As usual, this is a complete fantasy. Not real. That said, do drop a line in the reviews if you are enjoying the ride. Comments, constructive criticism, etc all equally welcome.
Frankenberg's.
It was a stupid little obsession, really. What else? She wasn't in love, ugh, she hardly knew the woman. It was only, well, profound admiration for someone at the top of her field. Who was also smart and witty and generous. And gorgeous. Rooney wasn't deluded enough to think anything would ever come of it. It wasn't anything like with Francesca from back when, or the dalliances with which she'd engaged with other actresses ("Always the older women," her sister Kate had observed, not without amusement)… Cate was happily married with children. She had met them all, and they were delightful.
Rooney donned her Santa hat with resolve. No method acting, no funny business, keep that character stuff separate from your real life, dreams be damned, she admonished silently.
Todd and the set team had done exceptional work on the location, dressed it just as the upper scale department stores in the lookbook that Todd has assembled. The smell of new paint still lingered faintly in the air.
Speaking of - she spied Todd briskly cutting his way towards her. Through the throng of costumed extras, his characteristically unruly hair, headset, and modern dress gave him an anachronistic look, slightly out of time. "We'll start in a few minutes Rooney," he said, gesturing with a pen in hand, "Ed's getting a stationary shot of you from camera one, and you'll just sort of look over your shoulder to just catch Cate, that coup de foudre, lit against the dark wall just left there."
Rooney nodded quickly to show her understanding.
"There she is," Todd said, moving towards the entrance. The buzz of excitement in the room seemed to grow louder.
Nearby, a bespectacled woman sighed reverentially, "Wow, she's perfect."
Rooney turned. She had seen this costume before during dress rehearsals, but Cate never failed to floor her. Even the pale mink - enormous, luxurious, practically a creature of its own - on another, it could have been absurd - had nothing on Cate's luminous face, posture, and height.
A line from the Miranda July book she was reading skipped across the surface of her thoughts: She was a woman. So much a woman that for a moment I wasn't sure what I was.
But, she had a job to do and she was supposed to be saving it for the camera. Rooney looked down, focussed inward on Therese, and pushed out the noise. Distantly, she heard everyone shuffling into position.
—
Carol's house.
It was an idyllic Ohio suburb, wide streets and handsome estates not unlike where Rooney grew up. A commercial jet passed overhead, momentarily disrupting the silence.
Her and Sarah were sitting outside on the steps, smoking between takes. The herbal cigarettes they smoked on set always gave Rooney a sharp craving for the real thing.
"I hope you don't mind me breaking code but - girl, you got it bad," Sarah took a drag and gave Rooney a oblique look.
Rooney knew just what she was talking about and, not knowing what else to say, she pulled her coat more snugly around her and sighed a soft sound of discontent.
"Don't worry, it's not obvious. Unless you know what to look for. Besides, who could blame you?"
The particularities of their conversation seemed to hang heavily in the air, unsaid.
In the end, perhaps Sarah took pity on her because she changed the subject. "Are you coming to dinner at Jill's tonight?"
"Yes, as long as she's not... cooking," Rooney replied with a faint smile. Jill was amongst many of their mutual acquaintances, the number of which partially attributed to Sarah and Rooney becoming fast friends on meeting. And she was notoriously inept in the kitchen.
"Heavens, no!" Sarah exclaimed with exaggerated revulsion, making Rooney laugh at last. "She wouldn't dare after last week. Nearly burned the house to a cinder."
The door behind them swung open.
"There you both are!" Cate said, rushing outside. She seemed to be simultaneously trying to pull on a coat and pat down its pockets, succeeding at neither. "Oh for God's sake…"
"Need a hand?" Sarah asked, already standing and helping Cate into the sleeves.
They were all giggling when finally Cate straightened herself out and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She huffed dramatically but managed to sit next to Rooney with some grace, delicately crossing her long legs and fixing her hair. Rooney felt herself sit up a little straighter. "Light, anyone?"
"Me," volunteered Rooney, sticking her cigarette between her lips and quickly locating her lighter. She managed to hold the flame steady as Cate cupped her hands, still warm from being inside, against Rooney's chilled fingers, and lit her cigarette.
Cate took a long pull and moaned. Rooney, predictably, had to try hard not to blush at the sound. She was keenly aware of Sarah smirking in her periphery. "Oh… at last. Thank you dear."
"No problem," she mumbled as she neatly pocketed the lighter. "Are we almost done in there, do you think?"
"You and Sarah, yes," Cate agreed, then smiled without resentment, "As for me, it's days to go."
"Your boys must be getting restless," Rooney observed quietly.
"Are they here then?" Sarah asked.
"They're here with me in Cincinnati, but not on location today," Cate explained in a humorous tone, "They are out painting the town with our au pair at the moment. Those larrikins are driving her crazy, unquestionably. I'll have to double her salary to keep her after this little 'vacation'."
"Please they're perfect angels," Rooney interjected, laughing.
"Sarah, Rooney can only believe this astonishing drivel because they're all half in love with her. Naturally they are perfectly well behaved in her presence, solely as they're too busy preening to get into any mischief. However, it is no less a pretense." Cate confided over Rooney's objections, and raised her eyebrows. Her phone went off, "I'm sure that's them now. Pardon."
As Cate stepped away to take her call, Sarah turned to Rooney, "More than one? I don't know how she does it."
"Three. And she's an actual goddess, I think," said Rooney, earning another knowing look which she ignored.
The door opened again, and a clipboard bearing assistant stepped out. "Ready to go in five."
Rooney and Sarah stood, putting out their cigarettes. From a distance, Cate covered the mouth of her phone and waved, "Don't wait out for me, I'll be there in a minute."