"If she can write as well as she speaks, Vivienne's going to have a bestseller on her hands," Marguerite tells me as we resume to our prep work, "Is she always that dynamic?"
"Always." I tell her, "I wish I had her ease in front of the camera," I say, back to chopping garlic.
Starting tomorrow, a big heat wave is coming. It's supposed to get into the 90s for most of the week, which is rare for this region but not as rare as it used to be. The scariest thing about it is when the winds come too, and fire risk increases exponentially.
"You and me both," Marguerite says, as she continues to snap and remove the outer string from the beans, "I'm comfortable teaching a room full of people. Turn a camera on me, and I freeze. Both of the organizations I teach for want me to do some video promos for fall classes. I'm flattered but panicked. How are you coming on ideas on video promos for Horse Girl Heroes?"
"Same. Terrified, but I know they can be valuable for telling the story for crowdsourcing. Rune said he'd help me. Maybe he'd coach both of us before he takes off for the rest of the summer?" I say, starting to put the ingredients for some slow-cooked beans in the crock pot for dinner tonight.
"I'd love that; let's ask him at dinner," Marguerite says, chopping up a large bunch of beans for the pot, "Rune said lunch with Julia went well. He told me you were a total champ and saved the day with a book Julia's interested in."
We're having a little neighborhood dinner party tonight to thank Luna for teaching us to can. Rune's picking up a flat of peaches today to make more ice cream for it.
"I think he's being a little too generous, but yes, she seemed interested in it," I laugh, starting to chop onions, "And the author of You, Again, was thrilled with the possibility of Julia Endo buying the rights to her book. Fingers crossed it all works out."
Of course, I don't say anything about Rune being in the middle of pitching a Narcissus podcast, or the nightmare of what he's been dealing with regarding Franklin Haus, or that he's been having me play pretend girlfriend while seeing apparently someone else, even though he's a self-proclaimed hot mess.
My summer has gone from being heartbreaking to full of drama and mystery. And still no real romance for me. But at least I have good friends to hang out with. I'm learning all kinds of things about storytelling I never knew, though nothing yet in person this week. Rune and I haven't seen much of each other in person since our adventure in Seattle. He's been busy working on the podcast with Santiago's team and probably flirting with the mysterious, too-busy Daphne.
I know I'm not celebrity girlfriend material, but I've realized it's been fun pretending to be. This shocked me. I find Rune occasionally annoying and high-handed, but I love having my old friend back. Even when we're not connecting in person, we're connecting via text and emails about his social media and the incredible response I've been getting for my Howl's Moving Castle coloring page. People love it. I've never had so many downloads from an email newsletter or Instagram. I wish it were all my drawing talent but a large part is the bump of celebrity. People are thrilled to see Asher Dillion in a movie role again, even if it is just pretend.
**
"Your mother and I are moving back to Santa Monica as soon as your sister and Nils are off," my dad tells me. We're chatting on the phone as I take Butterscotch for a long walk before Luna arrives.
"I bet Mom's thrilled," I say as the dog and I walk across the grass field towards the trees. Little by little, she's getting better at going farther off the property.
"She is. She's looking forward to being much more of a social butterfly again. She and Pamela are as thick as thieves again strategizing on making the One More Midnight with You anniversary bigger than ever."
"Dad, please tell me you're not paying Pamela Lyons to coach Mom on her social media," I plead.
"Not yet, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out," he admits, "They're both quite put out you couldn't convince Asher Dillion to be Pamela's client and then he went ahead and relaunched his Instagram successfully anyway."
I come close to blurting out the truth but bite my tongue. I've learned that as much as I love my dad, his primary allegiance is always to my mother. They're married, so I guess it needs to be, but still. It hurts when he doesn't back me up.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Dad, Pamela has become a social media coach for hard-partying reality show stars," I tell him as Butterscotch, and I enter the trees, "there's nothing that Pamela is better at on social media than what you, Syd, and I can help her with."
"I hear you, but unfortunately, you're wrong there sweetheart," my dad says, sounding sad, "Pamela is still very close to Franklin Haus, something none of the rest of us can offer.
**
Crap, I think after we hang up. Why can't Mom let her old friend go?
Because at one time he was her Rune, Theo says, and she wants it to be true again.
Was Franklin truly her friend, though? I ask, looking up at the tall straight, peaceful tree canopy above me, enjoying the birdsong, or was it more that she was his beautiful, convincing beard?
