The Family Fang - Kevin Wilson [90]
And then she realized what she could offer the Fangs, how she could improve their work, how she could make herself essential. They could utilize the equipment of an actual film, all the people who go into making a movie pleasing to the eye, but they could still maintain the spontaneity that was so crucial to their art. It was so perfect that, for the first time, Bonnie allowed herself the small hope that she might actually be an artist after all.
Caleb had flown to Los Angeles to work alongside Bonnie while Camille and the children prepared themselves for their eventual roles. When she had met him at the airport, in her tiniest dress, her hair teased in such a way that it seemed she had fallen from a great height and landed right at Caleb’s feet, he merely shook her hand and then began to outline all the things he would need in order to make his vision a reality. Bonnie struggled to find her notepad in her purse and followed at Caleb’s heels as she jotted down the rapid-fire instructions that he expected her to follow exactly to his specifications. “I have to believe that you are a capable woman,” he told her when they were finally seated in her car, driving through the city streets. “My family is nothing if not capable, and so I will proceed with the understanding that you can do what I ask you to do.” Bonnie nodded. “I will do whatever you want, Caleb,” she said. “Whatever you ask me to do, I will make sure that it happens.” Caleb smiled and drummed his fingers against his thigh. “This could be quite special, Bonnie,” he said. “A new chapter for the Fang family.” Though he had not said it explicitly, Bonnie allowed herself to believe that she was included as part of the family.
They worked quickly to rent cameras, lights, a small studio space for one week. They hired a crew to work for three days on a short film, promising them cash up front. They hired a documentary crew to film the making of the movie. Caleb worked on a script for the film while Bonnie, having skipped classes for the past two weeks, arrived every morning at Caleb’s hotel room to update him on how things were progressing. “I want you to be in the movie,” he told her, and Bonnie felt like maybe the two of them would have sex, but Caleb never once acknowledged any physical attraction to her. He was focused on only one thing, making something amazing, and this made Bonnie want to fuck him even more.
Finally, the rest of the Fang family arrived. The children, Annie and Buster, were so emotionless that Bonnie found it difficult to be around them. Though they were eight and six years old, they seemed like tiny adults and Bonnie, who felt nothing like an adult, simply found it easier to avoid them altogether. They devised complicated games that Bonnie could not understand and would play them for hours, never once acknowledging the activity in the room until finally one of their parents would call for them and the children would immediately stop their game and walk quickly to Caleb and Camille. And Camille, well, that was complicated for Bonnie. She was very warm, constantly offering words of encouragement, and eventually Bonnie began to wonder if perhaps she could sleep with Camille instead of Caleb; she found that she no longer cared how she gained entry into the family. She just wanted to be one of them.
Finally, cameras rolling, Bonnie, who was playing the nurse, led the children into the room. Camille, playing the bedridden mother of the children, weakly propped herself up and called for the children to come closer. “Let me see my beautiful children,” she said, and, before she had even finished the line, Caleb called out, “Cut!” The crew worked to reset the shot and Caleb said, “Okay,