"Her ankles are sticking out," Tomas reported.
"I'm more worried about her face," Mike replied. "I think I have sunblock. Yeah, here it is. Put some on her face."
"On her face?"
"And her ankles."
"I can't do that."
"Why not?" Mike asked. I just can t.
"Tomas, it's no different from helping people put on their stage makeup."
"Then you do it."
"You're closer to her,* Mike pointed out.
"So switch seats."
"Why? It's no big deal," Mike said.
"You have experience," Tomas insisted. "Switch seats."
There was more movement. "Jeez! Careful."
I'd probably get us capsized, but there was no way I was going to open my eyes, not yet. This was too interesting.
"Okay," I heard Mike mutter, close to me now. "Okay."
He dabbed a bit of lotion on my left cheek, waited a moment, then rubbed it in. He added some more, then rounded a glob over my chin. He spread the lotion across my forehead and down my nose, the way my mother used to, but more slowly. He must have remembered my right cheek and added some there, working it in gently and even more slowly than before. His hand stopped, resting on my cheek. A tip of a finger touched. my mouth, lightly tracing the shape of my lips.
This was how he put on stage makeup? I opened my eyes.
"Oh, hello," he said.
"Hi."
I thought he'd draw back, but he simply pushed up his sunglasses. His face was ten inches from mine and in its own shadow, his eyes bright with reflections off the water. I couldn't stop looking at him.
"I guess you're wondering what I'm doing," he said.
"Urn…" I tried not to look in his eyes and ended up staring at his mouth. "Sort of."
What a mouth! I thought. If he had fallen asleep, I would have been tempted to touch it.
Why wasn't he wearing his shirt? Because you are, stupid, I reminded myself.
I tried not to stare at his muscular shoulders and found myself gazing at the bare expanse of chest between the flaps of his life jacket. I quickly lifted my eyes to focus on his ear. Cripe, even his ear was good-looking! I didn't need this-I didn't need to notice these things about Liza's old boyfriend.
"I have some fairy ointment here," he said.
"You do?"
"Magic stuff, just like Puck's. I spread it on your eyelids."
"You did?"
"As you know, you must fall in love with the first person you see upon opening your eyes."
I stared at him, speechless.
"Oops!" He pulled back. "Wrong stuff. This is sunblock."
I sat up and managed to laugh.
"We were worried about you," Tomas said.
"Redheads shouldn't go out without their sunscreen," Mike added, then handed the tube to me. "You need it from the neck down."
"Thanks."
He changed places with Tomas, and I began spreading the stuff on my neck and arms. "How are the sketches going?" I asked. "I'd like to see them."
The truth was I'd liked to have seen anything that would distract me from Mike. Brian had held my face in his hands; he'd even kissed me. Why didn't I think his ears were cute?
"Tomas wants to stop by the Oyster Creek Bridge to take some photos," Mike said. "Is that okay with you, Jenny?"
Just what I needed, visiting Liza's bridge with Liza's guy-talk about a reality check!
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Tomas looked up, surprised by the snap in my voice.
"Because you have gotten so much sun," Mike answered patiently. "I thought you might be feeling it."
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," I added lamely.
Surprisingly, I didn't feel much of anything when we anchored by the bridge or slipped beneath its shadow. We passed the pavilion, ringed by the tall, plumed grass, then turned in to the floating docks that belonged to the college and tied up silently.
"I'm going to stay down here and hose off the boat," Mike told us.
"Do you need some help?" Tomas asked.
"No, it's a one-person job."
"Well, then, thanks'. It was cool," Tomas said. "I mean really, really cool."
"Glad you enjoyed it," Mike replied.
"It was nice. See you," I said quietly, anxious to escape up Goose Lane.
Did Mike have any idea how he affected me? I wasn't as good an actor as he, but I doubted he could see through my rocky performance. I probably just confused him, running hot and cold as I did. In the future I'd be more careful around him. As long as I kept my distance and he didn't leam my identity, I was safe-safe from being compared to Liza and getting my heart broken again.
Monday morning Tomas, several strong guys, and Arthur moved the gymnastic equipment I needed. The athletic department had given us permission to keep it at the theater for the next six weeks.
Tomas explained to the cast and crew the changes to the set that Walker had authorized. Walker sat back looking a bit smug, as if the rough time he'd given Tomas at the beginning of camp was responsible for bringing him out of his cocoon.
As before, there would be a waterfall-shredded Mylar lit with stage lights-cascading down the back stage wall. But now a stream would run from its base, and the bridge over the stream would have a balance beam as its downstage side. The vaulting horse, disguised as a stone wall, would be placed near the right wing, its springboard offstage. For one entrance I would appear to fly forward and upward, launched from behind the curtain, then use the "wall" and my arms to propel myself even higher into a one-and-a-half twist.
"How about adding a rope?" Walker asked. "Jenny, can you shinny up and down a rope?" Sure.
"Brian, I want you to check out a sports store and acquire what is needed for decent climbing rope. Arthur-" Perhaps guessing where the rope would be hung, the custodian was slinking toward the exit.
"— we're going to hang the rope from the catwalk. Put it on your list."
"When the ladder comes," he replied, and continued on.
I had a feeling I'd be climbing the rungs to attach the rope, but I preferred that so I could make sure the rope was secure.
Walker wanted to see the blocking we had worked on for Act 2, Scene I.I was wearing a leotard beneath my shirt and shorts and began to remove my outer clothes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul watching me. Of course, guys do that at gym meets and swimming pools, but his gaze wasn't the usual curious or flirty one-more like that of a cat, still and silent, observing its prey.
Keri joined him onstage since she, too, was part of the scene. I turned my back on them.
"Show 'em your stuff, Jen," Tomas encouraged me.
I would. I wanted to do both of us proud.
The scene went better than I had hoped. Though we weren't yet expected to be off book, I had spent the rest of Sunday memorizing my lines for that scene. And, as chilling as Paul could be offstage, he did his work like a professional onstage. There was spontaneous applause at the end, which made Maggie smile. Walker frowned a bit and made a few changes that I noted in my script. I was careful not to look at Mike until I was in the audience and he onstage and in character.
Walker reviewed Friday's work on the end of Act 4, then began blocking Act 5. It came to a screeching halt at the play-within-the-play that is performed by the clownish rustics-Walker doing the screeching. Shawna was on top of things, but the other five actors couldn't get straight stage left and stage right, or anything else for that matter.
Walker erupted. "What the hell are you doing?" he shouted.
The kids on stage froze and glanced at one another.
"Don't any of you listen? Do I need to put up traffic signs? If I did, would you bother to read them?" He paced the stage. "Perhaps I should get an orange vest, white gloves, and a whistle," he suggested sarcastically. "Make a note, Brian-a vest, gloves, and whistle."