thirteen: exes in paris
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember
Justin had gone through some trying times in his short thirty years on earth, but as July was reaching its last few weeks, he knew that he was going to be tested several times before the month came to a close. His latest foray into films, Friends With Benefits, was finally being released worldwide, and as his first leading role, he, of course, wanted it to do well. The trouble with that, he’d shot the movie almost a year ago, with his wife at the time, and while tensions were high, neither of them considered that they’d be divorced by the time they had to promote the film. Needless to say, it made for an awkward press tour.
“Justin, are you sure you want to do this?” His publicist, Sonia, was walking him up to the stage, where he would be filming an interview segment with Mila.
And while Sonia was giving him a choice, he knew he didn’t really have one if this film had any chance of succeeding. All the press about their divorce wasn’t exactly helping them sell a feel good romantic comedy. “It’s fine,” he told her as they approached the stage. Mila was sitting in her seat already, and he admired the way her long dark locks fell over her face as she looked down at whatever she was looking at. “How bad could it be.”
“All right. Well… don’t say anything stupid.”
“Oh hey, thanks.” He walked onto the small platform and greeted his ex-wife cordially. “Fancy meeting you here.”
She looked up from her phone with bright eyes, as if she really didn’t expect for him to show up. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?”
“Not bad,” she shrugged, watching him sit down. She took note of his green and black Jordans and commented, “Nice kicks.”
Remembering that she had given them to him, he chuckled in response. “Thanks.” He watched her go back to whatever she had been doing and began to look around the set, his eyes unintentionally landing on Mila’s engagement ring. It was very different from the simple wedding band he’d given her so many years ago. The gaudy monstrosity on her hand now was not Mila’s style at all. “How’s press been going for you?” he decided to open up the conversation.
She looked up, seemingly surprised that he was saying words to her. She shrugged again. “As good as can be expected, I guess. Getting a little sick of the ‘How awkward is it to be naked’ questions, but besides that…”
He nodded with raised eyebrows, as he so often tended to do. “You all packed and ready for Europe?”
“Yep,” she sighed, sitting back in her oversized chair. She was clearly not into having a conversation with him.
“Okay then.”
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
The two of them stayed silent for the next five minutes while people ran in circles preparing them for their interview. Finally, a director-type walked onto the stage to greet them and gave them a rundown of how they would be doing things, just before handing Justin the clapperboard.
“All right, here we go,” he glanced at Mila, hoping she didn’t make this any more awkward than it already was. “Everybody good? Got your focus on that?” The cameraman nodded and he went ahead and clapped the slate. “All right, mothafuckas.”
When the lights came on, it was as if Mila had transformed into a different person. She was smiling and talkative and very much unlike the person he’d previously been sitting across from. He wasn’t sure whether he liked it or not, and in turn, ended up being a bit more subdued than he’d originally planned. Nonetheless, their unscripted interview appeared to be going well to the naked eye.
It was Mila’s turn to read a question from a fan. “’Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Kriss Kross’ “Jump” are both featured in the film. What is your favorite nineties jam?’” she pointed to Justin before realizing she had her own answer to the question. “Ooh, I have mine.”
“Oh man. You do?”
“I do.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Salt-n-Pepa, ‘Push It.’ I don’t know why I love that song.”
Justin began to imitate the music to the song, but quickly came to an epiphany. “Is that nineties?”
“Yeah, Salt-n-Pepa is nineties isn’t it? It’s like ’91, ’92.”
“I’m thinking late eighties,” he countered as if he was unsure, even though he knew he was right. “Is that early nineties?”
“Oh, no, no, no. ‘Push It’ is nineties.”
She was wrong. And he knew it. But he relented. As he always did. “Okay.”
They swiftly moved through the rest of the interview as if they were the best of friends, singing together, hilariously impersonating one another, and laughing hysterically in between. For all intents and purposes, it seemed that they had transformed back into the old version of themselves. The happy version. And while it only lasted about thirty minutes, it was so nice to see for all the people that knew them well.
Sonia was smiling from ear to ear when Justin walked off of the set. “Not too shabby, mister.”
He rolled his eyes at the entire ordeal. “Can we go now?”
“Yeah, sure. But what’s wrong, it went well.”
