J
"Jen – hurry up, they're going to replay it!" Lisa yelled from the couch. I was refilling my water at the refrigerator in the kitchen.
"Watch this! Watch! The idiot is going to light the dynamite and then he doesn't run. I can't believe they are showing this on TV! Wait… it's going to blow him back like thirty feet. Oh! Oh! And boom!" she echoed.
I winced after seeing some moron fly through the air from sheer stupidity. I resumed my spot on the couch; Lisa adjusted the pillow on my thigh and pulled my hand back to her chest.
"I wonder how long he was in the hospital after that one," I asked, leaning more of my body onto her so I could stroke her hair again. We were so comfortable together.
"This is the bad thing about television – three minutes of show and eight minutes of commercials," she groaned.
She was just about to turn the channel to something else when her phone chimed in her pocket. She looked at the number before accepting the call.
"Hey Fred! Yeah, she's feeling better." Her eyes looked up at me and her hand reached for my forehead.
"We were just watching Mega Explosions. You're watching it too? Oh my God, did you see that guy? What an asshole! What did he think was gonna happen?"
While she was lying across my lap, I was secretly reveling in the fact that Lisa and Fred were getting along so well. I had always hoped that whoever I was with would get along with my friends. My ex-fiancé Mingyu and Fred never saw eye to eye. There was always tension between them. I should have taken that as a warning sign right from the get-go, but I tried to make everyone happy while being quietly miserable inside.
But Lisa and Fred seemed to be in perfect synch right from the start. A huge smile crossed my lips.
"Here, Fred wants to talk to you." Lisa handed her phone to me.
"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" Fred asked.
"I'm feeling better, thanks. I'm still achy though. Lisa made me toast and it helped to take my headache away."
"Oh, Lisa made you toast, did she?" he teased.
"Yes… and your point?" I snickered.
"Nothing. I'm just happy for ya. And I'm glad that you're feeling better. Tammy wants you to call her tomorrow. You two need to iron out the final menu for Sunday so we can get the food on order."
"Okay, I will. But I don't want any seafood from Sheckys. I'm pretty sure it was the lobster tails that made us sick last night. I got sick right after eating it. I mean it tasted all right, but within a half hour or so we were both violently ill." I looked down at Lisa and combed my fingers through her hair.
"I don't want any seafood from wherever those tails came from!" Lisa confirmed loud enough for Fred to hear.
"All right, I'll tell her that. Well I'm sorry you weren't feeling good, but it sounds like you're on the mend, so… hey, can I talk to Lisa again?" Fred asked.
"Yeah! Sure." I was momentarily surprised by his request.
"Yeah Fred, what's up?" Lisa sat up to talk. "Yeah, I am, why? They play at eight on Sunday; I was hoping to watch it." She started chewing on her fingers again. "She is? Are you freaking kidding me?" Her eyes shot over to mine. The way she reacted made me wonder what they were talking about.
"Are you serious? Unbelievable!" she breathed out a long sigh. "That's… really good to know." She chuckled. "Thanks!"
Lisa had a huge grin on her face as she shoved her phone back in her pocket. I was staring at her, hoping that she would let me in on the conversation.
"So, Jennie… Fred tells me that you are a big-time Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Is this true?"
"Oh, yeah! And a huge Pens fan too." I nodded.
"You like ice hockey, too?" she looked at me like I was lying.
"I love hockey," I said with a big yawn, feeling sleepy and drained.
"You know I grew up near Pittsburgh, right?" she asked, waiting for my confirmation.
"No, I didn't. You only told me that you're from Pennsylvania or 'PeeAye' as you call it. Oh wait, you did tell me that you attended Pitt." I yawned again. "So you like football too, I take it?"
She was just sitting there shaking her head in disbelief again.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she dismissed my stare, getting up to stretch.
I saw her glancing around, taking in the sights of my different belongings. She ran her fingers over my DVD collection and commented that I didn't have any of her movies.
"Sorry, not a fan." I shrugged, teasing her.
