Gina is in the kitchen when I walk through the door. I avoided talking to her and Dex this morning, so I feel kind of bad, but I head for the stairs and slowly climb them. My entire body feels like it’s on fire. The sheer amount of running I had to do today reminds me of being in high school and the gym teacher deciding we should do wind sprints. It’s not something I ever need to experience again.
I reach for the handrail to steady myself as I reach the top step. It takes a final surge of energy for me to make that last step. I breathe a sigh of relief as I walk down the hall toward my bedroom. I’m covered in dirt, sweat and all manner of nature. A shower is a good start, but tomorrow is going to come quickly… and we’re shooting in the same location again. I certainly thought I knew what I was getting myself into when I took this role, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this. It wouldn’t have changed my decision—I’m in love with the movie we’re making and Harriet is simply amazing to work with.
I take a quick shower, which loosens up my muscles and I don’t feel quite so beat up. I’d love to climb into bed right now… and the sun hasn’t set yet.
The scene we did today was one of the fastest paced moments in the book. Jarvis and I ran in and out of a series of abandoned warehouses while being chased by a group of bandits. There was debris all over the place and one false step could leave either of us injured. Thankfully, we made it through the day unscathed and just exhausted.
My thoughts drift to my mom as I walk back into my room, while drying my hair. I was able to not think about her most of the day, but I think that was the result of what we were filming today because it took all of mental focus. I’m feeling like a terrible daughter right now… like I should have figured out a way to help my mom, whatever that means.
There’s a knock on my door and I turn toward it.
“Yes?”
“Amy… it’s Dex.”
“Oh… hey.”
“Are you coming down at some point?”
“Yeah… I’ll be right there, I was just taking a shower.”
“No worries… take your time.”
I finish drying my hair and head back to the bathroom to hang my towel. I wasn’t planning on going downstairs… bed sounded more appealing than eating, but I haven’t seen much of Dex lately and he wouldn’t have knocked on my door if he didn’t want to talk about something.
I throw on pajamas and a T-shirt and head to the kitchen. Dex is sitting at the table, looking down at his phone and sipping a beer.
“Hey,” I say.
He smiles and looks up at me.
“Are you hungry?”
“No… not really.”
“Long day?”
“Very.”
“How is the filming coming along?”
“Pretty good… I guess. I’m probably not the best person to ask, but Harriet seems pleased… for the most part.”
“Good… good. She would let you know if she wasn’t.”
Dex cracks a smile as I sit down across from him.
“So… did you need to talk to me about something?”
“Well, I wanted to apologize for last night.”
“Oh… you saw it.”
“Yeah… I feel like what happened is my fault. Vince was way out of line.”
I nod and look down at the table.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I have a feeling that you wouldn’t have been so… cooperative… if I hadn’t asked you to promote Good Night, Good Night.”
I shake my head and look at Dex. It’s true, what he’s saying, but I’m not going to tell him that.
“Whatever. Brian, my agent, called to apologize and he said that he would make sure I never had to do the show again.”
“Good… I’m glad he’s got your back.”
“It’s just frustrating… I don’t get why anyone would go through so much trouble to humiliate me. Brian also said he was trying to track down the source of the photos, but he wasn’t having any luck.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah, but he seems to think he can still find out.”
“Good.”
He glances down at his phone and then looks up at me.
“Was that what you wanted to talk about?” I ask.
“Partly. I also wanted to give you heads-up, considering how much attention you’ve been getting… it’s probably about to get worse.”
“Uh… what do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve been talking to a couple of industry people… and there’s a buzz about you… and it’s only getting stronger.”
“What does that mean?”
“It sounds like that come award season, you’re going to be a serious contender for best-supporting actress.”
My eyes grow wide as I listen to Dex. The last year of my life has been fantastic, but this is still not something I would’ve ever expected. I was proud of the job I did in his film, but I certainly never considered that something like this could happen.
“Amy?”
I blink a few times and nod.
“Are you okay?” Dex asks.
“Yeah… sorry… it’s just a lot to process.”
“I get it… that’s why I wanted to tell you now, so that it doesn’t take you by surprise over the next couple of months. I know you’re still amazed that the paparazzi take such an interest in you and I didn’t want you to get freaked out when that intensifies in the next few months.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Of course. I’m very proud of you, by the way.”
