“I don’t know. I don’t have any work lined up down there at the moment.”
“Oh.” I hated the sadness in her voice. “Okay.”
“But I’ll make sure I come down for a weekend or something when I get a break.”
There was a long pause and I knew she was trying to formulate her thoughts. “Just promise me that one day you’re not going to leave and never come back?”
“Ella, you’re my best friend. I promise I’d never just disappear on you.” Even as I said the words I knew they weren’t one hundred percent truthful. I might disappear on her. I’d done it before. But things were a little different now and even though the tethers that tied me down were thick and strong, they weren’t unbreakable.
She took my promise to heart and I hoped I’d never have to break my word. We spent the next half hour talking about Porter and how much she loved spending time with him, but she still couldn’t remember him. I tried to assure her that even if she never regained that memory, she should give him the benefit of the doubt and just take things slow. Get to know him all over again.
“Well, I’m almost home so I’m going to let you go,” I said as I exited the freeway in Seattle.
“All right, and Kalli, don’t be a stranger, okay? I really do miss you.”
“I miss you too, Ella. I’ll let you know when I can make it down again.”
“Bye, Kalli.”
“Bye, Ella.” I disconnected and then concentrated on getting home.
Home, for me, was a weird place where I knew I should feel comfortable, but my home was almost like a second identity. I turned into a different person at home; had different goals and responsibilities. And as long as I was there, I transformed into my other self.
I pulled up to the house, parking next to the sedan in the driveway, then grabbed my bags and headed toward the front door. I’d made it halfway up the path when the door swung open and I saw him barreling toward me.
“Kalli! You’re home!” Before I could stop him, not that I would, Marcus had me in a tight and loving embrace.
“Hey, buddy. It’s good to see you.” Marcus was huge at six feet tall, two hundred and ten pounds, and still growing. He was just seventeen and I knew he’d be growing for a few years yet. It still amazed me every time I laid eyes on him. He was mammoth, much like his father had been.
“I tried to tell him to wait inside, but you know how excited he gets when you come home.”
I heard Nancy’s voice coming from the house and turned my head to smile at her. “It’s fine.”
Marcus pulled away from me and began his normal, incessant chatter. “Nancy and I went to the park today and she let me ride my bike. Don’t worry,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I wore my helmet. But then there were ducks and one big goose and it totally chased me on my bike. But I wasn’t scared, I just pedaled faster.”
“Hey, Marky, I’d love to hear about your day, but let’s go inside. Wanna help me carry my bags? You take this one and I’ll grab the other from my trunk.”
“Sure thing, sis!” he shouted, taking the bag from me and running back toward the house. Nancy followed me back to my car, offering to help.
“He’s been amped up all day waiting for you,” she said, smiling at me.
“How’s he been otherwise?”
“Good, actually. No big issues have come up lately.”
I smiled back at her. That was good news. I spoke to Nancy and Marcus nightly when I was away for work, but I was always nervous that I would be missing something important, or something would go wrong and I wouldn’t be able to get to him quickly enough. Besides Nancy, who was a godsend, I was all Marcus had in the world. The guilt of working away from him weighed on me heavily, but my job paid really well and it was the only way I could afford the care he needed and deserved.
“Great. I’m glad to hear it.”
Nancy helped me lug my bags to the house and once inside I listened to Marcus relive the last six weeks. As I unpacked my bags, he told me about every trip to the park, every movie Nancy had taken him to see, every exciting thing that had happened at school: he was a chatterbox. And I eagerly ate up his words. I wanted to know about his days, how he felt, what he’d done in my absence. When everything was in its place, put away, and organized, we went into the living room to find Nancy reading on her Kindle.
“Nance, you want to take the night off? I think I’ve got things handled around here, and you deserve a little time to yourself.”
“Well,” Nancy said with a smile. “How could I refuse an offer like that? There is a movie I’ve been wanting to see.”
“Oh, yeah?” Marcus said, his voice playful. “Why don’t you invite Mr. Bob to see the movie with you?”
Mr. Bob was Nancy’s longtime man-friend. They were both in their fifties and were the cutest couple ever. But they were both older and set in their ways, feeling no need to be anything more than, well, friends.
“You know what, Marky? I think I will invite Mr. Bob.”
“Mr. Bob and Nancy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”
“Marcus, stop teasing Nancy. I’d be careful if I were you, Mr. Bob might not like you teasing her and he might be forced to hide all your Spiderman toys again.” Marcus’ face dropped and I could tell the idea of his Spiderman collection disappearing was enough of a threat to stop his assault on poor Nancy. “Now, tell Nancy to have a good time with Mr. Bob.”
“Have a good time, Nancy. And tell Mr. Bob to come over and play Monopoly with me soon.”
She laughed and as she walked past him she gave his shoulder a tender pat. “I’ll give him the message,” she said sweetly. “Now, you be good for your sister, and make sure you show her the new song you learned to play on your keyboard.” Nancy winked at me as she left the room to get ready for Mr. Bob.
Marcus and I spent the evening watching Nickelodeon, eating pizza, and listening to him bang out “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on his little battery-operated keyboard.
