Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
I rubbed my eyes, a little crust of sleep still clinging to the corners since we hadn’t showered yet before heading to breakfast. My stomach was rumbling too hard to wait for three widows to shower and get dressed before we checked out the little diner called Gilly’s Grits I’d seen when we’d parked Bertha nearby last night.
“Slow down. My tattoo is really sore today.” Alice sauntered along behind me down the little sidewalk.
Sylvie kept pace beside her. “Mine too. Probably from all that bouncing on the airboat yesterday.”
“Maybe we should just have breakfast in Bertha. I can whip up some French toast.” Doris moved slowly behind them.
“I’m with Doris,” Alice said. “Pulling captain’s rank and not even letting me shower before going out in public is crap.”
“Quit yer gripin’!” I called back, glancing over my shoulder and waving a hand over her. “You literally wake up looking like you’re ready for the big screen. You’re fine. I’m hungry and I want to try some grits. Let’s go.”
They all groaned, then followed me as I pushed the glass door open into Gilly’s Grits. The sweet, savory smells slapped me right in my face, and my stomach roared in approval.
We slid into a booth, and a little blonde smacking gum dropped off our menus. “Name’s Carla. Special is steak ’n’ eggs. Be back to take your order.”
She hurried off without so much as a smile, but based on how packed the place was, I doubted she had the time or the desire.
“Oh, this actually looks good.” Sylvie flipped through the plastic menu, then yawned. “I need coffee. If I don’t even get a shower to wake up, I need a double.”
“Carla looks busy.” Doris craned her neck to look around, and I swallowed a chuckle when I noticed the big dent in the back of her hair. She’d skin me alive for letting her walk around without fixing it, but I was too hungry to care about her vanity.
Carla returned soon with coffee and her little green order pad, filled our cups, and took our order. It arrived faster than I’d expected, and I dug in like I was digging for gold at the bottom of those grits.
“Oh, man! These are amazing!” I shoveled another bite into my mouth.
Alice slid her fork through her eggs. “These are cooked perfectly. These little roadside diners you keep finding sure do know how to cook.”
I pointed my spoon at her, grits overflowing. “Authentic. That’s the key.” Then I popped them into my mouth.
Two tables over, three guys with headsets around their necks were leaning over a stack of clipboards, talking in that fast, stressed-out clip of people who’d already had too much caffeine even at seven in the morning.
The one with the thinning hair and glasses took a huge swig of coffee. “We have got to get this shot today. Screw the perfect light. Someone has to get Randall under control and get this thing back on schedule.”
The younger-looking one with dark tousled hair pointed at his clipboard. “And the budget. Clarice is gonna rip me a new one if I call and ask for an extension one more time.”
“This movie is going to be huge. It has to be right,” the third, a heavyset bald man, said. “Let’s just finish up breakfast and get back to sort this out with Jed.”
My ears didn’t just perk up; they practically twitched.
“Did you hear that?” I whispered, leaning over our pile of blueberry pancakes. “That’s a movie crew. Sounds like they’re shooting nearby.”
The three widows looked around, their eyes all landing on the trio of stressed-out men.
“I’ve always wanted to be an extra in a movie! I’m gonna go ask if we can be in it!” I slapped the table.
Their eyes all mirrored each other’s as they widened.
“Marge! Don’t you dare go over and ask if we can be in a movie!” Sylvie tossed her napkin next to her plate.
“Who are we talking about? Those guys?” Doris pointed obviously, and Alice pushed down her hand.
“Dear God. Please don’t embarrass us with a film crew, Marge.” Alice shook her head.
“Think about it! The Wilder Widows on the silver screen! We’ll be immortal! Literally! That’s almost as good as the vampire thing!”
“Marge, wait—” Sylvie reached for my sleeve, but I was already gone.
I marched over to the crew, ignoring the whispered pleas of the widows behind me.
“Morning.” I pulled up a chair from the empty table beside them and sat down without being asked. “I couldn’t help overhearing. You folks are on a film crew?”
The three of them looked at me, then each other.
“We are,” the bald one said carefully. “Can we help you?”
“Who’s in it? What’s it about?”
“We’re not at liberty to discuss that,” said the younger one.
I nodded along. “Yeah. I bet. Gotta be a lot of top-secret stuff happening on movie sets. Don’t want any leaks, huh?”
“Exactly,” the one with the glasses said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we are about to head back.”
Leveling them with a serious stare, I leaned forward, my elbows sliding onto the checkered vinyl tablecloth.
“It’s alright, I get it. I’m cool, you know?
