Darren Shaffer was halfway through the pitch, and, in his mind it was going well. Better than well. Better than his wildest dreams kind of well. When Leo Chakiris had called him to complain about how he\u2019d treated his son on the movie set a few days ago, he never imagined he\u2019d actually get this kind of one-on-one time to discuss it.<\/p>\n
Now, over dinner, Leo was a captive audience who seemed genuinely interested in Darren\u2019s sci-fi movie idea. He wouldn\u2019t waste a Friday night listening to my movie pitch if he wasn\u2019t impressed with me, right? The way Darren figured it, a greenlight was inevitable. He was painting the picture with words, using his hands too much. Am I really using my hands too much? He ran his fingers through his long, greasy black hair. I can\u2019t spoil this now, he thought. And he was pretty sure he hadn\u2019t. Leo was buying all of it – he had hit a grand slam. In fact, he was already rounding third base and sliding into home plate even before the waiter had come to take their orders.<\/p>\n
Then Leo\u2019s cell phone rang.<\/p>\n
Leo looked at the caller ID, got a pained expression on his face and said, \u201cI have to take this. It\u2019ll just be a minute.\u201d He pressed a button and said \u201cLeo Chakiris. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hate cell phones, Darren thought. I hate other people\u2019s cell phones particularly. Jeff tried to look interested in the color of the tablecloth as Leo started talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well,\u201d Leo said to the person on the other end, \u201cI\u2019m in a meeting here, kid. Can\u2019t this wait \u2018til tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Darren, trying to occupy his attention, picked up his spoon. What a lovely spoon. Very curvy at the top. He saw his reflection in it and quickly brushed a stray hair somewhere near his ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to run that by me again?\u201d Leo\u2019s face had gone white as a sheet. He listened for what seemed like an eternity before saying, in a hushed tone, \u201cI\u2019ll be there in fifteen minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood to leave, pulled out his billfold, and dropped three crisp hundred-dollar bills on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis\u2019ll have to wait, Darren, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d He was putting on his Darrenet. \u201cFamily problems, you know how it is. Call my office and we\u2019ll set up another meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo, I\u2026\u201d Darren sputtered.<\/p>\n
Leo grinned that empty, non-committal Hollywood grin. \u201cSounds like you got a dynamite idea, there, Darren,\u201d he said blankly. \u201cIn the meantime, try to be a little nicer to my kid, okay? No, don\u2019t get up,\u201d he said, as Darren was starting to do exactly that.<\/p>\n
Just like that, Leo was out the door.<\/p>\n
The waiter came by and asked Darren if he was ready to order. Darren, trying not to look crushed, said no, handed the waiter a hundred bucks, and then pocketed the rest. At least something good came out of this, he told himself.<\/p>\n
Because I\u2019m never going to get another appointment with this guy, he admitted to himself as he monitored his reflection again in the top of the curvy spoon. Which means my movie never gets made. For the rest of my career, I\u2019m stuck directing teen football horror flicks.<\/p>\n
In frustration, he squeezed the spoon with the top of his thumb and, to his surprise, the curvy popped off and clanked as it landed on his plate.<\/p>\n
You\u2019d think, Darren thought, that a place this fancy could invest in some solid silverware.<\/p>\n
__________________<\/p>\n
\u201cFeet off the glass!\u201d Rahsaan scolded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure thing,\u201d said Jeff, crossing his legs and leaving them exactly where they were, which was directly on top of a stylish see-through coffee table directly in front of Rahsaan\u2019s flat screen television.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d been there for over two hours, hashing and rehashing over everything they\u2019d been through to each other and to Rahsaan, who seemed to be taking it all in stride, despite the raised voices and the uneasy tension between the newly christened Captain and Sheila Glutz\/Lisa Meyer. Lisa had managed to find some sweats in Rahsaan\u2019s closet and change out of her torn formalwear, but Jeff insisted in staying in his superhero duds, which amused Rahsaan and annoyed Lisa to no end.<\/p>\n
She was pacing in a corner. \u201cHis parents could be home any minute,\u201d she said, an edge of panic creeping into her voice. \u201cAre you sure coming here was a good idea?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, go home,\u201d Jeff said, exasperated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot while Vikki\u2019s in trouble,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Jeff snorted, \u201clike you\u2019re really helping out here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go home, then,\u201d Lisa snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, great,\u201d Jeff said sarcastically. \u201cMom and Dad will be so glad to fix up the spare terrorist bedroom for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
