Second Act (His Chance 1)

He laughed at me and held his hand out. “Give it back. I’ll go run it over a few times and then serve it to you.”

I leaned back so he couldn’t take it away. “It’s okay, I’ll muddle through, despite the tastiness. It looks like you even made that fruit cup from scratch, instead of buying the absolute cheapest version you could find at the grocery outlet.”

“I did include those alarmingly red maraschino cherries though, despite my better judgement.”

“Well done there. It’s not a fruit cup without those and some pale mystery chunks that make you ask, is this a pear? An apple? Something else entirely?”

“Now I see why you think I’m such a great cook. You’re used to mystery chunks.”

“I used to think you were great at it. Look at this, though.” I picked up the cookie and broke it in half, then took a bite and said, “This is warm, luscious, and not even sort of stale. Total school lunch fail.”

I clicked my tongue and pretended to disapprove, and he laughed again. “The offer to turn your meal into roadkill still stands.”

“You jest, but where I’m from, roadkill is considered a delicacy.”

He seemed genuinely alarmed as he blurted, “Did your parents actually feed you dead animals they found on the side of the road?”

“Don’t be silly. I told you, they didn’t cook. But sometimes our neighbors would invite us over for a barbeque, and they’d serve whatever ol’ Jimmy Joe hit on his way home from the mill. If you ask me, he swerved toward some of them critters on purpose.”

Lorenzo looked stunned. “You’re kidding.”

I chuckled and said, “Of course I am. I grew up in northern Louisiana, not on an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies.”

He burst out laughing and threw a pillow at my head. “I totally believed you!”

I ducked the pillow and came up smiling. “I know. You should have seen your face.”

“Do you suppose there are people who actually eat roadkill?”

“I know there are, but fortunately I grew up in the second-to-last level of hillbilly hell, not the actual bottom tier.”

After we finished our meal, he set the trays aside, and we both curled up on the bed. He was pressed up against my back with his arm draped over me, and I told him, “You’re a perfect big spoon. I hope you know that about yourself.”

“Thank you. That’s quite the compliment.” He nuzzled my curls and murmured, “The hair and makeup people are going to hate us.”

“I’m sure they expected to fix me after dinner anyway.”

“How are you feeling about the upcoming scene?”

“I’m nervous, but all I can do is go out there and give it absolutely everything I’ve got. If that’s not good enough for Lang, I’ll do it again and again until he tells me I can stop. I’m planning to leave it all out on that field, so fair warning—I’m probably going to be a wreck afterwards.”

“I’ll be right there to help you when it’s over.”

I whispered, “Thank God for that,” and he kissed my shoulder.

I let myself enjoy the warmth and comfort of his arms for a few more minutes before I sat up and said, “I need to get back into Alex’s mindset, so we should go outside.” He nodded, and we both climbed out of bed and returned to the set.

After hair and makeup finished with me, I took off the coat and slippers, and Riley asked, “Are you sure you want to do that? It’ll probably be a good ten minutes before they’re ready to start shooting.”

“I need to feel what Alex is feeling, and he’s not warm and comfortable.” Riley and Lorenzo exchanged worried looks as I walked to the edge of the cliff.

It really was bitterly cold. A strong breeze cut right through my clothes, even with that thermal layer. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, and then I tried to find Alex. He was in there somewhere. I just had to push away all that was good in my world, until I was left with nothing but pain.

By the time Lang came over to me, I was shivering and on the verge of tears. He took one look at me and said, “Okay, you’re obviously ready, so let’s do this. You’re going to start at the house, run to your first mark, and drop to your knees. I don’t need to tell you Alex is upset, so dig deep and show us what he’s feeling. Take some time before you get up and slowly walk to your next mark, which is the edge of the cliff. You’ll hold there for at least ten seconds. I don’t actually expect us to get this all in one take, but I want to give you a chance to let the whole scene play out, at least once. Then we’ll go back and make sure we have the footage we need.”