Page 47 of Footlights and Forever

Kevin opened the door back into the three-story brownstone house and gestured over his shoulder. “Well, I am going to get my emotionally-bruised ass back into this party. There is a tall muscle-bound Greek man in the kitchen that I want to give a private tour to.”

“Still giving those tours huh?” I chuckled.

“Well why fix what’s not broken,” he called over his shoulder as he moved back through the party.

Kyle handed me a beer and took a seat next to me on the stoop. We sat there for a few moments, just people watching. An older couple walked down towards the bodega down the street, the wife repeating a five-item shopping list over and over until the husband snapped that he wasn’t an idiot. A young guy on his phone paced back and forth across the street, his eyes darting around, and a young couple, I thought to be in their early twenties, walked hand-in-hand down the street. One of the girls leaned over and pressed a long kiss against the cheek of her girlfriend, who blushed for a moment before playfully pushing her arm.

“How could you have ever left this,” Kyle chuffed, pointing his bottle towards the street.

“What, partying on a weeknight with the guys calling each other bruh every five minutes inside?” I pointed behind me.

“No, I mean New York.” He laughed. “Don’t you miss the life, the hustle and bustle and all this opportunity everywhere you look?”

I did miss it. I missed being able to wake up in the middle of the night and go for a walk and find that life hadn’t stood still.When they said that New York was The City That Never Sleeps, it was no joke. I’d once got up at 2am after not being able to sleep, and caught the train to grab coffee and then on to get a sandwich at this famous New York deli. I’d stumbled coming out of the store, and dropped my phone down a sewer grate. I’d then found a payphone and called the customer service line, who had told me I could go pick up a new phone straight away at their twenty-four-hour outlet on Fifth Avenue.

The endless retail opportunities were not the only reason I missed the city. Although I did love Yonkers and my life with Dylan, I did miss having my friends on the doorstep. I’d always been the same since I was a kid. Some people were happy with their own company and could spend hours alone at a time. I, on the other hand, needed people around me, needed to feel connected and the idea of being without my friends was just unthinkable.

“I miss it a lot.” I nodded. “But I love being with Dylan more.”

“Yeah, I get that.” He smiled. “Bruh.”

“I know you do.”

“You know you could have gotten the lead today though, don’t you?” I looked over to see his gaze locked on his shoes on the step below.

“Kyle…”

“I’m just pointing out what you already know but are afraid to admit to yourself, or to Dylan.”

Earlier in the day I’d walked off stage after my final audition of the day. The two other actresses who were leads in the show with me on stage had been given their roles a few weeks earlier. The casting director had had some difficulty finding a male lead that had the right chemistry with both of the actresses, since part of the role called for intimate scenes with both of them. Our chemistry reads had gone great, and both girls had told me that they were rooting for me and that I was a shoo-in. As I headedfor the back exit, a hand had landed on my shoulder. It had been the casting director ushering me towards the director’s office at the back of the building.

The office had been as you might have imagined for a theatre production. The walls had been decorated with posters and reviews from the previous shows to grace the stage, and the room had been lined with racks of clothes, likely from the costumer’s desperate space grab for the mountains of garments likely needed on a week-by-week basis. In the center of the room had been a small pine desk with a laptop perched in the center, a single green glass-covered desk lamp the only source of illumination in the room. I’d taken the single seat in the front While the casting lady took her place next to the director on the other side.

“So, Austin, how do you think today went?” Mitchell Grant was a legendary stage director on the New York circuit. He had been prolific Off-Broadway in the late 70’s and had made the move to the main stages in the late noughties. The years showed on his face, the lines around his eyes, the greying hair at his temples and the slightly roundness of his face and belly. His steely grey eyes, which seemed to peer directly into your soul, had not diminished with age.

“It went well, I think? Right?” I’d looked quickly towards Marge, the casting director. “It went well?”

Marge had chuckled, shrugging her shoulders and nodding her head towards Mitchell. “I think we want to know your take.”

“It went well,” I’d said with more certainty in my voice.

“Well, I’m glad you think it went well.” Mitchell had plucked a pen from his desk and began to scribble something on a pad of paper in front of him. “We did too.”

“That’s good!” Thank the lord.

“Yes, very good.” He’d nodded, looking up from his scribbling briefly. “Now we want to be moving quite quickly here asthe time we have for rehearsals, promotion and production is limited, so if you’re going to come on board then we need to know that you’re all in.”

“I’m totally in!” I’d almost shouted across the table.

“Of course, we will speak to your agent about the legal stuff and contracts, but we just want to make sure that you want to be part of this team. We expect this production to gain some traction within the media, and although you are relatively unknown, we think that this might catapult you directly into the spotlight. Is that something you’re ready for?”

Part of me had wanted to again scream yes in his face, but I’d taken a moment to pause and really think what this would mean for me, and more importantly, what it would mean for meandDylan. This was the type of decision that would impact the both of us. I was very aware that as people were thrust in front of the cameras, those nearest and dearest to them became fodder for journalists and entertainment news. I was definitely getting ahead of myself, but it paid to be prepared.

Jumping in feet first, I’d nodded. “Yeah I’m ready.”

“That’s great.” Marge had clapped her hands together and stood from the desk. “I’ll go start making some calls.”

“Yeah me too,” I’d laughed. “My boyfriend’s gonna be so happy.”

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