Page 10 of Fresh Start
“Babe, I’m not joking. It’s true. The casting director and the producers want to sit down with you and talk about the part. And you know what that means in Hollywood. The part is almost yours,” he said.
“Almost, yeah,” I said.
Beth’s punch landed on my arm again, and I rubbed where it had made contact.
“That’s what you’re focusing on, you idiot. They want to see you,” she shouted.
And that was when it hit me.
They want to see me. Talk to me and discuss the possibility of taking on the iconic role.
Fuck. Me.
“They want to see me,” I shouted too.
“They want to see you,” Milo shouted back, and we all cheered and jumped on the spot like school children, celebrating the best news that I could have got today, or ever.
Once we’d all settled down and clinked our water glasses—there was a lot of hooting involved too—we sat down at the dinner table and discussed the rest of the details.
“So, you have to be there the Monday after the next, and I already took the liberty to book your hotel,” he said.
“Oh, that’s soon. That’s really soon,” I said, and my breathing quickened.
Beth clicked her fingers in front of me.
“Don’t shut down on us, Leo. This is your big opportunity. Don’t let the nerves get to you,” she said.
“Fine,” I said and tried to relax by taking deep breaths. “Where?”
“LA, duh!” Milo replied.
“This is real isn’t it,” I said again, not believing my life was about to change in such a big way.
“Damn right it is,” Milo said.
The more we talked about it, the calmer I became, so when they both left a few hours later, I was more than ready to seize the day.
I went to my laptop straight away and looked up flights. I wasn’t a big fan of planes on the best of days, so I looked for those with a stop and was just about to book the one to LA via New York when a new email popped up on the corner of my screen.
“The Butterfly Festival returns to Cedarwood Beach,” read the subject line.
Gosh, they still did that? It had always been the highlight of the town when I was growing up, even though I had never really cared for it. But it attracted all the tourists and that was needed a lot, especially in a coastal town that didn’t have much of a life in the winter. So of course the festival was still running.
And it was starting in a few days.
It had been so long since I’d been home. I hadn’t returned since I turned eighteen, much to the disappointment of my father and the rest of my family.
Maybe this was a sign that I needed to go back. Mend those bridges. After all, if I returned to live in the States, I wouldn’t have any excuse for not visiting, so might as well do it now and get it over with.
I booked a flight to Dulles International and another flight to LAX separately. It was only once I’d booked it all and then even informed my sister I was coming that I realized I couldn’t just up and leave for two weeks. I had a show to do. No matter how bad the reviews were, I had an obligation and a contract.
But I also had an understudy. And we were still in previews.
Fuck it. I’d just have to deal with the pushback. I messaged the director, Nichols, even though I was going to see him in less than a couple of hours at the theatre.
Rip off that band-aid and all. Besides, if I was that bad in the lead role, why even bother? The understudy was a great guy, and perhaps he could bring better reviews so the show could have a bigger life than its original booked run.
It turned out I didn’t even need to perform that day. Because Nichols let me go. The critical response was too much, and he wanted to save whatever he could of the show. I couldn’t believe the man that had put so much of his faith in me was so quick to dismiss and discard me, but that was the story of my life. I should be used to it by now.
