1. The Future Wife
It was Monday morning and I was already too late. Partying with some of my friends can sometimes easily get out of control. I was dead tired, my hair was a total mess when I woke up and I had to choose my outfit for today within five minutes. I woke up at 08:00 am; my casting appointment was at 09:00 am. I must admit that the breakup with Paul has taken on me more than I thought; more than I would have want to admit. The last couple of weeks I spend most of the time at home in my apartment, eating Chinese food and not talking to anyone. But now it was time to bring back a little routine into my life. The fact that I was still working with Paul on our new album didn't make the whole situation any easier. It was hard work and it took both of us a long time until we learned to get along again. We were the freshly separated couple; we weren't even able to look into each others eyes. Pain, grief, longing – just all these reasons made the situation between us even more awkward. I was certain that this timeout would do me good.
I've arrived in New York last Friday. Not only the casting was here in New York, also most of the filming would take place here in the city. In case I would get the role, I would spend the next few months in this awesome city. The last few weeks I spend a lot of time reading the script. It was the newest movie project of David Fincher. Honestly I was really surprised that he considered me playing the role of Zoey Taylor in his new movie called 'The Future Wife'. The movie was a mixture of thriller, action and a heartbreaking love story. Me playing Zoey Taylor I would fall in love with a big shot of Wall Street, who was not only criminal and corrupt, but also married. I would play the affair of a filthy rich criminal. The script sounded really interesting and entertaining of course. It sounded like a lot of fun to work on and having the chance to work with David Fincher was something you couldn't reject. So after all I chose New York over LA; my future over my past.
The breakup I went through wasn't easy at all. Our marriage only remained like two good years but afterward I've realized that the separation was the best decision I could have made. I've been really unhappy; I've forgotten what it feels like to be in love. At first I thought that I really loved him; that I truly loved him, but in retrospect, I realized that my feelings for Paul have never been real. I've been in a couple of relationships before, with colleagues and even non colleagues and so far there has only been one man who had managed to conquer my heart – but this story belonged to the past. Our love never had a real chance; so it was good that that whole thing never became more than an irrelevant affair.
It was already 08:30 am. Without a jacket and only with my purse I stormed out of my hotel room and threw myself into the bustle of the city. The casting would be held at the Plaza Hotel. I was staying at the Hilton, therefore it would take me some more time to get to the Plaza. First I thought about taking the subway because that is what New Yorkers do. They take the subway. And since there would be the chance for me staying here for a while, assumed I would get the role of Zoey Tayler, I should get used to that New Yorker lifestyle as soon as possible. And maybe, just for the reason that I would like the city and of course my life here – maybe then I would look for my own apartment. Los Angeles had long lost its charm for me. Of course I had all my friends there, my family, my apartment – the beach was an absolute dream and so was the weather. I couldn't really complain about my life in LA but what I needed was a new adventure; a new challenge and I really hoped that I would find all this in the chance of being a part of David Fincher's newest movie. Partying with my friends all night long yesterday was really a bad idea. I wanted this role. I really did.
I wore a plain white summer dress decorated with a little lace at the neckline. There was a thin cord around the chest you could use to tie up the dress a little. It was early June and thus the perfect weather for a summery outfit. The only thing I kind of regret was the choice of my shoes. I decided to wear a pair of brown leather wedges and as I now painfully had to find out the shoes were a little to big so with every step I took I slid forward and the leather rubbed against my skin, what really hurt. Ouch. A pair of flip flops would have been a better choice. I had quickly brushed my hair. It was smooth and long and straggled down over my shoulders. A pair of wooden earrings and some bracelets as well as my beloved Ray Ban sunglasses completed the look. Maybe not the best choice for a movie casting, but since I've had only like five minutes to choose a nice outfit for today i was pretty okay with it.
After I took another glance at my watch I noticed that again five minutes had passed. I decided to not take the subway but rather a taxi cab. Since so many taxi cabs drove around here it wasn't really hard to make one aware of me. I grabbed one that stood in front of my hotel, opened the door and jumped inside. „Good morning. The Plaza please." I slammed the car door closed and leaned back. The taxi driver glanced in the rear view mirror, paused for a second, turned around, smiled pleasantly, nodded and then took off. Amazingly it did not take very long to get to the Plaza Hotel. It was 08:50 am when we reached the Plaza. When the taxi driver turned around smiling, I threw him a $ 50.00 bill and opened the door. „I'm sorry but I'm late. Keep the change. Thanks for the ride." I didn't wait for an answer and rushed straight for the hotel. It was crazy how many people were on the road this early in the morning. I ran up the stairs into the lobby and stopped for a second to take a deep breath. I let my eyes wander, saw many unfamiliar faces. For a moment I felt like as I've seen and old friend … I shook my head. No, I was probably wrong. And anyways, I had no time either. I went to the reception and asked the pretty young woman named Jane for the direction. She showed me the way to the elevator and told me that I had to go up to the fifth floor. There would be a hotel employee waiting for me to escort me to the conference room. I thanked her for her help with a short friendly nod and walked over to the elevator.
08:55 am. „Come on you stupid elevator, hurry." As on my command the door jumped open, I got into the elevator and pressed the button. A few seconds later, the elevator started to move. As soon as the elevator doors opened again and I got out on the aisle I met that guy Jane told me about. „Hi.", I greeted him as he let me go first and led me down the aisle. „This way, ma'am." At the end of the corridor there was a large hall. A huge swinging door was right in front of me. „You can go inside. You're first." First? Oh no, not that. I was really curious about who else was invited to the casting. I've waited for the nice guy to open the door and let me enter. On a large table there were sitting three people I did not know. One man, two women. I assumed that the man – of course – was David Fincher but I had no idea who the other two were. „Miss Reed! Come closer.", said the blond woman to David's left. I smiled and stepped closer, while I heard the door slowly close behind me.