Chapter 65
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
To Do:
- Triple check EVERYTHING
- Pick up mom
- Remind Mindy to get flowers for the families
Claire rolled over in bed the morning of Luke’s premiere. Today marked two straight weeks of not sleepwalking. Heather was fully trained and would head back to Los Angeles to spearhead Darius and Nick’s proposal after Luke’s event. They had two West Haven proposals on the books—one board game themed and one sunset river boat proposal. They were both going to be stunning. Her blog post on Brad’s proposal was so popular that her site had crashed four different times. The proposal supercut Luke had put up on YouTube had received over eight million views and was climbing by the day. Ad revenue was rolling in. Things were going suspiciously well.
Luke slept soundly next to her, spooning Winston. She poked him in the cheek until he woke up.
“Hey. It’s premiere day. Are you excited?” She rested her chin on his shoulder.
He moaned and tugged the blanket back over himself. “I told you I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”
“Yes, and respectfully, I don’t care.” Claire patted the top of his head and flung the covers off. “There’s so much to do! I have to check in with the food trucks and head over to monitor the decorating. I really should stop at the warehouse too and see how construction is going. I can’t keep shoving speakers and tablecloths in our garage forever.”
Luke grunted and put a pillow over his face. Winston huffed and ducked his snoot under the covers.
“You don’t mind if we go separately?” Claire asked, digging through her jewelry box and laying a few choices in her travel kit.
“It’s better if we go separately. I don’t want to be there eight hours early.” His voice was muffled beneath the pillow.
She rolled her eyes and zipped up her case. “Fine. Your tux is on the rack in the bathroom. I would go wingtip collar and bow tie, but I left a couple options out for you. And your dad’s cufflinks are in the dish on the sink if you wanted to wear those.”
“I still think we should have gone with a mandatory sweatpants dress code.”
“That’s for after.” She swooped in and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you. Your dad would be too.” She turned to go, but Luke grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto the bed.
“Thank you,” he said before dragging her down for a kiss.
“You’re welcome,” she said with a stupid smile. Even though he drove her insane sixty percent of the time, he still gave her butterflies.
She ran through a quick yoga flow in the master closet before climbing into a steaming hot shower. She needed to be focused and disciplined today. Everyone was going to be there —Luke’s family, her family, some studio executives from LA, the mayor, most of the West Haven Police Department, friends. While today was primarily a celebration of Luke’s achievement, all the victims’ families were also coming. There would be no mountain lions, no bomb threats, no unexpected rickshaw trips. Everything needed to be perfect, respectful, and beautiful.
She threw on a quick base coat of makeup and towel-dried her hair. She would fix everything later, closer to premiere time. The chances of her sprinting around and sweating off all her hard work were extremely high.
Three dresses stared at her from the closet. Should she take the shimmering silver gown that was practically begging to go down a red carpet? But what about the slinky black number with the sky-high slit? And then there was the royal blue gown with the sweetheart neckline that had nearly made Luke’s eyes pop out. Shrugging, she shoved them all into a garment bag with shoe options and lugged it over one shoulder. Mindy would give her the honest truth.
Luke and the dogs were asleep again by the time she came back out. That man could sleep through a tornado full of marching band equipment.
She tiptoed through the bedroom laden with half a dozen different bags and crept into the hallway. Downstairs, she made a nutritious breakfast and left an omelet on a plate in the refrigerator for Luke. Protein was mandatory today, especially if the studio executives tried to ply him with an excess of twenty-year-old scotch again. After the last studio event, Luke had spent two days in bed.
Two hours later, she stood in a field in front of a movie screen. The West Haven Drive-In Movie Theater looked exactly as she remembered it. The grass had been freshly cut. The ruts made by car tires were noticeable but didn’t wreck her vision.
She glanced behind her, across the highway at her favorite state park. A mountain rose sharply above a lake, and just about halfway up was the small overlook where Claire and her mom used to watch the movies with binoculars. Her heart warmed. Who knew all these years later that she would be planning a premiere at the same location for her grumpy yet thoughtful boyfriend?
“Okay.” Mindy appeared at her shoulder with a clipboard. “Edison bulbs are strung over the beer garden and all are confirmed functional. Bluetooth speakers playing Luke’s favorite tracks—at least the ones that won’t give anyone’s grandmother a heart attack—are set up and ready to go.”
“Great,” Claire said, making a mental note. “Where are we at with food trucks?”
“I made contact with all of them,” Heather piped up, lugging a stack of chairs behind her. She had volunteered to help with the premiere. “Everyone’s confirmed. They’re also sending a bonus gourmet whoopie pie truck. I know you said Luke doesn’t like cake, but it’s not really the same thing.”
“Good enough,” Claire said, sweeping her gaze over the space. “We didn’t hear back from Victoria?”
Victoria was Barney’s fiancée. Claire had planned a stunning flash mob proposal for them before Barney had turned out to be a huge dick.
Mindy shook her head. “Not that I blame her. She did agree to marry the man who killed all these women.” She gestured to the right side of the screen, where a technician was installing uplighting beneath poster-sized pictures and descriptions of the victims.
Claire’s heart sank. “She was a victim too.” Maybe Victoria would have dinner with her sometime.
“So,” she said, refocusing, “the bar is getting set up along the western tree line.” She jabbed one manicured finger that direction. “The signature drink is ‘The Luke’—Jack and Coke.”
“Classic,” Mindy said, nodding and making a note. “The press is already buzzing about tonight. All three major newspapers mentioned the premiere and the documentary. Marnie had a sound bite too.”
