Page 23 of If My Wishes Came True
Of course she’s lonely, living by herself in this enormous house. In this big city, without her family. Square footage aside, I know how she feels.
I would have said yes to letting her film me regardless, but now I’m determined to stop feeling sorry for myself and help put the bounce back in Katie’s step, by making a video both she and her family will love.
After we arrange her new artwork, Katie starts filming. She starts with some B-roll footage of the outside of the house, as well as every individual room, to establish the setting. When she’s finished, we go to the kitchen, and she puts the camera on a tripod so she can film us chatting about her vision for the space.
Then, as we walk through each room, I talk about my creative process—which mostly entails learning about my clients’ favorite things. They tell me about the music they listen to, their hobbies, their most beloved clothes and accessories, and Ilook for emerging themes. Then I start curating pieces that have a similar feel. In Katie’s case, since she grew up near the ocean and gravitates toward blues and sea-greens, we chose accents in those colors. Her clothing style is minimalist—nothing too bold or busy—so I picked furniture to match that aesthetic. Finally, she loves yoga, so I designed the bathrooms to have a tranquil, spa-like feel, with orchids, wood accents, and a centerpiece bathtub surrounded by river rocks and greenery.
“Now tell everyone at home about the artwork we chose for the primary bedroom,” Katie directs me from behind the camera.
“Well, since you shared with me that you’re a big fan of Lola Piper, and your favorite album isNightfall, we decided to go with a starry sky theme,” I explain.
As I make my way around the room, Katie films me discussing the paintings—and now I don’t have to work so hard to radiate joy. The smile on my face is real. “These watercolors in various shades of blue fit perfectly with your color scheme, and the muted tones provide the perfect calming atmosphere for a good night’s sleep.”
“Eek, that was perfect!” Katie exclaims when she turns off the camera. “Thanks so much, Jenna! My family is going to love this.”
“It was my pleasure. And be sure to share the link to your video with me. I’d love to see the finished product,” I tell her.
“That’s sweet. I will,” she replies with a thoughtful nod, before she hugs me.
The following evening, Katie shares her video with me over text, but I don’t watch it right away, because I’m too busy deep-cleaning my apartment in an effort to keep myself fromknocking on Charlie’s door.
Every time my phone rings or chimes, I think it’s him—which is unlikely, considering we never exchanged numbers.
Also, because I abandoned him by the lake.
If he were to Google me, he’d find my interior design website, and he could send me a message via my web form…but why would he want to do that? Even if hehadbeen interested in me, I’m sure he moved on the second I rounded the Lakefront Trail and scurried out of sight.
Yet, I still find myself wondering what I’d say if he knocked on my door. The more I think about his sultry eyes, and the pillowy lips I almost kissed, the more I keep trying to convince myself that what I feel for Charlie is only lust. At least then, I could spend more time with him.
If I’m being honest, that’s what I want more than anything. More time. Because our coffee date on Sunday was the most perfect date of my life. And here I am, two days later, missing him.So much.
It’s totally normal to deeply miss someone you only have lustful feelings for, right?
After I finish scrubbing my kitchen tiles, I put myself to bed early and hope I’ll wake up in a better state of mind. Luckily, all that grunt work exhausted me, and I sleep like a baby. But I’m still not prepared for what I wake up to the next morning.
When I check my cell phone, which I’d silenced before bed, I have eighteen missed calls…and thirty-seven text messages.
My first instinct is to worry that there’s been a family emergency, but the missed calls aren’t only from my parentsand Christy. They’re from Sunny, Vanessa,Greg(the guy I had that terrible date with), a dozen people I haven’t spoken to since college or grad school—and my client, Katie. Why the heck are so many people from so many different chapters of my life calling me?
I chew on my bottom lip as I open my text messages. What I see makes me queasy.
You’re internet famous!one of the messages says.
Holy shit, u went viral,reads another.
Omg you’re a star!
And so on and so forth. Until:
I just watched your video!!!
My eyebrows draw together, wondering what video my friends and family could be talking about. I barely have a few seconds to wrack my brain before I receive another text—from Dex this time.
Call me.
My heart stops. Is this the moment I’ve feared? All these years I’ve worried about photos of me and Dex getting leaked…
Is it possible someone posted a video of us?
