Film premieres could so easily overwhelm the unsuspecting, those not used to the glitz and the glamour that so often went with such a red-carpet event; the noise and the bustle, the appraising and not always approving looks upon you of those attending or looking on as you passed by. People were thought to judge you by the company you kept, who might be escorting you into the hall. All of that before a critical eye was cast over your choice of clothes for the occasion.
Some, who attended, carried it off effortlessly and although she said that it was only the second of such events that she had attended, Evelyn seemed to be thoroughly at ease. That she was could also be explained by her escort for the evening, Isaac Curtis, an urbane man whom she met from time to time in the many locations that his niche company organised, and for films where the setting was of paramount importance to the film's storyline.
She looked on her role as equally important; that of sourcing suitable clothes, or costumes, from the myriad of storage companies that served the industry and where she managed an inventory, that others held, but that she had cleverly recorded through her ingenuity and a legion of contacts. What she lacked in her efforts to find just what she wanted, or needed, she would instruct someone to create. Such garments would be for her to keep in case another film's character had a use for them. In that case alterations would be made, subtly, so that the eagle-eyed filmgoers didn't spot a 'handy-me-down.'
"I'm so glad that you asked me," she purred, shamelessly clutching his arm as they walked into the noisy reception area of the film theatre and past the crowd lining the carpeted route from where they had been dropped off.
"I wondered if you'd say 'no'," he smiled in reply.
His impetuous request could so easily have been rebuffed, but they had worked on two films, well-received, and yet he had worried that their age difference, and not just between them but also those attending, might have made her feel that she was intruding on the 'fun of young things.' It was, after all, a youth-dominated industry, more and more, but those holding the purse strings seemed to be somewhat older and wiser. That was his take on the business, anyway.
"I want to go out and have some fun, Isaac...dress up for the evening and see what I've been missing whenever I turn down an invitation to an event such as this." She grinned at him. "Perhaps your invitation has something to do with it also, so I hope that you'll tell me why before the end of the evening?"
He laughed on hearing it and watched as Evelyn took a glass of champagne from the tray that was held out to them.
"But you have what so many here haven't quite got, and that's style. I've noticed that every time we meet at pre-production meetings for a movie, come rain or shine."
"I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled over the rim of her glass and took a sip. The fact that he had noticed her particular ways suggested that it had been more than just a few words spoken out. But what was the real motive, or intention, behind them, she wondered?
"It was meant to be, Evelyn," he said to assure her in a deeper voice, as if doing so would convince her of his sincerity.
She possessed an aging, pensive beauty, her slender face framed by straight silken hair that showed a myriad of blonde, auburn, and brown strands, so natural in its appearance and a complement to her softly tanned skin with its multitude of freckles. Along with her sudden, captivating smile, she possessed a distinct beauty that he alone was now privileged to be with and to see.
No car had been sent to take and return them to her apartment block, Isaac driving there and then accompanying her to the premiere in a chauffeured car. He had arranged it all, paid for the service, and excused it by saying it was his first premiere to be invited to. Their unlikely collaboration had led to times being spent on set and seeing the actors bring the script to life, their moments of petulance and frustration glossed over or worked through.
"I got something right in finding just the locations for the movie...and your wardrobe success I see now." He stopped short of saying that how she had dressed for the evening with him was all of a piece with the work that Evelyn did. She was ragingly attractive and a woman that he felt not the slightest embarrassment to be seen with. Whatever doubts she may have had, about accepting his invitation, she kept them from him.
A deep green velour jacket with embroidered flowers randomly embroidered on its sleeves, peacocks on the front, and stars and petals on the cuffs was accompanied by a swirly black skirt and a white blouse with a ruffed collar, the cut of the neckline suggestive and ragingly appealing. Evelyn wasn't going to be outdone by the younger women attending the premiere and he felt uncommonly proud to have persuaded her to accept his invitation to be there with him.
But she had her contacts, and familiar faces soon spotted and so she was drawn into a conversation that he could only listen into. The locations he negotiated rights for the use of, and the payments and signing of release forms agreed with location owners, were way down on the list of importance, but he did well out of what he pursued in the industry, hours of careful research of possible locations yielding results that were beginning to set him apart and made him 'the man to go to.'
He knew that he had an eye for such things and he certainly felt that way when he gazed at the woman he had chosen as company for the evening.
They mingled and talked with those that they knew, but she found herself looking his way, at the smart younger man who was her escort for the evening and who had confounded her with his suggestion that she accompany him. Isaac knew that she would have had an invitation, just as he had done, and so it wasn't a question that would have come out of nowhere, but how he had asked it of her had still been a welcome surprise.
She lived alone now, as her two daughters had left the home that the three of them had once shared, and she had no man in her life to fill the many empty hours that work alone was no substitute for.
Evelyn would sense Isaac's gaze on her, at times, and she would turn to look his way and meet a knowing smile, an admiring look of his eyes upon her. In his gaze was so much more; he was looking at her differently and that his flattering words alone did not express. When they made contact, in those ways, his eyes would dart to look away and it prompted her to rejoin him.
By then she'd had a couple of drinks and had lapsed into a flirty mood. She would even admit to feeling a little frisky and taken by his attentiveness, leaning forward when a waitress brought a tray of canapes and hoping that her blouse would open, just enough, to allow him a glimpse of her cleavage and the jewelled pendant that she had purposefully hung at her throat.
"Thank you, but not for me," Isaac smiled at the waitress and waited until he could confide in her. "I hope that the evening...our time together will be like no other, Evelyn. I've only got eyes for you."
