Gold, Fire & Refinement

Chapter Thirty-Three

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Thursday morning, the last week of August, a THN television production crew was at work bright and early, setting up for the next day's on-location filming. Even though the outdoor set would still be at the edge of the forest, the production team had moved it to the side near the river where the last segments of The Keepers' interviews would be filmed. The new location was something Zarah and Thurgood planned, together, and the new scenery represented the progress made by the runaway slaves. After they dug up the buried gold. Still near the edge of the forest, the new location offered the river as its primary backdrop, not the forest.

Dressed in comfortable blue jeans and a champagne pink silk blouse, Zarah thought she looked pretty good ... and she was feeling great. Working with Thurgood, they were testing everything—including her wardrobe, preparing for her last day of interviews with The Keepers. At one point during the next day's filming, she and Mr. Clinton would take a short walk through the woods, emerging at the banks of the river. Today, Thurgood was walking with her as they tested the route she and her interviewee, Mr. Clinton, would take.

Zarah's stylist wanted her to dress casual—in jeans, a cotton shirt, and sneakers. But she wanted to dress up, at least a little. She had already decided to replace the cotton shirt her stylist wanted with a pink silk blouse. Now she wanted to know if she could trade black stiletto pumps for the recommended gym shoes. She took careful steps in her pumps as members of the production crew cleared a path for her and Thurgood to walk through the woods. They were making sure the interviewer and her interviewee, the next day, wouldn't have to step over fallen branches and twigs. After walking for several minutes, as they were about to emerge from the forest, Zarah's heel got caught on a small vine and she tripped, but Thurgood was able to catch her, to keep her from falling on the ground. 

A few minutes later, sitting side by side at the end of a row of white Adirondack chairs placed next to the outdoor stage, the two producers were laughing together about her "close call." 

"Thanks for that," Zarah said, smiling. "You kept me from busting my butt in there, hard, on the ground."

He laughed. "Maybe I shouldn't have. The fall would'a been a great shot for our 'bloopers' reel."

When she nudged his shoulder with hers, he smiled. "Just kidding. But I do recommend, Dr. Brion, that you take your walk through the woods tomorrow in your Nikes."

Laughing together, both of them knew they had just made yet another good decision. Watching the production crew checking and testing equipment, Zarah's mind was on how she'd always dreamed of making it to the top in her career, but never thought she'd get as far as she'd gotten so soon. 

Everything was coming together for her, almost too fast, as things started winding up with the story, all without a hitch. It had taken a little more than a month, but several highly acclaimed, credible, independent laboratories had tested the brick of gold against gold preserved from the original shipment. That meant millions of people who watched the special series of shows were now waiting to learn the results of all the testing. The testing laboratories, along with experts from The Lincoln University, Howard University, Harvard University, and UCLA, had examined the journals and papers collected from the interviewees, and the results of their findings would be delivered on-location the next day.

Even her relationship with Thurgood had never been better. They flew together to Pennsylvania, alone, on his jet. They spent hours working close together, either in his office, or in the jet's lounge, just the two of them, and he hadn't done or said anything to give her any reason to doubt him. It seemed clear to her he wanted them to be good, platonic friends. The way he was looking out for her well being made her begin thinking of him like family—like a man who cared about her only for the right reasons.