Page 46 of Brooke's Bliss
“Shane,” he began.
His brother turned and gave him a slight smile.“No worries,right?We go with the flow.”
“That’s not what…” Bay began.But his brother was gone.
He stared at the door for a moment.What had he missed?Hedidn’t usually miss cues from Shane because Shane always explained it to him.Or did he?Did Bay roll through life expecting his brother would be there?Whatwas in his brother’s head?
He took a long breath and banished the thought.He had sometime.
He pulled out his sketchbook, the one he’d been working infor the last couple of months.It had been fresh and clean when they’d takenthe jobs at the Kingman Ranch, and now he was down to four or five pages left.It made him oddly anxious.When he got this deep in a sketchbook, he kind ofwanted to start a new one.To feel fresh and new.This one chronicled the lastyear of their lives.There were sketches of Kale Kingman lording over his landlike some Greek statue.A drawing of one of the only female hands he’d workedwith there.He studied it for a moment.She was walking away from the mainhouse with the saddest look on her face.He’d taken a mental picture andthought he’d done a good job capturing all the chaos going on as the woman waswalking toward the truck that would take her to the bus stop.
The later pictures were of Bliss.There was one of everyonesitting in Stella’s in the early morning light.One of Trev and Bo on theirhorses, riding out to work.One of Beth and her children in the sunlight.
One of Shane standing alone in the bunkhouse.It had been aquestion of light at the time.He’d liked how the sun lit his brother up like ahalo, but now that he was looking at it there was a loneliness to the drawing,an ache for something.For a home.
How hard had all the wandering been on his brother?He’dnever thought about it but had Shane ever had a real home?One where he waswelcome and loved simply for who he was and not what he could do?
What if Brooke could give him that love?
What if he couldn’t handle living in the city?What if hecouldn’t breathe?
Well, he was here now.He wasn’t thinking about that.Hepulled out his pencil and started to draw his perfect future.
Chapter Seven
Brooke stared at the sketches the last designer leftbehind and decided Cleo was the luckiest director in the history of time.“Noneof this works.I understand you’re modernizingThree Sisters, but didshe even read the play?”
Cleo sat back in the makeup chair.The Bliss Rep Theaterdidn’t have a ton of office space, so she was working in the large dressingroom the cast shared.“I won’t lie to you.We fought about it.A lot.I thinkit’s one of the reasons she left.She was, as she put it, an artiste.I thinkthe whole guy thing was just an excuse.”
“Well, I like to think I’m an artist, but I also have toserve the customer.In this case the play itself is the customer.”She’dwatched the rehearsal and thought she’d gotten the vibes Cleo was throwing out.Though they’d modernized Chekhov’s play, Cleo still had the heart of it in theproduction.What if she could do the same?At first it had been a simple way toget her mind off her trouble.A way to justify being here and staying for acouple of weeks.She had a job to do.It wasn’t about Shane and Bay.She wasjust hanging with them while she was here.That’s all.
She wasn’t sure her friends were buying that but at lunchthey’d all nodded and agreed that it was good to take a sabbatical.
Could she call it a sabbatical when it hadn’t been herchoice?
“So what are you thinking?Usually you would have months andmonths, but we’re running short on time.It’s why I decided to not do it as aperiod piece.This way we can order the things we need that we don’t have,”Cleo offered.“Not that I have much of a budget.”
She wasn’t sure she needed much of one.She’d worked withvery little before.“I’ll figure it out.I want to take a look at what we have.Is it all here?”
“Yes, though the older pieces are kept upstairs.I’ll leaveyou a key so you can come and go as you please.”Cleo stood and grabbed hercrossbody bag.“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.I know it’s kindof beneath you.”
She looked up.“It’s not, you know.I can’t believe youhaven’t heard the rumors by now.Everyone else has.”
Cleo sobered.“Yeah, you didn’t mention that the othernight.You know it’s okay.We’ve all been there.”
“We’ve all had our work stolen from us by a sexual harassingasshole?”
Cleo sent her a sympathetic look.“Unfortunately, yeah.Iwork in the creative world, too, though it’s not just us.It’s kind of what itmeans to be a woman.I wish it wasn’t true and maybe some of us come out of itwithout ever having to see the harsh side of life, but I know what happened tome.I was straight out of college with a degree in theater.I got on at areally great theater group in LA and quickly became an assistant director.Iwas told how amazing I was.How they couldn’t live without me.When the playmoved to Broadway, they cut me.I staged three quarters of that play becausethe director was working on a TV show at the same time.But let me tell you, hetook all the credit and didn’t change a thing when the show had its Broadwayrun.He didn’t bother to mention me in his Tony speech.”
Her heart ached for her friend.“I’m so sorry.”
Cleo nodded.“Me, too, because I loved that show but what Ilearned was no one is coming to save me.I have to save myself.We work in afield where the goal posts are different for men and women.From directing toacting.Everyone loves an ingenue.A twenty-something is an it girl.Aforty-something is lucky to play someone’s mom.So actresses learned that theyhad to become producers if they wanted anything to change.I’m done playing bytheir rules.I’m taking the money from this gig and borrowing some more and I’mshooting a couple of short films.I’ll see where I go from there, but I knowone thing.I won’t let them drag me down.I won’t let them take my dreams.IfI’m not welcome in their world, then I’ll build another.”
Tears pierced Brooke’s eyes because she understood.“Itfeels overwhelming.Gemma explained suing the company probably won’t doanything but cost me money and my family a lot of trouble.I can’t exactlystart my own line.”
Cleo pointed to the slouchy comfy top Brooke had put on thismorning.It was a lightly woven fabric that managed to be roomy and also clingwhere she wanted it to because she’d tailored it.It looked nice with jeans.“Idon’t know.I would buy one of those.Did you make the jeans, too?”
Brooke shrugged.“I like to work with denim but I’ll behonest, I’ve gotten bored lately.It’s why I went off script and designed theski and leisure line my asshole boss stole.”
