Waterfalls (28 page)

Changing into shorts and a T-shirt, Meredith hauled a chair out onto her tiny balcony so she could sun her white legs. Just as she settled in and picked up the first manuscript, the phone rang.

“Hello. Is this
the
Meredith Graham?”

She recognized Jake’s voice but wasn’t used to his chipper greeting. “Hi, Jake.”

He paused before saying, “I think I have good news for you. You got the part!”

“Really?” She had been trying not to think about it since she was hoping for it, and that made it all the more probable, in her estimation, that it wouldn’t work out. She knew all about how deferred hope makes the heart sick.

“We’ll need you to come down tomorrow and get fitted by Muriel in wardrobe. I should have thought of it today to save you the additional trip.”

“That’s okay. I’ll be free most of tomorrow afternoon, and my plane doesn’t leave until seven-thirty tomorrow night.”

“Muriel is only here until four tomorrow. Should I send Chad over for you?”

Meredith sat down quickly on the edge of the bed. The news hit her, and she felt a little weak kneed. “No, I’ll rent a car. That way I can drive myself to the airport. I don’t think Chad wants to see me ever again.”

“Papers need to be signed, of course, and Gina in makeup wants some Polaroids.”

“Papers?”

“Your contract.”

Suddenly the roles were reversed in their relationship, and Meri was the one feeling at a loss. “Do I need an agent?”

“Do you have one?”

“No, but I know a few.”

“It’s up to you. It’s a standard contract for nonunion actors. For the size of your role and your experience, I’m afraid you won’t have a lot of negotiating power, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Meredith started to laugh and flopped onto her back, laughing at the ceiling where she had written that nasty letter to Jake a few nights ago. All her fierce words had been erased.

“No, Jake, I’m not thinking of negotiating anything. This is all so out of the blue. I didn’t expect it to work out.”

“It’s a nice surprise for both of us,” Jake said. “We start to film in Glenbrooke on Monday.”

“Monday!”

“Yes. We need you there for at least two days, but plan on three or four since it’s the first few days of filming. A lot can go wrong.”

“Okay. Got it. Tomorrow I’ll drive to the studio about two o’clock, I’ll meet with Muriel, sign some papers, let Gina take some Polaroid shots of me, and get myself to LAX by six. It could happen.”

“It could and it will. You’re a lifesaver, Meri. Your screen test was perfect.”

He had never called her Meri before, and she wasn’t sure she liked it as much as when he said Meredith, and it rolled off his tongue.

“I like this character. She’s going to be fun to play.”

“I think so, too,” Jake said. “Now, how about going out to dinner with me? We can celebrate.”

It was Meredith’s turn to pause. A waterfall of thoughts and feelings cascaded over her, nearly drowning her on the bed. If
she didn’t finish reading all the manuscripts tonight, she would never be able to leave the conference by one o’clock tomorrow. She was flattered that he wanted to celebrate with her, but what if it turned out to be an emotional mess like last night at the Cheesecake Factory?

“I’d better not,” she said slowly.

Jake waited.

“I have a huge stack of manuscripts to read, and I really have to do them tonight.”

“I see.” The disappointment was evident in his voice. “I hope they go quickly for you.”

“Thanks,” Meredith said, biting her lower lip and wondering if she had made the right choice.

“I’ll see you at the studio, then, tomorrow. Do you remember how to get here?”

“Yes, Valley View exit, right?”

“Right.”

“I’ll see you sometime close to two o’clock,” Meri said. “Bye, Jake.”

“Good-bye, Meredith.” For the first time, his farewell sounded sad.

M
eredith read like a crazy woman. She ordered in room service, missed the evening session, and kept reading and writing her editor’s comments until well after midnight. Of all the ideas she had seen during the conference, only one proposal sounded like a book G. H. Terrison Publishing might be interested in. Meredith wrote her comments on that one last. She asked the writer to make a few changes and then send the revised copy to Shawn in the Chicago office.

She felt wonderful having all the manuscripts now in a tall “out” stack. At home the out stack grew this tall, but more were always coming in.

She fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of waterfalls and a fair maiden rowing across the lake in the same boat she and Jake had shared for their morning picnic. When the alarm sounded the next morning, Meredith tried to pull her dream with her into the waking world. But like all things made of feathery-light vapors, her dream fled before it could acclimate
to the harsh realities of the world. The sweet images slipped back to her dream world.

It occurred to her in the shower that Jake had not appeared in her dream, at least to the best of her recollection. Did that mean he didn’t have access to the garden places deep inside, as she thought he did? Had Jake only seemed wonderful and intriguing because she willed it to be so? Maybe nothing had been there to begin with, no chemical reaction even.

All the analyzing gave her a headache.

Dressing quickly and packing her clothes while her hair dried, Meredith realized she was going to be late for her nine o’clock appointment. There was nothing she could do about it. She hoped she could make up the time elsewhere in the morning and not have to reschedule anyone for the afternoon.

By the time she arrived downstairs in the meeting area, it was 9:10. She saw a small woman sitting alone at the table that had Meredith’s name on the placard. With sincere apologies, Meredith met the older woman and shook her hand. When the woman said her name, Meredith thought it sounded familiar. Then she remembered.

“I have something encouraging to tell you,” she said. “Of all the manuscripts I’ve read here this week, yours was the only one I thought might be a match for our publishing house. I have it right here.”

The woman looked as if she might cry as Meredith handed her the manila envelope with the editor’s notes on the cover. “I’ve made a few suggestions. I’d like you to make those changes and then send it to the editor I listed for you. Be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. This is no guarantee that we’ll buy your book, but it’s a lovely story, and I think it has a lot of potential.”