“That’s because, as usual, I painted my happy face over a disaster and saved the day,” he made sure to be loud enough for Mila to hear. “I’m ready to get the fuck outta here.”
“Well we can go.”
Mila was passing by with her own publicist and she glared at him as if her life depended on it.
“But by the way,” he called after her, “’Push It’ was released in 1986.” Under his breath he also added, “You incorrigible twat.”
Sonia hit him in the arm, but Mila, even though she was halfway across the room, heard and was able to retort for herself. “No one cares, you incorrigible douche!”
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
“Who the fuck put us in a movie together,” he sighed, walking with Sonia towards the elevators.
“Well you two insisted that this was a good idea, so… hey. I told you that working with a spouse is never a good idea.”
“Well you do it.”
“Yeah, and I want to strangle him at least six times a day,” she laughed. “It’s not for everybody. And certainly not for a marriage that was already on the rocks.”
“We weren’t already on the rocks.”
“Justin…”
“What?”
“I’m your publicist. I’m the one person that does know the real story,” she reminded him.
He sighed heavily. He was so exasperated by it all. “I think we thought it would help,” he finally admitted to himself why he took this role in the first place. “Spending more time together, laughing together. But in between takes, there was no laughter.”
She quickly rubbed her client’s back, hating how much of a toll this divorce was taking on him. “You’ll be all right,” she promised. “When all is said and done, you’ll come out on the other side, and you’ll be just fine.”
“But until then…”
“Until then, there’s Europe.”
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Justin had arrived in France a couple of days ahead of time, wanting to take in the sights and sounds of the city of Paris before it was ruined by press junkets and, well, Mila. He did some shopping, some sightseeing, which he rarely got to do when he came to Europe, and with just his security and his publicist there with him, he was pretty much alone for the ride, which he enjoyed.
Unfortunately, though, work did its job of catching up with him, and he found himself sitting next to Mila, yet again, preparing for a series of interviews where the two of them had to pretend they didn’t hate each other. It seemed they were doing more acting now than they did when they were shooting the film.
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over
When they were introduced by the show’s host, they appeared on stage looking every bit the perfect married couple. Mila’s navy blue dress matched Justin’s blazer to a tee, and his white slacks and light blue shirt complemented the outfit perfectly.
“Look at you two with your matching ensembles!” the French host cooed, welcoming them to the screaming crowd. “You belong on top of a wedding cake!”
Mila and Justin awkwardly took their seats on the couch, making sure to sit an appropriate proximity to one another, so as not to appear cold and detached. And they laughed, avoiding the host’s statement as the crowd died down.
“Welcome! Thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for having us,” Justin grinned, waving to everyone.
“So as you may or may not know, this is a bit of a different type of show. We like to start off our guests with a quick aperitif.”
“What is that, that’s a drink isn’t it,” Mila turned to Justin.
“That is a drink. A drink appetizer, if you will,” the host confirmed, just as a tray full of alcohol appeared in front of them.
“Oh, okay.”
“You have the right guests for this one,” Justin commented, eyeing the tray for anything he might enjoy.
Mila didn’t hesitate to pick up a big bottle of pink vodka and open it for herself.
“Let me get you a glass, Mila. Justin, you pick whatever you like.”
“You can go ahead and pick one for me.”
“I’m not a lady, I don’t need a glass,” she countered, taking a swig straight from the bottle.
“I, however, am a lady, so I’ll take that,” Justin joked, receiving a glass full of some blue concoction as the audience laughed.
As the two of them enjoyed their cocktails, the host went on to begin the interview. “So. ‘Friends With Benefits,’ is the name of the movie, it was hysterical, by the way, but for those who don’t know what that is, explain what is a ‘friend with benefits?’”
“Well,” Justin cleared his throat, setting his drink down in front of him, “in the film, we play two people who are just getting out of relationships at the beginning of the film. And we realize that we don’t really want that anymore, so we drunkenly stumble into the idea that we should have benefits.”
“That makes sense,” the quirky host appended, “because I have sex with people on benefits.”
As the audience laughed, Mila nodded, “That’s a good way to have sex.”
“Now in the film, it’s rather interesting because you saw that the women can’t have sex because they get emotionally involved.”
“Uh oh.” Justin knew Mila had strong feelings about this.
“What, it’s true, isn’t it?”
“Well,” Mila began with an impish frown.
