Chapter 11
"Where have you been? And look at your hair!
" my sister exclaimed when I found her a little while later.
I had just gone into the large tent where all the extras were gathered to get dressed.
There were benches and tables with free-standing mirrors so that we could all have room to get ready.
The space was divided with curtained walls and cubicles set up for changing, and I had to walk through half of the tent before I spotted my sister and Luna.
"I went over to the building where we'll be filming, and then to have a lady do my hair," I said, answering her as I carefully sat down in my dress.
"You were there for over an hour."
"I know!" I said.
"Where'd you get that done?" she asked, inspecting my hair.
"Someone helped you? All they did for us was show us pictures and tell us there was some extra hairspray and bobby pins in here.
You look so good," she said again, turning me by the shoulder.
"And this dress. It's gorgeous. Look at that.
" My sister ran her finger over the lace trim at my neckline.
Luna was leaning into me the whole time, and I held her close.
"You can go play with those other girls if you want," I told her.
"She's tired," Audrey said. "She's been quiet the whole time, just taking it all in."
"Where is the cameras?" Luna asked me.
"We're not doing that yet," I said. "All you need to know about the camera is that you shouldn't look at it," I said.
"I told her that ten times already. That's why she's asking about the camera. She's probably scared she's going to look at it accidentally."
"Don't worry, baby," I said, holding her close and touching her back. "You'll see the camera when we go over there by it. It's big, and you don't have to do anything special. You can just be yourself."
I was pep-talking my precious niece, but I was also talking to myself.
"What did they tell you to do?" Audrey said. "Did they give you some lines?"
"Lines, no. Goodness. It's just that we're standing on the side of the room when the scene opens, and then a guy named James is going to walk up to me and ask me to dance."
"Well, do you respond to him?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"So, you talk," she said as more of a statement than a question.
"No, I dance with him, but it all happens in the background."
"Oh, so you're just pantomiming when you talk?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I don't think it matters."
"Must be nice having a friend who's in charge. Is he in charge of all this? I think I heard that. He wrote it too. They were talking about him."
"Alex Stockton?" a girl said, peering over a curtain over when she heard us. There were lots of people in there, so I wasn't surprised we were being overheard.
"He's friends with my sister," Audrey said.
"You know Alex?" the girl said, looking at me like she was impressed. "What are you doing in here with us?"
"No, I'm dancing with some guy named James," I said.
"Oh, yeah, James Blanchett, probably," another girl said, coming to stand nearby.
I nodded. "Yeah, that's him."
"He's popular in Missoula—The Showbox Theater. I think he's got a news segment, too."
"Yeah, he was a good dancer," I said, nodding.
"It's James Blanchett," the girl said confidently.
"I can't believe you're dancing in a movie," Audrey said. "Since when do you even dance?"
"Since today," I said, hoping I had applied enough deodorant. "You look beautiful," I said to my niece.
"Isn't that dress cute on her?" Audrey said. "And I'm glad these shoes work."
"Yeah, me too," I said. "My dress is long enough that it doesn't matter."
We had to wait in that holding tent and then move in groups to the building where I had been earlier. It was a lot more crowded in there by the time we were ushered in.
Cameron came by to make sure I was in position.
"You need to just look natural," she said to me.
"Less is more. Just gaze at the dancefloor, maybe put your hand here and glance down at it every now and then.
No need to engage in conversation with the people around you.
It's fine if you do, but be natural." She placed my hand on a table that was nearby, and I gave her a nod.
"You guys know what to do," she said to the women standing next to me.
They agreed, and she looked at me again.
"You can take your hand down for now, but put it there when we start rolling. "
I nodded at her. My sister and Luna were next to me, but she pulled them away, placing them a few feet back, closer to the wall. I could see her giving each of them instructions.
"Are you one of us?"
I turned to the young woman on the other side of me, and she smiled. I had seen her in the dressing room tent.
"We have to wait over here until they start filming the table segment," she said. "Then we get to do our dance."
"Oh, cool," I said, nodding and hoping I could ignore her job and keep track of mine.
"Yeah, it's crazy. My cousin told me about this, and I recruited my friends." She pointed at some of the people around us. "About six of us are here from our dance squad."
"Oh, you guys are professional dancers?"
"Yeah, University of Montana. Go Grizzlies!" She beamed and rubbed her closed fists together, then raised one of them in a practiced cheerleader move.
