for five miles and turn right onto Entrada… and then follow that to the end.”

“That seems easy enough.”

“Yeah.”

“We should be there in twenty minutes or so.”

“Thanks, Ricardo.”

“My pleasure.”

I write out a text to Dex and hit send.

Thanks for having Ricardo come get me, it really wasn’t necessary… I could’ve just taken a cab.

My phone vibrates a few seconds later and I read his response.

No worries. I don’t particularly like the idea of you taking cabs whenever you go somewhere. Silly, I know, but I feel like an overprotective parent… and I want you to be safe. Just let Ricardo know what time you’ll be done today and he can come back and get you, I made sure he’s free for the whole day.

I swallow as I force myself to not cry. Dex is like an overprotective dad… and I love that about him. Our relationship means a lot to me and I don’t feel like he’s smothering me or anything… he just seems genuinely interested in making sure I’m safe. My dad was never the overprotective type and I was so glad for that at the time, but now… I’m glad that Dex feels that way about me. I type out a response and hit send.

I really appreciate it. I talked to Spencer last night and he told me to go buy a car as soon as I can, so I’ll try to do that later today if I get off early enough. I’m not crazy about taking cabs either, but I would never presume that it would be okay to ask Ricardo for a ride, either… so thanks for taking care of it.

Ricardo turns right and I look up just in time to see the sign for Topanga State Park. I had no idea that it was this close to the house. I feel my phone vibrate again and I look down to read the response from Dex.

No problem at all. Just have him drive you to the car dealership. If you get done late, he can drive you there tomorrow before you have to be on set. Whatever you need, just let him know. Have a good day on set.

I put my phone back in my purse and look out the window. It’s nice to see trees again. It reminds me of being back in Salem and Greenville. I’ve gotten used to living in L.A., for the most part, but the lack of vegetation sometimes gets to me. Looking at nothing but concrete, asphalt and buildings gets kind of old after a while.

“Do you mind picking me up when I get done?” I ask.

“Sure… what time?”

“I’m not sure… sorry.”

“It’s no problem. You have my phone number, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just call me thirty minutes or so before you want me to pick you up and I’ll be there.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, of course. I can wait there… if you would prefer that. Mr. Baldwin did book me for the whole day.”

“No… that would be silly.”

“It’s my job… I really don’t mind.”

“I know, but I would feel bad. Please don’t feel the need to do that. I have no idea how long of a day it’s going to be and I would feel better if you just let me call you when I’m done.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

I know it’s a part of his job to wait around for people, but I would feel horrible if he did that for me. We might be shooting all day and into the early evening… and I’d spend the entire day thinking about him sitting in his car… just waiting for me to be done. I’d much rather just call him once I finish, even if that means I have to wait thirty minutes for him to show up. I can take a quick nap or grab a bite to eat while I wait.

We’re still on the same road, I guess it must be the main road through the park. I see a fork in the road and Ricardo starts to slow the car. There’s still houses around, which is strange considering it’s a park… but compared to L.A. this seems very rural and removed, especially since we’re like fifteen minutes from Dex’s house. Ricardo turns down the road on the right and we start to go uphill. I glance out the window on the left side and see the street sign that says Entrada Rd.

A few minutes later, Ricardo parks the car in the crowded parking lot at the end of the road. There’re dozens of people running around, trying to get things done… this must be the place.

“Thanks for the ride, Ricardo.”

“No problem, Amy… always a pleasure.”

“I’ll call you when I finish.”

“Sounds good. Have a good day.”

“Thanks… you too.”

I get out of the car and head for the tent at the far end of the parking lot. I’m a few minutes early and I’m starting to get hungry. There’s no telling how long this morning’s shoot is going to be, so I should grab something right now. I stop in front of the table covered in all manner of food as I try to decide what looks the best. I grab a bagel and a banana. Nothing exciting, but it’ll be easy and quick.

“Amy?”

