Kate Forster - The Perfect Location

‘There is no one way. I think finding the right reaction is a process. There is no immediate right response. You can explore and then if you want to use the original choice, then great, but it’s worth finding out,’ Sapphira explained as she and Calypso sat in Calypso’s trailer talking.

‘You’re so smart. How do you know all this?’ asked Calypso admiringly. Sapphira was not quite as weird as she had first thought. Calypso had broken through Sapphira’s defensive attitude with sheer persistence and by the end of the first day Calypso hugged her. ‘You’re a saint, Sapphira. I would have been lost today without you and Rose.’

‘You’ll be fine, sweetie. You just gotta believe it,’ Sapphira said with a casual wave as she walked to her car.

TG was so busy he didn’t have time to speak to Calypso and before he knew it they had wrapped for the day and the crew had packed up.

Kelly and Chris walked over. ‘Dinner at yours tonight?’ asked Chris.

‘Sure, sure, make it a bit later though. I have to go through today’s rushes and call LA.’

Kelly glared at him; he was not looking forward to tonight’s date. He watched Calypso walk over to her car. She turned and looked at him; he felt sick in his stomach. ‘Don’t hate me,’ he said under his breath. He smiled and waved goodbye at her.

Calypso looked at him blankly, and then slipped in the back seat and the car drove off. On the drive to her hotel, she was confused. Maybe he was one of those uptight directors who was a tyrant on set and a teddy bear off. Too hard, she thought, as the car sped along the dusty roads towards the main highway. He wasn’t worth thinking about, she thought. Closing her eyes, she let the day and TG slip from her mind.

Calypso waited in Sapphira’s trailer while the set was readied for their scene. Sapphira had asked her to run lines, which Calypso was grateful for, although she thought that Sapphira had the lines down fine. It was Calypso who needed the practice. Marco was taking up most of her time outside of filming and yesterday TG had yelled at her when she flubbed a few lines.

Sapphira had watched with interest. There was no doubt TG had a crush on Calypso but he decided to play the school-yard card and treat her unfairly, thought Sapphira. He was so conscious of not playing favourites that Calypso was being bullied in a way.

‘Don’t worry about him,’ said Sapphira quietly as the focus puller measured them for the next shot. ‘He’s just a bit uptight, big pressure on him from the studio, no doubt. But I’ve worked with worse directors, at least he’s not Jerry Hyman, what a cunt.’

‘That’s terrible word,’ she said shocked.

‘What, hyman?’ asked Sapphira, being deliberately ignorant.

‘No, the other one, the C word.’

‘The C word, Jesus, you’re uptight,’ laughed Sapphira and Calypso felt very unsophisticated and young.

‘TG is so weird around me,’ whispered Calypso. ‘The other day he saw me in costume in my bra and panties and he yelled at me.’

Sapphira made a face.

‘What?’ asked Calypso at the sight of Sapphira’s face.

‘Let’s make a deal, you don’t say the word panties and I won’t say the word cunt. They’re both equally offensive in my book,’ Sapphira stated.

Calypso laughed. ‘What’s wrong with panties?’

Sapphira shuddered, ‘Horrible word.’

‘So is the C word.’

Sapphira sighed, and Calypso changed the subject.

‘I shouldn’t have done this film, I was offered an action movie for much more money. I wish I’d done it.’ Calypso sounded forlorn and Sapphira felt sorry for her.

Sapphira laughed quietly. ‘Been there, done that. It’s all bullshit, babe, don’t get stuck in that genre, so hard to break out of.’

Calypso said nothing as Chris came and checked the measurements of his assistant and then went back behind the camera.

‘You know why I think he’s being a fuckwit?’ asked Sapphira.

‘Why?’ said Calypso grumpily.

‘I think he’s got a crush on you,’ she said as Kelly walked onto the set to adjust Sapphira’s powdered face. ‘That’s why he yelled at you in your underwear,’ she said, emphasizing the last word.

‘No way!’ Calypso shrieked. ‘He hates me. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m Malibu Barbie. I’m surprised I haven’t been replaced yet.’

‘He’s got a crush on you, he likes you,’ Sapphira found herself singing softly in Calypso’s ear to try make her laugh.

Kelly laughed conspiratorially with the girls. ‘Yeah, I reckon he’s got a massive keeny,’ she said.

‘A keeny?’ asked Calypso. ‘Gross.’

‘A keeny, he’s keen on you. A crush,’ said Kelly.

‘No way. Anyway, I’ve got Marco,’ said Calypso defiantly.

‘Marco Schmarco,’ Sapphira said.

‘You gonna come and do a reading after?’ Kelly asked Calypso as she adjusted her hair.

‘Yeah, I guess,’ said Calypso.

‘What reading?’ asked Sapphira, feeling left out for the first time in her life.

‘Kel’s teaching me to read tarot,’ said Calypso.

‘When you gonna give me a reading?’ she asked lazily, as though not caring.

Calypso perked up. ‘Really? That’s so exciting! You want one from me? I mean, Kelly will be there to interpret as well ’cause I’m just learning,’ Calypso said, her words tumbling over each other. ‘Is that okay, Kel?’

Kelly smiled. ‘Of course.’ She watched Sapphira as she stood still, perfect but soulless somehow, as though a piece of her was missing. She would have loved to read her cards and this opportunity, although through the innocent Calypso, was too good to pass up. ‘Maybe later we can come to your trailer?’

‘Great, don’t forget your magic wand and broomstick,’ laughed Sapphira as the assistant director called places for shooting.

During the lunch break, Kelly and Calypso descended on Sapphira’s trailer with tarot cards in hand. Calypso took her role as tarot reader very seriously and was almost ceremonial about the cards, which were wrapped in a purple Pucci silk scarf.

‘Okay, so shuffle and think about what you want to ask and then pull cards till I ask you to stop,’ Calypso instructed intently.

‘You’re not serious about this, are you?’ laughed Sapphira as she shuffled the cards like a Vegas croupier.

‘We are,’ said Calypso, looking to Kelly for agreement.

Kelly laughed. ‘Ah, Little Grasshopper takes things very seriously.’

Calypso was looking at Sapphira’s hands flying over the cards. ‘Okay, so now you just spread them in a line and pull them out.’

Sapphira started to pull the cards as Calypso ordered them into a cross formation in front of her on the round table, Kelly helping her.

Calypso stared at the cards. ‘Okay,’ she started. ‘This formation here is the issues your life is centred around at the moment. Is that right, Kelly?’

‘Yep,’ said Kelly nodding encouragingly.

‘Justice and the Knave of Cups. This is the card of …’ Calypso took the book she had brought with her and started to leaf through the pages to get to the right section.

Kelly looked at the two cards. The cards of dependence, she thought. Sapphira seemed not to depend on anyone, she imagined.

Calypso found the right page. ‘You need to stop smoking, Sapphira,’ she said, looking with disgust at her cigarette smouldering in the ashtray. ‘Justice is the card of dependence. Whatever you are doing to your body is bad. This card is about coming out of a bad place and trying to find balance in your life, health, mind, body, spirit. I’ve got some books I could recommend,’ she said earnestly.

Sapphira defiantly picked up the cigarette and took a long drag. ‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ she said good-naturedly.