Initially, I think it was both, Theo says, they were glued at the hip in High School and even when he was in college. Later on, when fame hit, it became the latter.
How can we convince her he's not worth it? I ask as Butterscotch stalls and whines. We've hit her max for the day, and she's tugging me to take her home.
No one has ever been able to convince your mother of anything, Theo advises, I wouldn't waste my time.
**
Lorelei is the center of much of our dinner conversation, which I'm glad for. It keeps my mind off my conversations with my dad and Theo. I'd love nothing more than to gossip with Rune about how dreadful Pamela is. Plus, I'd like to find out why he dislikes her so much, but I know in my gut this isn't a healthy way to spend my time.
It's a perfect night. We're eating out on the back deck in the still-bright evening, celebrating our canning success. Thanks to Luna's patience and excellent as a teacher, Marguerite and I finally feel confident we have the steps down correctly and won't cause botulism.
Rune did a beautiful job of grilling salmon on an oak plank for dinner. We're enjoying it with the crock pot string beans and a cucumber, tomato, dill, and feta salad I tossed together at the last minute. The promised peach ice cream is still to come.
Lorelei's keeping us entertained with her adventures at horse camp this week, and the previous weekend she spent with her cousins near Sequim learning about all about their new horse packing operation.
"It's so much more fun to learn things while doing," she sighs, pushing the last bit of salmon around on her plate. She finally eats the bite when she catches Rune watching her with a look that says she won't get any ice cream if she doesn't finish it.
"I couldn't agree with you more," Tom, Luna's husband, tells her, "I hated being stuck in a classroom. That's why I love being on the Forest Magic outdoor school advisory board. It might be a good fit for you."
"Kids go to school outdoors here?" Lorelei asks, eyes wide, "Don't they get wet and freeze?" It's clear she's both shocked and intrigued.
"I thought you were from hearty Norwegian stock," Luna teases her, "Aren't they the ones who say, 'there's no bad weather, only bad clothing' or something like that?"
"Probably, but we're a few generations out from the homeland and a bit pampered and soft," Rune laughs, eating the rest of Lorelei's green salad.
"Dad wouldn't like you saying that," Lorelei shakes her finger at him teasingly, "he's pretty tough."
"True. So why don't we look into it, Pup, if you're curious?" Rune asks.
"Yes please," Lorelei nods enthusiastically, "I would like to learn more about nature. Shelby's teaching me how to draw flowers and stuff for my scrapbook, and we've researched each one I draw."
"I'm sure Luna and Tom would like to see what you're putting together," Rune tells her as he picks up their plates and stands, "Why don't you run over and get your scrapbook while I serve the ice cream."
"Would you really like to?" Lorelei asks Luna, "I'm not very good at drawing yet," she admits ruefully, "But I've taken some good photos."
"You're making fantastic progress," I tell her enthusiastically, "each drawing is better than the last."
"We'd love to see your book," Luna encourages, "run like a rabbit and bring it back."
**
"Rune, we need you to teach us to be fearless in front of a video camera before you take off for Whidbey Island," Marguerite tells him as he's dishing up the ice cream in the kitchen while she organizes the bowls on a tray. Whidbey's where Raymond Santiago has a summer house, he's invited Rune to come and say on while they work on the podcast in August.
"Sounds good," he tells her, "I need to go to Seattle overnight again next week to hang out with my friend Daphne."
The plate I'm loading into the dishwasher slips awkwardly out of my hand with a clunk but, fortunately, doesn't break. I glance up to see Rune's eyes on me. He has a questioning glance as if he finds my clumsiness confusing.
"Shelby, can you be ready to do a short video for one of the Horse Girl Heroes stories? Do you think you understand the basic story arc well enough now?" he asks, and then can't help himself, and licks the ice cream scoop, "Ladies, I've outdone myself, this ice cream is magic."
"Yep," I nod to him shortly, looking immediately back at the dishes, miserable with anger, envy, and lust.
I've got to get a grip, literally. Rune will never be more than my pretend boyfriend, and that role's probably over. I've finished my Sexpectations homework too, so there's no reason to keep using him to ideate my perfect lover either.
I keep telling myself it's much better to have him back as a friend and collaborator (which is fantastic) than a romantic relationship which would quickly fizzle and ruin the rest -- if it ever got started. Unfortunately, my grumpy heart and libido don't want to listen.