by Nicole Smith
* * * *
With the morning came a new outlook for Beth. She decided that yes, Charles had been out of line, but that it wasn't like he was Andy Benton. If Charles said anything weird to her today, she'd call him on it and that would be that. Probably there were other times in the acting business when an actress had to put her foot down about stuff like this. This was just part of her growing pains in her chosen profession.
She dressed in a dress of pale yellow and green floral. It made her feel like Spring was finally arriving. Big gold hoops in her ears, and several gold bangles on her wrist, and she was ready to go. She stopped by the Bakery and picked up healthy Harvest Muffins for breakfast.
When she got to Julia's Place, she started to run up the stairs.
"Wait, Beth...he's not up there."
Beth turned around and walked over to Julia. "He's not? He's usually here by now."
"He called in to say he has a touch of the stomach flu so he's taking some time off. But that he will be at the practice later today."
Beth felt hurt. "He called you, but not me?"
Julia patted her on the shoulder. "He sounded utterly miserable. Probably didn't want you to know what a baby he was being. I'm sure he'll by fine by your rehearsal time."
Beth nodded and walked slowly up the stairs.
Should she call him? She wondered. Was he really sick? Or did he just not want to come in and see her? Could she have been that awful in rehearsal yesterday that he didn't want to face her and have to tell her?
She finally settled down with a spreadsheet and didn't call him. At lunch she went to the Diner...where she heard all about the hunky actor meeting with Mr. Christopher from Mary Jo. And how Mr. Christopher had refused to eat his meal after that and stormed out.
This can't be good, she thought. What could Charles have said to William to upset him so? The only thing she could think of was that it must have something to do with her. Which made her stomach feel nervous and jittery. She asked Mary Jo to cancel her sandwich order and bring her a cup of chicken broth instead. Mary Jo shook her head as she walked away from the table.
The early afternoon of work dragged on until Beth thought she would scream. She spent part of her time reading the script again. By now she knew everyone's lines. Then suddenly it was time to head for the Playhouse. She felt her nerves start up again, but at least she was going to see William.
Once she was up on the stage, she saw William in a chunky black sweater and black slacks. He was talking to Lucretia, answering questions. Before she could even wave to him, Charles appeared by her side.
"How's it going pretty lady?"
"It would go much better if you'd stop calling me that," she said tartly.
He chuckled. "Feisty one. Listen I cleared it with the director. We're all set to have private rehearsals, just you and me."
Beth froze in place. "You what? You told...Mr. Christopher about that?"
"Sure. Always good to stay on the right side of the director. He was cool with it."
She felt anger and dismay at the same time. "He was cool...well, I'm not. So you can forget it."
"Hey, if the director wants it, we go with it."
Beth started to move toward her seat and Charles grabbed her arm.
"Take your hand off me...now!"
He moved his hand away, both hands up. "Hey, no harm, no foul. You need to chill out."
She turned away from him and sat down, fuming. It was happening again. He would say something that sounded bad and then act like it wasn't. But the worst was that he'd told William about his 'private' rehearsal idea...and William had agreed...or, had he?
Suddenly she realized that all she had was Charles' word for what William had said. She stood up and took a deep breath. Walking over to William, she told herself to stop being nervous. He loved her. She knew that.
But when she stood in front of him, he glanced once at her and then looked away. The distance between them was chilling to her.
"William, Charles told me he spoke with you about his idea for private rehearsals."
William nodded. "Yes, he told me," came the curt response.
"And you're...encouraging this?"
He ran a hand through his hair, looking exasperated. "Beth, anybody in the cast can get together for whatever reason. That doesn't need my approval."
"William...what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Better take your seat. We're about to start."
She felt crushed. His eyes were cool and steely-gray. He must have believed she wanted to meet with Charles, impossible as that seemed. What was wrong with him? How could he believe she'd want to spend any time alone with this guy?
Her despair began changing to anger as they ran through the script. William's comments to the cast were monosyllabic. Her own work was stilted and she knew it. All because of Charles! And, she admitted in a small corner of her heart, the fact that William so readily doubted her...that was also a factor.
"Beth?"
She realized she'd zoned out, and Charles was calling her name. "What?"
"We're going to run through that kissing scene now."
"What? Why?"
"It is a part of the play, Beth," William said, coolly.
"Fine! She stood up and faced Charles. He gave her a satisfied look and grabbed her, pulling her body close to his. Right as he swooped in and his lips touched hers, she reared back and did two things simultaneously...she slapped his face and kneed him in the balls.
Charles let out a gasp, and fell to his knees. Beth stepped away from him and glared at William, who'd jumped up.
"If you could think that I'd want that...that...piece of garbage to spend any time with me alone, you're not the man I thought you were. And this kissing scene? Hadn't you realized he's been trying to get me to kiss him for two days now? Didn't you see what a slime he is? I won't do this play if he stays in the cast! Get someone else." And she stormed off the stage and out of the building.
Her tears didn't start until she was driving away.
