Grant, who had denied me the use of the film class equipment. I should probably thank him now that Gabe was helping me.
‘Hey, Grant. This is my friend Gabe. He goes to Murphy.’
‘I’ve seen you in here before,’ Grant said. ‘What’s up?’
I glanced at the board behind him with the ice cream flavors. It looked like a movie marquee, and I think it was in English, but it made no sense to me.Rum Raisinette Bening. Reese’s with a Spoon Sundae. Cake Blanchett.
‘What are these flavors?’
Grant sighed. ‘All the flavors are named after Oscar-winning or -nominated actresses. I can tell you what’s in everything if you have any questions.’
I turned to Gabe, tilting my head. He smiled broadly. ‘I love this place.’
‘You would.’ I laughed. ‘What’s your favorite?’
‘Can I do the Frances McDor-Mint Chocolate Chip?’ he asked.
‘Associate Producer, Producer or Executive Producer?’ said Grant.
‘Producer.’ I gave him a face, and he smiled wider. ‘It means medium. And I think for you … the Scoop-ita Nyong’o or … Jodie Bananas Foster.’
I burst out laughing.
‘Go with Jodie,’ Grant said. ‘It’s real banana and our housemade caramel swirl. Associ—’
‘Medium.Please.’
Grant stared at me, stone-faced. ‘What’s “medium”?’
I rolled my eyes. ‘I can’t believe you’re making me say this. Producer. Please.’
Grant smirked and said, ‘Eleven fifty-six.’
I went for my wallet, but Gabe pushed my hand away and handed Grant a card. ‘I got it. Plus, I get an extra punch on my Costar Card.’ He showed me the punch card, which saidGet Your 10th IceCream Free! You Like Us! You Really Like Us!Gabe already had four stars punched out of the card when he handed it to Grant.
‘I’ll bring it over to you guys if you want to sit?’
‘Thanks, Grant,’ I said.
We sat at a table, and I clasped my hands together.
‘So what’s going on with you?’ I asked.
He faked a look of concern. I knew it was faked because I could read his face better than I could read my own. His dimples popped every time a genuine emotion came through. When he faked it, there were no dimples.
‘I just wanted some ice cream.’
‘Don’t bullshit me. Or I’m taking Jodie to go.’
He laughed – dimples – and picked at the table. ‘It’s just been … a week. You know?’
‘It’s Monday.’
‘I know.’ He sighed and sat back. He spoke as though he were typing his words and deleting them as he went along, pausing to make sure he got each word correct before it was said. ‘Are … I think we’ve become good friends. Right?’
Ew. Friends.‘Right.’
‘So can I talk about stuff that friends talk about?’