I just smiled at her and said, "Oh, cool," before glancing the other way, telling myself everything was going to be okay.
I caught sight of Alex as I looked around.
He was on the other side of the room, talking to a group of people near the musicians.
There was murmuring all through the room, and I stood there, taking in the chaos of it all.
I was so nervous and ill-prepared that I was in a stupor.
It was funny, but I was so nervous that I was calm.
I just stood there, watching it all and feeling oddly at peace.
I watched Alex. He and two other guys left the area near the musicians and started to walk toward the door.
They seemed to have on the same clothes that the actors had on.
There were people in modern clothing with walkie-talkies who were obviously with the crew.
But Alex and the two gentlemen who were with him seemed to be dressed like the actors in simple, timeless, solid-colored cotton clothing.
Alex was a sight to behold. He was a striking individual, and he moved through the space with the quiet confidence of someone who had a vision.
He pointed and spoke to someone as he walked past them, and they smiled and responded to him.
Then he glanced my way. It was the first time he had glanced over here since I had laid eyes on him, and I watched as he noticed me.
His face broke into a smile, and he nudged his chin at me.
I bit the inside of my lip to keep myself from grinning too hard, and he gave me a little wave.
He could not stop to talk. There were just too many things to be done. He had people needing his opinion and direction. He knew I was there, though.
"Did you see Alex Stockton wave at me?" a girl behind me said.
She was talking to her friend. I didn't look at them or respond. I knew he was looking at me, and nothing they said could make me insecure about it. I looked at the floor, checking myself and centering myself on my mark.
"Okay, everyone, we're almost set to begin." It was Alex's voice, and it was being projected by a megaphone. Cameron was standing next to him, and I imagined she must've handed it to him. The room got quiet and we all looked at him.
"First, everyone, thank you for your hard work preparing for this scene.
I'm excited about this one. Dancers on the dance floor—does everyone have their partner, and are we all on our marks?
If you're not ready, raise your hand." He paused and looked out, and no hands were raised.
"Okay, the musicians are going to play the first song while we're starting the shot outside.
We are rolling as we come in on the track, so everyone be on your marks and engaged in the scene before we ever come in the door. Understood?"
The group at large agreed.
My heart was absolutely pounding.
I knew we were about to get started, and I had no idea if I was ready.
I glanced around, trying to find James. I saw him on the other side of the room.
That scared me at first, and I wondered if he was ready, but I figured he knew more about his starting position than I did.
I told myself he would make his way over to me when necessary.
I certainly wasn't going to go off spinning and dancing without a partner.
I would just stay here until he came up to me like we practiced.
Alex went outside, and Cameron stayed inside with us, answering questions and tending to last-minute adjustments on the cast. She was confident and in control, and I took a deep, calming breath. I was out of my realm and overwhelmed.
Within a minute, the musicians began playing a song. I put my hand on the table because I didn't want to forget.
"Places, everyone!" Cameron had the megaphone now, and she was the one speaking. "We're rolling, take one. And, action!"
The room came alive with the people quietly conversing and gesturing to each other like they were all in a long-established conversation.
"He's doing this scene with us. He's making a cameo."
I heard the girl next to me say to the person on the other side of her. I was tuned into their conversation because I had heard one of them say the name Alex. I wondered if they were talking about him making a cameo.
I took a deep, calming breath, trying to keep my face neutral.
The people around me had all been instructed on what to do.
It was a lively scene in a dance hall, but the volume on everything, including the musicians, was quiet—maybe half volume, but full motion.
From the corner of my eye, I saw the big camera on its track, coming in the door.
I kept my hand on the table where I was told, glancing onto the dancefloor, casually looking for James.
Worst-case scenario, I would just stand there the whole time, and he would never come up to me. They could film the scene without us dancing. I smiled a little, thinking that might not be the worst-case scenario.
After a minute, the actors came into the room.
I could see the movement and I was aware of the general shapes, but I didn't want to turn that way because I thought Cameron had said for me to stare at the dance floor.
Or maybe that was James. I glanced toward the door, but not all the way.
I saw my niece, who was positioned near another little girl.
I didn't stare long enough to see my sister or the group of actors who had just come inside.
The band was playing, and the murmuring was going on all around me. People were behaving naturally. I told myself to do the same. I glanced at the dancefloor again, looking for James. I figured it was almost time for him to come over to me, and my heart hammered at the thought.