Carly, who was more beautiful than should have been allowed, turned to Ethan and Lauren with a hand over her heart. “I am so sorry I’m a few late. Crazy morning for me.”
“No problem,” Ethan said. “You’re here now and we can roll.”
Lauren forced a smile. If Carly knew she was running late for rehearsal, why had she clearly made a coffee stop? Those ice cubes were fresh. Instead of belaboring that point in her brain, she shook it off. At this early a juncture, she decided not to go there. Lauren would give Carly the same benefit of the doubt she gave everyone, and she at least had the courtesy to apologize with a smile. Maybe it had all been a fluke. A miscommunication of their start time.
“Am I here?” Carly asked, pointing at an empty chair next to Evelyn, the one actor at the table who still looked like she tasted something unpleasant. That said something, and Lauren mentally clocked the disdain.
“Yes, that’s you,” Lauren said. Carly slipped into her chair and waved at Kirby Bonner, the young actress seated across from Carly, who was clearly starstruck. Carly put out a friendly vibe, at least. “We were in the midst of introductions when you arrived.”
“Oh. Sorry,” Carly whispered loudly and bowed her head as if to make herself invisible. The room laughed. Lauren didn’t.
“Evelyn, please continue,” Lauren said, holding out her hand with an encouraging smile.
“I was wrapping up anyway,” Evelyn said. “I’m thrilled to be working with Ethan, as I have nothing but the highest respect for his work, and look forward to a great run with all of you.” She held up the script. “I think this play is an important one. It’s about the love between two women, and we need to see more of that in live theater. If we do this thing right, it’s going to touch a lot of people.”
That comment resonated with Lauren. She’d read the play upward of ten times at this point and adored it. It was the story of Ashley and Mandy, who experienced a sliding doors moment. Down one path, they found themselves stranded together overnight at an airport when their flight was canceled. They argued, got to know each other, stargazed until the wee hours of the morning, and eventually, over time in the coming weeks, fell deeply in love. The other path, played out in act 2, had Mandy making the flight, and Ashley missing it. Their lives took separate, more tumultuous turns. In the end, they passed each other in a grocery store and took a long searching look back, feeling something unspoken tugging at them. The final scene had them abandoning their carts and taking a step toward the other, ending the play on the question, is fate real? It was a hopeful ending, especially having seen how fantastic the two were together in act 1, once they got past their differences.
Lauren broke out in goose bumps each time she read it. She couldn’t wait for Ethan to work his magic, along with Evelyn and Carly, of course. Carly, who would play Ashley, a blond knockout, and Evelyn, who would play Mandy, a redheaded everygirl, made a great physical pairing when she saw them seated next to each other, a perfect looking couple. Once the first read-through began, Lauren clicked the stopwatch and sat back to listen in eager anticipation of hearing the play come to life. It was good, but at the same time, she felt like something wasn’t quite…there.
Probably just because this was the first time they’d heard the words, out loud. Together. The character of Ashley was a driven, focused hedge fund manager. In the read, Carly tackled those characteristics with gusto. Evelyn played the character of Mandy, a kindergarten teacher who understood the value of stopping to smell the roses and appreciating the little things. Lauren missed the lighthearted portions of Evelyn’s reading. Carly’s Ashley was real, raw, and identifiable. But Evelyn brought an edge to Mandy that kept her from feeling relatable. While it wasn’t at all Lauren’s job to worry about those kinds of things, she loved the play so much that she’d taken a silent interest. She thought about how she would have delivered those lines, identifying moments of comedy for Mandy that were entirely missed or glossed over in the read. Luckily, she had a feeling Ethan would be working on eliminating some of Evelyn’s bite in the coming weeks. He’d been furiously scribbling notes as they’d read, stealing glances at the two of them. The six other members of the cast had tracks in which they would play all the other roles in the show. Some would take on as many as seven different characters before the journey was done. This was going to be a ride.
On their first official break, Carly stopped by Lauren’s chair. “You’re Lauren, right? From the voicemail.”
Lauren stood and offered her hand. “Yes, I’ll be the PSM for the production. Nice to officially meet you.” She was caught off guard by the vibrancy of blue in Carly’s wide Disney princess–like eyes once they were up close for the first time.
“Likewise.” Carly quirked an eyebrow. “PSM? Sorry, you may have to help me out with the theater lingo. I’m still stuck in camera speak. I have very little experience with stage work.” She closed her eyes. “That’s not even true. I have zero experience.”
Aha. She was that green when it came to live theater. “Not a problem. Stands for production stage manager. Think of me as head stage manager, and Trip is my number two.” She pointed at Trip, who poured himself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be organizing and helping Ethan implement a rehearsal strategy. I’ll also be in charge of maintaining the show once he moves on after rehearsal. I also do a myriad of other things. For example, if you ever need help with your lines, let me know. We can set up a session.”
“You have a lot going on.”
“I do, but I’m no stranger to the job.”
Carly pointed at her and smiled, exposing how her whole face lit up when she did. “Above all other stage managers. Got it. Anyway, sorry for that late entrance. I’ll try and be better.” She held up a finger. “Scratch that. I will be.”
Lauren liked those words a lot, because they were not off to a great start. At the same time, she wasn’t sure Carly understood the importance. “Well, that’s good to hear. I know Ethan is thrilled to have you on board.”
Carly nodded. “I’m grateful to be here. Trust me. I needed this.” Lauren took a moment because Carly’s beauty had not been exaggerated. She could see why Hollywood put up with her wilder ways for so long. Not to mention the fact that she was also crazy talented. A one-two punch that couldn’t be argued. “You okay?” Carly asked.
“Me?” Lauren shook herself out of it, embarrassed and attempting to recover. “Very much so. Yeah. Why?”
“You seemed to lose your focus.”
“Oh no. Just always thinking two steps ahead. Another part of being a stage manager.” It was the lamest answer, but she couldn’t very well tell Carly that she was stunned silent by how pretty she was. Not really the message she wanted to send in the moment to a colleague in her workplace.
“Anything I can do to help?” Carly also had a really nice tan going that made her skin look incredibly smooth. Likely very soft. Okay, what the hell was she doing? Lauren didn’t recognize herself or her own ridiculous behavior. She never crushed. And she still wasn’t, damn it. That’s not what this was.
“No. We only have seven minutes left on that break.”