I turn around at the sound of my name and see Harriet walking toward me. She’s not looking that good… almost like she hasn’t slept for a couple of days, which isn’t surprising given how much she works.

“Harriet… how are you?”

“Fine… whatever… can you get over to makeup?”

“Yeah.”

She walks off before I even get the chance to ask her why she’s in such a flustered state. The most obvious explanation is that she’s worried about today’s shoot, but it could be a million other things… none of which are my responsibility to worry about… even if I was capable of it.

I take a bite of my bagel and start walking toward the hair and makeup trailer, which is parked about fifty feet from where I was standing. I only get about a third of the way through my breakfast before I reach the trailer and open the door.

“Hello?”

“Come in.”

I climb the steps and see Robyn, one of the makeup artists. Jarvis is sitting in the chair in front of her as she puts the finishing touches on his makeup. I’m actually kind of shocked that he’s here… and ready before me. Usually they have to drag him in here moments before we’re supposed to start shooting. I guess maybe I was right in thinking our little chat has lit a fire under his butt.

“How are you, Amy?” Robyn asks.

“I’m okay… how are you?”

“Good… good. I’m almost done with Jarvis and then we’ll get to you.”

“Sure.”

I scoot by them and sit down in one of the empty chairs while I finish my breakfast. Hair and makeup is pretty simple for this movie… and it mostly consists of giving us a dirty and worn look to our necks and faces. It seems like it would be easy, but they are trying to make it match how we look at the end of the previous day and then add a little more. I imagine the idea is that it’ll look like we’re getting dirtier as the film goes. Ambitious, to say the least, but it’ll give the film a nice touch. I have a feeling it’s something that Harriet probably insisted on.

I look over at Jarvis and our eyes meet. He looks down instantly. I guess I scared him. I’m really not a violent person by nature, but when he started talking bad about Harriet it just sent me over the edge.

“All done,” Robyn says.

She stands back and surveys her work. Jarvis stands up and walks out of the trailer without saying so much as a word to either one of us.

“Well, he’s in a good mood,” I say.

“He wasn’t very talkative this morning… which was nice.”

I laugh and stand up to throw away the last third of my bagel. I wipe my hands off on a paper towel and sit down in the same chair Jarvis was just in.

“So, how are things?” Robyn asks.

“Good, I guess. You?”

“Pretty good, it was nice to have yesterday off.”

“Yeah… it was.”

“Did you do anything fun?”

“Uh… well… I went to dinner… and my car was stolen.”

“What?”

“Yeah… I had to valet it because there was no parking… and someone stole it.”

“Wow… that’s crappy. Sorry to hear that.”

I sigh and shrug as Robyn starts to style my hair.

“It is what it is.”

The door to the trailer opens and Harriet sticks her head inside.

“I need her ready in five minutes.”

She closes the door before Robyn even has a chance to open her mouth.

“All right….”

I decide not to talk anymore, knowing that she needs to be absolutely focused to do my hair and makeup in five minutes… because on most mornings it takes almost half an hour.

Robyn finishes with me as quickly as possible and I dash out of the trailer less than ten minutes after Harriet came in. It took twice as long as she asked, but I think under the circumstances there’s nothing she can really say about it. Even if I would’ve gotten to the set a few minutes early it wouldn’t have done any good because Jarvis wouldn’t have been done.

I see Harriet and Jarvis on the far side of the parking lot and I walk toward them as quickly as I can manage. She turns toward me, cutting off their conversation, as I walk up to her.

“Where are your clothes?”

“Sorry… I just got done in hair and makeup.”

“Get changed… now.”

The tone of her voice suggests that doing anything other than what I was commanded to would result in some rather unfavorable consequences for myself. Fortunately, for me, the wardrobe trailer is about twenty feet away… and one of the assistants is standing outside with a rack of clothes for my character.

“Deb,” I say, as I rush over to her, “I need my outfit for today.”

She nods and pulls off the outfit with today’s date on it and hands it to me, along with the filthy shoes I have to wear. I take the hanger from her and walk toward the door of the trailer.

