Page 55 of Second Act
Jessica watched in awed bemusement as the actress threw her arms around Hugh and kissed him soundly on the lips, leaving a smear of her vivid red lipstick on his skin. As soon as she released him, Rose reached up to scrub it off with her thumb. “Don’t want to make your lovely companion jealous,” she said before offering her hand to Jessica. “And you are a talented veterinarian, Hugh tells me.”
The actress had the same crackling, larger-than-life aura Hugh did, only hers was quintessentially feminine. Even the weirdly exaggeratedstage makeup couldn’t overwhelm the woman’s delicate bone structure or the intelligence shining in her green eyes.
“Yes, I’m Jessica Quillen, and I’m a vet,” Jessica said, shaking hands. “You were amazing in the play. But you’re incredible in every role. I’m a great admirer of yours.”
“You know, people think we get tired of hearing that, but we never do. Thank you so much,” Rose said with such utter sincerity that Jessica almost believed her. “Let me fluff my hair and then we’ll snap a photo with you and Hugh. I can’t resist a selfie.”
Hugh threw Jessica an “I told you so” look.
“She’s only including me because we’re a package deal tonight,” Jessica muttered while Rose returned her hair to a cascade of glossy waves.
“There.” The actress put down her brush, checked her makeup, and picked up a cell phone from the countertop. “Hugh in the middle so we’re the bookends.” Rose arranged them and held the phone high. “Always shoot down to hide the chin sag.”
After taking several photos, she tapped away at her phone.
“You’re posting it on social media, aren’t you?” Hugh’s tone was indulgent, though.
“Hell, yes,” Rose said. “Me with the fabulous Hugh Baker’s arm around me? That’s an event to be shared. And I sent you a copy, too, so you can share it with Jessica, who can digitally cut me right out of the picture.” She winked.
“You were brilliant in the scene with Frederick,” Hugh said. “You gave us that tiny, first glimpse of the anguish beneath the steel, just enough to make your ultimate unraveling entirely believable. Well done.”
Rose lit up at Hugh’s words. “I kept overplaying that scene at first, but I pulled back a little bit more every performance until I felt it was tightly coiled enough to explode at the end.” She cupped Hugh’s cheek. “You can always put your finger on the key moment. It’s a great gift to hear I did it right.”
This time Jessica believed Rose meant her gratitude. That an actress who played Shakespeare and Ibsen valued Hugh’s compliment on her performance opened her eyes to another side of him. She’d been focused on his celebrity, not on his talent. Rose reminded her that Hugh had worked hard to hone his acting skills when they’d been together, studying great performances in movies, attending plays to absorb live theater, taking lessons from acting coaches he admired. Tonight, during the first act, he’d demonstrated that he was still upping his game.
“I mustn’t monopolize you,” Rose said, checking her hair in the mirror again. “The whole cast is dying to see you. And of course to meet your charming friend.”
She led them out the door and down a narrow hallway to a lounge packed with people talking and taking photos with their cell phones.
“Darlings, I’ve brought Hugh Baker,” Rose said in a voice that silenced the buzz of conversation. “And his friend Jessica.”
Jessica had to give Rose credit for introducing her when she was clearly an afterthought. Although she would have been just as happy to fade into the background in order to observe Hugh in his element.
“Oh my God, Hugh Baker!” Dorian Greer, the young actor who had been given the lead over more prominent candidates, raced up and pumped Hugh’s hand. He bestowed a sweet smile on Jessica before turning to the room. “This man is the reason I am standing in this place with all of you. He championed me for the role and supported me through all the auditions. I owe him my career.”
Jessica sensed Hugh’s discomfort in the tightening of his grip on her hand and his subtle shift to move her slightly in front of him.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Hugh said with a smile. “Your career is up to you and your talent, which you have in abundance.”
It was interesting that Hugh had told her how terrific the young man was in his role without mentioning that he had been involved in getting Dorian the part.
“All right, I will take the hint.” Dorian flung up one hand. “No more public gratitude, but it will always be here.” He touched his chest over his heart with a graceful gesture.
After that, a parade of people came up to greet Hugh. Some were clearly old friends, some were awestruck, some were fawning, but everyone treated him as though he were a visiting monarch. And he played the role well, responding with graciousness, encouragement, and courtesy, yet he was always cloaked in that impenetrable detachment that Jessica knew all too well. Only with Rose and Dorian did he let down his guard.
Jessica was introduced to all the actors and included in several selfies with Hugh. She finally excused herself from further photos since she knew that no one, except possibly Hugh, wanted her there. Besides, it was entertaining to watch her sometimes irascible ex-fiancé pose with a smile on his face that she suspected was entirely false.
When they began passing around glasses of wine, Hugh leaned down to murmur in Jessica’s ear, “Theater wine is god-awful. Let’s go find some good stuff to drink.”
“I don’t want to take you away from your friends,” she said.
“I’m having dinner with Rose and her husband next week, so we can catch up then.” He started down the hallway.
“She’s far from your only friend in the room,” Jessica said, letting him pull her along with him. “In fact, I’d say you have at least fifty.”
Hugh threw her an irritated look and kept walking.
“Okay, so they were mostly people who wanted to say they’d met Hugh Baker, but you must like some of them. By the way, why didn’t you tell me you’d helped Dorian get the part?”
