The next day Jesse woke with a smile on his face and a light feeling in his heart. That night he dreamed about the events of the night and the amazing time he had jamming out with Ayla at the Smash Club. He even managed to get a handshake from Ray. Maybe, he was finally warming up to him. The longer he sat in bed, the more he thought about Ayla, he just liked her so much. Maybe, he thought, he actually loved her.
"Ayla, what are you doing to me?" Jesse sighed as he pulled the covers back over his head.
At that moment a loud rumble started in the hallway. In an instant, the door to Jesse's room flew open and in ran DJ and Stephanie with Michelle trailing behind. DJ and Steph jumped on the bed and climbed all over Jesse.
"Uncle Jesse! Uncle Jesse, wake up!" DJ yelled.
"Yeah you are supposed to take us to school today!" Stephanie said.
"Mmmmm can't Joey take you to school?" Jesse said sleepily with his head still under the sheets.
"No. He made breakfast this morning and he already left for an audition for a new comedy club." DJ explained.
"Ugh fine. Give me 20 minutes and I'll be ready to go." said Jesse as he lazily pulled back the covers and and stepped out of bed.
"But Uncle Jesse, we don't have 20 minutes. School starts in 20 minutes. We will be late. I've never been late for school!" exclaimed DJ.
" Ok ok. Just give me a chance to wash my face and then put some clothes on." said Jesse.
"Or..." said Stephanie, "we could just not go to school today."
"Nice try shortie." said Jesse with a laugh. "You're going to school."
With that Jesse quickly got himself together to leave. After grabbing a bagel from the fridge, he got the girls in the car and sped off to the school. After he dropped DJ and Stephanie off, he decided that since he was out, he and Michelle might as well run some errands for the day. After stopping by the store to pick up some things for dinner and going to get the car serviced, Jesse thought it would be a good idea to surprise Ayla at the theatre during rehearsal. As Jesse strolled into the theatre holding Michelle, he took a seat in the back, excitedly waiting for Ayla to come on stage and see him waiting for her. But as rehearsal continued, Ayla never came on. When it came time for her character's first song, a different woman came on stage and began to sing.
"Hold it, Hold it!" yelled Jesse as he had jumped from his seat and ran down the aisle.
"Um, sir can i help you? This is a closed rehearsal." replied a man who was clearly the director.
"Yes you can help me!" replied Jesse furiously. "How could you replace Ayla? She is so talented!"
"Look," said the director, "I don't know who you are but-"
"She is one of the best stage actresses i've seen and she didn't deserve to be fired!" Jesse cut him off and he continued to rant.
"Son!" said the director. "I know all those things."
"Then w-why would you fire her?" asked a puzzled Jesse
"I didn't." revealed the director. "Look her agent called last night and delivered the news that she was quitting. It came as a real shock to me. Ayla is not the type to just leave a project before it's finished. So I asked if everything was ok with her and Jimmy said that everything was fine she just told him that 'this was not the path she wanted to follow'. Sounds like a load of bull if you ask me but hey what do I know? The show must go on."
The director turned and walked back to the actors to resume rehearsal, leaving a very distraught Jesse alone with his thoughts. As Jesse tried to take it all in, Michelle walked up behind him and pulled his pant leg, snapping him out of his silent reverie. In one fluid motion, Jesse picked up Michelle, turned around and walked out of the theater, not stopping for a second to look back. He agreed with the director, this was not like Ayla to just quit out of no where. She would have told Jesse her plans before she quit, wouldn't she? He needed answers. Once he and Michelle got in the car, he pulled out his phone to call Ayla. After a moment of silence an automated voice replied 'the number you've dialed does not exact' and the line went dead. This was beyond strange. He racked his brain to think of other ways he could get answers. A lightbulb came on.
"I have got to see Jimmy."
With that he high tailed it over the Jimmy's office to get to the bottom of the matter. Once he found a park, he stormed into the place of business and approached the receptionist desk.
"Sir, can i help you?"
"Yeah i need to see Jimmy Quickstad now." responded Jesse
"Do you have an appointment?" asked the clerk
"No i don't but-" started Jesse.
"Mr. Quickstad doesn't see anyone without an appointment sir. You can make one here if you'd like. The next available date is two weeks from this Friday." said the woman.
"No i don't have two weeks i need to see him now." said Jesse in a louder voice.
"Sir, if you cannot cooperate, i will have to ask you to leave." said the receptionist in a warning tone.
