Page 105 of Two-Step
Literally.
When he went home the first time after Hurricane Maria, Ramon helped his dad and brother-in-law dig an outhouse in their backyard because they had no running water. Nothing in my experience compares to that. Third World stuff, right there.
Sally’s still watching him with something a lot warmer than lust in her eyes. She rests a hand on his knee and squeezes.
I say nothing. I’m still reeling over Moira’s insane plan and the fact that she’s actually set it in motion. If I go with Sally and Ramon, I won’t even have to reply to Jonathan, but I sure as hell will still have to answer to Moira.
It would just be Saturday night, right? That’s when the storm is expected to hit. Could I stay sequestered in a guest room at my director’s house during the storm and then leave when it’s all clear?
Would the end result of that be the same thing? What would people say? What would happen if Moira posted something about it on my Insta?
I can just see it now: a screenshot of the radar showing the storm bearing down on Louisiana, and the caption,Thanks to my hero #HEXED director @jon_reynolds, I’m safe during #HurricaneAddie!With storm and heart emojis sprinkled throughout.
Even without saying more than that, she’d give the celeb gossipers enough fuel.
I don’t want to sleep with my director. And I don’t want people to think I’m sleeping with my director even if I’m not.
And I don’t want to piss off Moira.
Someone’s not going to get what she wants. Hint: It’s usually me.
Ramon shifts in the driver’s seat to look back at me. “My duty is to you, Iris. If you want me to stay, I’ll do it.”
I can see sincerity in his eyes. Ramon is my right hand. He handles everything I can’t handle, but right now, I don’t really think he can deal with this storm. I appreciate his offer and his loyalty, but I know he doesn’t want to be here. The only way I could give him what he needs while still letting him do his job would be to go with him and Sally.
And, yeah, that’ll solve the Jonathan dilemma, but Moira will go ballistic.
I can’t think right now. My head feels like it will explode.
“When are you leaving?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
“Tomorrow morning.”
I nod, unsurprised.
“And you’ll be back when?” I ask. “Monday?” The studio has set Monday as our tentative day to resume filming, provided that the storm isn’t too bad.
Ramon and Sally look at each other before Sally faces me again. “At home, we were talking to a few of the neighbors.” She winces as she speaks. “They said the last time they had a Category 2 storm, most people in town were without power for three days.”
Holy shit.
I am used to roughing it. I can go without power for weeks on end when I’m in the woods. But I can’t imagine being stuck in a house. Alone. Without electricity.
Without air conditioning.
For three days.
L.A. can get hot in August and September, yeah. But Louisiana heat is like taking a hot shower in your clothes. The humidity is relentless. You sweat, and it doesn’t have anywhere to go. When we’ve had outdoor, daytime scenes to film, we have to wrap up by ten a.m. or the other actors and I visibly start to melt. Especially the monsters in prosthetics and makeup.
Luckily, there aren’t too many scenes like that in the movie.
Which is set to resume filming on Monday. And it doesn’t exactly sound like Ramon and Sally plan to be back that soon.
If the storm passes without major damage, I need to be here, ready to work, first thing Monday morning. And I honestly don’t feel like making the five or six-hour drive there tomorrow, only to have to turn around and do it again Sunday.
And I don’t want to ask Sally and Ray to do that either.
“I’m going to stay put,” I say, definitively. “You guys go and take your time.” I smile at my best friend. “Give Colleen and Jeff my love.”
