Chapter 6
Ididn’t hear from him again.
In his defense, I was the one with his number, but… I wasn’t just going to reach out to Ansel Barlowe.
No matter how good the kiss had been.
There was a moment when the image of us floated around the remnants of the fandom for a few days, but no one could identify the mysterious woman in the photos, save for my friends.
I had his number. I could text. But that would mean this mattered. That I wanted it to happen again.
That the kiss wasn’t just a kiss.
Life went on. Spring turned to summer, and summer turned to fall.
The Washington leaves were just beginning to change.
Autumn was my favorite season, especially in the Pacific Northwest. The colors that decorated our trees and our landscapes were picturesque.
Especially in my little tourist trap location.
Pike Place Market was always busy, and Figments, the bookstore I worked at, was no different. It wasn’t the only bookstore in the market, but it was my favorite.
A young girl, probably in her late teens, came to the counter with a copy of The Way We Move.
“Oh, this is a splendid choice!” I chirped as I placed it into the bag.
“Did you know the author, Silas Reed, grew up in Seattle? You can tell he’s a native by the way he describes little things!
I won’t spoil it, but it’s definitely one of my favorites. ”
“Cool,” she responded with a nod. “I heard they’re turning it into a movie. Shooting somewhere around here, I think.”
My heart started to beat wildly in my chest. You can take the girl out of the fandom, but you can’t ever really take the fandom out of the girl. “Cool!” I squeaked as I handed over her purchase, and she left with a halfhearted grin.
The idea of Hollywood turning my favorite book into a movie made my stomach lurch. I don’t think I could count on one hand the number of adaptations that kept true to the novel.
And now… the book that changed me was going to face the same treatment. Torn apart and ripped to shreds. And… it made me nauseous to think about the actors they might cast as characters that had upended my entire being.
“Taking my fifteen!” I hollered into the backroom, meeting my manager with a forced smile. “Gonna grab a coffee. Want anything?”
He shook his head, and I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The coffee shop was three spaces down from Figments, and I shifted uneasily as I waited for my drink.
Don’t look it up.
Don’t look it up.
Don’t look it up.
This book was so much more than just a Hollywood blockbuster… The Way We Move is a story about growth and change, connection and recollection, about being able to find yourself even after your whole life comes crashing down.
Yeah… it’s a little on the nose.
In my defense, I did read it before Joel and I split, but it hit even harder now. The first time I read it, I cried on a BoltBus to Portland, hiding my face in my hoodie while my husband pretended not to notice.
The main character, Theodore, has to return to his hometown after his job goes under, his mom gets sick, and his sister refuses to help with their mom. It’s a story that’s real and painful, but it’s beautiful.
My initial instinct was to boycott the whole thing. There’s no way they’ll hire someone who can give Theo the story he deserves.
There’s no chance that they’ll tell this story without adding some sort of romantic plot. It’s not a romance book. But movies without sex don’t sell anymore.
I felt myself getting worked up as they called my name. Checking my watch — nine more minutes — I settled into one of the comfy chairs.
did you all know they’re making ‘The Way We Move’ into a movie?
Lara
Hell yeah! That’s so exciting!
No it’s not!! They’re going to beef it so badly.
Jess
Oh there she is, eternally pessimistic Junie P.
lara
Do you think she’s just freaking out because Ansel Barlowe is playing the lead?
WHAT?
jess
I’d say that’s a definite yes, Lara. Good call.
They were messing with me. They had to be. There’s no way this information, this casting, would have happened without me knowing about it.
Fuck.
The entire movie was being made without me knowing about it. My game wasn’t as strong as it used to be.
Quickly, with only four minutes left in my break, I furiously tapped into the search bar…
Your search turned up about 1,740,000 results.
Barlowe Comes out of Retirement for Prestigious Role
Cosmos’ Star Ansel Barlowe Set to Play ‘Sad Old Man’
‘The Way We Move’ Finalizes Lead Actor
Oh. My. God.
For a moment, I considered whether this was a good reason to be sick for the remainder of my shift…
It wasn’t.
But it should have been.
I accomplished nothing in the second half of my shift. Raymond — my boss — yelled at me twice for mis-shelving entire shipments. My brain was so far elsewhere it wasn’t even funny.
Partially because they were making my favorite book into a movie, and partly because Ansel Barlowe was playing the lead but…
Mostly because of what the customer had said earlier… shooting somewhere around here. My mind continued to wander back to the bar, back to the napkin… the convention.
The kiss.
None of it had been real. He was taking pity on a depressingly divorced woman. I wouldn’t see him — right? There would be no reason for the star of a movie to meander into an indie bookstore during production.
Now all I had to do was convince myself that.