Page 36 of The Christmas Fix
“Come on, Mom. You know what I mean. If I can’t spend the day hanging out with you, maybe I could hang out with Cat. I might learn things about responsibility.” Sara dangled that morsel in front of her mom.
“For the record, that argument would work better with your father. Cat, if you’re absolutely positive she wouldn’t be a bother...” Mellody looked at her pleadingly.
“I could use an extra set of hands on set. Let me give you my number in case you need to check in. We’ll be filming at the diner all morning, and then we’re touring the Hai house. Sara can be there for moral support for April.”
Mellody looked elated as she entered Cat’s number into her phone. “Thank you, so much! You don’t even know. And you.” She pointed warningly at her daughter. “None of that really annoying squealing. Don’t tackle any of Cat’s co-stars and profess your love for them. Be helpful and quiet. Got it?”
Sara threw her arms around her mother. “You’re like literally the best human being on the planet, Mom!”
Mellody pumped her fist in the air. “Score one for Mom!”
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Sara turned out to be an excellent addition to the set. She ran water and coffee service for Reggie while field producer Jayla walked him, Cat, and Drake through the opening sequence. She stood guard next to the sawhorses and made sure no Merry residents accidentally walked onto the scene when shooting started. She even grabbed Cat a carrot and hummus snack to go along with her protein shake when they broke for a late lunch.
“You get yourself something?” Cat asked, slipping into a heavier jacket to ward off the chilly breeze. Her on-set wardrobe was a little too light. She made a mental note to switch off to her Duluth branded coat for the shoot this afternoon.
Sara held up a panini and a Coke.
“Awesome. Let’s eat.” Cat led the girl to the curb so they could sit. “So, what do you think so far?”
“I think your life is so cool, and there’s a lot more that goes on behind the camera. Like everything takes forever. Seriously, how many times does it take Drake to say, ‘We’re going to get this done for you.’?”
Cat snorted and took a long pull of unsatisfying smoothie.
“Drake’s used to working with more of a scripted story,” she explained. “It’s a huge transition coming from ‘read this, say this’ to winging it. But we’re on a tight timeline, and we need the before shots so we can jump right into construction.”
Sara nodded and took a generous bite of sandwich. “Makes sense,” she said through her full mouth. “You work a lot harder than I imagined. It’s a lot less glamorous than I thought being a TV star would be.”
Cat grinned. “Itis,isn’t it? But if something’s worth doing, it’s worth working really hard for.”
“I like that. But I bet a lot of people don’t realize how hard you work.”
Cat shook her head, bit into a carrot. “They don’t. But the point of working hard isn’t really getting people to notice how hard you work. It’s about giving it your all and being able to walk away with no regrets. Doing a good job shouldn’t be so someone else tells you that you did good. It should be about you feeling good about your effort.”
“That’s deep,” Sara grinned.
“It’s all about effort, sacrifice, and reward,” Cat said, straightening her legs out in front of her and brushing at some of the dirt streaks. “You have to decide how much you’re willing to sacrifice and how much effort you’re willing to put into something. And those two things usually add up to the reward you get.”
“Give me an example,” Sara demanded skeptically.
“Okay, sometimes it means enduring some pain now so you can enjoy yourself later.” Cat wiggled her smoothie. “Now, I don’t particularly like smoothies. I’d much rather eat three slices of greasy sausage and green pepper pizza. But part of my job involves me staying in shape—not just for looks mind you. Beyond making good-for-you nutritional choices, you shouldn’t be worried about food, weight, or diet. Got it?”
Sara nodded earnestly.
“In my case, I’m older than you, and my metabolism doesn’t want me to eat pizza for lunch and fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Because I’ll fall asleep in four seconds. So, I’m choking down my carrots and hummus and this disgusting smoothie because I know that it will fuel me for the rest of the afternoon, and then I’m going to have a couple of glasses of adult beverage with my leftover fettuccini tonight. So, I’m enduring a little pain now for a bigger payoff later.”
Sara laughed.
“Ah, you laugh, but it applies to much bigger lessons. It’s all about keeping your eyes on the prize.”
“You grown-ups really like to deliver the life lessons, don’t you?”
“Kid, if I had someone giving me this life lesson at your age, I’d be a lot further ahead. You should probably be taking notes.”
Sara mimed scrawling frantic notes, looking enthralled, and Cat laughed.
Paige wandered over, her long legs wrapped in festive reindeer leggings to ward off the chill in the air. “Mind if I join you, ladies?” she asked, holding up a hoagie.
