Page 49 of Cuts like a Knife
I email it to Lars and close my computer. It’s still early, but I’m starting to fade. I’ve barely eaten all day, and I’ve had way too many alcoholic drinks. The warm Bahamian air feels better than a blanket, and the lit palm trees are bright and dizzying against the midnight blue sky. I slide down in my chair, pop my feet up on the chair opposite me, and begin to drift.
As the beginnings of a night of debauchery blossom around me, I keep only one half-hearted eye on the action. None of it is very interesting. The journalists are starting to mingle with the stars. Gone are most of the laptops. Some of these snooty losers have even abandoned their signature street wear. I’m seeing bathing suits. Espadrilles.
Over by the main bar, Maylee Wise, is flirting with that beefy Canadian chef. They look genuinely into each other, which surprises me, especially after watching the sparks fly between him and Savannah Jack earlier. Maylee, with her unimposing dark hair and regular-girl style is such a contrast to that bleached YouTuber Savannah Jack. She’s probably appealing to his bumpkin Canadian heart or something.
I notice he has a huge lobster tattoo on his forearm, and another — I think it’s a whisk — up on his neck. His biceps are huge. Danny Hughes? Is that his name? I make a mental note to watch the two of them more closely tomorrow. Maybe they’re an actual love-story in bloom. Or maybe he’ll hook up with Jack167.
Maylee Wise really doesn’t fit in with this crowd. She’s not even famous anymore, and unlike Rhiannon Maltane, who may have won an Emmy once upon a time but is now washed up, as far as I know, she isn’t trying to be168.
Which makes her a lot more appealing as a subject. I wonder what’s she’s doing here. Finding out could make a good profile. She must have some sort of comeback project in the works.
I watched a few of Maylee’s movies back in the day. She was a cute kid with big eyes and a dark brunette bob. She was precocious. But she hadn’t done anything in years, had she?
I do a quick Google and confirm that after her last movie (made when she was just twelve), she retired from acting, disappeared for a few years (probably attended high-school, this is not rocket science, people), then went to NYU for awhile. As far as I can tell, she became a normal. Her media appearances appear to be limited to appearing in periodic and perennial “where are they now?” articles169.
The comments on the where-are-they articles are brutal. Grown men talking about how badly she’s aged. Why do these trash publications do this? Just let their comment sections go wild? It’s awful170.
One upside of being at Citidaze is actually that I don’t have to be mean very often. We’re too small a pub to bother. We are a—kissers, not evisceraters171.
Watching Maylee with the chef, I’m struck by how normal they both look. They could be any couple on vacation. They’re not people you’d look at twice. I run through more headlines in my mind.
scan the bar for Maylee and her bad-boy chef. If those two are still snuggled up, maybe I can make a love-triangle story out of it. He’s partnered with pretty Savannah for the show, but behind the scenes, normal Maylee is moving in? Almost against my will, headlines start to write themselves in my mind.
Three’s a crowd on Hot Slice
Trawling for Danny
Savannah Jack goes slumming, but Maylee fights back
Hmm. Tricky. Lars is obsessed with fame and star quality. My instincts tell me Maylee would be worth a profile, but I doubt Callum would go for it.
No, there’s no point. I should try to focus on the more glittery types in this ridiculous cast.
Pete is in the pool, a drink in one hand and a girl under each arm. Neither girl is from the show. They’re generic bikini-wearing babes. A gaggle of people surround him, orbiting the man like he’s a damn sun. One of them has a rock around her neck the side of a bottle cap172.
He’s much more the sort that Lars would drool over.
I don’t get it. What has he even done? Maybe it’s time to figure that out. I pull out my phone and shoot off a text to Claire, pop-culture queen and unabashed knower of all things trivial. (Interestingly, she’s terrible at Trivial Pursuit, though.)
Lex: Quick question: Who is Petar Timber?
Claire: Google is free.
Lex: Cute. I know who he is. He’s fifteen feet away from me right now. In a swimming pool. Surrounded by models and acolytes.
Claire: Ugh.
Lex: Jealous?
Claire: Of him, no. Of you? A little. I wish I was in a swimming pool in the Bahamas right now.
Lex: Poor you. What I mean is, where did he come from? What’s he famous for?
Lex: Because I’ve checked and I can’t figure it out.
Claire: Nothing to figure out really. He’s famous for being famous. He’s like a male socialite.
Lex: But who’s his family? There’s no wikipedia page on him, nothing.
