Scarlett

❸

The cafe I met Jim at for lunch was a tiny place I had never been to before. When I arrived, right on time, he was already sitting at a small round table out front, a plate holding only crumbs was sitting next to him.

He looked up from his paper as I came over. Peering at me momentarily from over his readers before smiling wide.

"Gimme a hug, sweet heart!" He said, folding the paper and putting his arms out.

I accepted his offer and bent awkwardly to wrap my arms around his shoulders. The stubble on his chin scratched my cheek and he smelled like cigar smoke and cedar.

For a second I was reminded so completely of how good I'd had it in America while working with him, that I forgot about why I was here. None of my past mattered, all I wanted to do was go home to his studio and work like I used to.

But reality snapped back all too fast. I couldn't go back. Too many things waited for me.

"It's been too long, old man," I laughed, feeling nostalgic.

"Much too long," he chuckled, patting my back. "But I'm here now. And we have some important matters to discuss, don't we?"

***

I wasn't really hungry but Jim, always worrying about me as if I was his own daughter, insisted I order something.

I ended up with some toast even though it was a bit after eleven. I started working on spreading jam on it as I engaged him in conversation.

"So, tell me about this movie, Jim."

"Well it's still pretty early on in the process. But we've got a few actors lined up already to play some of the other parts... We've got the filming location set. I mean yeah, it's good," he said nodding.

"What parts are picked out already?" I asked eagerly.

He smirked mischievously. "We've got a Jack and a Roxy and a Crystal."

I checked off the characters in my head as he listed them. Scarlett's boyfriend, Jack Blackwell; Scarlett's best friend, Roxy Freemont; Scarlett's sister, Crystal Keys. The three biggest characters apart from Scarlett herself.

I was mostly interested in the first one on the list as Scarlett and Jack's relationship in the books was... Complicated. But amazing! These books had been my obsession when I was in college and Scarlett and Jack were the most incredible fictional power couple that I knew of.

"Who did you cast for them?!" I demanded.

"Oh, Evie," he chuckled, "I can't tell you that!" He became suddenly serious. "It's classified." Then he burst out laughing again.

"Ugh, Jim! You're going to kill me!"

"No I'm serious! They won't let me tell you until you're hired."

"Hints?" I asked with my remaining hope.

He rolled his eyes but gave in. "Fine. Two of them are pretty popular, one is up and coming. Two are British and one is American. That's all I'm giving you."

I pouted and took a bite of my toast. "That's nothing!"

"I'm sorry!" He laughed. He wasn't sorry.

***

Jim gave me the script excerpt for the Scarlett tryout after that and I went back to mine and Henry's flat. God, that sounded weird: mine and Henry's flat.

I was absorbed in the script as I came through the door to the empty flat. It was a part from the books where she was interrogating a man to try to find a drug lord that she'd been after for years.