CHAPTER ONE
A luscious ocean breeze blew across Delilah Bates’ face, tossing her flowing silver hair backward in a way that was both dramatic and becoming. In front of her, the ocean stretched out in a perfect electric blue, and behind her rustled the palm trees that lined the gorgeous sands of the Maui beach.
“Perfect, perfect, that wind is a paid actor!” She heard the director exclaim. “Tilt your chin up just a little bit, Delilah. Look out at those waves and think about Lawrence sailing away on them, never to return. It just rips your heart out, but you’re determined to be strong. There—yes! Cut!”
Delilah smiled quietly to herself as soon as she heard the word “cut.” She could have given a better performance without the director squawking directions at her, but she knew he meant well. He was young, and he was probably used to working with more inexperienced actors. Not bad actors, just inexperienced. She’d been making films for decades, and after a while, producing the right emotions on her face had become like the art of manipulating a puppet, and she was a master puppeteer.
She walked over to her chair, which had her name printed on the back and a purple Stanley cup filled with ice cold water resting in the cupholder. She wondered if someone had donetheir research and found out that her favorite color was purple, or if it was just one of those happy accidents. She found herself wishing that it was just a happy accident. When people were starstruck enough to research her and do her little favors based on that research, it meant that there was always some kind of gap between them, as if that person thought she was from some other, higher species. Fame could be very lonely sometimes.
She sat down in her chair to take a long, cool drink. The fringe of the pale blue sarong she was wearing tickled her legs, and she enjoyed the sensation. She looked down at her arms to make sure she wasn’t getting a sunburn. The last time she’d been out in a swimsuit for this long, it had been on the yacht of one of her Hollywood friends. She’d spent four hours sipping cocktails with other glamorous movie stars and celebrities and ended up with pink arms—and the makeup team on the movie that she’d been filming earlier that year had been stressed out trying to cover up her sunburn with makeup.
I shouldn’t let myself worry about it, though,she thought with a chuckle.This is the last day for this movie, and that upcoming film set in the small town won’t have me dressed in a swimsuit. It’ll be cold along the East coast in April, so I’m sure I’ll be bundled up in cute sweaters and things like that.
The makeup artist in charge of her approached her with an ingratiating smile. “Hi, Ms. Bates,” she said, her voice high and breathy, almost as if she was nervous even though she’d been working with Delilah for weeks. “Let me just add a touch of powder before we move on to shooting the final scene.”
“Do your worst,” Delilah said cheerfully, and then she couldn’t help chuckling when the makeup artist looked worried. “I’m just teasing, kiddo. I mean go for it. You always do a great job.”
The young woman’s expression blossomed into a smile. “Oh, thank you. You know I just love working with you. Some of thebig stars are—well, they’re not always the kindest. You’re always so polite.”
“Thank you.” Delilah smiled. She resisted the urge to gossip, since she felt that she had a pretty good idea of who those big stars might be. “Don’t ever let anyone put you down, no matter how important everyone else thinks they are. We’re all equals when it really comes down to it. Social status is silly, if you ask me.”
The young woman blinked at her, looking somewhat in awe. “Wow. Um, okay.”
“Ms. Bates,” called out the assistant director. “We’re just about ready for you.”
“You done?” Delilah asked the makeup artist, her tone kind.
“Let me just adjust this flower in your hair—perfect.” The young woman smiled. “You look beautiful, Ms. Bates.”
Delilah flashed her a grin and stood up. When she’d been younger, her grin had been on the cover of magazines in which she’d been heralded one of the brightest new stars in the industry. Now she felt a little as if she was recycling a smile that she’d sold to the world a long time ago, and she didn’t know how to make it fully her own again.
She made her way along the beach to where the lighting instruments were set up. She’d long ago ceased to be baffled by the way films required lighting tools to film in broad daylight. The crew that set up every shot were magicians in their own way, and she’d come to respect them enormously over the years.
Her costar, a man name Richard Wicks, was standing at the edge of the ocean waiting for her. Richard was a pleasant actor to work with, and they’d enjoyed making each other laugh during their times off camera. She always found it a little disconcerting, however, to see the light of love appear in a man’s eyes when he was acting, only for it to vanish the second the director yelled “cut.”
She did the same thing, of course. Sometimes she’d been amazed by how in-love she looked in her movies, when in reality the man playing opposite her was just a good friend or even someone she found unpleasant.
Magic is all fun and games for a while,she thought.But in the end, it leaves you wanting something real. Other people watch movies to escape from their real lives. But where do I go when I want to escape from my fantasy life? I don’t have anywhere real where I can go.
The director gave her and Richard instructions about how he wanted them to play the scene, and then the camera started rolling. Delilah plucked on the puppet strings of her facial expressions and leaned into a pretend world in which Richard’s character was her everything, but he was about to sail away and leave her there on the beautiful island alone.
“Goodbye, my darling,” Richard whispered, his voice catching with sadness that sounded perfectly real. “Goodbye. Even though we could never be, I will never forget you. Never.”
“Farewell, my love,” Delilah whispered.
At that moment, the wind swept against them in a magnificent rush. Even though the film crew was being silent for that take since they were recording Delilah and Richard’s audio, she knew that the director would be thrilled that the wind again seemed to consider itself a committed actor in their movie.
After a final kiss, Richard walked off down the beach and she turned to watch him with wistful longing on her face. Privately, she thought it was all a bit silly, since her and Richard’s characters had only known each other for a few weeks. She couldn’t imagine ever being that reluctant to part with someone who she barely knew.
Still, she gave it her all, and she knew that her acting was well done, as was Richard’s. It was going to be another excellent film to add to her list of successes.
They filmed the scene again a few more times from other angles, and then the director called out “Cut!” happily one more time. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he bellowed. “That’s a wrap!”
Delilah and Richard shook hands, smiling, and then Delilah headed back toward her chair to drink more water. She always felt an odd mixture of disappointment and relief when she finished filming a movie. She felt glad that the work was over, but it made her feel restless, as if she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
She picked up her Stanley cup and took a long, refreshing sip of the cold water. Around her, people were talking and laughing, and all of them sounded animated and excited. She felt tired all of a sudden, especially when she remembered that she only had two more days before the filming for her next movie began.
She picked up her phone, wondering if her agent had contacted her about her flight details. The last she’d heard, the movie would be filming along the East coast somewhere, but she didn’t know where exactly or where she would be staying. She was picturing a bougie seaside resort, however—the kind where caviar was served as an afternoon snack.
