“Do you know what forty-seven thousand dollars will buy?” he asked philosophically. “A man could take forty-seven thousand dollars, move to Guatemala and live like a king for the rest of his life.”

“I'll be careful.” Rune began numbering storyboards for a TV commercial estimate that Larry and Bob were bidding on next week.

“Like a king for the rest of his days,” Bob called out, retreating into the studio.

Rune set the Sony up on the deck of her houseboat, next to a single 400-watt Redhead lamp. She tore bits of silver gaffer tape from a large roll and with them mounted a pink gel on the black metal barn doors of the lamp. It put a soft glow on Shelly's face.

To master cinematography, luv, you master light, Larry had told her.

She added a small fill lamp behind Shelly.

Rune also found she was picking up the lights of the city over the actress's head, without any flare or afterimage.

Looking through the eyepiece, she thought, Totally excellent.

Thinking too: It also looks like I know what I'm doing. She was very eager to impress her subject.

As she'd been stuffing the storyboards into an envelope Rune had been thinking up questions for Shelly. Jotting them on a yellow pad. But now, as she turned the light on and started the tape rolling, she hesitated. The questions reminded her of her journalism course in high school.

Uhm, when did you get started in the business?

Uhm, what're your favorite movies, other than adult movies?

Did you go to college and what did you major in?

Shelly, though, didn't need any questions. Rune got the opening shot she'd been planning all along — an ECU, extreme close-up, of those reactor-blue eyes — then pulled back. Shelly smiled and began to talk. She had a low, pleasing voice and seemed wholly in control, confident, like those feisty women senators and stockbrokers you see on PBS talk shows.

The first hour or so Shelly discussed the pornography industry in a matter-of-fact, businesslike way. Adult films were experiencing a reluctant death. They were no longer chic and trendy, as some had proclaimed them to be in the seventies. The excitement of illicit thrills was gone. The religious right and conservatives were more active. But, Shelly explained, there were other factors that helped the business. Certainly AIDS was a consideration. “Watching sex is the safest sex.” Also, people tended to be more faithful now; with fewer affairs, couples experimented more at home. You didn't have to go to some stinky theater in a tawdry part of town. You and your partner could watch sexual acrobatics in your own bedroom.