I understand. And I couldn’t help but overhear you’re going over budget.
You looking for talent? Free talent? Because you’ve just hit the mother lode. ”
Their eyes met each other’s again, confusion and wariness apparent as they darted their gazes back and forth.
I held up my hands. “I know, I know. You’re thinking I’m some competitor’s plant. Trying to swindle my way onto your set. Sell the secrets. Bomb the opening. But I’m not, I swear. I’m no spy.”
“That’s not what I was thinking at all,” said the younger one. Then he paused. “But now I am.”
“Here’s the deal. I’m on a road trip with those fine ladies back there, and we’re looking for something fun to do. Come on. Just let us come to the set, maybe be extras for a few hours. You won’t regret it.”
The bald one shook his head. “Can’t do that. As we said, closed set. And there are plenty of regulations around using extras.”
I grumbled, glancing back at Alice, and debated pulling out the heavy artillery and throwing out the cancer card without her. Then I remembered I promised her I wouldn’t do that again.
“Hold on.” I pushed out of my chair and hurried back to our table.
I slid into the bench seat and bumped into Doris as I came to a stop.
“What did you do?” Sylvie whispered, leaning forward.
“I hope you didn’t embarrass us.” Alice set down her coffee.
I didn’t answer, staring at her as a sweet smile started on my lips. “Alice?”
Her face immediately dropped. “Don’t. Don’t you dare ask what I know you’re going to ask.”
“What’s she going to ask?” Doris looked back and forth between us.
“Come on, Alice. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. And between your beauty, your fame, and your—”
“Cancer card,” she finished for me.
“Exactly. And I was good. I didn’t wield it without you.”
“Good. Because the only one who can wield the cancer card is the one with cancer. Me.”
“So, will you? Will you please come over and try to get us onto that movie set?” I pressed my hands together. “Please, please, please…”
She slowly sipped her coffee, our eyes still locked together, mine filled with hope and hers filled with long-suffering exasperation.
“Come on, Alice. This is war. I’m trying to infiltrate that movie set, and right now, those three are the guards. I need a sniper to take them out. That’s you. You’re the sniper. Come on, Alice. Take ’em out with the cancer card.”
“You really want to do this, don’t you?” Sylvie said.
I nodded so hard my Viking hat almost fell off. “You know how much I love movies. I can quote hundreds of them. I watch movies every night with Roxie. But I’ve never been on a movie set. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
I looked back at Alice, sticking out my lower lip. “Pleeeeeease…”
“Ugh. Fine. I’ll do it.”
I whooped and caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant, including the film crew.
“Marge, shhhh!” Doris scolded. “Everyone is staring.”
“Sorry,” I whispered, shrinking into my seat.
“Are you seriously doing this?” Sylvie asked.
Alice shrugged. “Why not? Going on a movie set does sound like fun, and if we’re there for Marge’s last day of wishes…”
She inched up an eyebrow, and a look of understanding dawned on Sylvie’s features.
“Oh! If we’re safe on a movie set all day, Marge can’t make us do something else horrible and almost get us killed!”
Alice smirked. “Exactly.”
“Hey! You don’t know what I wanted to do today. Heck, I don’t even know what I wanted to do today. But Bertha brought us here for a reason. Don’t you see? She’s pulled us to being in a movie!”
“A movie set does sound fun.” Doris leaned in a little. “And pretty safe, right?”
Even though they weren’t on board for the same reasons as me, I realized I shouldn’t argue against them.
“It’s very safe. Those places are regulated to the teeth. So, we’re doing this?”
Alice set down her coffee, stood up, and smoothed her hair. “Let’s go.”
I practically vibrated with excitement as I hopped up and followed her over.
The younger man whispered, “Oh God, she’s back.”
I ignored him.
“Hey, pals! Sorry to drop in on you again, but I really want to at least come and see the movie set today. We’ll sign anything you want. You got an NDA? Hand that puppy over and I’ll give it my John Hancock.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” the bald one answered. “We’re sorry, but we can’t just invite anyone onto the movie set.”
I looked at Alice, encouraging her on with my eyes.
After one long sigh, she placed a hand on her hip.
“Here’s the thing. My friend Marge here, she’s not going to give up.
She’s going to follow you, sneak onto your set, and probably get herself arrested.
So, if we could just skip all that stuff and I could offer you some money to buy us a pass onto the set for the day? ”
They looked at each other with interested expressions. Then the one with glasses shook his head. “No, we really can’t. Sorry.”
I gave Alice the look.
Do it… Do it, Alice.