What made the whole thing worse was the fact that they were only three blocks away from where Lisa lived, and only four houses down the street from Jeff\u2019s home. But for all the trouble they were in, Jeff thought, they might as well have been on the dark side of the moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t recognize you,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course they recognized me!\u201d Jeff said. \u201cLook at that!\u201d He gestured toward the TV screen, not wanting to watch the footage again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all blurry,\u201d Rahsaan said, squinting his eyes at the screen. \u201cLooks like some kind of eel.\u201d He wandered off into the kitchen, mumbling something about anemones with pasty white thighs.<\/p>\n
With their host out of earshot, Lisa asked \u201cYou\u2019re sure Rahsaan can be trusted?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Jeff said, craning his head toward the kitchen. \u201cRahsaan!\u201d he yelled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you be trusted?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa scowled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre your feet still on the coffee table?\u201d he yelled back.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps,\u201d answered Jeff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa looked like she wanted to break something.<\/p>\n
Jeff laughed. \u201cRahsaan is family,\u201d he said simply. He then nervously licked his hands to get rid of the leftover potato chip grease and salt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really are a pig, aren\u2019t you?\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Jeff said. Lisa nodded, but Jeff was ignoring her and referencing the television. They were still rerunning the amateur video of the pick-up truck incident \u2013 over and over and over. It was the only footage anyone had been able to capture of the moment. It was pretty raw, though \u2013 Jeff thought that it was unmistakably him, despite the fact that his face was covered and the whole thing was out of focus. The pretty blonde announcer mentioned wild stories of giants and other beasts and UFOs and all kinds of nonsense, but the gawky kid in tights was the only one on the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way my parents aren\u2019t watching this,\u201d Jeff said, feeling the pit of his stomach sinking into his shoes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t tell it\u2019s you!\u201d Rahsaan shouted from the kitchen. \u201cSo go home!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Jeff shouted back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen move your stinkin\u2019 feet, anyway!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure thing!\u201d Jeff shouted back, his feet still firmly planted atop the table.<\/p>\n
The TV announcer got an excited look on her face as she grabbed her earpiece. \u201cI\u2019m just getting confirmation from the emergency room at the UCLA Medical Center that there\u2019s been another sighting of the alleged instigator of the attacks in Westwood. He arrived there with two young women, one a victim identified as Vikki Dennis of Topanga, California, who remains unconscious and is now receiving medical attention for a compound arm fracture. Whether the wounds were inflicted on her by the terrorist is unclear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, come on!\u201d Jeff yelled at the screen, sitting up straight and leaning in anxiously. \u201cIf she were my victim, why would I take her to the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can\u2019t hear you,\u201d Lisa said. Jeff sniffed derisively and uneasily rubbed the side of his face.<\/p>\n
The announcer continued. \u201cThe second girl identified herself as Sheila Glutz. Probably an alias.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d Jeff scoffed. Then, to Lisa, \u201cCouldn\u2019t you do better than \u2018Glutz?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, \u2018Captain,\u2019\u201d Lisa shot back.<\/p>\n
The announcer said, \u201cInvestigators have not determined if Miss Glutz is a hostage or an accomplice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd word is,\u201d the announcer continued,\u201d that the alleged terrorist identified himself as a captain in his organization, perhaps some kind of paramilitary group. We\u2019ll provide more details as we receive them.\u201d<\/p>\n
They cut back to the pick-up truck footage. Jeff flipped off the television and tossed the remote to the other side of the couch. He took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers. \u201cThis just keeps getting better,\u201d he said, putting his glasses back on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre your feet still on the table?\u201d Rahsaan hollered from the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir!,\u201d Jeff replied. \u201cIt bothers me more than a little,\u201d he said, leaning toward Lisa, \u201cthat this Chakiris guy can just all of a sudden turn into King Kong and throw big rocks and cars everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been through this over and over again,\u201d Lisa sighed. \u201cI can\u2019t explain it, anymore than you can explain why all of a sudden you\u2019re so \u2013 so \u2013\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cSo sleek and aerodynamic?\u201d Jeff offered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not being helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, well, neither are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of you are pathetic, if you ask me,\u201d Rahsaan said, \u201cand you didn\u2019t.\u201d He spoke as he entered the room, walking over to the coffee table and lifting Jeff\u2019s legs off the top and dropping them unceremoniously in front of the couch. He sat next to Jeff. \u201cDid you get a hold of Walthius?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not answering his cell phone,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n
