The Actor's Secret

by Susan Stevens

  "What's the matter?"

  "If I eat another one of those, I'm going to hurl, I swear to God."

  She bit her lip, flipping through her mental rolodex of his symptoms and their solutions. "Ok...well, I mean, how many takes have you done? Is he asking something completely bizarre of you?"

  "Not at all. We're on take three. I just can't...keep anything down today."

  "Oh, baby," she bit her lip, reaching her arms out. Looking both ways to make sure they were safe, Garrett folded into them.

  "So, how are we going to get around this one, oh super genius?"

  "Can you take gravol?" she asked, remembering her childhood. He raised an eyebrow.

  "Hmm?"

  "Gravol? It's a little pink pill, not to be mistaken for a little blue pill. It actually physically stops you from puking. Makes you feel like crap and kind of knocks you out..."

  "But it will fix the problem," he finished the sentence for her and ran a hand over his face, sighing. She waited in silence for him to speak. Finally, he met her eyes, and gave her a tight smile. "Do what you need to do, Angel. You'll be my drug dealer."

  "Fantastic," she replied, pulling back and slipping her notepad back into her pocket. "They are starting to know my name at the pharmacy."

  "What do you tell them?"

  "That I have a hypochondriac mother who's easier to appease than fight with," she shrugged. "And they don't bat an eyelash."

  "It's Toronto," he replied. "You have to get a lot weirder than that. The lunch bell is going to ring in five minutes, so you got time to save my life once again. I owe you big time."

  "Garrett," she caught his arm as he headed off towards his trailer. "You don't owe me anything, really. You're reward enough."

  "You won't say that when you see what I have planned for you on Saturday," he winked at her.

  "Oh no, there's going to be an elephant in my apartment with a bow on when I get home, isn't there?"

  His eyes widened mischievously.

  "Why, would you like one?"

  "Garrett, no!" she cried, half in horror. Garrett was extravagant and unpredictable, and while she was pretty sure he wouldn't do that, she could never be certain. He just grinned and headed off, leaving her standing there, half worried and half delighted.

  ***

  On Saturday, having spent Friday night apart, they agreed to rendezvous at her apartment at 10am. She had forgotten all about the conversation, the week being hectic enough without his antics. So when she answered her door at 10am, she was surprised and delighted to find a giant bouquet of balloons standing there.

  "Hey, what's up?" came Garrett's voice from behind, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She adopted a straight face, holding the door open.

  "C'mon in," she replied, and he and the giant balloon bouquet stepped in, awkwardly. Once he had discarded his shoes and coat, he plopped himself on the couch, letting the balloons float to the top of her ceiling. Standing, the strings hung in her face, and so she ducked under them, sitting beside him.

  "What's all this for?"

  "Well..." his grin was mischievous and his eyes were sparkling. He was clearly having a good day today, with colour in his cheeks and spring in his step. He reached up, pulling down a red balloon and shook it. It rattled, something inside was bouncing around. "I was thinking about all the awesome things you do for me. It always kind of starts like a balloon, really small, and then the situation gets bigger and bigger until it explodes. But in the midst of that chaos, that explosion, there you are, with something awesome, to fix it." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a box of safety pins. Opening the lid, he extracted one and unpinned it. Watching, fascinated by what he could possibly come up with next, Sephora covered her ears. Holding the balloon away from her face, he popped it.

  Red latex exploded everywhere, and just as he had hoped, a gift fell into her lap. She picked it up, a smile wide on her face. It was a bag of mini-eggs, chocolate filled candy coated pure sugar, which happened to be her favourite candy and could only be found around Easter.

  "How did you...?" she asked, confused. She was pretty sure that she had never told him that she loved them, and on top of that, it was nowhere near Easter. He winked.

  "I have my sources. Do the rest."

  She looked up, and found she could barely see her ceiling. There must have been fifty balloons, all the colours of the rainbow up there, including one that was magnificent, a pure gold metallic one that shined in the morning sun. She went for it, but Garrett batted her hand away.

