Hollywood Is Like High School with Money

by Zoey Dean

  my side of the story. But I told myself it was all part of the process of growing up and making

  your way. Along the path of your life, some people just slip away.

  Of course, I'd only been on one date with the guy, so I shouldn't be so moony, but I let myself

  indulge in my nostalgia. After all, what was the point in pretending to be different than you

  were or pretending to feel something other than what you really felt?

  Anyway, most of the time, I felt great. The past few months of putting together the movie had

  taken all of my time, and it was just as crazy and wonderful and frustrating and satisfying as I'd

  hoped it would be. Throughout it all, I'd followed only one guideline: fake nothing. So far it

  had served me well. It turned out that asking questions wasn't so terrible after all.

  At my feet, Jerry began to whine and tug at his leash, reminding me that I hadn't taken him for

  a walk since before breakfast. "All right, little muffin face," I whispered. Muffin face?

  Seriously, I was embarrassing myself.

  "I'll be right back," I told Dana, grabbing the end of Jerry's leash. "I'm going to take the

  monster for a quick stroll."

  Before Dana could answer, one of the grips, a hulking guy with strawberry blond hair and an

  earnest, dopey look about him, approached. "Are you Taylor Henning?" he asked. "There's

  someone here to see you." He hooked his thumb over his shoulder toward the parking area.

  "Who?"

  He shrugged. "Some guy."

  I pulled my windblown hair back with an elastic from around my wrist and took out some

  Chapstick from my pocket. It was probably the production exec, coming to trade shifts with

  me. I made my way past a group of trailers, then the crafts service table, from which I swiped a

  chocolate chip cookie. The wardrobe girl, Heather, waved at me and I waved back.

  I turned the corner around the audio trailer, and then I pulled Jerry to a stop on his leash. In

  front of me stood Luke Hansen, in jeans and a Carhartt jacket and work boots, looking more

  like a cute teamster than a professional tennis instructor. The cookie almost fell out of my open

  mouth.

  "Oh my God," I said, swallowing.

  "Hi." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned at me shyly.

  "What are you doing here?" I blurted out. At my feet, Jerry barked once and then sat down on

  his haunches, whimpering.

  Luke looked down at Jerry and then back up at me quizzically. "Cute dog," he said and then

  smiled again. "I have a wedding up here tomorrow, in San Rafael. One of Tom and Julia's

  friends. And when I heard they were shooting your movie around here, I thought, you know,

  there might be a chance you'd be here." He glanced at Jerry again. "Is he yours?"

  "Yep," I said. "My roommate's dog obsession rubbed off on me. Well, not the obsession part,

  really. It's not like I have a coffee mug that says 'I heart my mutt' or something, but I do like

  dogs now, and so I..." I let the rest of my sentence trail off. I didn't want to start babbling just

  because Luke was suddenly here and apparently not hating me anymore.

  Luke laughed. "What's his name?"

  "Jerry. As in Jerry Maguire, " I said. It was kind of an embarrassing name, really, but it was

  better than Magnolia's idea, which had been to name him John, after John Cusack.

  Luke bent down and petted him, and Jerry rolled on his back, tongue lolling out in ecstasy. "So

  Magnolia finally got to you?"

  "Huh?"

  Luke stood up. "I ended up going to that salon you mentioned. Joylie. And I found out you

  actually did work there."

  I smiled uncomfortably. "For a little while."

  "Anyway, I met your old roommate, and she kind of set me straight on a few things. She's the

  one who told me you'd be up here."

  I looked up at him hopefully. Had Magnolia accomplished what my letter had not? Had she

  been able to convince Luke that I wasn't the world's most devious person? Mags had excellent

  communication skills with creatures of the canine persuasion, that was true, but I wasn't sure

  how that applied to tall, handsome tennis instructors.

  "Did you have anything done there?" I teased, because joking made me feel like I was still in

  control of my fluttering heart, when in fact I most certainly was not.

  Luke laughed. "I do my own personal grooming, thank you," he said. "So how's the movie

  going?"

  I glanced back at the set. Michael Deming was directing the motion of a dolly for a long

  tracking shot. "It's going really well," I said honestly. "I still can't believe it's happening, after...

  after everything." I didn't want to remind him of my failures, but it seemed that there was no

  way around it. Anyway, it was important to clear the air. I paused. "Did you get my letter?"

  Luke looked away. "I did," he said. "But I didn't read it. I threw it away. I'm sorry."

  I nodded. That made sense to me. "I understand," I said. I picked up Jerry, who licked my face.

  "I was kind of a shit."

  A breeze swirled up, and petals from a nearby apple tree fluttered past us like snowflakes.

  Luke's eyes were the color of the sky.

  "You were a shit," he said. "But I get it. I mean, I know you're not that person. You just got a

  little confused."

  Yes, I thought, I'd been confused. But I wasn't confused now--I knew what I wanted, and it

  was standing right in front of me. "You can say that again."

  Luke reached out and knuckled Jerry's head. I caught a whiff of the warm, clean boy smell of

  his hand. "Well, I just got up here and I'm staying in a house twenty minutes away with Tom

  and Julia, if you feel like taking a break. And... I'm sort of out a date for this wedding. But if

  you have work to do, I totally understand."

  I stepped closer to him. Over the PA I could hear the assistant director call for everyone to be

  quiet on set.

  I looked around at the scattered crewmembers getting ready for another shot and at Deming

  sitting back in his chair. Dana was at his side, her little body bouncing up and down in

  excitement. Really, I'd never met anyone more hopeful and enthusiastic. Holden stretched his

  hamstrings while waiting for his cue. He'd told me how much he missed Buddha Ball, and

  we'd talked about going to yoga here in Marin together. He was great, really, when it came

  down to it. Everyone and everything was great.

  "I think this can go on without me," I said.

  The hand that had been petting Jerry reached down and touched my wrist. "You sure? Because

  you're a big-shot movie executive now."

  I laughed and shrugged. My skin tingled where he touched it. "It's just a job."

  Then I set Jerry down and took Luke's hand, and we walked off together, the spring wind

  blowing and a tiny dog yipping at our heels. Behind us, the cameras rolled.