Page 6 of Places in Time
Chapter 4
“Well,Ethan, what did you think of our little trip down memory lane?”
“Ourtrip?” I grumbled. “I don’t remember seeing you in that room when you were a teenager whose skin tended to have unfortunate reactions to anxiety. Plus, I’m a stress eater and that was my first rehearsal for a paying job, as you so aptly pointed out earlier. So I may have been overdoing it for a few weeks in the food department, and since I hadn’t discovered the gym yet back then, it may have shown. But I lost the extra weight once the show got me a personal trainer and a nutritionist.” I dragged my fingers through my hair in frustration, which reminded me of another thing they’d said about my appearance. “And my hair was not dull! Okay, maybe the cut was a little—”
The car jerked and my head slammed against the headrest before my body lurched forward, causing the steering wheel to push all the air out of my lungs. “Hey! How about giving a guy a little warning?” I snapped at my carjacker while making a mad grab for my seat belt. “You could give someone whiplash like that.”
“I’m sorry, dear. I was aiming for lockjaw, not whiplash.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” I grumbled.
I only got one “tsk” in response to my language this time before Mistress Snatch-and-Grab answered me. “It means that if your only focus after a visit to that place in time is what people who you can barely remember thought of how you looked over two decades ago, we need to make another trip.” She shook her head and continued talking, though I didn’t get the impression it was to me. “Honestly, I’d forgotten about actor egos. Next time, I’m going to find a nice farmer to guide. Or maybe a teacher.”
Feeling justly chastened, I sulked quietly and thought about what I’d just seen. Richard Harrison was right about Jude’s musical talent. He had the most amazing ability to draw out emotions with just a few notes. Whenever Jude played, his feelings poured out of him until all I knew was Jude. Listening to him was my absolute favorite thing to do.
Despite all that skill and passion, Jude had created the most low-key musical career possible for himself, writing beautiful songs and working as a studio musician. He’d had that stint onFull Moon High, where he played a kid in a garage band and avoided any sort of press like his life depended on it. Then there was a summer tour where that fake band traveled through North America playing real concerts and Jude called me every night sounding like death warmed over. But after that, the only time he played for a live audience was when he played for me in his house or in an otherwise empty studio. Which got me to thinking… With as much as Jude hated the limelight, why had he agreed to tour that summer?
“I’m waiting, Ethan,” Ginger said impatiently.
I blinked and looked at the empty passenger seat.
“I’m already out here,” she said.
I peered through the windshield and saw Ginger standing in the middle of a colorful garden, her arms crossed, hip jutted to the side, and left foot tapping impatiently. Sighing loudly, I unbuckled and dragged myself out of my car and over to her.
“I could hear that, you know,” she said, referring to my sigh.
“Yeah, I know. And I could hear you,” I replied. “Even though we were separated by metal and glass and way too much distance to make that possible under all the laws of physics. Care to explain?”
“It’s fine, J, really.” The sound of my own voice, well, the younger version of my own voice, trying to sound sincere and failing miserably caused me to walk away from Ginger rather than waiting for her answer.
“It’s not fine, E. It’s a prime-time drama with a teenager in one of the leading roles. Those don’t come floating along all the time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know you want it and I know they offered it to you. Now tell me why you’re not taking the part.”
I followed the curved brick path in what I recognized as the English garden outside Jude’s mother’s cottage until I came to the swings hanging from an old redwood. I saw my younger self dragging the toe of my shoe through the dirt as I pushed myself back and forth while Jude straddled the swing next to me, gazing at me as he patiently waited for me to answer his question.
“We both signed on with the show at the same time, J. I’m assuming your contract had a two-year exclusivity clause, just like mine.”
I remembered that day, remembered how hard I’d tried not to tell him the show his father owned was keeping me from taking a job that anyone would kill to have just because I had six lousy weeks left on my contract.
With my eyes focused on the ground, I hadn’t seen Jude’s expression back then. But I did now. I saw the realization of what I meant dawn on him followed by the tick in his jaw as he held back his anger. “And I take it they can’t wait a couple of months to start filming?”
Younger Me shook his head. “They start Monday, it’s all set. The only reason this chance came up is because the guy they originally cast got caught with weed and put in court-ordered rehab. My agent happened to have brunch with the casting director this morning, and she mentioned the situation. He dropped my name to her and…” I sighed. “It doesn’t matter, Jude. It isn’t an option. Let’s change the topic.”
“But you want it, right? I mean, ifFull Moon Highlet you out of your contract early or at least let you start filming the new show even though you’re still under contract, you’d take it?”
“’Course I would. I’m not an idiot. Like you said, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance.” I looked up from the ground and met his eyes. I remember thinking how impossibly blue they were, like the ocean on a sunny day. “But there’ll be other shows, right?” I asked a little desperately.
He nodded as he reached his hand out and cupped my cheek. “You’re the most talented actor I know, Ethan. The camera loves you, and I have no doubt you’ll have your choice of other shows.” I saw my younger self lean into his touch, saw a look of infinite tenderness in his eyes as mine drifted closed and a peaceful expression fell over my face. “And who knows,” Jude whispered to me. “Maybe they’ll change their minds and let you takethisrole.”
“It’s time to go, Ethan.” Ginger’s lyrical voice was gentle, which seemed fitting, somehow, with the emotional scene playing out in front of me.
How had I forgotten the way Jude had looked at me that day, the way he had touched me? Or was it that I hadn’t noticed the first time around?
A small hand wrapped around my bicep, and suddenly I was sitting in my car. I reached for my seatbelt reflexively this time, my mind filtering through the images I’d just seen.
“Well, Ethan, tell me, what did you think of our visit to that place in time?”
I took a couple of minutes to think, to process the scene I’d witnessed and what I knew had come after. I twisted my body so I could look at Ginger’s reaction as I answered her question.
