Page 17 of Marriage & Mockery

I put the pages down and forced myself to watch the monitors as the scene started, already knowing the audience was going to love it.

The director called, “Action!”

Charlotte stepped into frame with the perfect mix of sincerity and chaos the character required. The setup landed cleanly. One of the other actors delivered the invitation to the community pool fundraiser.

Charlotte’s expression shifted into exaggerated mortification. “Absolutely not. The sea claimed my ship once. It’s been more than six hundred years since I sailed rough waters as Iliana the Dread, but I will not give it a second chance to claim me.”

The laughter came from the audience before the floor manager cued them. A few people even whooped.

Their reaction egged Charlotte on, strengthening her pirate-queen posture. Her dramatic hand gestures became bigger, along with the absolute certainty that a public pool was a personal threat. Every exaggerated beat played exactly the way it had been written to play.

The audience laughed through the whole bit, loudly enough that I knew this scene would survive the edit and probably end up in the promo for this episode.

Jordan glanced sideways at me with a satisfied nod. On the monitors, Charlotte hit the final escalation and held for the reaction. The audience rewarded her with enthusiastic applause. I sat there with the headset on and watched people thoroughly enjoy what we’d written.

Shaping characters for reliable laughs was the job. And I was good at it.

But tonight, every burst of laughter scraped my nerves because I was all too aware it was landing on the real woman who had made a quiet joke in the privacy of our home. Laina had trusted me with the candid version of herself that she didn’t share with everyone, and I’d actually thought that changing her quirks until they were unrecognizable made them fair game for inspiration. That it would cause her no harm.

The scene wrapped to strong applause. Charlotte broke character and grinned, already looking toward the monitors for feedback.

“Great energy,” the director complimented through the headset. “We should keep most of that, but let’s go again for coverage. Same pace. Charlotte, you can push the ship line a half second longer if you want. They loved it.”

She gave a thumbs-up. The audience settled for the next take.

The next take started. The laughter came just as easily.

I kept my eyes on the screens and did my job while the realization finished cutting through every excuse I had left.

The second take wrapped even cleaner than the first. Charlotte took a small bow toward the audience before the floor manager waved them quiet again.

“That’s classic Sally.” Jordan made a note. “They’re going to push the ship line all week.”

He hadn’t said anything I hadn’t already realized myself, but hearing it out loud made my stomach clench.

Someone clapped Charlotte on the shoulder as she came off her mark. The usual post-scene commotion surrounded me, but I stayed in my seat with my headset still on and gave the minimum required answers when people looked at me for confirmation.

The audience was still buzzing when they started ushering them out. I stared at the now-dark monitors and thought about their laughter.

Then I forced myself to my feet, stretched the stiffness out of my shoulders, and went to do my goodbyes to the cast and network execs who’d shown up for the taping. Since we finished in a record-breaking three hours, with the cast nailing their scenes in just one or two takes with no mistakes, I was done in time to pick Lucy up after the football game her squad had performed at tonight.

I made it to the high school just as the stadium lights started shutting down in sections. Lucy was near the edge of the lot with a couple of other girls, still in her uniform with her backpack over her shoulder. When she saw the G-Wagon, she said a quick goodbye and climbed in.

“How was the game?” I asked.

“We won, and the halftime routine went great.” She buckled her seat belt. “I’m glad you could pick me up. Shelly’s mom was happy to drop me off, but I was a little worried she’d ask about the Sally stuff.”

My hands tightened on the steering wheel, and I grimaced. “I’m sorry you’re caught in the middle of this mess.”

“My friends have all been pretty cool about it.” Her shoulders slumped. “I just wish I had been nicer to Mom when she came home that night.”

“I wish I’d done a lot of things differently too, but we can’t change the past, kiddo.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “All we can do is make sure we treat your mom how she deserves from now on.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I’ve sent her a few more texts, and she’s replied each time. But it’s not the same. I could really use one of her hugs right now.”

“I’m sure she misses you just as much.” I only wished the same could be said for me.

The door lifted after I hit the garage remote as we approached the house. I was stunned to see Laina’s car parked in its usual spot.