Part 1 (2/2)
”I can't go out!” Seeing his expression, I said more calmly, ”I'm sorry. I just can't. Not tonight.”
Now he looked concerned. ”Are you okay?”
”No.” My stomach roiled. ”I think I'm going to be sick.”
”Maybe eating half a pint of ice cream before dinner wasn't such a good idea?”
I shook my head. ”It's not that.” As my stomach churned noisily, I said, ”Well, maybe that didn't help.”
”Have a rose.” He held out the flower again. As I accepted it from him, he added, ”And tell me what's wrong.”
”Sorcerer! is closing.” I wanted to cry. is closing.” I wanted to cry.
Both brows rose this time. ”That's unexpected, I take it?” When I nodded, he said, ”When did you find out?”
”About two hours ago.” I had come back from yoga cla.s.s, done two loads of laundry, cleaned the apartment, and was just about to step into the shower when I got the call informing me I was out of work. I'd been in a blue funk ever since.
”So . . . just like that? The show's over?”
I nodded morosely and sat down on my couch. I gently laid the rose on my coffee table, then I took another bite of ice cream. Lopez sat down next to me and took my free hand. Then he looked down at our joined hands, frowning a little.
”Sorry,” I said. My hand was sticky. ”It's the Turtle Soup.”
”The what?”
I waggled my Ben and Jerry's carton at him. ”The ice cream. Lots of caramel.”
”Oh.” When I tried to pull my hand away, he held fast and said, ”No, it's okay.”
”In times of stress, I need ice cream,” I explained.
”Of course.” He smiled. ”Give me a bite.”
I scooped some out of the carton in my lap and brought the spoon up to his mouth. His lips were full and, I knew from experience, felt lush when he kissed.
Our eyes met as I spooned caramel-laced ice cream into his mouth. When I started to pull my hand away, he held it in place so he could lick the spoon. I also knew from experience that he knew just what to do with his tongue when he kissed.
”Mmm,” he said, still looking at me.
It should have felt s.e.xy to feed him ice cream. Normally, it would. As previously noted, I wasn't dating him because it was the smart thing to do; I just couldn't keep away from him. And the way he looked tonight, with his thick black hair falling over his forehead and his open collar showing off his smooth throat . . .
I sighed dispiritedly. I was just too upset to feel s.e.xy. I was also too unkempt and dirty. Some other time, when I felt better, I'd regret that I had wasted this moment. But right now, even Lopez couldn't stir my hormones. That's how bad I felt.
Evidently realizing that all all he'd get out of this moment was a bite of ice cream, he let me lower the spoon. ”That's pretty good. But I'm still a Cherry Garcia guy.” he'd get out of this moment was a bite of ice cream, he let me lower the spoon. ”That's pretty good. But I'm still a Cherry Garcia guy.”
”Heath Bar Crunch is my usual poison.” I sighed. ”But this was all I had in the freezer when I got the call.”
Since I'm an actress, I need to watch my weight. Especially while working in Sorcerer! Sorcerer!, where my tight costumes left a lot of skin bare (albeit covered in green body paint and glitter). So I try to limit my ice cream consumption to special occasions and dire circ.u.mstances; since life is full of both of these, I always keep a pint or two on hand, just in case.
”So does this mean you're . . .” Lopez shrugged, not quite sure how to phrase it. ”Out of work?”
I nodded. ”Out of work.”
”That was fast.”
”Welcome to my world.” I ate another spoonful of the Turtle Soup.
”What happened?”
I knew that to a normal, salaried person-even to a cop, who sees everything-the sudden, unexpected s.h.i.+ft from employment to unemployment that's a normal part of an actor's life looks pretty dizzying. In fact, it makes actors dizzy, too. Right now, my head was reeling.
”Well, you know, reviews haven't been so good,” I said. Sorcerer! Sorcerer! was a tepid musical built entirely around the (rather mediocre) magician who was the producer's husband. After sitting through a performance, Lopez had said that only the chance to see me scamper around stage half-naked for two hours had made it a good evening. Although this sort of comment is flattering coming from my date, it's alarming coming from an audience member. I continued, ”So our houses haven't been good.” was a tepid musical built entirely around the (rather mediocre) magician who was the producer's husband. After sitting through a performance, Lopez had said that only the chance to see me scamper around stage half-naked for two hours had made it a good evening. Although this sort of comment is flattering coming from my date, it's alarming coming from an audience member. I continued, ”So our houses haven't been good.”
”Your houses aren't good?” he repeated with a puzzled expression. ”You mean, audiences don't applaud?”
”I mean, they don't come. Ticket sales are weak,” I clarified.
”Ah. Yeah, I noticed that the night I came to see you. A lot of empty seats.”
I nodded morosely. ”That's a bad house-one with a lot of empty seats. And Sorcerer! Sorcerer! is an expensive show. Golly Gee's salary alone . . .” I trailed off, since I'd just accidentally stepped into territory I tried to avoid when I was with Lopez. is an expensive show. Golly Gee's salary alone . . .” I trailed off, since I'd just accidentally stepped into territory I tried to avoid when I was with Lopez.
Golly Gee was the surgically-enhanced, B-list pop star who played the female lead in Sorcerer Sorcerer! I was a chorus nymph and her understudy. My involvement in fighting Evil with Maximillian Zadok had begun after Golly had vanished one night during the show's disappearing act. I mean, really really vanished. vanished.
Lopez knew from interviewing us during the course of that investigation that Max and I both believed Golly had vanished magically. (Which was indeed the case.) He thought this was crazy, which Max a.s.sured me is a very common reaction to paranormal events. I understood Lopez's point of view, since it was initially my reaction, too. Only overwhelming evidence to the contrary, right before my eyes, had convinced me to believe in things now that I knew Lopez still did not believe in.
And any attempt to convince Lopez of what had really happened would no doubt wind up leading, in the end, to admitting that Max and I had killed Hieronymus. Or sort of killed him. (The fact that any such explanation would also convince Lopez I was nutty as a fruit-cake concerned me, too, since I didn't want him to stop asking me out.) True, we had saved Golly Gee and the other disappearees, but Lopez would insist on knowing how. And he was good at questioning people and putting together scattered details until he figured things out. I knew that if I let the subject be opened, there was no chance that Lopez would let it be closed until he knew everything.
So, having foolishly lowered my guard enough to mention Golly, I tried to backtrack. ”Anyhow, musicals are very expensive, and without enough revenue coming in, they've decided to close the show.”
”It probably hurt the budget a lot when Golly, er, disappeared for more than a week?” Lopez said, watching me with cop eyes now instead of potential-lover eyes. This was exactly the sort of thing that had made our first two dates a tad awkward.
”Yes. Keeping the theater dark for that long was expensive.” I had refused to go on in Golly's place and do the disappearing act without knowing what had happened to her. It was the only time in my entire life I had let a show down. And it's a good thing I did! If I had performed, I would have become one of Hieronymus' victims. The show only resumed ten days later, when the evil apprentice was dead (or dissolved) and Golly was back where she belonged. ”Losing all that income hurt us.” I took a bite of my ice cream.
”Golly has never been very clear about where she went.” When I didn't reply, Lopez added, ”You haven't, either.”
”Oh, it's all over now,” I said, scooping up another bite of ice cream and offering it to him. ”So I don't see why-”
He pushed the spoon aside as he said, ”Because filing a false report with the police is illegal.”
”No one filed any false reports!” I put the spoon back in the carton.
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