by KT Webb
“It’s been a week since she went missing! Has that poor creature been left alone this whole time? Karen loves that dog, she brings him with her everywhere,” Aria paused, “I don’t know, Christine, I’m getting pretty worried that something terrible happened.”
Christine made a face that told Aria exactly how she felt about the woman in question. It wasn’t a secret that everyone had a hard time stomaching the antics of the Primadonna. Aria herself wasn’t that fond of her co-star, but she tried to avoid voicing her opinions aloud. Regardless of her personal feelings, she hoped the woman was found unharmed. Christine handed her a glass of wine before drinking her own in a couple of gulps.
“Drink up, it’s an open bar!”
“I don’t usually drink. What is this?”
“It’s a Moscato. Try it, I think you’ll like it. It’s a sweet wine,” Christine grabbed another glass from a waiter as he walked past.
“When in Rome, right?”
By the time Aria had downed four more glasses of wine, she had realized Drew had not returned. Christine suggested they seek him out and make him get them food. Aria’s head was spinning, and the thought of adding food on top of the alcohol she’d consumed made her stomach turn. The girls stumbled around the room, giggling at things that were probably not all that funny to any sober person. They found Patrick before they found Drew.
“Hey, you! BUTT-ler,” Christine giggled at her own joke.
“Yes, Christine, my drunken friend?”
“Have you seen Drew?” Aria asked.
“Not since he headed off toward the bar to chat with some friend from London,” Patrick explained, glancing in the direction of the bar.
Aria didn’t see them huddled around the bar with the other partygoers. She wanted to find him so she could say goodnight. It had been a long day already, and the alcohol certainly hadn’t helped matters. Christine was looking slightly green herself.
“Christine, I think you’ve had quite enough to drink tonight. Let me take you home,” Patrick insisted, “Most of the moneybags have left anyway, I think we’re free to leave. Do you want a ride, Aria?”
She shook her head and immediately regretted the decision, “Sure, just let me see if I can find Drew to tell him goodnight.”
“Okay, we’ll wait by the door. It’ll take my car service about twenty minutes to get here anyway.”
Aria caught a glimpse of Drew’s dark hair on the opposite side of the room. Everything seemed to be moving as she progressed toward him. As she approached, she realized he was in the middle of a heated conversation. She couldn’t see the other party over Drew’s tall form, but she could hear the exchange before they noticed her.
“I don’t care why you’re here, I told you not to come,” Drew’s hushed tone was thick with anger.
“Listen, I came because someone was asking around about you. Someone who didn’t need to be sticking their nose into your business, if you know what I mean.”
Something about his tone was momentarily sobering for Aria; this guy meant business. Drew was quiet for a moment. Aria waited to hear what else was said. Whoever this man was, he’d come all the way from London to warn Drew that someone was checking into his past. Her thoughts returned to the rumors she’d heard of his indiscretions; nothing came to mind that warranted the trip the mystery man had made.
“They won’t find anything, there’s nothing to find, and I think you’ll see to that. I’ll make it worth your while. I don’t need this right now!” Drew’s anguish was evident.
“I know that, and you know that, but people are always looking for ways to incriminate people like you. They’re jealous of your success, so they make assumptions.”
“Yeah, well, these assumptions could ruin everything I’ve worked for, see what you can find out about who’s poking around. Better to clean the shit up before it draws flies,” Drew remarked.
Aria sensed the conversation was ending, so she quickly left her spot to pretend she had just rounded the nearby corner. Without looking at him, she ran directly into Drew’s chest.
“Aria!”
“Drew! I was looking for you, where have you been?” Aria did her best to recapture the drunkenness she’d been wading in before overhearing the exchange.
“Oh, I just ran into an old friend from London! You just missed him. C’mon, let’s go get a drink,” Drew pulled her into his side by snaking his arm around her waist.
“Actually, Patrick and Christine are waiting to take me home. I’ve had a lot to drink already, and I’m not feeling the best,” she explained.
“Sure, sorry, I missed all the fun. Let me walk you to the door.”
Aria allowed him to support her as they made their way through the crowd of revelers. Her stomach was queasy, and her head couldn’t decide if the room was moving or if she was the one spinning. Being drunk was not a feeling she enjoyed in the least. They found Patrick holding Christine’s head in his lap as she drifted in and out of moments of clarity. The way he stroked her hair made Aria smile; he looked up to discover he’d been caught and offered her a sheepish grin.
“Hey, Pat, take care of my girl. Make sure she gets home okay,” Drew’s amiable tone belied the urgency with which he spoke to his strange friend.
“Absolutely. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, try not to show up hungover or still drunk,” Patrick said only half-jokingly.
Drew turned Aria to face him, “I’ll check on you in the morning, babe.”
