Free Tequila Sunrises over Georgia (a novella) by Yara Greathouse

plan.
    Perhaps I can talk to Dillon.
    Ugh! This is so frustrating!
    I take out not one piece of chewy candy but
two pieces, and try to get lost in the juicy goodness.
    Juicy!
    Crap.
    The producer comes by with the director to
give me this morning’s briefing. I walk away with them glancing
over my shoulder at Carter, who’s talking to some of the crew
members in the adjacent room.
    I really fucked this shit up.
    Well, he shares a little of the blame, too, I
think.
    Since he was the one with the bright idea and
all.
    This day is going to suck balls really,
really bad.
     
    * * *
Carter
    Nothing.
    There’s nothing I can do.
    I’ve fought and lost.
    Gia’s taking my heart with her, and I will
never be the same.
    Never.
    Everything’s done. The filming crew’s
finished. The customers are ecstatic. The producer’s talking about
the next assignment and how much buzz the show’s previews are
creating.
    I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my work,
on my crew, and promises to do business again when they decide to
film back here, in the South.
    But the promises that I really want, I’m not
getting.
    Gia has not been able to look at me since our
earlier conversation ended.
    And even though we have not spoken those
painful words, we are also about to end this .
    It’s so much more than a fling.
    Much deeper than an affair.
    The angst inside my soul is shattering my
being.
    What can I do? What can I say to try to
change her mind?
    I’m sitting in the driveway with all her bags
on my back seat. Jay took her car to the airport and returned it on
his way back to New York earlier this morning; the company is
shipping her tools and all the other filming gear.
    There will be nothing left.
    I see her coming outside after getting what
I’m sure is the twentieth hug from the home owners.
    This is going to be hard.
    So hard.
    She starts to walk toward me. I’m going to
miss those tight jeans with the loose shirts she normally wears and
now that it’s been cooler weather, her jean jacket that she puts on
every day.
    But what I’m going to miss the most is her
laughter after one of my corny jokes.
    The way she takes care of me, making sure
I’ve had enough to eat and enough rest.
    Her head, relaxing on my shoulder while we
wait for the sun to rise.
    The taste of cherry from her mouth.
    The way she looks at me when I come up with a
solution to one of her many design problems.
    Her attitude, when she knows she’s right but
I pretend that she’s not.
    The smell of her perfume on my sheets.
    Her brown eyes looking at me, trying to tell
me the things her mouth won’t speak.
    So much more.
    I get out of the truck to open the door for
her and help her get in. She has long legs but with those spike
heels she likes to wear, the jump can be a bit tricky. I’d rather
be there to catch her if she falls.
    I want to always be the one to catch her.
    But I have built my business here and she has
her career in New York.
    I cannot ask her to give everything up
because I don’t think I could do it myself, if our roles were
reversed.
    With a small smile, I pull out of the
driveway, and away from the place where Gia became the sunrise that
lit up the darkest parts of my existence.
     
    * * *
Gia
    The ride was silent and uncomfortable.
    When we finally arrived at the airport, he
pulled into one of those drop off lanes. Being the middle of the
day in the middle of the week, traffic was light and there were no
other vehicles trying to pull in front or behind us.
    This was the right time to say goodbye.
    My heart fell into the pits of sadness when I
saw him looking at me with tears in his eyes.
    I pull the drawing out of my bag. It’s rolled
up and in a plastic cylinder to make sure it doesn’t get
creased.
    “Carter, I have something for you.”
    “What is it?”
    “Here, take a look.”
    Carefully, he opens the container, and pulls
out the drawing. When he unrolls the paper and finally sees what it
is, his breath catches.
    “Gia… It’s