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“Send me the address, Victor. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Perfect, brother.”
* * *
Okay, so it’s alittle bitmore than the humble photoshoot Victor described it as. When I arrive at the publicist building, I am whisked into a cavernous studio surrounded by lights and multiple cameras and about a hundred people behind the scenes. Makeup artists and costume people and people with headsets and people whose sole purpose is seemingly to ferry around mugs of coffee from one side of the building to the other. It’s like a full-scale military operation, just for a photoshoot.
And, in the middle of the storm, is my brother – clearly relishing the attention he’s receiving from this small army.
Unlike me, he is completely unfazed by all the hustle and bustle of the studio. The moment he spots me, he ushers me over to him fervently.
He’s sitting on some kind of wacky stool in front of a giant white screen, dressed in a long coat and stylish sneakers. Spotlights shine down on him, highlighting his movie star looks even more. Someone is fiddling around with his costume as he smiles at me with that Hollywood smile.
“It’s like you are a model and not a dramatic actor,” I remark as I walk over to him, feeling very much out of place amongst all these cool people in my stained hospital doctor’s uniform.
“All part of the job,” my brother replies with a wink. “It’s what you have to do to sell movies these days. This is all for the front cover of the international edition of a men’s magazine.”
I look at him talk. Even I am taken aback by how good-looking my brother is. I admit he’s received the best of the Penmayne genes. That perfect sharp jawline. Black crewcut hair. Thick eyebrows. A visible Adam’s apple that girls seem to love. And, like the rest of us, he clearly looks after his body – you can see the toned shape even underneath all the pieces of costume he’s wearing.
He’s the extroverted Penmayne – which suits his chosen career just fine. Temperamental, charming, impulsive, and always quick with a witty joke. That old-school tinsel town charisma in a nutshell. No wonder he’s fallen into place in front of a movie screen. No wonder he’s got legions of screaming fangirls in every country around the world willing to stalk him wherever he goes.
“I feel very much like I’m not supposed to be here,” I say to Victor as I stand beside him. I look down at the girl busily tampering with the edges of his coat as it dangles around the bottom of his stool. “I’m aware I am very much not part of this photoshoot.”
My brother waves away my concern. “Don’t worry your smart doctorly head,” he says. “They’re still setting up the lighting and cameras, so it’ll be a long while before they even start thinking of taking photos. I’ll be waiting around for ages at this rate. It’s just good to see you, August. Face-to-face and not over the phone.”
“Good to see you too, Victor. So, when was the last time you were home in Crystal River? Seen any of our other brothers about on your travels?”
“Ah, yes. One or two of them. I haven’t been to Crystal River for a very long time, though. But I did stay at one of Damon’s hotels in New York as I passed through a month ago in a very nice suite he organized for me. He was there with his new girlfriend, Ava. She’s a pretty girl, August. Too good for someone like Damon. Too responsible, if you ask me.”
“I’ve had the fortune of meeting Ava,” I reply. “Damon is indeed a lucky man to find a girl like that.”
“You can say that again,” Victor says with a chuckle. “The rest of us are just unlucky suckers.”
“And how’s the movie career going?” I ask him.
My brother shakes his head. “Technically, very well. This new movie is tracking better than expected. It’s guaranteed to be the biggest opening of my career, and maybe the biggest opening of any movie this year. Well, that’s what the studio and my team are telling me, and they’re the smart bean counters when it comes to things like that.”
“So, what’s wrong?” I ask. “Why the long face if everything is going so well?”
“There’s one thing I’m after in this life,” my brother says in a whisper as if it’s a secret. “And that’s to get a Best Actor award. I’m so close, I can feel it. But I have a feeling in my bones it might not be my year this year, and that sucks majorly.”
“Oh, right,” I reply. “I wouldn’t even be able to guess the first step to win one of those. Hollywood is such a different world to mine, it’s hard to keep up. I barely go to the movies anymore. My work has taken over my life.”
“Don’t let it take over everything,” Victor replies. “There’s more to life than work, you know that.”
“Doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”
“But you always did study so hard, August. Sometimes I think you need to know when to stop, brother.”
“It’s the Penmayne curse,” I reply. “Look at you, chasing after a gold statue with everything you’ve got. You can’t talk when it comes towork-life balance.”
I do know that an award is all my brother is chasing. He’s made that pretty clear for years. Sometimes I worry about him – that it’s the only goal he’s got. That maybe, once he snags that trophy, there won’t be anything left in this world for him to pursue. He’s got money. He’s got women falling willingly at his feet. What else could a beautiful man like him truly desire? I seriously fear he might slide into despondency once he gets what he wants. I’ve seen it happen to other men.
A very attractive makeup artist saunters over to us to touch up Victor’s face. I don’t even need to look at my brother to know what game he’s about to play. It’s almost unfair to put such a woman in the same room as Victor Penmayne.
“Here’s a sight for sore eyes,” he whispers flirtatiously to the blonde makeup artists, his eyes trained on hers. “Here I was, getting sick and tired sitting in this chair for hours when an angel like you appears.”
It takes all my willpower not to roll my eyes at the brazen attempt at flirtation by my brother, but the artist laps it up. She giggles at Victor’s amour.
