THE SOUND OF JINGLING KEYS cuts the silence on the quiet street as I open the door to my little shop. It’s still dark outside as it always is in December at seven in the morning, and it’s colder than it’s been in ages. The winter wind nips my ears, and I shiver as I step inside, flicking on the light switch, and making my way to the back where I can start a pot of coffee.
I like to get here first. These morning moments of solitude are my favorite. Pushing open the door to the tiny break room, I turn on the light, hang my wool coat and scarf, and then make the coffee. I lean against the counter, waiting as it brews, and think about the day ahead. After pouring myself a cup, I walk through the store, checking the shelves, straightening and taking a mental inventory of the floor.
When I finish, I head to my office to start my administrative tasks for the day. It won’t be long until Melissa arrives for work and talks my ear off before customers arrive to redirect her attention. I never complain though. She’s the closest thing I have to a real friend.
Switching on my computer, I flip through the mail I haven’t had a chance to look at yet. The sound of the bell on the front door gets my attention, and I know Melissa is here. I wait the approximately two minutes it takes her to get to the back of the store, bouncing with the energy of a five year old who ate too much candy.
“Morning, Giovanna!” Melissa exclaims as she breezes through my doorway. She pulls the bright pink scarf from around her neck and plops down in the chair in front of my desk. “Damn, it’s cold out there.” She peels off her gloves. “What’s the plan for today?”
I sip my coffee without answering. It drives her nuts when I take my time telling her stuff. I open an envelope pretending she isn’t sitting there.
“Gio!”
I laugh. “We need to get Christmas out of the store.”
“I think we should leave it up through New Year’s Eve. Keep people in the mood to spend money.”
“Fine, but the holiday music has to go.”
Melissa sighs. “If you insist.”
“I insist. I gave in and let you start it before Thanksgiving. Enough is enough.”
“Bah humbug.”
I scrunch my nose. “Christmas is over. I can be as Scrooge as I want to be.”
My employee leans back in the chair, tucking a wisp of blonde hair back into its bun. “You never told me why you hate the holidays so much.”
“I’m still not going to.”
“You can trust me.”
“I’m sure I can. I just don’t talk about my personal life. Ever.”
“Okay. I’ll let it go, but I hope you know if you ever need to talk to someone, I’m here for you.”
I smile. “I do know.” Standing, I pick up my coffee mug. “And thanks. I appreciate that you care about me.” At least someone in the world does.
“You know it.” Melissa stands and stretches. “Okay, so after Christmas blowout?”
“Yep. Let’s start by putting the seasonal items on clearance. I’ll start making tags if you start setting up a kiosk.”
“Sounds good.”
Melissa and I walk to the front of the store, surprised to see Sheila from across the street standing in front of the shop peering into the window. I quickly unlock the door to let her in from the cold.
“What’s going on, Sheila?” I ask.
“Didn’t you hear?”
“Hear what?” Sheila pulls her phone out of her coat pocket and shows it to me. “Hollywood royalty scouts small town New England as ideal movie set,” I read aloud. “So?”
“So, we are one of the towns!”
“Really?” Melissa asks, peeking at the phone. “What movie?”
“Some romantic comedy,” Sheila explains. “The kind Antonio Russo is famous for.”
“Who’s that?” I ask.
Both women stop looking at the phone and instead focus on me. “You’re kidding, right?” Sheila asks.
“Nope. No clue.”
“Antonio Russo is only the hottest thing in Hollywood since, well, since forever,” Melissa explains. “He is THE it guy right now.” She turns back to Sheila. “Who’s in it?”
“It’s his film!” Sheila exclaims.
“Oh my God!” Melissa grabs my shoulders. “If he picks us, we could actually meet him.”
I shrug my shoulders. “See, this doesn’t excite me since I don’t even know who he is.”
Sheila searches on her phone and produces a picture. The image of the man on the tiny screen is enough to make any woman stare. He is gorgeous. They were not exaggerating.
“He’s not bad,” I say, trying to keep my cool.
“Not bad?” Melissa says, laughing. “Even you, oh she-of-no-emotion, has to think he’s better than ‘not bad’?”
I laugh. “Okay, he’s attractive.”
Sheila laughs. “He’s the most incredible looking man I’ve ever seen. To see him in real life would be a dream come true.”
“So, what are the details?” Melissa asks.
“There are three towns listed. Each got picked for the amenities and scenery. The residents of each town can go to this online page to vote to get him to film here.”
“Cool. I’m in,” Melissa says.
“Yeah, no,” I say and turn to walk away before Sheila grabs my arm.
“Why not?”
“I don’t think that’s the kind of attention our town needs. We’ll be overrun with lookie-loos and God knows what else.” The last thing I want is a Hollywood crew around.
“Well, like it or not, it’s probably happening,” Sheila says. “You’re outnumbered. The poll came out last night and most of the town residents have already voted.”
