Page 59 of A Chance at Forever
With auditions finallyover by late Friday afternoon, Victoria and her panel of judges pooled their results and decided on the cast forA Christmas Carol. She would post a list on Monday and rehearsals would begin on Tuesday.
As soon as Victoria arrived home and tossed her bookbag on the sofa, her cell phone vibrated. Noting the caller, she said, “Hey, Jonica.”
“Hey. It’s time for a girls-only night. Danny and Steve went to the game to support Rusty and won’t be home until much later. Mia has to wait for her mother-in-law to pick up the boys, so want to get together around eight?”
Victoria glanced at her watch. She could take a nap, hop into the shower, and meet the girls by eight. “Sounds great. See you in a little while.” A moment later she laughed when Jonica texted to come in her pajamas.
After a refreshing nap and shower, Victoria dressed in her cotton sleep pants and an old, comfortable T-shirt. She grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. Bud whined and gazed at her through expectant eyes. “Okay, boy. Tonight you can hang with the girls.”
Hewoofedhis pleasure.
Victoria and Mia arrived at Jonica’s house within a couple of minutes of each other. In the kitchen, the friends loaded their arms with bottles of wine, three glasses, and plenty of sweet and salty snacks, including Mia’s special Halloween popcorn balls, and carried them into the family room. Jonica had pushed aside the furniture to make room for a king-sized air mattress covered in pillows and throw blankets.
They made themselves comfortable. Bud squeezed between Mia and Victoria and laid his head on his paws.
“Okay, ladies, time for our favorite rom-com.” Jonica tuned into a streaming channel and pressed the play button.
While the love story unfolded, bringing tears and laughter, the girls drank an entire bottle of wine and ate most of the snacks. When the movie ended, they sniffed and laughed at each other.
“I swearYou’ve Got Mailnever gets old,” Mia commented. “How many times have we seen it? We can recite it by heart, we know what’s going to happen, and we still cry.”
Jonica reached for a women’s magazine on the coffee table. “Now for the good stuff, ladies. Time for a relationship quiz. ‘How Well Do You Know Your Partner?’” she quoted the article’s title. “This should be enlightening. The first question is…”
Five questions and plenty of good-natured ribbing later, Jonica opened another bottle of wine and filled their glasses. “All right, girls. Next question. ‘You max out your credit card. How does your partner react? A. Takes your credit card away until you learn to be more responsible. B. Forces you to return what you just purchased. C. Accepts it with a warning not to do it again. D. Smiles and asks you to model the sexy lingerie you bought.’” She grinned. “Mia, you first.”
Mia smiled. “Oh, this is easy. Steve would accept it, warn me,andask me to model the lingerie. Then, he’d take me to bed.”
Jonica shook her head. “Not Danny. He’d blow a gasket and take my card away. After that, he’d be lucky to get me into sexy lingerie.”
Victoria and Mia burst into laughter.
“Your turn, Tori.”
She gulped her wine. “Oh, no, I can’t answer this one. I don’t know Rusty well enough to gauge how he would react if I maxed out our credit card. Honestly, it feels weird even saying that.”
Jonica and Mia glanced at each other and keeled over with laughter. They bumped into each other and almost spilled their wine. That caused even more raucous laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Victoria demanded.
“You!” Mia gasped. “As if you and Rusty aren’t joined at the hip. He’s certainly not eating dinner alone every night.” She jabbed Jonica in the ribs. “Right?”
“I think you’re tipsy. Nothing is going on between me and Rusty.”
Gales of giggles erupted, startling Bud who yipped and jumped into the middle of them. After a playful romp, he settled down again. The women caught their breath and sprawled on the mattress with their pillows and blankets.
“Answer the question, Tori,” Jonica ordered. “We’re not letting you off the hook.”
“Okay, fine. I’m guessing, but I think he’d smile and ask me to model my sexy lingerie.”
“See? Was that so hard?”
“Yes, actually.”
Jonica laughed. “Whatever. Question number seven…”
After ten questions, all three of their cell phones vibrated with messages. The guys were on their way home.
“They didn’t mention the outcome of the game,” Mia complained.
