by Amy Lignor
She nodded over at the group. "But they like him."
Taking a deep breath, my reliable sarcastic tone bubbled right to the surface. "Then I guess they'll just have to write the next one themselves, aye?"
The starlet approved, as Amber's nose reached just a little higher into the air.
Next on stage came my victim. It was certainly good to see that he was still standing and not in traction after I'd landed dead center on his…well, personal area. I thanked the Lord that it wasn't my knee that'd gone down first.
Matt McKenna immediately went into song—a ballad that was so incredibly beautiful I found myself tearing up in seconds. Then came the moves. I was stunned as I literally watched Gene Kelly reappear and then mesh with the 'pop-and-lock' of a breakdancer. It was new, unique and I could see why my pal's script was the one they'd chosen for him to perform.
But I saw something else in there too—pure expression. When he sang a fun and upbeat song his face softened, and I knew it would make the audience want to celebrate. And when he whisked his partner across the stage it was like watching a man slowly fall in love right before my eyes. I was truly mesmerized, and that hadn't happened since Michael Crawford sang Music of the Night to only me in the confines of Lincoln Center. Okay, I suppose he may have been aiming his words at the other chicks too, but he had the ability to make sure that each female in that building believed they were the only one in his world—and that's exactly what Matt McKenna could do.
Amber whispered, "I want him to talk."
I'm telling you, this kid must've come from my womb via Immaculate Conception because I swear she always seemed to say exactly what I was thinking. "Me, too."
"Can I dance with him?"
I took a deep breath. I was wondering if Matt would even be interested in standing alone on the stage, telling a story that was a bit hard to tell. Maybe he wanted to dance and jump and sing; he was certainly skilled at it. But somehow I knew that Matt McKenna was the only guy who could help Amber while doing justice to my words.
I felt the hard grip on my shoulder; Nicole's hands were like bear paws.
"What did you think of your guy?"
"Don't like him," I replied immediately.
She literally pole-vaulted the rows, slammed herself down in the seat in front of me and glared.
Amber giggled. "She can dance, too."
Nicole patted her on the hand. "You should go backstage, sweetie. Anna and her kids are coming up next."
"Yay!" Amber turned to me. "Should I break a leg, Star?".
I gave her a hug. "I'd prefer if you just had fun. You're gonna need your legs for this one."
She giggled. "You're so silly. That's just what they say to actors before they go on."
"Yeah, but since you already tried to break someone else's legs today, I think you're good to go."
I sighed as I watched Amber scamper away, knowing full well that an argument was about to begin.
~***~
"What do you mean you don't LIKE him?"
I knew I needed to pull out my big guns and head into battle as Amber's small, comforting form ran behind the curtain and Matt and Chris exited the stage to a round of seriously enthusiastic applause.
"Nicole, you told me I was brought here to pick the best person to do the material—MY material."
Nicole took a deep breath as if trying to calm herself before she boxed my eardrums. She began slowly, "He's the number one actor in America right now, Beth."
"No, he's the number one heartthrob in America, Nicole. And although he probably deserves that title, he's not right for this. My story is about a man who wants to be a father, who wants a second chance. This is a script with heart and soul—the type of material that needs a life behind it. I need a man who's had at least some trials and tribulations…some rejection. The audience has to connect with him so they can see how wonderful it would be to be a father. I want these kids to be adopted, Nicole." My voice grew louder, "Amber needs a home with a mother and father who love her! She deserves that."
"But…this guy can bring in more money than anyone else."
"I'm not saying ditch the guy." I sighed. "Look, I need someone around thirty-five for this or the audience won't believe it. And that song and dance number at the end means something. Amber is going to be the precious girl this new father holds in his arms. It has to be real!"
I closed my eyes, hearing the small chattering group fade into silence as my demands grew too loud. I felt the footsteps before the tall shadows came into view behind me and sat down. Thankfully, I could smell Bobby's cologne and knew my backup was in place.
