Page 43 of Stay for Me
Just then Magnolia returns, places a plate of complimentary fries down, and then is gone.
“All right, favorite movie?”
That one is easy. “Sweet Home Alabama.”
He rolls his eyes. “The one where she goes back home because she’s married to one dude while the other gives her a ring from Tiffany’s?”
“That’s the one.”
“Are all girls nuts?”
I laugh and grab a fry. “Maybe. What’s yours?”
Jacob leans back. “You guess.”
My first instinct is to go with one of his movies, but that seems a bit stupid and too easy. Not to mention, most creative people don’t like their own work. They scrutinize it, finding flaws where there aren’t any. No one has to tell them they suck because they tell themselves enough.
“Jurassic Park?”
He laughs. “No, but you’re at least not going with anything of mine. I would never choose any of those.”
“And why not?”
“Because they’re shit.”
I roll my eyes at his self-deprecation. “I know a lot of people who would beg to differ.”
Jacob shrugs, letting the comment roll off as though it’s nothing. “Back to the pick.”
There’s no surprise in what Luke’s was . . .Top Gun, but I don’t see that being Jacob’s. I don’t really know him, so I’m not sure if he’s more serious or if he likes something more likeFast Times at Ridgemont High.
“You have to give me some hints. I need to at least know the mood of it.”
“Okay, it’s a classic.”
“LikeCasablanca?”
Jacob’s brow rises as his head lowers. “Does any man who still has possession of his man card likeCasablanca?”
“No idea since I’m not a man.”
“The answer is no.”
“Okay, so when you say classic, do you mean like Fred Astaire or classic man movie likeFast and the Furious?”
He shakes his head.
“What?” I ask with a hint of laughter. “I am trying here, and you’re no help.”
“You’re supposed to be the psychoanalyst here.”
“No, in fact, you are,” I remind him.
“That’s right. All right, it’s a classic guy movie.”
I wrack my brain, trying to think of the movie that would fit Jacob. Something that he might have watched that defined a change in his life and brought him toward acting. “The Godfather?”
“Very close.”
