Broken Glass

by J. D. Mason

  “I know,” Roxy sighed. “I’m in Cali, T. So, yeah. My ass is up way too early. But I woke up to a text that could change your life, sis. Seriously.”

  Two things happened at the sound of those words; Terri’s heart jumped into her throat, threatening to come out her mouth in the form of a scream. But then it immediately, dropped to her stomach like a rock, making her feel like she was going to vomit.

  “What?”

  Roxy laughed, “Desmond Williams is starting to cast for his new film, a period piece set in the early seventies, called On the Point, and there’s a character I think you’d be perfect for.”

  Terri came out of her kitchen and sank down into her sofa. Six months ago, she’d have turned a somersault hearing news like this. But Terri had given up acting. She’d walked away from the anxiety and depression that came from hoping, wishing, wanting something like this to happen, only to be disappointed time and time again. Of course, in the time she’d done all that retiring and setting out to try and find herself, she’d slept with a father and son. A move too damn foul for words. Going back into acting would mean leaving town and putting all this mess behind her. And it needed to happen.

  “You there?” Roxy asked.

  “I’m here,” Terri swallowed. “So, tell me about it.”

  She didn’t want to know, but she did. She didn’t want to want this, but—she did?

  “It’s a lead role, Terri,” she explained. “The character’s name is Irene. She’s a single mother who works at a bank, struggling to make ends meet and raise a teenage daughter. The daughter is seduced by an older man who kidnaps her and traffics her for sex. The police aren’t helping so Irene takes matters into her own hands and solicits the help of an ex-con-slash-killer for help. Ryan Jacobs has signed on to play the male lead.”

  Ryan Jacobs was as ‘A’ list as it came in the film industry.

  “And you want to hear the best news?” Roxy continued?

  Terri pushed back a familiar wave of excitement and shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Desmond called me, Terri, asking for you. He wants to fly you in as soon as possible,” Roxy had told her. “Limo. A five-star hotel in Beverly Hills, all expenses paid, girl. Four days, three nights, A-list treatment. So, pack a bag, girl. You’re going back to Hollywood.”

  Terri sat up and leaned against the back of the couch. No, she wasn’t going to do this—get all crazy overjoyed at the thought of finally landing the kind of role she’d always dreamed of. Terri wasn’t going to let herself be pulled into that trap again, losing herself in a cloud of hope thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

  But a five-star hotel? A limo and time away from this town and the greasy mess she’d been bathing in?

  “I could use the trip,” she admitted. “Getting the hell out of Dodge sounds really good, right about now, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I’ve been here too many times to count, Roxy.”

  “The director of this film asked for you, specifically,” she reminded Terri. “Don’t claim defeat before you’ve even given this a chance.”

  “I’m not,” she responded. “But I’m being realistic. I know you don’t believe it, but I’d retired, Rox. I was done. That’s why I moved here, and I was just starting to make peace with that. You just haven’t been listening.”

  Weighted silence hung between them. “I ran into David Randall at a party a few nights ago,” Roxy continued. “He wants you to come back to the show.”

  “He said that?” Terri asked, stunned.

  “He’s called a couple of times,” Roxy admitted. “We’ve been conveniently playing phone tag. I like the idea of him sweating. And he is.”

  “Like I’d ever go back to that show.”

  “If you went back, Terri, it’d be on our terms, and they’d be steep. His audience has put a fire under his ass to get you back on that show, T. The ball’s in our court, sis. Reality television has won you a whole new fan base, Terri. I know you hated it, but it was a game changer.”

  And just like that, she went from being a has been to a hot catch? That was the nature of this beast. From hot to cold, just like that, or vice versa. It was exhilarating. It was heartbreaking.

  “So, what happens next?” she finally asked.

  “Desmond’s assistant has booked you a flight to California tomorrow night. Spend a few days chilling, relaxing, sight-seeing, whatever. Audition a few days later. It’s not a lot of time to prepare, but they want to make a decision on the cast as soon as possible and start production.”