“Wait… Amy… you can’t go in there.”

“What? Harriet needs me changed like five minutes ago.”

“Sorry… it’s locked and I don’t have the key.”

I take a deep breath and look back at the hair and makeup trailer. No time. I run to the other side of the trailer and hang the clothes off a piece of molding. I drop the shoes on the ground and a puff of dust flies off of them. I yank my own clothes off… ignoring the fact that someone could see me… and get changed as quickly as possible. At least there’s a forest to my back, so at worst someone could walk around the trailer and catch a glimpse of me in my underwear.

I’m changed and pulling the shoes on within moments… and I don’t see anyone gawking, so I think I’m safe. I grab my clothes off the ground and toss them to Deb as I run toward Harriet.

As I reach her, I see Jarvis on the back of an ATV as it heads off into the woods.

“Finally… I’m going to assume you know your lines?”

“Yeah… I’m totally ready for today.”

“Get on the back of that other ATV… we’re already running behind.”

I nod and frown as I walk away from Harriet. I know for a fact I was a few minutes early this morning, so I’m not sure what’s going on with her and why she’s taking it out on me. I get on the back of the ATV and the driver pulls away from the parking lot before I can even get a good grip. I almost fall off, but manage to grab the back of his shirt.

He looks over his shoulder and gives me a dirty look for pulling on him. Ugh. Is it really going to be one of those days?

I let go of his shirt and brace myself on the ATV. I take a deep breath and try not to let any of this weirdness get to me. I didn’t do anything wrong. The most important thing, for me, right now is to remember my lines and focus on giving a good performance—everything else will sort itself out.

---

I finish washing the combination of dirt and makeup off my face and dry it with the towel next to the sink. When I read the script for today, I was under the impression that it was going to be a dialogue heavy day and that I wouldn’t be as tired as I am usually when we finish. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It wasn’t that we were running that much, like the day with the field and the drone filming us… but the terrain was steep and we went up and down all day without a single break longer than five minutes.

I’ve decided that I’ll take running across a field all day over hiking up and down steep embankments while trying to deliver lines. Harriet seemed pleased with how everything went and she calmed down by the end of the day, so at least that’s good. Jarvis behaved himself and I didn’t hear him complain a single time… something I thought would never happen.

The only thing in my mind as I walk out of the trailer is that I want to take a hot bath and sleep for about twenty hours. It’s just after five now… so ten hours of sleep will have to do, but there’s no way I’m not taking a bath.

I take my phone out of my purse, pull up Ricardo’s number and hit call. Nothing happens. I wrinkle my nose as I lower my phone and look at the screen. Seriously? No service? Crap. I walk toward the other end of the parking lot, where there’s less trees around and hold my phone into the air. Still, nothing.

Deb walks by me with an armload of clothes as she heads for the wardrobe trailer. I hurry after her and slow once I’ve caught up.

“Deb… my phone isn’t working… can I borrow yours?”

“Sorry, I don’t have service either.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah… I doubt anyone does.”

I stop walking and look around at everyone who is still in the parking lot, which is about twenty people. Usually in a group that size, at least a handful of people would be using their phone for something… but no one is. Seriously? What are the chances. I’ll have to ask someone to give me a ride, at least to where I can get cell service.

“What are you doing?”

I turn around and see Jarvis standing a few feet behind me.

“Why?”

“Oh… it’s just weird that you’re standing in the middle of the parking lot… looking around.”

“My car was stolen… so I had to get a ride here, but I don’t have any service.”

Jarvis nods, takes his phone out of his pocket and frowns.

“Sorry, I don’t have service either.”

“Thanks… I’ll just ask someone to give me a ride.”

“I can.”

I shake my head and take a step back.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Please, let me give you a ride,” he says.

I take a deep breath and look into his eyes. Is it possible that me putting him in his place the other day has completely changed him? I know it sounds kind of crazy, but he does seem very different.

