Page 30 of The Location Shoot
“Are we still on to take a walk after dinner? Please,” he asked, caressing her wrist.
She hesitated for a moment before quietly saying, “Okay. I’ll meet you outside. We don’t need to make a thing of it in front of everyone.”
He moved his hand away, and she took her plate and returned to the table. During dinner, she was much quieter than usual, and Finn noticed that she never once looked at him.
ELLA STAMPED OUT HER CIGARETTEbutt and took the last sip of her drink. “I’m going to head up,” she said.
“It’s early. Stay, have another drink. It’s Friday night,” Michael urged.
“I’m tired. Oh, but I did want to ask about everyone’s plans for the weekend. I saw on the call sheet that everyone’s off for the next two days.”
“Not me. I’m shooting a scene with some of the extras tomorrow,” Albie said.
“Not me either. The director never gets a day off,” Jean said.
“Yes, you do get all the headaches. The price of genius.” Ella smirked at him. “What do the rest of you do on your days off?”
“I usually catch up on my yoga, meditation, and I run lines. Tomorrow I’ll be reading your books,” Charlotte replied.
“I haven’t known what to do with myself,” Willow said. “There’s not much to do around here. I’ve never been on a location like this before. It’s beautiful but kind of boring. Last weekend I just watched videos on my iPad.”
“I’m up for anything. What do you have in mind?” Michael asked.
“There’s a gorgeous private beach near the set. The weather’s been so beautiful, and you’ve all been cooped up inside. I was thinking about asking the inn staff to prepare a picnic lunch, and then spending the day lounging in the sunshine. There’s an old town about half an hour’s drive from there that’s supposed to be lovely, with shops, restaurants, and a cathedral. After the beach, we could change in your trailers and go have a look around, perhaps grab a bite to eat.”
“Oh, that sounds fun,” Willow said, beaming.
“I’m in,” Michael said.
“Me too,” Finn replied.
Ella looked up at him but quickly diverted her eyes to Charlotte. “Won’t you join us? You have two days off. You can catch up on those other things on Sunday. It’s so beautiful here. It’d be a shame not to experience it.”
Charlotte thought for a moment. “All right. That sounds nice.”
“Shall we all meet in the lobby at noon?” Ella asked.
Everyone nodded.
“Well, good night,” she said, rising. She exited the room and discreetly slipped out the front door.
A few minutes later, Finn appeared. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she said.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I didn’t want to be too obvious.”
“That’s okay. You were right, the light is stunning this time of night just before the sun sets,” she said, gazing up at the sky.
“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the path to their right.
They walked quietly for a few minutes, their hands so close they were millimeters from touching. Finn finally broke the silence. “That was funny how you called Jean out for sleeping with his cleaning woman.”
“I doubt it’s much of a secret. Everyone knows what he’s like.”
“He has a bit of a reputation for how he treats women. You’re such a strong person, and you two are friends. I was wondering what you thought as a woman.”
“People want simple answers, but life is complex. He’s created some of the greatest, most interesting, sensitive, and provocative roles for women in the history of cinema. There’s a reason so many actresses are dying to work with him. And yet, he can be quite a piece of shit to women in his own life. Tell me, which is better: the male director who never casts women or does so only in clichéd, trivial ways but may be a hell of a good guy in private, or the man who creates professional opportunities for women that wouldn’t otherwise exist and gives the collective imaginary new, powerful representations of women but uses up women in his personal life as if they were pieces of gum he was chewing until the flavor ran out?”
