She didn’t like him, and she didn’t like the idea of leaving April with him. And it wasn’t just fear of any vampires. Something was wrong with this beach bum turned makeup artist.
Dr.Ang walked in, ready for his turn in makeup and wardrobe. “I’ll watch over her,” he said softly.
Wringing her hands nervously, Sonya finally left and went to Betty and the cameraman.
“Kitty said you wanted to see me.”
“We’re going to get a few close-up shots of you singing in the moonlight.” She pointed to the painted moon in the background.
Sonya nodded but her heart wasn’t in it. She sang and, technically, it was perfect.But she couldn’t bring the necessary emotion to her performance.
“The camera is over here, Sonya,” Betty cut in. “Why are you looking over there?”
“Sorry,” Sonya said. “Can we start again?”
Betty silently signaled for the cameraman to roll.
But Sonya’s gaze darted everywhere. Any little noise caught her attention. Betty’s patience was running thin when April and Dr.Ang finally came to the set.
“I’ll get it this time,” Sonya said. Finally calm, she gave Betty the performance she needed.
“Okay,” Betty called to everyone. “This is a midnight scene. We need the king, the queen, her lady and Songbird on set. Oh, and two chambermaids.”
“What do I do?”April said.
“The queen’s lady will walk in through here,” Betty said. “Songbird...by the window.”
With everyone in place, Betty called for action.
It took only three takes to get the scene right and they then went on to film several more scenes together. The newcomers impressed Betty and the cast who’d had their doubts.
“Good job,” Betty said. She pinched April’s chin and gave Dr.Ang a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. “We’ll break for lunch and get back here for two.”
The cast and crew dispersed.
“That was fun,” April said, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.
Sonya couldn’t resist putting her arm around the girl. “You were wonderful, both of you.”
“Before we start filming again, I’d like to practice that song we do together.”
“You girls practice,” Dr.Ang said. “I’m going to head to the bungalow to prepare a light lunch.”
Sonya nodded. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
April quickly went to the piano and sat down, her fingers poised over the keys.
“Do you want the music sheet?”
Her fingers responded by playing the intro to their song.
“In addition to your kung fu practice, you’ve been keeping up with your piano lessons,” Sonya said, more and more impressed with the girl. “And you memorized the piano parts?”
Grinning with pride, April nodded. “At the end of the day, almost every day, I’d sit at the piano at home and just play...anything...sometimes nothing in particular, just melodies that I found interesting.”
She stopped playing and looked at Sonya who nodded for her to start again. April played the intro to the song. Sonya, so close to her daughter, sang with more emotion than she ever had. The song held new meaning, and when April joined in, tears filled her eyes. Tears of joy and longing.
This.More of this. It was what she longed for. Time with her daughter. Catching up on years lost. She’d missed so much and now ached at the thought of missing a single moment.
