8. Marshawn
It was downright gluttonous of me to continue to invite Georgia and Gia to join me during filming.
Gia wasn’t too far off base when she said I liked space while watching a scene play out.
For some reason, the pensive faces Georgia made when something was a little off with a scene was enough to get my wheels turning.
“What do you think?” I asked, giving her my full attention. I’d changed a few things after seeing how she screwed her face up during the scene that was playing out before us. I valued her opinion. The good thing about Vonnie was that she didn’t speak up unless asked.
“I liked it. I felt like that was really going to be the end of them.”
“Good.” I nodded as I stood to walk over to speak to the leader of the rebellion.
I didn’t know much about Vonnie, but for some reason, I wanted to impress her. I couldn’t let this challenging genre change be a flop.
“All right, guys… I’m out for the day,” I advised them after speaking to Miles.
We were three weeks into shooting, and as much as I hated to tear myself away from Vonnie, I’d just gotten confirmation that my three favorite people had made it to the airport.
The assistant director had agreed to oversee the last couple of hours while I went to pick up my sister and the boys.
I didn’t even look back at Vonnie and Gia since I’d told them I was leaving once the scene was completed.
I liked having the two of them around for a little perspective and comic relief between scenes.
I’d found out that this was Vonnie’s first film, and for some reason, I wanted to make it special for her.
Giving her a front-row seat to see her work before it hit the silver screen was about as special as I could imagine it would get short of a movie premiere.
I avoided looking back because I knew if I fell into the magnetic pull of her smile, I would find a reason to gravitate back to her, and I couldn’t keep my boys waiting.
“Uncle Marty! I can’t believe you were scared of a baby gator.”
“I wasn’t afraid of it—I just didn’t want to touch it,” I said to my youngest nephew.
“You make all those scary movies, and you don’t like alligators.” Nick shook his head.
I shrugged. “To be fair, I don’t think anyone likes alligators.”
“I don’t know, big bro. Those people at that weird place seemed to love them,” Marshae declared, looking up from her task of cutting vegetables to make a salad.
“That’s because they’re psychopaths.”
“Can we get a gator, Uncle Marty?” Evan asked.
“I feel like you already know the answer to that.” I chuckled while shaking my head no.
He pouted. “We can never get anything cool.”
“What do you mean? I’m making all of your favorites.”
“Even cheesy bread?”
“What’s baked spaghetti without cheesy bread?”
“I’m done with the salad. I’ll check on the spaghetti,” Marshae stated.
“Boys, go wash your hands. The food is almost done.”
My nephews sprang from the table and took off for the bathroom. I took the moment of privacy to speak to Marshae.
“Thank you for everything, sis.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, looking up from making the plates.
“Helping with the boys, Shae.”
“Shawn, you don’t have to take full responsibility for the boys. I’m their aunt just as much as you’re their uncle.”
“I know, sis, but I’m the one who made the decision to get custody of them.”
“It wasn’t your cross to bear. I should have been the one.”
“Don’t do that.” I shook my head.
“You know I’m right. When Marcia lost the boys, as her twin sister and a woman, I should have taken them.”
“I had the means and time. It doesn’t matter that you’re a woman, Shae.
It doesn’t matter that you and Marcia are twins.
We’re all we got at the end of the day. I would be less of a man if I thought that just because you were a woman, you should have taken the boys.
They needed a male figure in their lives.
As long as you know how instrumental you are in this whole arrangement, it works.
They love and appreciate you just as much as I do,” I said, walking around the table to wrap my arm around my sister’s shoulder.
“I know. It’s just that motherly instinct kicking in sometimes, I guess.”
“You need to worry about having children of your own, not raising someone else’s.”
She scoffed. “I could say the same about you.”
“You’re the one talking about motherly instincts. Unfortunately, I don’t have those.”
“You’re a great father to the boys, though. I feel like you would be doing yourself a disservice to think that you don’t need kids because you have them. As much as I can’t stand you sometimes, I think it would be interesting to see a little version of you running around.”
“You sure about that?” I hiked my brows, not believing her.
“Not exactly.” She laughed. “You should think about it, though. You’re getting old. It’s time to think about starting a family of your own. Yes, the boys are your family—we’ve established that. I mean, kids of your own. I need new people to spoil rotten.”
“You’re doing a good enough job with Nick and Ev.”
“Yeah, I just love them so much. That’s part of the reason that I feel like they should be with me. Plus, I’m more stable.”
“You’re not more stable than me. You’re more stationary, and yes, that helps me. We’re a team.” I kissed her forehead and tipped her chin up so we were eye to eye. “You do more than enough for us, sis. Don’t ever think you don’t.”
“Can I get two pieces of bread?” Evan asked as he plopped down in one of the chairs.
“You eat the first one, then we’ll see,” Marshae told him.
“I don’t need no salad, Unc,” Nick said, waving me off as I placed a small bowl next to his plate of spaghetti.
“Your little, scrawny arms say otherwise.” I shook my head.
