Page 87 of You Spin Me

I tell them what I learned over coffee earlier, and not only do the guys promise they’ll drive down with me to audition if I get them appointments, they encourage me to really go for it and audition for the role that intrigues me the most. In a normal world, I’d never even be considered for it. But in Mira’s world, who knows?

Not Prospero. I don’t have the maturity to play that.Yet.

But when I was in college, I had an assignment to work up a monologue from a role opposite from my type, and I chose Caliban fromThe Tempest. It was an exercise, but I remember connecting deeply with the words. The curses of a slave at his master echoed how I felt about the prison of my body. The longing for all he’d lost mirrored my grief at the loss of my dream of being a ballerina. The feeling of being trapped by circumstances beyond your control made total sense to me.

I’d never audition with a Caliban speech in any other scenario, but this seems like an opportunity to step out of my own shadow.

Playing irritable, clueless, frumpy Prudence. Getting paid to goof around at the radio station. Risks are paying off so far. Playing Juliet one summer and Caliban the next would prove that I’m more than an aging ingenue.

Chapter24

The following is an ad for Peter University. PU. Why pay thousands of dollars at MIT or BU for a stinkin’ piece of paper? Come on down to our open house this Saturday to get a whiff of what’s on offer at Peter University, next to the fish market under the overpass right here in downtown Boston. Get the essence of an education without the effort at PU.

CAL

Enlisting my contractor brother to help me build a ballet barre over the weekend costs me—in teasing and nosy questions as well as dollars. It gets worse at Sunday dinner because, of course, he tells the rest of the family. Now they all want to meet the woman I’d do something like that for.

But when she leaves Monday morning to work out at her own apartment, even though I offer up my washer and dryer to her so she can catch up on laundry without having to go to a laundromat, I know it was a smart move. I can’t wait to finish it and get it installed so she’ll have a reason to spend more time at my place.

She doesn’t have shows Monday through Wednesday nights, but I have to work late. She has auditions and classes during the day, as well as recording promos and comedy bits with Rocket and Porky at the station. Unfortunately, her schedule at the station doesn’t line up with mine at all.

Except on Mondays.

So as soon as the music meeting is over, instead of going straight home to work out, I stop by the promo studio. It used to be called Studio C, but the guys decided that was too boring. So they made a new sign one day out of a pizza box and now it’s called Studio Pizza.

Makes no sense to me, but they like it.

As I round the corner, Jess is stepping out the door. “See you guys Wednesday.”

“Later, skater,” Porky calls.

Jess stops short when she sees me. “What are you doing here?”

Hands up, I take a step back. “I was hoping to catch you. The music meeting’s over.”

With a glance behind her, she takes my elbow and walks further down the hall. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want people to think that I got this job because I’m… because of you.”

The word job catches my ear. “Did they offer you a regular gig?”

She grins but keeps me moving away from Studio Pizza. “They did. Three afternoons a week. And the money’s good enough that I don’t have to get a temp job when the show’s over.”

Breaking away from me, she spins down the hall. It makes me dizzy to watch, but when she stops, her bright eyes fix on mine. Then she plants her hands on her hips. “I still feel like I have to prove myself, though.” She gestures down the hall behind me. “Those guys are off-the-charts talented. I can barely keep up.”

“I think I know how you feel. It’s a little bit like you choosing to be with me. Like, how did I get so lucky?”

Her smile softens, and she takes a step back to me. Wrapping her arms around me, she whispers, “I’m the lucky one.”

But then she steps back. “I mean that, but I’m late.”

“Will I see you tonight? After your classes?” I’ve got her schedule memorized, lovestruck fool that I am.

“I’d like to, but I don’t think I can. Bella and I are going to work on our pieces for Shakespeare Boston tonight, and then I’ve got an early audition Tuesday.”

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Another coupon book?” She tips her head to the side. “I haven’t even finished using up the first one.”

“I think it’s even better than a coupon book.”

---