“You see how her face crinkled up,” Justin noted. “Somebody’s in trouble.”
“Am I in trouble?” the host jokingly wondered.
“Well it’s not me.”
“It’s not you,” she smiled.
“Have I pushed the wrong button?” the host directed to her.
“Well I just want to point out that in the film, it’s both characters that get emotionally attached. Umm, the man just puts his foot in his mouth and says the wrong thing, and the female is more… vocal about it. But umm… yeah.”
“I see.”
“I don’t find that to be my take on the film at all,” Justin interceded, shaking his head as everyone laughed. “I think the woman goes particularly insane, and uh, the male just has to put up with it, so…”
“Well if I’m not mistaken, the man was kind of a jackass,” Mila maintained. To anyone watching, it appeared that they were joking, but between the two of them, the exchange was contentious at best.
“So,” the host swiftly moved to his next subject. “I understand you two were married at the time you shot the film. And now you’re not.”
“That is correct,” Justin answered hesitantly. He knew this was on the list of things not to be asked, so he was unsure as to why it was being brought up.
“How awkward that must be, interviewing as a divorced couple.”
“No, it’s not awkward at all,” Mila stated sarcastically. “Let’s talk about it some more.”
Justin laughed.
“But really, is it odd for the two of you sitting here? Or are you one of those couples that are friends?”
The two of them looked at one another and Mila searched for a diplomatic answer that would get them to the next question. “I think we’re both still learning how to deal with it, just as any other couple would. Promoting the movie has been… interesting, but nothing that two mature adults wouldn’t be able to handle. It’s work, so…”
“So this might be a time that you two hate your jobs as much as the rest of us.”
“It’s not as peculiar as it sounds,” Justin promised everyone watching. “But back to the movie…”
“Yes, yes, back to the movie. Mila, it was reported that you filed for divorce a week after you finished shooting the film. Is that correct?”
“Umm… I think we want to focus on the actual movie,” she returned a bit tersely.
Justin could see Sonia and Mila’s publicist, Ali, approaching the side of the stage. They didn’t usually interrupt televised interviews, but they would if they had to. “Yeah, um, I think we came to the conclusion that friends with benefits is a sound concept, but execution is easier said than done.”
Ignoring them, the host went on with his line of questioning. “Rumors stated that you fought very much on the set of the film. Was it, perhaps, a mistake working together?”
Unsure of what to say, Justin looked over to Sonia, who was gesturing for him to run around in circles, it appeared. He didn’t know what she was saying. And Mila looked to him for guidance, as she so often did in times of need, neither of them quite sure what to respond with.
He took a sip from his drink and joked, “Geez, is it hot in here to anyone else?”
Mila followed suit and added, “Now I see why they gave us these drinks.”
“Well why not, we’re all friends here.” This host was adamant in getting a scoop from the two of them. “But really, I am concerned that perhaps the two of you did not have enough benefits in your relationship. And why no children?”
This was really happening, apparently. Justin found himself getting up from his seat, and without hesitating, he walked off the set, leaving his co-star to follow.
"What the fuck was that," he was saying to Sonia as the four of them hustled backstage.
"That was an ambush," Mila submitted from behind. "That guy was an asshole."
"Don't move," Sonia told Justin, just as several producers approached the foursome. "Don't say a word."
Nodding, he watched his publicist and Mila's argue over agreements and details while Mila stood next to him, looking like a scared puppy. "You look troubled."
"This is bad," she lamented, watching as the argument escalated. "People are gonna hear about this."
"Fuck people."
She couldn't help but smile at his defiance. The spark in him had clearly been ignited, and she was happy to see it. "I'm glad you got up. I couldn't do it, even though I wanted to."
"I mean, what would you have said?" he chuckled bitterly. "Who even asks that?"
"People in France."
"Fuck people in France."
"You're silly," she smirked.
"I'm annoyed."
She moved closer to him, realizing how thankful she was to be going through whatever this was with someone she knew. Someone familiar. But her heart sank when Justin suddenly walked away. The disagreement had dissipated, and Sonia had signaled for him so that they could go, but she was rather surprised when he just... left.
"Well bye to you too," she mumbled to herself.
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Lyrics: "Somebody That I Used to Know" - Gotye feat. Kimbra (Making Mirrors)
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
