Page 56 of The Interview
“Mine, too,” I reply, appreciating her musical knowledge.
Most kids in their twenties wouldn’t have any idea who Joe Jackson is or his music. Stepping out of the chair, I move closerto Kenzie so she can show me what she captured yesterday. She opens up the screen, and an image appears. I’m alone on the sofa with a partial smile on my face, mouth parted, one arm held out, palm up while I seem to be explaining something in the animated way I tend to do. There’s nothing remarkable going on with me. My hair looks good, but I realise as I take in the rest of the image that it’s not about me. In the background, but very clearly, Cam is standing with his arse leaning against the stone of the kitchen island. His head is tilted to one side, and a smile very similar to the one he gave me earlier graces his beautiful, plump lips.
“God, my husband’s gorgeous,” I say quietly.
“Girl, he is damn fine. You are one lucky woman to be looked at like that by the man you love. And you’ve gotten to experience it twice.”
My insides warm as I slowly nod. “I’m well aware,” I state as her eyes slide to mine. “I can honestly say, hand on heart, I’ve had two loves of my life. A lot of people don’t experience one, yet I’ve had two.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her eyes on mine.
“Can I ask you something?” I question.
“Sure,” she says with a shrug.
“I noticed yesterday that you were staring at my brother a lot?—”
“Marley?” she cuts in.
“Yeah. Ash noticed as well.”
“Oh, shit.” She cringes.
“Can I ask why? What was that all about?”
She takes another moment to herself, her eyes roaming to anything except me.
“I think I was a little in awe. I’ve met a lot of people throughout my life, so I’m not usually overwhelmed, but your brother is such a legend. Jake hero worships and talks abouthim so much, I was a little rattled.” When her eyes finally land on mine again, she continues. “Plus, he was sonotwhat I was expecting. He’s nothing like the way he’s portrayed in the press. He wasn’t the consummate, stereotypical rock star, party boy. He was intelligent, articulate, and emotional. It was endearing to see how openly vulnerable he was with you and Lennon.”
“That’s Marley, though. That’s exactly who and what Marley is. I’ve never understood why the rest of the world has never seen that.”
“Has he let them? Or does he hide behind that rock star, fuck boy persona of his?”
“Yeah, he does. Always has, I suppose.”
“Hmm,” is all I get in response before Daniel sticks his head through the doorway to the makeup room.
“Morning, Georgia. We’re all set up when you’re ready,” he says with a smile.
I smile back, still processing what Makenzie has said. Something in my gut is telling me there’s more to her story that she’snottelling me.
“I’ll be there in a sec,” I call to Dan, holding up one finger. “Don’t forget, work out a date with Jake when you can both come for dinner,” I say to Kenzie before following Dan out to where the cameras are set up.
I’m sat on the sofa, mic’d up, and probably as comfortable as I’m going to be all day. I’ve disconnected the speakers for the entire ground floor of the house, and I’m waiting in silence as Dan goes through his notes.
“Everything from yesterday is looking good. The raw emotion just”—he shakes his head and looks up at me—“Idon’t want to sound arse kissy, but honestly, Georgia, I’m in fucking awe. I was here when you and your brothers recounted everything up until Paris, and Marley and Lennon talked about what happened in the aftermath, but watching it back, the hurt is still so very apparent. I’m not gonna lie, I cried. For you, for Sean, and for Marley to be set up the way they were. The fallout, too. It’s honestly so incredibly emotional, and I think viewers are going to be riveted, no, absolutelygluedto their seats.”
“They do say misery loves company,” I say, wondering how viewers would react if they knew thewholetruth about what happened to the boys in Paris.
“They do,” Dan replies quietly, looking back down at his notes. “So, I’ve made an executive decision not to show you what we’ve got so far. Like I said, it’s raw, and I don’t want you feeling self-conscious. I set out for this to be organic, for you to lead where it went, and from what I watched back, it’s working beautifully.But… I do feel it was a little one-sided. We heard a lot of details from the boys. What I’d like to do is hear more about how events unfolded for you. You gave us a rundown, but I need a little more detail if you’re happy to share. A little more depth to what you experienced from your end, then we can edit that into what we got yesterday.”
I nod, pretending I know exactly what he’s talking about, but not really sure of anything right now.
“Shall we begin?” Dan asks with a smile that I think is supposed to settle my apparent nerves.
“Let’s,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.
Apart from me, Dan, and the crew, the studio is empty. The party atmosphere we had going on yesterday is missing, and I feel strangely vulnerable without my people around me now.
