Caught on Camera

Chapter 20, Part 33

Chapter 20

Ten ½ Weeks Later

Marie-Eve expertly blended silvery grey and fuchsia eye shadows on Rachel's closed right eyelid with the tip of a soft brush.

"The colors must look natural in artificial lights. Television high definition cameras see every pore. Studio lighting is extremely hot and you sweat, naturellement, but it must not streak the makeup. The skin must breathe and also be flawless. C'est difficile," she murmured as she worked.

"It's difficult." Rachel corrected her friend automatically. Makeup was difficult. Life without Mickey was difficult. She pulled cotton bathrobe lapels protectively over her broken heart. It made no sense to dwell on what might have been. Suck it up and move on.

Marie-Eve shared her passion for show business, aspiring to be a professional makeup artist to the stars. They'd become close friends, making plans over meals in the Muskoka hotel staff dining room to relocate to Toronto, a Canadian hub of live theatre and studios where films, network television and cable series were shot.

At the end of the summer tourist season, the two women successfully applied for transfers to the luxury Sterling Inn Toronto overlooking Lake Ontario.

"I study the techniques for makeup as hard as you study for the show," Marie-Eve murmured as she carefully blended colours on the left eyelid.

"Preparation and opportunity lead to success."

"Vraiment, today is your big opportunity."

Winning the Kane-Armstrong love song challenge had opened Rachel's eyes to the possibility of making money with her photographic memory, that it was useful for more than acing tests in school. While watching a rerun of the long-running quiz show Jeopardy! a week after Mickey fled like she'd infect him with ebola, a lightbulb popped. Her knowledge of movie trivia surpassed that of a hundred wedding guests in the business. Surely she had a shot at winning a game or two on the new entertainment-focused Canadian spin-off, EJ! Canada?

In early August Rachel aced the qualifying fifty question test for contestants. A producer called her to participate in two mock games, which she won handily. In fact, the impressed producer booked her for the inaugural mid-September taping. After weeks of memorizing entertainment industry facts in her spare time, the big day had finally arrived. Cross her fingers, she'd win a real game that afternoon.

Rachel heard Marie-Eve scrabbling through the contents of her enormous makeup kit on the hardwood floor of their tiny studio apartment. "May I open my eyes?"

"I search for the exact color of mascara. Un moment."

Rachel opened her eyes anyway. Through her new contact lenses she stared with astonishment at her reflection in the mirror above the vanity. Marie-Eve had worked artistic magic with air-brushed foundation, contouring, blush and eye makeup. Rachel barely recognized herself.

"You made me look better than at the wedding."

"You have color from the sun, Rachel. You can now wear that shade of rose." She angled her dark head in the direction of the deep pink wool suit jacket and matching shift hanging on the closet door.

The previous weekend the Québécoise fashionista had steered Rachel to Nordstrom in downtown Toronto. The clerk had folded Marie-Eve's expensive selections in tissue paper and boxed up stylish black stiletto heels. The contents of the love song challenge gift card and Candy's generous five hundred dollar gratuity for replacing the missing bridesmaid disappeared into the cash register. In addition she'd purchased the high end makeup and hair products that Marie-Eve recommended.