I reached over and took the calendar out of her trembling
hands.
“I won’t leave Uganda until the first week of May. I’ve got a movie in Vancouver the rest of that month.” I flipped the page to June. “More filming and movie premieres in June. And then all of July and August I’ll be back in Uganda. Then I’ve got another movie starting at the beginning of September. And different stuff the rest of the year with a little more time in Uganda whenever I could squeeze it in.”
She looked at me but said nothing. I think she was in shock.
“This calendar is my way of showing you that I’m going to do everything I can to make this work. I’d love it if you could travel a lot of that with me. You don’t have to stay all the time during shoots, but if you travel with me during the premiere trips, then we can see something new each time we’re in a country. And I’ve tacked on Ireland and Greece before and after. We can make this work, Kei. I know we can.”
She still didn’t speak.
“You okay?”
“You’re going to take me through Europe?” Her bottom lip quivered as she talked.
“I promised you I would.”
“And you’re coming back to Gulu?”
“I promised that too. I keep my promises, Kei.”
She looked back down at the calendar, her bottom lip still trembling.
“So, first things first. Will you be my date to the Academy
Awards?”
“That’s a huge event, isn’t it?”
“The biggest one of them all.”
“And you want to take me?” she asked, looking back at me.
“I want to take you. I figure it can be our coming-out event.”
“Coming out?”
“I want to keep us on the down low for a little while, keep the madness out and get to enjoy each other before everyone’s in our business. But I don’t want to hide us forever. It’s not like it would be possible anyway. And the Academy Awards is a big deal. I don’t want to go without you. I want the woman I love right there by my side.”
“Once people find out about us, what if they find out about me, my past?”
“They won’t. James dug and dug and couldn’t figure it out. It’ll be fine. Everyone’s going to love you. Trust me.”
“But in the meantime?”
“We play it cool. Nobody on the set knows we’re together except Oliver and Andrew.”
“Whatever you say. This is your world, Cabot. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Correction. This is now our world.”
C H A P T E R
32
Once shooting started, my first priority was to keep Kei out of the chaos as much as possible. To do that, we had to severely limit the amount of time we spent together, no matter how painful it was or difficult it got.
On the first day, Oliver took Kei with him and they left thirty minutes before I did. We left Millie behind to scavenge the hallways for anything she thought Kei might need to take back to Uganda the next time she went.
By the time I made it to the set, the streets were lined three people deep, and when I stepped out of the car, I thought I might go deaf the screams were so loud. I’d been away from it all for so long, I’d forgotten how intense it was.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kei. She videotaped me as I waved to the crowd then ducked my head, hunched my shoulders, and hid in the middle of Andrew and several other men who led me through the set and into a trailer that sat farthest away from the onlookers.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
Andrew opened it.“Yeah?”
“This is Kei,” a male voice said. “Oliver sent her to interview Cab.”
Andrew acted liked he’d never seen her before. He even scowled. “Okay. Come on in. Thanks, Pacey.”
“Call me when you want me to come get her,” the voice said.
“Will do.” Andrew held open the door. “Come in. Cab, evidently you’ve got an interview to do. Oliver’s orders.”
Kei walked up a few steps and glanced around at the room full of people before making eye contact with me. “Hi,” I said with a reassuring smile. “If you can give me just a second to wrap this up.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” I turned back to the guy sitting next to me and tried to concentrate on what he was saying while at the same time keeping in tune with what was going on with Kei.
“Please have a seat,” Andrew encouraged. “Can I get you a drink or anything, coffee maybe?”
“There’s also tea back there,” I announced. “If you like that…hot tea instead of coffee. It’s back there.”
“I do prefer tea actually.”
“Great. Stella, please get Kei some hot tea.”
Kei picked up a magazine and started flipping through it.
Eventually my meeting ended and the four men stood and left the trailer. Kei, Andrew, Stella, and I were left.
“So you’re here to interview me, is that right?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Go for it.”
“All right.” She set up the camera and focused it before sitting back down. “Should I just start?”
“Yep.”
She glanced over at Andrew, but he didn’t respond in any way.
“When I arrived here this morning, I was shocked at the number of people waiting to catch a glimpse of you. Were you surprised at all?”
“I was,” I said with a nod. “The previous films I’ve worked on were more private and away from crowds, so I hadn’t experienced this before. This morning, when we came around the corner, I was really surprised to see so many fans, surprised and honored.”
“They’re loud,” she said.
“They can be. But you take it all in stride and realize that they’re just trying to show their support for what you do. We’ve got several weeks of shooting outdoors, so hopefully we’ll be able to keep them quiet while we’re filming.”
I’d been trained at this. Answering questions from reporters or fans was completely different from having a normal conversation. Every word had to be planned and spoken carefully. This meant a different pace and more controlled voice, but it didn’t seem to throw Kei off at all. She went with the flow.
“Can you tell me what it was about this role that spoke to you and made you decide to be a part of the project?”
“Actually, the producer personally approached me about this story over a year ago, even before anyone really knew who I was. We’d met through an acquaintance. He gave me the script, I read through it, and the character instantly clicked with me.”
