Seeing Clearly

by Casey McMillin

  "I don't know about all that," Cali interjected.

  "I have not been turning you down, Caleb, you and I hangout on a regular basis."

  "Yeah but your definition of hanging out and mine are two different things."

  "Dammit Caleb, you're making me feel like I'm a tease or something. I just want to show up and do my job here."

  Cali spoke up at this point.

  "Amen sister. Granted, I don't have Max and Caleb trying to ask me out. If I had those two, it probably wouldn't be so annoying. But you're right… I can't get from one set to the other without a trail of P.A.s following me around like puppy dogs. I think they all dream of acting out a scene with me in one of the empty sets."

  "Hey, don't knock it till you've tried it," Caleb said. "I've played out a few bedroom scenes when no one was filming. It can be fun, depending on who the P.A. is."

  "Okay, if we're confessing," Cali said with a guilty look. "But it was only one time, and the P.A. was really cute."

  "What set?" Caleb asked, smiling mischievously and wiggling his eyebrows.

  "The blue bedroom in Studio One."

  "Excellent choice!" Caleb said.

  "TMI," I said, holding my hands over my ears. I could just imagine having to film a scene in that bedroom. I was going to be picturing Cali and her lucky P.A. sneaking in there.

  We were all three laughing about behind-the-scenes rendezvous as we made our way into the shop. Gary, one of the directors, warned us all that we better get serious since we only had one shot at the scene because of the slap. The scene started with Megan and Ashton having a heart to heart in his motorcycle shop. I entered the room just as she went in for a kiss.

  My line: "So this is what kind of work you do in your shop Ashton?"

  Cali's line: "Abby, we didn't mean for this to happen. Ashton and I were just talking and—"

  Caleb cuts in.

  His line: "She kissed me. I had nothing to do with that. I don't even know why she's here. She told me she wanted to talk about you."

  I cross to the two of them and look at them with a world of hurt in my eyes. My line: "My mother and father are missing and I'm not even close to recovering from the torture I've been put through for the past ten years. The two of you were all I had left in this world, and here you are, sneaking around behind my back." Then Abby Wentworth rears back and slaps Ashton Knight across the face before storming out and letting them finish the scene.

  My hand was stinging as I walked off the set. The slap felt and sounded exactly like it did when I slapped Joel.

  Chapter 8

  Joel

  The offices at Perrin Plastics were in an uproar this afternoon. Until now, the goggles we manufactured were the only mass marketed product we had, but today all of that changed.

  Earlier in the day, I signed a contract with the American Optical Association. Perrin Plastics would now be manufacturing lenses for eyeglasses using the same technology as the goggles. Actually, the eyeglass lenses came about before the goggles, but there were a ton of hoops to jump through with the AOA, so my line of goggles were marketed first.

  Perrin lenses are lighter and thinner than anything else on the market. They're glare proof and scratch proof and every other proof you can think of. If you go with our lenses, your frames will fall apart long before something happens to the lenses.

  The deal with the AOA means Perrin Plastics will be making lenses that are sold in every optometry office in America. My company, which just yesterday consisted of forty employees and two large warehouses, would now be expanding by nearly five times. Of course I knew the contract was in the works, so I'd been planning this expansion for the last few months.

  It was a major undertaking, but I had a great group of people who were excited to make it happen. They had a right to be excited… all forty of my employees were shareholders in Perrin Plastics, which meant they were all quite a bit richer today.

  "I can hear it now," Betty Sams, the bubbly warehouse receptionist said. "Would you like standard polycarbonate, premium polycarbonate, or Perrin polycarbonate?" Everyone laughed at Betty's impersonation of an optometrist. The whole staff was gathered at the new warehouse location to celebrate the contract I signed earlier today with the AOA. Production of lenses was scheduled to begin at the new plant in just two weeks.

