Thursday
"I have no idea where it is!" Logan said. "I had it just a couple of minutes ago. I thought I set it down with the rest of our
stuff, but it's not there anymore."
"Are you sure you had it with you?"
"Yeah. I remember
pulling it out of my bag and setting it down on top of the notes that Jerry
gave me last night before the party."
Max frowned as she studied the pile of papers sitting
inoffensively in the theatre seat in front of them. They had arrived only moments before, when Logan suddenly
realized that his script was missing.
He had frantically searched his coat pockets, Max's backpack, and his
small binder of papers and notes, all to no avail.
"Maybe it fell out when we were on our way in from the car,"
she offered. "I'll retrace our steps
while you keep looking here." Logan
nodded absently at her, sifting through their stuff once more as Max slowly
made her way back towards the lobby.
Her quick eyes scanned the aisle as she walked along it, looking for any
sign of a well-used script. Carefully,
she traced their exact steps. Once she
reached the car, she opened it up and meticulously searched the interior. Nothing.
Max sighed and frowned slightly to herself. She pulled up the collar of her coat, more for something to do
with her hands than out of need to protect herself against the weather. Truthfully, she was comfortable out of doors
in just the mid-sleeve turtleneck sweater and form-fitting jeans that she had
tossed on earlier that morning, but there were appearances to uphold. With a slight "Hmph", Max returned to the
theatre.
Logan looked up as Max strode up to him, then ran one hand
through his short hair when she briskly shook her head. "Ok, what did we do when we got here?" he
asked.
"We walked into the lobby and stopped to say hello to Debbie,
who's still drinking her coffee up there.
We came down the middle aisle, stopped to drop off our stuff here, then
you went to talk to Davis and I went back up into the lobby to get us some
coffee. When I came back, that's when
you noticed that your script was missing."
Logan nodded. "And
when I went to talk to Davis, we were just standing right over there next to
the stage." He sighed angrily. "I must have left it back at the cabin. Dammit.
I was sure that I had it with me this morning." He glared at the messy pile of papers.
"It really doesn't matter, you know. You're pretty much off book, so you shouldn't need the script."
Logan chuckled sardonically.
"You have too much trust in my abilities," he told her.
"Trust? Me? The cynical 'I don't need anyone' bitch of
the northwest?" Max asked with a grin.
"I think the problem is that you're using that script like a security
blanket. Something to hide behind."
"Like a Halloween mask?"
A ghost of a smile played at his lips.
"Red, white and blue," she replied. "You can do this, Cale. I
know you can. You don't need the
script," Logan shrugged halfheartedly, refusing to look at her as he gazed at
the ground. Max felt her heart
constrict. At times like this, he
reminded her of a little boy that she just wanted to take into her arms and
hold and make silly promises that everything would work out for the
better. Instead, she reached out and
tapped him beneath his chin, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "Listen, I'll go back to the cabin and look
around, okay? I shouldn't be gone that
long; fifteen, twenty minutes, tops."
Logan smiled down at her.
"You don't need to go look for it.
I'm … I'm sure I'll manage to get along without it."
"I'm sure you would, too, but am I right in thinking that you
would feel much better if you did have it?" she asked. He nodded.
"That's what I thought. I'll be back
in a flash." With another smile, Max
turned and headed back up the aisle and out of the auditorium.
He watched her until she had vanished through the lobby
doors. Sighing, he turned back to
search through their things once more, somehow knowing that this effort was as
futile as the last one.
Crystal smiled as she watched Nicole hop into the car and head
back towards the cabin she shared with Cale.
She walked back through the lobby and into the auditorium, absently
tapping Cale's script into her palm as she moved. She paused at the top of the long aisle, studying Cale as he tore
through his belongings yet again.
Silently, she made her way past him, heading for the backstage
area. She returned only moments later,
empty handed. After a couple more
minutes of watching him, she smoothed down her long, velvety green silk
shirt. It was loosely belted over a
pair of tan, form-fitting jeans. Her
strawberry-blonde hair was pulled neatly back, wispy curls framing her
face. Slowly, she sauntered over to
where Cale was standing. He was so
intent on his search that he didn't hear her approach until she delicately
cleared her throat from behind him.
Startled, he whipped around and stared at her.
"Did you lose something?" she asked, innocently blinking her
pale blue eyes at him.
"Uh, yeah. My script
seems to have gone missing."
"Do you remember where you had it last?"
"I was sure I had it when Nicole and I arrived," he said.
