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We spent almost two hours doing take after take of the run from the back door to where I dropped to my knees. By the time Lang said, “Okay, I think we’re good,” I was utterly exhausted.
The assistant director got on a bullhorn and announced we were done filming for the night, and the crew went to work immediately, breaking down the equipment. Lorenzo and Phoenix accompanied me to wardrobe, and after I changed back into my clothes, they collected my cat and ushered me to the SUV. They were both talking excitedly, but I nearly dozed off on the drive home.
When we got back to the house, we said goodnight to Phoenix and went upstairs. Lorenzo undressed me and took me straight to bed. As he held me in his arms, he asked, “Are you alright, Will?”
“I don’t know when I’ve ever been so tired,” I murmured. “But I’m proud of myself. I feel like I did something important tonight.”
Chapter 14
I woke up the next morning with Lorenzo wrapped around me. When I burrowed even deeper into his arms, he kissed my forehead. “Last night is a blur,” I murmured. “I basically just remember running through a field and dropping to my knees about six thousand times. If Lang ends up using the first take, I’m going to find out where he lives and leave a flaming bag of dog poop on his porch.”
Lorenzo grinned and said, “I’ll gladly be your accomplice.”
We shifted a bit, and I mumbled, “I’m so glad it’s the weekend. Can we spend all day in bed?”
“You’ll have to get up long enough for your interview, but we can come right back here afterwards.”
“Shit, I forgot about that.”
“Should we ask Phoenix to reschedule the appointment?”
“No. The reporter and photographer are driving all the way from San Francisco, so the least I can do is pull myself together for a couple of hours.”
He started to climb out of bed as he told me, “I’ll be right back with some coffee and breakfast.”
But I pulled him back into the bed and climbed over him as I said, “I’ll go get us something. Stay here.”
“But you’re tired.”
“I know, but I really want to do this for you.” He clearly wanted to argue, so I said, “Please?”
“Okay, as long as you promise to leave dinner up to me.”
“Deal.”
I pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of pajama pants, since I’d gone to bed just in briefs, and went downstairs. Riley and Phoenix were both staring at my cat, who was sitting on the kitchen island, and Riley exclaimed, “We just taught Madame Leota to do a high five! Watch.” He held up his hand, and my cat tapped it with her paw.
I chuckled and said, “I can’t believe you got her to do that.”
“Phoenix has this awesome and weird skill set, which includes animal training for some reason.”
“If I have a client with, let’s say, a total shithead of a chihuahua, it’s in my best interest to teach the little bastard to behave,” Phoenix explained, as he tucked a lock of shaggy brown hair behind his ear. “The chihuahua example isn’t random, by the way. They can be real assholes.”
When he saw I was assembling a breakfast tray, Phoenix immediately began helping me. He flipped a switch to brew a fresh pot of coffee, then found a little vase with a miniature carnation and put it on the tray. Meanwhile, Riley asked, “Why’s your cat named Madame Leota? I feel like it’s a reference to something that went over my head.”
I told him, “The very first thing I did when I moved to Southern California was go to Disneyland. It was a promise I’d made to myself when I was a little kid. I didn’t know a soul in L.A. so I went by myself, but it was still completely great. I loved the rides that told a story, especially the Haunted Mansion. One of my favorite parts was Madame Leota, a fully animated, disembodied fortune teller’s head in a crystal ball. The effect was so well-done that it was just magical. I went on the ride so many times that I memorized every word of the fortune teller’s dialog, and for years after that, I’d randomly recite it to entertain myself. Later on, I decided it was the perfect name for this enchanting girl.” I scratched the cat’s ear, and she tilted her head into my hand.
“That’s awesome,” Riley said. “I’ve always wanted to go to Disneyland.”
“Why don’t you?”
“I guess I’m holding out until I can go with someone special.”
I nodded and said, “I get that.”
A few minutes later, I returned to the master bedroom and found Lorenzo had showered and gotten dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. We sat cross-legged on the neatly made bed with the big tray between us, and as he tucked into his scrambled eggs and toast, I said, “I have to confess, Phoenix helped me with this. That’s why it all looks so perfect. He also baked those cranberry-orange muffins earlier this morning. I think he’s bored to death as my assistant. In fact, I discovered him and Riley training my cat, just for something to do.”