  I believed happy employees were better employees so everyone was encouraged to personalize their space at the new location. Some of them had already started bringing some things over to the new place. It was so nice to see everyone excited. Betty was testing out the chair behind the reception desk, wiggling her backside like a mother hen settling on her nest of eggs. People were meandering around the front of the warehouse where reception and the main offices were. I had the front offices designed in blues and silver with a clean, modern feel. The production area wasn't nearly as plush, but it wasn't shabby either. We took about thirty minutes to explore the front offices before doing a walk-through of the whole plant.

  I had my assistant Gina call in some catering as a surprise for the crew when the tour was over.

  "Mr. Perrin, you did not have to do this," Betty said as she scooped spoonfulls of baked penne pasta onto her plate.

  "I know that. I wanted to," I said. "I hope you guys know how much I appreciate your hard work."

  "Oh, I'm sure we know that after today Mr. Perrin. There's gonna be a brand new mustang in my driveway that shows just how much you appreciate me."

  "Going with the Mustang, huh?" I asked. I knew she'd been going back and forth. There were at least five other people who had plans to get a new vehicle because of the deal today. It humbled me to see that I was able to make a difference in their lives.

  "Oh, oh, oh, oh, shoot. Do I have food in my teeth?" Betty flashed me her teeth for inspection. I shook my head no and gave her a look that showed my confusion. "You didn't tell us the swimmer was coming… ohhhhh, he's so cute in real life. Tall too. They're all tall you know." I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know it was Collin. I invited him and Rachel to come by and see the place since I knew we'd all be here."

  "Nice place you've got here," Collin said as he approached us. Rachel was at his side with workout clothes on and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. I gave Collin a handshake but Rachel moved in for the hug as usual.

  "Glad you like it," I said smiling. "I just finished the grand tour, but you'll have to peek back there in a minute. The production area's pretty neat."

  "Oh, I love that kind of stuff," Rachel said. "Are there machines?"

  "Lots of machines. It's totally different from the goggle plant, though… way more sterile since we'll be dealing with fine tuning prescriptions."

  "Sounds exciting," Rachel said.

  "Speaking of exciting, I've just got to tell you what a big fan I am Mr. Blake." Betty could hold it in no longer. I was actually surprised she'd even made it that long. She was on the verge of bouncing as she continued, "I think Mr. Perrin did the right thing by choosing you for the endorsement. I told him so myself, didn't I Mr. Perrin? My husband and I are big swim fans, and not just during the Olympics, either. Carl knows all of your stats and times, and he says you're the best thing since sliced bread come next year's Olympics."

  Collin gave her a huge smile before reaching out his hand to shake hers. "Well, please tell Carl I certainly hope he's right," he said. "I really appreciate it. What was your name?"

  Betty was absolutely giddy at the attention Collin was paying her. She had to clear her throat because of the nerves. "Betty Sams, like the wholesale club."

  "Nice to meet you Betty. It's good to know you and Carl are in my corner."

  "Oh, yes sir-ee we sure are, you better believe it," Betty said. Collin gave her another smile, and once again I thought about what a good choice I'd made in having him represent Perrin goggles.

  Collin and Rachel passed on the pasta, saying they'd just eaten before they came. I gave them the quick tour through about half of the building while the rest of the
employees finished eating.

  "So are you coming to the gallery this Friday?" Rachel asked. The three of us were in the long hallway between the production area and the front offices.

  "I've given it a little thought, but I'm not sure," I said. I ran my fingers down the wall, absentmindedly checking the drywall job. "You should come. You were at the party. You never know, you may be in one of the pictures."

  "I doubt it. Didn't you say he was only using people as backgrounds?"

  "You never know, he has the right to use people anyway he wants since we all signed those releases. But yeah, my impression is that most of the photos will be pretty abstract."

  "I don't know. I might come by there just to check it out. What time are you guys going?" I asked.

  "The show opens at seven o'clock but we were thinking about grabbing some dinner first... maybe dinner at six and try to get to the show around eight? Do you want to come along?"

  "Who's all doing that? Do you have a lot of people going with you already?"

  "Just Gretchen and a couple of people from her show, I think." She gave me a pleading look. "Come on. You were thinking about it, I could tell. Just come, it'll be fun."

