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The peculiar thing was that Astrid appeared exactly as she did on screen She was neither taller nor shorter Her smile had the same stretched quality, as if it had been worn thin from overuse She seemed less like a star and more like one of her movie roles, a beautiful but otherwise normal woman who swore in traffic and ate takeout in bed Jenny tried to imagine how she would describe this moment to her brother The house was large and the drive was gated The leaves of the terracotta-potted ficus trees looked glossier and more recently watered than the ones outside Jenny’s own small house But the light that hit Astrid’s face was no spotlight The same sun was jerking sweat from Jenny’s forehead   ‘Jenny Narahashi, the Japanese tutor,’ Jenny said Strictly speaking, Jenny was not a tutor — she was a translator The fee was generous, but that wasn’t why Jenny was here She was doing this for her brother Franklin had been the sort of movie geek who, unprompted, informed strangers that to shoot Barry Lyndon, Kubrick used the low light lenses NASA designed for the dark side of the moon   What would he make of the soft pucker of Astrid’s eyebrows as she peered at Jenny? There was something disorientating about being so close to someone famous It was disorienting Jenny needed a moment to make sure that Astrid was not recoiling but stepping back to let Jenny inside   The kitchen, like its owner, was almost too normal A stained mug loitered in the sink The fridge was magnet-poxed The countertops were marble; but whether it was Egyptian, French or Tunisian, Jenny couldn’t tell   The boy sat on a barstool at the kitchen island He had a child’s slouch and a leading man’s designer sunglasses balancing on styled hair So this was her prospective tutee, drinking Italian mineral water The glass bottle dripped green light onto the white counter-top   ‘Marlow, Jenny,’ said Astrid ‘Jenny, Marlow’ Jenny supposed movie stars didn’t have to ask to use your first name ‘The Japanese tutor, the one who translates Dinowhatever’ Astrid paused  The kid rolled