intercom. “We’ll take a few minutes here, like you requested.”
Brandon smiled and he jogged back to his chair. A stuffed beach bag sat by his chair, something else he must have planned ahead of time. He reached inside, pulled out his Statue of Liberty hat, and slipped it on. Then he grabbed a second one from the bag and a small camera, as well. “The paparazzi wished they had this picture.” He returned to her, handed her the second visor, and waited until she had it on. Then he put his arm around her, and — holding the camera out with his left hand — he took their picture. “Best happy snap ever. This’ll be on Facebook by tonight.” He winked at her. “Under my pseudonym of course.”
He showed her the picture, and Bailey laughed hard at the way they looked, trying to be serious, their green foam visors waving in the wind. They tried to get a picture of the Statue of Liberty, but no angle actually did it justice. “It’s one of those things you need to see in person to appreciate.”
Bailey agreed, and after Brandon put their hats and the camera away he returned to her side. He put his arm around her once more and again they leaned on the railing, taking in the beauty of the river and the distant bridges. “So, Bailey … tell me about the Bible study.”
It touched her deeply that he remembered to bring it up again. Now when they had time to talk. “It started with Chrissy’s death.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He faced her, and held her arms, running his thumbs over her bare skin. “I wanted to be there for you.”
“It’s okay.” She let her head fall against his for a few seconds. His presence would’ve only caused more tension. The memorial wasn’t open to anyone outside the cast, anyway. She looked at him again. “It means a lot that you wish you were there.”
“So … at the memorial you told everyone you wanted to have a Bible study … is that right?”
Bailey nodded, and over the next half hour she went back to the beginning, how she’d ignored God’s voice and let Chrissy down, and how she couldn’t do that twice. She told him Francesca originally okayed the Bible study, thinking that anything in Chrissy’s memory would be worthwhile. “But too many of the cast members thought we were sitting around judging them … and they complained.” She felt awful about the admission ahead, but she had to tell him the truth. “Francesca asked me to stop the study, and I agreed. I called it off.”
“Hmm …” Brandon waited, letting Bailey’s words sit for a few seconds. He brushed a wisp of her hair back from her forehead. “Maybe it was just a season … a short time when God wanted the study, and now it’s time to move on.”
“Or maybe I’m supposed to try harder.” She told him about Gerald and his questions about homosexuality, and how they had looked at Bible verses together, trying to grasp God’s take on sin in general — all sin. And how people needed to never give up fighting against it.
“Wow …” Brandon looked impressed. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t.”
He slipped his arms around her back and slowly drew her in, close to him. “I’m proud of you, Bailey. I’m not sure I’m that brave. And I have as many chances to share God’s views on that topic as you do. Hollywood’s full of people who feel the way your cast feels. Like I must hate gay people just because I love Jesus.”
“Exactly.”
One of the staff members appeared in the doorway and signaled to Brandon. “Lunch, sir?”
“Yes, that’s great. Thank you.” He led Bailey back to the table where a couple of chairs had been brought in for the occasion. The conversation lightened while they ate salmon and spinach and fresh baked bread. After lunch they explored the yacht, and finally wound up on the top deck at their spot alongside the railing.
“This day … it’s been perfect.” He grinned. “Well, not quite. After I get the chance to see you perform … then it’ll be perfect.”
She laughed, and the sound mixed with the breeze off the Hudson. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m still hanging on by a thread — at least that’s how I feel.”
They turned toward the water and allowed a comfortable silence for a while. Finally Brandon turned, his face close to hers. “There is one