Or maybe we’ll both see it really was just a fling.
After the bath, I try to run through the scenes in my head as I drift off to sleep, but I just see Skye’s blue eyes staring at me under hooded lashes. Then I try to mentally pick out what I’m going to eat in the morning, but instead, I see Skye’s hair falling in her face as she sits on my lap. It goes on like that until finally I drift off picturing Skye with her legs on my lap, her silky calf in my hands at SOWK.
The morning is frantic.Calling it “morning” is generous. We’re leaving while it’s still dark so we can shoot at sunrise. I grab a travel mug of coffee, keeping my eyes peeled the whole time for Skye. But she is nowhere to be seen. For once, I might be up before her. I throw my bag in the van and take a seat near the back. I’m in no mood for conversation.
“There you are,” Ava says as she climbs in and takes the seat right next to mine. She has a bright-red beanie on and a matching cropped puffer jacket.
“Want to run lines on the way?”
No. I want to stare out the window and pine, to mope, to act like a sullen teenager who has to leave his girlfriend to go on a stupid family vacation. But I’m not a teenager. I’m a full-grown man. Besides, Ava looks so shiny-faced and earnest. I know this film meansa lot to her. It could be her first Oscar. It meant a lot to me, too.Means.
“Sure,” I say.
Blessedly, Ty is in the other van, and so must be Minnie. Why does their relationship bother me so much? I don’t want her to get hurt, and Ty bulldozes through everything and everyone in his life. I thought we were really good friends before he stole my part and my girl, all right under my nose, and I had no idea it was happening. None at all. I don’t want her to feel like I felt: betrayed and stupid.
“Miles, it’s your line,” Ava says.
“Ah, sorry.”
We pass the rest of the car ride running through our lines, passing the odd farmhouse here and there, dark shapes against murky fields. There’s a good long stretch of road where we follow the water, looking like liquid silver in the dim light. The sky is a pearly gray with wisps of pink caressing snowcapped mountains when we pull up to our site. There is a crystal-clear lake perfectly reflecting the hills behind it. The frosted grass crunches underneath my feet. My breath comes out in white clouds so thick it seems like I could say,Who are you, and it would be spelled out just like the caterpillar inAlice in Wonderland.
I’m not looking forward to the bare thighs my costume requires this morning.
The crew works fast to erect two tents; one for costumes and one for snacks, both with heat lamps connected to a small generator. I head off toward the costume tent, resigned to my fate. The kilt is made of such thick wool; it’s not as bad as I feared, and the cold I do feel helps me get into my character a bit more.
This morning is Thora’s last scene. When the film is all finished, she’ll only be in the first fifteen minutes of the movie, but we haven’t been shooting chronologically, and there are some flashbacks featuring her. They saved her character’s death for her final scene, though, which seems fitting.
We are both standing on the sidelines, she’s wearing a massive coat to keep the chill out, while they set up the lights.
I nudge her with my shoulder. “You ready for the big scene?”
She nods, her face unreadable. “I am.”
“What are you going to do after you’ve wrapped? Are you going to head right back to the States?”
“No. I’m going to stick around for a while. I really love Scotland. I’m thinking about staying.”
“Really?” I’m not sure why this surprises me so much. “In Foyers, or are you going to travel?”
Thora smiles, and it lights up her whole face. You can see the younger woman she used to be, not that she isn’t still beautiful. I’m not an ageist by any means. Just that it lightens her. “Actually, I’ve fallen in love with more than just Scotland.”
“Come on,” Natalie yells. “It’s showtime. Let’s set up.”
As we head to our marks, my head is reeling. Is Thora in love with Callum? I had noticed they were together a lot, but love? It seems like an awfully short amount of time. Then again, who am I to talk? There’s something about those Ainslies. Some kind of magic in their eyes. But move to Scotland? Is she going to live in the castle? Does Skye know?
I’m distracted during the shoot, and it’s a few takes before I’m fully submerged in the scene. I feel bad about it. It’s so cold, Thora’s lips are a little blue, despite the expertly applied lipstick.
Once Natalie yells cut, everyone on the shoot is on their feet, clapping. It is a massive standing ovation for Thora. I join in. She is a true talent. She smiles, her cheeks pink, and gives everyone an exaggerated bow.
I offer her my arm as we both head to the costume tent to warm up. “Sorry about the extra takes. My mind was in the clouds.”
She shrugs. “It happens. You’re a wonderful actor. I’m sure we got a good one.”
The thought of her packing up and moving her whole life toScotland is still bothering me. “Will you keep acting? If you move here, I mean?”
Thora tilts her head to one side and then the other, as if rolling the question around in her head. “It is my greatest passion. But maybe it’s time I explore some new passions in my life. I might try to write my memoir. Or I’ve thought about trying my hand at cooking, maybe making my own version of what Florence Pugh did on TikTok,Golden Girlsstyle, obviously. Have you seen her little cooking bits?”
I shake my head. “TikTok only shows me videos of the North Sea at the moment. It’s all raging tides, whirlpools, and pirate dirges.”
