said, looking very disappointed.
“Before we leave, we’ll have lunch in the studio commissary. I have a pass to the executive dining room. It’s on the second floor and we’ll ask for a table on the balcony that overlooks the commissary. There’ll be all sorts of actors in full makeup and costume down there.”
“That would be wonderful!” Delores looked excited at the prospect. “But do the stars actually come to eat in their makeup and costumes?”
“Yes, if they only have a short lunch break and they’ll be filming again when it’s over. It takes a long time to put on makeup, especially if it’s elaborate. Even some of the minor characters in science fiction or fantasy movies have to come in hours before they start shooting.”
“Lynne!” a voice called out. Hannah turned to see a tall, thin man with dark hair hurrying toward them. “You’re here early!”
“Yes, I wanted to introduce you to two of my friends from Lake Eden, Minnesota.” She gestured toward Hannah. “This is Hannah Swensen. You’ve heard me mention her. And this is Hannah’s mother, Delores Knight. I’d like you two to meet our director, David-Paul.”
“Hannah,” the director acknowledged her, “and Delores. Lynne’s mentioned both of you. Would you like to watch while we shoot the commercial?”
“We’d just love to!” Delores answered for both of them. “It’s so exciting being in a real movie studio!”
“Not if you work here every day,” David-Paul said with a laugh. “It’s just a giant warehouse, and even with air-conditioning, it can get hot under the lights.” Just then his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket to answer it. “Excuse me for just a moment, will you?”
“It’s late notice, Harry,” Hannah heard him say as he walked away. “Our lead is here already.”
Lynne and Delores began to talk about the upcoming commercial. Hannah listened with mild interest, but she was much more interested in watching David-Paul’s face. The conversation he was having with the person named Harry must have been irritating because he was beginning to scowl.
“She’ll never work for me again!” Hannah heard him say, and then he jammed the phone back in his pocket and walked back to them.
“Cynthia can’t make it,” he said to Lynne. “Something about her husband being in the emergency room. Sorry, Lynne. Looks like I got you all the way out here for . . .” He stopped and moved a step closer to Delores. “How old are you?” he asked her.
“Excuse me?” Delores just stared at him. “A lady never tells her age!”
As Hannah and Lynne watched, David-Paul began to smile. “Perfect!” he said. “You’ll do just fine.”
“I’ll do what?” Delores asked him, bristling slightly.
“You’ll play Lynne’s mother in the commercial.”
Delores’s mouth fell open and she looked as if someone could knock her over with a feather. “Me?”
“You. Yes, you’ll be perfect.” David-Paul stopped short and began to frown. “You’re SAG, aren’t you?”
“Delores isn’t an actress,” Lynne said quickly, since Delores seemed to be incapable of speech.
“That’s okay. We’ll work that out later. She looks the part and I’ll rewrite the script. Just take her to the makeup trailer, will you, Lynne? And tell Julia that she needs bags under her eyes and a couple of grey streaks in her hair. The way she looks now doesn’t look natural for her age.”
Hannah gave a little gulp. She had to say something fast or she’d be forced to spend the remainder of the day assuring Delores that her hair looked perfectly natural and no one could possibly guess that she had it colored.
“Grey streaks would work,” Hannah said with a nod. “Mother’s supposed to look older in the commercial, isn’t she?”
“That’s right,” David-Paul agreed quickly. “Nobody will believe she’s Lynne’s mother if we don’t age her up a bit.”
“Of course,” Delores said, obviously pleased. “I didn’t think of that.”
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief as her mother began to smile. She watched as Lynne led Delores out of the building, and then she turned to David-Paul. “That worked,” she said. “Nice recovery on your part.”
David-Paul laughed. “Thanks! And thank you for cueing me in. I tend to say what I think and that’s not always a good thing. I’m going to have some coffee. You want some?”
“Coffee would be good,” Hannah said, following him over to the corner of the building, where there was an alcove with a coffeepot and a long table with chairs. “Are you hungry? I brought half of an Apricot Coffee Cake.”
“That sounds great! I was