"Look!" said Jesse almost to the point of screaming, "Why don't you just call Jimmy and tell him-"
"Tell me what?" asked Jimmy as he approached the desk.
"Mr. Quickstad!" replied the receptionist as she shot out of her chair. "oh nothing this man was just leaving."
"No I wasn't!" yelled Jesse. "Look Jimmy if i could just have a few minutes of your time-"
"Son everyone wants a minute of my time, I have many clients. If you would like to become one of them, leave your name and some info about what you do and I'll be sure to get back to you." said Jimmy dismissively as he headed towards his office.
Just as his hand came in contact with the door handle, Jesse spoke up. "I'm here to ask about your client Ayla. Ayla Romanov."
At that statement Jimmy froze. Quickly composing himself he turned towards Jesse.
"Why don't we take care of this matter in my office." suggested Jimmy as he opened that door. Jesse, pleased with himself, strolled effortlessly across the room and walked through the door.
"So what is it you want to know?" asked Jimmy as he closed the door and took a seat behind his desk.
"I want to know where the hell she is." said Jesse trying to keep calm. " I went by the playhouse this morning and the director said he got a call from you saying that Ayla quit. And i want to know why."
"You are her boyfriend." said Jimmy with little enthusiasm. "Why don't you just ask her?"
"You think i hadn't thought of that?" asked an irritated Jesse. "I tried and it said her number no longer exists which is the only reason i came to see you."
"Now now don't get testy." replied Jimmy with a smirk. "In all honesty Jesse, I don't know much more than you."
"Yeah right-"
"No I'm serious." replied Jimmy. "The news came as a shock to me as well. Especially since she didn't even have the decency to fire me herself."
"Wait…fire you? What are you talking about?" asked a thoroughly confused Jesse.
Jimmy sighed and rubbed his face. Jesse noticed the dark circled under his eyes and wondered when was the last time Jimmy got some actual rest.
"Look last night I got a call from Ray saying that Ayla, and the rest of the band, had no further need for me. That they enjoyed the time we had spent together but they were done. Leaving." said Jimmy with a grimace.
"Leaving?" Jesse asked in shock. "Where are they going?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine. I thought it weird but Ray is very….unpredictable." said Jimmy as the phone rang.
While Jimmy was on the phone Jesse let the weight of his words sink in. Ayla had left. She left with Ray.
Ray.
It had to be his doing. He must have made her. Ayla would never do this. Just up and leave without a trace. Without saying goodbye. But she had, hadn't she. He thought she loved him just as much as he loved her. But apparently, it was not as he thought.
"Hey look, my client is here to talk business. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." said Jimmy.
"Yeah don't worry about it i was just leaving." Jesse said as he walked out the door.
Jesse retrieved Michelle from the receptionist desk and made his way back to the car. It was going to be a long night.
***Meanwhile***
She sat with her legs crossed, head down, rubbing her hands together furiously, shivers running through her body even though it was not chilly. She hadn't touched the fish that had been placed in front of her an hour ago. Ray was starting to get worried.
"A." he called but she couldn't hear him. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts. She missed him already and they had only been apart for 24 hours. This was the longest plane ride of her life. She didn't dare look at him, the man that stole her happiness.
"A!" Ray called, a little louder this time.
"what?" she finally replied in a soft voice, barely above a whisper.
"You haven't touched your food. Come on you've got to eat. How long are you going to behave like this?"
"Until the pain goes away." whispered Ayla
"Ayla I'm sorry but you knew what the game was before you played it." said Ray sternly. "You should have never allowed yourself to get that close. Did you really think they wouldn't find you sooner or later?"
"Of course i did." said Ayla a little too loud. "Of course I did." she repeated in a normal tone. "But i was just hoping it was later. I didn't expect all this is happen."
"Yes i know." said Ray. "No one did but it has so we must go back. You have to understand that. Duty first."
"I do understand." said Ayla. "But that doesn't mean i have to like it."
Ray sighed. "We will be there in a few hours. Why don't you get some rest and we can talk later? You know you will have to look presentable for them."
Without another word Ayla left the room and went to the back of the plane where her bed was. She would behave because she knew her responsibilities. But they could not make her forget what had transpired in that short time she was in California. She would never be able to forget him. His hair, the shape of his face, the way he smiled at her, like nothing else in the world mattered. A tear streamed down her face. She would miss his heart most of all. It couldn't end like this. She had to see him again.
Someday
(To be continued…)