"What's wrong?" he asked, completely ignoring Nicole.
Turning in my seat, I took a deep breath and looked at the man beside Bobby. I nodded at my writer friend, a great man who had entered the spotlight just a month before I had. "Jason, I need to ask you a favor."
He grinned. I knew he was a happy soul who rested on the verge of mega-happiness, seeing as that he'd finally gotten the woman he'd loved since high school to agree to marry him. "What's up, Carrier? I heard your soft, lilting voice all the way to the balcony."
I punched Nic's shoulder. "Sorry, she has the ability to make me go from Bambi to Hannibal Lecter in seconds."
A snicker erupted from Nicole.
"I need to do a trade with you," I continued.
Jason sat back. "You have THE actor, why would you want to trade?"
"Because I want yours."
He laughed. "You never stop, you know that? First I teach you Italian, then I literally hand you five thousand dollars—."
I immediately stopped him. "Whoa, mister. It's not my fault you bet on the worst boxer in the ring. You should never gamble with me on sports; I've told you it's bad."
"But you made me pay!"
"Well, it taught you a valuable lesson." I winked. "Besides, I took it all and spent it on your wedding present so you're getting it back anyway."
"Cool!" His eyes lit up. "What are we getting?"
"Can I trade?"
"I would assume you mean Matt McKenna and not Chris Haven, seeing as that Haven looks like a kid, himself."
"I think he looks great," Bobby mumbled.
Glancing at my best friend, he looked immediately up at the balcony as if trying to search for anything he could find to change the subject.
"Anyway," I turned back to Jason. "Yes. I want McKenna."
"Got the hots for him?" he laughed.
Although the tingle did appear under my skin, I made sure to remind myself that it was only his acting skills I required. "He can bring my script to life. I know the other guy is fine, but I don't want fine. This means way too much to me and to Amber. I want to see if McKenna will take mine on."
Jason sighed. "He's known as the ultimate song and dance man, you know. I mean, he's good with comedy and certainly shines as a romantic lead, but your piece is pretty daunting. It's going to require a whole lot of emotion to bring it off." He tilted his head to the side. "Of course, Chris Haven could do all the numbers in mine…if he would. I like that guy."
I kept nodding, trying to push Jason further over to my side of the fence by using absolute silence, praying that Nicole would also keep her mouth shut.
"Chris is perfect," he continued, with a warning in his voice, "You can't have both of them."
I nodded hard. "Oh, no. I agree. He's absolutely adorable," I said, glancing at my blushing assistant.
Jason nodded. "Okay, you can ask him."
"You are the best! NOW I know why that woman of yours jumped on the Jason train."
He laughed out loud. "It took her long enough!"
"Well, some women need to think these things through."
"For fifteen years?" He smiled.
I waved my hands in the air. "You know, hormones and everything. We're not exactly the easy sex, you know?"
"Amen to that." Bobby grinned. "Why do you think I'm gay? You made me what I am."
I slapped him on the arm.
"Very funny. If you despise me so much, you wouldn't stay around helping me."
He nodded. "True. I actually dig chicks in a way; they're sort of like watching a phoenix burst into flames." He turned to Nicole and offered his sweetest grin. "Although with you it's more like Satan with a pitchfork making others burst into flames."
Nicole laughed and slapped him on the cheek lightly. "Bugger off, dear." She turned to me. "May I interject a point, here?"
I rolled my eyes. "Can I stop you?"
"The tickets are sold and some of them were sold for the simple fact that 'Mr. Hollywood' is in this event. Don't we need to find him a job?"
Jason nodded. "Don't worry about that. You saw the narrator role in mine, he can have that. I'll tell him it's very Shakespearean and can get him to London's West End."
"He'll believe that?"
Jason sat back in the cushioned chair. "It actually will."
"How?"
He smiled. "I'm taking this on the road. This is just one scene, but I've written a whole play."
"Jason, that is so cool," I said.
