Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 210(@200wpm)___ 168(@250wpm)___ 140(@300wpm)
I follow Alice to the kitchen.
“Hey,” I say as I walk into the room. “You want me to bring her the water?”
She gives me a confused look. “No, I’ve got it.”
I nod, still unsettled. “Is your knee okay? Is there anything I can do for you?”
She knits her brows together, a wrinkle forming between them. “No, I’m fine.”
I want to say something else, but I’m starting to feel like a creep who won’t leave her alone. So I shrug and leave the kitchen, going to my room for my shower.
five
Alice
Why do they call it fair skin? Being so pale and prone to burn within minutes of sun exposure is actually pretty unfair.
I’m wearing one of Farrah’s wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and crop pants, but I still applied sunscreen. All my skin that was exposed yesterday is pink today, and I was hardly even outside.
Farrah, on the other hand, is golden, her skin glowing as she stands thigh-deep in the ocean. She’s wearing the hell out of a black bikini, her blond hair blowing gently behind her in the breeze.
The producers are filming beach scenes today. They’re pairing up contestants to take walks together, sit down in the sand and cool off in the water.
“I loved you in that space station movie,” an up-and-coming politician, Josh Sellers, tells Farrah. “When you floated out of the air lock, I was like--is she done for?”
Farrah smiles. “That movie was so much fun to film. We got training from real astronauts.”
Josh arches his brows, impressed. “No way. Did they give you any of their freeze-dried ice cream?”
“We did try some freeze-dried foods, but no ice cream.”
She puts her feet on the ocean floor, standing up straight. She’s just below knee-deep in the water. When she looks over at the director, Alan, he scrunches his face in aggravation.
“Cut!” he calls out.
“Alice, blot me,” Farrah says.
I’m standing about ten feet behind the cameraman to be out of his way. I set down my bag and walk toward Farrah with one of the thin, paperlike sheets that absorb sweat, sliding out of my sandals before I enter the water.
“We have makeup people for that, and we don’t break anytime you feel like it,” Alan says.
Farrah gives him her trademark smile. “Alice knows how I want it done.”
I blot her face and chest as quickly as I can, waves lapping against the bottom of my pants.
“This isn’t a swimsuit cover shoot,” Alan says. “I need continuous footage, and I have a full schedule today. No more stopping.”
“I don’t want to be dripping sweat on camera.”
Alan pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s summer in California. Everyone is sweating.” He gestures at the cameraman, still holding his heavy equipment in the air. “Danny sweated all the way through his T-shirt.”
Farrah ignores him, looking at me instead.
“How’s my hair?”
“It’s good.”
“Is this camera angle working, or--”
Alan throws the ink pen in his hand. It flies about ten feet before flopping to the sand unceremoniously.
“I decide the camera angles! Alice, I need you out of my shot right now.”
It would be unusual for Farrah not to piss off the director of whatever she’s filming. But I hate being dragged into it.
I duck my head and walk back to my spot behind Danny. This time, I go farther, so I can take out my phone to check and see if my mom has texted me back.
Mom: He wasn’t up for his therapy today. He didn’t sleep well last night.
I hate that I can’t be there. If Dad didn’t sleep well last night, neither did Mom. She carries a lot of weight on her shoulders as his caregiver, and she never complains. My brother and I both wish she would, though. I worry she’ll just implode one day, too exhausted and overwhelmed to keep doing what she does.
Alice: Did he miss speech therapy? That one is really important to help with his chewing.
Mom: I know. But he refused to go. We are okay, honey. Are you enjoying California?
I sigh softly. My mom is a glass-all-the-way-full person. She sees things from an overly positive perspective, and I know it’s partially a protective mechanism for her because the truth can be heavy and scary when you’re the long-term caregiver of a disabled person.
Alice: It’s very sunny here. I’ll FaceTime you guys this evening.
Mom: We’d love that! Thanks for the picture of the beautiful sunrise! Your dad smiled when I showed it to him.
I send a smile emoji and put my phone back in my bag, wishing I could talk to my brother Will. But he’s in his first year of surgical residency in Chicago, and he doesn’t get much downtime. We have a call scheduled for this weekend, so I’ll have to wait until then.
Alan films Farrah and Josh for about ten more minutes. As soon as he’s done, Farrah walks over to me.