A Deathly Rattle

by Diana Orgain

  “Oh, so this is your daughter?” a handsome older man asked, standing. “Peter Catch. I’m playing your mother’s other half in the play.” The slightly gray-haired gentleman approached me, h and extended for a shake. He did not quite make it to me before getting distracted by Laurie. “Oh, wow, she’s adorable!”

  I grinned. The best way to any mother’s heart is to shower her children with compliments. It just occurred to me that the little teether Paula had given her matches her cute springy outfit. “Thanks,” I said. “So you’re playing Vicente’s lead man?”

  “In other words, I’m playing a weird version of Vicente,” Peter said, winking slightly. “I’m still a little nervous about the direction the director chose to take. I don’t like disappointing the playwright.”

  “I’ve been told the director has turned this thing into a comedy?” I question, and Peter nods – a few other actors snicker.

  “It’s not your fault, Peter,” a woman with bright orange hair said, getting up to come greet us. “Director Ricky made the call.”

  “I write myself,” Peter explained. “So, messing with someone’s vision this much, well, it feels kind of unfair. I would hate to see something I wrote turn out so differently than what I envisioned.”

  The woman shrugged and then looked at Paula and me. “I’m Natalie Nat, but everyone calls me Nate. I bring the character Jezebel to life.”

  “Jezebel?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, not the best name choice, but the character does run a dive bar,” Nate said, laughing. “I am basically a bar maid in the play.”

  “So, the play takes place at a dive bar?” I asked.

  “Most of it does,” Paula said. “You ready to check out my set?”

  “Oh, so this is the set designer!” a third actor jumped up. “I’m Tony Yipps. I’m the one who send you the color swatches.”

  “That was you!” Paula said, smiling. “Thanks for the recommendations. I think they went perfect with the background.”

  “Have you seen it yet?” Tony asked.

  “Not yet, we’re headed there now,” Paula said.

  “Let’s all go,” Peter suggested. “We can run through blocking before Ricky gets here.”

  We all scooted down the hall towards the stage wings, and when we stepped out onto stage it was, well, incredible. Stage left was the bar. It looked positively gorgeous. The play, from what I skimmed during lunch, takes place in northern California – Gold Country. The backdrop for the stage is a mountain range and some elegantly painted, bright yellow trees. Stage right, a sort of make-shift garage look. “Wow!” Paula shrieked excitedly. “They finished putting it together! Hold on, I have a few boxes in the car for some of the final detailed pieces.”

  Paula scurried off, and I stood center stage staring at the beautiful design. I could hardly believe how beautiful it looked. “I like the way she’s got the garage set up,” my mom said, pointing towards the rusty front half of a car that poked out onto the stage. “All the set crew has to do to move half the set on and off stage is put the car in neutral and roll it back – the rest of the garage part of the set is on wheels and drilled to the back of the car. It’s so easy to move on and off stage despite how complicated the look is.”

  “Clever,” I said and then looked at the bar. The bar side of the stage was set up on a wooden platform about a foot high. It could also be easily moved on and off stage with a simple pull or push despite its large structure. The color contrast between the bright backdrop and the darker bar and garage scene was simply stunning. Paula arrived seconds later with a large box, and she added a few details. A stained-glass window for the back of the bar and some old beer and whiskey bottles filled with water and food coloring. She had brought a can of paint, and she carefully dabbed areas in the garage to make it appear more rustic and covered in oil.

  When she stepped back, finished with her masterpiece, the entire crew started clapping for her excitedly. “Paula, simply amazing,” Tony said. “I’m glad they hired you.”

  “Very talented,” Nate said. “I especially love my little bar.” She stood up and hurried behind the bar. “This right here is my characters personally spot.”

  I smiled. Tony was standing beside me, smiling excitedly. “I forgot to ask you what character you play?” I question.

  “The scumbag cheating husband,” Tony said. “Not normally my type of role, but I’m too early in my career to be picky.”

