Page 57 of Tied to Hope
“I don’t care.”
Brie suspected she really did care, but she didn’t want to press her on it. “I’m not compromising on this film. This one is going to be exactly how I envision it. I’ll be open to suggestions and if I agree, I’ll make changes. But, no more cutting out scenes that I love. It isn’t fair to the audience when I know they will not only love all the scenes but may benefit from them, as well.”
Mary chuckled from her table. “Oh, Brie’s getting all badass now. One documentary under her belt and she thinks she can take on the world.”
Brie suddenly felt a fire light up inside her and answered. “You bet I fucking can!”
The three masseuses stopped to clap.
Brie felt giddy inside.
“I’m not sure how well that will go over in Hollywood, but I’m willing to go down in flames with you, Stinks.”
Brie was stunned by Mary’s statement. She knew how much it could cost her career.
Determined to find out more, Brie decided she would grill her once they had moved into the sauna where they could talk more privately.
One second a saint, the next Mary was harping on the masseuse. “Not so hard, damn it! What you are trying to do, torture me?”
Lea immediately piped up, “What did the sadist masseuse say to her client?”
“Just get it over with…” Mary complained, unwilling to guess.
“Nope, that’s not it,” Lea teased. “The sadist masseuse told her client, ‘Let me know if that’s too much pressure. I don’t want to torture you. That would be an added charge.’”
Everyone in the room burst out laughing—except Mary—which made Brie laugh.
The vibe in the room felt so good, having the three of them together again. Even though Mary was obviously hurting, Lea was still recovering from her breakup, and Brie was dealing with the agonizing uncertainty of Rytsar, they were definitely stronger together.
When they finally moved to the sauna, Brie didn’t waste any time. “So, Mary, I fulfilled my part. Now it’s your turn.”
“Yeah, spill the beans already,” Lea urged.
Mary rolled her eyes, took off her towel, and laid it down on the cedar bench.
“Move.”
Brie and Lea moved to the other bench and watched Mary lay down, taking up the entire bench for herself. She covered her eyes with one arm while letting the other lay limply off the bench. She looked as if she were planning to take a nap.
“Mary, you owe us an answer,” Lea complained.
“I know, Lea,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “I am just getting comfortable before I spill my fucking guts to you people.”
That got both their attentions, and they waited patiently for Mary to begin.
She let out a snarky laugh. “I think Greg is cheating on me. No, I mean heischeating on me.”
Brie and Lea looked at each other, neither surprised to hear it.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mary,” Brie said. “What happened?”
“I don’t even know who the cunt is.”
Mary let out a tortured sob, which was uncharacteristic of her. When Brie got up to comfort her, Mary growled. “Not another step, Brie. Sit down or I’m not saying another word.”
Sighing, Brie sat back down next to Lea. Mary was hard, but Brie understood that her childhood had been hell. How could she hold her attitude against her? At least Mary was talking…
“How did you find out?” Lea asked.