She leered at me.
"Wait a minute!" she said as she pulled a DVD from the shelf. "You do have a movie I was in!" she showed the cover to me. I honestly could not remember if she was in the movie or not.
"You weren't in that movie!"
"Actually I am," she stressed. "My part was supposed to be bigger, but I got edited down to only four speaking lines. I'm in the mall scene."
Lisa started to reminisce about the beginnings of her acting career and how her life was almost normal back in those days. How she could go out in public and barely, if ever, be recognized.
"So how many movies have you been in?"
"This Seaside we are filming now will be my sixth; that's including the small role in this movie." She waved the DVD box in the air.
"First film was an indie flick called Forever Wanting More. It did so-so at the Sundance Film Festival but now it's coming out on DVD – go figure. Then I played Ashby in Watchtower. I guess you could say that's the role that got my name out there."
"Wait, when did you go to California?"
"When I auditioned for Watchtower. I ended up sharing an apartment with Alan Schefler."
It didn't take Lisa long to see the confusion on my face.
"He's another actor I met when we started filming. Did you ever see Watchtower?"
"No," I said sheepishly, slightly embarrassed that I had never seen any of her movies.
She gave me a disapproving look. "Well, you didn't miss much. I died a horrible death in battle. Then I did this timeless piece." She put the DVD back on the shelf.
"While my scenes were being edited down to just about nothing, I started the first Seaside. I just wrapped on a film called Reparation a few weeks ago. Did you hear of that one yet?" she asked teasingly.
I felt guilty – that surely meant I must have looked guilty too. "I've heard of Watchtower and Seaside – does that count?"
"I may have to deduct a few points," she informed.
Lisa resumed perusing my music selection, occasionally slipping out a CD to look at it.
"I wanted to buy this one," she said, holding a jewel case up for me to see.
"You can borrow it if you'd like. I have it on my iPod."
"Can I borrow this one too… and this one?" she started to make a pile in her hand.
I smiled and nodded at her choices, pleasantly surprised that we had the same taste in music.
"Cool… some new music for my iPhone." She grinned. "Wait, the CD is missing from this case."
"That one is in the player." I pointed to the shelf. "Take it out."
She nestled back into the couch and shoved eight of my CDs into her bag. Happiness fluttered inside me knowing she had a reason to come back.
She spent the next few minutes looking at me, then back at the TV, then back at me again – smiling the entire time. I wished I knew what she was thinking. She leaned over and grabbed the pillow, tucking it next to her leg.
"Why don't you lie down for a while? You should rest."
I was tired and lying down sounded like a good idea. I grabbed the blanket, pulled it up over my shoulder, and stretched my legs out on the couch. Now that the urge to throw up was gone, it felt good to relax. Lisa rested her arm on top of mine.
We were watching some program about ghosts, but I could tell that Lisa was looking mostly at me. She curled her hand and softly brushed my cheek. It seemed that she was almost frightened to touch me; her hand seemed so hesitant. I didn't know if she was testing herself or me.
I could feel her confidence grow as she ran her fingers through my hair. We were definitely becoming more than friends. I was so relaxed by her touch that it was hard to keep my eyes open.
Lisa's voice pulled me from the haze. She called someone to get a ride to the hotel. I wondered why she just didn't walk.
"I'm gonna get going. I have to work tomorrow and so do you." She gathered her things and I walked her down to the back door.
"Thanks for taking me fishing. I had a great time."
"Me too."
"I'll call you tomorrow." She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me in for a nice hug. Her hand held my face as she quickly kissed my cheek. She didn't linger. I was surprised that she didn't try to kiss me. It appeared that she was conflicted. I could relate… the line between just friends and something more was definitely blurred today.
"See you." I waved as she hopped into the waiting car.
That night I had the most beautiful dreams.
--
"Are you feeling better today?" Hyunji asked when she came in at four p.m. to start her shift behind the bar, her eyes assessed my appearance.
"Yes, much," I replied. "I think I got food poisoning from the lobster. Either that or it was the bagged salad."
