Chapter 62
VICTOR
“You’re ready, Victor,” Stacey the makeup artist tells me, patting my shoulder in confirmation. I smile at her and lean back in my chair, finally free from the daily ritual I’ve had to get used to on this job.
“Thank you very much, you talented woman.”
This movie has required a hell of a lot of makeup and preparation before we’ve even gotten the cameras rolling each day - it’s simply what it takes to transform into a fantasy prince. The daily sessions these last few weeks have really started to get on my nerves, but I’m a professional and never complain. You just gotta accept it all comes as part of this job.
I’ve gotten to know Stacey and the other makeup artists super well during this entire process. Obligatorily spending long periods of time with others is the benefit of working on a tight-knit movie – you get to know all about people like Stacey. Their lives. Their hopes. Their dreams. We just chat and chat and chat every morning as she makes me into a fantasy prince.
And I love it - this kind of stuff in movie-making is never talked about, but it’s what I enjoy.
Stacey moves away from my chair, and I take the moment to relax and look at my reflection in the trailer mirror opposite me.
Yep, I’m ready for another day in front of the cameras.
“How’s Josie?”
Hayley interrupts my thoughts. She’s been a constant companion sitting next to me during these daily makeup sessions as she gets ready to be a fantasy princess. We’ve also got the chance to know each other on a deeper level.
I turn my eyes away from my reflection to glare at her.
“She’s good,” I reply.
“Does she feel better now?” Stacey asks. “More at home?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good. See? What did I tell you? You just have to be there for her.”
I pause and reflect on her statement, and on the advice she gave me all that time ago. And how I implemented it. And how it worked.
“You’re right,” I say. “And I never like to admit someone else is right. But I think I understand that now.”
“I’m just looking out for Josie,” Hayley says. “She’s not part of this world like us, Victor. She needs to have your support. I know how hard a transition it is.”
“Yeah, it sure has been.”
The actress gets up to go.
“I’m off to the set,” she says. “Want to walk with me?”
“I’ll relax here for five more minutes,” I reply. “I’m so very tired. I could do with a minute of shuteye.”
“A nap? You’re turning into an old man, Victor.”
“Aren’t there lines you’re meant to be learning, Hayley?”
She laughs at my teasing and leaves the trailer.
And now I’m left alone.
I continue to gaze into my reflection. I like this princely look they’ve got going for me in this movie. Damn, Stacey can really work her magic. I’m glowing.
But that glow isn’t from the makeup.
It’s deeper than that... it’s because of Josie, and how happy she makes me.
I can’t deny it.
There’s a knock on the trailer door.
“Come in,” I say.
Andrew struts inside. He shuts the door firmly behind him.
“Hello, Victor.”
“Hello, Andrew. What brings the pleasure of having you come in here? I’m not late to set, am I?”
The director laughs and takes a seat behind me, looking at me through the mirror.
“How are you today, Victor?” he asks.
“Good.”
“You’re fully across the lines?”
“Always,” I reply.
“How about we get a drink after the shoot?” he asks. “You disappeared pretty damn quickly last time...”
“I’m not drinking much at the moment, Andrew.”
“Fuck all that,” Andrew says with a groan. “Come and have a drink with me, like old times.”
I shift forward in my chair.
“I can’t because I have a dinner date with Josie,” I reply quietly.
Andrew sighs.
“I don’t understand what you see in her,” he says.
“Don’t you dare start this,” I retort. “Be wary. You are traveling on uneven ground here.”
“But Victor... she’s not like other girls you’ve messed around with,” Andrew says. “I mean, God, she even looks plain.”
Plain?
What the fuck...
I raise my hand. I’m very still and collected, but inside I’m seething.
I am a man ready to let go.
“Shut the fuck up, Andrew,” I say calmly.
“But...”
“Shut the fuck up and leave.”
I’m unwavering.
Andrew stares at me.
I stare right back at him.
“You’re overreacting like a baby,” the director says.
“I will complete this movie,” I tell him, “but I won’t hear you say another bad word about my girl. One more word from you about Josie and you are dead, Andrew. You understand?”
My voice is steady and low. Dark.
I’m not fucking around.
The director nods slowly. His hands are trembling. He’s beginning to realize who he’s dealing with here.
We’re done.
“I understand.”
“Good. Now get the fuck out.”