“Fine.”

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“My car is right over there.”

Jarvis starts to walk toward the line of cars on the other side of the parking lot. I already know from seeing him drive it that his is the violently orange car that makes way too much noise, but it’s still nice of him to offer.

We get in and he starts the car. I take out my phone and stare at the lack of bars, just hoping that at any moment at least one of them will come to life and I won’t have to ride anywhere with him.

No such luck.

Jarvis backs out of the spot and drives toward the road that leads away from our shooting location.

“Thanks for giving me a ride… I’ll let you know when I have service and you can just drop me off.”

“What? Don’t be silly. I’ll give you a ride home.”

I want to argue, but I’m shocked by his level of compassion toward me. It’s really quite strange.

“Thanks” I say, finally managing to speak.

“No problem.”

We sit in silence for the next few minutes as he drives us toward the exit of the park at a remarkably conservative speed. I’m sure he left a cloud of smoke in his wake when pulling away from the set on one of the first days, but right now he’s driving like someone carrying precious cargo.

“So, your car was stolen?”

“Yeah… last night.”

“Dang, that really sucks. Was it at your house?”

“No, I valeted it over at Xi’an… in West Hollywood.”

“Crazy. Did you have dinner there?”

“Yes.”

“How was it? I’ve been meaning to try it out.”

“Uh… it was good. Sorry… I have to say something… it’s killing me. Why are you being so nice to me?”

Jarvis glances over and looks at me for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the road.

“Because of the other day.”

“What do you mean?”

Is it possible that he’s afraid of me knocking him on his butt again? It seems kind of silly, but I suppose anything is possible at this point.

“No one has ever stood up to me like that. I was mad… upset… whatever. But then I thought about it all day yesterday… and thank you for doing what you did.”

I blink a few times as I try to process what he’s saying. Did he seriously just thank me for assaulting him? Is this a dream?

“I know it’s weird… but I know that my behavior was inappropriate,” Jarvis says. “I should be eternally thankful for the opportunity to work on a film with a great director and an equally talented co-star. I’m immature… but I want to change that. I’m ready to grow up and take responsibility for myself.”

I’m not even really sure what to say. This is certainly not a conversation I ever expected to have with Jarvis.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” I say.

Jarvis stops the car at the intersection of the road we’re on and the Pacific Coast Highway. I look over Jarvis, but he’s looking at the car in front of us as the light turns green and it starts to move again.

“Where do you live?” Jarvis asks.

“I’m staying with Dexter Baldwin right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… it’s a long story, but it wasn’t safe for me to stay at my house while Spencer is gone.”

He quickly glances over with a surprised look on his face. Even with his new attitude toward life, I don’t really feel like explaining my life story to Jarvis… which includes my mom and how crazy she is.

“So, where does he live?”

“In Beverly Hills… I’ll tell you when to turn.”

I look down at my phone. I have service again, but I guess there’s no point in having Jarvis drop me off anywhere around here, it’ll be quicker to just let him take me back to Dex’s house.

“Turn left at the next light,” I say.

Jarvis doesn’t seem to be that surprised by the neighborhood, which I guess makes sense… everyone has told me that his father is wealthy and powerful… which is the real reason Jarvis gets acting jobs. I wouldn’t have doubted it before today, but now… he is a good actor in his own accord, even if he’s never truly demonstrated that before. I hope that this new side of him isn’t a temporary thing… only time will tell.

“It’s right there,” I say, pointing at the house.

Jarvis pulls the car up to the gate and stops. I take off my seat belt, open the door and get out.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem. I hope you get your whole car situation resolved.”

“Thanks.”

He smiles and waves as I walk toward the gate. I look over my shoulder as I walk through the gate and toward the house, but he’s already pulling away. So strange. I never thought I’d have a civil conversation with Jarvis Green, let alone sit in a car with him for twenty minutes and not be bothered by it.

I’m still a little skeptical, but maybe people can change.