we talked, you said he didn't care, I just wondered if he changed his mind once you started filming."
"God, no," Bailey said. "If anything, he's more pumped than ever. He came to the studio to watch me film yesterday, and afterward he said I should thank my lucky stars that you and I look so much alike. He said it was like I won the lottery when you got pregnant and quit."
I was glad that Bailey mentioned the whole looking alike thing, because I wasn't sure if it was a sensitive topic or not. I hated to say anything, but since Bailey had a "Gretchen makeover" for the show, the resemblance was uncanny. Even though Bailey purposely styled her hair in crazy up-do's and pigtails when she was with Gretchen, it was almost like Hannah and I were having lunch with a set of twins.
Gretchen smiled at Bailey and said, "Well, our resemblance was really lucky for me too. Max Mitchell was ready to wring my neck when I told him I was quitting. He literally asked me if I had a twin. I knew you'd be close once you were changed into a redhead."
"That's another thing," Bailey said. " He prefers me as a redhead, so the makeover was a good thing, apparently."
"Who prefers you as a redhead? Max?" Gretchen asked.
"No, my boyfriend. He said I look as hot as you now."
"Oh, yikes," Gretchen said, cringing a little. "So he doesn’t mind you having to shoot scenes with the other actors? That made Joel crazy."
Bailey laughed. "Doesn't mind?" she asked, incredulous. "He loves it. I think he gets off on it or something."
Gretchen covered her ears. "TMI," she said , squinting in shock at the idea. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, but I guess it's a good thing, considering."
"Yeah, he has no issues with jealousy," Bailey said. "He knows Joel didn't want you working there, and he thinks Joel's the crazy one, not him."
Gretchen didn't respond to that, although I could tell from her expression that she saw things from Joel's perspective. Rather than get into the subject of Bailey's boyfriend, and whether or not she liked him, Gretchen just brought up something totally unrelated. "We chose a name for the center," she said. She looked at me, knowing I'd be interested since I would be working there. "Really? I've been meaning to ask you what you were gonna call the place. That's a really hard thing to name."
"No kidding," Gretchen said, laughing. "I had it narrowed down to three names that I thought were okay, but we just kept referring to it as the center. Joel finally asked me why I wanted to change the name when The Center was a perfectly decent name. I realized he was right. I liked The Center better than any of the other names we'd come up with."
I laughed at the story, but told her I thought that was a great name and I'd be proud to say I worked at a place called The Center.
"When is it going to be open?" Hannah asked.
"It'll be a while," Gretchen said with a sigh. "The school building needs a lot of repairs, and so much planning goes into opening a place like this. Thank God Joel's here to talk me into feeling like I can do it because I could easily get overwhelmed. The beauty of it is… he's hiring people to help me with the scary parts, that way I can stick to the fun stuff."
"Like decorating?" I asked.
"Definitely decorating," Gretchen said. "Actually, that reminds me, I'm helping my friends Tonia and Trey with that too. We're opening a restaurant…" Gretchen thought for a second. "Actually it's their vision, Joel and I are just helping out. Tonia has some great ideas. It's soul food, you know, so lots of eclectic, rustic features. We're planning on commissioning an artist to make some custom stuff."
"That's so fun," Bailey said. "Too bad Ra chel's friend doesn't live here… the one from Seattle. She's an artist."
"You're so right," Gretchen said, shaking her finger absentmindedly as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. "And she might be finishing up with school at the same time I'll be needing an art teacher."
I
"God, no," Bailey said. "If anything, he's more pumped than ever. He came to the studio to watch me film yesterday, and afterward he said I should thank my lucky stars that you and I look so much alike. He said it was like I won the lottery when you got pregnant and quit."
I was glad that Bailey mentioned the whole looking alike thing, because I wasn't sure if it was a sensitive topic or not. I hated to say anything, but since Bailey had a "Gretchen makeover" for the show, the resemblance was uncanny. Even though Bailey purposely styled her hair in crazy up-do's and pigtails when she was with Gretchen, it was almost like Hannah and I were having lunch with a set of twins.
Gretchen smiled at Bailey and said, "Well, our resemblance was really lucky for me too. Max Mitchell was ready to wring my neck when I told him I was quitting. He literally asked me if I had a twin. I knew you'd be close once you were changed into a redhead."
"That's another thing," Bailey said. " He prefers me as a redhead, so the makeover was a good thing, apparently."
"Who prefers you as a redhead? Max?" Gretchen asked.
"No, my boyfriend. He said I look as hot as you now."
"Oh, yikes," Gretchen said, cringing a little. "So he doesn’t mind you having to shoot scenes with the other actors? That made Joel crazy."
Bailey laughed. "Doesn't mind?" she asked, incredulous. "He loves it. I think he gets off on it or something."
Gretchen covered her ears. "TMI," she said , squinting in shock at the idea. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, but I guess it's a good thing, considering."
"Yeah, he has no issues with jealousy," Bailey said. "He knows Joel didn't want you working there, and he thinks Joel's the crazy one, not him."
Gretchen didn't respond to that, although I could tell from her expression that she saw things from Joel's perspective. Rather than get into the subject of Bailey's boyfriend, and whether or not she liked him, Gretchen just brought up something totally unrelated. "We chose a name for the center," she said. She looked at me, knowing I'd be interested since I would be working there. "Really? I've been meaning to ask you what you were gonna call the place. That's a really hard thing to name."
"No kidding," Gretchen said, laughing. "I had it narrowed down to three names that I thought were okay, but we just kept referring to it as the center. Joel finally asked me why I wanted to change the name when The Center was a perfectly decent name. I realized he was right. I liked The Center better than any of the other names we'd come up with."
I laughed at the story, but told her I thought that was a great name and I'd be proud to say I worked at a place called The Center.
"When is it going to be open?" Hannah asked.
"It'll be a while," Gretchen said with a sigh. "The school building needs a lot of repairs, and so much planning goes into opening a place like this. Thank God Joel's here to talk me into feeling like I can do it because I could easily get overwhelmed. The beauty of it is… he's hiring people to help me with the scary parts, that way I can stick to the fun stuff."
"Like decorating?" I asked.
"Definitely decorating," Gretchen said. "Actually, that reminds me, I'm helping my friends Tonia and Trey with that too. We're opening a restaurant…" Gretchen thought for a second. "Actually it's their vision, Joel and I are just helping out. Tonia has some great ideas. It's soul food, you know, so lots of eclectic, rustic features. We're planning on commissioning an artist to make some custom stuff."
"That's so fun," Bailey said. "Too bad Ra chel's friend doesn't live here… the one from Seattle. She's an artist."
"You're so right," Gretchen said, shaking her finger absentmindedly as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. "And she might be finishing up with school at the same time I'll be needing an art teacher."
I
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