"Yup. I never thought I'd write a play, but I got so wrapped up in it, I couldn't stop."
"I am so thrilled for you. You are beyond talented and the thing will definitely fly!"
He took my hand. "You need to do it, too. Beth, your material is outstanding. People would kill to see this on Broadway."
I shrugged. "Oh, you know me; I'm a commercial success not an artiste like you."
His eyes grew wide. "I mean it. This is the best piece I've read in a long time."
Bobby nodded. "He's right. You can feel the passion in this, Beth…and you know it."
I waved the accolades away. For some reason I just couldn't tell them that Father had been written and was already sitting in a drawer in my desk. Nicole had made me a superstar by using the material people had fun with, but Father was personal. I stared at Jason. "So I can talk to the guy? Well….Nicole can talk to the guy?"
Nicole nodded, already putting on the mask of the steel enforcer and gearing up to make Matthew McKenna's life a living hell until he agreed to do it."
Jason nodded slowly. "I have to interject something, too. The guy is totally not going to be swayed by Nicole. I mean, I did get the sense that he wants to be seen as an actor and not only a dancer and singer, but you're the one with the passion for this project, Beth. It's your heart and soul that has to convince him. I think Nicole may just make him run back to Hollywood and forget the whole damn thing."
"Hey!" Nicole's chin went up in the air.
"Well, you have a tendency to act like Hannibal Lecter at times. A shorter version, albeit, but just as mean." Jason grinned. "I have a feeling you even have a bottle of Chianti dead center on your bar at home."
Nicole offered a self-satisfied grin. "You can't prove that."
Jason rolled his eyes and moved his gaze to Bobby. I could see something pass between them and I knew what the next words were going to be.
Bobby nodded at me. "Be sure about this. Me, Jason, Nicole—there are only a few people who know you're the real woman behind 'Lily Stone.' Are you ready to tell the world?"
I swallowed hard, as I recalled the vision of the man whose lap I'd landed in. I remembered his look. There was something that seemed to radiate from Matthew McKenna, a luster that reminded me of some of the characters I'd written that the whole world now loved so much. In fact, he reminded me of a true and honorable hero.
I nodded. "Don't worry. I won't have any trouble with Matt McKenna."
Boy…was I wrong.
Four
~ His ~
The sweat was pouring off Christopher and me as we walked backstage. The applause was certainly solid from the small gathering sitting out there in the darkness. So, I suppose, it was a job well done.
"What do you think of that guy?" Christopher pointed to 'America's Sweetheart.'
I shrugged. "He can act."
Chris wrinkled up his small nose, as he stared at the throng of females quickly circling the supposed dreamboat. "I think he looks better on screen. He's really stiff, you know? I don't think the stage is his thing."
"You think?" I grinned.
"Well, sure. I mean with your work on screen you must already know that if you mess up there are several people around to 'fix it' so it looks better. In here, live and in person, there's no one to erase your screw-up and make you look better. And he screwed up out there."
I considered his words. As an actor, I wanted that shot at the dramatic screen one day, but it did make me feel better for Mr. Perfection to not be as perfect as everyone thought he was. "The stage is a really big place." I looked around at the elegant, slightly small surroundings. "Well, maybe not this one. I wonder why they chose the smallest theatre on Broadway to try and raise the most amount of money?"
Chris's head immediately snapped up and the smile on my face grew wide. You see, Chris knew everything. And watching the hand reach up to grasp the lapel on his blazer like Lincoln preparing to give the Gettysburg Address, I waited for that slightly high-pitched voice to educate me on all the things I didn't know.
Clearing his throat as if he was about to repeat Lady Macbeth's famous 'loonfest' one more time, Chris began, "The writers are actually the ones who chose the Lyceum because it's one of the two oldest running Broadway venues. Apparently, they really got into the fact that it's so beautiful and people as cool as Barrymore and Brice once worked on this stage."
