“I never would have guessed. I assumed you two have been friends for years.”
“Three days and counting,” Maryam said. Then, relenting: “I guess we both haven’t known her for very long.”
Josh, now slumped backward on the couch, stared at his hands. “I really like her,” he said in a low voice. “She’s funny and sweet. Kind. Generous. Beautiful—inside and out. She’s authentic, and you don’t meet people you can say that about everyday in Hollywood. Plus, I can talk to her about things without it ever feeling like... I’m talking to a fan. Or a coworker. We just immediately connected. You know?”
He sounded so sincere, Maryam was pretty sure he wasn’t acting. “She feels the same way about you, too,” she found herself saying.
“Then why didn’t she tell me she had a boyfriend?” Josh asked.
“I get the sense that Nick has been putting a lot of pressure on her, and things have been rocky for a while. But technically, they are on a break right now.”
“ ‘On a break’?” he echoed in disbelief. “Like onFriends?”
Maryam narrowed her eyes at him. “She can’t be on a break from her boyfriend, but it’s okay that you’re dating one of the most famous movie stars in the world?”
At that, Josh’s face seemed to crumple. “You don’t understand,” he said. “Dating isn’t easy when you’re an actor. This is a brutal industry. When you’re first starting out, you’re so desperate to make it, sometimes you agree to things that you later regret...” He shook his head. “I wanted to explain this to Anna, but she didn’t give me a chance.”
“Explain what, exactly? Have you made a deal with the devil and your heart belongs to another for ninety-nine years?” Maryam asked.
Josh gave a bark of laughter. “No. But I did agree to pretend to date Tenisha Barlowe while we filmedTwo Nights at Christmas.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, his face turned red, just as Maryam’s jaw dropped. “I wasn’t supposed to say that,” he said. “I’m exhausted and upset. Ignore me.”
“But... you were holding hands this morning,” Maryam sputtered.
“Because her publicist tipped her off that Jerome, the town paparazzo, was waiting for us outside. We try to throw him a few pictures he can sell to the gossip magazines. It’s Christmas and he has kids.”
Maryam blinked, trying to absorb this information. She wasn’t sure what to say, but that didn’t seem to matter. Now that the truth was out, Josh couldn’t stop talking. Maybe it was a relief to finally tell someone. “Tenisha cooked it up. The buzz around her career has been massive—and she wanted to protect her personal life. She also thought pretending to be a couple as we shotTwo Nights at Christmasmight help me out. We’ve been good friends for years, but I guess our dreams have grown and changed, and we just never talked about it. Tenisha thinks I want one thing, while I know she wants another.” He put his head in his hands again. “Fame is just so intense, when it comes for you, and her solution is to try to protect ourselves, while growing our ‘brand’—but it turns out that even though I’m a pretty good actor, I hate pretending. Especially now, having met Anna. It’s all such a mess.”
“So you and Tenisha Barlowe aren’treallya couple?” Maryam asked, still trying to absorb the news. They had looked so casual and intimate this morning. The pictures in the magazine Saima shared had felt soreal. Her mind was still reeling. No wonder Josh was so upset about Nick. This changed everything.
Josh shook his head. “There have always been rumors about us.One Night at Christmaswas supposed to be this littlenetwork holiday movie, but somehow it became a huge ratings hit. When Nora signed on to write the screenplay for the sequel”—that was Nora Ephron, Maryam assumed—“everyone wanted a piece of us. We were invited to all the late-night talk shows, and they all had one question: What was the story with our real-life romance? Our agents thought—and Tenisha agreed—that us dating would play better than the truth, which is that I am hopelessly single, and Tenisha has been with her boyfriend since high school. No one needs to know that, and it’s not a very interesting story.”
“Tenisha has a high school sweetheart?” Maryam asked.
“His name is Matt, and he’s great,” Josh confirmed. “Tenisha worries about what effect the spotlight could have on them, so she wants to keep it a secret. I was going to tell Anna everything, but then I found out aboutNick—” He made a face.
Maryam contemplated Josh, all of her opinions readjusting in light of this new information. He wasn’t cheating on Tenisha with Anna. In fact, he seemed just as smitten with Anna as she was with him. “I think you should come to the playhouse tomorrow,” Maryam said.
“What?” Josh asked, blinking at this abrupt change in topic.
“Have you heard of the Holiday Hoopla? I think it’s a silly name, but that’s what they call the holiday pageant. This year the town is putting on a tri-holiday event, to commemorate Eid, Hanukkah, and Christmas all happening at the same time. I think it’s caused a bit of an uproar in some parts of Snow Falls, actually.”
Josh and Maryam shared a single, wordless glance. For the first time since she had taken a seat, she felt as if they were onthe same wavelength. Despite their vastly different life experiences and backgrounds, they both understood what it felt like to be perpetually on the outside looking in, and how special it felt to be welcomed with a seat at the table.
“I can imagine the pearl-clutching,” he said. “But why do you need me?”
“Have you heard ofA Christmas Carol?” Maryam asked.
“You mean the most famous Christmas story of all time? Yes, I’ve heard of it,” Josh said dryly, but he seemed intrigued.
“I’ve been put in charge of writing the play, and I’m writing a tri-holiday take on Scrooge’s journey, except instead of ghosts, I’m including ‘Holiday Hosts’ to share the magic of the three holidays. I could really use a Hanukkah Host. Having Chase Taylor act in the Snow Falls Holiday Hoopla would be a great way to give back to a town that has treated you well.”
She could see he was thinking it over, and decided to reveal her hand. “I see this going one of two ways,” Maryam said, all business now. “If Anna decides not to rush off to Nick and shows up tomorrow to help with the decor, she’ll see you on stage and have a lot to consider. And if she doesn’t show up, you end up making some good press by helping out a hometown play, and start building a reputation that doesn’t depend on who you happen to be dating. Either way, see you at ten a.m.?”
Josh blinked, and a slow smile suffused his face. He really did have that Hollywood charm; she could see why Anna had fallen for him so quickly. “Maryam, you are diabolical,” he said, standing up, and he seemed lighter, happier. Telling the truth had set him free. “And a good friend. I’ll find a way to get a few hours off tomorrow, even if I have to fake getting buried in a snowbank. See you at the playhouse.”
—
Maryam made her way to her parents’ room after Josh left. She was sure Saima hadn’t bothered to fill them in about the canceled wedding, leaving it to her. As usual. She paused. No, not as usual. Saif was right, and so was Dadu. She had to take some responsibility for the way she had simply accepted her role as the family problem-solver. Things needed to change, and that change would have to start with her.
