Fabrizo pressed the button to change the radio station. "Stop that," Cal ordered.

"I want to hear something good," Fabrizo said, flipping through the stations.

"We were hearing something good."

"That was not good," Fabrizo said.

"It was fantastic," Cal argued. "You're a Philistine."

"I didn't like it."

"How can you not like Sinatra?" Cal said. "Everyone likes him."

"Well, I don't like him," Fabrizo said.

"He was Italian. Aren't all of you supposed to stick together?"

Fabrizo stared at him. "That might be the most racist thing you've said all month."

"I'm not racist," Cal said.

"Yes, you are."

"I am not," Cal argued.

"You called me ethnic last week."

"Well, you've been in this country for decades, but you still have that absurd accent," Cal said. "You sound like you just got off the boat. What are people supposed to think?"

"That I'm a cultured man of the world," Fabrizo replied. "Do you know how many women I go out with because of this accent? Once an Italian man couldn't get a job or a decent house, but now? These WASPS, they love me. You should get an accent," he added.

"I don't need an accent," Cal snapped. "I meet plenty of women."

"Sure. And you've already kinda got one anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Cal asked.

"You know," Fabrizo said.

"No, I don't know," Cal said. "What are you talking about?"

Fabrizo sighed. "You really can't hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The way you talk," Fabrizo said.

'What's wrong with it?" Cal asked.

"It's…weird."

"It is not weird," Cal snapped.

"Unusual, then," Fabrizo offered.

Cal frowned. He kept his eyes on the road, even though they had the interstate almost entirely to themselves. The early morning traffic hadn't begun yet. The comments bothered him, and Fabrizo knew it. Cal was such a pain to live with most of the time; his grumbling and demands made it easy to forget or not even notice the sensitivity beneath them. Rose said that was why he made himself so difficult to get along with, but she also spent more time with him than Jack or Fabrizo ever had.

"I'm sorry," Fabrizo said.

"Why? You meant it," Cal replied shortly.

"Yeah, but I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings or anything."

"You can't."

"Right." Fabrizo settled back in his seat and closed his eyes. He didn't argue when Cal put the radio back on the oldies station.

….

"Do you think Cal and Fabrizo are alright?" Rose asked.

"I think they're fine," Jack said, reaching for her hand. It was so much brighter in L.A. He'd forgotten how bright it was, especially compared to Oregon. Rose's hair sparkled. Her dress swished around her legs, and he found his gaze on them more and more as they walked. It was strange to think there was a time when she never went outside with bare legs, when her skirts never went above her knee. But he liked them, those long, diaphanous dresses. In the 60s, when they returned, he'd been glad.

"I hope so," Rose said.

"They can handle the trip by themselves," he said. "They're more than old enough."

But Jack was wrong. Cal and Fabrizo weren't handling the trip all that well on their own. At that moment they were being pulled over for speeding. Cal napped in the passenger seat, oblivious to what was happening. Fabrizo motioned for the cop to speak quietly, but it had no effect. "Do you know how fast you were going?" he boomed, staring down at Fabrizo through reflective sunglasses.

Cal jumped, startled awake. "What's going on?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "Are we there?"

"No," Fabrizo said tensely.

"No, you don't know?" the cop demanded. "Have you been drinking?" He peered in at Cal. "What's wrong with him?"

"I was sleeping," Cal said, confused. "That isn't illegal."

"Cal, shut up," Fabrizo muttered. To the cop he said. "I believe I was going sixty-five."

"More like eighty. The speed limit's sixty," the cop replied.

"Really?" Fabrizo said. "I didn't know that. We don't drive here often. I'll pay more attention."

"Yes, you should. I'm writing you a ticket. Maybe your friend should drive."

When the cop was gone Cal said, "You heard him. Let me drive."

"No," Fabrizo said. "I want to actually get there."

"So do I. If you keep driving we'll get arrested."

"I wasn't the one mouthing off to a cop," Fabrizo pointed out. "And you drive like an old man."

"I do not," Cal said indignantly. "I'm a cautious driver, but what's wrong with that?"

"It's too slow. We have another five hundred miles left, and if you drive it'll take us until next week to get there, and the auditions'll be over," Fabrizo said. "That's the whole reason we're doing this."

"I thought it was so we could do something together, the four of us," Cal said.

"What?"

"We haven't taken any trips together in a long time," Cal said. "We never do anything as a group anymore."

"What?" Fabrizo said again. "We live together. What else do you want?"

"I'd like to spend some time with all of you," Cal said.

"Where exactly is this coming from?"

"It's not just me. Rose thinks so too," Cal said.

"She's off having a great, sexy time with Jack," Fabrizo said. "She's fine. She doesn't need the two of us there. He doesn't need us there. We're all fine."

"Why are you so uncomfortable?"

