"Since today," I said, hoping I had applied enough deodorant. "You look beautiful," I said to my niece.
"Isn't that dress cute on her?" Audrey said. "And I'm glad these shoes work."
"Yeah, me too," I said. "My dress is long enough that it doesn't matter."
We had to wait in that holding tent and then move in groups to the building where I had been earlier. It was a lot more crowded in there by the time we were ushered in.
Cameron came by to make sure I was in position. "You need to just look natural," she said to me. "Less is more. Just gaze at the dancefloor, maybe put your hand here and glance down at it every now and then. No need to engage in conversation with the people around you. It's fine if you do, but be natural." She placed my hand on a table that was nearby, and I gave her a nod. "You guys know what to do," she said to the women standing next to me. They agreed, and she looked at me again. "You can take your hand down for now, but put it there when we start rolling."
I nodded at her. My sister and Luna were next to me, but she pulled them away, placing them a few feet back, closer to the wall. I could see her giving each of them instructions.
"Are you one of us?"
I turned to the young woman on the other side of me, and she smiled. I had seen her in the dressing room tent.
"We have to wait over here until they start filming the table segment," she said. "Then we get to do our dance."
"Oh, cool," I said, nodding and hoping I could ignore her job and keep track of mine.
"Yeah, it's crazy. My cousin told me about this, and I recruited my friends." She pointed at some of the people around us. "About six of us are here from our dance squad."
"Oh, you guys are professional dancers?"
"Yeah, University of Montana. Go Grizzlies!" She beamed and rubbed her closed fists together, then raised one of them in a practiced cheerleader move.
I just smiled at her and said, "Oh, cool," before glancing the other way, telling myself everything was going to be okay.
I caught sight of Alex as I looked around. He was on the other side of the room, talking to a group of people near the musicians. There was murmuring all through the room, and I stood there, taking in the chaos of it all. I was so nervous and ill-prepared that I was in a stupor. It was funny, but I was so nervous that I was calm. I just stood there, watching it all and feeling oddly at peace.
I watched Alex. He and two other guys left the area near the musicians and started to walk toward the door. They seemed to have on the same clothes that the actors had on. There were people in modern clothing with walkie-talkies who were obviously with the crew. But Alex and the two gentlemen who were with him seemed to be dressed like the actors in simple, timeless, solid-colored cotton clothing.
Alex was a sight to behold. He was a striking individual, and he moved through the space with thequiet confidence of someone who had a vision. He pointed and spoke to someone as he walked past them, and they smiled and responded to him. Then he glanced my way. It was the first time he had glanced over here since I had laid eyes on him, and I watched as he noticed me. His face broke into a smile, and he nudged his chin at me. I bit the inside of my lip to keep myself from grinning too hard, and he gave me a little wave.
He could not stop to talk. There were just too many things to be done. He had people needing his opinion and direction. He knew I was there, though.
"Did you see Alex Stockton wave at me?" a girl behind me said.
She was talking to her friend. I didn't look at them or respond. I knew he was looking at me, and nothing they said could make me insecure about it. I looked at the floor, checking myself and centering myself on my mark.
"Okay, everyone, we're almost set to begin." It was Alex's voice, and it was being projected by a megaphone. Cameron was standing next to him, and I imagined she must've handed it to him. The room got quiet and we all looked at him.
"First, everyone, thank you for your hard work preparing for this scene. I'm excited about this one. Dancers on the dance floor—does everyone have their partner, and are we all on our marks? If you're not ready, raise your hand." He paused and looked out, and no hands were raised. "Okay, the musiciansare going to play the first song while we're starting the shot outside. We are rolling as we come in on the track, so everyone be on your marks and engaged in the scene before we ever come in the door. Understood?"
The group at large agreed.
My heart was absolutely pounding.
I knew we were about to get started, and I had no idea if I was ready. I glanced around, trying to find James. I saw him on the other side of the room. That scared me at first, and I wondered if he was ready, but I figured he knew more about his starting position than I did. I told myself he would make his way over to me when necessary. I certainly wasn't going to go off spinning and dancing without a partner. I would just stay here until he came up to me like we practiced.
Alex went outside, and Cameron stayed inside with us, answering questions and tending to last-minute adjustments on the cast. She was confident and in control, and I took a deep, calming breath. I was out of my realm and overwhelmed.
Within a minute, the musicians began playing a song. I put my hand on the table because I didn't want to forget.
"Places, everyone!" Cameron had the megaphone now, and she was the one speaking. "We're rolling, take one. And, action!"
The room came alive with the people quietly conversing and gesturing to each other like they were all in a long-established conversation.
"He's doing this scene with us. He's making a cameo."