  "I don't think I can do dinner, but I'll swing by the gallery for a few minutes. How's that?"

  Rachel's eagerness to have me hang out with them really did make me feel good but I wasn't about to put myself in a situation where I had to watch Gretchen and her co-star slash date interact with each other. I seriously thought I might be tempted to hurt the guy, but that's just not something you do during an evening with friends.

  "I'll take what I can get," she said.

  I was glad this girl was good at what she did because I would have a hard time firing her if I didn't like her work.

  "Hey listen, I'm really glad you guys came by today," I said as we approached the front office once again.

  "I am glad we came too. I feel like I should ask for your autograph or something. This place is amazing." Rachel reached out to give me a farewell hug.

  "Thanks, sporty spice," I said, returning the hug. "Are you hitting the gym?"

  "Yeah, I'm meeting Gretchen there. She's got a lot of pressure to stay a certain weight on that show."

  "Gretchen again, huh? I thought she didn't work for you anymore. Why is she still coming around so much?"

  Did I just say that out loud? By the way Rachel was looking at me, I had just said it out loud. I groaned inwardly.

  She smiled and pointed a cute little finger at Collin. "I told you!" He and I both knew she was thinking Gretchen was under my skin. So what if she was under my skin? It wasn't the first time a girl had taken up residence there, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Okay maybe it was a little bit different this time, but nothing I couldn't handle.

  "Jesus Rachel, Just tell me if she's said anything about me. Did she say anything about that night after Collin's birthday?"

  Yes, I did just say that out loud as well. Good God, I just couldn't keep my foot out of my mouth.

  Rachel's eyes grew wide with surprise and curiosity. She began to talk real slowly as if she realized I could become skittish at my own big mouth. "What happened after the party?" She was talking like a hypnotist, trying to keep me in whatever trance I was in that made me blurt that out.

  I had to laugh at her hilarious attempt to try to get more information out of me. "Are you serious? She didn't say anything to you?"

  "Nothing," Rachel said, and I could tell she was telling the truth.

  I looked up at the ceiling and let out a frustrated sigh. "Anyway, I'm comfortable being around her but I don't know how comfortable she is being around me. You should ask her before you go inviting me places."

  "Joel, all I'm saying is… you're not fooling me. Gretchen's not either. You guys better just suck it up and admit it to yourselves already."

  "Admit what?"

  Rachel was smiling, but she shook a finger at me. "I'm not hearing that," she said. "You and Gretchen both want to be all I don't know what you're talking about. I can't believe you're both holding out like this. It makes no sense."

  She gave me another hug to make up for the reprimand before she and Collin headed for the door. I watched as they shook hands, smiled and waved at everyone on the way out.

  I didn't know what to make of her accusations. Had she told Gretchen the same things? If so, I wonder what Gretchen thought. I wonder if Gretchen thinks Rachel's right about us? Did I think Rachel was right? I didn't want to believe it, but something about that girl just tugged at my heart like invisible strings tied between us. I literally felt pulled to her by my chest.

  I couldn't decide whether I wanted to avoid her or try to see her this Friday at the gallery. I could always show up right at seven o'clock and intentionally miss their group, but I figured I would probably end up sticking around even if it was just to get a little glimpse.

  What the crud was I doing even thinking the word glimpse? I did not like what this girl did to me. I would be going for a long, long run that night before bed.

  "Mr. Perrin?" Betty said, getting my attention. "That Collin Blake! Isn't he just the sweetest thing?" She let out a contented sigh, "Carl's gonna wanna know all about this."

  "Tell Carl I said hi, Betty, and enjoy that Mustang."

  "Oh, we will, don't you worry about that," she said.

  The caterers were already packed up, so the rest of us began making our way out the door. I was the last one out so I could set the alarm.

  ****

  "Did you get a haircut?" Rachel's assistant Bailey asked as I walked in the art gallery on Creswell and St. Ann. It was a cool, funky neighborhood with lots of artsy stuff going on. I ran my fingers through my hair a bit self-consciously at her comment.

