Part 12 (2/2)

”Your Addison Blake, right?” the waitress asked.

Addison nodded. ”I think so,” she joked.

”Is it true?” the waitress asked.

Addison lifted both eyebrows in question. ”What's that?” she asked, taking a sip from her beer.

”That you left Emma Bronson for her costar?”

Addison sprayed the beer in her mouth across the table and onto her father's s.h.i.+rt. ”What?”

Adam brushed off his chest and looked at Addison, then at the waitress.

”What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?” Addison asked.

”Well, it was all over the news,” the waitress replied.

Addison wondered what news the young woman might have been watching. ”No,” Addison said.

”Oh, so it's like an affair?” the waitress asked.

Addison closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. ”What?”

”You and Sandra MacMillan.”

”Come again?” Addison shook her head.

The waitress shrugged. ”She's like living in your house, right? I mean, like it's kind of public knowledge Emma came home, and when she left, Sandra moved in.”

Addison smacked her forehead. She would never get used to this nonsense. That is precisely what she thought of it. ”People have way too much time on their hands,” Addison mumbled. She looked at the waitress and painted on a winning smile. At the moment, she was glad that the three beers she had consumed had left her with a pleasant buzz. She was hardly drunk, but the effects of the alcohol had loosened both her mood, and as she was about to find out-her lips. ”Well, that's interesting. I'm afraid I'm not Sandra's type. She only likes the ladies on screen.”

The waitress seemed to consider the answer. ”So... So... Oh! You're here trying to win Emma back after you tried to win Sandra over!”

Adam watched curiously as Addison rolled her eyes, picked up her beer, and chugged it until it was half empty. Addison set the bottle on the table and looked back at the young woman standing over her. Her body had a pleasant tingle beginning to run through it from the alcohol. She smiled coyly. ”Interesting theory,” she said. ”But, if you'll excuse us, my dad and I are drinking here... Celebrating fish hooks and Elmo. We used to have ice cream, but I'm legal now,” Addison said with a grin. She normally welcomed meeting people. This encounter was not enjoyable. She beckoned the waitress closer as if she were about to impart some secret. ”Don't believe everything you hear,” she said.

”But, it's on video,” the young woman replied. Addison narrowed her gaze. ”You know, Sandra coming to your house and locking it in the morning? Like, her kid is living there too! They showed it, you know? Her letting these people with baby furniture in.”

Adam watched Addison carefully. She was obviously irritated, but outwardly she remained in control. He sipped his beer and listened as Addison navigated the minefield of entertainment media rumors. The entire exchange made him feel like he was living in a movie.

Addison was annoyed. It wasn't the rumor that had gotten under her skin. It was the surprise she had planned for Emma that she would now be forced to reveal that had officially p.i.s.sed her off. She'd worked on the surprise for two weeks and had enlisted Christie and Sandra's help. ”Surprise ruined. Thanks a lot-jerks,” Addison mumbled. She bit her lip and looked at the waitress. ”Why are people so stupid?” she silently wondered. She sighed. ”Well, there will be a new crib in our house. That's true,” she said. The waitress grinned. ”Yeah, Emma hates putting furniture together, especially when she's pregnant,” Addison said. The waitress almost swallowed her tongue. Addison grinned evilly. ”So? I think we'll have another round. If you don't mind,” Addison said. ”Looks like my dad is on empty, and I'm not all that far behind,” she explained, effectively ending the conversation and dismissing the young woman. The waitress nodded and scurried off. ”Just f.u.c.king great,” Addison muttered and promptly chugged the rest of her beer.

”Does that happen a lot?” Adam asked.

”You mean someone thinking that I'm sleeping with my wife's co-star or that I out my wife's pregnancy to the world without talking to her?” Adam stared at his daughter. Addison shrugged. ”First time for both.”

”Do you think Emma will be upset?”

”About me living with Sandra? No,” Addison said. Adam looked concerned, and Addison chuckled. ”She'll be annoyed that people are so petty, but she's used to it. As used to it as anyone can get, I guess,” Addison explained.

”What about...”

”Mm. Me telling The National Enquirer over there that she's pregnant?” Addison asked. Adam cringed slightly. ”She'll forgive me. I probably won't get any cookies for a few days,” Addison said.

Adam noted her smile. ”I don't know how you deal with it.”

”I didn't, not very well anyway-not at first,” Addison told her father. ”But, Emma? She's been at it longer than me.”

”Think she'll go back?”

”You mean to acting?” Addison asked. Adam nodded. ”Eventually, yeah. After this? Not for a good while, I suspect.”

”Why not?” he wondered. ”Because of the kids?” he wagered a guess.

Addison fell silent as the waitress returned with two more beers. She lifted the bottle to her mouth to keep from opening it and inserting her foot again until the waitress left. She watched the waitress disappear behind the bar and turned back to her father. ”Yeah, but not for the reasons you might think. Well, partly. She likes being Mom, you know? She really does,” Addison smiled. ”And, I'm pretty sure she'll want one more go round before we are done.”

”Really?”

”Yeah,” Addison said. ”Don't ask me. Maybe it's all just rumors like the impending doom of my marriage and my rebound love affair. I always heard being the middle child sucked. She seems to have liked it.”

”So, she doesn't want to work anymore?”

Addison groaned softly. ”I don't think it's that,” she said. ”I mean, it is that. She wants to be home with them as much as she can be while they're small. I just think she might decide to extend that until they give us grandchildren,” Addison said.

”I don't think I understand.”

”It's everything that goes with it-being on screen. It's not the work; it's the bull s.h.i.+t. She always tells me that we were living under a microscope when Off Screen was running. Now, it's more like a telescope. h.e.l.l, she's not even working on the new show, and the rumors have started,” Addison shook her head. ”Think about your kids hearing that c.r.a.p about you.”

Adam thought silently for a minute. ”Do you think she would miss it?”

”Acting?” Addison asked. ”Yeah. She already does, although she won't fess up to it. I think she misses just being creative to tell you the truth. Being on a set, a good one anyway, there's nothing like it. It can be grueling, but it's fun too. If you are lucky enough to get a great crew... Well, it gets in your blood. And, she's good. Actually, she's better than good.”

”As an actress?”

”That, but at the whole thing. Emma? She knows how to get people to work. People want to work with her. She's smart. She's been around television since she was still a kid if you think about it. She's a good listener; you know? She learned a lot.”

Adam nodded. He and Addison had not talked this much in years. He wasn't sure that they ever had. Maybe it was the beer, but the conversation felt natural to him. ”Well, maybe she can do something other than acting,” he said, taking another sip of his beer.

”You know, she's quite the fisherman,” Addison said.

”Really? Ever manage to catch herself?” Adam teased his daughter.

Addison huffed. ”Not that I know of. But, she did catch me... By the way? You're buying the next round,” she replied.

Chapter Eight.

<script>