The Audition – Chapter 9

The sound of his alarm woke Loren from the wonderful dreams he had been having about himself and Zoey. Reaching up on the headboard, he grabbed the clock and turned off the alarm. Putting the alarm clock back on the headboard, he smiled as he got out of bed and headed to his walk in closet to find his clothes for the day. Needing nothing dressy, he found his simple khaki slacks and a white turtleneck. Opening the dresser, he got out a clean pair of socks and boxers before heading into the bathroom to do his morning routine and get dressed.

Once dressed for the day, he made way to the kitchen for his morning coffee. Finding a cup, he poured himself a cup, and got 2 eggs from the fridge and some bread from the bread box. Deciding to make scrambled eggs, he found a small pan and put it on the stove to heat while he scrambled the eggs. Once the eggs were cooking, he put the bread in the toaster and got a plate and a fork. Timed perfectly, the eggs and toast were done at the same time. Spreading a small amount of blueberry jam on his toast, he sat down to eat his breakfast before starting his errands for the day.

Meanwhile, Zoey's alarm sounded bringing her out of her sweet dreams. Reaching over to the nightstand, she turned off the alarm. She smiled as she remembered her dreams last night and bounced out of bed to get ready for a new day. Going to her closet, she found a simple pair of dark navy jeans and a purple ¾ sleeve tunic. From her dresser she grabbed a pair of sock, underwear and a bra. Gathering her clothes, she walked into the bathroom and began her morning routine.

Dressed and ready to face the day, she walked to the kitchen to get her coffee with hazelnut creamer and make breakfast. Today she decided to have cereal, so she got out a bowl and spoon. Grabbing the milk and some strawberries from the fridge, she put them on the counter and went to the pantry to get her favorite cereal. To her irritation, she found that there were no Rice Krispies on the shelf, so she settled for her second favorite, Corn Chex. Pouring a bowl, she closed the box and set it on the counter and poured milk on her cereal. Quickly she put the milk back and sat down to eat her breakfast.

Once breakfast was over, she quickly put away the dishes from the night before and washed her breakfast dishes and put away the cereal and the rest of the strawberries. Seeing that it was now 9, she figured now would be a good time to call Grandma Redbird. Grabbing the phone, she dialed Grandma's number and went to sit back down at the island in the kitchen to have a second cup of coffee while they talked.

"Hello Zoeybird. How are you this morning?" came Grandma's voice.

"I am fine Grandma. How about you?" said Zoey.

"I am good. Now what's this exciting news you have for me?" asked Grandma.

"Well Grandma, I ummm...well I've actually got 2 exciting things to tell you!" said Zoey excitedly. "First, I got the leading female role in the Broadway production I auditioned for. And second, well...I...I got engaged last night."

Surprised, Grandma stammered a bit as she spoke, "Zoey...That's fantastic news. Congratulations on both! Now who's the lucky man?"

"I don't know if you remember me telling you a Loren Blake a long time ago, but when I went to audition for the play, he was there just coming out of his own audition for the male lead. We talked for a few minutes and exchanged numbers." Zoey said.

"I do remember him Zoey. You two haven't seen each other in quite a long time. You only just auditioned a couple days ago...how did this happen so fast? Not that I am not happy for you, I just want to make sure you know what you're doing." said Grandma.

"Well, we both got called for second auditions, and both got cast as the male and female lead, and the scene they tested our chemistry with made us realize that there was still something there and things progressed from there!" said Zoey. "I know it seems sudden, but Grandma, I told him I loved him last night and he told me he loved me too and the next thing I knew, there was a ring box in my hand with his grandmother's ring in it!"

"Oh Zoeybird, I am so happy for you! I am glad you found someone worthy of you. When will I meet him?" said Grandma.

"Well Grandma, we are planning a party to celebrate our leading roles, and we plan to announce our engagement then too, and you are the only one that knows about both of those things right now, so please don't say anything to anyone else." said Zoey.