  “Where’s filming going to be?”

  “On location in Denver,” she responded.

  “If I get the role,” Terri reminded her.

  “You practically have it, Terri. What Desmond wants, Desmond usually gets.”

  What was that—that feeling? Was Terri actually feeling hyped about this? A little?

  “I don’t have the part but, my mind is all over the place, Rox. My emotions are crazy. I don’t know if I should be happy or scared or—”

  “It’s your dream, Terri,” Roxy said. “It’s always been your dream and it always will be. You know this.”

  She knew it. Damn, she knew it better than she knew her own name.

  “Maybe it’s time to stop licking my wounds,” Terri admitted with a sigh. “And get back to business.”

  All this nonsense with her, Nick and Luther was the wake-up call she needed. Terri had no business in a predicament like that or in a town like this. But for a time, it had been a pretty decent place to hide.

  “All right,” she sighed. “I guess I’m getting on a plane.”

  “I’ll see you in Cali,” Roxy promised before hanging up.

  Sinking Ships

  Terri pulled into the theater parking lot a little after eleven in the morning, carrying an armload of scripts and her travel mug full of coffee.

  Mavis saw her coming and greeted her at the door of the theater. “Hello, love,” she said, her cornflower blue eyes sparkling. Mavis and Terri exchanged air kisses on each cheek before Terri followed her down the hall to the office.

  Mavis’ style reminded Terri of a gypsy. The woman was always draped in flowing fabrics of vibrant colors. Turquoise rings and silver bangles adorned her wrists, neck and ears, and from time to time, silver haired Mavis had nerve to wear colorful, wax cloth head wraps better than Terri ever could.

  “Did you finish reading all of them?” Mavis asked, taking a seat behind her desk.

  Terri sat across from her. “I did,” she said, with much reservation.

  Mavis laughed, “That bad, huh?”

  Terri offered a smile and hesitant shrug.

  “Well, so far, we’ve decided four, one-acts and one other two-act production,” she explained. “Not enough to fill a week, but we’ve got another sixty of these things to go through.” She stared at Terri with pleading eyes.

  “I’m going to be out of town for a while, Mavis,” Terri, hastily, reminded her.

  Mavis leaned back and smiled. “I know. But you’ll be back. Won’t you? Even if you get the part?”

  Would she?

  The plan was to drop off scripts to Mavis, drive to the airport in Baton Rouge and fly to Los Angeles. She desperately needed to get away and planned on staying a few extra days, depending on how the audition went. If it soured, she’d need time to deal with it. If it went great, she’d need time to deal with that, too. Time away from this place would help clear her mind, body and soul of the sordid mess she’d become immersed in.

  The more she thought back to that evening, the more disgusted she felt. Terri was not that woman. A woman on the verge of getting serious with one man, then slathering herself all over another one. And she damn sure wasn’t the kind of woman who spread her love among family members. More than any of that, Terri absolutely, wasn’t the kind of woman, who, after a bout of hot and heated sex with her lover’s father, slithered out the back door of a man’s apartment in the middle of the night, tiptoeing to her car, and driving home wallow
ing in regret and shame. Nope. She was not that chick.

  “Well, I do have a house here,” was the best answer Terri could muster.

  “It sounds so exciting,” Mavis said, looking and sounding dreamy. “Flying off to Hollywood to audition for an actual role in an actual movie.”

  Terri turned introspective. There was a time when it was exciting. Terri would get a call like this and not sleep for days before or after. And nothing, absolutely nothing, was better than getting the call with those magic words, “Congratulations, Ms. Dawson. You got the part.”

  “Are you nervous?” Mavis asked.

  Terri was surprised by the fact that she wasn’t. “I’ve been doing this a long time, Mavis, so” —she shrugged— “Not as nervous as I used to get.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?” Mavis asked, leaning forward.

  “Sure,” Terri leaned forward too.