“Seriously?” I sigh.
“Mayor Jonas sent a link in an email. Didn’t you get it?”
“I didn’t finish reading my email yet.”
“Well, go and look. Having a movie film in town will be fun and bring revenue,” Sheila adds.
Melissa leans against the counter, gazing at the ceiling. “Antonio Russo in our town? How dreamy.”
“Dreamy?” I repeat. “What are we, sixteen?”
“He makes me feel that way. I would happily put his poster on my wall.” Melissa and Sheila laugh as I walk back to the cashier station.
“Whatever,” I say. “I just won’t be involved in it.”
“You’re probably gonna have to be,” Sheila adds. “Your store is on Main Street, and you know they’ll be most interested in filming on Main Street.”
I rest my face on my hand, propped on my elbow. There’s no way I’m getting out of this. I’m screwed.
A FEW HOURS LATER, the door jingles again. I look up to see Mayor Jonas walking toward me.
“Mayor Jonas,” I greet. “How can I help you?”
“Hello, Giovanna,” she says. “I need to obtain a signature from you.” She places a piece of paper in front of me.
“What is this about?” As if I don’t know.
“A movie they want to film here. By ten this morning, we were way ahead in voting, so the producers sent this document to me. We need approval from all the shopkeepers in town for permission to film on site.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Everyone has already signed. All we need is you and Kira from the dry cleaner. I’m going to see her next.”
“So are you saying I have no choice?”
She smiles tightly. “It’s good for the town. It would be much easier if you just agree.”
I glance at the paper and read over the details. Full access, twenty-four hours a day, opportunities to be extras in the film. No, no, and no. I push the paper back to the mayor. I don’t want anything to do with any of it.
“Not interested.” I cross my arms. “They can film around me. I’ll even close the shop while they’re here if necessary.” I smile and watch the mayor’s smile disappear. “I could use a vacation anyway.”
“What do you mean, not interested?”
“I don’t want to be in a movie, and I’m not excited by the idea of our town being overrun by a movie crew. It will be disruptive.”
“It will be a boost in visibility. You know as well as I do that we’ve struggled to get tourists to day trip here from Boston. Our hotel is nearly always empty, our shops barely get by.” She pushes the paper closer to me again. “Somehow you don’t seem to need to rely on your profits to get by, but everyone else does. You need to sign.”
“I am off limits. Everyone else in town can do whatever they want.”
“We’ll see about that, Giovanna.” Mayor Jonas snatches the paper from the counter and stomps out. Okay, goodbye then. Melissa stands nearby shaking her head.
“Why so resistant?” she asks.
“Listen, I moved to a small town for a quiet life. If I wanted to be surrounded by movie stars, I would move to LA. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it.” Melissa opens her mouth to speak, but I continue, raising my hand. “End of.”
“Got it,” she says, returning to stacking books.
When closing time comes around, I finish my office tasks and then go out front to help Melissa lock up. I’m surprised by the crowd standing by the cashier station. They all stop talking when they see me. Melissa’s face turns bright red, and I realize I was the topic.
“What’s going on here?” I ask.
“Um, Giovanna, uh, everyone wants to talk to you about the movie.”
I roll my eyes. “There is nothing to talk about. It’s a closed subject. I’ve made my decision and that’s it.”
James the hardware store owner steps forward. “It’s all or nothing. If you don’t sign, none of us get the opportunity.”
“Not my problem,” I mutter, crossing my arms.
“It is your problem,” Geraldine from the bakery shops replies. “We all want this. You’re being selfish. You’re the only one holding out, and we only have until eight California time tomorrow morning. They’ll be here for six weeks. Surely you can handle a short disruption?”
I gaze out at the frustrated group of shop owners in front of me. Ten people look close to starting a mob if I say no. I mentally weigh my options and wind up at only two. Say no and alienate everyone or say yes and be uncomfortable for six weeks. The answer is obvious.
“Fine. I’ll take one for the team. Where do I sign?”
Melissa hands me the paper. I know she tried to shield me from this, and I appreciate that. Loyalty goes a long way with me. I scribble my signature on the line and hand it back.
“Thank you for cooperating,” Geraldine says. “Ultimately, it will be good for all of us.”
“I hope you’re right,” I reply.
A car pulls up out front and Mayor Jonas steps out. She looks concerned and even nervous as she enters the store. “Have we reached a decision?” she asks.
“We have,” James says. “She signed. We’re good to go.”
Mayor Jonas reviews the paper and a smile settles on her face. “I’ll fax it over and let you all know when I get more details. This should be exciting!”
As the crowd empties my store, I lean on the counter wondering what we all just got ourselves into. They don’t know the dangers of fame. They don’t know how damaging Hollywood can be. I’ve done everything I can to distance myself from it, and now it’s going to settle down right here in my town.
And there is nothing I can do to avoid it.