Chapter 61

Walt and Mary came in and sat down and were introduced to Karlie.

"You know, this table has a lot more room than ours," Walt said, rubbing his hand across the wood. "Why aren't we using it up there? I mean... , since you eat with us most of the time?"

"Because yours had a huge scorch mark," Allie said. "Besides, the table you got is just fine."

"I wasn't saying it wasn't," Walt said. "And that scorch mark was courtesy of the people who owned that table before us. I would guess they either dropped a joint on some papers or tried to light a Jaeger bomb. Either way, it wasn't us."

"Well, you'll be able to eat here in a few weeks anyway," Mary said. "Uh, do you guys think you can take some of our stuff across while we're gone? I don't know if you were planning anything but it would be a help."

"We can take it but no one knows where anyone is landing," Adam said. "Have you folks figured it out?"

Mary looked at Allie, Sarah and Shelly, who each shrugged, and called Rachelle.

"They were just going to fuck a little," Mary said. "She would prefer to hang out with us, I'm sure."

Rachelle answered so loudly that even Adam heard her from across the table.

"We were not fucking!" she yelled. "We are packing. Now what you want, you abominable little troll?"

"Easy there, Sugar Tits," Mary laughed. "Don't let your mouth write a check your ass can't cover."

"Let's leave my ass and mouth out of this," Rachelle joked. "Anyway, what's up?"

"We're picking bedrooms down here," she answered. "Unless you want the closet under the stairs, you better hustle it up. And put on some clothes for God's sake. They have company."

"Trinity?" Rachelle asked. Mary looked over at Karlie to gauge her reaction.

"Nah, Karlie," she said. "You know, the girl who beat you out for the next ride on Adam's rocket."

Karlie's eyes darted to the others to see how they would react. This person obviously didn't know about Sarah's meltdown earlier. Karlie had yet to learn it wouldn't have made a different to Mary if she had known.

"You're awful giddy this afternoon," Rachelle replied. "But sure, Sean and I will be down in a couple of minutes. I want to call Daddy and have him look for us down there."

Mary put down her phone.

"The next ride on Adam's rocket?" Allie asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's a euphemism for sex," Mary said. "You know, ride the bologna pony, hop on the pogo stick. It means..."

"I know what it means," Allie said. "It was just impolite to say things like that in front of a guest."

"Yep," Mary replied. "Figured there was no use to sugar coat things. There is no reason for her to think I'm some sweet Magnolia flower now only to learn the truth later."

Even Walt shook his head at this depiction.

"OK, fine," Mary said. "I am giddy. Walt and I are taking our first vacation together. I got another $300 from Daystar via courier this morning for the work I did Monday and Tuesday on their scene. It had a sweet little note from Tate telling me he had it with him to give me last night but got so excited over everything he completely forgot."

"Whoa, you know the Daystar people?" Karlie asked. "So it's true ... the rumor I read. Ashley Malibu is going to Daystar exclusively? What do you do? I mean, I studied a lot of scenes to get ready – and it still didn't help prepare me – but I don't remember you. Are you like Sarah? New, I mean."

"I do digital graphics for them," Mary answered. "And yes, it's true. Ashley is going to work for Daystar but not exclusively. Sarah is going to promote Dazzle Video, but also not exclusively."

"That is still up in the air," Sarah cautioned. Mary waved her hand dismissively.

"We're split up on the hill about whether Dazzle will miss the boat with the cooperative we offered," Walt said. "But I think we all agree they are good enough businesspeople to sign you to a deal. Even Ellen didn't seem that simple."

Karlie was looking around the table dumbfounded.

"Uh, we are putting together a production group of our own," Allie said, as Sean and Rachelle walked in. She explained the concept to Karlie, giving everyone's skills. Adam noticed he wasn't mentioned when she pointed out the multitude of talents each person possessed. He might have addressed where he fell in the grand scheme of things but he didn't with Karlie in the room.

"Amazing," Karlie remarked. "I honestly thought, well, I thought you were full of crap. I mean not about offering me a place to crash for a while. That was sweet. But when you said you guys could make a few calls to see if you could help me land some real work. Guess it was me who was full of crap. It happens a lot, though, so I should be used to it."

"Oh, we're full of crap," Sean said. "Most of us have no real experience. I mean Mary knows her stuff. Rachelle has marketed her Dad's businesses. Shelly has done lighting and camera placement. Sarah has sold a script. Allie has done some cover art. But Walt only thinks he can build stuff. I only think I can keep things under budget. Adam only thinks he can run a company. Hey, wait. That makes it sound like it's the guys who are full of crap."

"Also true," Mary said. "They ride our coattails. Thankfully, the women in the group are all so successful we can allow it. Truth is, we don't have many connections. Not really. We're friends, I guess, with Tate and Ben Benedict at Daystar. Jerry Goldsmith at Dazzle likes us. We're on good terms with Rachelle's Dad who is our primary backer, who knows a lot of people – oh, and the bank seemed really happy with our deposit. But it's not like we're power brokers or anything."

