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LR: VAL are you reading this????? It came out like 5 minutes ago.

She attaches a link.

My stomach sinks as I click the link. Please be Mason confirming to the press that Goodbye, Richard! 2 will contain gay sex.

Five Films We’re Watching for SXSW

I force a deep breath, then stow my phone and continue looking for toys. Maybe I should just get the kids marginally similar-looking stuffed brontosauruses. Should I assume they’ve seen Land Before Time and its fifty direct-to-video sequels? Almost certainly, except I’m not sure if they’re all streaming. Picture books are a good alternative. But no matter how hard I try to concentrate on my niblings’ gifts, I can’t escape the twisting in my guts.

That article is just speculation. People are excited for Oakley in Flames. As an A-lister making my directorial debut, there’s bound to be some hype. It doesn’t mean it’ll get into South by Southwest. No need to throw myself into another anxiety episode for one article.

Then my phone starts ringing.

Trish.

My chest caves around my heart. Trish calls only with huge news. Usually, good news.

“Are you good at picking out picture books?” I ask Maeve. “No price limit.”

Maeve mouth goes into a thin line. “Oh, uh, yeah.”

“Be there in a sec.” I fumble my AirPods in and accept the call. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Trish says. “Short and sweet…”

God, no, please. But no, maybe this is a blessing. Maybe if I know the dates, I can just tell Maeve, and SXSW is in March anyway. Not during, like, crunch time. We could make it work. I’ll tell Maeve the reason I hadn’t brought it up before is that I didn’t want to talk to her about it unless it actually happened. This is a good thing.

“Oakley is on the short list for features in South by Southwest. It doesn’t mean it’s in, but we’re getting amazing feedback. Fuck Sundance, you know?” Trish says, launching right in.

Okay. I put a hand to my chest, force a deep breath. I’m not in at South by Southwest, so there’s no need to tell Maeve what Trish is reporting. I glance at the book section. Maeve is on her knees, staring intently at a shelf of picture books. She pulls one off the shelf and gingerly turns the pages.

“Val?” Trish says.

I shake my head. “Yeah.”

“Reaction?”

Shit. “Uh, that’s great!” I act for a living, and that was possibly my weakest performance yet.

“Yeah, I know, South by Southwest isn’t quite prestigious enough, but it’s a huge start. And there’s still Tribeca, TIFF, some more, you know, up-our-alley festivals. This might put some pressure on them, you know?”

I swallow as I make my way over to Maeve. “Yeah, totally.”

My heart pounding, I lean in. She’s looking at a book about a dinosaur who’s going to school.

“Find anything?”

“I think this is cute,” she says. “Coordinate it with dinosaur toys that look like the main character, and…”

I have no clue how she finishes that sentence because suddenly I hear Trish in my ear saying, “Is that your new girl?” Trish says through the phone.

My heart nearly stops. I look at Maeve. If Trish can hear Maeve, does that mean Maeve can hear Trish? I’m losing it. “Uh, yeah…”

“Did you invite her to the Oscars yet? I’m not dealing with dating rumors about you anymore. Especially if they’re true.”