Chapter 18 Families and Shots
Families and Shots
I was in the bedroom painting, or really just playing with my brushes.
I dipped them in different colors, laid down a few strokes, cleaned them off, switched them out, and never managed to even make an outline for a proper picture.
I felt I could sit on the edge of the bed staring at the canvas all day and never find any inspiration.
“You’re really going?” I asked. It sounded pathetic.
“Yup,” Jack said unenthusiastically, taking clothing from his dresser and stuffing it in a travel bag.
“Till when?”
“Till Friday, I think. Can you live without me for three days, Michelle?”
I growled at him. “I get that film festivals are important, but isn’t it a little ridiculous, telling you one day before you’re supposed to be there that you’re invited?”
“It is what it is. If it makes you feel better, I’m not pleased with it, either.”
I stared at the brushes sitting there in front of me.
I knew why I hadn’t been able to get anything done: I was used to having him there all the time, and I was missing him already.
But he had things to do, and I knew that the film promotion was important.
And three days wasn’t that long, even if it was hard to deal with, him leaving so abruptly.
You could hide his passport, I told myself.
“I’ll keep you up to date on the goings-on around here,” I said, standing up and carefully folding the clothes he’d tossed to the floor before layering them in his suitcase.
“I’ll do that!” Jack said. “I’m still trying to decide what I’m taking.”
“Be honest with me,” I said. “We both know you’re making a mess because you know I won’t be able to stand it, and I’ll be incapable of stopping myself from cleaning it up.”
He batted his eyes at me innocently, and I put down the socks I was in the process of rolling. “I changed my mind. You do it yourself.”
“I think I love you a little less,” he called after me as I walked into the hallway on the way to the living room.
“Liar,” I answered him over my shoulder.
“OK,” he said, “I am lying. But if you see a photo of me and you don’t like my outfit, you can blame yourself.”
Naya was on the couch reading one of her baby books.
Mike was watching TV. Will was pacing in the kitchen, and Sue was in the shower.
I dared to sit in her chair, since it was close to Mike’s, and he’d been acting so glum lately.
He didn’t even look at me. He just went on flipping through the channels.
“Nothing good on today?” I asked.
“Nope.”
But he stopped hitting the button when he found a show about people who tried to fix their terrible tattoos. He turned up the volume loud.
“I’ve always wondered who would get a tattoo like that,” I remarked when they showed a guy with bacon and eggs tattooed on his forearm. “Maybe he lost a bet? I’m sorry, I wouldn’t go through with it. Would you get a dumb tattoo just because you lost a bet?”
“Maybe.”
I was trying, but Mike preferred to treat me like I didn’t exist. It was painful just sharing a room with him, and I was grateful when my cell phone rang.
I looked at the screen: Spencer. Should I pick up or not?
The last time he’d called without warning, it had been to tell me my grandmother had died.
I couldn’t stand the thought that horrible news was waiting for me on the other line.
If that was true, though, what was the use in ducking it? I picked up.
“Hey, Jenny,” he said, sounding weirdly cheerful. “How’s it going?”
“Same old, same old. What about you?”
“I’m great!”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is everything cool?” I asked. “You’re not much of a phone guy. Do you need something?”
“Actually, sis, I’ve got good news. I’m going to a convention.
I’ve been invited to give a speech on new methods for training young athletes.
Believe it or not, I’m actually kind of a big deal these days.
But the main thing is, the convention’s at your school.
I’m coming in tomorrow. And I was thinking, how cool would it be if you and I painted the town red? ”
I was surprised enough that everyone in the room could tell. Naya glanced over, trying to figure out what I was thinking. Excited, I asked Spencer, “When are you coming?”
“Don’t strangle me, but I’m actually flying in today. I’ve been meaning to call you all week, but I just kept forgetting. It’s a short trip: I’ll be around tonight and tomorrow, and then I have to get back to work. If you’re busy, don’t worry about it, I realize it’s insanely short notice.”
“To hell with that! I’m dying to see you! I’ll try to make it the best two days you’ve ever had!”
Spencer seemed as emotional about it as I was, and I couldn’t hide my smile when I hung up. Sue had walked out of the shower by then and was standing in the living room in her pajamas, hair still damp, looking at me with the same curiosity as Naya. “Who was that?” she asked.
