“I'm Jane Jeffry and this is my neighbor Shelley Nowack."

“I'm Maisie Valkenberg. I'm the set nurse for this misbegotten production. Neighbor which way?”

Shelley pointed.

“Then you'll be the honey wagons. And wardrobe goes on the other side."

“Honey wagons?" Shelley asked.

“Dressing rooms for the principal actors. Rest ooms for the rest of the cast and crew. The truck coming between your houses a few minutes ago was one of them.”

Jane poured Maisie a fresh cup of coffee and took it to the microwave to nuke it to the boiling point. When she came back, Maisie was nibbling a cookie and saying, "Have you ever watched a movie being made before?"

“Only when my parents took us on the obligatory trip to California when I was a child," Shelley said. "We toured a studio, but I don't remember it looking anything like this."

“No, the studios are sanitized. Especially the ones that allow tourists. Location work is a whole different game. You'll probably enjoy it a lot. It's a weird, inbred little world and probably very different from what you'd imagine. My base will be by craft services. Bring your lawn chairs out tomorrow when they start filming and I'll try to explain anything I can."

“Won't we be in the way?"

“Not if you stick with me. They're putting up a fake building to shield the 'innards' of the production from the camera's sight. We'll be able to peek through. Just don't invite everybody you know."

“What about the kids?" Jane asked. "My son's school is having an in-service day tomorrow. He's dying to watch."

“How old is he?"

“Eighteen.”

Maisie nodded. "Let me see if I can't find him something to do. Some kind of gofer job. He'd have fun."

“That would be great! Tell us about the movie," Jane said, handing around the cookie plate again just above Willard's reach. "The people who contracted with us for our backyards didn't tell us anything. What's the story?"