It wasn’t glamorous, but it was the best night I’d had in a long time. There was nowhere else I would have rather been than with my baby brother.
Chapter Three
Isn’t He Perfect?
I was sitting at the kitchen table playing Monopoly with Marcus, Mr. Bob, and Nancy when my phone rang in the other room. I jumped up from the table. Knowing Marcus wouldn’t halt his game for me, I didn’t even bother asking him to wait, but I did jog through the house in an effort to get to my phone quickly. I saw the number on the screen and answered as I walked back to the game.
“Hey, Lucy. What’s up?”
“Hi, Kalli. I just got a call from the assistant producer over at Satin Look studios in Portland. They have a high profile shoot this weekend, but just lost their wardrobe manager. What are the chances that you’re free for the next few days to take this job? It’s a pretty big deal.”
“What are they shooting?”
“It’s a music video for Lexi Black.”
“Lexi Black?” Lexi Black was, arguably, the biggest pop sensation since Taylor Swift or Katy Perry. Her career was on fire, even if her personal, although not so private, life was adding fuel to that fire. She was rumored to have slept with half of the Hollywood music scene, and even left broken hearts all over America when she was on her latest tour. “Don’t you think Lexi Black would have access to someone a little more high profile than me?”
“Well,” Lucy said with a little too much enthusiasm. I could hear the gossip train coming at me, full speed ahead. “Apparently, when her costume designer fell through the assistant producer at Satin Look recommended you. Lexi looked into some of your work and thought you’d be perfect for the concept of her new video. Bingo, bango, I get a phone call that you’re wanted to meet with the director tomorrow at nine a.m. So,” Lucy stopped to inhale and let her brain catch up with her mouth, “feel like making a music video?” The smile in Lucy’s voice was almost jumping through the phone. I could picture her red lips gliding over her pearl-w
hite teeth. Lucy had never steered me wrong before.
“Well, I guess it’s pretty hard to say no when you’ve been scouted.”
“That’s my girl. You’ve worked at Satin Look before, right? You know where to go, how to get there?”
“Yeah, I should be fine. I’ll be there at nine tomorrow, bright and early.”
“This is big-time, Kalli.”
“I’m getting that impression.”
“Her last video got forty million hits on YouTube in one week. Forty. Million.”
I gulped down a nervous swallow, trying not to let my nerves get the best of me.
“You’ll do great,” Lucy assured me, even though I’d lost the ability to talk. “Okay, I’ll let you go so you can get your shut-eye. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Knock ’em dead, Kalli!”
She hung up before I had a chance to even thank her for the opportunity, and I ended up just staring at my phone in shock. I was going to design the costumes for Lexi Black’s new music video. This was huge. Bigger than huge. This was enormous. This was soon. I hadn’t planned on being away from Marcus so quickly; I’d just gotten home from a job last week.
I shook off my shock, which was slowly turning into excitement, and walked back to the game of Monopoly I’d abandoned.
“Kalli!” Marcus shouted, bouncing up and down in his seat. “Mr. Bob landed on Boardwalk and had to give me all the money he had left! I bankrupted him!”
“That’s great, bud,” I stammered.
“What’s wrong, Kalli?” Nancy asked, concern evident in her voice.
I shook my head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just got a call from Lucy. I’ve been hired to work on the new Lexi Black video.”
“Oh my,” Nancy said, her eyebrows raising and lips turning up at the corners. “That seems like it would be a big deal.”
“Yeah.” I laughed as I sat down in my chair, looking down at the measly amount of money I’d acquired with a few properties, but all the railroads. That was my thing—the railroads. I didn’t like having all my money in one spot on the board, didn’t go for the properties. I liked to be spread out, so I bought the railroads. It might not have paid off big, like Boardwalk and Park Place, but I always had at least one safe place on each side of the board. I wasn’t afraid to move around. I picked up the dice and rolled, then moved my thimble past all of Marcus’ expensive properties and landed on Go. “I have to leave really early in the morning though.” My eyes shot to Nancy, silently explaining to her that I’d be gone for at least a few days, apologizing for leaving—again—when I’d only been home for a few days. She reached over and gave my hand a warm and affectionate pat.
“Then perhaps we should wrap this game up. We can finish it tomorrow after your sister leaves for work.” Nancy was looking at Marcus as she said the words. “Go get ready for bed and then you can pick a movie to watch in your pajamas.”
Marcus grumbled a little, but thankfully made it to his bedroom without much fuss; a small victory.
“I’m sorry, Nancy. I didn’t expect to be gone again so soon.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey. This is your job, and this is a big opportunity. Don’t worry about us.”
“Yeah,” Mr. Bob piped in. “I’ll make sure everything’s taken care of around here.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” I looked back at Nancy. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“And we’ll be waiting, just like we always are.” Her smile was sweet, motherly. There were a few times I’d wondered why Nancy never had kids. She took care of Marcus like he was her own, and she definitely cared for me, but I couldn’t help but think of how great a mother she would have been to her own kids. I stood up and went to stand behind her chair. I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, putting my cheek right up against hers.