  “Lucy and I were talking and we both had hoped that maybe— "

  Terri knew what the woman was going to say even before she said it.

  “Would you ever consider playing a part in a lowly community theater production?”

  Terri had actually not considered taking on a role in the theater festival, but she was moved that Mavis actually asked.

  “If it weren’t for this audition, Mavis, I might.” She sort of lied. But only because she liked Mavis and didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “This year, however, I’m fine with reading scripts and hosting the opening and closing nights,” she added, because she felt bad about the lie.

  “Fair enough,” Mavis said, resting her hand on the stack of scripts in front of her.

  “Well, I’m going to go,” Terri said, standing to leave. “I’ve still got to pack, and I want to get to the airport early.”

  Mavis escorted her to the door. “You have a safe trip, dear.” She hugged Terri. “We’ll see you when you get back. Break a leg.”

  The last thing, or rather, person, Terri expected to see walking back to her car was Luther Hunt leaning against it. Terri slowed her approach, then glanced back to see if Mavis was still at the door. Thankfully, she wasn’t.

  Tall, debonair and asshole Luther had the nerve to smile. “How you doing, Terri?”

  She stopped about six feet away. “Fine. I’ll be even better if you get away from my car.”

  It wasn’t even Luther that she was pissed at. Terri was angry with herself for getting caught up like some clueless groupie.

  He graciously moved, but closer to her. “I wanted to apologize.”

  Terri rolled her eyes, circled a wide arc around him and made her way to the driver’s side of her car. “No need.”

  It was as if the man had a powerful electric charge for an aura radiating like sun rays. Terri felt from ten feet away.

  Luther turned to her. “There is a need,” he continued. “I made a move and I shouldn’t have. I came on to you and that was wrong.”

  Terri opened her door and stopped short of climbing inside. “Luther,” she sighed, poised on the door between them. “What happened, happened. We both know it was wrong. And we both know that it won’t happen again. End of story.”

  “I saw Nick yesterday.”

  “So, did I. And it’s over between me and Nick.”

  “You were clear on that?”

  She narrowed her gaze at him. “Not that it’s actually any of your business. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need you telling me how to handle my relationships. I didn’t break it off with him because you asked me to. I did it because it was the right thing to do.”

  “Apologies. Again, I’m out of line. And I was out of line for how I ended things that night with you.”

  Terri studied him for a few moments. He had sincerity written all over him, which eased the tension a bit.

  “I would never, ever want to come between you and your son,” she admitted. “But I can’t lie. If I could go back to the first day I moved into this town, I’d have preferred for you to ask me out first.”

  Luther grinned and scratched his head. “I’d intended on asking you out,” he confessed. “But then you twisted your ankle, and Nick rushed in and swept you off your feet.”

  She smiled. “Well, my timing has always been a little off.”

  He nodded. “Same here.” Luther shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “I hear you’re taking off.”

  “Got an audition in L. A.”

  He leaned his head to one side. “You excited?”

  Terri thought before answering. “I’ve gotten so used to being disappointed, I don’t remember how to be excited about stuff like this anymore.”

  It was the sad truth.

  “Don’t do that,” he told her.

  “What?”

  “Don’t let go, especially emotionally, of what you love.”

  Unexpected tears stung her eyes and a big, old lump swelled in her throat, threatening to release an earth-quaking sob.

  “Just remember why you love it, Terri. Not the let downs and disappointments.” Luther came closer to her. “Remember how it makes you feel when all the planets are aligned, you’re in your zone, and nothing or nobody can derail you. And then remember, that it’s you who brings the magic to the craft. Not the other way around.”

  Luther stood on the other side of her opened car door, too damn close. Terri blinked up at him, and there it was again. That pull, magnetic and electric, drawing her to him, almost too powerful to resist.

  He noticed it too, and Luther took a hesitant step back, took a deep breath and blew air, forcefully passed his pursed lips.