"Maybe she forgot it," Crystal said. "I mean, she's your assistant, and it's her job, but she's
awfully young to have such responsibilities like that. She's practically a child, thrust into an
adult's world. She's bound to become
confused and start making mistakes."
Logan paused. He
wasn't willing to get into a discussion about the age difference between he and
Max, especially not with Crystal, but her snide comment about Max's competence
struck a defensive chord in him. "I
think Nicole is more than qualified in handling just about anything."
Crystal smiled sweetly
at him. "It's so good to see someone
who has faith in the abilities of their employees."
He sighed. "Crystal,
was there something you needed me for?"
As soon as he said the words, Logan regretted them.
But it was too late to take them back, and Crystal pounced on
the question eagerly. "Well, yes, now
that you mention it. But I figured you
for a man who didn't discuss things like that quite as … openly," she replied.
Logan stared at her, but didn't answer.
Crystal chuckled.
"Don't worry. I just wanted to
offer my help with whatever it was you were looking for. Nothing more than that," she paused and
looked at him from beneath her lashes.
"At least, nothing more right now," she finished.
Logan shook his
head. "Ah, thanks anyway. But I don't need any help searching for my
script. I'm sure it'll turn up
somewhere."
"I'm sure it will," she agreed. "But I've been working with you all week, and I don't think you
need the script anymore. Here, sit down
next to me." Crystal seated herself and
looked up at him expectantly. "Don't
worry. I just want to go over lines
with you. We'll both be sitting in
plain sight of everyone, rehearsing our lines like all good actors do." She reached out and patted the seat next to
her, smiling innocently at him.
Logan hesitated. She
was obviously trying to be helpful, and he did want to go over his lines, but
without his script, he was a little lost.
Sighing, he sank into the seat next to her.
Crystal smiled brilliantly at him. "Great. Let's start from
where Jessica and Michael meet for the first time, shall we?" At his nod, she smiled again, well pleased
with her success.
The first thing Max noticed when she entered the auditorium
was Crystal's head inclined towards Logan's.
They were smiling at each other and as she started walking down the
aisle, she saw Logan laugh quietly and lean back in his seat. He broke off what he was about to say to the
other woman when he finally noticed Max approaching.
"You were right," he said to her without preamble. "We've been going over our lines, and I'm
actually doing fairly well, even without the script."
Max arched and eyebrow at him and smiled slightly. "Well, I guess that's a good thing, because
I couldn't find it in the cabin."
Logan shook his head.
"I have no idea what happened to it," he said. "Oh well, I guess it all worked out for the best, right?"
Max nodded. She still
didn't like walking back in to find him so involved with the other woman, but
all they were doing was running their lines.
She had seen the other actors in the play doing the exact same
thing. Nothing underhanded or deceitful
about it at all. Just because she
didn't like them sitting so close together, it didn't mean that something else
was going on. But then why do I feel
like Crystal has something up her sleeve?
Max wondered. She shook herself
out of her reverie as Jerry shouted for all the actors to get into place.
Crystal stood up and absently smoothed down her shirt. She smiled winningly at Logan. "You did good. See you up on stage," she said.
Without waiting for his reply, she turned and headed for where the other
actors were congregating around Jerry.
Logan watched her, a perplexed expression on his face. Shaking his head, he stood up and grabbed
his notebook. "Thanks for going to look
for my script," he told her.
"No big dealio."
"But it is a big deal.
I just want to let you know that I appreciate it."
Max smiled at him.
"You're welcome," she said. "I'm
glad you really don't need it, though."
She cocked her head towards the other actors. "Now, you'd better get over there before Jerry starts yelling for
you."
Before he could answer, Jerry's voice bellowed out again. "Cale, we're waiting."
Logan shrugged. "Too
late." With another smile for her,
Logan turned and made his way to the stage.
"Hey, Nicole, want to go with me to pick up some lunch?" Davis
asked her as he headed down the aisle towards the stage.
Max looked over her shoulder at him, then back at the action
that was still going on in front of her.
"Might as well," she replied.
"Hopefully, they'll break for lunch once this scene is done." She stretched as she rose from the
chair. "The little Italian deli today?"
Davis raised his hands and shrugged. "Sounds good to me," he replied.
"If we leave now, we'll probably make it back right as they're finishing
up."
"Well then, let's go."
"Okay, break for lunch," Jerry called out. "We'll get back together in an hour. Don't be late."
