Jim makes a firm line with his mouth. “I can’t make you go. But if you’re not having any violent tendencies or some such, no dizziness, then I think the best thing we can do is give it a few days. Try to keep her in her routine, if you can, Kiera, and let’s keep an eye on her. I wouldn’t let her out of your sight for a night or two.”

Kiera snaps and does finger guns at me. “Sleepover time. Looks like you’ll be watching the finale too, my love.”

“I’d actually love to. I want to see how Kim does in my role.”

“Brilliance,” says Kiera to Jim by way of explanation. “She reckons she plays Daphne in her real life.”

Jim keeps a straight face, but something lightens in his eyes. “I think Meg would make a great Daphne.”

“I do!” I say, insistent.

“Seeing Meggie play a villain … oh, let me see if I can stretch the imagination,” says Marcia, rinsing her teacup in the sink.

Kiera drops her lips into a dramatic frown and then mouths savage at me.

“That’s enough, Marcia. It’s none of our business what happens with the kids, you know that.” Jim gives me an apologetic look.

She puts up a hand wordlessly and then drops it.

There’s an embarrassed silence before Kiera puts down her mug and launches herself off the kitchen counter.

“Okay, stupid, let’s leave the poor man to his gardening, shall we? We have work in an hour anyhow. Marcia, good to see you, even if you are in rare form today.”

“Work?” I ask, but no one hears me.

Marcia smiles kindly at Kiera and says, “I could never be thick at you, darlin’,” pulling her in for a big hug and a squeeze on the arms.

“Oh, it’s nice to be the favorite,” says Kiera.

“Did you say work?” I ask again.

“Isn’t it grand,” she says with a side smile to Jim. “She’s doesn’t remember she has a job, the breakup has completely slipped her mind, and she’s forgotten she’s not a movie star.”

“TV star, actually,” I correct. “I’ve never done a movie.”

All three of them look at me for a moment and I want to die.

“If it’s a delusion, maybe you don’t want to wake up from it,” jokes Jim. “But really, kid, if anything else crops up or if this doesn’t clear up after a few days, come over. Anytime. Day or night. We’ll make sense of it.”

He rests a paternal hand onto my shoulder, and I feel deeply reassured by it. I rarely spend time with people who offer this particular sort of comfort. You don’t meet a lot of paternal older men in Hollywood. Usually they’re too busy trying to hold on to their youth or grab on to yours.