Hearts' Desires (17 page)

             
A moment later, he jumped down to her, just as she had e
x
pected. A hasty glance over the yard – no, Vance was not in sight yet. But Lauren knew he had to show up any minute to go over to the makeup trailer!
             
“So… I don’t have to worry about you falling some day, do I?”
             
“No, absolutely not.
You are afraid I could fall down?”

             
He stared down at her with huge brown eyes and was already very close with his hands. “I like a girl being afraid I could get hurt.”
             
O really?
Another secret look to the left, to Vance’s bu
n
galow.
Ah, the door opened! Lauren lifted the hand and brushed over her forehead.

             
“Uh…
my gosh
… I’m already dizzy just watching you climb around!”
             
As expected, Julio had his arm around the waist with a firm grip the next second. Lauren considered his touch quite greedy and thus of not much real interest. But it would serve its purpose, she hoped! Vance was crossing the yard, and he simply HAD to notice them both, or he was blind! She leaned against Julio’s bare chest, when Vance was right next to them.

             
“Would you accompany me over to Chang’s? … Maybe it’s this heat, too… I’m sorry if I interrupted your work!”
             
“I was finished. You didn’t disturb me at all! Feeling better now?”
             
“Yes, now that we are in the shade… Thank you, Julio!”

             
“How about getting together later – for a drink maybe?”

             
“We will see after the shooting… supposed I’m not too tired, okay?” Of course she would be too tired – unless Vance showed some interest…
Everyone was ready for the scene, where
Arend
Marens
would be brought home from his hunting accident. They would film in the garden and on the porch, from different angles. Nearly all chara
c
ters would be present, including a bunch of farm – and domestic workers plus their families and
Marens
’ friends from the hunting party. Therefore, besides the actors a lot of extras had to be briefed.
A job that Nora Mendez took up.
It was always difficult to coordinate such background a
c
tion; however, she had experience with it. At the moment, the kids still played hide and seek between the trees and the camera men cast uneasy glances over to the little troubl
e
makers.
             
Alison gave last instructions to the main crew and actors. The makeup- and wardrobe-personnel flitted back and forth. Today the set was really a bustling bee hive! In the middle of all the agitation, someone knocked over a spotlight. They lost precious time in cleaning the area of the shards and setting everything up again.
             
Jake yawned and took the opportunity to leave the ca
m
era for a moment and pay Vance a visit. He was
laying
on a stretcher in the grass and talked with the guy who would play the emergency do
c
tor.
             
“At least you’re comfortable, without rocks poking your back, this time,” Jake
Bertoni
joked with his friend.
             
“Yes, that’s right. I wish they would get started, though. Ot
h
erwise we will work all night long – and I’ll probably fall asleep then…”
             
”Attention!
Places everyone!”
Allison shouted finally.
             
Vance imagined her standing next to the main camera now, that particular focused expression on her face. He could barely hold back a smile. It felt good thinking about her. The regrets concer
n
ing Carolyn were still burning scars, but he
didn’t feel guilty about his feelings for Alison anymore.
             
They had barely filmed the first minutes of the final s
e
quence, when the right spotlight produced a sizzling sound and went dark a second later. Alison signaled to stop. The guy operating the lights cursed.
             
“Shorted out, crap!” He crawled along the cable. “Here it is, looks like an animal gnawed on the cable! Shit! Are there any r
o
dents here?!”
             
“Maybe a rat…” another crew member threw in his op
i
nion.
             
“Anyway, we have to change the cable and fix a new spotlight. This will take a while.
Sorry, Alison!”
             
“Ok then.
Coffee break for every one!”
She tried not to sound too frazzled and infect the others with her annoyance, because that would be really bad and only lead to more mi
s
takes and more stress! Maybe she should lay off the coffee!
Much to Alison’s surprise and despite the fact they had to r
e
peat half of the sequence several times they were done with it before sunset. As usual they gathered around the screens to watch
the dailies
with a critical eye.
             
“When I read the script,” Alison confessed. “I was worried this
end
scene would be overly dramatic, with all that ‘forgive me’ and ‘I love you’.”

