Chapter 6 | Holly #2
Pulling items out of my suitcase, I considered many options.
My bright yellow dress with white flowers would have been nice for lunch but seemed too vivid for dinner.
Then I contemplated my plum sweater dress, but the evening was set to be rather warm, and I didn’t want to sweat in it.
Then came my simple periwinkle sleeveless dress.
It was classic, professional and this particular shade of blue was gorgeous on my pale skin.
After a quick shower, I slipped into the dress, paired it with simple black pumps and clasped a string of pearls around my neck.
“Perfect,” I said to my reflection.
I’d pulled my hair back into a neat, straight ponytail and my only makeup was lip gloss and mascara.
Happy and eager to sit and talk with Ayra, I emerged from my room and headed to the elevator where I met up with Susan and Mother.
“You look very pretty,” Mother said. “That blue is so lovely on you.”
I smiled and glanced at Susan. She’d changed from her dark blue jeans and red shirt to her paler jeans and a simple blue shirt. No adornment. No makeup. No attempt to do anything with her hair.
While this had always been who she was, I could see that this time her lack of interest in her appearance was due to something else...Bradley.
I’d wanted to talk to her about it, but didn’t want to bring it up in front of Mother. At the first opportunity, I would question her about her relationship to the young Baker.
But for now, all that mattered was getting downstairs to have dinner with Ayra and her husband Jai.
“Isn’t this wonderful, Mother,” I said, hoping to lighten the somber mood. “Everything is so beautiful here, isn’t it.”
She smiled, a reserved smile that seemed to want to enjoy what Moon Manor had to offer but felt guilty about enjoying it.
We reached the main floor and headed to the dining room, easily following the direction Ayra had taken earlier.
Her husband, already seated at the head of the table, rose to greet us. “You must be the Selmas. I’m Jai, and I am thrilled to make your acquaintance.”
“I’m Holly, the new singer,” I quickly said.
“Susan,” Susan simply said with a shy wave of her hand.
“I’m Mrs. Selma, but you can call me Maggie.”
Maggie? I’d never heard Mother refer to herself as anything other than Mrs. Selma, or Mrs. Margaret Selma. Was she turning over a whole new leaf with this Maggie persona?
Ayra quickly joined us, and we sat down to a lovely dinner; roast chicken, buttery Brussel sprouts and tasty mashed potatoes.
The conversation was light, with talk of their transformation of the immense home into a hotel, Moon Manor’s appearances in Keely’s previous works and the pleasures of living in the countryside.
Little was said of the upcoming project, and nothing was said about our expulsion.
“I want you to know, Mrs. Selma...,” Ayra began.
“Maggie. Really, do call me Maggie. Mrs. Selma ages me so.”
“All right, Maggie. I want you to know that our gardens are very wheelchair friendly. You can actually go quite far... to our little bridge, our water fountain... all lined with beautiful and fragrant blooms.”
“I look forward to it.”
Our dinner dishes were cleared, and dessert, a piping hot apple pie, was brought out. We enjoyed the pie accompanied with a good coffee and more pleasant chit chat.
“I can’t remember the last time I ate so well,” Mother said. “Times have been a little frugal at home.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ayra said.
Mother waved the comment away. “But we don’t want to get into that. We’re here now, this is a beautiful place and you two seem to be truly good people. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome to this tumultuous time.”
Before finishing her coffee, Susan stood. “I do want to thank you for your hospitality... Ayra... Jai. I know that showing up so unexpectedly must have changed your plans for the evening, and I do appreciate it.”
Ayra and Jai smiled.
“I am rather fatigued from our day and, if you don’t mind, I’ll go up to my room.”
“Please,” Ayra said. “You’re at home here. Rest up and we’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” She looked at us all. “Goodnight everyone.”
With Susan gone, Ayra turned to me. “She seems to be taking this sudden move rather badly.”
I nodded. “I’m sure once we get to work, she’ll be back to her old self. Speaking of which... When do we start?”
Ayra smiled.
“Tomorrow morning you’ll meet our crew who is already busily making the needed changes for this new movie. They do start early, and I hope they won’t wake you.”
“We’re early risers,” Mother said. “So that won’t be a problem.”
“Keely should be here also and maybe you’ll want to talk to her about your part in this project. Then, in a few days we should have the main cast here to meet up, get to know one another, meet Keely... all that.”
“I can’t wait.”
*****
I WOKE UP WELL BEFORE any hammering started. I was eager to meet everyone. Eager to get this show on the road. What did they expect from me? Would I have the freedom to do as I pleased? How rigid would Keely turn out to be?
I wanted all the answers, and then some.
I hopped out of bed, threw on some short shorts and a colorful crop top and headed down to meet all these hard-working men... and women.
I immediately ran into Ayra and Keely.
“Well, hello,” Keely said. “Holly, right?”
“That’s me. Ready to go.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm. Unfortunately, you’ll find that moviemaking is a long and, at times, tedious process. But... I look forward to hearing you.”
I looked around, so many men working here and there, so busy, so hardworking, so... attractive.
“Busy little bees, aren’t they,” I said with a laugh.
“There’s still a lot to get done before we start shooting,” Keely said. She looked past me. “Abbie. Over here.”
Abbie came to join us. There was something special about all three, a connection that I’d rarely witnessed between women.
They were like sisters, or what sisters should be like.
Susan and I were sisters, but we were hardly close.
In fact, we seem miles apart. Opposites.
Mother was easier to get along with than Susan and I.
“I can’t believe we’re finally going to make Sense and Sensibility,” Abbie gushed. “My all-time favorite.”
“Holly,” Ayra said. “This is Abbie, the assistant producer on the film.”
“Yes,” I said, holding my hand out to her. “We met at the book club. Nice to see you again.”
Abbie smiled warmly and gave me a hug. “Yes, we did. I’m so glad you and your family moved out here. All here for another fun Jane Austen adventure!”
Ayra and Keely laughed along with Abbie and me.
I felt like a part of them, a part of the club, the real Jane Austen club. They were electrifying in their enthusiasm, and I wanted to soak it all up.