Chapter 641

We didn’t have a chance to talk about it more than conceptually because real-life got busy again. The Oscars ceremony was closing in and only a couple weeks away now. Juliet grew increasingly anxious about it. Apart from the stressful decision of what dress to wear -- and every designer in the world was pestering her to wear one of their gowns -- she hadn’t ever been under such a microscope before. The interview requests from media all over the world came fast and furious. It felt like every minute of her life was more scripted than before.

That made our weekly Wednesday lunches even more of an essential escape. We sat by the pool at Kelly’s house, smoking marijuana from a psychedelic-colored glass bowl. It was a welcome, slow afternoon. We had made love tenderly as soon as we arrived, but then Juliet seemed a bit detached. Her mind was elsewhere. So I suggested we smoke and relax by the pool.

"Thanks for keeping it low-key today," Juliet said as I sparked up t