Page 68 of The Summer of Christmas

Chapter 21

The crew was in a party mood. The locals were not. Tensions were mounting on the line to get into Eddie O’Brien’s. For the most part, the town of Geneva was very happy that the movie had come to town. Business had been good for the local shops in the last three weeks. Geneva was receiving some great regional news coverage showcasing Seneca Lake, and there was a rumor circulating that one of the “Hollywood people” was thinking about buying and restoring the movie theater.

But some locals, specifically a group that usually gathered every Saturday night at Eddie O’Brien’s, were very upset when they discovered their favorite local bar closed for a private event. Christmas music was blasting from inside.How could Eddie O’Brien do this to us?the locals grumbled. Eddie had gotten into the Christmas mood and decorated the bar with red-and-green lights and even brought out the Christmas Karaoke. When pressed by Rory, the news reporter of the local paper, Eddie answered simply: “The Hollywood people spend a lot more money than my usual clientele.”

Still, Nick, who was selling more wine than ever before, was surprised to see the size of the crowd trying to get into Eddie’s. There was even a doorman in front holding a clipboard. It was one of the production assistants.

Nick walked to the front of the line. The fact that there was a line to get into Eddie’s defied all logic. It was Eddie’s. The local mainstay. Pretty much a dump. It had lots of charm but was still a packed dive bar bursting at the seams with Hollywood people. The truth was the Hollywood people were mostly New Yorkers from downstate, which the locals disliked just as much. Nick talked to the guy working the door. He held up a list. A list? To get into Eddie’s?

“Hey, Hollywood, get us in,” someone yelled. An onslaught of rude remarks was shouted about Nick and Amari. More pictures of “Nickmari” had gone viral. Nickmari? It sounded to him like something to send back at a seafood restaurant.

“Hey, Mystery Man,” a jerk from high school called out, “I saw you on one of those gossip shows. They called you Amari’s boy toy.” More laughter. Nick didn’t smile. The doorman found his name, and Nick walked into the crowded tavern. He was Amari’s plus one.

It was good to be back in a crowded bar, Nick thought. The pandemic had crushed a lot of businesses, and Geneva was just beginning to come back. The movie helped a lot with the economic month-long boom. Nick was even shipping more wine than the previous two years combined. As much as he hated to admit it, Hollywood had helped to revitalize the town. While Nick was happy about this, theboy toyremark was still gnawing at him. When he found Kenny and his sister, Denise, at the end of the bar, he was still thinking about it.Boy toy. Boy toy? How could I be a boy toy?Amari hadn’t even taken Nick out of the box yet.

“What’s up?” Kenny said.

“Some idiots from high school called me Amari’s boy toy.”

“Well, aren’t you?” Denise asked. Nick smirked. She smiled, explaining, “You have been spending a lot of time with her lately.”

“I have not,” he protested.

“Nickmariwould say different.” Denise swiped on her phone, which was now very close to Nick’s face, finding the trending#Nickmari, and showing pics from Amari’s social media. She swiped through them quickly but with enough time for Nick to soak them in. There were shots of Amari and Nick on the boat, Amari and Nick having drinks on the pier, Amari and Nick getting a spa day…

“You hate spas,” Kenny said. “I tried to get you to go, and you always say no.”

“Yeah, it’s easier to go with her.” Nick smiled. “What can I say, Amari is someone I feel very comfortable around. She makes me laugh. I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.”

Kenny and Denise looked at each other. Did Nick not see it?

“Amari is Ivy,” Kenny said.

“No, Amari is Amari. Ivy isn’t an actress.”

“Amari is playing Ivy in the movie. Actors are like that,” Denise said. “They become the character. You’re falling for Amari because she is playing Ivy.”

Nick thought about it. Was that what was happening? He searched for the answer in his beer. It wasn’t there.

Denise consoled her visibly shaken brother. “Don’t worry, Nick. This happened all the time with you and Ivy. And maybe in the script she wrote, you had this amazing love affair. But in real life, you were kids. You and Ivy always broke up, and you always got back together. You went through the ups and downs, breaking up before prom and then being named king and queen. Agreeing that you could date other people when you were both at college, but neither of you ever did.”

“She’s with this Drew guy. The film producer. She got the life she wanted,” Nick said.

“What really happened at the Grove, Nick?” Denise asked.

Kenny opened his mouth to say something, when Nick shot him a look. Kenny stopped immediately. Denise tucked that away as odd and did not ask any more because that was when the texts arrived almost at the same time on Nick’s phone with a double ding. One text from Amari. One text from Ivy. The same message:MEET ME AT EDDIE O’BRIEN’S.“Maybe you’re in love with both of them?” Kenny said, paying for the next round of beer.

“Either way,” Denise said, “Ivy and Amari will both be gone in five days. The movie wraps on Friday. There’s a wrap party and people say goodbye.”Five days?Nick thought,Only five days to figure it out.

***

“You have five days to figure this out, Ivy.” She and Griffin were in the backseat of a car being driven to Eddie O’Brien’s.

“Movies always have a ticking clock,” Ivy said. “But usually in act three. This isn’t act three. This is something different…late in act two…the Dark Night of the Soul…the all is lost moment. I’m doomed.”

“Your life is not a movie, Ivy. You’re going to go in there and have an honest conversation with Nick,” Griffin told her.

As they approached Eddie O’Brien’s, the driver slowed down. “There’s quite a crowd in front. I see some Griffineers trying to get in. What should I do, sir?”

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