part the fourth
twenty-two december, two thousand and four, nine-twenty-seven pm (pacific time)
"Hi Vig, it's me. I'm just ringing because, well -- just call me back. I'm in LA, so, call my mobile. Okay. Talk to you soon. Bye."
twenty-two december, two thousand and four, nine-twenty-nine pm (pacific time)
"Hi, it's Orlando again, uh, I was just ringing in case you didn't recognize my voice before, but that's just stupid, so. I’m ringing in case you don't have my number. It's 310-396-2276. Just ring when you get this. Bye."
twenty-two december, two thousand and four, ten-fifteen pm (pacific time)
"It's me again. Look, I'm just ringing because I talked to Bean, you know, a couple days ago, and he-- anyway, why aren't you answering, eh? Ring me when you get this. I don't care if it's the middle of the night. Especially because it'll be, like, tea time here. Or, maybe -- where are you, anyway? Anyway, okay. Bye."
twenty-two december, two thousand and four, eleven-forty-five pm (pacific time)
"Hi. Look, I just think -- maybe you're a little confused. Because when you decide to get a band back together, you're supposed to pick up the phone and you ring everybody who was in the band the first time around, even the bloke with the tambourine. Because we're all part of the, like, the tapestry. You said that, Viggo, so if you're thinking about it, and Bean says that you're thinking about it, if you're thinking about it and I hope you are -- I've got something, this movie, I'm supposed to show up on Monday, but if you were, I just want you to know that--"
twenty-two december, two thousand and four, eleven-forty-eight pm (pacific time)
"Er, I think I got, like, cut off or something, before. Answering machine. I just-- I really fucking missing being in the band, you know? Bean didn't tell me hardly anything, and I don't -- don't start thinking that this'll be like last time. Just give me a ring when you get this. Please."
When Viggo sends out his letters to the band, it's like releasing a pocketful of brightly colored stones, or a flock of doves at a particularly lavish wedding, or maybe tracing the origins of an air-borne virus.
When his letter to Dominic and Billy comes back to him marked "return to sender, address unknown," it's a bad doo woop song on AM radio, disconnected and uninfected. For three days he wonders whether he should respect their wishes to be unreachable by the postal service, but on the fourth day he calls Dominic's mother, who tells him that Billy and Dominic have spent the last six months traveling and selling their wares on the craft fair circuit.
She gives him what she has of their itinerary, and Viggo writes it on the back of a poem he has written about photosynthesis. He wrote the poem about photosynthesis on the back of a magazine clipped recipe for plantains, so he supposes he's actually written the itinerary over a recipe for plantains, but that's neither here nor there.
The next three dates on the itinerary are the Crafts Not Bombs Fair in Portland, Maine; the UNH Lifesource Festival in Durham, New Hampshire; and the Taste of the World Fair in Burlington, Vermont. He finally catches up with them in Burlington, after the following unforeseen complications: 1) Having transposed the itinerary over a recipe for plantains, it's possible to mistake a '6' for an '8' and show up in Portland two days too late, 2) He no longer has a legible recipe for plantains, which isn't a hindrance to his travel plans but is unfortunate nonetheless, 3) Outdoor festivals in New England in the spring time can be rained out without notice.
Viggo doesn't mind, though, because it's nice to be out in the fresh air, and only the left speaker works in his rental car, which makes for a complete reinterpretation of the Bulgarian duduk tapes he brought with him. He is looking forward to seeing Billy and Dominic again, and both excited and pleased that they've decided to seriously pursue their folk craft.
Burlington is a small town by a lake so vast it gives Viggo a sense of being in a small town by the sea. The Taste of the World Festival takes place under a number of bright white tents at the waterfront parkand Viggo strolls through, taking in the Guatemalan worry dolls, the silk-screened Che Guevara t-shirts, and the dream catchers (he thinks he should get one of these for Henry, but he can't decide which). He finds Dom and Billy in the back corner, their hand-crafted wrist cuffs spread out on the table with what looks like Billy's careful attention to detail.