  “I have arrived!” a mans voice called from the audience.

  “Ricky!” my mother called. “Oh, Kate, this is Director Ricky. He is doing a fabulous job, if I do say so myself. Ricky, this is my daughter Kate, and my granddaughter Laurie.”

  Ricky was a fairly young guy. He was younger than some of his cast members, but he had a certain commanding tone about him that let Kate know he knew he was in charge and could handle it. “A pleasure, Ms. Kate,” he said and smiled down at Laurie. “Hey, cutie,” he said and then looked up at Paula. “Paula, I have to say, I’m in love with this set.”

  “Thanks for the opportunity,” Paula said.

  “Of course,” he said and reached into his coat pocket. “Here, these are for you. Tickets for the after party on opening night.” He then looked at me. “Would you like to come?”

  “Me?” I questioned.

  “Your mom is one of the stars of the show,” he said and reached into his pocket, pulling out two tickets.

  “You are already coming to opening night,” Paula said. “Plus, a little birdy told me that Cassandra’s Cookies is catering the party.”

  My eyes widened. “Cassandra’s Cookies? As in—”

  “As in the café that you’ve had Jim run out to, I don’t know, eight times since you’ve become pregnant,” my mom said, giving me a playful nudge.

  A vision of the dark chocolate brownies with the purple icing began to dance in front of my eyes. I had some at home in the fridge, but I was down to just two now.

  “Speaking of which,” Director Ricky said. “I need one of you to run by the café to drop off our catering contract. It’s in my office now, but we need to get right to work on our tech rehearsal.”

  “I could do that for you,” I said. “I go right by there on my way home.”

  “Are you sure?” Ricky questioned, taking a glance at Laurie – probably not wanting it to be too much of a burden.

  “It’s no problem,” I said. “Besides, I can restock my brownie supply while I’m there since its’ all baby number two is letting me eat.” I patted my barely noticeable baby bump.

  He smiled. “Well, I really appreciate that.” He handed me the contract, and I stuffed it down into the stroller.

  Okay pregnancy brain, don’t let me forget to do that, I told myself.

  The front doors to the theater flung open, and we all glanced up to see Vicente stepping in from the lobby. He was striking in a black leather jacket and tight jeans. Under one arm, he carried his motorcycle helmet and with his free hand he ruffled his thick dark wavy hair. He graced us with a smile that would make a school girl blush, and even as I thought saw Paula’s cheeks get a bit rosy.

  I smacked her arm and she giggled, mouthing to me. “I can’t help it, he’s so hot.”

  The director rushed over to Vicente. “Ah, Mr. Domingo!” Ricky exclaimed. “Welcome to tech rehearsal.”

  Vicente glanced around and nodded to the cast and crew, making his way down the aisle toward the stage. When his eyes landed on me, he gave me his special cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. The one that told me he thought I’d made a dreadful mistake not to have taken him up on his offer as the lead.

  A man like Vicente Domingo could never image giving up the limelight.

  “Hello Kate,” he said.

  I wiggled my fingers at him. “Congratulations, I understand the show’s already sold out.”

  He gave me a condensing nod, as if I should have expected nothing less.

  He glanced up at the
stage, smiling and looking quite satisfied. “Just thought I would come take a peek at the set, and I have to say, it’s looking good.”

  “Glad you like it,” Paula said.

  “Very sophisticated – just what I was going for,” he mused, and I could sense several of the actor’s cringe. They weren’t kidding. Domingo still had no idea that Ricky had turned this drama into a comedy. Ricky did not seem at all phased.

  “You coming opening night, I hope?” Ricky asked, smiling like he was not secretly plotting to put on a joke performance of what seemed to be Domingo’s pride and joy.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Domingo said. “I will be here front and center.”

  While the cast and crew got ready for their tech rehearsal, my stomach began to rumble.

  How can I even be hungry again?