“It’s a serious role,” she interrupted.
I nodded. “It is. It’s very serious, and that’s part of what I liked about it. It’s a powerful story, and if it’s done correctly, I think it will really touch people in a way that not many stories do. The character of Fiero is a good guy. He’s passionate, but he’s very flawed.”
“How so?”
“I don’t want to give too much away.”
“Well, this will be on the DVD, so everyone will already know how it ends.”
I laughed. “True. Well, okay then. When the woman he loves is hurt, he lashes out and he does it in a very violent way. While some will think it’s romantic that he loves her so much that he will do anything to protect her—”
“Or avenge what happened to her,” she interrupted again.
“Right. Others might see it differently. I’ll be curious to see what people think.”
“How do you see it?”
“I can see both sides. If a woman I loved was hurt by someone, I’d want to hurt them back. But in the end, I’m not sure it would help anything.”
“Eye for an eye?”
“We’ll see. I guess people can decide for themselves if that’s the best way to handle the situation.”
“One last question for now.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Um…” I laughed as I looked down and rubbed my temples. My Cab facade instantly cracked.
“Too personal?” she asked.
“Um…you know….um…I normally don’t answer personal questions like that.”
“I take that as a yes?”
“No comment.” I glanced at Andrew and gave a quick tilt of the head.
“Stella,” Andrew said instantly, “would you run and make sure Cab’s call time hasn’t changed?”
“Of course,” Stella answered.
Kei turned off the camera as the woman stopped what she was doing and left the trailer. Andrew was right behind her.
I watched as he closed the door behind him. Just as it latched, I grabbed Kei, pulled her onto my lap, and kissed her.
“Good morning,” I said just before kissing her again.
“What did you think of my brilliant interview questions? Not bad for having no preparation.”
“You did good. That last question was a doozy.”
“I wanted to truly test your acting skills. And besides, isn’t it the question every person wants an answer to?”
“It is. How’d I do?”
“Horrid. You didn’t hide it well at all.”
“I can’t help myself. You’re too cute, acting all official and
everything.”
“I take my job very seriously,” she teased. “Inquiring minds want to know if you have a girlfriend.”
“Is this off the record?”
“It is.”
“I’m in a very serious, monogamous, committed, and private relationship with the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Blimey. Wish I could have gotten that on film.”
“I’ll repeat it anytime you want.”
There was one knock on the door. I picked her up and tossed her back in her chair just seconds before the door opened and Andrew walked back in.
“She’s on her way back,” he said. “Great job, Kei.”
“Thanks.”
“So, I understand that Oliver’s wanting you to interview me daily?” I asked as Stella walked back inside.
“He does. I think he was hoping to really capture your thoughts all the way through this process. You’re the heart and soul of the story. I believe people will be captivated in knowing how the filming is going and your thoughts about it all.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Excuse me, Cab?” Stella interrupted. “Call time hasn’t changed. They need you in makeup in fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, Stella.” I held my hand out to Kei. “Thank you, Kei.”
She shook my hand and stood. “No. Thank you.”
“I’ll look forward to our time together each day.”
“Me too. I’ll come prepared with better, less personal questions next time.”
“Your questions were just fine. I’m about to go greet the fans. Would you want to capture that?”
“I’d love to capture it.”
“Then why don’t you head on out. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Aces.” She removed the camera from the tripod, gathered everything together, and left without looking back.
As soon as I turned the corner and was spotted, the screaming started again. I didn’t spot Kei among the throng of girls but didn’t make a point to look for her either.
“There he is!”
“He’s coming this way!”
Just as I got to the crowd, Andrew handed me a Sharpie. On cue, every girl standing there whipped out their books, pictures, and posters.
“Over here!”
“Cab!”
“Can I have your autograph?”
“Me, me, me, me!”
I signed autographs, posed for pictures, and made small talk. “Marry me, Cab!”
“You’ll have to get my mother’s permission,” I replied while signing another photograph. “I’m old fashioned, you know.”
“Marry me too!”
“Sorry. I’m a one-woman kind of guy.” That reply was mostly for Kei’s benefit.
The statement received another squeal of delight from the females.
“Okay. I’ve got to get going,” I announced.
All the girls groaned, and some even cried.
“I’ve got to get to the makeup trailer. Thanks for coming out this morning. I appreciate the support.”
“We love you, Cab!”
“You guys are great. Thanks.” With that, I handed the marker back to Andrew and walked away.
Kei and I never made eye contact.
From what I could tell, Kei spent the rest of the day exploring the set, getting to know the crew, and watching from afar while I prepared for scenes and eventually got around to actually shooting a few. I ate lunch with some of the other actors while Kei sat with Ben, the kid Oliver and I hired to stay with her at all times, and a few of the other film crew. Toward the end of the day, as she packed her cameras into a bag, I walked up behind her.
“We should have gotten you a better job,” I whispered.
“I like this job. Although, I wouldn’t mind taking the place of the young lady who is told to spritz you with water from time to time.”
“We don’t even get to talk to each other. It completely blows.”
“It’s better than nothing, I suppose.”