"Oh, how interesting. And what brings you to Vermont?" She asks, turning to Jud.
"Um, I'm from here. Sky and I grew up together. Um…things in Paris didn't work out, and I guess I missed home, so…here I am."
I squeeze his arm. I'm not sure why he's nervous because I'm pretty sure we're not getting picked.
"Hmm, home is important. Coming back to your roots and all. How about you, Skyler? What do you do?"
"I'm a farmer and a sugarmaker. I help run my family’s dairy farm, but I also run my own business. I sell my own maple syrup and other derivatives."
She writes a few notes before saying, "So, a chef and a sugarmaker. You could make an interesting team. Our viewers would love you. And you both already look great."
I laughed. "What?"
She raises her head. "Skyler, TV is all about visual entertainment. You two make a great couple visually. Let's hope we see your chemistry come through on screen."
"Our what?" Jud sits up straighter, and Samantha smiles.
"We have cameras everywhere here. We've been observing you since the moment you came in. Don't worry, we couldn't hear your conversation. We just want to see how natural you are with each other. You won't be surprised to hear many similar shows hire actors to fill some of the contestant spots. We're not like that. I've been on the production team of a couple of reality shows: one about sewing and crafts and one about woodworking. I guarantee not everything you see on TV is one hundred percent genuine. Now…there's something I need to know."
We both nod.
"Are you engaged? Already married?"
15
Judson
"I'm sorry, what?"
"We're not together."
Sky and I say at the same time.
Samantha sits back in her chair and laughs. "Well, whatever you are, it'll play great on camera."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
She ignores my question. "Okay, so this is how it's going to work. Here's a folder with all the information you need to know about the restaurant. The layout of the dining area, kitchen, how to get stock delivered, opening hours. Basically, anything you need to know about the daily running has already been decided to make it consistent across all contestants."
"Wait," Sky says. "Does that mean we're in?"
"Honey, you've been in since the moment you walked in looking like that," she says, waving her hand in a circular motion in front of us.
I'm not sure what she means. I mean, Sky will look great on camera because he's drop-dead gorgeous, but surely this is about the restaurant and the eating experience.
She keeps talking about the rules and line-ups and schedules, and it dawns on me that we're missing a key piece of information.
"Samantha, I'm sorry to interrupt, but what's the winning prize?"
"Oh, silly me. We kept it vague in the signup sheet on purpose to avoid attracting time-wasters. The winning team will get a year-long free lease of the restaurant and the upper floors with first refusal when the lease is up for renewal."
I look at Sky, and he's frozen, still staring at Samantha. This is what he wants. This is his dream.
"So, boys. Are you in, or are you—"
"We're in," we say in unison.
She laughs. "Perfect. Filming will start next week. We want to see as much of your day-to-day interactions and planning as possible before your week is up at the restaurant."