  “You be careful out there,” he told her. “And, you got this, baby girl. Break a leg, or hell, break both of them.”

  Luther turned and headed inside the theater, stopping at the door long enough to see Terri climb into her car and drive away.

  Don’t Turn Around

  Riding in the back of the limo from LAX on the way to her hotel, Terri felt like she’d awakened from a fog, or walked off a movie set that was Devastation, Louisiana, and back into the real world. Traveling bumper to bumper on the 110 heading to Beverly Hills, Terri felt like a fish swimming around her part of the ocean. She was in her element, and yeah, she’d missed it.

  “Hey,” her best friend, Nona, answered, flustered, sounding like she was in the middle of a construction zone. “Bout damn time you called me. What’s it been? A month?”

  Terri laughed, “You’ll never guess where I am?”

  “On the highway, headed here to my place?”

  “I’m on a highway in L.A. I’ve been flown in to audition for a lead role.”

  Nona’s silence spoke directly to Terri’s spirit.

  “Is that a good thing?”

  Terri sighed, “I’m not sure, but the role was too good to pass on, so…” She shrugged.

  “I get it,” Nona said, warmly. “Well, you know I want nothing but the best for you, girl.”

  “I know.” She smiled.

  “Let me know how it goes.”

  “I will,” Terri assured her. “I’ll let you go. Sounds like walls are coming down around you.”

  “Girl, that’s not far from the truth. We’re opening up the workspace here at the offices. I’m not even supposed to be here, but I needed to pick up some things. I’m on my way home, though. But, you be safe, and let me know how it goes. Promise?” she asked

  “Promise.”

  The Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel put the “C” in charming and the “E” in cost a whole lot of damn money, expensive. Since stepping off the plane, Terri felt like an actual upper echelon celebrity, which was all she needed to snap out of that visceral trance she’d been wading through since before leaving Atlanta.

  Terri sat on the side of the king sized bed, kicked off her shoes and sighed. The beautiful view from her window, framed by pink and blue floral curtains, reminded her of a fantasy.

  “Eight-hundred-dollars a night,” she murmured in disbelief.

  Yeah, she’d been ghetto and looked up the
cost in the Baton Rouge airport. Someone in Hollywood actually believed that she was worth spending $800 a night on a hotel room for. Terri choked up over the thought. Six months ago, she was barely treading water in her career, and now she was here. The pendulum had swung so far, the opposite way in her career, she felt like she was hanging on to it for dear life.

  Terri’s phone vibrated on the bed. It was her agent.

  Meet me in the bar in an hour. I’ll buy you a drink.

  Terri texted a thumbs up.

  “How’s the room?” Roxy asked, embracing Terri in the hotel’s bar.

  “Elaborate,” Terri responded with a smile, raising her glass in a toast.

  You don’t stay in a five-star hotel in the Hills and meet your agent in the bar in jeans and a tee shirt. Terri had paid a nice, little chunk of change for this dress and had only worn it once. The shoes hurt like hell but were cute as fuck, and she noticed a few heads turning as she crossed the room and made her way over to Roxy.

  “You look amazing, sis,” Roxy told her.

  “You too.” And she did. Roxy’s long, dark wavy tresses hung past her shoulders. Her athletic form was draped in a white, silk, jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, and the sister’s full lips were the most perfect shade of red Terri had ever seen.

  She didn’t need to see everybody in the room staring at the two of them, to know they were.

  “So, where the fuck is Devastation? I tried to find it on a map and couldn’t,” Roxy laughed.

  Terri toyed with the napkin under her glass. “Got jokes, I see.”

  “Enough to open a late night talk show.”

  Terri laughed, “Don’t knock small town living until you’ve tried it, Roxy.”

  Roxy turned her head slightly and studied Terri. “Well, apparently it’s been damn good for you.” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on Terri. “Details, T. I’m getting in all of your business.”

  Her face flushed warm. Terri folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to talk about it.”