* * * *
She cried, sitting on her sofa for about fifteen minutes, until the knock on the door. Running to it, thinking it had to be William, she swung the door open to find her parents standing there.
"Oh, Mom!" she wailed, throwing herself into her mother's arms.
A little while later, she was seated with her parents in the living room, sipping a glass of wine. She'd told them everything, from the first time Charles spoke to her until what had happened at the Playhouse.
Her father had nodded approvingly when she described what she'd done to Charles on the stage. "He's a no-good punk, Beth. The kind that gets away with stuff he shouldn't. It might have helped if you'd told William right away about Charles' comments, but instead you doubted your own instincts. I'm glad you followed them today."
"But William should have known something was wrong!"
Sophia asked, "How could he? All you told him was that you had a headache, darling. How should he have known? I'm not blaming you for anything. But I am saying I can see how William might have gotten the wrong message."
"What wrong message?" Beth asked, throwing up her hands.
"That you wanted to spend time with the young hunk," Ed said.
"How could he think...after this weekend...the engagement...damn it, I love him! How could he doubt that?"
Sophia gave a gentle laugh. "Women aren't the only ones with insecurities. And your relationship is still pretty new. He's just that little bit enough older than you to make him doubt that he measures up."
"What am I supposed to do now?" Beth asked and scrubbed her face with her hands. Her makeup was long gone after all the crying.
"Go to him, darling," her mother said. "Tell him everything, no matter how distant he seems. Then work it out."
"So now you're not telling me to come home with you."
Ed shook his head. "Nope. He's a good man. And you're a grown-up. I finally see that. You two can work this out. It's what relationships are abou
t. We can leave here tomorrow knowing you're going to be okay."
Both parents hugged her and kissed her, and left her standing in the middle of living room. She looked around and then shook herself. "Okay, Beth. Time to fix this," she said aloud.
She washed her face, but didn't put on any makeup. After brushing her hair to a shine, she grabbed her handbag and left the apartment. She just had to get him to listen to her. That was all. They could figure it out.
But when she got to his house, it was dark. He was gone.
* * * *
William sat in the booth by the window. When Mary Jo came over, he gave her a tentative smile. "I want to apologize. I was out of line last night."
She grinned at him. "Hey, no problem. I heard about what happened today with that Charles guy."
"You did?"
"It's all over town. They're saying you fired him on the spot...once he could catch his breath again."
"That's true enough. You might as well spread the word that we're having auditions for a new male lead day after tomorrow."
"Cool! You know what? There's this guy, senior at the high school. He looks older than he is, and he's been in some plays. Can I tell him to try out?"
"Sure. I'll see anyone who wants to show up. Whoever gets the part, it will be someone from Sully Point."
"Awesome! What can I get you for dinner?"
"Can you get me two dinners to go? The special, the chicken parmesan, is fine."
Mary Jo gave him a wise look. "Aha. Sounds like a making up dinner."
"Could be," he said with a wink.
She laughed and headed for the kitchen.
While he waited for the food, he thought about the day. Seeing Beth slap and knee Charles had been like someone throwing cold water in his face. He'd been incredibly stupid. He should have picked up that something was wrong with the guy, especially after last night.
Beth had been magnificent when she put Charles in his place. Which had been on the floor, rolling around, and clutching at himself. William knew he'd taken far too much pleasure in firing the bastard.
He also knew he had to get a grip. Beth would be in more plays than this one, and would probably end up being in love scenes. He would need to keep an even keel on his emotions when that happened. By worrying about her reaction to Charles, he'd missed important clues about the man.
Mary Jo brought the bag with the dinners and he paid for them. "Thanks, Mary Jo. You're the best."
"Sure. Now get a play where I can be in it."
He laughed and nodded.
The one thing he couldn't figure out was why Beth hadn't come to him and told him something was wrong with Charles. Didn't she trust him to have dealt with it? He pulled up at her apartment and ran into Kayla who was locking up the Bakery in the back.
"Hi, Mr. Christopher. She's not there."
He stopped walking to the stairs and came over to Kayla. "Where is she?"
"Well, I saw her parents show up. They stayed for a while. Then they left and she left. I heard they were going back to their home in the mountains."
He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. She'd left?
He drove home slowly, in a daze. It felt impossible to him that she could be gone. It made no sense! It...wasn't true? He parked beside her car at his house and found her sitting on the patio at the table and chairs there.
"Beth?"
"William?" She jumped up as he set down the bag of food and opened his arms. She flew into them and he staggered.
"You're here, Beth, you didn't leave town."
"That's my line! I thought you'd gone back to the city."
He chuckled. "I only went to get dinner for us, and then I went to your apartment. Kayla told me your parents had taken you back home with them."
"She did? Well, that's not true. I came here to make you listen to me so I can explain everything."
"My love, you don't need to. I've been an idiot not to see what kind of lowlife he was."
"So you still love me?" she asked softly.
"Of course I do! I'm going to marry you." Then he paused. "You still love me, right?"
