Things were simply marvelous. Billy was doing a wonderful job of drawing attention. In the middle of the ship, several authorities would be added—figures who, perhaps in another era, would have handled matters themselves—Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, chatting with a certain wary intimacy. Still, Billy was someone endowed with a normal, timely intensity, the kind he always carried.
Billy invested easy money. Agent Tom was strict and asked for twenty million plus five percent of the royalties, something very few were willing to accept as a rule. How difficult it was to get things done that way. The producers agreed reluctantly; however, Billy arrived and offered an equity investment no one could refuse. A man with a good face in the film world, and in the middle stood Winona, Hollywood's angel, at the very peak of her career.
-Any ideas, Mrs. Ephron? Can you tell us something about the creation of this romantic novel?- asked an interviewer from the production company, gently, with questions that seemed to come from genuinely spontaneous places.
-It was astonishing,- Nora remarked. -The truth is that it's based on a Hungarian play from 1937, Parfumerie, which I ended up seeing on a trip through Europe. Directors understand the essence of any man. Still, it was remade in 1940 as The Shop Around the Corner, which is absolutely marvelous. I managed to get some recordings from its run on Broadway.
Nora did not mention that for a long time she had had the idea of creating a sort of nod to Pride and Prejudice, one of those things that seem to breathe life into a story.
-I heard you sent three special copies to secure acceptance for the female lead. Kathleen Kelly had a streak of rejections despite all your efforts,- the interviewer asked.
-There were rejections, yes, but the role doesn't belong to the one who almost had it; it belongs to the one who decides to be part of the film,- Nora commented simply, taking a step forward and linking her arm with Billy's in a natural gesture of departure. Their pace was slow. Billy was alone; Monica was asleep in the apartment after a long night that had left him uneasy, almost fearful.
-Did you fulfill your contractual duties?- Nora asked him, plainly.
-Here I am.-
-Go say hello and keep Winona company; she's over there. That's what's expected at this kind of event.
Billy nodded at Nora's words; she was a little nervous about this project, one in which she had put her arms into the fire—her hands burned with it. The thought of failure burned her. Billy's confidence burned too; a conversation with Winona had been shaped by that fire. They would reach their break-even point by late February, and by March they would be making money.
-I'll do it, and I'll go further,- Billy commented.
...
Billy approached Winona from his side; he needed a great deal of work, one in which he created good opportunities. He didn't deny it was difficult for him. As it was for everyone.
-It seems we haven't had many chances to talk for months,- Winona commented.
-That's the plain truth. I'm sorry, but these past few days I've had a level of exhaustion that left me uninterested in everything,- Billy replied, noting the quality of the moment; it was almost a necessity, that familiar sigh.
-Forgive me,- Winona replied. -I know you work a lot. I'm frustrated. I thought we'd have time to talk. Your ideas are brilliant, and being a producer has blocked me artistically.
-Don't worry about that,- Billy commented.
They struck a pose for a photo.
-I'll help you; I have all day today. Though tonight we'll have dinner with Monica,- he added calmly and tenderly, finding it almost amusing that they would have dinner after the celebration dinner with the team.
-I always like that,- Winona replied.
-Team dinners,- Winona added. -They're the places you have to attend; I'm sure that at the next gatherings, just listening to them, you'll wish you'd done it sooner.
There was nothing to be done. Both walked slowly toward the theater, ready to begin.
It was very cold. His fingertips burned. He felt the chill of February, one of those climates that somehow fit.
***
Inside the cinema, he saw what the film was, in a quick summary.
Kathleen is a young bookseller specializing in children's literature. However, her business is threatened by the opening of a gigantic bookstore just around the corner, which curiously copies her name. An encounter with Joe Fox, manager and heir to the powerful bookstore chain, makes her realize she is caught in a genuine, no-holds-barred war. Meanwhile, Kathleen maintains a platonic relationship through an online application.
The chats beside her were a glimpse of the future. Stained with a man she does not know. To him she can open her heart and tell her problems. And vice versa. This leads the two anonymous virtual lovers to arrange a face-to-face meeting, even though at first they had agreed not to.
-You act very well,- Winona said to her.
-You act better,- Billy whispered, aware of how demanding the work was; no one could deny that raw space.
-I'm hoping for other films,- Winona commented. For some time now she had known how hard it was to land roles once the magic completely faded.
-We'll have them, at least one last one by that date,- Billy said, seeing how good the film was. Winona was a fine actress; now there remained only a journey that would carry itself.
-I want to do Wuthering Heights,- Winona replied, understanding for some time what the life of cinema was like: if you couldn't find it, you made it yourself, and no one complained about what they found.
-It's a good film,- Billy replied.
-Who do you want to make it with?- he asked.
-With Nora and another producer. I want something simple, the way it's usually done, Little Women–style, just with a more trivial twist,- Winona replied. Billy nodded—another love story.
-Start it, and I'll sponsor the rest.- It was simple, but full of love—the soul of Monica.
...