“I’ve been working out. This boy in my class said meat and stuff like that helps you get muscles.”
“He’s right, but you have to eat fruit and vegetables with all that meat so you have a balanced diet.”
“I like fruit… I just don’t want no vegetables,” he replied.
“Me either,” Evan chimed in.
I shot Nicholas a knowing look, implying that Evan was only copying his big brother. “You might not want them, but you’ll eat them. They’re not that bad. Besides, it will hurt your auntie’s feelings if you don’t at least eat a little of the salad she worked so hard to make.”
“He’s right. I almost cut my finger off cutting up cucumbers and tomatoes.” Marshae sighed to sell it.
“I’ll try some…” Evan decided.
“Good. I would hate for my hard work to go to waste,” she said, directing her attention to Nick.
“I’m gonna eat some, Auntie.”
“It’s good with this white sauce, Nick,” Evan informed him as he stuffed a forkful of salad in his mouth.
“It’s called ranch dressing,” Nick said, educating his younger brother.
“Well, I like it.”
“Unc, are we going with you to the set tomorrow?” Nick asked.
“Yes, but you’re going to have to be up early, or I’m leaving without you.”
It always felt good to have the boys see what I did for a living. It was one thing to live in a cool, lavish house without a care in the world because you had a rich uncle. It was a whole other thing to see how he brought home the bacon and afforded that lavish lifestyle.
“All right, boys… Before we go in here, do you remember the rules?”
“Yes!” Evan quickly answered. He was usually the one to break the rules, so I was interested in hearing what he had to say.
“Quiet on the set,” Evan stated proudly.
“For sure. What else?”
“I don’t want a whole bunch of running around. This ain’t no playground. People are trying to work,” Nick said in an attempt to imitate me.
“Really?” I shook my head.
“I don’t know, Shawn. He has you down pat.”
“Can you do Auntie Shae?” I asked, interested in how he would imitate her.
“No…” The smirk that covered his face told me otherwise, but I decided not to push it.
“Let’s go to the craft services tent to get food. We are about to start filming in about thirty minutes,” I announced.
I led the way to craft services, hoping to get a cup of piping hot coffee if nothing else. I’d rushed the boys out of the house so quickly this morning that I hadn’t had a chance to get my morning cup. I was more concerned about running late than I was about getting my daily fill of caffeine.
Once they spotted the craft services sign, the boys took off running.
They knew this was a safe area for the ripping and running I didn’t want in other places.
I gave them clear directions about running around whenever I brought them on set.
I also let them know where it was cool to play.
Young, energetic boys needed a place to blow off steam, even when they were held hostage on a movie set with their uncle.
They stopped shy of the entrance, giving Marshae and me time to catch up with them.
I don’t remember having so much energy when I was their age.
I wasn’t a slouch by a long shot, but I could admit that the boys were running rings around me, even on a good day.
I felt her presence before I fully opened the tent to let my sister and the boys inside. As soon as I walked into the oversized tent, my eyes swept the interior until they landed on my target. When our eyes met, it was like an arrow through my heart every single time.
“Hey, Shawn. I see you have those handsome little guys with you today. I was wondering if I would get to see them this time.” Gia greeted me, tearing my eyes away from my Georgia peach.
“Uh, yeah. You know they try to come down and check things out at least once during shooting. They have to make sure I know what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, we have to make sure the movie is scary enough,” Nick explained.
“It’s good to have professionals helping…” Vonnie chimed in. “Hi, I’m Vonnie.” She introduced herself to Marshae with an extended hand.
“I’m Shae.” My sister returned her greeting.
“Hey, boys. I hear you’re the ones that make sure these movies are a hit,” Vonnie said, turning her attention to the boys.
“I do! I’m Evan.”
“Hey, Evan. It’s so nice to meet you,” Vonnie said, shaking his hand.
Evan grinned. “I like your red hair.”
“I like your hair too. She’s pretty… Ain’t she, Unc? You should be in a movie,” Nick noted before I had the chance to respond.
“Thank you. Aren’t you two charming? I know you didn’t get your good manners from your dad. They must have come from your mommy,” Vonnie said, giving Marshae a surprisingly warm smile.
Why didn’t she ever look at me like that?
“I hope that means you think I’m cute. Does charming mean cute?” Nick asked, ignoring half of what Vonnie said. I was so flustered I couldn’t respond.
“Boys, come on. Stop flirting so we can get breakfast,” Marshae interrupted the exchange with a laugh.
“They really are handsome boys.” Vonnie turned her smile to me.
“Thank you. I think they get that from me.” I shrugged with a slight grin.
“Possibly…” She lifted her shoulders before following Gia’s lead out of the tent.
It was good that the boys were on set with me.
However, I had to admit that I would miss Gia and Vonnie’s company.
Certainly, I’d miss one more than the other.
I would get attached to having her around if I weren’t careful, so the boys were a welcomed distraction to the current red-headed one I was already battling.
I had to make sure that I kept my priorities in check so this film could be my best one yet.
I had no time—although I was indeed interested—to mix business with pleasure.