Seeing them so happy together like this, it's as though he didn't realize he was still carrying around a little lump of guilt in his throat for the state that he found them in the last time he tried to thread the band back together again. He's so overwhelmed by his pleasure at seeing them again, though, that his first instinct is to run and tackle them both. He stops himself because he doesn't want to knock over their table. Instead he approaches them quickly, hands in his pockets, grinning foolishly.
Billy and Dominic don't see him, though, because they're looking at their own laps while they bicker. It is beautiful and familiar and much more wonderful and real than his vague dreams of them traveling from city to small town to seaside selling their wares, so he stops mid-step to listen.
"You're angry now, aren't you?"
"I told you already," Billy says. "I'm not angry, but I wish you wouldn't eat at the table while we're working. Just think it's unprofessional, that's all."
Dominic has something that looks like falafel balanced in his lap. Viggo remembers that Dominic always needs to be doing something with his hands. He remembers the supply of lollipops Dom used to bring to interviews, the peanuts and cashews he would always eat during rehearsal. It drove Billy mad, then, too.
"Well, I'm not throwing it away." He says this with one eye on Billy like he's waiting to see if he needs to revise.
Billy shoves him lightly on the shoulder. "Of course not. Know how you love falafel."
"Do you want some?" Dominic says, holding up his plate.
Viggo feels overcome with the power of their gentle love for each other and also his desire to engulf both of them in a full-body tackle, so he moves to approach the table. By now, they're engaged in a thumb war, so they still don't see that it's him.
"Excuse me," Viggo says, "are these wrist bands fair trade?"
"They're vegan, mate," Dominic says without looking up. He's not normally the competitive type, but he's ruthless when it comes to thumb war. "Faux-leather, soybean base."
"But are they fair trade?" Viggo asks. "Do the soybean farmers receive a living wage?"
Billy's thumb is on the proverbial mat, but he's putting up a good fight. Also without so much as a glance, he says, "Absolutely. Education subsidies and water filtration, too." The effort of this is his downfall, and Dom bests him with a great deal of fanfare.
"Hah!" he says. "Now if you'll excuse me, Bills, we've been ignoring a customer." He looks up with a wide-toothed grin and starts to say, "Pardon me, how can I--"
It turns out that Viggo needn't have worried about the table, because Dom leaps across it, faux-leather fair trade wrist cuffs flying everywhere, tackling Viggo to the ground. The grass beneath him provides a pleasant cushion, and the sensation of having the wind knocked out of him feels like happiness.
"Vig!" Dom is saying over and over again, "Vig, Vig, Vig, Vig!"
Viggo is laughing, and touching Dominic's head all over. He feels an additional weight upon him which he surmises is Billy falling on Dom's back. He's sure of it when Billy's hand nearly pokes out his eye, but he doesn't care, because all is right with the world and he's sure now that this is the right path. He knows the whale now. He has been swallowed by the whale. He is the whale.
Author Comment
sandinista rocker
pfber
Posts: 2776
(12/29/04 11:25 pm)
Reply
Does this mean what I think it means?!?!
From this week's Us Weekly:
JAKE GYLLENHAAL spotted on the set of Elizabethtown. Production was set to begin last month but director CAMERON CROWE was rumored to have found himself scrambling for a star after ORLANDO BLOOM pulled out at the last minute for reasons undisclosed.
bloom_grrl
pfber
Posts: 112
(12/29/04 11:30 pm)
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RE: Does this mean what I think it means?!?!
Awww! Thats so sad. I wanted to see Orli in that movie.
karennerak
pfber
Posts: 307
(12/29/04 11:54 pm)
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RE: Does this mean what I think it means?!?!
That is sad! I hope nothing's wrong with Orlando....
pf4ever
pfber
Posts: 2433
(12/29/04 11:59 pm)
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RE: Does this mean what I think it means?!?!
*huge eye roll* i really wish that fans of ORLANDO BLOOM would go back where they came from. this is a PETER & FRAN message board, this is about the MUSIC. if orlando dropped out of being in this movie all of a sudden, do you think it could possibly be because he's, i don't know, reuniting with the band ??!!1??