  "Do that one last."

  "All of them?" she asked, amazed. "You got me something in all of them? Garrett, this is..."

  "Nowhere near as much as you deserve," he replied, leaning against the back of her couch. "Go ahead."

  With a grin, she pulled down a blue balloon and took the pin from him. Bracing herself, she poked it in and the balloon exploded.

  Seasons tickets to Toronto's Mirvish Theatre fell into her lap.

  "They are box seats, and the box is in your name. You can take whoever you want, whenever you want, away from prying eyes."

  "Well, you're going to be seeing a lot of plays," she replied, kissing him gently. They paused, the kiss almost in slow motion, passionate and long. But Garrett, like a child, was too excited to see the rest of the gifts.

  "Keep going!"

  "Ok, ok!" She cried, reaching for a green balloon this time.

  Not all the gifts were extravagant, but every single one of them was perfect for her. She was always glued to her phone and so he had gotten her a waterproof case, promising that it was good to use even in the shower. Another contained a bike lock because hers had rusted in the rain. A third had diamond earrings, which made her gasp and tell him he was being too generous. He only grinned and encouraged her to keep going.

  Finally, they reached the end. Her floor was littered with balloon skeletons and string, that she knew would take an hour to clean up. But she didn't care. She was far happier than she had been in a long time.

  Drawing the gold balloon to her level, he placed it in her hands.

  "This one, you don't have to pop," he said, carefully, looking into her eyes. "You can just untie it and let the air out. And then, we can refill it some other day."

  "Oh," she said, curious as to why they'd want to do that. Still, she reached for the string, untying the bottom. Helium rushed out and she was tempted to put it to her mouth, a high school party trick. But something in Garrett's eyes told her this was a serious moment.

  A tiny wooden box fell out of the bottom, and right into her lap. She picked it up, her heart pounding, and opened it.

  Inside, was a silver ring, shining in the light. It was well polished, and rounded, with a heart and crown sitting where a jewel would normally be placed. Garrett took it from her, taking it out of the box and reaching for her right hand. She looked at him, speechless and dry mouth, and tried to pull away, her instinct being to give him her left. He shook his head.

  "This is a Claddagh ring, a traditional ring in Ireland. It isn't diamonds or precious stones or anything complicated like that. It's meant to be simple because what it represents it's simple. It's traditionally given and worn to represent love, loyalty and friendship. I haven't known you but four months, Sephora, and I feel like you've changed my whole life around. I know that it's a little too soon for us to be talking about anything serious, and I know you wanted to take things slow, so this is why I'm giving you this. This isn't an engagement ring or at least...it doesn't have to be anything that complicated. It's just to say to you that no matter what happens to us, I will always love you, respect you and be here for you."

  She was speechless, holding her hand up to look at the ring in the light. In its simplicity, it was absolutely beautiful and looked so right on her hand, with its unpolished square cut nails.

  "Is that...ok?" he asked. "I thought you'd want to keep the balloon too, because it's shiny and something you can play with."

  She burst out
laughing, giving him a little kick.

  "It's perfect,"

  "So are you," he replied, leaning in to kiss her. She kissed him back, leaning back on the couch as he pushed her down, their kiss intensifying. As far as she was concerned, never was way too soon for them to ever break apart. This was heaven.

  Wearing the Claddagh ring on her hand, and glancing at it through the day made her heart skip a beat every time she looked at it. He was hers, and she was his, and that's all there was too it. Sometimes, she was tired, and he was hurting, and it was all they could do not to kill each other. But no matter what, when the end of the day came, they still couldn't get enough of each other.

  They were about to celebrate their 1 year anniversary, having made it through a summer hiatus and three months into the new season, when their next greatest challenge arose. Sephora was leading a high school tour group through the set, trying to keep them in line and get them not to touch anything, when Joe tapped her on the shoulder.

