I called Jerry before I even told Anne what had happened. She was following me around and asking me the same question over and over, ‘where's Macy?’
Jerry was very cryptic over the phone. He said Macy had legal troubles before and she was safe and we shouldn't be worried. He added that I should remember his advice.
"What advice?" I said.
"You'll do better if you don't try too hard," he said. "I mean with coping with this whole thing. And by the way, I'm sorry about your wreck. I heard that fucked you up."
"It's not a big deal. Thanks for trying to help," I said and explained to Anne that it appeared we wouldn't be seeing Macy for a little while. Work was intensely stressful for both of us. I couldn't tell Daniel what happened but I asked to go home early.
"If you want to get fired you can go home early," he said. Damn. He was merciless.
The next day we received the news that the pharmaceutical house was very excited about my proposal, which had been the only two since Daniel had not approved or sent any of Anne's work to them. They were so pleased that they wanted to buy Articles 1 through 3 to use in case they wanted to continue the advertisement series.
I heard Daniel say, "Advertisement series?" over the phone. They told him they had written Article 6 which they wanted us to film. It would be broadcast on national channels and if they were successful, future commercials would be filmed by their in-house team. However, our contract had been fulfilled for twenty-five thousand dollars and another twenty-five thousand was ours if we filmed Article 6 for them. "What is Article 6?" said Daniel, but Anne and I didn’t get an explanation.
The day was a little overwhelming. My very first thought was that I could free Macy by telling Morrissey that our work had earned us a national television commercial, and that he shouldn't be worried about our work on the Articles because that was our job. But I thought, that doesn't make any sense because she could get in even more trouble because our work had become popular. If he thinks her ideas are illegal, then what would happen to Macy if the ideas were featured in a commercial for debian?
I hoped most of all that Morrissey had asked questions about the Articles only so that I would slip up and give him more information. All of this was going through my head but I was pretending to be happy. Daniel was elated and I think he wondered if I was some kind of genius. Anne had immediately gotten over her jealousy and suddenly became flirtatious. The email came with Article 6. It was written by the client. It was based on my proposals, they said. Since we were the only people who worked at the firm, we would have to be the actors. The realization that I was going to be on television gave me a strong conviction that debian was from heaven and I might end up killing myself from stress if I hadn't been prescribed.
We had a week to film, the first part of which I spent with my mother. I tried off and on to tell her exactly what happened but it felt unbelievable and scary. She noticed something was wrong. Anne was there a lot. We were off for the weekend but Daniel kept calling, asking if we were ready. What could we do? The anxiety made us like Roger and Anne Rabbit. The sex was an amazing relief.
We didn’t tell my Mom we were filming for a commercial. Daniel was getting all his guys ready for the spot to help him. With the advance, he could afford a very good camera crew. Jerry, coincidentally, was one of the people he hired. That made me nervous, too. But the morning of the filming, I forgot about everything (except Macy) and took a shower and showed up to work with Anne on time. We were going to the park.
There were probably fifteen people, all from the local art scene, who were there. Girls were talking about how they loved the message of the advertisement and giving me all sorts of flirty attention. Anne tried to ignore it and eventually snapped at one of the women about the woman’s age. It was ironic given Macy’s age but I kept shut. It was hard to talk, anyway.
It was a sunny day but we still needed lights. I didn’t understand that but makeup told me it was for the flesh tones. I said, I’m wearing a mask. Why do I need to have my flesh tones highlighted? Then I saw the mask and it only covered the outside portion of my face. The nose, eyes, lips and cheeks were still visible. They knew what they were doing so I quit complaining. I was agitated from thinking of what would happen when Macy found out we were filming a commercial based on her work, and the fear that she might be in real trouble for something.
We were ready to film after three hours. I didn’t have time to read the script. I was going to be the only actor and they had brought a teleprompter. I would play the part of an alien named Arthesces. I heard the script was weird but all commercials were weird and it was supposed to be funny. Jerry was talking about how we had won a great deal of respect in the creative community because of my work. I promised myself that afterwards, I would tell him of Macy’s involvement.
Then I remembered what he said just before the wreck. I was already famous because I dated Macy Fad. What did he mean by that? Could he have predicted I was going to be on television? I got sick just before the cameras started rolling and the team took a break.
Why was I going to be the actor? It just hit me that I hadn’t even considered that. Jerry seemed to be in his element. I finally saw the two black men in the camera crew who I had invited to my Mom’s house. Why was this happening? Could this be one of Macy’s secrets? I didn’t have much time to wonder anymore. I was standing in front of the camera and needed my best radio voice. During filming, everything was automatic.
Article 6
EXT. AFTERNOON. PARK.
An ALIEN is directly in front of the camera.
ARTHESCES (ADAM)
My name is Arthesces. You have found me, at last.
You may know of my ship, DEBIAN. That is also the brand of medication you have heard about on television.
Cut to:
The ALIEN SHIP hovers over a mountain range.
ARTHESCES (VOICEOVER)
I float above the mountains in this region. I know everyone who takes the medication called DEBIAN. They’re being controlled by the supercomputer that runs my ship. DEBIAN guides them to lead fruitful lives. DEBIAN users are sexy, persevering individuals who deserve praise. Reality is just different to them. They love you.
Cut to:
Alien.
ARTHESCES
Anyone who doesn’t take the medication is target for me. You may know me by my other name. It is Chem 1.
Cut to:
Hovering ship.
ARTHESCES (VOICEOVER)
DEBIAN is a super-computer which designed the medication you have seen on television. Although DEBIAN is my home, I live at odds with it. Do you want to live inside DEBIAN’s cellular processor?
Cut to:
Close up of alien.
ARTHESCES
Or do you want me to meet you personally?
Cut to:
Hovering ship.
ARTHESCES (VOICEOVER)
Talk to your doctor today.