"Who are our bride and groom?" I ask.
"Waltz, you're the artist. Go sit in your little chair and put on one of those newsboy caps and ignore everything but your vision," Joel says.
"What if my vision involves knowing who our bride and groom are?" I ask.
Joel shakes his head you'll never learn. "You're the artist. Repeat after me—"
"Really?" I ask.
He nods, really. "I am the artist. I have a vision. Fuck practicalities."
Ethan cuts me off. "Yeah, Joel, you're really a fucking artist."
Joel is already air drumming. He flips Ethan off then air drums with his middle fingers.
Mal motions to the makeup tent. "Piper sent friends from school. A couple. They're psyched to do it."
And they're in makeup. Perfect.
"Shouldn't we be using SAG actors?" I ask.
Joel shakes his head. "What did I say, Waltz?"
"I can't get away with it. I'm not as beautiful as you are," I say.
He smiles. "You better watch out for this one. She's smooth."
"Yeah, it's tough appealing to your massive ego," Ethan says.
"Takes one to know one," Joel says.
"Fuck, you're both going to be married men soon." Mal shakes his head. "And you still argue like fourteen-year-olds."
"Takes one to know one." Joel laughs. He looks to me and shakes his head. "Nah, Mal's never been fourteen. He's always got his shit down, right?"
Mal nods, but there's no joy in it.
Something in Joel's eyes shifts. He can see that Mal isn't here. But then, it's not exactly subtle.
That urge to soothe him rises up in my throat. But now isn't the time. The sun is rising quickly. Except for a few streaks of pink, the sky is pale blue.
"I appreciate the banter, but I have to get started. You guys want me to go over everything again?" I ask.
They nod.
It takes me half an hour to get through my explanation. By the time I'm done, I'm in work mode. I talk wit
h our producer. I talk to the PAs. I talk with all the other actors. Then we're actually ready to go and I'm actually ordering people into their places.
I actually call action.
It takes all morning to finish our first set of shots. It takes all the afternoon time we have left to finish the next set.
I'm so fixated on my task that I barely absorb my goodbye with Mal. I don't linger in thoughts of him. I'm too busy processing footage and making sure we have everything.
Even as I fall asleep, I'm so fixated on the shoot that I don't get mixed up thinking of Mal.
And all day the next day, even with Mal in a Speedo and green makeup, seaweed covering his perfect torso. Even with Joel teasing the way he always does and Ethan teasing back the way he always does, and Kit and Mal shaking their heads I'm too old for this shit as they smile but I totally love it.