Love In a Small Town (37 page)

"I'm lucky to have him as a partner. He works hard and he's the most talented film editor I've ever known. Sometimes, when I've finished filming a scene, I'll be so sure there's nothing there, but Lloyd turns it into magic."

"He still won't agree to expand into something bigger than documentary?"

"Nope, and I'm not sure how long I can remain patient with him. God, we're such a team. There's no end to how far we could go."

"Hey, Mom, what's for breakfast?" Andy walked into the kitchen, putting an end to the discussion. He yawned, voice husky with sleep, eyes drooping.

"Good morning, sweetie," Sam said, eyeing her thirteen-year-old with motherly pride. His body was slim and wiry, his hands and feet too large for the rest of him; a good-looking boy with Paul's dark coloring, an unruly mop of hair and a quick mind. He charmed adults and bemused his friends.

Shuffling over to the kitchen counter, he grabbed a box of cereal and a package of instant breakfast mix and turned to the refrigerator to get the milk.

"Are you going to be hungry enough for eggs after all that?" Sam asked, moving toward the stove.

"Well, sure, this isn't much. Scrambled, okay?"

She shook her head in wonder and reached for the pan. Somehow, in the last year, her baby boy's appetite had become insatiable. He had to eat something at least once an hour or suffer real distress. No wonder his pants were always two inches too short.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning. Decide what you want to pack and what you need with you in the back seat."

"I'm on it." He moved to the table and sat down to eat. "Dad, are you going to put me on the payroll?"

"I said I would. Wouldn't you like to earn a little money this summer?"

"Yeah, but I'd be willing to settle for a dog instead."

"Andy," Sam said, exasperated by this ongoing argument. "Don't start about dogs. We said someday, but not now." Her fear of dogs was a known childhood legacy. Though he'd been begging for a year, she kept putting him off.

"Maybe when we come home from vacation?" His huge smile foretold of some serious nagging in her future.

"We'll talk about it," she said, her tone final; no more discussion today.

Paul glanced at the clock on the wall. "Hey, I've got to get downtown. UPS is picking up the rest of the equipment this morning. I have a lot of last minute details to clear up, and Lloyd's coming in to finish some editing before we leave. He's flying out to the location next week."

"I'm glad he'll be there. He makes you hold your temper."

"We'll finish loading the van tonight so we can leave early tomorrow. I'd like to be on the road by six."

"Okay. Don't try to call this afternoon. Andy has baseball practice and I have last minute shopping."

"I'll be home late. I've a meeting with the clients. They flew in today."

Paul took Sam in his arms and gave her a bear hug. "Miss me, woman."

"All the time," she responded with an easy smile, as he went out the door to the garage.

Andy looked at Sam, something obviously on his mind. "With you there, Mom, it'll be sort of like in the olden days when you two were just starting out, won't it?"

"Olden days?" Sam said. "Andy, it was only thirteen years ago."

"Yeah, like I said, back then. I like it when you talk about it. Tell me about the tuxedo and the nosy neighbor."

Sam laughed. "You've heard these stories dozens of times. You know it all."

"Yeah, but I still like to hear about it.

"Okay, but the short version." Winking at him, she began, her voice in 'fairy tale mode.' "Back in the olden days, we had our first break,
Muggsy's World
; thirty, five-minute TV shorts about a chimpanzee living in the world of humans."

"With no money to buy costumes so you had to sew, right?"

"If you know the story, why am I telling it? Muggsy was supposed to be going to a party and needed a tuxedo. I volunteered to make it, and the animal trainer told me to use a child's size four pattern, but make the arms three feet long."

Andy's face lit with laughter. "And Mrs. Werner, our nosey neighbor who used to live next door, came barging in without knocking, saw the suit hanging on the door and stared at the arms."

Sam laughed with him. "She was dying to ask who it was for." Slanting a stern look at Andy, she continued, "I've still not forgiven your father for telling her I made it for our son nobody's ever met, because we keep him locked in his room." She shook her head at the memory. "Honestly, I still think she's the one who called Family Services. Your dad has a lot to answer for."

Andy grinned at her.

Sam shook her head at him. "You're sense of humor is going to be every bit as bad as your dad's when you grow up. Come on. We need to get going. Tomorrow morning is only hours away."

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