[25] Tournelle du Soleil • DAY 2 (Patreon)

I turn into the main costume studio, walking past all small miracles slowly emerging from the talented hands hard at work over the work tables, and hang a left into the dressing room that I was in yesterday. 

I immediately feel a different kind of tension in the room than there was yesterday. Anton, Genevieve, and Dana are there again – as well as a fourth person. The designer. 

I take in a hot pink cropped cardigan knitted from a thick, knobbly yarn. Rosettes and chain-patterns are scattered down the arms, overtop a holographic belt full of sewing supplies, tight jeans, and sparkly platform Docs.

All four of them are bent over the main table, deep in discussion over one of the design drawings. 

I call out a cheery “good morning”. Bonjours are called back from Anton, Dana. 

I wonder if I should just rip the band-aid off straight-away and talk about the contortion costume with them…

Genevieve turns around first. “Wowww, your makeup!” she says, beaming. “It’s so shiny.”

The designer turns around last. Shiny black hair is pulled back into a tidy small ponytail above thick black-rimmed glasses and doe eyes made more lovely with a touch of eyeliner and mascara. I can see that they’re wearing a Powerpuff girls t-shirt underneath the cottagecore cardigan. 

“Hi, I’m Mindy,” the designer says, extending a hand accentuated by long, sharp, beautiful false nails. “Or Wilbur,” they add, offering a brief handshake. 

“So nice to meet you.”  

“Okay first we do the opening dress,” Anton says. I can hear a slight clipped tone in his voice today.

Stressed, I think. About what?

I step into the white dress, carefully navigating all the loops and circles of tubes hanging off of it. Mindy flits around me, holding a hand out and waiting for Anton or Genevieve to place a safety pin in it. Loops and panels are marked to be rearranged according to Mindy's exacting eye. 

Quick, efficient directives are fired off at rapid intervals: “this hemline needs to be brought up more. Another inch. Pin it. Yes.” “I don’t like this. Let’s change it. Rip these stitches out and we’ll pin it more like this.”

Mindy's long nails are sharp and pointy. I have to concentrate very hard on not zeroing in on the distant awareness that this is a sensation I do not like. My brain latches on to these things when it notices them. Spins them around and around and around, examining them from every angle. Fixates on why someone is behaving in a certain way, or the in/appropriateness of why someone is saying something or doing something a certain way. I don’t want to let it get going at this moment.

Time is of the essence here, I’m sure, I tell myself. Just go with the flow. They’ve got a lot to get done. It doesn't bother you. Nope. This sensation is fine. 

Mindy is hyper-focused on the garments in front of her – as she should be, she’s the god damn designer, my brain interjects. There was no reason to believe that the deadlines and pressures on this costume team were any different than some of the ones I'd been privy to on major film sets. For some of the shows I'd worked on, I'm certain the budgets were likely comparable. Lots of pressure on everybody. 

Some part of me had been hoping that Mindy would be as warm and welcoming as the other costumiers had been yesterday  –and I’m sure she is, when she’s not focusing as hard on her art as you focus on yours– I interrupt my anxious self. 

She’s got shit to do! This is probably just as big a gig for Mindy as it is for you– I rationalise.

“Okay, the maillot please,” Mindy says, straightening up and keeping his gaze fixed on the dress.  Dana is efficiently taking some final photos of it before Anton undoes the long zipper at the back while Genevieve retrieves the requested garment from the rack. The axe is about to drop.

Maybe you’re catastrophizing. 

Maybe it’s not that big a deal. 

Maybe there’s nothing noticeable. 

Here we go.

I am wrong. It’s definitely noticeable.   

God damn it. 

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Your next instalment of Tournelle du Soleil arrives tomorrow at 7am EST / 1pm CEST! 

Until then, stay strange and wonderful - XO, ess