The assistant director, Jonah, was super helpful. Iris liked him right away. She knew he’d be her main source of information until the actual shooting began.
After hair and makeup, Iris was ushered to a short rehearsal for the first shot. The schedule was a little unpredictable, not every scene was shot in the order it appeared in the script, so she ended up standing around. Iris was glad to have some time to wake up and fully caffeinate. She was struggling to get into the right time zone. Her body was still on California time.
Iris was waiting, in a holding pattern, but it wasn’t as if she was truly relaxed. This was more like active waiting, because she had to be ready to jump in when called.
She and Camille rehearsed scenes a few times, not for the acting itself, but so the director could figure out the blocking and basic camera setups. So far, Iris liked the director, Talia Grant. Talia was straightforward without being bossy. She knew what she wanted from each scene and gave clear instructions. Iris wanted to deliver a great performance, a performance that Talia would be happy with.
“Okay, that was good.” They’d run through the scene a couple of times, and Talia was pleased. “Iris and Camille, you can take a minute.”
Iris checked in with hair and makeup for a touch-up. When she came back the stand-ins walked through the blocking, while camera and lighting set up for the next shot. Camille was standing next to her. So far, Camille was great too. Iris hoped the friendly chemistry they seemed to have would continue as the long days on set continued.
After almost twenty minutes, Iris and Camille were called back to shoot. Iris’s stand-in walked her through specific marks for changes that had been made for technical reasons. Talia ran through some final performance notes.
“This is the first time you two meet.” Talia stood between Camille and Iris. “Iris, your character, Jade, has been struggling to survive and Cleo has just thrown her a lifeline, but with strings attached. You’re drawn to each other immediately, but trust is a problem for both of you.”
Iris stood next to Camille. There were some details still being sorted out between the director and the AD. This gave Iris a moment to quietly chat with Camille, a moment to get to know her a little better.
“So, have you lived in Atlanta before?” asked Iris.
“No, this is my first time. You?”
Iris shook her head. “I live in Santa Monica.”
“I live in Brooklyn.”
Talia took her chair behind the monitors. “Roll camera.”
The brief window of time for get-to-know-you small talk closed.
The camera guy responded. “Camera rolling.”
“Marker,” Talia called out.
One of the assistant camera operators held the slate in front of the camera that showed the scene number and take. The sticks of the slate clapped loudly, a visual and audio reference to sync sound and picture.
“Action!”
Iris focused on Camille. This was it, time to prove she’d earned this chance.
The process for making a script come alive was the result of a million moving parts. Lots of talented people collaborating so that she could make this character real. The on-set acting was a tiny portion of the entire day and she had to be queued up, ready to perform when called up. The acting would be intense, and in order to be at her best, Iris had to be in an extremely creative and vulnerable state in the midst of a warehouse full of people. But this was what she’d worked and dreamed for. This was her chance and she was going to bring everything she had to it. Iris took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She was ready for this. She’d been ready her whole life.
Chapter Thirty-nine
“Where are you off to?” Finn’s mother was folding towels on the kitchen table in the main house.
“I told you, I signed up and I’m driving for Uber. That’s why Ward and I fixed up the Lincoln.” Finn stood in the open door of the fridge. She was hungry, but nothing jumped out at her.
“It’s late to start work isn’t it?”
It was almost three o’clock. Late by some standards, but given the fact that Finn wasn’t really sleeping she figured she was doing pretty well to be dressed and ready for an afternoon start time. People needed rides just as often at night as during the day anyway.
“Mama, the beauty of self-employment is you get to set your own hours.”
Her mother huffed and shook her head. She wasn’t buying it.
“Why don’t you just call Iris and talk things out?”
Finn never realized how being in the closet was a blessing in some ways. Especially where her parents were concerned. Now that everything was out in the open, her mother could freely offer parental advice about how amazing Iris was and how Finn had screwed it all up.
“I have called her. She doesn’t want to talk to me.” Finn let the door close with a whoosh. Food wasn’t going to make her feel any better or dislodge the permanent knot in her stomach.
“That was three days ago wasn’t it? It wouldn’t hurt to call again. Sometimes we have to work a little harder for the things we really want in life.” Her mother smoothed the edges of the hand towel and added it to the neat stack of all white linens.
It had been four days, but who was counting?
“I have to go.” Her mother meant well. It wasn’t her fault that Finn screwed things up. Finn kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t wait up.”
The afternoon sun was blazing as Finn reached for her Ray-Bans and turned onto the highway headed toward the Atlanta metro area. Before she got very far her phone pinged. Someone in Dawsonville wanted a ride. She picked them up near Starbucks for a destination at the Mall of Georgia. Not bad. She’d just gotten paid for her drive into the city.
It turned out being an Uber driver was fairly uncomplicated. As long as you had no criminal record and you owned a decent car, a cell phone, and set up the payment function, then you were in business.