"Did Lisa get sick too?" she wondered aloud.
"Yeah, we both were really sick, but she seemed to get over it quicker. I stopped for pizza on the way back from the cabin but after I ate a slice it just sat in my stomach like a brick. I'm sorry for last night… I didn't want them to cancel poker on my account."
"Don't apologize! You were sick. It happens. Besides, Gary and I had an awesome good time anyway, if ya know what I mean." She winked at me and held up three fingers.
"Three?" I gasped in amazement. "You or him?"
"Me, of course!" She smiled and bobbed her head.
"That accomplishment deserves a high-five!" I reached over to slap my hand into hers.
"So did you rack up any numbers yourself this weekend… all alone in the forest with Prince Charming?"
"No." I shook my head. "It's not like that. We just took the boat out on the lake."
"When are you going to see her again? I presume you are going to see her again?" she prodded.
"I don't know. She's working. I'm working. I guess I'll see her Sunday." I shrugged and continued to hustle behind the bar. "We didn't make any plans. Besides, she won't be sticking around here anyway. A couple of more weeks and she'll be gone."
Thoughts of her leaving surged through my brain like wildfire and burned all the way down my throat and into my heart. This friendship with her, these feelings growing inside of me for her, in reality all had an expiration date looming.
Even though I was mostly trying to enjoy the moment, the knowledge that the moments wouldn't last forever was still overshadowing everything else.
I went about my day, but my heart felt like it was burning.
I had taken care of business – Tammy and I spoke and we finalized the dinner menu for Sunday.
I placed an advertisement in the local newspaper for a part-time weekend bartender and hung a 'Help Wanted' sign that I made on my computer in the front window.
"Hyunji, I'm going to hire a part-time bartender," I said as I taped the sign on the glass. "I think we could use an extra set of hands on Fridays and Saturdays. It's getting to be too much for you and me to handle alone, and Tammy doesn't want to work every weekend."
"Sounds good to me. We've been getting slammed lately," she agreed.
"Yeah, just while the movie stuff is still going on. Once they all leave, we probably won't need the help, but I think it's too much for just the two of us."
Hyunji flipped the channels on the television until she got to the local news. It was mostly background noise to me until the reporter mentioned the words "Seaside movie."
"Over one hundred people had to be removed from the remote beach location where the second installment of the Seaside movie was being filmed today. Dedicated fans are desperate to get any glimpse of the film's all-star cast, including the movie's lead actor, Lisa Manoban.
"Local police were called to the scene after several individuals breached the closed movie set and charged onto the beach. Police officers from at least two local municipalities were assisted by officers from the State Police to manage the crowd and at this time two women have reportedly been taken into police custody.
"The women were stopped by on-set security and members of the production team as they attempted to reach Ms. Manoban and Ms. Myoui while they were filming. Reports from eye witnesses who were at the scene indicated that at least one of the women allegedly yelled obscenities and death threats at Ms. Myoui, although it is unknown at this time the content of those threats."
The camera cut to four police officers who had two women in custody and were escorting them into the police station.
In an instant I was concerned for Lisa and her safety, but I fought back the urge to call her. Even though I had her number from all the text messages she sent, I didn't want to repeat past mistakes. I wasn't going to chase after any one. I made a pledge to myself at that moment that I wouldn't commit her phone number to my cell phone memory.
The fact that I cared and wanted to know how she was doing meant that I was already too attached to her. When she finally does leave Seaport, it will be even that much harder for me to cope.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket several times throughout the night just to make sure I didn't miss a call, but she never called like she said she would. I wondered what had happened to keep her from calling me. Maybe I'm just misreading our connections or making them out to be more than what they really are. I truly hoped she wasn't busy making new connections with some other girl. What am I doing? I chastised myself. I can't let my guard down. I need to stop this.
I thought about the boyfriends that I had in the past and reviewed why none of those relationships ever lasted. I realized that I had made some typical girl mistakes with some of them… being too needy or too clingy or just trying too damn hard to be what I thought they wanted me to be. I was too young at the time to truly understand what healthy relationships were all about.
