I Love My Side of the Story by Sabrina Lacey Page A

“Nah. I like
you like this.” I swing her around, set her down.
    For the remainder of the night, as I go
over planning the move – movers, notice to our landlords, changing
addresses, the best day to do, etc…   – she barely says a word, because she knows I’ve got it covered.
This makes me feel pretty great, I won’t lie.
    At dinner I say, taking a bite of my
steak. “Babe, one thing I’m not sure on. Should we live in your place or mine?”
    She pushes some grilled veggies around
her plate. “I don’t know Josh. What do you think?”
    “I think your place is bigger. It has a
more homey feel to it.”
    She smiles. “You think so?”
    “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Your place it is.”
    “ Our place, soon,” she corrects me.
    “To our place.” We lift up our glasses.
    “To our place,” she says, and drinks,
looking down.
    I say, “You’re barely eating,” and slice
off another chunk of meat, shove it in my mouth.
    “Yeah.” she shrugs. “Not hungry. Too
excited, I guess.”
    “Amber?”
    “Yes?” She looks up.
    “I love you.”
    She smiles. “I love you, too, Josh.”

 
    Night
Before The Move-In

 
 
    Stepping out of the subway, my phone
rings. I pull it out of my pocket and see it’s my agent. Odd to get a call from
her after 6 p.m. I look at the time and see 7:32 p.m. Huh. Are they going to
drop me? My heart is beating fast. Please don’t drop me the night before I move
in with my girl.
      “Josh here.”
    “Josh, it’s Marci.”
    “Hey… yeah, I know. What’s up?”
    “I just got the call about that Toyota
spot you auditioned for last week. You booked it.”
    I stop walking, nearly colliding into a
guy who was pedestrian-tailgating me. “What the fuck!” he says.
    “Then don’t follow so close!” I yell. To
her, I say; nicer, “Say that again.”
    “You booked it. You booked the Toyota
spot.”
    I hold my head, look down at the
sidewalk and turn in a circle. “You’re shitting me.”
    She laughs, “No. I’m really not. You
have a wardrobe fitting on…”
    But I cut her off by whooping and
hollering and jumping in the air with a fist pump like you would not believe.
“I BOOKED IT??! Oh my God – Marci, I’m moving in with my girl tomorrow!
This is the best news ever. Thank you! Thank you!!”
    Through laughter, she says, “That’s very
exciting! I’m so happy for you. Well, have a good weekend moving in with your
girlfriend because your fitting isn’t until Monday. You’re free until then! The
shoot will be sometime between next Tuesday through Friday, and we’ll have the
exact dates for you soon.”
    “Okay, I’ll be there,” I say seriously
and then burst out with, “What am I talking about? Of course I’ll be there! Why
would I be anywhere else? This is so great. You don’t even know. National
Network, right?”
    “Yep!”
    “Wooohoooo!!! Thank you, Marci. You just
made my life. Thank you.”
    “Goodnight Josh. And congratulations on
your move. She must be very special.”
    “She is. She is. Goodnight Marci. Have a
good weekend.”
    “It’s not as good as yours is, but I’ll
try,” she says with a chuckle and hangs up.
    I take off running. When I get to
Amber’s building to pick her up – tomorrow, our building, wow – I stop outside. You know what? I’m going
to wait to tell her the good news. I’ll wait until we’re at dinner with Jess
and David. Make it a real celebration. Dinner on me! The stars are shining on
me today, man! They are mother fucking shining !!!

 
    Thirty-Three Minutes Later

 
 
    I look around the place, my first time
here. The restaurant is a slender long rectangle, lit by retro lampshades above
wood tables and comfortable cushioned seats backed with burnished iron. You can
see the kitchen through a large glass window; watch the magic as it happens. I
like it. We’re at the bar and Jess and Amber are off to the side, talking about
whatever it is they talk about, which always seems to keep them happy no matter
what