Rahsaan pursed his lips. \u201cWouldn\u2019t be surprised if the service is down,\u201d he said as he flipped the TV back on. \u201cYou guys made a real mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is it, then?\u201d Lisa asked. \u201cWe just sit here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff shrugged. \u201cUnless you\u2019ve got a better idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahsaan put his own feet up on the coffee table and clicked through the channels, all of them showing the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Vikki?\u201d Lisa asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about her?\u201d said Jeff. \u201cThe doctors will fix her up. There\u2019s not much more we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re just going to leave her to Chakiris?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been through this, Lisa,\u201d Jeff said wearily. \u201cWe show our faces at that hospital, and we both get hauled off to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot you,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Jeff answered. \u201cI could throw the cops across the room and pound all of the doctors into the floor. That\u2019s exactly what Vikki needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChakiris?\u201d Rahsaan repeated, suddenly interested. \u201cDavid Chakiris is the giant guy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe giant guy,\u201d Jeff confirmed, nodding. \u201cAnd Vikki\u2019s boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he\u2019s watching TV, he knows where she is,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cShe can identify him. Which means that\u2019s where he\u2019s going next.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t believe it,\u201d Rahsaan said. \u201cDavid<\/span> Chakiris?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know him?\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s on the crew for that movie they\u2019re filming at THS,\u201d Rahsaan replied, sounding excited to have found a connection to all of this. \u201cThe football slasher thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you know?\u201d Lisa asked.<\/p>\n \u201cHis dad\u2019s the sound guy,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d Rahsaan said. \u201cAnd Dad came home yesterday talking about this kid who made a big scene and got thrown off the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa\u2019s eyes narrowed. \u201cYou\u2019re sure<\/span> it was Chakiris?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo doubt,\u201d said Rahsaan. \u201cHe\u2019s Leo Chakiris\u2019 son.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff sat up. \u201cLeo Chakiris\u2019 son?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLeo Chakiris.\u201d Lisa looked confused, like she was trying to place a face. \u201cShould I know who that is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d Rahsaan said. \u201cNot too many people run major movie studios, even in Southern California.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that all you know?\u201d Jeff asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Rahsaan said. Then his eyes brightened. \u201cNo!\u201d he corrected himself. He shot out of the room and up the stairs. In a few seconds he was back with a manila folder filled with names and numbers. He tossed it onto Jeff\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n \u201cContact sheet, cast and crew\u201d he explained before Jeff or Lisa could ask. Jeff rifled through the pages and found David Chakiris\u2019 name, along with an address.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an apartment complex in Reseda,\u201d Lisa said, looking over his shoulder. \u201cIt\u2019s not that far from here.\u201d She walked over to Rahsaan\u2019s front hall closet. \u201cYou got a coat I can borrow, Rahsaan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd just where are you<\/span> going?\u201d Jeff demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere we\u2019re<\/span> going,\u201d Lisa corrected him. \u201cChakiris\u2019 apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Jeff and Rahsaan laughed out loud.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t be serious,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n \u201cDead serious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust what do you expect to find there?\u201d said Rahsaan.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Lisa said angrily. \u201cProbably nothing. Maybe everything. A clue. An answer. I have no idea. But it\u2019s either that or sit here and watch you eat potato chips and wait to get arrested. Or for Vikki to get killed.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff plopped his feet back up on the table and thought about that for a moment. Still looking forward, he asked \u201cRahsaan, help me out here. