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“Oh, Henri. I’m sorry. I forget how lucky I am sometimes. You know, that my parents are still with me.”
“Yeah. I never had the chance to help her.”
The wipers squeaked in the silence between us. “What about your…”
“Father?” I shook my head. “You mean the man who disappeared when I was two? The man who has a new family and lives in a perfect little town like this one.” I choked the last words out.
Jack nodded and there was a new softness in his eyes. He took my hand in his. “I’m sorry you had to go through that Henri.”
I slid my hand from his and he squeezed my fingers before releasing them. “I’ll drop your bag off at the cabin. Are you sure you’re okay on your own for the afternoon?”
“It should only be a few hours until my car is ready. Your father promised me he’d have it done today. I’m looking forward to exploring.” I pulled out the extras pass from my pocket. “I am going to spend some time on the set too.”
“How did you get that?” He took the laminated pass from my hand but I snatched it back and shoved it into my pocket.
“A lady never shares her secrets.” I put on the mittens and opened the door. “I’ll see you at the Beardog.”
Jack groaned. “I already forgot that I agreed to that. Yes, I’ll see you there. And Henri, I’m going to give you some names of people to talk to for your story. Charlotte is a little jaded when it comes to this town.”
Perfect. I thought to myself. I knew that I was right about her.
“That would be great.” I hopped out of the truck, but before I could shut the door, Jack held up his hand.
“You have to promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I was already cold and the snow had started to accumulate on my shoulders.
He shrugged out of his canvas jacket and tossed it to me. “That you’ll buy a better pair of boots. The outfitter is right there.” He had to duck to look out the windshield to point at the storefront of an outdoors store that looked like it sold fishing poles and ski boots at the same time.
“I can’t take this.” I tried to hand the jacket back to him.
“I’ve got three more at home. I’m going there right now to change out of these pants. Remember?”
My face burned as I remembered the coffee incident.
“See, your cheeks look like they’re already getting cold.” It was almost imperceptible, and slight enough for me to wonder if I’d been hallucinating, and maybe I was, but I could’ve sworn that Jack Lumber, Jack Ass, Jack Frost, had winked at me.
Shrugging into the jacket, I was surprised by its warmth. “If you insist.”
Jack put the gear shift into gear. “I insist. Now, I need to get out of these pants.”
I wasn’t hallucinating. Jack Lumber had definitely just winked at me.
The insulated bootscrunched on the snow as I wandered around the downtown of Chance Rapids. The town couldn’t have been more of a cliché if it tried. The red and white striped mittens fit over top of my fingerless gloves, but I had to take them off every time I made a voice note about each business and local person, Rapidian, I corrected myself in the recording. So far, my angle was falling flat.
Everyone in this town seemed to be cast from a movie – and with the exception of Jack’s frosty-ness, were all incredibly kind and welcoming to me – a complete stranger.
I kept checking my phone to see if I’d missed a call from Bob. The fuzzy winter boots had helped, but if I was going to get to the farther reaches of town, I’d prefer to drive.
As the early afternoon shifted into late afternoon, I decided to slip onto the movie set. It had been snowing all afternoon, yet the fake snow machines swirled whatever the fake snow was made of. It looked like cotton candy over the section of the street that was blocked off from traffic.
The director was talking to the actors and I joined a group of extras, huddled to the side, snow real and fake, accumulating on the colorful handknit hats and matching long scarves with tassels. I crossed my arms, hoping that it showcased the red and white mittens that I was wearing, as though I totally belonged on the set.
"Have you met Bradley Stern yet?” One of the extras next to me, a girl who looked to be about twenty, whispered to the girl next to her.
“No.” The other girl was rubbing her arms and bobbing up and down to keep warm. “He’s cuter in real life, isn’t he?” There was a sweet excitement to her voice.
The taller girl whispered. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’ve heard he likes older women.”