His voice increased with his passion. "I mean, think about it, this is a place that actually saw the best of the best. And the architecture? Don't get me started. The Beaux-Arts design, those elaborate marble staircases, the undulating marquee…" His hips swayed as if making his point. "It's perfect."
"But there are only, like…900 seats in here," I reminded him.
His gaze moved back to me quickly. "950, actually."
"Okay," I laughed. "But at Lincoln they could draw in more money for the kids."
Chris looked shocked. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much these tickets cost? They're like precious gemstones; I heard one already went for over a hundred thousand dollars on eBay."
I took a step back. "That's impossible."
"Nope."
"Just because of him?" I stared at the man collecting marriage proposals.
Chris shook his head. "I heard it was because of the writers. Some of them are truly 'superstars' of the literary world. And the woman who wrote the piece that guy is starring in is Lily Stone."
"Who?"
"That woman…Lily Stone. She wrote the book that's going crazy right now. You know…the two partners who everyone is so into? It's a cross between Indiana Jones and The DaVinci Code, but super unique."
The cover appeared in my mind. "Oh, yeah, I loved that."
"Exactly. But she's anonymous. There is no Lily Stone, and people all over the place are trying to find out who she is. They love the mystery of it all."
"Why is she anonymous?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Beats me. But when people heard that she has a script in this, they kind of went bazaka and started buying tickets just in case she was revealed at the event."
Chris jumped, and I looked down to see that little Amber had returned. "Hey there."
She looked up at me with a huge smile. "You two were really cool."
"Why thank you," Chris said with a smile.
"We were doing it just for you," I added.
Amber rolled her eyes. "Well, of course you were. You're my boyfriend."
My laughter grew deep as if coming from the bottom of my soul. "True. I can't sing and dance for anyone else anymore."
"Star says you may dance with me during the event. Isn't that great? I'd be a way better partner than that other girl."
I looked at Donna across the way and then nodded at Amber. "I think you would be, too. But I'm not in The King and I."
"Oh, no. I mean Star's piece."
Chris held up his hand. "Your friend, the lady wit
h the killer fashion, wrote something?"
Amber nodded.
I tried to stop the vision from coming back. I mean I actually had blocked it during my performance…sort of. But I could still smell that soft lavender scent on my clothes. "Which one did she write?"
"She wrote…"
"HEY there!"
I looked up and then back down, in order to aim my gaze on the slightly loud woman who I'd met earlier during my unforgettable encounter.
"Amber, hon, you have to go get ready for your scene."
The little girl wore a frown as the woman softly pushed her away from Chris and me.
"Well, pretty men, you were absolutely FANtastic, I can't even tell you. Jason is a lucky man to have performers like you."
"Thank you," we answered in unison.
"Umm," Chris began. "Would Jason happen to be a pen name for that "Bobby" man we met earlier?"
She smiled. "Bobby? No, love, he's a writer's assistant. Lovely boy though, isn't he?"
Chris's cheeks reddened. "Is he this Jason person's assistant?"
I was a little confused as the professional edge disappeared from the woman's voice and she began to look a bit like a cat cornered by a large bulldog. "No. Bobby helps out…someone else."
I stared at the actor still receiving a rub down from the young chorus girls. "What about Lily Stone? Apparently she's written the finale that Mr. Wonderful is in. Does Bobby work for her? Is she here?"
The woman's face grew a bit whiter as she bit down on her bottom lip. It was almost as if I was witnessing a transformation from business shark to church lady right before my eyes. "Lily doesn't actually come to these things."
My heart dropped for some reason.
"Why not?" Chris asked.
"She has a certain…situation, is all."
"I know." Chris leaned in and whispered, as if trying to keep his 'insider' information from the spies that may be located all around. "She's anonymous. Do you know that she's one of the biggest subjects on Twitter? People are really trying to figure out who she is."
Nicole swallowed hard and looked up at the balcony. "Well, she's probably the second biggest thing—after that guy."