             
Nora agreed. “I wouldn’t have given green light to this without some changes!”

             
“If I had written the script, I’d have
Marens
die, with a good line,” Vance threw in. “Let’s see… maybe something like ‘no man should outlive his time’.”

             
Jake grinned. “You just had a great dying scene in your last movie, so don’t complain!”

             
“I won’t.” Vance massaged his neck. “I’ll really need a workout today, after being stretched out for hours! My God, I
swear, I won’t do any dying and injury scenes in my next mo
v
ie!”
             
His gaze crossed Alison’s. They both smiled. Then, as if she had done something inappropriate, Alison’s expression changed. “Well, I think we all deserve our dinner! So, let’s go everyone!”

             
Alison finished her salad and soy burgers even faster than usual. More often than not she had one eye on a sheet of paper and half of her mind on something work related during mealtimes. T
o
day, it was more Vance’s presence, what made her nervous. He sat across from her, enjoying meatballs and fries – and smiled in her direction from time to time. She was embarrassed; because of the smile and because it made her nervous. However, the more she fought it, the tighter the em
o
tion gripped her.
             
“I’m going to check the new casings for the cables,” she finally excused herself and stood up. “So we don’t have any unexpected four-legged cable lovers visiting again!”

She had just picked up the second casing, when steps made her turn around.
             
“Always working?” Vance asked.
“Not in the mood for a little after-dinner-walk up in the vineyards?
It is not far, I’m sure you can handle it; your foot is much better already. And it’s a magnificent place, especially at dusk.”
             
“Oh, you know I’m a workaholic!”
             
“Yes, you are.
And a perfectionist.”
His smile told her he meant it as a compliment and not a put
down ,
which is how she would normally have considered it.
             
“I have to be. It is the only way to achieve something, e
s
pecia
l
ly for a woman.”

             
Alison looked into the garden, where someone from the sound crew just gathered the last items. “If you are a man and
you make a mistake in this business, they may forgive you; they might even laugh about it. If you are a woman, they write you off as weak and typical female, and you’ll be lucky to get ahead at all without pas
s
ing through someone’s bed. That’s the way it is. As woman you have to be twice as tough in Ho
l
lywood. And if I have learned one thing from my father, it was to be tough.”
             
“Sounds like a wise man… and … a lonely one.”
             
“He was a despotic patriarch.”
             
“Like
Arend
Marens
?”
             
Alison gave a short laughing snort to mask the uneas
i
ness she felt. “You know, when I read this script for the first time, it was my father I saw and heard on so many pages
. I almost turned the job down!”
She stopped, not wanting to pour her heart out to him completely.

             
“I’m glad you didn’t. Now, how about a short walk? Isn’t it a wonderful evening with the flowers blooming everywhere?”

             
Alison found Vance’s gaze very gentle and seductive.
Dangerous.
She felt her heart beating faster. Hastily, she turned away. “Vance, we should say good night. It’s really time to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be very busy.”
             
“I’ll walk you to your place.”
             
“No, thank you. I mean, I have to go over to the RV first, talk to Burt about the spotlights. And I don’t know how long that will take.” She felt awfully silly listening to herself. She didn’t need to make excuses, and yet that was exactly what it sounded like. She could handle negotiations with the most demanding and tough producers and actors in Hollywood and walk out as the winner! And here she groped for words and struggled with saying ‘Good Night’!
             
“So, Good Night, then, Alison!”
             
The weird spell was broken. “Good Night,” she answered. “See you tomorrow!”
Vance stayed there until it was dark. He smoked two cig
a
rettes and felt totally at peace with everyone and everything. No question, he was in love. That information would probably find its way back to the tabloids much faster than he liked, and it would bring on some nasty headlines
about how fast he had forgotten his poor dead wife
. But at the moment he did not care about that. He didn’t want to lie to himself any longer; he didn’t want to pretend anymore, or feel like he was acting in his own life instead of living it! And at the moment, L.A. was still far away. He was here, in this strangely embracing, fulfil
l
ment promising landscape, with the rich aroma of flowers and earth. He was here, and Alison was here. And maybe, he thought, they would never return to the hectic pace of Los A
n
geles, the horrendous traffic in rush hour, the smog,
the
fast food joints! Maybe he could buy a farm somewhere around here and just enjoy life again! Vance felt young and adventu
r
ous.
             