Claire smiled and clasped a hand to her heart. “I’m just so proud of him. He worked really hard on this.”
“So did you,” Mindy said, nudging her. “I assume we’re not playing your episode tonight?”
Claire shuddered. “No. I haven’t even seen it. I don’t ever want to see it. He’s showing Ariel’s episode. She was the first victim. Well, apart from his dad, I guess.”
“And Luke is bringing the thumb drive directly here?”
Claire nodded. “He wouldn’t let me take it. So annoying. If he gets here and forgot it at home, I’m going to murder him.”
“Well, we shouldn’t be surprised. He’s always been super secretive about his projects.”
“True.” Claire glanced at her watch. “Oh, Mom and Roy’s flight will be landing soon. I’m going to head to the airport, and I’ll be back by three. Will you help me decide what to wear then?”
“Obviously. We’ll stay here for a bit and make sure everything’s getting set up correctly. Cocktail tables should be here any minute.”
“Thank you so much.”
Details buzzed through Claire’s mind like a vacuum cleaner full of glitter during her short ride to the airport. As she idled outside of baggage claim, she made a few notes.
Someone rapped on her window, and Claire nearly lobbed her phone in self-defense. Alice waved and smiled. Her hair was Florida-big and she wore a violently pink power suit. Claire jumped out of the car and ran to hug her.
“ Mija ,” Roy said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Thank you for getting on a plane for me. Again. I know you hate it.”
“Oh no,” Roy said, casting some side eye at Alice. “The hypnotist your mom took me to really helped.”
“I bet.” Claire took their bags and heaved them into the hatch of her car.
“Well,” Alice said as soon as the car was in motion, “I had a gift for you, but those idiots at the TSA confiscated it.”
“What was it?” It wouldn’t have been the first time Alice tried to sneak an economy-sized bottle of sunscreen through security.
“Some fresh sage and rosemary bundles. They thought they were illicit drugs ,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper.
“Well, thank you for thinking of me anyway. Where would you like to go for lunch? There are a couple stores downtown that might carry sage bundles. I’m sure we could find a restaurant nearby.” She could already tell her afternoon was going to be spent on a wild goose chase for herbs. When Alice had something in her mind, she held fast to it like a toddler with a spatula covered in brownie batter.
“That sounds lovely, Clairebear. You’re the expert. Anything you’re hungry for is fine.”
Three aggravating hours later, Claire and her parents had shared tapas and sangria and had gone to three separate stores looking for sage bundles that had been sourced from Alice’s preferred region. When they climbed back in the car, Claire glanced at the clock.
“I better drop you guys off so I can head back to the venue. I need to make sure the trucks are arriving and everyone has what they need.”
“Oh, we’ll go with you, sweetheart. No need to make a special trip.”
“Are you sure?” she asked even though she had already pointed the car in the direction away from Luke’s house. Thank god. There wasn’t much time to spare.
“Of course, sweetheart. I’d like to prepare the space for Luke so that he has a good experience tonight. Drive-in theaters are notorious for inconsistent energy.”
“Sure they are.” Claire turned onto a highway that wound out of town. They passed an expansive graveyard, several gas stations, and a couple of housing developments before reaching the drive-in theater.
“Oh, hell no,” Claire said as she parked her car. She jumped out and slammed her door. “What is this trailer doing here? I didn’t approve a trailer.”
Next to the entrance, a white trailer had been set up, completely compromising her aesthetic. Mindy stood nearby, talking on the phone.
“Claire, I don’t know what the deal is with the trailer?—”
“Oh, that was me, darling.” Alice marched over the grass in her heels, not even sinking into the ground. “It was supposed to be a surprise. It’s a trailer for Luke so that if he gets overwhelmed from the attention, he can duck in and decompress for a few minutes.”
Claire paused and frowned. It was actually pretty thoughtful. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
“And also, sweetie, there’s one other surprise. I hired a hair and makeup team to get us ready in the trailer. Just for fun. A little celebration to chase away all the bad energy from the past year.”
Claire glanced back at the trailer and deflated like a balloon. She had been fully ready to rip someone’s head off, and here it had been a considerate surprise from her mother. Clearly she still had work to do when it came to releasing the reins.
“This sure beats getting dressed in a cinder block bathroom next to the suffocating stench of old popcorn. Thank you, Mom.”
“Oh look, they’re here! Aren’t these the girls you usually hire for hair and makeup? I assumed they were the best.”
Claire glanced over her shoulder. Two cars had pulled up alongside them as she’d raged about the trailer. “Sharice! And Judy. It’s so good to see both of you.” Claire smiled warmly. “It’s been months. I’m so glad to run into you. I was actually hoping to talk to you about a couple proposals we have coming up.”
As they started setting up inside the trailer, she nailed them both down for her dates and was delighted to cross something off a To Do list she hadn’t even made yet.
“Thanks, girls. I’ll be back in an hour. I better go check on a few things.” She walked out tingling with excitement. Food trucks were starting to arrive, and her stomach growled at the smell of funnel cakes. The sun was dipping lower on the horizon. In just two hours, Luke would be surrounded by people he loved (or begrudgingly tolerated—they still hadn’t confirmed if his brother, George, was coming) and celebrating what was sure to be the biggest accomplishment of his career.
“No, no, no,” Claire said and sprinted toward the bar. The bartender was hanging a signature drink sign below the bar, but it was the wrong one. “Those aren’t the right signs. We nixed the scotch and soda. Let me just track them down.”
It was a good thing she had left herself an extra hour. She couldn’t trust just anyone to pull this off.