Page 85 of What I'm Looking For

Ben breaks into my thoughts with an arm in front of my chest and a quiet murmur. “Traffic.”

I stop short as two boys on bikes whiz by. “Thanks.”

He nods and settles in to frame another flat.

I hold the edges in place. “Are you going back to L.A. after the show closes?”

He pulls screws from his pocket and aims the Makita. “I have to go back at some point.” Pressing the trigger, he efficiently drives in one after the other. “I’m under contract and have to do a few more shoots. Long term, it kind of depends on how things go with my dad.”

I hold the flat steady, even though he could probably do this without me. “So, I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m working toward my fight director certification and having a reel is an important part of it. I met some film students looking for a project, and they’re excited about putting it together for me. I’d love to use theRomeo and Julietfights as the centerpiece.”

He nods, and I follow him to the next corner. “Cool.”

“So, you’d be willing to do that? I have no money or anything. But you could get a copy for your reel, in case you ever needed to show your combat skills.”

“Sure. Sounds fun.” He catches my eye. “You’d only use it for the application, right?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean, I’m not gonna put it on CC-TV or anything.”

He holds my gaze. “I don’t want to be a dick, but my contract is pretty strict about where my face appears.”

“Great, well, I’ll talk to Randall and Mike, and hopefully we can get it scheduled.”

“Sounds good. Let me make sure these are square and level, and then we can take them over.”

When another pack of kids goes roaring by, it hits me that Ben’s low-key energy might be useful to them. “You know, if you stick around, it’d be great if you wanted to work with the kids. Some of them don’t want to act, but they want to be involved. They’re all here because they need somewhere to go after school. A lot of them don’t even have a home to go to.”

“I’d like to help out. Working on sets is how I started out doing theater.” A rare smile crosses Ben’s face as he holds a metal triangle up to the corners of the flat. “My best friend Tony wanted to meet girls, so he made me join the drama club. He was such a ham that he got the lead in the first thing he tried out for. I was shy and had the carpentry skills, so I worked on the sets and played smaller parts.”

“Did he go on to be an actor?”

“No. He joined the army. And he?…” Ben’s voice drops so low I can barely hear it. “Passed away.”

“Wow. I’m sorry about that. Where was he stationed?” I’m not up on foreign relations, but I’m pretty sure we’re not at war with anybody.

“He actually died in a car accident. Here in the U.S.” His jaw tightens slightly as he removes and replaces a few screws.

“Wow. That sucks.”

“It did.” Ben tips his head toward a group of kids. “But at least I wasn’t homeless.”

Yep. Somebody else always has things worse.

It kind of puts my fight with Kate into perspective. Maybe we both overreacted. Things had been really good with her. Despite our differences, there’s a good chance we could talk things out and move on.

Least I can do is try.

KATE

A few hours into the country club wedding reception I’m contemplating whether anyone would notice if I put my feet up under the table, when my sister Laura plops down next to me. She takes a swig from my wineglass before scooting her chair closer. “Sooo… Steve is very handsome.”

Since it would be awkward to turn away from her to get my feet on a chair, I ease my shoes off instead. “He’s a good guy.” I point and flex my poor toes, wishing for my sneakers. “But Laura, you get that we’re just work friends, right? That’s it.”

Laura’s cheek rests on her palm, her eyes a bit glazed. We watch Steve twirl his partner gracefully. “He’s so suave. And how cute is that? He’s out there dancing with Aunt Mary.”

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