Page 14 of The Location Shoot
“Hmm, that’s always tricky. Let me give it a try. You always use one-word titles, so I’m assuming that’s the case here and you’re not trying to bamboozle me.”
He chuckled. “Go on.”
All eyes were glued to Ella.
“The film is about life itself, but you wouldn’t choose the wordlife. Too obvious, too pedestrian. Given your misanthropic views, it could be calledDoomorWasteland. Perhaps you’ve chosen to be more subtle, in which case something likeFragilewould be the clear choice. But subtlety has never been your style, has it?” She crinkled her nose and giggled. “Because you have such a bleak view of humanity, some people don’t appreciate your wonderful, ironic sense of humor. The media often misses that altogether. It’s a pity; it’s such a fantastic part of your personality and your art. If you were going to create a film about the tragedy of the human condition, you would give it a falsely uplifting title. Hmm. What could it be, given that the film centers around a party?” Her face lit up with recognition, and she put her hand on his shoulder. “Darling, I seized upon the title as soon as we began this conversation. I said the scene you were shooting today was not just any party but ‘a massively grand celebration.’ The title of the film isCelebration.”
All the actors’ mouths were hanging open, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
“Ah, I see I’m right,” Ella said proudly.
“Holy shit,” Michael said. “That was amazing. You’re practically clairvoyant. You got all that from three minutes on set while we were dancing?”
“You’re extraordinarily perceptive,” Charlotte remarked.
Jean smiled and said, “She never misses a thing.” He raised his glass. “Ella, would you like to do the honors?”
She held up her glass. “To making beautiful art and exploring the big questions.”
“Cheers!” Jean exclaimed.
“Santé!”
“Skål!”
“Bottoms up,” Ella said, and they all clinked glasses.
PEOPLE CASUALLY WANDERED OVERto the buffet, and Ella and Finn found themselves to be the last two perusing the spread. “The food here is actually pretty good, and they’ve been very accommodating. They always have vegetarian options for Charlotte.”
Ella smiled. “I love Swedish food, especially the gravlax,” she said, picking up the tongs.
“Have you spent much time in Sweden?”
“A fair amount. Stockholm is a great city. It’s entirely walkable with gorgeous water views, and I simply adore the modern art museum. You?”
“For all the traveling I do, this is only my second time in this country. The last time I was here, I was stuck in a hotel doing press junkets,” he replied. He noticed she was eyeing the dill potatoes and said, “May I?” as he picked up the serving spoon.
“Please,” she replied.
“You really blew everyone’s minds,” he said as he served her a scoop of creamy potatoes. “I can’t believe how much you inferred from the little you saw.”
She shrugged. “I know how Jean’s mind works.”
He shook his head and said, “I’ll never know how you figured out the title.”
She flirtatiously gestured for him to come closer. He leaned in close enough to smell her floral perfume and feel her warm breath on his ear, and she whispered, “One of the cameramen had the title taped to his equipment.”
Finn burst into laughter. When he could manage to get the words out, he said, “You really had Jean going. Hell, you had all of us going!”
“People believe what they want to believe. Besides, I must have some fun if he insists on playing his little mind games.” She giggled and said, “Jean was right, after all, I never miss a thing. He just misinterpreted what that meant.” She winked at him, and they both returned to the table smiling.
They all spent the next three hours eating, drinking, smoking, and telling stories. All the while, Finn couldn’t take his eyes off Ella.
CHAPTER 5
Ella waltzed into the dining room the next morning, her laptop under her arm. Albie was tucked away in the corner, his nose in a newspaper. Finn was sitting at the table they had shared the morning before. He smiled brightly and said, “I saved you a seat.”
“Good morning,” she said as she sat opposite him and placed her laptop to the side.
