38. Chapter 38
Chapter thirty-eight
Quinn
Quinn piled into the SUV in the parking lot of his apartment complex. Eliza was in the back seat, and two of the camera crew were there. Another member of production had hooked him up with a lav mic, then piled into the back and laid low, so the cameras wouldn’t catch her. Not exactly a legal setup, but they had tinted windows, so no one would be able to tell she wasn’t buckled into a real seat. Hopefully.
Once he was strapped in and they pulled out, Eliza started with her questions and explanations. “So, are we excited to see the final result?”
Quinn nodded. He’d barely slept the night before, even if it felt silly. He knew what the house looked like, was part of the entire planning process, helped with the yard work and the building with his own hands. By all accounts, the crew had fully worked within the parameters and choices he gave them.
Yet sleep still eluded him, and he’d only managed to stuff half a banana nut muffin down his gullet and slam down a quarter of a cup of coffee before climbing into the car and heading out.
“You need to talk, Quinn.” Eliza smiled and tilted her head toward the camera peering at him from the front seat. “TV and all.”
“Right. Yeah. Really excited. The work’s been going on…I don’t know. It seems like it’s been so long, but also like you all just got here.” That stung to say. He was still distancing himself from Jake, though not as strongly as before. Being reminded how temporary it was while driving closer and closer to him…he slapped a good smile on his face for the camera. “I’m just really looking forward to seeing the house back in good shape. It got so out of hand for so long.”
Eliza nodded. “Well, that’s what we’re aiming for. Things got a bit rocky there, but all’s well that ends well. And I can’t spill the beans on this too much, but it ended very well, in my opinion.” She laughed, and her excitement was plain. And a little bit infectious, if Quinn was being real, although he didn’t need any help. His excitement was there for sure, tempered by the overwhelming rush of nerves.
Eliza reached into the little pocket on the back of the seat and pulled out a night mask. “Now, I don’t want you getting the wrong idea about my intentions. But when we get close, you’ll have to put this on for the big reveal.” She rolled her eyes as he took it. “I know it’s cheesy and overdone, but there’s really no more effective way to have that moment.”
“I’m down for a little cheese.” Quinn slipped the blindfold over his head and let it hang around his neck. “So, is the crew going to be there?”
A glint flashed over her eyes, only for a moment. Then she nodded again. “Yes. Everyone’s going to be there for the final walk-through and reveal for the camera. Plus they’ll all want to talk your ear off about everything after the cameras are done rolling. How to care for things, what they put in. I know Ozzy wrote pages of notes on how to take care of the landscaping once he’s gone.”
Thinking about that still rankled. Ozzy had certainly put in some effort to make up for his attitude, but that didn’t mean Quinn relished the thought of having an in-depth, technical conversation with him. Especially not when he could be soaking in those last minutes with Jake.
“Okay, probably time raise the blindfold.” Eliza winked and gestured toward his neck. “I promise, we won’t let you fall on your face. God knows we’ve had enough head injuries as it is.”
Quinn smiled, then raised the mask up and secured it over his eyes. Instant darkness. It snugged up to his face, so there wasn’t even light leaking in around the edges. “This is a good blindfold.”
“Oh thank god. If this one wasn’t full-coverage enough, we were going to have to visit a sex shop and pick something up. Imagine explaining that to the accounting team.”
The rest of the ride wasn’t long, but it was mostly quiet. Eliza talked to the camera crew, and she was texting something, the stuttering clicks from her phone giving that away. But beyond that, all Quinn had were his own thoughts and the rumbling as the road passed beneath them. So inevitably, his thoughts turned not to the house he was heading over to see, but to Jake. Always Jake. Incessantly Jake. Not unwelcome on the face of it, but if he dug beneath the surface even a millimeter, all the pain and worry resurfaced.
With nothing else to focus on, he couldn’t help but dig down. This could very well be the last time he ever got to see Jake, spend any time with him. Maybe they could get online together and game…but that felt like a big maybe. Different time zones, different lifestyles, different work schedules.
He knew this was goodbye.
“Almost there.” Eliza’s voice cut through his stupor, thankfully. “You want me to call in for hair and makeup, get you touched up?”
“That feels a little too vain for my tastes. If I have bedhead or whatever, I’ll just cope with that being on film for the rest of posterity.”
“All right. But you look fine, for what it’s worth. I’ll get everything in position.” The car came to a stop and Eliza’s door opened, a sudden rush of fresh air and chill spilling in. “Someone’ll come open your door and guide you out. Then we’ll make it very clear when it’s time to lift up the blindfold.” She sighed. “We don’t want you to pretend or lie about anything, but if you’re feeling something when you look at it, no need to hold it back. We want that big reaction. You’ve seen this kind of show.”
Quinn nodded. “Does everyone get that little pep talk? No judgment if that’s the case, but…curiosity. I guess I’m one of those people who wants to see how the sausage is made.” And one of those people who wants to stall the inevitable a little longer.
“It depends. Really sort of down to individual producers. Some of them like to head it off at the pass, like I did. Others roll the dice and, if it doesn’t look good, either beg the editors to do something or try to get a new reaction shot.” She laughed lightly under her breath. “I feel like I’ve already taken a pretty big roll of the dice on this show. Not looking to roll them again until I have to.”
Quinn nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
The door shut and he was stuck in there alone with his thoughts once again. The clock was ticking down, only he couldn’t see it to know how much time was left. On the one hand, everything with Jake. On the other, he was excited to see the house and see this process finally finished.
He wasn’t sure how long it was before the door finally opened and a soft hand grabbed Quinn’s wrist, guiding him out.