  "Hey, when you have a moment, come to the production office."

  "Oh no, tell me Garrett didn't throw a fit again," she gave him a smile. Joe shook his head.

  "He's fine. For now. Just some people who you should meet."

  "I'll be there in ten," she replied, and went back to walking the class through the set. It was lunch time, which was the only time they allowed tour groups, so most of the sets were empty. Very rarely, for special groups, they were allowed to watch a scene or two filmed, but never anything with high profile actors like Garrett. The set, at lunch, with most of the crew cramming themselves into the craft truck for first dibs, felt oddly empty.

  When she was done, Sephora grabbed a sandwich from the catering table and wandered over to the production office. After a year on set, she had relaxed a lot, and while she didn't always follow orders to the letter, she still got almost everything done. Everyone was on a first name basis, jokes were cracked all around, and there was hardly a line that was never crossed. She was about to spout something sarcastic upon entering when she checked herself. Sitting in the production office with Richmond were two unfamiliar faces. A woman, with bob hair and a serious expression, her clothes boring and yet clearly expensive, and a man, with greying hair and dull eyes that made Sephora want to shake him awake.

  "Ah, Sephora, just in time," Richmond said, gesturing for a chair. She sat, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Sephora, this is Marta and Gregory, and they are part of the recruitment team for Spielberg."

  "Oh my God, hello!" She said, immediately setting her sandwich on the desk and reaching to shake hands. Marta smiled at her.

  "Sephora, I understand you've been quite a little success on this show since it began."

  "Oh, I...guess..." she glanced at Richmond, confused. He just gave her an encouraging wave.

  "We hear that you are instrumental in keeping Garrett in line. That one has quite a reputation for being temperamental."

  That brought a smile to her face.

  "He does, but you just have to know how to handle him."

  "And you do?"

  "I learned," she looked from Marta to Gregory. "What's this all about, anyways?"

  "We're putting together a crew team for Spielberg's new movie, Heart of Light, and it's got quite a star-studded cast, including those who have a reputation similar to Garrett's."

  "So you want some advice?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow and unable to help herself. "Whack them over the head twice and always have a shot of vodka ready. Works like a charm."

  Gregory offered a ghost of a smile.

  "How old are you, Sephora."

  "I'm 20-30," she replied, a common trick used by actors wanting to hide their age. They all gave a playing age, and in this case, it was no different. She didn't see why her young age, or her age at all, for that matter, would be a factor in whatever was happening. To her surprise, Marta laughed.

  "Well, it's highly unorthodox, but your reputation proceeds you. Before you, this set was famous for running overtime. Now, I've heard you've got them running 20 minutes early all the time."

  "I wouldn't say that," Sephora blushed. "Maybe 10, on a good day."

  "We'd love if you could come out and be the lead P.A., head of the team, in Victoria with us this winter. Heart of Light shoots for 3 months, from October to the end of December. Our last production day is Christmas Eve, and we are dying to make it a summer blockbuster. So we're looking for absolutely the best team to deal with our A-List cast and keep everything running smoothly."

  "Are you serious?" her jaw fell open in wonder. "Me?"

  "And a team of wonderful individuals like you."

  "I...uh...oh my God," she buried her head in her hands, her mind swirling with possibilities. She turned to Richmond. "What about my job here?"

  He grinned.

  "Luckily, darling, here you are not head of production, so we can replace you while you are gone. And if you choose to come back and work again at such a lowly position, the job is always open for you."

  "Of course I'll come back!" she cried, still stunned. But then something hit her. "What about Garrett?"

  Richmond shrugged.

  "Maybe we'll go back to running three days behind schedule. Hopefully, though, you've installed some sense into him, or can be on call if we run into problems," he winked at her. Sephora took a deep breath, turning back to Marta and Gregory.

