legs up onto the couch as I had turned my body to the
side, to face the men I had been talking to. It took me a moment to fumble with
the extra length of the dress and setting the shoes upright without reaching
down and making a small scene of it. It was enough to make me consider running
across the room barefoot, despite the cameras.
Troy closed his eyes and resisted
the urge to shake his head as the others looked on and wondered what the hell I
was doing.
"It's going to be a long
season on this show if I can't keep you in your shoes," Troy said.
That gave me the okay to just go
ahead and reach down to lift the dress out of my way, so I could see the things
to slip them back on. "Well then, it's going to be a long season," I
said as I stood and dropped the bottom of the dress to let it flare out as I moved
across my stage.
I left the room, attended to my
business, and returned a few moments later.
"Do you need anything else
before we start again?" Troy asked.
"I'm starving."
Nervousness had prevented me from eating much of anything all day. Now that I was
relaxed, and the day had extended past its normal length, my stomach was
talking to me.
"Let's get a quick snack
into you, then after all this is done we can get you a plate. Follow me."
I went outside with him and
spotted a third of the men out there with food and beer. "Are you kidding
me? No wonder you guys are out here half the time!"
"They didn't tell us about
it, either. Some of the guys still don't know it's here because they haven't
come out yet," the purple-shirted, smelly good guy said.
I put a few bite-sized morsels on
the plate and grabbed a can of soda.
"You don't want a
beer?" the guy with the nametag 'Darren' asked.
"No, thanks. It's late. I'm
opting for caffeine to keep me going."
Troy tapped his watch and I ate
my food and drank some soda. I ditched the plate and followed the walking
watchman back inside. He held his arm out for me to take and steady myself up
the stairs but then didn't move along with me.
"What?" I asked.
He held his other hand out.
"The soda. We can't have the brand name on camera and it doesn't have a
cap like the bottle of water."
I rolled my eyes and chugged some
more before I handed it over. I walked up the stairs, ditched the shoes, hiked
up the dress, and got comfy again.
Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe came
up the steps to primp me again. Wardrobe arranged the fabric because it seemed
that I had it bunching in places when I had sat. The makeup artist focused on
revitalizing my lipstick. And the hair guy stuck two more pins in my head. I
could only hope they'd be around at the end of the night to deconstruct their
creation, because I'd never get it all undone in a way they'd see as proper.
"Ready?" Troy asked
when the primpers had finished.
"Yep, I'm good."
Ardent was up next. He'd taken
the Hopi headdress off and I could see he was another one that had wavy black
hair, and his chocolate brown eyes seemed to swim in wisdom.
"What do you do for a
living?" I asked, getting right down to it.
"I'm an archaeologist."
"You have my
attention," I said with a surprised smile.
"I don't do dinosaurs,"
he warned.
"Even better."
"I study ancient people,
their way of life."
"So you excavate sites of
homes and towns?"
"Exactly."
"I bet a lot of people think
that's not as cool as dinosaurs."
He smiled. "I'm interested
in what you think."
"I think a person who claims
to love learning about other cultures would be a liar if they didn't find
unearthing the history of past versions of daily life interesting."
He nodded. "What makes you
so drawn to other cultures?"
"The United States isn't
very old. We don't have a culture that has been practiced and honed for a
thousand years, before being bred into us. I'm a European mutt with a little
Native American thrown in for flavor. I don't have a cultural base to call my
own. I feel like I'm missing roots."
"Is that why you travel and
roam the country in a fifth wheel?"
My eyes
side, to face the men I had been talking to. It took me a moment to fumble with
the extra length of the dress and setting the shoes upright without reaching
down and making a small scene of it. It was enough to make me consider running
across the room barefoot, despite the cameras.
Troy closed his eyes and resisted
the urge to shake his head as the others looked on and wondered what the hell I
was doing.
"It's going to be a long
season on this show if I can't keep you in your shoes," Troy said.
That gave me the okay to just go
ahead and reach down to lift the dress out of my way, so I could see the things
to slip them back on. "Well then, it's going to be a long season," I
said as I stood and dropped the bottom of the dress to let it flare out as I moved
across my stage.
I left the room, attended to my
business, and returned a few moments later.
"Do you need anything else
before we start again?" Troy asked.
"I'm starving."
Nervousness had prevented me from eating much of anything all day. Now that I was
relaxed, and the day had extended past its normal length, my stomach was
talking to me.
"Let's get a quick snack
into you, then after all this is done we can get you a plate. Follow me."
I went outside with him and
spotted a third of the men out there with food and beer. "Are you kidding
me? No wonder you guys are out here half the time!"
"They didn't tell us about
it, either. Some of the guys still don't know it's here because they haven't
come out yet," the purple-shirted, smelly good guy said.
I put a few bite-sized morsels on
the plate and grabbed a can of soda.
"You don't want a
beer?" the guy with the nametag 'Darren' asked.
"No, thanks. It's late. I'm
opting for caffeine to keep me going."
Troy tapped his watch and I ate
my food and drank some soda. I ditched the plate and followed the walking
watchman back inside. He held his arm out for me to take and steady myself up
the stairs but then didn't move along with me.
"What?" I asked.
He held his other hand out.
"The soda. We can't have the brand name on camera and it doesn't have a
cap like the bottle of water."
I rolled my eyes and chugged some
more before I handed it over. I walked up the stairs, ditched the shoes, hiked
up the dress, and got comfy again.
Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe came
up the steps to primp me again. Wardrobe arranged the fabric because it seemed
that I had it bunching in places when I had sat. The makeup artist focused on
revitalizing my lipstick. And the hair guy stuck two more pins in my head. I
could only hope they'd be around at the end of the night to deconstruct their
creation, because I'd never get it all undone in a way they'd see as proper.
"Ready?" Troy asked
when the primpers had finished.
"Yep, I'm good."
Ardent was up next. He'd taken
the Hopi headdress off and I could see he was another one that had wavy black
hair, and his chocolate brown eyes seemed to swim in wisdom.
"What do you do for a
living?" I asked, getting right down to it.
"I'm an archaeologist."
"You have my
attention," I said with a surprised smile.
"I don't do dinosaurs,"
he warned.
"Even better."
"I study ancient people,
their way of life."
"So you excavate sites of
homes and towns?"
"Exactly."
"I bet a lot of people think
that's not as cool as dinosaurs."
He smiled. "I'm interested
in what you think."
"I think a person who claims
to love learning about other cultures would be a liar if they didn't find
unearthing the history of past versions of daily life interesting."
He nodded. "What makes you
so drawn to other cultures?"
"The United States isn't
very old. We don't have a culture that has been practiced and honed for a
thousand years, before being bred into us. I'm a European mutt with a little
Native American thrown in for flavor. I don't have a cultural base to call my
own. I feel like I'm missing roots."
"Is that why you travel and
roam the country in a fifth wheel?"
My eyes
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