Page 102 of The Summer of Christmas

“Bruce, write that down,” Vera said. “It’s good.” He scribbled down what Ivy had said.

“I don’t believe in happy endings,” Drew said. “My father was married five times.”

“This is not about you, Drew,” Vera stated.

“It’s not? I am the producer.”

Ivy was alarmed. Drew could kill it right now. Rick/Nick would die. Real Nick would never forgive her. This was the only way she could prove to him that she loved him more than anything else. She was about to go to the mattresses (a line fromThe Godfatherwhich meant going to war against your enemy) when—Vera jumped in and jolted Drew.

“Put your dick in your back pocket. You stopped acting like a producer once Ivy fell back in love with Nick.” It was out there now. No more subtext. No more veiled lies. Drew was looking down. When he raised his chin, Ivy could see his poker face. Impossible to read.

“I did. I fell back in love with Nick. I don’t know if I ever fell out of love with him,” Ivy revealed.

“That’s good,” Vera said. “Bruce, write that down too.”

“Got it,” he said, reading as he wrote:I don’t know if I ever fell out of love with him.

“But we’re all set up for the funeral. She doesn’t have any pages. This is the last day of shooting. You can’t just change things, Ivy. There is no money to shoot another day.” With each sentence Drew knew he was losing his argument. “Fine. But we are scheduled to wrap at eight tonight. One second past eight o’clock and I pull the plug on this fuckin’ movie!” His voice echoed in the church. Crew members and local extras stared at him.

“Drew, we are in a church, for God’s sake. What is wrong with you?” Vera scolded.

Drew said nothing. He prided himself on being professional. He was deeply embarrassed. He looked up at Ivy with sad eyes. “I’ll help you get the ending you want, Ivy,” Drew said quietly.

“Thank you, Drew. For everything.”

Bruce quickly steered the discussion back in the right direction. “We can do this. Most of the extras are here. We just need to get the three Ivies here. We flip the funeral with the three Christmas pageants. And shoot the new ending later in the day.”

“Are you okay with that, Drew?” Vera asked. He nodded. She looked sternly at Ivy. “Start writing. Make it great.”

“Thank you,” Ivy said.