I smile and nod slowly. I’m sad that my dad isn’t alive to see everything I’ve done in the last year, but I’m glad that I at least have Dex. Not to mention, I’m not sure how my dad would have felt about my becoming an actress. I have a feeling he would have been a little skeptical… and still considerably more supportive than my mom, which isn’t exactly saying a lot.
“Thanks… it’s all thanks to you. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for giving me a shot.”
Dex shrugs and smiles at me.
“It’s all you, kid. I just stand behind the camera and tell people where to stand.”
I know he’s jokingly oversimplifying what he does because even I was able to see how he brought a film together, but it’s kind of him to praise me so much.
“Oh,” he says, “I meant to ask you… have you heard anything about your mom? Have the police found her?”
“Yeah… I just haven’t had the chance to tell you… but they did catch her.”
“Really? Where is she now?”
“Metropolitan State Hospital.”
“Seriously? Isn’t that a mental health place?”
“It is,” I say. “I went the other night, but it was after visiting hours, so I talked to a doctor. They seem to think she might have schizophrenia and maybe she’s bipolar, too.”
“Wow… that’s heavy.”
“I know, right?”
“But it kind of makes sense. She was acting pretty… not normal.”
I’m sure the word he was thinking of was crazy… Dex is just too kind to say something like that, even though we both know it’s the truth.
“It does,” I say.
“What happens now?”
“I’m not really sure. I stopped by this morning, before going to the set… and visited her.”
“Yeah? How was that?”
“It was… weird. She insisted that she was being framed… like someone was out to get her.”
“Yikes.”
“It wasn’t pleasant.”
“What’s next?” Dex asks.
“They are supposed to come up with a treatment plan and I guess go from there.”
“I just want to say this… and please don’t take it the wrong way… but how would you feel about having your mother moved to a different hospital?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… it’s not a bad place, but she might receive the treatment she really needs if she were somewhere else.”
“Uh… I mean… sure, it didn’t strike me as a bad place.”
“Yeah, sorry, I didn’t want it to sound like that. I just know there some other places that might give her a higher level of care… for a price.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I brought it up… I’d be willing to pay for it… if you want and you think it might be something that would help her.”
I hate the idea of having Dex pay for it… I could probably afford it myself, if it’s as worthwhile as he’s implying it is. He shouldn’t feel any sort of obligation to help her… in my opinion.
“Can I think about it?”
“Of course. Just let me know… and if you decide it’s something you want to do, I’ll make a few calls and see what I can do.”
“Good… thanks.”
He smiles and nods. Life with Dex is so easy. The path that led me to meeting him was unconventional, to say the least, but now I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t know him.
“So,” Dex says, “how is Spencer?”
“He’s good… busy.”
“I figured.”
“He’s heading to Prague… tomorrow, I think.”
“Nice… it’s a beautiful city. You should visit someday… I can’t recommend it enough.”
“Yeah.”
I swallow and slowly nod.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Fine… just wishing that I was there, with Spencer.”
“I get it… but you’re in the middle of a shoot.”
“I know… I just miss him.”
“It’s a part of the Hollywood lifestyle, unfortunately.”
“We talked about it,” I say, “and agreed that it’s something that we can deal with right now, since we just got married and are still fortunate to have so many opportunities.”
“Yeah… you never know when Hollywood will stop wanting you.”
“That’s kind of what Spencer said.”
“It’s true… but… don’t let acting ruin your relationship… it’s not worth that.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head, “I wouldn’t. It’s nothing like that… I just miss him… that’s all.”
“When are you going to see him?”
“Ugh… I guess not until I’m done with Day One. Neither of us has more than a day or two off at a time.”
“Sorry, that can be rough to deal with.”
“It is what it is.”
Dex’s phone chirps and he picks it up off the table. He quickly responds to the message and sets it down again.
“Sorry, it was Brenda.”
“How are things?”
“With Brenda?” Dex asks.
“Yeah.”
“Good… great, actually. She’s flying out in three days and we’re taking a road trip up the coast and then over to Napa for some wine tasting.”
I smile and give my head a slight shake. I’m so glad that they’re dating because they make a really cute couple… not to mention, they are both some of the nicest people that I’ve met in my entire life.