"So, about the bedrooms," Walt said, looking at his watch. It was already two p.m. and he wanted to be on the road soon.

"Which one do you guys want?" Mary asked Sarah, Shelly and Allie.

"We still need to discuss that," Sean pointed out. "Look, we're all in for an eighth. That is half a bedroom per person. I think they get two even if they only use one."

"I agree," Adam said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure I insist upon it."

Adam rarely insisted upon anything. He was always happy to go along with almost anything. Still, Mary and Rachelle wanted the flexibility to use the other bedroom for other things – like the prospect of having Erin, Sean's sister, live there.

"Well, it just seems silly to have a room that is going to be unused," Rachelle said. "But if you're adamant, I guess that is what we'll do."

"Who says it won't be used?" Shelly asked. "We might use it for a guest room or something. We might use it to store our clothing. We might set up a lounge in there. The downstairs is communal. I think we agree on that part."

"It just limits us," Mary said. She didn't want to get into why she felt limited.

"If you want Sean's sister to live there, I'm fine with it," Adam said. "You four can share a room and she can have one of yours."

"That's ridiculous," Mary said.

"Why?" Sean said. "It's exactly what you suggested they do. It's silly for the four of us to do it but it's reasonable for the four of them to do it? Not a good argument, Mary."

"They already share a room most nights," Mary insisted.

"Because we want to," Allie pointed out, "not because we have to. I have to agree with the guys on this point. I'd like to have the flexibility to invite people to live with us too – and not your sister, Sean. We've offered to let Karlie stay here – in the spare room – until the lease runs out in June. She hasn't said yes or no but we've offered. There are many reasons behind it, none of which concern you four in the slightest, and we thought it was a good idea. If we do decide to stay in one room, I think we should have the right of first refusal on who stays in the second, simply because our investment is equal to yours."

"But, no offense, but we don't know Karlie," Rachelle said.

"And we don't know Erin," Adam replied. "Additionally, you'll note Allie said that the offer extends until May 31. There is no offer for anyone else to join us at the new place. As time progresses, we might discuss it further. It's immaterial at this point. The only point to focus on now is that four divided by eight is one-half. There are eight people paying on the mortgage. There are four bedrooms. That means everyone gets one roommate. If we mix and match, so be it. If I choose to sleep on the couch or set up a tent in the backyard, it doesn't change the fact that half of one bedroom is mine. If you decide you would rather share a room with Allie than Walt, and Allie decides the same thing, we'll have to find Walt a roommate. How or with whom we sleep should not dictate how much space we're allocated."

"Fine," Mary said, although it was obviously not fine with her.

"I hate to convene a meeting but I will so we can vote on it," Sean said.

"No need, we know the vote," Rachelle said. "And I guess now that it has been explained to me, I understand. But I still think Erin and your Mom have plans for her to live with you for a semester or two."

"What plans my sister or Mom have in their minds do not affect this group," Sean said firmly.

"I want a room by the back deck," Mary said. "Either is fine."

"Me, too," Rachelle said quickly.

Sean and Walt closed their eyes tightly. Each had hoped that everyone would say it didn't matter which rooms went to whom and maybe draw lots.

"We're OK with that," Allie said, after glancing at Sarah and Shelly, who nodded. "We might want to use the back deck some, too, though. I hope we won't get to the point where it is unreasonable."

"I don't think it will matter," Mary said. "I mean, you know. Hell, we grabbed the best rooms, didn't we?"

"The rooms are the same," Shelly said. "The back deck is going to be better for mid-day sun and for privacy. The front rooms are a little bigger and have more closet space. I don't see it making a huge difference, unless you two decide we can't go through your rooms for any reason."

"Four," Adam said. "There will be four people living in those rooms."

"Like Walt or Sean is going to bitch about us coming through naked to sunbathe," Allie joked.

"I'm going to have to build stairs from the decks anyway," Walt said. "The fire code says since we are considered a multi-family unit, there has to be fire escapes. The front deck already has a set. The back one will have to be done within 90 days of occupancy. Honestly, I think my Dad can build it in about 3 or 4 hours and just drive it up here for us if I can get the blueprints. The hard part is going to be setting the poles and stuff. But I'll take care of that if I can get some manual labor from the rest of you."

"Sure," Sean agreed automatically. "I think it's safe to say all you need to do is let us know. Tell your Dad not to go cheap. This is a physical improvement to meet code so we can itemize it on our taxes."

"Speaking of taxes, Sean," Allie said. "Would you take a look at mine when you get back? I have all my documents but I'm not really sure what I can claim and what I can't."

"I'll look," Sean said. "But I'm not sure myself. It might be best if we get things together and maybe someone with a lot more experience can look at them. I'm sure Mike can recommend someone."

"Thanks," Allie answered. "I was worried about that. You know, no one takes taxes out. I'm an independent contractor. Adam, I should have mentioned that. Save everything. Start taking your mileage on your car, your gas receipts, dry cleaning."