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n Rahsaan grinned goofily. \u201cI think it\u2019s a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff\u2019s eyes grew wide. \u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n Rahsaan nodded. \u201cI\u2019m for anything that gets your feet off my coffee table.\u201d<\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n Leo Chakiris let out a groan as he waded into the sea of clutter that was his son\u2019s bedroom. This is the boy\u2019s natural habitat, he thought ruefully. The whole apartment was like this. Clothes and food wrappers were scattered everywhere, and Leo winced as he pried a half-eaten candy bar off of a grimy pillowcase.<\/p>\n What a slob. Must be his mother\u2019s influence.<\/p>\n With that, he tried, on a whim, to remember David\u2019s mother, but he had a hard time calling the image to mind. Multiple marriages were not uncommon in Hollywood, but Leo had had considerably more than most, and it was hard to keep all the women in his life from mixing together into one expensive nightmare. He did his best to avoid thinking about any of his ex-wives, especially the ones who were still alive.<\/p>\n After all, that\u2019s what accountants were for.<\/p>\n He made his way out to the front room and cleared a spot on the dingy couch in the far corner. He picked up an old copy of Rolling Stone<\/span> and thumbed through the pages, unable to concentrate on the words or even focus on the pictures.<\/p>\n That little snot ought to be here by now, Leo thought. Leo Chakiris was not a man accustomed to being kept waiting.<\/p>\n After what seemed like forever, the door opened, and Leo tossed the magazine aside.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, big guy!\u201d said the source of all Leo\u2019s current troubles, in what seemed to Leo to be an unnaturally cheery voice, given the present circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t \u2018big guy\u2019 me, kid,\u201d Leo snapped. \u201cI\u2019m not big on social calls. So cut the small talk. I\u2019m old enough to resent anyone foolish enough to waste any of the time I have left.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201ckid\u2019s\u201d forced smile vanished. \u201cIt\u2019s always about you, isn\u2019t it?\u201d he answered scornfully. \u201cYou can\u2019t even muster up any sympathy for anyone else. Not even your own son.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo chuckled mirthlessly, sat down again, and pulled a cigar out of his suit coat. \u201cI got a lot of sons, kid,\u201d he said, lighting his cigar and putting his feet up on what he assumed was, underneath the T-shirts and newspapers, something like a coffee table.<\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n She smells good.<\/p>\n Jeff was befuddled by such close proximity to a girl he had, just a few hours ago, thought about stringing up by her thumbs. In order to be able to communicate during the flight to David Chakiris\u2019 apartment, Lisa had suggested that they rethink their travel arrangements. Instead of mounting his back, Lisa asked Jeff to carry her the way he\u2019d carried Vikki, so her mouth would be close enough to his ear to be able to speak without being drowned out by the wind.<\/p>\n The forced intimacy of the moment left Jeff feeling somewhat awkward, because, prior to lift-off, he hadn\u2019t particularly liked Lisa Meyer much. And now he discovered that, while still disliking her in general, he now specifically liked the way she smelled.<\/p>\n So she smells good, he thought. So what?<\/p>\n Why should that be a big deal? Or even a surprise? Forced intimacy was still intimacy all the same, and boys who get close to girls end up thinking about things whether they want to or not. Jeff concluded this was just a byproduct of biology. <\/p>\n As if Jeff and Lisa would ever work as a couple. No way. She\u2019s pushy and obnoxious. She\u2019s a cheerleader and I\u2019m a band geek. And to top it off, I\u2019m still about a foot and a half taller than she is. Jeff pondered the insanity of the two of them walking together, holding hands, boyfriend and girlfriend, looking to all the world like a giraffe kissing a penguin.<\/p>\n Jeff wondered if penguins ever smelled this good.<\/p>\n ___________________<\/p>\n Lisa was transfixed by the view from above the clouds.<\/p>\n She could see all the lights Los Angeles sprawling out to the ocean, where everything abruptly ended. The stillness and power of the endless dark water was starkly beautiful, especially in contrast to the busy splendor of the city lights. It was a view that Lisa had seen when she\u2019d traveled by plane, looking out a tiny plastic window and breathing stale, recycled airline air. Seeing it this way was much more vibrant and immediate.<\/p>\n In the middle of the turmoil that threatened her life and the lives of her friends, Lisa allowed herself just enough time to bask in the magic of the moment.<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost perfect, she thought.<\/p>\n If only Jeff\u2019s breath didn\u2019t smell like barbecued potato chips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DarrenShaffer was halfway through the pitch, and, in his mind it was going well. Better than well. Better than his wildest dreams kind of well. When Leo Chakiris had called him to complain about how he\u2019d treated his son on the movie set a few days ago, he never imagined he\u2019d actually get this kind ... 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