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Charlie sits a little ways from us with three of her suits. She is here for the day too.
The director takes some of the actors and crew through the first scene, and the camera angles are rehearsed along with any tracking shots. The show's opening shots are going to be elaborate, and we might only get one scene on film. I know that might not even be enough, but I do not care. We have made it to the first day, and a lot is out of my hands.
We have an amazing cast in place, the script is faithful to the book, the locations are exactly as Charlie imagined them, and everyone is behind the vision. If a studio was making this, it would still be good, but there is so much they would leave out. It would lose a lot.
Before I know it, we are at lunch, and I get some food for Teal so she does not have to get up and make her way over to the food trucks. We will not do this for every day of filming, but I am impressed by her dedication. The baby takes its toll, and I know she must be tired. However, she is here with me and pushing through.
The second half of the day starts, and it is fascinating to watch it all unfold. I was unsure what to expect, and a lot is repeated, but it still feels magical. I get to look through one of the cameras as I follow along with the script. I get a sense of what the director is looking for when he gives direction to the actors. I thought one of the takes was amazing, but he said a few words and the actors provided something even greater.
I feel like a boy opening all of his toys on Christmas.
When I turn to Teal at the end of the day, I have a wide grin on my face. I remove that grin when I see how tired she looks.
"Come on. We should get you home."
"No," she replies. "We came here to celebrate our first day of shooting, and we need to do that. You even brought the good champagne!"
"We can do that another time."
"I will be fine, Logan. Come on, we won’t have a first day of filming after this, and Charlie came all the way down here for it. I have something important to tell you as well, and this is the perfect place."
"What is it?"
"Go and do your speech first, and then come back to me."
I smile and kiss Teal on the cheek. I do not know what I did to deserve her, but I have either been very good in this life or very lucky.
I move forward as everyone is milling about after the first day is wrapped, and I find a small box to step up onto to address everyone. They all look my way, and a hush descends over the large space.
"I want to thank you all," I announce. "Many people make a project like this a success, but big or small, you all made it happen, and you should be proud. I will not bore you with the details of why I wanted to take on this project, and there is still a chance it will bankrupt me. However, my thanks are not only for working so hard to bring the dream to reality… they are also for remaining true to Miss Morton’s vision. We have taken something special and made it more special without losing any of its brilliance. And if that does not make you cheer, I have also brought you two dozen cases of expensive champagne to drink. Please drink it all!"
That brings whoops and hollers from the entire cast and crew.
I step down from my box and shake hands with some of the team as I make my way back to Teal. Charlie stops me on my way there, and she grabs me and hugs me. I hug her back and cannot help but chuckle.
I finally return to Teal, who stands up to embrace me too.
"I might get jealous if you go around hugging powerful and successful women like that," she quips.
"We both know she likes you far more than she likes me. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about? Nothing bad, I hope."
Teal looks at me and takes a deep breath.
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
It is nice to be out of Los Angeles for a while, though I have my due date in the back of my mind. It is not a long trip to Utah by plane, but I didn’t want to risk flying right now since I’m so late in my pregnancy.
I urged Logan to fly to Utah, but he insisted on driving me here over three days. He also had his personal physician travel in a car with us just in case I went into labor early. Connecting with him on the drive here was amazing, and I got to know him better than I have over the past seven months.
We have the first episode wrapped, and it blows me away that we are getting to screen it to an audience at the Sundance Film Festival. It makes me nervous just thinking about it; however, not as nervous as when I finally told him how I felt on the first day of shooting…
The memory keeps playing over and over in my mind.
I love you,Logan. I can’t keep it in any longer. I love you. And I don’t want you to say it back to me because you feel you should. I only want to hear it when you are ready.
That was two months ago,and I thought I might have heard it by now. He shows me that he loves me in many ways, but I know he has difficulty dealing with his emotions and admitting his love is a big step for him. I just wish he would say it. Well, say itandmean it.
I pull down the front of my dress as it rides up over my belly again. I wanted to choose a large summer dress, but everything I tried on made me look massive—like a beached whale. Thanks to Stella McCartney, I look amazing despite being heavily pregnant, but I can’t admit it is the most comfortable dress I have ever worn.