Some of my relationships ended because after the sex we realized that we had nothing else in common. There were no other threads to hold us in place.
I broke up with Tim when I realized that he wasn't what I wanted for my future. He was the type of guy who only cared about himself and his needs. I didn't need anyone to take care of me, but I did want someone to love me enough to try.
When I was with Dean, his broken heart became my mission to fix. He was a few years older than me and had already been married once and on his way through a divorce. He also had a three-year-old son caught in the mix.
I really cared for his little boy. When I was around him I tried to be a good stand-in mother, until Dean reminded me one day that I wasn't his son's mother and that he had no intentions to ever have another child with anyone. That was when he stopped touching me.
My engagement with Mingyu ended harshly, with bitter words and horrible accusations. I remembered all too clearly walking into his apartment to find him in bed with someone else. I'm pretty sure he planned it that way. He let me be the one to end the relationship so he wouldn't have to. Me barging in on him gave him one more reason to think his affairs were justified.
Even though I thought I was in love with these men at one time or another, I don't think I truly ever was. There was always something missing – that cosmic, soul mate connection; the feeling that the two parts make a whole.
I didn't want someone who would have to force himself to love me or for me to pretend that I loved him back. I had always hoped that love would be mutually instinctual and natural – as easy as breathing.
I turned the light out on my nightstand when I had enough of thinking about my past failures.
One thing was for sure: Lisa had resurrected that one part of my heart that still clung to the hope of love's possibilities.
I was dreaming about my father and wondered why he wasn't answering the phone. The telephone was on the table right next to his favorite chair in the living room where he was sitting. Was he sleeping in his chair? Dad, answer the phone!
I opened my eyes to realize that it was my cell phone that was ringing.
"Hello?" I answered, my voice sounded rough from just waking.
"Were you still sleeping?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah. What time is it?" I looked to my nightstand for the clock. It was 8:42.
"Quarter to nine," she muttered. "Do you want to go back to sleep?"
"No, that's okay. How are you?" I hoped she was safe.
"I'm all right. Sorry I didn't call you yesterday. I fell asleep in my trailer and I slept all the way until eight this morning. I thought you might have tried calling me."
"Oh, good. So you're all right?" I questioned, sitting up in bed.
"Yeah. Why?" she sounded confused.
"There was something on the news last night about some girls getting arrested? I was so worried about you!" I couldn't control the magnitude of my concern.
"Why didn't you call me then?" she asked.
I didn't answer right away. I thought about what I was going to say. "Lisa, I don't want to bother you. You have enough to deal with."
"Huh. Jennie, you can call me anytime you want. Don't ever feel like you're bothering me. Just so you know, I turn my phone off when I'm filming, but as soon as I see I missed your call I'll call you back."
I shook my head in silence. Every time I initiated the telephone calls with guys in the past, eventually they would make me feel like I was pestering or smothering them. I had heard the words "I just need some space" mentioned before, and it was pretty much a guarantee that they would end up running in the opposite direction after that. Lisa would be leaving soon enough; I didn't want to give her one more reason to run faster.
"Jennie, are you still there?" she sounded annoyed.
"Yes, I'm still here."
"You didn't answer my question," she stated directly. "Are you afraid to call me?"
"I can't," I whispered. My reply was so truthful on many levels.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I don't have your number." I hoped my lie sounded convincing.
"You're a bad liar, you know that? Good thing you're not an actress, 'cause you'd be out of work." She chuckled. "My number has been on every text I sent you. Huh, this is so strange. People I don't want to talk to call me all the time but the one person I really want to hear from is afraid to call me. The next time I see you, I'm going to program your phone. I may even put in my own ringtone just to irritate you."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" I tried to lighten the conversation.
