glared up at her. The whites of his eyes were striated red around
brown irises, and his long lashes were wet and clumped together as a result of
the tears he’d obviously cried. “They were tears of anger , okay? I’m pissed, okay? They didn’t hurt me, they pissed me
off.” Tyler snapped. “Don’t look at me like that!” He pulled a pillow over his
face.
Marci wasn’t
aware that she’d been looking at him in any sort of particular way. Except for
maybe with concern.
“Like you’re
judging me. Or ashamed. Or embarrassed for me.” Tyler
answered her unasked question three times over.
“Tyler, you
know I’m not doing any of those things.”
Tyler didn’t
answer.
“Where’s
Ronnie?” Marci asked, switching tactics. Maybe a change of subject would take
some of the sting off whatever had happened or at least distract him a bit.
“Law library,” Tyler’s petulant voice was muffled by the pillow
that remained over his face . “She said she needs peace and quiet to
study for some big midterm or something, and that’s the only place she can get
it.”
“ Fall break is Monday and Tuesday,” Marci said.
“That’s what I
said. She said she has a lot of studying to do. I think she just doesn’t want
to put up with me.”
“No, that’s not
it.” Marci said, and it wasn’t just to placate. Ronnie had been disappearing a
lot on both of them lately. “She loves you. I do, too.”
Tyler slid the
pillow down to his narrow chest and gave her a doleful look. After a silence
that seemed to stretch on twice the length of the earlier part of her day,
Tyler said, “I didn’t get the part.”
“Oh, honey.”
She reached out, and he readily went into her arms for a hug.
“I was so sure
they liked me. The director was saying he hoped I’d be back in New York soon so
we could all go to this club his friend owns. We were talking like I already
had the part. We got detail about the rehearsal schedule and the likelihood the
show would get a contract for five more seasons. And how they saw this
character growing to play a major part on the show. Then, some assistant —the director didn’t even
have the decency to call me. We had dinner together, and he couldn’t tell me himself. This nameless, faceless assistant thanked me for my time and
said I’m shit.”
“She didn’t say
that.” Marci was slightly horrified but mostly sure he was exaggerating.
Exaggerating was second-nature to Tyler after all.
“He. He said I
wasn’t quite what they were looking for, they decided
to go with someone else, blah-dee blah, bullshit bullshit. To tell you the truth,
I stopped listening after he thanked me for my time. That’s when you know it’s
all over. Done. Dead. When they thank you for your time or for coming out to
audition or for some other bullshit variation of the above.”
“I’m sorry. I
know you’re going to get a better part in a better show. And
not television. Broadway. Which is where you really want to be anyway.”
“No, you don’t
know that.” Tyler pulled himself to a sitting position on the couch and tucked
his long legs under him. “Maybe I should just give up.”
“You definitely
shouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t want
to talk about it anymore,” Tyler said peevishly. He hunched his shoulders and
stared down at the floor.
“You want to go
over to Sadie’s?”
“Sadie’s?”
“Yeah. She
asked what we were doing for dinner.” She’d texted Marci earlier and asked
that. Marci told Tyler this and added, “I told her I’d get back to her after I
talked to you and Ronnie.”
“Sadie’s. Where
the food is only slightly charred if you’re lucky, and the wine is always
flowing.” Tyler grinned. “Let’s go.”
Marci texted
Ronnie to tell her she didn’t know what she was up to, but she needed to get
her butt over to Sadie’s. Ronnie insisted she wasn’t done studying. Marci
texted back that she couldn’t study all night, and she had all of Saturday,
Sunday,
brown irises, and his long lashes were wet and clumped together as a result of
the tears he’d obviously cried. “They were tears of anger , okay? I’m pissed, okay? They didn’t hurt me, they pissed me
off.” Tyler snapped. “Don’t look at me like that!” He pulled a pillow over his
face.
Marci wasn’t
aware that she’d been looking at him in any sort of particular way. Except for
maybe with concern.
“Like you’re
judging me. Or ashamed. Or embarrassed for me.” Tyler
answered her unasked question three times over.
“Tyler, you
know I’m not doing any of those things.”
Tyler didn’t
answer.
“Where’s
Ronnie?” Marci asked, switching tactics. Maybe a change of subject would take
some of the sting off whatever had happened or at least distract him a bit.
“Law library,” Tyler’s petulant voice was muffled by the pillow
that remained over his face . “She said she needs peace and quiet to
study for some big midterm or something, and that’s the only place she can get
it.”
“ Fall break is Monday and Tuesday,” Marci said.
“That’s what I
said. She said she has a lot of studying to do. I think she just doesn’t want
to put up with me.”
“No, that’s not
it.” Marci said, and it wasn’t just to placate. Ronnie had been disappearing a
lot on both of them lately. “She loves you. I do, too.”
Tyler slid the
pillow down to his narrow chest and gave her a doleful look. After a silence
that seemed to stretch on twice the length of the earlier part of her day,
Tyler said, “I didn’t get the part.”
“Oh, honey.”
She reached out, and he readily went into her arms for a hug.
“I was so sure
they liked me. The director was saying he hoped I’d be back in New York soon so
we could all go to this club his friend owns. We were talking like I already
had the part. We got detail about the rehearsal schedule and the likelihood the
show would get a contract for five more seasons. And how they saw this
character growing to play a major part on the show. Then, some assistant —the director didn’t even
have the decency to call me. We had dinner together, and he couldn’t tell me himself. This nameless, faceless assistant thanked me for my time and
said I’m shit.”
“She didn’t say
that.” Marci was slightly horrified but mostly sure he was exaggerating.
Exaggerating was second-nature to Tyler after all.
“He. He said I
wasn’t quite what they were looking for, they decided
to go with someone else, blah-dee blah, bullshit bullshit. To tell you the truth,
I stopped listening after he thanked me for my time. That’s when you know it’s
all over. Done. Dead. When they thank you for your time or for coming out to
audition or for some other bullshit variation of the above.”
“I’m sorry. I
know you’re going to get a better part in a better show. And
not television. Broadway. Which is where you really want to be anyway.”
“No, you don’t
know that.” Tyler pulled himself to a sitting position on the couch and tucked
his long legs under him. “Maybe I should just give up.”
“You definitely
shouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t want
to talk about it anymore,” Tyler said peevishly. He hunched his shoulders and
stared down at the floor.
“You want to go
over to Sadie’s?”
“Sadie’s?”
“Yeah. She
asked what we were doing for dinner.” She’d texted Marci earlier and asked
that. Marci told Tyler this and added, “I told her I’d get back to her after I
talked to you and Ronnie.”
“Sadie’s. Where
the food is only slightly charred if you’re lucky, and the wine is always
flowing.” Tyler grinned. “Let’s go.”
Marci texted
Ronnie to tell her she didn’t know what she was up to, but she needed to get
her butt over to Sadie’s. Ronnie insisted she wasn’t done studying. Marci
texted back that she couldn’t study all night, and she had all of Saturday,
Sunday,
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