“You’re the best,” I whispered. What I really wanted to tell her was that I loved her, but I never said those words to anyone. Any time I’d ever said those words to someone, they were taken from me. I couldn’t even bring myself to say them to Marcus, even though I loved him more than anything in the world. But I justified it in my mind by telling myself that he knew I loved him, that he could feel it from me and knew it, even if I couldn’t say it.
She patted my arms again, gently rubbing her hand up and down my forearm. “You better go to bed early, Kalli. You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”
The next morning I pulled into the parking lot at Satin Look studios with five minutes to spare. I walked into the lobby, shoulders pushed back, head held high, trying to appear confident and professional, all while I was trembling on the inside. This was, by far, the most important job I’d ever been offered; it needed to go amazingly well.
“Good morning. Can I help you?” The friendly greeting came from a tiny brunette behind a desk and her smile was as welcoming as her voice.
“Yes, hi. My name is Kalli Rivers, and I’m here to meet with someone about the Lexi Black shoot.”
“Oh, yes. Hi! We’ve been expecting you. George is really looking forward to your arrival.”
“George?”
“George Lebowitz.”
I choked on the breath I drew in, coughing, sputtering.
“George Lebowitz?”
The receptionist smiled as if she were used to people freaking out over his name. He was one of the most famous directors in Hollywood. I couldn’t fathom why he’d be in Portland doing a music video, but it wasn’t up to me to question his motives. Whatever level of nerves I’d been feeling before I walked in the studio, it had been instantly amplified and dread was now coursing through my veins. I could not be working for George Lebowitz.
The woman wasted no time having me sign the standard contract and I looked over all the terms, finding them very generous. Then she slid a credit card across the counter toward me.
“Here is your card for all purchases. Please just be sure to get receipts for all transactions, and return the card when you’re done purchasing for the shoot.”
I smiled at her and put the card in my wallet.
“Just follow me this way and we’ll find him around here somewhere, I’m sure.” The receptionist took me back through hallways lined with prints from famous movies and videos, presumably stills from videos shot in this studio. My eyes wandered over the stills and I couldn’t help but feel like it was a lot of pressure to live up to. I was beginning to think I’d gotten myself in over my head.
“Mr. Lebowitz?” the receptionist called out as we walked into a huge warehouse. My eyes grew wide as they fell upon George Lebowitz standing in what might have been one of the biggest and nicest sound stages I’d ever seen. The equipment was state of the art, the lighting looked more complex than any I’d ever seen, and the sets that I could see were beautiful.
Yep. I was definitely in over my head.
“Mr. Lebowitz, this is Kalli Rivers, the costume designer you’ve been waiting for.”
My hackles immediately rose and I broke in to defend myself.
“I’m so sorry if you’ve been waiting long. I was told to be here at nine, I apologize if that was incorrect—”
“No, you’re fine,” he said, waving away my panic. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” He put his hand out to me, a friendly smile on his face, and I shook it, hoping I hadn’t already ruined my only chance at a good first impression.
“Hi,” I replied, trying to appear less shaken than I was.
He took his hand from mine and turned abruptly, walking away. It took me a second before I realized I was supposed to follow, so I took a few big steps to catch up.
“Video shoot is tomorrow, Lexi is in the back dressing room now waiting for a fitting, the male talent will be here soon—we’re still ironing out all those details.” He was walking very fast, and I had a hard time keeping up. Usually I would have a notebook out, taking everything he said down, but he’d caught me off guard and I only had my memory to rely on. I followed him as he rattled off information that I stored a
way in the “Not Terribly Important” file in my mind as he led me onto an even bigger sound stage.
This one was built with very large steel beams with giant gears hanging from the rafters above. The floor had moving parts and they must have been testing the lights because they were changing from orange to red to yellow. It was all very visually stimulating, definitely not a set that blended into the background. It was almost as if the director wanted the set to be its own character in the video.
“This is incredible,” I stammered, my eyes wide, head turning in every direction trying to take everything in.
“Yes, well, it’s been quite the production. We’re going for steampunk chic meets freak show. So, you’ll need to outfit not only Lexi and our lead male, but also a few performers. One of them is a fire breather, so make sure her costume is flame retardant.”
“Uh, noted.” There was a lot of information.
“All the performers will be here in one hour for a rehearsal, so you can do your work then, but for now you should probably go see Lexi in her trailer. She’s been anxious to meet you.”
“Oh.” That was surprising. Lexi Black was kind of a big deal. I wasn’t a total newbie or anything, and I’d worked on a few things that were pretty impressive, but nothing on this level with this caliber of people. “I’ll go see her now then.”
George gave me some directions and I tried to remember them as I wound my way through the halls of the studio, trying to find the back doors he’d instructed me to exit from. I found them and my eyes fell upon the trailer I assumed was Lexi’s. I knocked on the door lightly, hoping I wasn’t interrupting anything.
The door opened and I tried not to gasp as Lexi Black stood before me.
I didn’t get star-struck often, I wasn’t even a big Lexi Black fan, but I couldn’t deny the way my lips turned up and my heartbeat raced when she opened the door and looked like every single picture I’d ever seen of her. She was really standing in front of me. A bona fide superstar.
“Hi, I’m Kalli,” I said, reaching out to her.
Never Standing Still Page 2