"Yes! I will always love you. No matter what."
"Let's go inside. It's chilly out here."
They took the bag of food into the house and set the dining room table with candle light and china. The chicken parmesan was delicious, and Mary Jo had also sent garlic bread and tossed salads with the main course.
While they ate, Beth recited every instance of her interactions with Charles. William was groaning by the end of it. "He was quite the manipulator."
Then he told her how Charles had made him think Beth wanted the 'private rehearsals' as much as he did. "That's what threw me, you know. The way he presented it. Making it sound as though you wanted that."
"But how could you believe that?"
"Well...he was a good-looking, younger guy and..."
"No! No more." She glared at him. "This is the end of the age difference talk forever. Ten years difference is nothing. You are not too old for me. You're incredibly sexy and handsome, and I'll still think that when we're seventy and eighty years old. Okay?"
He smiled at her. "God, you're beautiful. And yes, I've got it. I promise to leave the topic alone forever. How's that?"
She beamed at him. "That sounds perfect."
As they cleared the dishes and got the dishwasher going, they managed to keep gently bumping into each other. Little laughs, small touches, glances filled with desire, and finally a moment to stand still looking into each other's eyes.
"I love you, William. With all my heart."
"You're my life, Beth. I love you."
They came together slowly, her arms going around his neck, his arms around her waist. When he kissed her, he felt like he'd found the secrets of the universe as feelings overwhelmed him.
After a long while, the kiss ended and she said, "Let's get sweaters and go look at the stars."
So they walked through the woods and stood at the head of the beach where they could see waves crashing. The night caressed them as they took in the view, him standing behind her, arms wrapped around her. They pointed out constellations to each other, and murmured of their love.
Later they made love with a level of passion they'd never reached before. As Beth drifted off to sleep, William thought he might never sleep. He loved just feeling her breathe, feeling her body against his. Even as he felt his eyelids closing, he knew he was so incredibly lucky.
* * * *
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp-chirp-chirp.
"Oh no! Not again," Beth complained, throwing off the covers and searching through William's clothing for the phone. "I can't believe you left it set on the freaking bird chirps."
"Forgot," he mumbled.
"Time to get up, sweetie. I'm jumping into the shower."
She figured that the image of her naked in the shower should register with his brain in about five more seconds...and here he came.
After a very thorough shower wake-up, they dressed and left the house. Beth needed to change clothes at her apartment, so they agreed that William would hit the Bakery while she dressed.
When she heard him coming into the apartment, laughing, she put in her gold earrings and went to see what was so funny. The smell of freshly baked muffins filled the air.
"Beth, you will not believe all the rumors going around about Charles. People are coming up with all sorts of reasons for you to have slapped him and kneed him."
"What kind of muffins are those?"
"Apple spice. My favorite one was the suggestion that Charles had been coming on to me, and so you stopped him."
"What? People are crazy weird when it comes to gossip."
They sat in the yellow and orange kitchen and ate warm muffins with coffee. Beth felt like she'd never been so alive. Or so happy. Then a truly awesome thought came to her.
"William...let's get married."
"We are getting married."
<
br /> "Not months from now. Let's do it soon, like, I don't know, next week?"
She watched his eyes widen. "You're serious?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"But don't you want the big fancy wedding with all the trimmings like your mother is planning?"
She shook her head. "I don't care. I want us to be married. To live in the same place. To start our lives together right now."
This time it was William who got up from the table and came around to kneel beside her. "Beth, will you marry me next week?"
She laughed. "Yes, yes, I will marry you next week."
William got up and kissed her, but then he frowned. "Your mother is going to kill me."
"Mom! I forgot they're leaving. I have to stop them!"
She grabbed her phone and began dialing Sam's house. "Anna? Is Sam...never mind. Are my parents still there?"
"Yes, they are," Anna said. "Finishing up breakfast and then they're hitting the road."
"Stop them, Anna. You have to keep them there until I arrive. Don't let them leave."
"Why? What's going on, Beth?"
"A big surprise. I'm on my way now. Keep them there!"
William had already put away the muffins and had his keys out. "Oh no, I'm driving," Beth said. "You're far too slow."
By the time they were on the winding road along the beach, she could tell he was regretting letting her drive the Thunderbird.
"You need to relax when I'm driving. I'm in total control."
"Right."
She sighed. "I shouldn't need to tell you this...but, my father insisted I take a driving course that was taught by race car driver. I am highly trained at driving fast."
She felt his eyes on her. "What?" he asked.
"You heard me."
They approached Sam and Anna's beach house, and Beth could see her parents in the driveway, talking to Anna. Anna's face was filled with relief when she saw the car drive up.
"Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you," Beth called out to them as she exited the car.
"We can see," her father said. "You two worked out your problems."
"No. I mean yes, we did. But what we want to tell you is that we've decided to get married sooner. Next week."
"What?" her mother yelled. "What are you doing to me? Not another one!"
Ed gave his daughter a serious look. "Are you pregnant, honey?"