The first couple of days, most of the routes had been short hops from the suburbs to shows or bars in the city. The second day, she’d actually done two airport runs. Those were almost an hour each so they paid well. By Friday, she was feeling like a pro and riders got a real kick out of the classic Lincoln with the suicide doors. Big smiles greeted her every time she pulled up to the curb for passengers.
If she did this for very long she’d need a car with better gas mileage, but for now, the wow factor was working in her favor.
It was around six when she got a ping for someone needing a ride from Midtown to an industrial park on the west side of Atlanta. This was an area she didn’t know very well, and it seemed like an odd destination. Her passenger was standing in front of the W Hotel looking at his phone when she pulled up. He was wearing dark jeans and a snug fitting charcoal T-shirt. This guy looked too fit and too coiffed. The first thought she had was that he looked like he was from the LA area.
“Hi, are you Steve?” She wanted to make sure she had the right person.
“Yes, are you Finn?”
“That’s me.”
“This is a great car.” He slid into the back seat. “I thought the app was wrong about the year when it listed the make of the car.”
Finn smiled. “I get that a lot.” Finn eased back onto the main street. “The destination you entered is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Are you sure about the address?”
“Yeah, it’s a location for a series we’re shooting.”
Finn’s stomach flipped over and nose-dived. Was this guy working on the same show as Iris? She was afraid to ask. And at the moment she couldn’t because he was talking on his phone.
Within a block of the drop-off, the neighborhood abruptly shifted from early 1900s wood-sided shotgun houses to white trailers, catering trucks, and modular structures like the ones housing offices near construction sites. In the spaces between the trailers, she got a glimpse of the large staging area beyond—camera equipment, rigging of all kinds, and lots of people.
Finn parked the car.
“
Hey, would it be okay if I parked here for a few minutes?” she asked.
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Security may tell you to move it, though, so I would stay close by.” Steve got out and started looking at his phone almost immediately as he passed through the security entrance and entered the set.
Finn had never been on a movie set. It looked as if this dilapidated warehouse district had been converted to look like an industrial apocalyptic landscape. Finn stood at the edge of everything where a walkway had been set up between white and yellow barricades. The white trailers that edged the expansive set created a visual buffer so that you couldn’t really see the extent of the space until you were standing right next to the barrier.
And then Finn saw her.
Iris was walking toward one of the trailers. She was looking at her phone so she didn’t see Finn. Even if she had looked up, Finn was a hundred feet away, and probably the last person Iris would expect to see.
This was it. Finn had to make the first move. Fate and Uber had delivered her right to Iris’s doorstep. That had to mean something.
Finn looked at the surrounding trailers. Flowers. What she really needed were flowers. Something, a heartfelt offering, to break the ice. Even in the apocalypse there had to be flowers. She needed to make an impression, and for that, she didn’t want to show up at Iris’s trailer empty-handed. That’s assuming she could get past security in the first place.
* * *
Iris was tired but invigorated at the same time. The first few days on the set for Athena had been great, but gruelingly long. The lot where they were filming the first two episodes was staged to look like what was left of future earth. And things had not gone well for the planet, or humanity for that matter. Partially demolished and crumbling industrial buildings and carefully choreographed urban debris were all part of the staging in the large vacant lot turned future-scape.
Her final shot was finished, and she’d been released for the day. Iris went through wardrobe and makeup and then signed out. She was actually off for the next two days and was looking forward to the break in the grueling schedule.
Iris’s trailer was at the edge of the lot, along with a food truck and several other modular air-conditioned trailers to escape the Georgia heat between shots.
It was Friday and everything was wrapping up for the day. Iris hadn’t talked to Finn all week. She’d decided as soon as they were done for the day she was going to find a car and drive to Watts Mountain to see Finn. She was tired of not knowing. It was stupid that they hadn’t been able to connect. And she felt sure if they saw each other then she’d know whether there was something between them to be salvaged or not.
She still hadn’t told Finn she was in Atlanta. She’d been doing eleven- and twelve-hour days, so it wasn’t as if she’d had any down time to see Finn anyway.
She ducked into her trailer for a moment to get her bag and to freshen up. She pulled her phone out to check about getting an Uber. Maybe that would be better than trying to find a car. Funny, there was an Uber driver just outside the security entrance. She was about to enter the address on her phone but glanced up quickly to make sure she wasn’t going to walk into someone or trip over power cables. Finn was standing at the barricade watching her. She came to a full stop. As she stared, a smile spread across Finn’s handsome face.
Oh shit. She wanted to see Finn, but she’d planned to have at least an hour’s drive to figure out what she wanted to say to her when she did. She started walking again, but she wasn’t completely sure her feet were touching the concrete.
“How did you know I was here?” She’d purposefully not told Finn.
“I didn’t.” Finn had a casual stance, with her hands behind her back. “I gave someone a ride and then…I saw you.”
“That’s ironic, because I was actually on my way to see you.”
“You were?” Finn stepped closer.
“Yes, I was.”
Finn shifted, as if she’d only just remembered she was holding something behind her back. “Here, these are for you.”