As the actors started filing off the stage, heading into the
auditorium or back to the kitchen area, Logan looked around for Max. He didn't see her sitting in the theatre,
but he was sure he would have noticed if she had gone backstage. After another glance around the rapidly
emptying auditorium, Logan moved off the stage and into the wings. He passed through the back door that led to
the hall that ran along the back of the stage.
As he walked along the corridor, he checked the kitchen and both
conference rooms. He even went as far
as to check Davis' small office to see if his friend was introducing Max to
more skeletons from Logan's closet.
Nothing. He ended up in what was
formerly Alan's dressing room; now his up through the opening of the play. She wasn't there, either.
"If I recall, think I saw Nicole leaving the theatre with
Rich," a voice said from the door behind him.
Logan turned to find Crystal standing in the entryway. "What?"
"You're assistant. I
think I saw her leaving with Rich, right before we finished that last scene,"
she repeated. "They were probably going
to get lunch or something, I'm sure."
"Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense," Logan said. He stared down at the table, wondering how
he missed seeing her leave.
"If you like, we could run some more of our lines," Crystal
said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Aren't you going to eat lunch?"
Crystal nodded. "Yeah, I am. Joey and Kathy went to pick up their lunch, and are bringing me
something back. We'll have more than
enough time to rehearse a few scenes."
"Here?" Logan asked.
"Sure," she replied.
She walked into his dressing room, being very careful to close the door
only slightly. It wasn't enough to give
the impression that complete privacy was desired, but it was enough to
discourage any non-important interruptions.
"How about we start from where Michael rescues the test soldiers and run
it through the end?" she asked.
Logan nodded as he sank into one of the comfortable chairs
that decorated the room. Crystal
brushed her hair out of her face with an unconscious gesture, sitting down in the
chair opposite his. "We'll probably
need to stand up after a bit, considering how physical the play gets from this
point, what with Michael having to help Jessica walk when they escape, but I
think we can manage it in here, don't you?"
Absently, Logan looked around the room and nodded. "Yeah, it should work out," he said.
Crystal leaned back in her chair, a slight smile on her
face. "Great. So, let's get started."
Max was laughing at another one of Davis' anecdotes when they
walked into the theatre lobby. Several
actors were milling around; some were eating their lunches, others were
chatting amicably as they lounged in the soft chairs, and yet others were
silently mouthing their lines. Davis
lead the way through the crowd, his hands full of the food they had picked
up. Behind him, Max carried their
drinks. They descended into a hushed
auditorium. Lunch time is the only
time in which the place is quiet enough to hear yourself think, Max
realized. Any other time, the set
crew is still building stuff or the sound crew is testing microphones, or
everyone else is rehearsing. She
glanced around, looking for Logan, but didn't see him anywhere.
"I think Cale is backstage," Debbie shouted at them from
across the theatre.
Max smiled her thanks to the stage manager as she and Davis
climbed up on to the stage and headed for the wings. Max heard Logan speaking to someone the minute she stepped into
the backstage hallway. His dressing
room was at the opposite end of the hall, but her exceptional hearing picked up
the timbre of his voice immediately.
Frowning, Max realized that he wasn't alone either, as the sound of a
second, lighter voice replied to some question that was asked. She started to turn to look back at Davis
quizzically, then discarded the notion.
There was no way he could have heard the voices, just as there was no
way he could know who Logan was speaking to.
Silently, Max walked down the hall until she reached Logan's dressing
room. The voices were much louder now,
but still indistinct. Max reached out
and swung open the partially closed door, curious to see if the room's other
occupant was whom she believed it to be.
Her instincts were proven correct as Crystal looked up at
Max. The other woman was sitting on the
floor of Logan's dressing room. He was
kneeling next to her, his arm wrapped around her as she slumped against
him. Logan blinked at Max, a sudden
flush creeping into his face as he realized how his proximity to Crystal could
easily be misconstrued as something else entirely. As Max moved into the room, Logan realized that Davis was right
behind her. He groaned to himself
softly.
"Cale, you really don't have to spend all your time
rehearsing," Davis said.
Logan looked up at his friend, instantly realizing that Davis
was giving him an out. Even though the
situation was entirely innocent, it didn't look that way. At Davis' words, Max's face relaxed
slightly. Slowly, Logan released the
breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Embarrassed, he grinned at them both. "Yeah, you're right," he said.
"I guess I just want to get the show over with, so I'm trying to hurry
it along with all this rehearsing."
