Page 19 of Take It Till You Make It
Once I download the app, I follow the instructions to create a login, having to look up my identification number in one of the earliest emails from Jenny to gain access. Then Sally walks me through the schedule section and how to drill down to see the specific instructions for Stella, etc.
She squints, slides a hand from under her hairdresser’s cape, and points her pinky finger at the top corner of my screen. “What’s that notification?”
I press the little red circle with the number one inside it, and it opens to a message center. I read aloud. “Christa, Jeff, and Stella have a pub shoot on Thursday at 2:00.”
Remi and her husband groan.
“That will kill an entire afternoon of shooting,” Remi says. “Must be so early for the little one.”
I startle. “Who, me?”
“Yes. They usually have these shoots in the evening. But you are limited to the number of hours you can work, correct?”
“So is dis one.” Her husband points his finger over Sally’s head.
“Oh, you look older.” Remi’s critical gaze softens when she looks at me. “If not as worldly.”
I want to hug the woman for referring to my trauma as “worldly.” It’s stress, plain and simple, but Remi makes it sound exotic.
“Nothing like ball gowns and high heels at two in de afternoon,” her husband hoots. “Girls, we’ll make you shine!”
Remi looks at me with glittering eyes. “I can’t wait to doll you up! No one will recognize you.”
I look around at all the smiling faces and grimace. “Um, excuse my ignorance, but what’s a pub shoot?” I imagine the three of us hoisting mugs foaming over with beer while we sit on barstools. In our evening wear, apparently?
“Publicity shots. The pictures they’ll use to promote us as actors,” Chandra says. “Sounds like they’re going to do you three kids together. They’ll likely do Trent and me together. Though with modern technology, they don’t always require the principals to show up at the same time since they can splice images together and make them look real.”
“Why would they want me in a gown when I’m playing a thirteen-year-old?” The idea of me getting all gussied up is kind of terrifying. Can I even walk in heels?
“They’ll have plenty of character shots from filming. Though they’ll likely take a few shots of all of us together one day on set.” Chandra eyes Remi, who has stepped back to examine her. “Am I done?”
Remi looks at me and Sally and shakes her head. “No, I’ve got it all wrong. You need to look sleepier. I need to start over.”
Chandra chuckles. “Hank’s gonna blow his lid.”
Remi freezes, makeup removal wipe poised mere inches from Chandra’s face. “You’re right.” She pulls out her phone and snaps a photo. “Proof.”
“You’re so smart,” Chandra says.
Sally and I hang out until Chandra is finished, since we can’t shoot the scene without her. We show up half an hour late. As soon as Hank starts to complain, Remi pulls out her phone.
“It’s my fault. I was going for some strange glam midnight wake-up call. She would have looked out of place next to her kids.”
Hank glares at the picture and then glances at Chandra. “Fine. Places everyone.”
I’m not in the scene at first, so I’m hanging out off-camera while they shoot the beginning. Crispin isn’t in the scene at all, but for some reason, he’s watching too. He looks completely bored sitting in a director’s chair – notthedirector’s chair, but some random empty one – in the back. I can’t help but wonder why he’s here.
When Chandra and Sally get the countdown, a doorbell rings incessantly, and Chandra stumbles onto set like she’s just woken up. For the first time, I notice her pajamas are just like mine, but have the image of a woman’s head, wearing sunglasses and a crown all over them. I glance at Sally, still off set, and see that her pajamas have a llama’s head, wearing sunglasses. That’s pretty cute, actually, that they dressed us alike but different. That’s definitely something families do. My family might have done that before?—
Chandra pulls the door open, and a policewoman stands on the other side. At the sight of the uniform, dread oozes from head to toe until everything about me is numb. I’ve read this scene, so I know it’s when Chandra’s character, Lidia, finds out her sister was in a fatal accident. Of course, I thought the idea of losing my aunt was sad, but I didn’t think about how seeing the scene play out would impact me. Suddenly, I’m shaking all over and having such dramatic hot flashes, I think I might pass out.
“I’m sorry for the late visit, ma’am,” the officer character says.
Chandra, looking hesitant and a little afraid, replies, “How may I help you?”
It’s like I’m standing in the entryway of our old house all over again. It’s 4:12 in the afternoon and I’m expecting my dad home so we can shoot a new reel, but instead, a cop shows up.
“Are you Lidia Walter, ma’am?” the fake officer asks while I hear the very real officer of my past ask, “Are you Linda Quill?”