  "Can I think about it? I mean...oh my God, I'll probably say yes, but can I just think? I'll call you? Tomorrow?" Everything sounded uncertain coming out of her mouth. Marta nodded, and handed over her card.

  "Let me guess. There's a boy involved? A college sweet heart perhaps?" she glanced at Sephora's ring, clearly judging it by its monetary value and not it's emotional significance.

  "Yes, there's a boy involved," Sephora admitted. "But it won't be a problem."

  "You have twenty four hours to think. You can call us tomorrow and we can discuss work terms."

  "Ok. Thank you!" Sephora stood up, almost vibrating with excitement, and shook both their hands. They then shook hands with Richmond, bidding him farewell and thanking him. Once they were out of the office, Richmond turned to her, grinning.

  "Must be one special boy, if you need to think about an offer like that."

  "I uh...yes," she said, reality hitting her. Richmond picked up on her mood, and sat again, inviting her to do the same.

  "Let me guess. Irish bloke, big trouble maker on set, but turns to putty in your hands."

  "How'd you know?" she asked, horrified that their secret was out. Richmond shrugged.

  "I spend all day directing romances, you think I don't know body language when I see it? Don't worry, you're secret is safe with me."

  "You won't get anyone else to control him, not like I do," she said, after a moment. Richmond nodded.

  "That's for sure. But hopefully, maybe we can hold up your picture or something. No offense, but the guy is a nightmare."

  "He doesn't mean to be!" She immediately jumped to his defense. "He just..."

  "He's just an actor," Richmond shook his head. "Go on, have your chat with him. He's done for the day anyways, I don't want to start a scene I won't finish by wrap time, and every scene with him takes hours."

  "Yeah?" she perked up, at the thought of spending an afternoon off together. Richmond shooed her out, and she practically flew to Garrett's trailer, entering without even making a polite noise.

  She found him curled up on his couch, snoring away, a water glass beside him.

  She stopped moving, attempting to be quiet. Garrett didn't nap unless he was hurting, and he certainly didn't take sips of water unless he felt ill. This was going to be another rocky night, if he felt this bad at noon, and she knew it.

  The bad days did not outweigh the good. There were plenty of days where he felt just fine, and could spend endless amounts of energy bouncing around set and then taking her somewhere special. But lately, it seemed that those days were the prequel to bad days, and he was having more and more
of them. With no one to help him hide it, no one to make excuses and find solutions, she wondered how he would fare.

  He got along without you before the logical part of her mind told her. But then another piece of logic chimed in with But he wasn't as bad before. He's worse now. This is the best thing you ever had, despite it all, don't mess it up.

  With a sigh, she sat down on the couch beside him.

  The small movement awoke him, and he cracked an eye, watching her.

  "Hey."

  "Hey," she said, leaning back. "I just talked to Richmond, you have the afternoon off, so we can go."

  "We can go?" he asked, sitting up and yawning. She nodded.

  "Yeah, he gave me the time off too."

  This confused him.

  "Why?"

  "Uh, because we need to talk," she replied, and his face darkened.

  "Uh oh. Is this bad?"

  "Uh...not...necessarily," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and drawing her legs up. "In fact, I'd say you changed my life."

  "What's with the sudden sappiness?"

  "You and your badass reputation made me seem like the best P.A. in the whole world, and everyone knows it. Including Spielberg. His recruitment team just showed up and asked me to be head of P.As for Heart of Light. A-list cast that needs to finish on time."

  "Babe, that's freaking amazing!" he reached for her, but she pulled away.

  "Wait, you didn't hear the end of it. It shoots for 3 months, in Victoria, BC. So that's across the country from here. It's final day is Christmas Eve, so there's pressure to keep it on time."

  "Still don't see a reason why you aren't jumping for joy right now," he replied, reaching for his water glass.

  "It'd be away from here, from you, for three months, possibly longer. And there will be no one to help you. On top of that...I don't know how to manage some diva A-list cast. You aren't a diva, I got lucky with you."