“Thank you,” the woman said, rising and bowing to
Meredith. It appeared to be her Asian custom. Meredith nodded her head back and congratulated the woman again for her fine work.

“Thank you,” the woman said again. “You have given me hope.”

As she left, Meredith imagined how hard it must have been for a woman of her age to come to a conference like this and try to beat the odds of getting a book published. It did Meri’s heart good to know that at least one person would leave the conference with some hope. Hope was a good thing.

The appointments continued, one right after the other until almost noon, when Meredith had a fifteen-minute break. She went to the rest room and then grabbed a candy bar from the machine by the phone. The next three appointments went by like clockwork. At one fifteen, she was checked out of the hotel and sitting in the rental car she had arranged to have waiting for her. Everything was clicking right along.

She eased the car out of the hotel parking lot and headed for the studio. It was hard for her to analyze how she felt about Jake at the moment. Somewhere inside, a spring of logic rose up, and she began to evaluate and comment on each of her thoughts in the same way she had made orderly logic of the stack of manuscripts she had waded through during the past few days.

First, you just turned twenty-five. This panic over your singleness was bound to hit you. Jake just happened to be around when the panic hit
.

Second, you wanted Jake to be the answer to all your prayers. You willed yourself into your emotional responses
.

Third, you tried to make something out of nothing. Only God can do that. Saving a grape as if it had special meaning is ridiculous. You were setting yourself up for disappointment
.

And fourth, this is not the time in your life when you need to be looking for a lasting relationship. Wait five more years
.

Meredith watched the car in her rearview mirror as she changed lanes.

Okay, three more years. In three years, you’ll have established yourself with Terrison Publishing well enough so that if you want to take some time off to get married and have babies, they’ll let you work part-time and welcome you back after the kids are in school
.

Letting out a sigh and merging onto the freeway, Meredith told herself she was right in her four logical laws. It made good sense to guard her heart as she had all these years. When the time was right, she would know it, and right now wasn’t a convenient time to start a relationship with a man who lived a thousand miles away and was in the middle of working day and night on his video production.

We’ll see each other a lot over the next few months with the books and the video. If I had let my emotions get carried away, it would have only made things more complicated for us to maintain our professional relationship. I’m glad I started to think clearly before it was too late
.

Meredith found the studio with no problem and walked into the building at exactly 1:50. She headed for the back corner where Jake had showed her the wardrobe on her first visit. Muriel was waiting for her and was delighted that Meri was early. Handing Meri the blue diaphanous gown that had been created for the actress originally cast as the Maiden of the Waterfall, Muriel showed Meredith to the small dressing area. Meri put on the spectacular gown.

No mirrors were in the dressing stall. Only pegs to hang clothes on. Meredith gave up trying to zip the dress and stepped out, asking Muriel to help her.

With her face to the full-length mirror by the door, Meredith admired the costume while Muriel worked to fasten
it in the back. The color was a softer blue than turquoise, more of a robin’s-egg blue. The fabric was as sheer as a whisper with a thin, matching lining. The bodice was showered with tiny glitters and elbow-length, billowing sleeves. The soft blue fabric drifted in layer upon layer down the long skirt, cut in angles like feathery fairy wings. The most amazing part was that it fit so well. Muriel went to work pinning the sides, which needed to be taken in just a pinch. She directed Meredith to stand on a carpeted box to check the hem. It wasn’t a straight hem but was pointed all around from the many layers of sheer blue fabric that cascaded to the floor.

Muriel fussed and pinched and stuck Meredith twice by accident. The seamstress was determined to mark the waist so she could cinch up the skirt at the waistband.

Meredith watched her reflection in the mirror and felt sure she was Cinderella, and at any moment the little mice would come skittering in to help Muriel sew this enchanting dress.

There was a knock at the door. No mice appeared. Only Chad, the big rat, telling Meredith that she needed to stay there so Gina from makeup could come take some “Roids.”

A few moments later a redheaded Gina appeared in shorts, clogs, and a pink T-shirt that said “Mr. Bubble.” She had to be one of the plainest women Meredith had seen during her time in Los Angeles. Gina didn’t wear a drop of makeup, and her eyes looked wide and bulgy like a frog’s. She didn’t appear to have any eyelashes. Her eyebrows were either blond and very faint or she had none.

“Good,” Gina said, checking the light above her head before coming closer to Meredith. “Stand just like that. I need one serious.” She clicked the Polaroid camera and pulled the photo out slowly. “Here, hold this a second. Now, one smiling. Very good. Hold it.”

“Do you need one with the wig?” Muriel asked.

“Wouldn’t hurt,” Gina said. She had a lovely voice with an accent. Australian, maybe?

Muriel took the developing picture from Meredith’s hand and told her to step down. “Now bend down,” Muriel ordered. “Watch the pins.”

Too late. Meredith had already harpooned herself on the right side. Muriel lifted an extremely long white wig and placed it on Meredith’s head. It felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.

“Tuck your hair behind your ear,” Gina instructed. She came forward and began fidgeting with the wig, trying to get it straight. The white wavy hair tumbled over Meredith’s shoulders and down her back until it touched the ground. Muriel pulled some of the long strands over the front of Meredith’s dress.

Meri looked in the mirror and smiled. “I look like something from a fairy tale,” she said, amazed at how much the wig transformed her appearance, especially with the dress.

“That’s the idea,” Muriel said.

“All I need is a wand.”

“No wand. Sorry.” Muriel tried to tuck Meredith’s stray blond hairs under the wig on the side. “We’ll do a proper cap and all for you when the time comes. This is good enough for now.”