Page 12 of And They Had a Great Fall

Nothing serious.

No expectations.

It had worked for both of them. But he’d soon realized she was clearly upset, a reaction they had yet to discuss.

Kat looked at her phone, noting that the taxi had arrived. As they were walking to the car, she said, “This shouldn’t be too hard. Oh, and if anyone asks, I’m just a family friend here on business. I don’t even need a name. A nobody. Which is true. As far as your fans and your industry are concerned, Iamnobody.”

He shook his head as he opened the car door. He had very few somebodies left in his life, and she was certainly one of them. He needed her to know, whatever this was between them, it was something to him. “I wish you wouldn’t say things like that. You aren’t a nobody to me. You know that, right?”

She glanced in his direction and got in the car. Her reaction was so unclear, it made him curious.

Once they were settled in, Jake changed the subject. “Hey, how’s Becca? I miss that kiddo.” He ran his hand through his hair and adjusted his hat. “She ever figure out how to do a handstand?”

Jake watched Kat’s face lit up as it always did when she talked about her daughter. “Yes, she figured out the handstand. And only broke one lamp in the process,” Kat said, and both of them laughed. “She turns six in two months and starts kindergarten right after I get home from this trip. Can you believe it?”

Jake shook his head. He thought of Becca as a hilarious four-year-old who loved to play My Little Pony and used the entire living room as a gymnastics playground during the pandemic. He fondly remembered how she’d created stories with her stuffed animals that would rival the dramas of Hollywood.

Kat beamed with every story she relayed to him about Becca. As an almost six-year-old, My Little Pony and friends were no more, replaced by dragons of all kinds. She was a budding athlete, moving from gymnastics to itty-bitty soccer.

Jake promised to kick the ball around with her next time he was in New York. He found himself nostalgic for the endless rounds of hide-and-seek they would play while waiting for Kat to finish a conference call. Becca always hid in the same place: under a blanket on the couch. Jake had relished searching for her until she could no longer contain her giggles. He suppressed a smile as he remembered how their laughter had been so loud that Kat had to step out onto her balcony to finish her calls.

Kat let him know that Jake’s dad had taken up playing cards with Becca and, much to Kat’s chagrin, he had taught her daughter War, the most inane, never-ending card game ever created. And one that Becca was now obsessed with playing. The thought made him let out a loud laugh as he snuck a look at her phone to see where they were headed. She quickly covered it up.

“Come on, Kat. Where are we going?” he pleaded. As muchas he was enjoying her taking full control of this day, he was not used to surprises and the suspense was getting to him. He spent so much of his life governed by a written production schedule that there was little spontaneity left in his world.

“It’s just around this corner,” she said, pointing up the street. When they got to the corner, he saw a big sign out the window that said TIVOLIGARDENS. The taxi pulled over and they got out of the car.

He wrinkled his nose as the disappointment hit him. He didn’t want to spend his little free time in some sort of garden. At least he was outside and not in the bubble of trailers, rental apartments, limos, and planes.It’s been awhile since I have been out in the real world, he mused to himself. “I didn’t take you as a botanical garden type of girl,” he said aloud.

Kat pulled out her phone, scanned the electronic tickets, and stepped just past the ticket booth.

“Jesus, Jake,” she said, “You’ve been here how many weeks and you don’t know what Tivoli Gardens is?”

He took a second to look around, and he realized that it was an amusement park. He flashed her a grin. “Oh, thank God. Roller coasters are much more interesting than rose bushes.” Well, she didn’t seem to worry too much about being out in public.She picked a damn amusement park to be our first outing!The thought made him laugh, and he better understood why she had been so adamant about her rules.

As they walked under the archway and into the grounds, she chided him. “You, my friend, need to have more fun. You’ve been working nonstop for how long? A year? How many days off have you had? Like, real days off?”

He tried to count in his head. There weren’t many, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had a full day off. He spent most of his downtime in a trailer on set, an airline club, or a hotel conference room. The longest stretch of time off he’d had was forhis grandmother’s funeral, and that visit had been a disaster. Kat was right. He hadn’t had a break in a very long time.

It wasn’t for the lack of trying. He’d talked to Roger, his agent, six months ago about taking a small hiatus but was cautioned against it. “Strike while the iron is hot,” Roger had said, referring to the number of offers coming Jake’s way. He’d urged him to keep working and stay visible, lest he fall off the radar of top directors and producers. Jake knew it was a real concern, but he still felt a weariness beyond physical exhaustion. He couldn’t answer Kat’s question, so he stayed silent.

“You’ve made my case,” she said. “So, for the next few days, you’re going to just let loose a bit. Have fun, relax, stop overthinking everything, and most importantly, hang out withme,” she said, smiling, but her tone was adamant. She sounded serious about their fun and the juxtaposition brought a smirk to his lips. He tried keeping a serious face.

“Okay, fun, relaxation … hanging out with you … no thinking. I can do that,” he said. “From what I saw this morning, I’ll ask you the same question: when did you last take any time off and just have fun? Hmm, Kit Kat?” Jake’s tone betrayed his amusement. He could see that she was not pleased he’d turned the tables on the conversation.

“Touché,” she said and put up her hands in surrender. “And never call me Kit Kat.” She shot him a look before continuing. “Okay … back to you. Really. I was thinking about it in the shower today. I think you need to stop thinking so much and go back to body awareness. You once told me the best acting wasn’t what you said in the script, but what you said with your body language. Do you remember? You said body language was true acting. Anyone could read words on a page. I think you need to go back to that. Just be physical again and figure out the physicality of your character.”

He was struck that she remembered. He had forgotten abouttheir conversation, though it came back to him now. They’d been on her balcony, hanging in two lounge chairs, enjoying the cool air that came into the city at night. Jake had brought over some weed and, uncharacteristically, Kat had taken a hit—careful not to get too high in case Becca needed anything, but enough to make her open and relaxed.

She’d wanted to know every element of his creative process and even then, he’d had trouble putting it fully into words. But he did know physicality was key to moving the character off the page and into his mind and body. It was the most in-depth anyone had ever talked to him about his craft, beyond the perceived glitz of show business. She was the first person who tried to understand the work he put into every role. Remembering that night, talking until the sun peeked over the skyscrapers, he believed that she might be the only one who really respected his work.

“Right. I remember. I was very smart once.” He wondered to himself what had happened along the way to make him forget. He’d started questioning himself so much he couldn’t remember how to harness his own creativity.

“Shut up,” she said, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Don’t be down on yourself. Have fun. Take care of your body. Keep your space in order. Declutter your world, and your mind will come along. How can you play a character on a page until you understand how they move through the world?”

He knew she was right, and it gave him a clarity he hadn’t experienced for a long time. Except … he tried to stifle a smile. “Thisis what you thought about in the shower? I’m a little disappointed.”

Kat gave him a look he interpreted as amusement mixed with annoyance. “Hey. Now it’syourturn to get your mind out of the gutter.”

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