They were sitting on the couch in their office examining Link’s laptop. In front of them was a Visio flowchart of shots they would need for an upcoming episode. They had decided to bring back “The Backup Plan” and do a series of field trip episodes. It would still be a few months until any of it got shot, but it was a good time to start planning. They decided that once quarantine was officially over and enough of the crew was fully vaccinated, they should travel a bit and give the show a chance to breathe the open air again. They were currently trying to decide how many days they would need at an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee to get all the shots they wanted.
“These three right here would all be very contingent on lighting. Sun will be going down around 6:00 pm, so we will want to start filming this series of shots no later than 4,” Link said. He turned to Rhett to see if he agreed, but found him staring intently at his sleeve. “Do you think there’s time for all three? Rhett? Hey, is everything alright? I feel like you haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”
Rhett snapped out of his daze and lifted his eyes to Link’s. “Woah. Sorry. Got lost there for a minute. I think we could definitely do two sets of shots between 4 and 6, but I just don’t know about three. Did we decide we need a full costume change for the one in the middle, or just hats?”
“I think full costume would be better, but if time is that tight, hats would be fine,” Link said. He found Rhett was once again looking a bit far away. “Hey! Level with me now. What is going on in your brain?”
“New sweater?” asked Rhett.
“Yeah,” Link said with a grin. This wasn’t the direction he thought things would go, but alright. “Lilly got it for me. She has one that is the same brand and I liked it so much, she got me one. You like it?”
It was a dark blue cardigan, that Link was wearing over an ordinary white t-shirt, but dark blue didn’t cover it. The color of the sky at twilight, with little touches of silver that you don’t notice right away, Rhett thought. He had been staring at it and trying to figure out what the material was. It wasn’t velvet or velour, but it seemed to have a sheen to it. He couldn’t figure it out, and was fairly mesmerized by it.
“It looks so soft!” Rhett said dreamily. He held his hand up and gestured to Link’s sleeve. “May I?”
“Sure, if it helps us get some work done,” Link said in an amused tone. Rhett placed his hand on Link’s shoulder and gave it a pet. Ooo! It was soft. So soft! Like the sort of soft where it feels like it might fall apart if you aren’t careful. Link continued his thought from earlier. “Now, I think we call these shots say A, B, and C. If we really want to be done in one day, and there is only time for two of these, we have to decide which ones are most important.”
Rhett was paying more attention to the laptop now, so maybe the enchantment the sweater had briefly cast on him was broken. He continued to run his hand back and forth from Link’s shoulder to his bicep. Back and forth. Palm of the hand. Back of the hand. Back and forth. “Well, we know A is a must, so the choice, if we want to make a choice, is obviously between B and C, and MY GOD IT’S SO FRICKIN SOFT!!”
“I know, right?!” Link replied. He knew Rhett was a big texture guy, and he liked it when he got excited about things like this. All childlike and full of wonder.
“Is the inside this soft too?” Rhett asked with a face full of hope. “Softer,” Link replied simply. Rhett’s eyes went a little wide at that. “You want to try it on?” Link offered. “It’s a little big on me. It might fit you. The sleeves would probably be too short.”
“No, no,” Rhett replied. “That’s ok. I wouldn’t want to stretch it out or anything. It looks so delicate. But can I touch the inside?”
“Of course you can,” Link said affably. He undid the 3 large white buttons and opened it up. Rhett touched the lining and gasped a little.
“It’s fluffy!” Rhett exclaimed in surprise. “It doesn’t look fluffy, but it feels fluffy. How can that be?!?”
“Science,” Link countered. “Now do you want to be alone with my sweater, or do you want to help me calculate how much time it would take to move camera 2 from east facing to north facing?”
Rhett had not stopped touching the inside of the sweater. “I know this will sound a little weird,”
“So, now it’s weird?” Link said with a laugh.
“Yeah. A little weird, but can I rub my face on it?”
Link chuckled. “Oh, I don’t see why not.”
Rhett pulled his legs up on the couch and burrowed his face in the sweater, giggling with delight. “It’s like cotton candy and velvet and marshmallow fluff all had a baby that for some reason isn’t sticky! And it smells fantastic! Is that you, or does this sweater also have magical pheromone powers or something? Vanilla bean??”
“I ran out of my body wash and had to use Christy’s,” Link confessed.
“It smells like…Home!” Rhett was a goner now. Laying on his back with his head in Link’s lap. The sweater draped over his face rubbing his hands on the outside. He took a deep breath and settled a bit. “Now that I’m over the shock of how soft it is, I think it’s helping me think rather than hurting me. I feel like I know exactly what to do about those shots. I feel like we do need 2 full days to shoot, because A, B, and C are all important, and you should get a full costume change if you want a full costume change, and because Elephants!!”
“Well, ok then. I agree!” said Link, relieved. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
“I feel like I can see the whole Universe right now,” Rhett said like a man in a trance. “Put your hand in the pocket and rub your face with it. It will change your life!”
When Stevie came in a few minutes later to tell them they were ready to discuss the shot schedule, she found them with Rhett still laying in Link’s lap, his face covered by the sweater humming happily to himself as Link meditatively stroked his cheek with a pocketed hand. If she was surprised, she gave no indication. “New sweater?” she asked.
“Lilly gave it to me. Its really soft,” Link explained.
“It’s so soft, Stevie!!” Rhett said from Link’s lap.
“Would five minutes be alright for meeting up with the camera crew?” Stevie asked.
Link thought a moment. “Better make it ten,” he suggested. “We can see the Universe right now.”
“Got it,” Stevie replied. As she went out the door, she could hear Link crooning “It’s Sweater Weather” in his best John Mayer.