  But it wasn’t hunger exactly, it was the purple icing brownies calling my name.

  So I bid my mom and Paula farewell, told them to break a leg, and headed out with Laurie in tow.

  Confession? The café wasn’t exactly on my way home. It was about five minutes out of the way, but honestly, I had to make sure I had plenty of those amazing brownie’s in stock.

  Laurie giggled and played with her stylish teether on the way there, and I plopped her into her stroller again before we headed inside. The outside of café was painted bright orange. It was very colorful and fun; I hadn’t ever actually been here myself. Jim had been doing the supportive daddy thing – running out constantly to help me satisfy my intense cravings.

  Once inside, though I was a bit taken aback wild color palate. The walls were a mix of fire-engine red, with yellow and orange swirls, so much so that it made my head spin.

  I made my way over to the counter, eagerly scanning the display case for my preferred treat. Disappointment tugged at me when I didn’t see any of those brownie’s on display.

  The woman behind the counter had red hair, pulled up tight in a bun. She smiled. “May I help you?”

  “I’m looking for a certain brownie... It’s dark chocolate with purple icing?” I questioned.

  “Kate?” she asked, taking me by surprise.

  “Um… yes?”

  “I knew it,” she said. “You’re Jim’s wife, right? He comes in here three times a week to get you those brownies. I’m Cassandra, the owner.”

  I smiled. “Oh! I’m so embarrassed,” I said, laughing.

  “Hold on, I have a batch for you in the back that just got taken out of the oven. I need to wait a few more minutes before I ice them,” she said. “That okay?”

  “That’s fine, oh, and here. This is the contract for the local theater. I guess you are catering their cast party?” I reached down and grabbed the contract out of the bottom of the stroller, handing it over to her.

  She smiled and thanked me, not really questioning why I would have it. I watched her step back into the kitchen, probably to file the contract, and I went and sat down by the window. A few minutes later, she reappeared with a small plate and a to-go box.

  “Tell you what, it’s on the house,” Cassandra said, smiling as she put the small plate with a brownie in front of me. “The to-go one’s too.”

  She’s so nice!

  “Wow, thank you!” I said, happily grabbing the fork she had placed by my plate.

  “Oh, that must be Laurie!” she said, bending down to take a look inside the stroller. “So cute. She looks like her daddy.”

  I smile. “She really does. I’m guessing Jim has told you about Laurie?”

  “Well, he’s been here enough for us to have chatted a few times,” Cassandra said, smirking slightly. “I don’t get a lot of male customers coming in and ordering chocolate in bulk like that. I finally asked him what was up, and he told me about his pregnant wife’s cravings. He showed me a picture of Laurie. Super cute girl you got there.”

  “Thanks,” I said, grinning.

  “So,” she said, standing upright. “Are you in the play?”

  “No, but my mom is. I’m going to be going to opening night, and the director was kind enough to invite me to the after party, so I figured I could bring the contracts by for him – and get me another one of these amazing brownies too.”

  Cassandra laughed. “Well, tell you what, they weren’t in the order, but I’ll throw in some of those brownies at the party so you can look forward to having them after the show.”

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling. “You are too sweet.”

  “I try to keep my customers happy,” she said. “Especially ones who come in and order a dozen brownies every few days.”

  Chapter Four

  By the time evening came, I was feeling absolutely miserable. I’d been by the toilet for the remainder of the afternoon waiting for everything to just come up, but it wouldn’t happen for me. Not only was I nauseous, but my head hurt and my whole body was aching. It was not the best pregnancy day. This pregnancy was giving me a run for my money.

  Laurie was being a little angel for me, though. She sat and played in the living room all afternoon while I tried not to curl up in a ball and cry. I could see her from my station by the toilet in the hall bathroom, so it worked out somewhat decently since she was so content playing by herself and rolling around on the floor.

