by Frances, Jo
Someone, probably Zim, faked a little-girl scream with an added, "Ahh, Sean Foley!" to laughs.
Chris nodded understandingly and continued. "Anyway, Jamie is a ghost who haunts the main character, and it's not until the end that we find out why." With that, Chris signaled Luke to start the video.
The opening sequence was in silence. The Irish mist rolled through the frame, and Jamie realized why Gantt wanted them there to capture it---the swirling thick mist could not be recreated by any fog machine. As the song began, she appeared on the scene in a vintage, floaty wedding dress, only to fade away as the band began playing. Shots of her were dispersed throughout with the band members, who were dressed as quasi-Edwardian dandies with elaborate tapestry jackets worn with jeans. Then scenes of Jamie and Sean making love on a big feather bed---their wedding night. Jamie remembered how staged the scenes were, and the flesh colored tube top she had to wear, which Sean had laughingly declared an erection killer. However, on the screen in front of them, everything came together and the effect was voyeuristic; as if they were being taped by a hidden camera. At one point Chase looked away when there was a close up of her beneath Sean. Thankfully, it was a blurred shot and the next scene was Sean chasing her, and Jamie leading him out of the window and onto his death. The final scene explained it all, as Sean is shown pushing the non-ghost Jamie character out of the same window, then appearing at another woman's doorstep.
There was a breathless pause as the video ended and the spell was slowly broken. The room burst into applause, and then the trick shot video came on to more enthusiastic whoops from the men. The video was hilarious and amazing, as Chase and his friends made basketball shots from the second tier of their arena, ricocheting off buildings, and various other, surprisingly creative obstacles. It was a perfect way to end the evening.
As she walked Chris to the door, he asked Jamie what she thought of her performance.
She demurred, saying truthfully, "I don't know, but the video was amazing. Everyone was spooked, but in a good way. You did a great job."
Chris took Jamie by the shoulders. "You did a great job. The camera loves you." He pretended to look around for eavesdroppers. "You stole the scene from Sean Foley, and that's hard to do because he has quite a presence himself." Jamie hugged him, feeling flattered.
The best part of the evening was getting into bed with Chase. She opened her bedroom window to hear the waves. It had been a competition to see who had the better ocean view. Chase's house won because it was set a little higher, but Jamie and Luke's house won in terms of how clearly one could hear the ocean.
Chase came up behind her as she stood looking out, smelling the salty air. He wrapped his arms around her waist, her back pressed tight against his chest.
"Were you jealous seeing that video?" she asked softly.
He leaned down and kissed her neck softly. "A little bit." He kissed the other side. "OK, if Sean had been here I would have probably gotten into a fight with him."
Jamie turned to him. "It looked pretty realistic, but trust me, it wasn't." She touched his face. "Now, I know the difference."
19