“Oh, not the guilt trick.” I slumped on the couch beside him. “What are you watching anyway?”
“Here. You choose.” He handed me the remote. “How was your day?”
“All right. A little tense ‘cause we’re wrapping tomorrow.”
“Finally. Now we can take some time off. Go on a fishing trip or a Eurotrip.”
“I wish.” I flipped through the channels aimlessly. “But the director’s work is never finished when a movie wraps. I still have tons of things to do.”
He sighed in disappointment, and I glanced at him. I’d been avoiding long eye contact with him. With anyone. For the first time in months, I took his face in. He’d aged more in the past few months than he had in years. Around his warm eyes, deep wrinkles were visible even in the dim light of the living room. The sag of his cheeks made him look sad, or perhaps it was the other way around.
“We still can go fishing on the weekend,” I said.
“Now you’re talking.” His face lit with joy. “You know what else we should do? Invite Jim to dinner tomorrow. To celebrate…wrapping. He should go fishing with us, too.”
I puckered my lips, flipping through channels faster without looking. “Is there anything decent on?”
Then a voice made me glance up at the flat screen. Mike’s.
“Apparently not,” Dad said. “Give me that.”
“Just…” I scratched the back of my head. “Let’s watch. These interviews only take a few minutes.”
“You said you were tired. Why don’t you go to bed?”
I bit a fingernail, leaning forward, watching and ignoring Dad’s growling. Mike was wearing a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans, his hair a little shorter than normal and his stubble light, as if he’d just shaved for the show.
“Mike, you won an Oscar for your performance inBlack Sheepthis year. How come you haven’t taken any new projects yet?”
“For years, I’ve been cornered in a certain image as a performer. ThenBlack Sheephappened, and everything changed. It’s a tough act to follow. I need to be very careful with my choices from now on, now that I have the liberty to do so.” Mike shifted in his seat. “Until this moment, I haven’t found a voice that spoke to me in the same wayBlack Sheepdid. Probably, I won’t find one again, but I’m hoping for something close.”
“Does that mean you’re holding another contest?”
“Yes, and…we’re thinking about making it annual, too. A friend of mine once said: look for fresh voices and undiscovered talents, and let the world amaze you with what it’s got.”
I enveloped myself with my arms.
“So the rumors of you quitting aren’t true?”
“Definitely not true. Even if I want to quit, I can’t. The same friend made me promise I wouldn’t do that.”
I smiled.
“That’s great news. I’m sure your fans all over the world will be delighted to hear that. How many movies have you made so far?”
“Around thirty.”
“All with different directors?”
“Mostly. But I’ve worked with Sammy O’Reiley and Mason Mills more than once.”
“Have you worked with any female directors other than Maggie Dawson?”
He cleared his throat. “No. She’s the only one.”
“How different, in your opinion, is working with a female director?”
“Every director is different. Every time you work with one, it’s a new experience in terms of vision and skills and delivering instructions. I don’t think it has anything to do with gender, but if you’re asking about The Kid in particular, I can assure you she’s no kid.” His eyes dimmed. “She’s one of the…toughest directors I’ve ever worked with.”