Finn held a bag of Doritos in both hands as if it were a bouquet.
Iris couldn’t help laughing, which broke the ice a little.
“You shouldn’t have.” She reached for the bag of chips and her fingers brushed across Finn’s. There it was, that delicious tingle of electricity between them. It was still there. She hadn’t imagined it.
“I just wanted to make you smile.” Finn’s words were soft, like a caress.
“Want to go somewhere so we can talk?”
“I’d like that.”
“Follow me.” She took Finn’s hand and tugged her toward her trailer. Over her shoulder she spoke to the security guard. “It’s okay, she’s a friend.”
The trailer’s interior wasn’t anything elegant. It was more like a camper trailer, but without an ounce of character. Everything was gray or beige. Iris invited Finn to sit on the cushion covered bench beside a small table, mounted so that it extended from the wall.
“Can I offer you a drink?” Iris checked the mini-fridge. “It looks like all I have are Diet Coke and water.”
“Water would be great.”
Finn’s throat was so dry she was afraid she was about to lose her voice. Iris returned with two bottled waters. She set one in front of Finn. Iris was as beautiful as ever, but she seemed a little sad. Finn felt responsible.
“You cut your hair.” Iris’s hair was an inch or two above her shoulders where before it had fallen halfway down her back.
“I needed shorter hair for the part. Too many props getting tangled in longer hair. Apparently, long hair is problematic in outer space too…you know, helmets and zero gravity and all that.” Iris coyly tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced at Finn. “Do you like it?”
“I do.” Finn took a sip of water and tried to focus on slowing her heart rate. She figured this was it. She’d either say the right thing and fix things, or say the wrong thing and not be able to walk it back.
There was a moment of awkward silence.
“Why don’t we agree that things couldn’t get any worse.” Iris sounded so calm. At least she didn’t sound angry any longer.
“Agreed.”
“So, we have nothing to lose by being completely honest with each other.” Iris’s direct gaze warmed Finn’s skin.
“Iris Fleming, the woman who bypasses small talk and goes right for the heart of things.” Finn smiled. She was grateful for Iris’s direct approach. She wanted to know where she stood. She wanted Iris to put her out of her misery. “I’m in.” She toasted the air with the water bottle. “Here’s to honesty.”
“Okay, I’ll go first since this was my idea. Here’s the truth…” Iris took a breath, looked out the small window beside them, and then turned back to face Finn. Iris was sitting across from her, and the few inches of space that separated their hands on the tabletop were churning with charged particles. It was hard not to reach for Iris’s hand. “That night we argued…I was feeling like a failure.”
“I felt like a failure that night too.”
“So, we tore each other down. Mutually assured destruction.”
“I guess.” Finn sighed. “After meeting your friends, and Kent, I just felt like I could never measure up.”
“Measure up to what?”
“You…your world…”
“The perceived perfection of my life?”
“Something like that.”
“Except my life isn’t perfect.” Iris hesitated. “Especially without you in it.”
Finn smiled. She gave in and reached for Iris’s hand and loosely entwined her fingers with Iris’s.
“What do you have against perfection anyway?” asked Iris.
“Besides the fact that it’s usually too good to be true?” Finn leaned forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the table.
“What has perfection ever done to you?”
“Nothing.” She raised Iris’s fingers to her lips and kissed
them. She whispered against Iris’s fingers. “I’m sorry.” And she truly meant it. Just sitting across from Iris made her heart hurt. She sorely regretted every callous thing she’d said. She’d been a complete jerk.
Iris focused on Finn’s lips as they brushed across the back of her fingers making her heart flutter painfully fast. She wanted to climb across the table into Finn’s lap. But she knew if she did that, there would be no more talking. And she wanted everything out in the open before things went any further.
“Can we agree that maybe we’re okay with perfection?” Iris waited for Finn to meet her gaze and hold it. “Because I think you’re perfect.”
“Iris, I’m sorry for how I left.”
“Did something happen at the driving school?” It just seemed that there had to be something. Something else besides their stupid argument.
“I thought that was what I wanted. I’d been holding this stunt driving dream like it was some holy grail, some unreachable thing. But then I did reach it and it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I felt like such a loser. And you…you’re living your dream. You didn’t need me tagging along.”
“If I hadn’t gotten this part, I don’t know. I was feeling like giving up. I was definitely feeling bad about myself that night. I think we just tapped into each other’s insecurities or something and everything escalated.” She paused. “I don’t want you to think I’m some shallow actor—”
“I don’t. I should never have said that. I didn’t mean it. I was just lashing out.” Finn cradled Iris’s hand in hers. “I was angry at myself for chasing some dream I would never catch. Like chasing sunset, always just beyond the horizon, just beyond my reach.” Finn looked at Iris with the sincerest expression. “And when I got back here I realized I wasn’t chasing sunset, it was you…you were the dream. I don’t want to chase anything any longer, except you.”
Chasing Sunset Page 25