He closed his eyes and let his mind drift like a butterfly, from one wonderful thought to another. The most wonderful was to know Alison shared the sentiment. Although she o
b
viously was afraid to let it show too much! He had to ove
r
come her reluctance; to show her he was not a threat that she had to shield herself from, no danger to her individuality. He was sure he could break through those little barriers!

             
Seeing one of the roses of the bush in front of the porch hanging down half broken, he reached out and tore it off co
m
pletely. Like this flower now lying fragile in his hand, Alison needed special care. Rushing into things would destroy ever
y
thing. He had to e
x
ercise patience, even if a part of him did not want to lose more time than he already had, and even if he was very much longing for some company.
While Vance sat on the porch, Thabo squatted on the low bench in front of Jake’s bungalow and was not happy at all. He had waited for Lauren to show up this evening, perhaps to go jogging with her again, but she had vanished inside her place, simply ignoring him. And that after he had gone to the village and bought her one of the traditional trinkets made of glass beads!
             
He had wandered around, wondering who he could talk to about his seemingly insurmountable problems. Finally, he was picked up by Jake, who had been on his way to procure a new bo
t
tle of Bourbon from the hotel.
             
“…I just don’t know what to do,” Thabo confessed, scuf
f
ing the dust on the ground. “If yo
u like a
girl,
and she…
uhm
… I mean
…” He sighed. “I don’t know what to say, that’s the problem! She’s just so marvelous, gorgeous, perfect…
uhm
…”
             
Jake
Bertoni
patted his shoulder. To think this boy thought HE of all people could help him out of his misery with some good a
d
vice! Heavens! After all his failed relationships! Moreover, Jake had a feeling he knew who Thabo had a crush on. And he didn’t consider her worth the effort. Howe
v
er, perhaps it was enough to let this kid vent his sorrows!
             
“I’m just… nothing compared to her! She knows so much and is so… perfect.”
             
“You shouldn’t say you’re nothing, son! I mean, look at you! How many guys your age have already performed in a movie?! And working with Alison Cartwright! That’s something special! – Do you want a drink? I was about to get something good from the old h
o
tel bar?”
             
Thabo shook his head. “No. Thanks. I don’t drink. My Church forbids it.”
             
“Ah… okay.
Never mind.”
             
“You can give me some advice?” Thabo started again and
looked confidentially at Jake.
“Just ..
. how to make an impre
s
sion… or
something
?”
             
“Advice.
Do you really want to hear it? Okay. I think a girl that doesn’t like you just the way you are is not worth your attention.” Perhaps that sounded a bit harsh, Jake mused, and continued: “What I mean to say is, you don’t need any gimmicks. It doesn’t help you at all! Women have a very fine sense for it, and they hate nice facades with nothing behind them. You know what I’m trying to say?”
             
“Yes… But I like her.” The boy stared again in the dire
c
tion of Lauren’s bungalow and made it obvious who was the center of his interest.
             
Jake could only curse silently. That little harlot was the kind of women that was every decent man’s ruin. She flirted with ever
y
one on the set! In addition, she was doing it only to piss off Vance!
             
“Thabo, believe me. Try to get your thoughts off THAT girl. She will only
cause
you trouble. Just try it, son. You would be be
t
ter off to start drinking!”
             
The boy looked devastated and lowered his gaze on the ground again.
             
“Come
on,
get your mind off her! There are plenty of pre
t
ty charming girls in this country, aren’t there?”
             
Thabo sighed again and seemed to drown in a deep pool of desperation.
Finally back in her bungalow, Alison undressed and as usual, hung her cloths neatly over the chair and stuffed the unde
r
wear in the ‘used’-bag. Somehow, the conversation she had had with Vance this morning came to her mind again.