“Taryn?”
I heard my name called out. It was a female voice – French accent. Francesca waved her fingers at me.
“Yes, Francesca?” I asked, trying to be polite.
“Can I speak to you privately?” Her eyes scanned tentatively for my reaction.
Ryan, of course, noticed us walking towards the kitchen door. I gestured my confusion, silently answering his questioning stare.
“I just want to apologize to you,” she said. “I have treated you badly and unfairly and I’m very sorry.” She sounded sincere.
“It’s all right,” I responded, trying to sound just as sincere. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You probably know that I have liked Ryan for a long time, but I know that he does not feel the same way about me as I do him.” Her admission
made her stare at the floor.
“He deserves to be happy and I can see he is in love with you.” Her lips curled into a brief smile. “I can only hope that I too will have that
happiness one day.”
“You will,” I assured her.
“I was wondering… has Cory said anything to you about me?”
Her question perplexed me for a moment. I felt like we were young teenagers talking about our boy crushes and she was searching for insider
information.
“I think it’s safe to say that he likes you,” I told her, feeling suddenly like an older sister.
“I like him too, very much. He is so nice and sweet and handsome, but…” She stopped to ponder.
“But what?” I asked.
She twitched, almost afraid to continue. She didn’t need to.
“You’re afraid of what the public will think,” I stated, pointing out the obvious.
She looked at me and nodded.
“How does he make you feel?” I questioned, knowing there was more.
Francesca smiled gloriously and pressed her hands to her heart.
“You deserve to be happy too. And the choice is really yours. Cory is very ambitious, but he will still put your needs ahead of his own and treat
you like gold. He’s just beginning to find his career direction. And he will be successful at it. But then there’s always the alternative choice… you
could get involved with some young, rich guy who constantly thinks that the next girl he hooks up with is going to be even better than you.” I waited
until she looked at me again.
“Francesca, I’m terrified about what the public thinks of me too,” I admitted. “I know people all around the world feel that he could do better than
me, but better how? Someone with more money… more fame? Are those the things that truly matter when it comes to loving someone completely
and knowing that good, bad, or otherwise, they will love you just as much in return?”
“No,” she agreed.
“Then go be happy!”
I let Cory leave early that night.
Ryan was busy attempting to cook dinner when I joined him in the kitchen late Sunday night. His friends had left earlier in morning for their flight
back to Pittsburgh and after five days with house guests we were finally alone. Even though Ryan was sad to see his friends go, he knew he would
be seeing them in a few days when we traveled to his parents’ home for Thanksgiving.
“Smells good!” I complimented. “Need help?”
“Nope!” He grinned at me. “I got it all under control.”
I laughed under my breath on my way to the bedroom. He was only making hamburgers and boxed macaroni and cheese, but the kitchen
counter was a total mess. I grabbed the stack of scripts from his nightstand and carried them back to the kitchen.
“Did you finish reading this one?” I glanced at the title on the front cover. “Behind the Words?”
He looked over his shoulder and sneered. “No. I couldn’t finish it. It was stupid. I’m not going to portray a homophobic writer who wants a sex
change.”
“I still think you should pursue this one… The Isletin Solution. This one has Oscar potential.”
“I was going to read that one next. Was it good?” he asked, licking his thumb. “You’re finished with it, right?”
“Yeah, I finished it last night after you fell asleep. It was excellent!”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s the story of two Canadian doctors who discovered insulin and forged the way for the treatment of Diabetes. You would be perfect for the
lead role of Charles Herbert Best. He was a physiologist and chemist,” I said, flipping through the script. “It’s based on a true story. It’s written from
Best’s point of view, even though he wasn’t the lead scientist in the discovery.”
“Great! Another Charles character,” he groaned.
“Ah, so what. You’re already used to people calling you Charles,” I teased.
“How do you know all of that stuff about the characters? Is it written in the script?”
“No. I researched some of it on the net. I was curious.”
“So you think it’s a good role for me?” he asked, wiping his wet hands on the dishtowel that hung over his shoulder.
“I think it’s a perfect role for you. You’d be able to show a wider range of emotions with this character. There are a lot of heart-wrenching
scenes. They did their research on dogs, and one of the dogs that he was really attached to dies.”
“Sounds sad. You really think it has Oscar potential?” He narrowed his eyes on the script.
“Yeah, I do. The story is very compelling and you’d play a hero instead of an action star,” I stated. “I visualized you in the role the whole time I
read it. It’s a tear-jerker. This is the type of role that wins awards.”
“Since when did you get so knowledgeable about films and awards?” he asked in a teasing fashion.
“Since I started dating this hot movie star who’s getting cast into all these romantic popcorn films. I’ve just been doing research on acting and
stuff,” I admitted.
“Well then, move that one to the top of the stack. I’ll talk to Aaron and David… see what they think.”
“You don’t want to read it first?” I was surprised that he was just going to take my word for it.
“I trust you.” He smiled.
“Did you read this one… Gordon’s Way?” I asked, peering at it inquisitively. “I haven’t seen this script before.”
“Yeah, I read through it last week. It was couriered to the set. I really liked that one, but Aaron told me that they already signed Chase
Westwood, so that one is out.”
“And what are your thoughts about Bottle of Red?” I removed the script from the stack. It was the first one that I had read.
“Lame,” he answered dryly.
“I agree. O – U – T out.”
“Sacred Mountain?” I continued, panning through the pile.
“What was that one about again?” he asked in between taste-testing dinner on the stove.
“Secret UFO base in the mountains.”
“Oh, yeah. That one was heavy sci-fi. What did you think of it?” he asked, almost sounding hopeful.
I pursed my lips and sneered.
“What’s that reaction about?” he countered.
“Aliens?” I think I rolled my eyes. “That would be a huge diversion from the roles you have been taking. Is that something that interests you?”
He shrugged. He seemed unsure of his direction.
“Ryan, what’s your goal here? I mean when you dreamt of being an actor, what kind of actor did you want to be?”
“Brando!” he stated with admiration. “I wanted to be Marlon Brando. The Godfather, you know! I can’t tell you how many times I looked at myself
in the mirror while trying to imitate him. He was the reason I wanted to get up on stage and act.”
Ryan sat down at the table with me. “When I did the first Seaside, I was thinking about Gary Cooper – how he would have delivered it. I can only
hope to be in that league as an actor one day. That would be the ultimate!”
“Well then, there’s your direction. If that’s the perception you want people to have when they think of you as an actor, then you need to position