Pushing himself to his feet, Logan instinctively reached down to give
Crystal a hand up
Crystal smiled demurely at Logan and murmured her thanks as
she accepted his assistance, but Max caught the brief flicker of triumph that
peeked through the other woman's eyes. It's
just Logan being a gentleman, Max sternly told herself as a band seemed to
constrict around her heart. He's
just being his normal self. His
chivalrous, kind, softhearted, idiotic, oblivious-to-the-world-around-him self. She carefully kept her face blank as she met
Crystal's eyes, not wanting her to see the self-doubt that lurked within.
Crystal smiled secretly
to herself. She hadn't missed the
sudden flash of pain that eclipsed Nicole's face when she opened the door. And when Cale helped her to her feet, she
saw Nicole's lips tighten almost imperceptibly. Hiding her excitement, Crystal turned to look up at Cale. "Well, I'll leave you to your lunch. Joey and Kathy should be back by now, so I'd
better go find them before they devour my food as well as their own." She turned to face Nicole and Davis. "See ya later." Nodding politely at them both, she walked out of the room.
Max didn't say a word as she set the drinks down on a
table. Truthfully, she didn't trust
herself not to say something that she might regret later. Who says that I haven't learned how to
keep my mouth shut? She silently asked herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Davis follow her lead and
set his own packages down as well.
Taking a deep breath, Max reached over and started doling out the
food. She could feel Logan's eyes on
her back, but she refused to turn around to look at him. "They didn't give us any napkins," she said
to no one in particular. "I'll go get
some." Carefully making sure not to
touch Logan on her way out, she scooted past him and headed down the hall
towards the kitchen.
Logan sighed
as he watched Max leave. He looked over
at his friend, but Davis was studiously separating french fries into three neat
piles. "I suppose I could have handled
that better."
Davis nodded. "Yep."
"We were just rehearsing.
Max should know that."
"I've no doubt that she does."
"Then why do I get the feeling that she's trying very hard not
to kill me where I stand?"
He was answered by a brief bark of laughter. "I hope you don't expect me to be able to
answer that."
Logan frowned. "You and Kelli have been married, what,
seven, eight years now?"
"Seven." Another
french fry was put neatly into place.
"Do you understand her any better now than when you first
stated dating her?"
Davis snorted. "She's a
woman. There is no understanding them,
no matter how long you know them."
Logan looked at the door that Max had gone through. "But she knows that it was nothing more than
just another rehearsal," he said softly, almost to himself.
"Yes, but it was in the privacy of your dressing room and you
were rehearsing with a very pretty young woman." Davis finished divvying up the french fries and finally looked at
his friend. "Usually, when rehearsing
one on one like that, without the director or some other third party around,
the rehearsals don't get as … physical … as they would up on the stage."
"You're right." Logan
sank down into one of the chairs. "Not
a real smart thing to do, I guess."
"I'm not disagreeing with you."
"Thanks," Logan said dryly.
Davis nodded as Max re-entered the room. She appeared to have gotten over her anger,
but she still seemed a little withdrawn as she deposited the napkins in the
center of the table. She quickly sat
down, absently picking up her sandwich and taking a small bite.
Logan leaned forward and caught her fingers as she reached for
a french fry. She looked up into his
eyes, her expression carefully neutral.
"I'd like to go over my lines again when we're done. There's one part at the start of the second
act where I'm still a little shaky.
Would you help me with it when we're finished with lunch?"
Max recognized the peace offering for what it was; an oblique
male attempt of a request of forgiveness.
Truthfully, he hadn't done anything that warrented asking for an
apology, but he was still doing his best to make amends. Silently, she scolded herself for making
more out of the situation than was truly required. It was just another rehearsal, nothing more. Crystal was the one who was trying to make
it more than it seemed to be. She is
the one I should be angry with, not Logan.
Max looked up at him, realizing that she hadn't answered his
question. A smile quirked at her lips
as she met his gaze from across the table.
"Yeah, I'll help you, if you want."
Logan smiled, pleased that his roundabout apology had been
accepted. He was always tantalized when
her mercurial attitude slipped from her iron control. She fought to hide her passion behind a cool façade, but every so
often, he was allowed a peek into the fire that burned in her soul. He nodded his thanks as he released her
hand.
"Do you need to borrow my script?" Davis asked Max.
She shook her head.
"No, I know the play."
Davis raised an eyebrow at her and Logan chuckled. "Photographic memory," Logan explained. "She was off book before I even got started
with the damn thing."
"Photographic memory.
The ultimate dream of directors everywhere." Davis shook his head ruefully.
"My problem is that I've worked with too many actors who claim to have a
photographic memory, but they're running at the slowest shutter speed
possible."