"I'm not," Fabrizo said. "I just don't like when you get weird like this."

"Like what?"

"Like this, going on about us needing to spend more time together," Fabrizo said.

"Families need to spend time together," Cal replied. "It's been proven."

"We aren't a family." As he said it, Fabrizo knew it wasn't true.

"Aren't we?" Cal said.

The nature of their existence made getting close to other people nearly impossible. Long term relationships weren't an option. None of them could have children. As far as they knew they were the only people like themselves, though Cal and Fabrizo hoped there were more somewhere. They had been told, at the beginning, this favor had been granted to others before. "Let's just go," Fabrizo said. "You can drive if you want."

….

Their hotel room overlooked the beach. After decades of being comfortable—wealthy was a word Jack never used in reference to himself—he was finally at peace with expensive suites and the ease of traveling with money in his pocket. He still looked poor, though. He and Rose didn't match. Even her secondhand dresses looked nicer than his clothes. It wasn't that he didn't know how to dress well. He just wasn't comfortable that way, most of the time.

Jack wasn't entirely comfortable ordering breakfast, but he wanted to surprise Rose. She was sound asleep in the middle of their enormous bed. She was right. He hadn't been trying. Being married to her had become part of his routine. He knew she wouldn't leave. She loved him. She was always there when he reached for her. But it was going to stop. She deserved better than that.

A loud knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts. "That was fast," he said. But it wasn't breakfast. It was Cal and Fabrizo.

"What're you doing here?" Jack said.

"Is that how you greet us?" Cal said.

"Yeah, it is a little rude," Fabrizo saod. "And you knew we were coming."

"I didn't expect you to come here, to our room, first thing in the morning, with no warning," Jack said.

"So what? You're dressed," Fabrizo said. "And it's like, 10:30."

"Be quiet. Rose's asleep," Jack hissed.

"We won't bother her," Cal said. "We have our own rooms anyway."

"Good," Jack said. "Go to them. We'll see you later." He closed the door quickly, sighing.

"Did they find us?" Rose said.

"They found us."

"We knew this day would come," she said. "The auditions are tomorrow. I expected to see them five minutes before, though." She moved to get up, but Jack stopped her.

"Stay in bed," he said. "I ordered breakfast."

"I have to be in bed to eat breakfast?"

"No, but wouldn't you enjoy it more in bed/"

"That could be nice," she said. "But you're already up and dressed.

"I'll get undressed," he said.

"Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh."

….

The production office was overwhelming. Cal led the group, walking briskly. Some of the assistants mistook him for a producer because of the way he yelled at the others to keep up. Whoever he was, they decided, he must be important.

"Why is he doing this?" Jack said.

"He's nervous," Rose answered. "You know how get gets."

"Yeah, I know," Jack said grimly. "Maybe we should warn everyone."

"We don't need to warn anyone," Rose said. "And what would we say? You never can tell what he'll do."

When they reached the main waiting area they found it filled with people who looked almost but not quite like them. "Well, there's no competition here," Cal announced.

"What do you call these people?" Fabrizo said.

"I meant they don't stand a chance," Cal said. "These parts are ours."

"You shouldn't get too confident," Jack warned. "You'll be even more upset if you don't get it."

"But I will get it," Cal insisted.

Jack shrugged. "I tried," he said to Rose.

One by one the hopeful actors were called in to read. Rose found herself paired with a gangly young man with dark blonde hair. He wasn't bad looking, but he was no Jack. It was obvious he wouldn't get the part, and she felt bad for him. He seemed to have no idea. She threw herself into the reading, hoping it would help his performance. It didn't. They weren't even halfway through the scene when he was sent away. Rose, however, was asked to stay.

"We're going to try you with another guy," the casting director explained. "Paula, call him in." She watched one of the assistants hurry out and come back with Cal. Rose stifled her laughter. They had him reading for Jack? Of course, they didn't know, but still, it was hard to picture him in the role. "From the top," the casting director said, handing Cal his pages.

"What is this?" he said, looking to Rose for the answer.

"It's what we're supposed to read," Rose explained. "You're the man."

"No, really?" Cal said drily. "I mean, why am I reading this part?"

"Just go with it," Rose pleaded.

"Can we get started?" the casting director said impatiently.

"Fine," Cal grumbled.

It was their second scene together, the argument scene. It started off awkwardly, but to Rose's surprise, they found a rhythm that worked. They had an odd chemistry between them. She assumed it came from their long history together.

"You are so annoying!" she cried.

"Well, so are you," Cal replied. It was an ad-lib, but it worked. He held her hands.

"How dare you," she said, offended.

"Yes." Without warning, he kissed her. He didn't think about it. It just happened. It felt like the right thing to do. It took a moment for Rose to pull away. She was frozen in shock.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"You should be," she replied.

