Page 5 of Places in Time
I nodded and blinked away tears. Apparently, I was on some sort of emotional roller coaster tonight. Or this afternoon. Or twenty years ago. Fuck.
Younger Me followed Clipboard Lady through the double doors to the reading room. Ginger and I were right behind them.
It was surreal to be back in that place with people who, from my perspective, seemed to have aged backward. I looked around and took inventory. Brenda, the director ofFull Moon High, sat in the middle of a long table. I racked my memory for a last name. Pierce. Brenda Pierce. There were two men flanking her, and I didn’t recognize either of them—or maybe I just didn’t remember them. Richard Harrison, the show’s producer and Jude’s father, was sitting in a chair in the corner. The miracles of plastic surgery meant the man looked about the same twenty years ago as he did today. I shuddered in horror. Okay, I could be a little obsessed with my personal appearance—call it an occupational hazard—but Lord help me if I ever became that vain.
And then there was Jude Harrison. Because of where he sat in the room, I hadn’t realized he was there that day. But seeing him now, there was no way for me to keep the smile off my face. I’d forgotten how Jude had kept his hair so long in the front back then. It used to constantly hang over his eyes, and now was no exception. He was looking down, pulling on a string on his pants and seeming for all the world like he’d rather be anywhere but in that studio. Knowing Jude, I had no doubt that was absolutely true.
“This is Ethan Baker,” Clipboard Lady announced unenthusiastically. “He’s reading for the part of Roger Davies.”
It all passed quickly after that. Past Me stumbled through introductions and some preliminary questions then read two pages from the script. They thanked me for my time. And then Clipboard Lady walked me out.
“I assume we’re all in agreement?” the director asked the other members of the audition panel.
“Yup,” one of her lackeys responded. “He’s a no-go. Who do we have up next?”
“Wait.” Jude got up from the armchair where he’d been sitting next to his father. He batted his bangs away from his eyes and glared at the panel. “Why are you writing him off? Ethan Baker. Why is he a no-go?”
Brenda looked at Jude’s father, waiting for him to intervene, but when he didn’t look up from whatever he was reading, she sighed and forced herself to answer the boss’s son.
“The role of Roger Davies is meant to be the guy every girl wants, Jude. We’re hoping for the cover ofTiger Beathere. I think we can all agree that the Ethan Baker kid isn’t going to have the girls rushing to the magazine stands.”
Both of the forgettable men on either side of Brenda nodded, but Jude didn’t. “Idon’t agree. Did we just watch the same audition? He was a little awkward at the beginning, sure, but once he started reading… Ethan Baker was mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes off him, didn’t want to. He owned that role.”
“Richard?” Brenda looked at Jude’s father imploringly, clearly hoping he’d either make his son sit down or give the adults permission to stop engaging in a conversation with a fifteen-year-old.
Cool blue eyes lifted and focused on Jude. I wanted to squirm and I wasn’t even the one pinned by Richard Harrison’s gaze. “Mesmerizing?” Richard said, making me realize for the first time that he’d been paying attention to the conversation. “Brenda, it looks like we’ve filled the role of Roger Davies.” Richard never once took his eyes off Jude. “Tell Jessica she can send the rest of the actors home.”
“What?” Brenda gasped. “But, Richard, we—”
One raised hand from Jude’s father was all it took to stop Brenda mid-sentence. That right there was the power of being a producer. Especially one with a string of high-earning shows under his belt.
“We’ll sign Ethan…whatever his name is as Roger. If Jude’s right, we’ll all be thanking him. If he’s wrong, we write the role down until the kid’s basically an extra and we try to find Mr. Tiger Beat again. Either way, we’ve won.”
Richard Harrison’s tone left no room for debate. Brenda deflated and flopped onto her chair.
“Jude,” Richard said, and I could see my friend bracing himself. For what, I didn’t know. “I assume you’ll want to tell Ethan the good news and show him around the studio.”
Jude nodded and walked toward the door.
“Oh, and, Jude.” At his father’s words, Jude froze but didn’t turn around. “When you show him the dressing rooms, you can let him know there aren’t enough for everyone to get his own, so the two of you can share.”
He flinched but didn’t say a word, just nodded once and walked out the door.
Looking like the cat that ate the canary, Richard Harrison smirked at the other people in the room. “I do believe I’ve solved ourTiger Beatproblem.”
Brenda had apparently gathered more courage, because she dared to contradict that statement. “Honestly, Richard, that Ethan Baker boy is chubby, his hair’s a dull brown, same with his eyes. I just don’t think he’s cover material.”
“No, maybe not,” Richard agreed. “But Jude sure as hell is, and I know that’s not just paternal pride speaking.”
Richard Harrison had all sorts of pride. And arrogance. And hubris. But he was right about one thing—Jude was gorgeous. He’d been a gorgeous teenager who’d grown into a gorgeous adult without ever once going through the awkward phase I’d faced at age thirteen. Thankfully, that phase hadn’t lasted long, andTiger Beatwasn’t the only magazine that had asked me to grace its cover when I was onFull Moon High. Plus, I had twoPeople’s“Sexiest Man Alive” covers to prove that “chubby and dull” were no longer words people used to describe my appearance.
“Jude certainly has the right look,” Brenda said, interrupting my defensive musings. “But I thought your wife, uh, ex-wife…ahem.” Brenda cleared her throat and tried again. “I thought Jude’s mother forbid him from getting involved in the business.”
Richard nodded. “That’s true, she has primary custody of Jude, and she has always refused to let me put the boy on any of my shows. I’ve never been able to make her budge no matter how often I point out Jude’s talent.” For a brief moment, the harsh lines of Richard’s face softened and he looked genuinely proud of his son. “Have any of you ever heard my boy sing? Or play the guitar? Or the piano? He’s incredibly gifted, even more so than his mother, who trained at Julliard.”
“I’m sure he is,” Forgettable Guy sitting to Brenda’s left replied. “But if you can’t convince his mother to sign the parental authorization…”
“Ican’t,” Richard said. “But Jude can. He’s just never been interested in being in the public eye. But I do believe making sure this Ethan Baker gets a role onFull Moon Highjust gave my son the incentive he needed to finally use his gift.”