The tension in the room melted away as both Max and Logan
chuckled at the sorrowful tone of Davis' voice. Companionably, all three turned their attention back to the most
pressing matter at hand: lunch.
"Yeah, this is the right one." Max studied the written directions she held in her hand as Logan
pulled up in front of one of the other cabins.
Two other cars were already parked in the drive, one of which Max
recognized as belonging to Alan. "I
think the other car belongs to Leslie, the wardrobe manager," she told
Logan. "I remember hearing someone say
that she's taking care of him while he recovering."
"Well, that makes sense, I guess." Logan parked the car and looked across at Max. She was a dim figure in the darkness of the
car's interior. He could feel her gaze
as she turned to look back at him.
"He's supposed to be on bed rest through this weekend, so he would need
someone to help him with meals and such."
Logan exited the car and walked around the vehicle to open the door for
Max. "Although I'm sure he's probably
going stir-crazy by now. I know I would
be."
She nodded in agreement as she got out of the car. "Well, hopefully another pair of visitors
will cheer him up. And it's not like
we're here empty-handed, either." The
couple had stopped at a bakery on their way over to Alan's cabin. After much deliberation, they had finally
agreed to bring him a fresh peach pie.
Max had never had that particular kind of pie before, but Logan promised
that she would enjoy it. When she had
questioned if the pie was going to be as good as a peach pie that he would have
made, Logan had grinned and replied that it probably wouldn't even be close.
Light spilled out the front door as it was opened in response
to Logan's knock. A slim young woman
with light brown hair and cheerful eyes stood before them, a questioning look
on her face as she eyed her visitors.
Max's assumption had proved to be correct; the driver of the other car
was indeed Leslie.
Logan flashed her a brilliant smile. "Hey. We thought we'd
stop by and see how Alan was doing."
Leslie smiled in response.
"He's doing great, but come on in and see for yourself." She backed away from the door to let them
enter. "Hey, Alan. Cale and Nicole are here to see ya."
As Max and Logan walked into the living room, they saw Alan
sitting on the loveseat, a wide smile on his face. He got up carefully and made his way over to greet his
guests. "Hey there, how's it
going? Rehearsals coming along ok? Leslie told me that you're off book. That's pretty impressive, considering you
had less than a week to learn everything."
"The only reason I'm off book is because I can't find it
anywhere."
Alan chuckled. "Ah,
then you didn't have much of a choice, did you?" He laughed as Logan shook his head. "Well, don't stay standing there, sit down. Lez and I just finished dinner, so your timing
is perfect."
"More than perfect."
Max held up the pie they had brought with them. "We have dessert."
Alan sank back into the couch and sighed. Max and Leslie had just finished cleaning up
from the remains of their little feast, and had rejoined the men in the living
room. Leslie and Alan were stationed on
the loveseat, with Logan and Max perpendicular to them on the large couch. Alan's cabin was much along the same vein as
Logan's, albeit smaller. A roaring fire
crackled and popped, filling the room with warmth. The four of them had conversed on a variety of topics; from the
freak snowstorm that had hit Vancouver the week before (and subsequently melted
almost immediately) to the lack of continuity and believability in tv shows
piped out of Hollywood to the extreme boredom generated by forced
convalescence. The conversation had
finally started to filter down, leaving them in a companionable silence.
"I'm going to come to the theatre tomorrow," Alan suddenly
announced. "I'm interested in seeing at
least one of the dress rehearsals."
Leslie frowned.
"You're supposed to be on bed rest until Sunday."
"I'll take it easy, I promise. I just can't stand being cooped up here anymore. I need to get out."
"If you get tired, you can always lie down in the dressing
room," Logan offered.
Alan nodded eagerly.
"Yeah. I'll just use the excuse
that I want to help you with your lines or something."
"Better you than Crystal," Max muttered under her breath.
Logan looked over at
Max and smiled as Alan started laughing.
The younger man looked back at Logan with a grin. "Is Crystal still trying to foist herself on
you?"
"Oh, you could say that," Max replied, glancing over at Logan.
"I'll bet she was overjoyed to hear that Rich wanted you to
play Michael," Alan said. "I've known
her for too long to get caught up in her mechanisms anymore. Watch out for her, Cale. She can be very … determined … when she
wants to be."
Logan shrugged. "She
seems to have backed off lately. I
think I've finally gotten the message across that I'm not interested."
Max snorted derisively and changed the subject. "Well, it's late and we should really get
going. See you tomorrow?"
Alan nodded. "Wouldn't
miss it for the world."
~*~*~*~*~*~