Jack was waiting when Rose came out. "What happened?" he asked. "How'd it go?"

"It was fine," Rose said. "Why don't we go?"

"Fabrizo and Cal are still back there."

"We can leave them, can't we?" she said. Her voice was brittle.

"Sure," he said, puzzled. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't talk about it now. Jack, can we just go, please?"

"What do you mean you can't talk about it? Rose, did something happen?" He put his hands on her arms. "Just tell me what and who and I'll—"

"No, there's no need for that. We'll talk about it when we're alone," she said.

At that moment Cal walked in; he saw the expression on Jack's face and considered running back the way he came. "You told him?" he said. "You didn't even warn me?"

"Warn you about what?" Jack said.

"Do you not know what happened?" Cal said.

"No, do you? She won't tell me anything."

"I said I would when we were alone," Rose said. "There's no reason for everyone here to know about this."

"There's no reason to talk about it at all," Cal said. "It was nothing."

Jack looked at Cal suspiciously. "What'd he do?" he asked. "What did you do?"

Cal took a step back. "Nothing. I wouldn't hurt Rose. She's my best friend. You know that."

"I am?" Rose said. "You've never said that."

"It goes without saying, doesn't it?" Cal said.

"But it's still nice to hear," she said. She threw her arms around him. "You're my best friend too, after Jack, even if I hate you sometimes."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Fabrizo said, joining the group. "What's with you two? Wasn't kissing her back there enough?"

"What?" Jack cried.

"How do you know about that?" Cal said.

"It isn't what it sounds like," Rose said, taking hold of Jack.

"I was in the room," Fabrizo said. "I saw it. It was a great kiss. They liked the two of you together, said you were perfect."

"What?" Jack cried again.

"It was just for the scene," Rose explained. "They had us read together. He was you, and we got carried away. It's nothing."

"You didn't act like it was nothing when you came out here just now," Jack said.

"Jack, are you really jealous?" she said. "You're jealous of a fake kiss between me and Cal?"

"Hey," Cal said. "It was real. And why did you have to say my name like that?"

"You're not helping," Rose snapped. "Jack, you know you have nothing to worry about."

"I know," Jack said. "But if you were gonna….it would be with him."

"Why not me?" Fabrizo said. "Fine," he added, when they all glared at him. "Go on."

"But I'm not going to," Rose said. "We came on this trip because I wanted more time with you. I wanted more attention from you, remember?"

"I remember," Jack said.

"Good. Can we go now, please?" she said. "Before security escorts us out?"

"We can go." Jack said.

The drive back was uneventful. Jack and Rose were at peace and happy with each other again. There were no more run-ins with the law, though Cal was almost pulled over for driving too slowly. He finally let Fabrizo drive, provided he got to choose the music for the rest of the trip.

"What was it like?" Fabrizo asked.

"What was what like?"

"You know," Fabrizo said.

"I don't know," Cal replied. "That's why I asked.

"Kissing Rose. What was it like?" When Cal didn't respond he went on. "You kissed her before, right?"

"Yes."

"Wait, you didn't, did you?" Fabrizo said.

"Of course I did," Cal said.

"You didn't," Fabrizo laughed. "Not once, in all that time you were engaged."

"Not the way I did yesterday," Cal admitted grudgingly. "But it was a different time then."

"Sex still existed."

"Well, you didn't do things like that with the woman you were going to marry," Cal argued.

"No, you didn't," Fabrizo teased.

"Shut up."

"Seriously, what was it like?" Fabrizo asked. Rose was Jack's wife, but they all thought of her as theirs, in one way or another. She was the only girl in the group, the only girl he and Cal were close to. Jack was right. If she ever left him, it would be for one of them. Fabrizo saw no reason to take himself out of the running.

"Do you think about kissing your best friend's wife often?" Cal said. "Does he know about this?"

"No, I don't think about it. I've thought about it, a few times, but haven't you? I mean, she's Rose, but she's-"

"Rose," Cal finished.

"Yeah. And she's gorgeous."

"And fun," Cal said. "And smart."

"Yes.

"Why don't we have wives like her?" Cal said, sighing.

"You could've. You coulda married her," Fabrizo reminded him.

"Shut up," Cal said. "Keep your mind on the road."

"Do you regret it?" Fabrizo asked.

After a long pause, Cal answered. "Sometimes."

"Does that mean all the time?"

"Does it matter?" Cal said.

"I guess not," Fabrizo said.

They rode in silence for a while, each lost in his own thoughts. Losing Rose wasn't something Cal thought about often. She was always there, within reach. He could see her and talk to her. He did all the things Jack wasn't interested in. It wasn't much, but still, they spent plenty of time together. He hadn't realized until then that she really was his best friend. He wasn't sure what he would do without her.

"It was wonderful," Cal said.