30
i’m calling you
Danielle
“One of the producers asked about you,” Mirabel says to me as we wait for an Uber outside of the studio.
“What do you mean? What did they ask?”
“He,” she says. “He asked if you were dating.”
“Oh, weird.” I scrunch up my nose. “Which producer?”
“He has a unique name. I think it’s Tré.”
I know who she’s talking about. “He’s an associate producer,” I say. “And he’s young.”
“Well, he asked about you.”
I ignore her and continue staring at my phone. The little cartoon Uber car is going in circles two blocks away. “We’re gonna be late.”
A text comes in from Alex…
Alex: Congratulations! I watched the show and it was fantastic. Aboutthe wedding, Dani…
It’s been six weeks and this is the first time he’s mentioned it.I see bubbles on the screen. He’s contemplating what to say, so I beat him to the punch.
Me: Don’t worry about it. It happens. It’s common and we were drunk.
Alex: Right. Well, congrats on the show.
Me: Thank you.
“It’s your party. You can be late.”
“Huh?” I’m sidetracked, thinking about me and Alex in the hotel kitchen. I can feel a grin plastered to my face.
“Where’d you go? Who are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. Alex was texting me.”
“Hmm. That’s an interesting reaction to one of Alex’s texts,” she says.
“Oh, forget it, he was just saying the show was good.”
The show premiered today. A few of us got together and watched it at the office, and now we’re headed to a bar Eli rented out in Hollywood for the after-party. I’d already seen the pilot, I watched it last week, completely alone because I didn’t want anyone to see me reacting to it. I was not overjoyed, but not totally disappointed either. The acting seemed disjointed and clunky to me. I know it’s impossible to be objective about something you’ve written that has been brought to life by other people, but I do hope that, as the episodes grow, the acting becomes more fluid. I have to remind myself that most pilot episodes are shot when the actors barely know each other, and it takes time to develop an easy rhythm.
Finally, the Uber driver pulls up in a large black SUV with tinted windows. We hop in, and within a minute Maribel says, “So, do you want me to introduce you to Tré?”
“Not tonight. Tonight, I just want to thank everyone, have a couple of drinks, and stick a fork in it. I’m wiped.”
“But it’s Valentine’s Day.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right, well in that case, definitely no. Why don’t you go out with him?”
She shrugs. “He’s not my type. Too young.”
After two hours of thank-mingling, Maribel comes up to me and says, “I’m heading home. I just ordered an Uber. Do you want to go right now? Eli left with that hot young PA dude, and none of the other writers are here anymore. I don’t know any of these people.”
