Mary Ellen Courtney - Hannah Spring 02 - Spring Moon (39 page)

“I’d rather explore with you. What an adventure. You’ll have Oreos?”

“Newman-O’s, they’re healthier.”

“It’s all sugar and fat. I like Oreos.”

“Newman-O’s, H. I’m doing the ordering.”

“Minty-O’s?”

“Yep. Mint and regular. You like the peanut butter?”

“Yuck, sounds healthy. Does this offer have anything to do with my comment about being a Giant Claw now?”

“Might. I’m pretty sure Marty mentioned it during the negotiations. He said you keep coming up with the hook.”

“Marty. I’m going to have Oscar’s guys build me a giant claw.”

“You’ll scare the crap out of the kids,” he said.

“It can’t be any worse than being read plane crash stories around the campfire. Do you want to call Marty?”

“Sure,” he said. “You’ll need meetings while you’re over there.”

“Yeah. That’s fine. Jon, this will be my first big solo credit. Production Designer Hannah Spring-Moon.”

He got very quiet.

“What? I have to work for someone?”

“No. It’s your baby.”

“If Karin can’t go, I’ll need to find an assistant. Amy is hanging with Howlers.”

“You’re the Giant Claw. Everyone will want to work with you.”

“Do they have bears in Juneau?”

“Yep. Bears. Freezing water. Avalanches. Bald eagles. There’s a glacier, probably full of Woolly Mammoths. No moose yet.”

My mind got busy running documentary footage of my babies staked out as bear bait on a glacier full of Woolly Mammoths. Time lapse clouds raced by. The kids, swept away by an avalanche, riding the backs of thawed out beasts into freezing water and then snagged by a bald eagle and carried to the netherworld where they are plucked to death by ravens, or toyed with by bears. Do eagles make offerings to bears? Whales? Probably a Jugs Eli humpback. I had one less digit; that was a plus. Only nine fingers to bite off when I got frostbite searching for them. Jon knew crazy silence when he heard it.

“We’ll just do the best we can to keep them safe,” he said.

“You know we’re both going to be super tired. We have to promise to be nice to each other. We need to find great childcare. Chance is just a baby. Maybe Meli can go.”

“I’ll ask her,” he said. “It’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want the kids sacrificed to bears just so I can work. That’s more than a little stress.”

“Okay,” he said. “No peanut butter cookies and no stressful bear sacrifices. Anything else?”

“I’m a professional, Jon. I don’t make silly demands.”

“Okay Hannah Spring, I’ll call Marty. Call me after your appointment.”

“Spring-Moon,” I said. “Hannah Spring-Moon.”