“My older brother! He’s coming for two days!”
Sue’s nose wrinkled. “Your brother must be special. I could never get that excited about mine.”
“You have a brother?” I asked.
“I have seven siblings,” she answered. “And every one of them is unbearable. Tell me about your brother, though. Is he hot?”
I didn’t see that question coming. It might have been the first time Sue ever suggested she could be a normal person, with normal urges and needs. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that: Will started laughing in the kitchen, too.
“I don’t know!” I replied. “He’s my brother!”
“So what?” Sue asked.
“Yeah, he’s hot,” Naya butted in tranquilly.
“Leave him alone, Sue,” I warned her. “He broke up with his girlfriend recently, and I think he’s still getting over it.”
A moment later, Jack walked out, asking, “What are you guys talking about?”
I’ve never been fond of goodbyes. Especially not at the airport. But still, I stayed by Jack’s side all the way through security. He had a big crowd around him: Joey, the main actors, two makeup artists, two security guards, and three or four others I didn’t know.
The festival was in Italy. It was a long flight, and they’d land in the morning and get to work right away.
“Write me and let me know once you’re settled in,” I told Jack.
“No,” he joked, and I responded, “Don’t make me kill you.”
He was ten minutes away from his gate, and I felt the pressure to make it perfect, because I knew he had to go soon and I didn’t want to waste a single second.
Jack tossed his bottle of water in the trash can and I looked over at Vivian, who was standing with another actor a foot away.
Her expression was mistrustful, and I wanted to snap at her, but I’d told myself I’d try to work on that relationship.
Maybe we would never be best friends, but we could try to be cordial, or at least I could.
“You nervous?” I asked her and her friend, thinking addressing both of them would make it less awkward.
Vivian said nothing, but the guy responded, “Yeah. We’re used to it, though, at this point. We’ve been at this for months.”
“Maybe you can give Jack some pointers, then,” I told him.
“Ross will be in perfectly good hands,” Vivian said. “Don’t you worry about it.”
She was being mean, and she wasn’t even making an effort to hide it, but I refused to argue with her, especially just then.
“I’m sure he will,” I replied cattily.
We scowled at each other for a few seconds while the poor actor asked himself what was going on. I felt a finger under my chin turning my head—Jack was beside me, asking me if everything was all right before looking menacingly at Vivian.
She huffed, uttered something incomprehensible, and walked off. Her companion soon followed.
I hugged Jack around the waist and felt his shoulders slump. “She wasn’t bothering you, was she?” he asked.
“No, not in the least. And the guy with her seems like a sweetheart.”
“He’s all right. He’s a professional. That’s more than you can say for a lot of people.”
Joey interrupted us: “Sorry, lovebirds, but we can’t miss this flight…”
“Just wait a second,” Jack said, then whispered to me, “I don’t know if I can go three whole days without you.”
“Take baby steps,” I told him. “Just focus on how you’re going to get through the next few hours in an airplane with all these people.”
He kissed me, and I sank into him as he held me, one hand on the nape of my neck and the other on the small of my back.
I wasn’t ashamed to show how much I cared about him.
I wasn’t worried about who saw. I opened my mouth, let his tongue slide in, forgot everything, just felt…
When he stopped, it was as if he was already disappearing from my grasp.
I tried not to let him go, but he said with a smile, “Jen, I’d stay here doing this all day, but Joey standing there staring at us is kind of ruining the moment. ”
“Stay anyway.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“I’m kidding,” I told him. “I know your fans need you. Now give them what they’re asking for and go enjoy doing whatever it is famous people do.”
“Jack Ross!” Joey yelled just as we started to kiss again.
“It’s not my fault, Joey,” Jack called back, “she’s using her witchcraft to try and keep me off the plane.” Then he turned back to me. “Are you going to think about me when I’m gone?”
“No,” I kidded him.
“You’re lucky I know for a fact that you adore me.”
After one last kiss, he walked over to his manager, who guided him through security. Over his shoulder he called out, “Behave while I’m gone, Mushu.”
I responded, “Try not to miss me too much.”