  I knew most women dealt with morning sickness, but for some reason mine was coming in the late afternoon. When I final, ahem, relieved my stomach and threw up everything, I was feeling a little better but not entirely. I literally crawled from our hall bath to the living room floor where Laurie was playing and rolled over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling.

  I patted my stomach. “You’re a little monster, you know that?” I told my tiny bump.

  Then I heard the sound of keys jingling outside, and I was overcome with relief. The door opened, and there was my knight in shining armor.

  Jim smiled down at me; I’m sure I looked like a hot mess. My shirt was disgustingly stained and smelly. My hair was let down and in a compete mess, and the little bit of eyeliner I had put on that morning had run down my cheeks during my uncontrollable dry-heaving and had dried and started to crack along my cheeks.

  “Rough day?” Jim asked, a slight chuckle in his voice. He threw his stuff down by the door, not even bothering to find everything’s proper location like he usually did. Then he crawled down onto the floor next to Laurie and me and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Laurie cooed and held her arms up to him.

  “Rough afternoon, mostly,” I said. “I was fine this morning. Went to lunch with mom and Paula – got us tickets to the show mom’s in. And, I got after party tickets too. Came home this afternoon and just suddenly started feeling like baby number two was trying to murder me by clawing his way out.”

  “That sounds… lovely,” Jim said.

  I smirked at him from where I was still lying flat on my back. He sat near my head, his legs crossed, and Laurie in his lap cooing away like the happy little girl she usually was.

  “I wasn’t like this with Laurie,” I said. “I don’t think I can take more more of this.”

  “You’re tougher than you give yourself credit for,” Jim said. “The nausea stuff is only the first trimester, right?”

  I smacked him. “That still a few more weeks,” I groaned. “But, not everyone is that lucky. Morning sickness can last the entire pregnancy and this is pretty bad.”

  “Don’t be so negative. Everything is going to fine,” Jim said. He smiled down at me. “Tell you what. Why don’t you go relax? I’ll handle Laurie. I could use some daddy-daughter time, anyways. Go take a bath.”

  “I’m not supposed to take baths,” I said.

  “You’re not supposed to take hot baths,” he corrected. “Just don’t take your normally hot-sauna type bath, okay? Just sit and soak in some lukewarm water, light a candle. Whatever you got to do to unwind.”

  “You are amazing, you know that?” I said, and he lent me a hand to help me sit upright. I w
as definitely going to take him up on his offer. I needed to wind down bad after the sort of afternoon I’d had. I stood up and then bent down to give him a quick kiss before retreating back to our bedroom.

  I loved our bathroom at the house; the house was a typical home in the parkside district of San Francisco, it’d been built in the 1920’s and the previous owners had kept the beautiful clawfoot tub. When we’d first moved in, Jim and I had had the tub refinished and now it just sparkled and shined like the gem it really was.

  One of the things I loved about it, was that it was taller than most modern day tubs, so I sit comfortable and feel as if I was reclined, and let’s face it, what woman doesn’t enjoyed a good soak?

  I let the water run for a little bit. This to me was one of the biggest downsides of being pregnant. I love sitting in steaming hot water with bubbles and taking a small glass of wine with me – it was a great way to wind down after long, stressful days.

  But, being pregnant, you have certain restrains. Hot water could be bad for the baby if it raised your body temperature, so the water had to be lukewarm at best. Bubble baths gave me an increase risk of infection which could also hurt the baby, so I would just get to sit in plain water.

  And, of course, wine was not recommended except in small dosages, but I just avoided alcohol completely while pregnant. So, my hot bubble bath with a glass of wine was really going to be just me sipping on a Yoo-hoo from a straw while sitting in lukewarm water, but, hey, I would take what I could get.

  As the tub filled up with water, I started to get undressed. And, well, that’s when I had the single biggest scare of my entire life. I pulled down my drawers, and there was blood. More than just a little bit – not enough to go into full panic, but enough to make my heart jump up into my throat.