Aria nodded. The longer she stood there, the more she felt the effects of the wine she’d had. Leaving Drew behind, she followed Patrick to the car and sat silently as they began to make their way to Durant Theater. Her head was spinning, and the longer the alcohol was in her body, the more she felt it. It may have been her drunken state, Aria reflected on Drew remaining at the party. Most men who considered themselves to be dating someone would want to accompany her home, wouldn’t they? Aria sighed, she liked him, but he wasn’t the man she loved.
“What’s going on in that mind of yours, Aria?” Patrick inquired.
“You mean other than thinking about collapsing into my bed?”
Patrick chuckled, “Yes, you look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
“I do, but it’s nothing you need to worry about,” Aria paused and glanced at Christine fast asleep in Patrick’s arms. “You know, there’s something between you guys, everyone can see it.”
He blinked, “Really? I never got the impression she’d be interested.”
Aria giggled, feeling the buzz resurfacing, “Trust me, she is.”
Patrick made an expression that portrayed the pure shock and surprise he felt at finding out the beautiful young woman in his arms wanted more from him than their friendship and working relationship. He’d known Christine for years. Had he really been blind to the possibility of starting something with her?
“I’ll keep that in mind when she’s conscious,” he laughed.
“Good plan.”
Aria climbed out of the car and walked on wobbly legs to the door. She had to squint her eyes in order to bring the keypad into focus. Aria finally got the door open. She sighed with relief once she engaged the alarm behind her. Crossing the stage was much easier than climbing the stairs to her apartment. Aria stumbled up the steps, only to be caught by a pair of strong hands. D’Angelo steadied her as he helped her up the rest of the stairs. After he opened her apartment door, she tried to thank him, but he was gone.
She fell asleep on the bathroom floor after throwing up the contents of her stomach. When she woke sometime later, she discovered she had been moved to her bed. A warm, wet rag had recently been placed on her head. She felt like hot garbage, but when she glanced at the nightstand, she saw a glass of water, two ibuprofens, and a single red rose.
It was opening day for All I Ask at the Majestic Theatre. Everyone was bustling around checking and double-checking costumes. The set designer had his crew inspecting every piece to ensure its perfection. Aria
was in her dressing room. She’d changed out of her street clothes and into her costume. Now, she sat staring at herself in the mirror, giving herself a silent pep talk.
There was no reason for her to be nervous, she knew the part inside and out. They’d practiced to perfection. Everyone was excited about the first performance of the highly anticipated play. Aria couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t feeling the same anticipation as her friends and castmates. A knock at the door startled her from her thoughts. Before she had a chance to respond, Christine popped her head through the door she’d opened.
“How ya feelin’?”
Aria gestured for her to come in, “I’m fine, actually. A couple of ibuprofens, plenty of water, and pancakes fixed me right up this morning. What about you?”
“Well, I’m okay, but Patrick seems off today; he’s acting weird. I hope I didn’t say anything stupid last night, did I?” Christine paled.
“Probably, but he could just be preoccupied with all the insanity of opening night.”
A foggy memory resurfaced of something Aria herself may have said to the director the night before. If her recollection could be trusted, she’d definitely told Patrick that Christine was interested in him. He’d seemed pretty pleased with the idea, so she couldn’t imagine he was distancing himself. Maybe that wasn’t what Christine meant by “acting weird”.
“Have you seen Drew yet?” Christine changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, no. Drew said he was going to check in on me, but I haven’t heard from him since we left the party.”
Aria shrugged it off. They had a busy day ahead of them. Have Drew around to shower her with pet names seemed unimportant. Plus, something felt off after the conversation she’d overheard. Aria filed that away to worry about later.
“Did you bring your costume for tonight? Or are you going home after the performance to change?” Christine inquired.
“I brought my stuff, I know it’s meant to be fun, but the idea of everyone parading around in masks gives me the creeps,” Aria admitted.
Christine laughed in response, “Well, it’s a masquerade. It’s kind of a tradition following D’Angelo productions. He always insists on it, and he pays the bill.”
Aria nodded, she knew that much, “Does D’Angelo himself attend the party?”
“Who knows? With so many people wearing outlandish masks, he could be there. We don’t even know what he looks like, for all I know he could be in the cast!”
It wasn’t a thought that occurred to Aria before. The thought filled her with increased curiosity about the man she wished would reappear in the shadows of her theater. If she saw him in a mask again, she wasn’t convinced she’d recognize anything about him. He’d worn all black that day, a hooded sweatshirt covered his hair, leather gloves covered his hands. Aria wouldn’t be able to pick out any identifying features if he arrived in a mask at the party. Another knock at her door told her it was time for make-up. Christine excused herself to allow her friend to finish getting ready.
Christine sought out Patrick to update him on the smooth-running process of preparing for the big opening. She found him talking to Michael, the producer. When the pair saw her, they greeted her warmly.