  "No, you usually just see me dressed for work. I didn't put anything in it tonight."

  "Well, you look handsome." She smiled and offered me her arm. "Don't worry I'm not hitting on you, my boyfriend will be here in a few minutes. I just want you to come with me. There's something you have to see." I couldn't imagine what could be so amazing she had to show me right when I walked in the door, unless I was in a picture or something. She led me into another room, passing framed photos as we went.

  We approached a wall near the center of the back room and I caught sight of the striking piece of art. Oh boy, was I ever in the picture. It was the centerpiece of the whole show. I stared up at the photo. It was whimsical, colorful and passionate, and looking at it made that all-too-familiar tug on my chest start up again in full force.

  It was a picture of the kiss Gretchen and I shared on the path at twilight. Our identity might not be obvious to everyone, but it was painfully obvious to me… and since Bailey drug me over here, I figured it had been easy enough for her to make out who we were.

  "Is there any way we can get this down from here?" I asked, pulling at the bottom of the frame to peek behind it and see how it was secured.

  I must have looked a bit stressed because Bailey's voice was soothing as she said, "Aww, no, don't do that. It's a beautiful photograph Mr. Perrin. Really, it's the star of the show."

  "Thanks, Bailey, but it's got to come down. Can you just please help me find Ian?"

  Chapter 9

  Gretchen

  Ian Craig was not messing around with this opening. By the time we arrived at nearly eight o'clock the place was teaming with people. Ian was planning on producing a limited number of prints from each of the photos that were on display tonight.

  Here's how it was supposed to work: Next to the framed photo, there was a little wooden box that contained fifty plastic chips (that looked a lot like guitar picks). Each chip represented a print, and contained the information necessary for Ian's people to know what you were buying. Once the chips were gone, the photograph was no longer available in any way, shape, or form. It all sounded like a good plan to me until I realized the chips cost two thousand dollars a piece.

  "Two thousand dollars for a photograph?" I said,
thinking my eyes must be deceiving me.

  "Yeah, but they're big, and they're framed, and he's only printing fifty of each." Rachel was just trying to defend his prices since many of the pictures in the show had been taken at her wedding party.

  "This one only has twelve left!" Cali said from a few photos down. She and Caleb were making a game of counting how many chips were left in each box to see which ones were the most popular.

  "This one's only sold two." Caleb said, putting back the handful of chips he'd been counting. So far the one with only twelve chips left was the most popular by a long shot. Most of the photos had thirty to forty prints remaining.

  After a few minutes of the chip counting game, we ran into Zack, one of Collin's teammates who had been there for a while already. "I'm in the background of one of these photos. It's a good one, I'm totally buying it," Zack said. He pointed toward Rachel and Collin. "You guys are in about five different ones." He motioned to Caleb. "I think you're in one or two." Then Zack's eyes fell on me, and his mouth quirked upward into a sly grin. "You were in one, but it's retired."

  "What do you mean retired? You mean all sold out?" I asked. I was already nervous about appearing in one of these photos, and his statement was just vague enough to make me antsy.

  "Yeah, sold out. Actually, not only is it sold out but they also hung a sheet over it. You can't even see it anymore."

  "Get out!" I said, pushing at his shoulder. "Is it a picture of my face?"

  "I have no idea… I didn't see it. It was covered by the time I got here. I just heard about it. Someone said Rachel's old assistant was in the photo that was retired at the beginning of the show. Ian Craig himself came out and covered it with a sheet. It was apparently a dramatic scene. It caused quite a stir."

  I smiled at him with skepticism like he was surely joking. I crossed my arms and asked, "Where is this mysterious photograph?"

  "Follow me," he said, accepting the challenge to prove what he was saying. Rachel, Collin, Cali, Caleb and I all followed behind Zack. We had to maneuver in a single file line for most of the expedition because of how packed the gallery was. He brought us to the center of the main room where we indeed saw a long white piece of fabric draped over one of the frames.