“It does! And we need your help deciding on a theme. We wanted to do something quirky that Faith would love. We’ve got floral décor and pastel pink and purple for the color scheme for the plates and things like that, but for games and some of the other decorations we were thinking about picking some kind of fun party theme. Like what about a 1920’s Great Gatsby theme? We could all dress up like flappers and people from the twenties, and then after Faith arrives we could have a costume for her that she could change into. Or—Cooper suggested this, and I thinkit really might be more fun—aStar Trektheme? We could haveStar Trekepisodes playing on the TV in the background, and maybe we could still try costumes for that, and we could have people play space chess or otherStar Trekthemed games. I’m not sure which would be better—Faith has always had a thing for the flapper era, but lately she’s gotten so obsessed withStar Trek. What do you think?”
She looked at Dean expectantly, expecting him to be grinning and to immediately have a strong opinion, probably in favor ofStar Trek, which he also loved. Instead, however, Dean seemed as though there was something weighing him down. His smile looked forced, and his skin was pale and there were circles under his eyes.
“Sounds like fun,” he said. “I don’t really know what Faith would like best, though.”
“Dean.” Julia stood up and hurried over to her brother’s side of the desk. She sat down on the edge of the desk next to his chair and touched his arm. “Are you okay? You seem down.”
Dean swallowed, and Julia could tell that he was trying to figure out how to phrase what he had to tell her. Her heart sank, and she felt afraid that it was bad news.
“I just went to the doctor,” Dean said. “It was supposed to be a routine check-up, but it turns out that the extra fatigue I’ve been feeling lately hasn’t just been a fluke thing. He said my arthritis is really getting worse, and that physical therapy and rest aren’t enough to deal with it anymore.”
“Oh, Dean,” Julia whispered sympathetically, her heart going out to her brother.
He gave a half-hearted shrug. “He said that the best option is for me to undergo surgery in a few places—in my hands, and in my knees. Those are the places where the arthritis is the worst.”
“Surgery?” she echoed, not at all liking the thought of Dean having to get surgery in his hands. “Aren’t there any other options?”
Dean shrugged again. Julia could tell that he was trying to put a brave face on everything but that he felt extremely discouraged by the news. “The doctor told me that I can try continuing physical therapy and that I might be able to adjust my medications to regulate the pain. But he said that even if that works, it’s probably only going to work for so long.”
Julia nodded, biting her lip. “But it might work. And he doesn’t know for sure that it’ll stop working after a while. Why don’t you give that a try before making any drastic decisions?”
Dean gave her a sad smile. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I just don’t want to think about this right now. My and Noelle’s wedding is about to happen, and I don’t want all of this overshadowing the joy of that.”
Julia nodded, feeling that the whole thing was heartbreaking. Dean didn’t deserve to have to deal with the trials he was facing, especially during the time that he was about to marry the woman of his dreams.
“This doesn’t have to overshadow the joy of your wedding,” she told him, squeezing his shoulder. “You just try a different medication and stick with your physical therapy—and try getting even more rest than usual. I bet it all works out, and you don’t even have to think about your osteoarthritis on your wedding day.”
Dean smiled at her, and his smile finally looked genuinely happy. “Thanks, Julia. You’re right. Getting discouraged isn’t going to do me any good. So…” He took a deep breath and smiled again. “Let’s get back to discussing these themes. Tell me more about what games you’re thinking could go with aStar Trektheme.”
CHAPTER NINE
Delilah looked around Seaside Sweets Bakery with interest. The little bakery was charming and smelled deliciously of pastries, and she enjoyed being surrounded by chatting, happy people. Most of the customers in the shop were staring in awe at Delilah and the rest of the film crew, but some of them were going about their lives as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Delilah liked that, and she knew that these people would make good extras in the background of the film, since they were acting so naturally.
The crew was preparing a shot in which Delilah would sit by the front window at a table as she read a handwritten letter from the man who was breaking up with her. After perusing the letter for a while, Delilah would stare out the window, as if wondering what had become of her life.
Since she knew it was going to be several minutes until they were ready for her, Delilah had used her time to purchase a delicious raspberry latte.
“I hope you like it,” the barista said, handing it to Delilah with a bright smile. “Raspberry is one of my favorite flavors too.”
“It’s not something I see on a menu all that often,” Delilah said, smiling back. “It seems innovative.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re probably right.” The barista looked pleased. “What do you think of Rosewood Beach so far? Do you like it?”
“It’s darling,” Delilah answered honestly.
“Wow. Would you—if I grab one of our paper menus, would you sign the back for me?”
“Of course. No problem at all.”
“Awesome!” The barista turned around like a small human cyclone and returned a moment later with a paper menu. “My name’s Abby—like, if you want to address it to me.”
Delilah chuckled, charmed by the teenager’s enthusiasm, and took the menu and a pen from off the counter. She wrote, “To Abby, who is lucky enough to live in the amazing town of Rosewood Beach. Love, Delilah.”
“Wow,” Abby said when Delilah handed her the menu. “I’m going to text all my friends.”
Delilah laughed and took a sip of her latte, letting the sweet, creamy flavor swirl over her tongue for a moment. She reminded herself that she needed to be prepared for her scene, and she spent a few moments trying to get into her character’s head.
This movie we’re filming is sweet, she thought.I like it, but that screenplay for the other movie is so much better. I would love to get to work on something as poignant and heartfelt as that.