“There’s the ringmaster now!” Michael gave her a low bow.
“Well, this is definitely a circus,” Christine laughed. “I did, however, come to report that everything is going swimmingly. I’ll let you guys get back to whatever it is you two do.”
Both men laughed at her snarky comment. She walked away with a small smile on her face, Christine loved her job, there was no doubt about that. Before she rounded the corner toward the hallway that would take her backstage, a hand wrapped around her upper arm. She was led into the coat closet she’d taken Patrick to when they had to discuss the disappearance of Karen Moreau.
“I have to talk to you about something,” Patrick whispered.
“Okay, is there a reason it has to be in a secluded place? Don’t tell me we’ve got another actor who’s gone AWOL—” she was cut off by a pair of lips meeting hers.
Alarm bells went off in her mind, Patrick Butler was kissing her. Christine surrendered to the moment completely. She allowed him to pull her into his arms and lost herself in his kiss. When he ended the kiss, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her as though he was waiting to be scolded.
“I wouldn’t exactly call that talking, but I can’t say I disagree with you,” Christine laughed.
“Something Aria said last night got me thinking, and I had to find out for myself.”
“If this had gone differently, I may have had to kill Aria. Instead, I may just have to kiss her, too,” Christine said softly.
“How long have you been hiding your feelings?” Patrick asked.
“How long have we known each other?” She replied.
“Well, I knew I was an idiot, but I didn’t know I was that big of an idiot,” Patrick cradled her face in his hands, “It took me a little longer to get there, but I’ve never tried to pursue anything because you were always all business.”
Christine leaned in to kiss him again, this time deepening the kiss until they were breathless, and her lips were pulsing, “I’m glad we’ve both stopped being so professional.”
“I’m looking forward to giving you every reason to file a sexual harassment suit against me,” Patrick wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She laughed at smacked his arm, “That’s nothing to joke about, mister.”
Patrick laughed at her and pulled her in for a hug, “We both have things we have to do today, but tonight I want you to be my date to the cast party.”
Christine nodded before he reluctantly kissed the top of her head and left her to regroup in her new favorite coat closet.
Aria prepared to take the stage for the final scene. This was the scene Drew had insisted on kissing her when it wasn’t in the script. When he finally arrived at the theater, he hadn’t stopped to speak to her. Aria couldn’t help but wonder if something was bothering him. Once they were both ready to begin the performance, he came to her and pulled her in for a hug.
“Time for the big break, Aria, you deserve this,” he whispered.
“I was starting to think you were mad at me for something. You’ve been odd today, is everything okay?”
Drew didn’t offer her an answer; he just gave her an exaggerated passionate kiss as though that would settle her mind. It seemed to be a regular occurrence for him to avoid her questions and concerns with affection. That didn’t sit well with her.
Now, they were preparing to finish the final act. Everything had gone by without a single issue, the audience was loving the production. The curtains opened to Aria standing center stage with Drew hidden in the shadows stage left. As she began the soliloquy, she glanced up to the theater box she’d once seen D’Angelo occupy. What she saw there caused her to inhale sharply. The dark shrouded shape of the composer blended in with the shadows of the box.
When she began to sing the final song, Aria was sure to look directly at D’Angelo. She had no idea if she was making eye contact with him, but it didn’t matter. She just needed him to know she saw him and was singing the song for him; the song she was sure he wrote for her. The play ended, and the performers were greeted with an uproarious response. Cheers, final bows, and fierce hugs brought Aria’s first Broadway performance to a close. The rest of the cast rushed off stage, leaving Aria and Drew standing together, awaiting the final opening of the curtain.
“You were amazing,” he whispered.
“Thank you, you did pretty well yourself,” she smiled back at him.
“I can’t wait to get out of here and start the party, do you want me to pick you up at your place?”
Aria shook her head as the curtain began to open, “No, I’m changing here and heading to the party with Christine. I’ll see you there, though.”
The intense applause and whistles told the stars that the audience approved of their performance. Aria and Drew
lifted their arms toward the lighting crew, lowered them to the director, then finally brought the attention to the orchestra pit. After the final bow, Drew grabbed her and kissed her. Everything in Aria felt something was off about the kiss. It was as though he was marking his territory, and it made her feel uncomfortable. Since she was on stage, she didn’t dare make a spectacle of shoving him away. Instead, she did her best to allow him to finish the kiss while fighting her fight or flight response.
The crowd went wild, they didn’t notice the discomfort Aria felt. As soon as the curtain closed, Aria looked at Drew. She wasn’t sure if she was overreacting or if the kiss had indeed been as intrusive as she felt it was. Aria searched his face, trying to find any trace of the man who’d captured a piece of her heart. He was there, but there was something else lurking beneath the surface.