"I won't Zoeybird. I need to go now. I am meeting a friend at 11 for some shopping and I still need to get ready to go. You let me know when this party is as soon as it's settled so I can be there! Good bye Zoeybird, I love you." Grandma said.

"I love you too Grandma. Have fun shopping. I will talk to you again soon!" Zoey said excitedly.

With that they hung up and Zoey rinsed out her coffee cup and put it in the sink. Turning off the coffee pot, she glanced at the clock. It was almost 9:30 already. Zoey decided that with so much to do, she would skip her shows this morning, so she headed for the closet to get her coat and her small purse. Grabbing her keys on the way out, she put on her coat and headed out the door. Before getting into her car, she took her cellphone out of her pocket and put it in her purse so she could answer it easily in case someone called.

Inside the car, Zoey turned the key in the ignition and the engine came to life. Quickly, she tuned in her favorite station while the car warmed up a bit. With a now warm car and her favorite music playing, she drove to the local department store to pick up some plastic storage totes, cardboard boxes, and packing tape to pack her things up in. After paying for her purchases, she headed out to her car. Her phone jingled like it always did when she had a text message as she loaded the boxes into her car. Quickly she got them into the car and pulled out her phone while she pushed the cart back to the cart corral. Flipping it open she went to her mail box to pick up her new text message. It was from Loren.

She walked slowly as she read it. "I went to the management office this morning and got you a parking sticker for your car so that you can park in the lot at the building here. Call you later my Sweet Darling Angel. Love, Loren".

She walked back to her car and got it started before texting him back. "Thanks for getting the sticker for me. I went out to get some boxes for packing and will be home soon. Love you, Zoey". After hitting the send button, she flipped her phone shut and turned around to put it in the boxes in the back seat.

Zoey headed home to get busy cleaning and packing. Arriving safely, she unloaded the boxes and headed into the building only stopping quickly to pick up her mail. Stuffing the mail in the boxes, she headed for the elevator. As she got off the elevator she got her keys ready to unlock the door. Once inside, she closed and locked the door, took the boxes to the kitchen and went back to hang up her coat and purse in the closet. Zoey decided to get a glass of juice before starting her cleaning, so she quickly put away her breakfast dishes and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. Opening the fridge, Zoey her favorite strawberry mango juice and poured a glass. After putting it back in the fridge, she sat down at the island with a small notepad and pencil she always left there for notes. While she sipped at her juice, she made a list of the things she needed to do before she moved out.

Meanwhile, Loren had been working on cleaning up his bathroom and kitchen. Noticing that his laundry basket was getting full, he grabbed the basket and the detergent and fabric softener from the cabinet under the bathroom sink and headed for the laundry room on the first floor of the building. After starting the laundry, he set the timer on his phone for 15 minutes so he could come down and change the laundry into the dryer. Loren headed back upstairs to organize his closet some to make room for Zoey's clothes and her dresser. while he waited for the washing machine to be done. When 15 minutes was up he changed over his laundry into the dryer and went back upstairs to clean the kitchen and clean out the fridge. Once Loren's work was done, he decided to head over to Zoey's place to help her clean and pack so that it would be done sooner. Grabbing his keys and coat, he headed out the door. He decided to stop and pick up some boxes and some chinese food for lunch.

Zoey finished her list and her juice and set to work packing her books, movies, games, and her game system since she wouldn't be needing them for now. It took a couple boxes to empty the shelves, and once she was done, she grabbed another 2 boxes and headed for her bedroom to start packing her closet, leaving only a few items she would need for the next day. The time flew by and before she knew it was almost noon. Zoey decided to take a break and also call the management office for her apartment building to let them know she would be moving out in a few days, and that her apartment would be cleaned fully before she left. The management office was fine with that, and just needed her to come in the next day to sign the papers releasing her from her lease. As soon as she hung up the phone, there was a knock at her door. Answering the door, she found Loren standing there with lunch and more boxes in hand.