“Courtney-”

“Hey, lady, we cleared people out of the way. Are you going to sit there and sulk about your dirty clothes or get going?”

She got going. With any luck, she’d still beat Courtney and Courtney’s crew. But when she drove up to the house, she realized she was wrong. There were, if possible, even more trucks and vans in front of the house than before. Courtney, wearing worn overalls that were tight in places most overalls didn’t even skim, a bright red T-shirt bearing its allegiance to Yale across the chest, immaculate Donna Karan sneakers, a red bandanna around her neck, and a bright red barrette in her thick, shimmering hair, was leaning against the Dumpster she had been so upset about the day before, munching on a rice cracker.

Josie got out of her truck and forced a smile onto her face. “Hi.”

“You’re late.” Courtney didn’t bother to raise her eyes higher than the stains on Josie’s carpenter’s pants.

“There was a traffic jam.” Josie looked around. “I guess you know that. You are the traffic jam.”

“We’ve been here since five. Been taping since six A.M. It doesn’t take very long for word to get out and for crowds to appear. Bobby told the cops that we would need all-day protection, but I guess they assumed we worked a nine-tofive schedule or something.” The stains were still fascinating Courtney.

Josie was acutely aware of the crowd milling around. Of the many things she wanted to say to this woman, none of them were for public consumption. She swallowed. “I don’t understand. I thought the show was about this house, about the job we’re doing on it. How could you get started without us?”

Courtney’s eyes raised to Josie’s face and then drifted off to a space just above her left shoulder.

Bobby Valentine filled the silence. “We have lots of standups to get on tape. Cutaway shots, things like that.”

“You’re not needed for any of that,” Courtney stated, popping the last of her cracker in her mouth and wiping imaginary crumbs off her hands.

“And I’ve had our intern interviewing members of your crew. We need background information. Something for Courtney to say as she introduces everyone. You know, a little snippet about their pasts, how they became carpenters, how they ended up working for Island Contracting.”

“You put that information on television?” Josie asked, looking around.

“Yes. Our audience loves that sort of stuff.”

“But I thought this show was about the remodeling job. What does the background of my workers have to do with anything?”

“Hey, you’re gonna be amazed! Some of these women will get fan letters. Hell, Courtney gets at least a half-dozen marriage proposals a year.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Dottie said, joining them. “She’s what every man wants-blond, sexy, and capable of fixing anything that goes wrong around the house.”

“I’ll bet that young woman with the great body-Jill, I think she said her name was-will be getting fan mail,” Bobby Valentine continued. “She sure fills out a T-shirt nicely.”

Josie saw a frown forming on Courtney’s face. If she had to make a prediction, she’d guess that Jill was going to be receiving limited airtime. “She’s a good carpenter. That’s all I care about. Speaking of which, we’d better get to work.”

“We’re ready for you at the back of the house.” Courtney started in that direction as she spoke.

“What? I was… We were…”

“Our cameraman is set up at the end of the dock.”

Josie was confused. “The show starts out there? I thought-”

“No. We just want to get a few cover shots while the sun is shining on the bay.”

Josie looked down at her pants. “I don’t suppose I have time to go home and change?”

Courtney laughed. “Not only don’t you have time to change, you need to keep those clothes around in case we want shots on either side of this one to match.”

“You mean everyone has to spend the entire series in the clothing they’re wearing today?”

“Nope. But you do need to be wearing one thing in each show. We don’t want to be cutting back and forth between shots and discover some sort of fashion show going on. And if you’re going to be changing your clothing, you’ll have to help us out and remember what you’re wearing when. We don’t have a continuity person on the show. This is public television, remember, not Warner Brothers.”

“But I haven’t even started working and I’m filthy,” Josie protested, looking down at the coffee stains.

“You’re a carpenter. You’re not supposed to be immaculate. I’m going to check my face and I’ll be back in a few minutes, ” Courtney announced, then turned and headed toward the large trailer Josie had visited yesterday.

“Remember, Courtney wears work clothes, too,” Bobby Valentine said aloud. But Courtney’s work clothes had been translated into a fashion statement by the likes of Ralph Lauren. She also wore tons of makeup and had recently had her blond hair done. “So let’s get started.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Courtney?”

“Nope. We don’t need her for this.”

Josie hurried after him. “I don’t understand. I thought this was an interview. You know, that she was going to ask me questions and I’d answer them, and so on.”

“We already taped her questions. Now we’ll tape your answers.”

“But how will I know what to say?”

Bobby Valentine chuckled. “I’ll ask you questions, the same questions we taped Courtney asking. And we’ll tape your answers. It’s the only way we can do this type of thing without multiple cameras. This is public broadcasting, you know, not Turner Broadcasting.”

“What if I make a mistake? You know, stutter or say something stupid?”

“We’re not live. Everything will be edited. And no one wants you to look anything but your best.”

Josie wasn’t so sure of that, but she figured she had to trust someone.

“And this isn’t a quiz, remember. I’m just going to ask you a bit about your background. The same type of things we’re asking the rest of the crew.”

“Shouldn’t I have on makeup?”

“Not unless you’re planning on wearing it while working during the rest of the project. You might want to run a comb through your hair though.”

She started to search her pockets.

“Use mine,” he offered, handing her an elegant tortoise-shell model.

“Thanks.” She scraped it across her unruly curls. “What do you think?”

He looked at her doubtfully. “Better, I guess. But don’t worry. Our viewers will probably assume it’s windy on the dock.”

They circled the house, walking around planks of wood. Josie noticed everyone on her crew hard at work, except for Annette, who was talking with the show’s intern as she rather lackadaisically sorted through a delivery from the lumberyard. They made a cute couple, Josie thought, jumping up onto the dock. The cameraman was waiting for them. He pointed to where he wanted her to sit, and after a bit of rearranging her clothing and another ineffectual combing of her hair, the interview began.

Bobby Valentine read from a sheet of paper.

“Tell us a little about your background, Josie. Where were you brought up?”

The question took Josie by surprise. “Ah, not on the island. I was raised in… in the suburbs.”

There was a moment or two of silence. Then Bobby Valentine spoke up. “Cut. You can tell us a bit more about yourself. You know, not just the suburbs but the suburbs of what city, in what state. You know the type of thing. Give our viewers something to relate to. Now let’s start again.

“Take two. Tell us a little about your background, Josie. Where were you brought up?”

“I grew up in the suburbs, Bobby-”

“Cut!”

“Why? Do I have to name a place? I… Oh, sorry.”

“Take three. Tell us a little about your background, Josie. Where were you brought up?”

“I was raised in the suburbs, Courtney. Like a lot of women, I had no idea how to use tools. And I didn’t expect to need to. I took home economics in high school, not shop.”