"Oh, that's definitely a promise! Then you won't have any excuses," she snickered. "So let's practice today, shall we? I have to work the entire day. I'm scheduled to shoot until eleven o'clock but I have a dinner break around seven. I expect to hear my phone ring sometime between seven and seven thirty. That gives you a half hour window of flexibility to call at your convenience. Now, answer this question truthfully. Do you still have my text messages or did you delete them all?"
"No, I still have them." I smiled.
"Then you, sweetheart, have no excuse… unless you just don't want to talk to me? Shit, I didn't consider that, but now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I should ask. Do you want to see me or not?"
I want to see you more than you could ever imagine. I took a deep breath. Keep it light, Jennie.
"We're friends, right? Why wouldn't I want to see you?"
"Phew," she breathed. "That's a relief. Good, so um, what did the news report have to say about what happened on set?"
"The reporter said that the police had to remove a hundred or so fans from the set and two women were arrested. Apparently one of them threatened Mina? Were you there when it happened?"
"Yeah, I was. We were shooting a scene on the beach but I was watching the playback reel when it happened. I heard someone yelling, but I had headphones on so I didn't hear what was said."
"The news didn't mention what was said either. Just that the one girl yelled some obscenities and threats at Mina. They showed footage of the two girls that were arrested."
"You're kidding me?" Lisa groaned.
"I hope you have extra security on hand, because some of these fans are terrifying," I urged. "Wanting pictures and autographs is one thing, but death threats are completely another."
"Yeah, I was told last night that there would be additional private security brought in while we're here." I could hear the anger enter into her tone. There was a loud rap on her door. "Hang on," I heard her shout out.
"Jen – I got to go. Are you going to call me tonight?"
"Yes. During your dinner break. I promise."
I was too awake to try to go back to sleep. The sound of her voice had already stimulated my blood. I wandered out to the living room, sat down at my desk, and turned my laptop on. I had to reconcile the cash register receipts and enter it into my log.
My e-mail was filled again with thirty new messages, mostly from Uncle Al, who recently got his first computer after fifty-five years. Between him and a few other relatives, they were trying to corner the market on bad e-mail jokes.
There was one new message from Hyunji, with a tempting subject line: "Lisa in Seaside."
"You should watch this. This is one of the best scenes from her movie. And since you haven't seen it yet, you should at least know how good of an actor she is. This is why all the girls want her."
Inside was a link to a website to watch a video.s
My index finger hovered over my mouse. Do I want to see this or not? My finger had a mind of its own and it clicked the button.
The video loaded. Lisa was lurking around some dark hallways in what appeared to be a dismal castle. She had a large, silver gun in her hand with one of those silencer attachments; her gun was raised and ready to fire. Mina was wearing some tattered clothes and she was pressed to her side as they slid down the dark wall. It was apparent that she was protecting her.
"I think they're all gone," Lisa said. "Gwen, what were you thinking coming here?"
Mina gazed up seductively into her eyes.
"How can I protect you? Tell me!" Lisa begged urgently.
"Just love me Blake," Mina whispered.
Lisa pressed Mina against the wall and kissed her passionately. The vision of Lisa kissing another woman made me wince. Mina pushed her back, shoving her into the opposing wall while still kissing her.
Lisa's kiss was hungry. "If you love me like you say you do, you'll stay alive for me," she breathed out.
It was hard to watch her like this. It wasn't her… it wasn't the same person who made toast for me or felt my forehead. I struggled with the thought of seeing Lisa this way.
I had seen plenty of movies over the years and the skill of the actors portraying the different characters was so amazing that you didn't realize that you were watching "acting." But every person who has ever been in a movie is still, at the end of the day, someone's son or daughter, a husband or a wife, a lover, a sister, a mother or father.
There was no denying that Lisa was extremely good looking and the character she portrayed on the screen was definitely sexy and appealing. But the character was make-believe. Blake didn't exist. She was created on paper and scripted to be alive. Lisa gave her life, but Lisa was not Blake.
Lisa was a person from Pittsburgh who chewed on her fingernails and cared enough to prevent me from taking an aspirin. That was the person I was falling for.
--
I made good on my promise to call her.
"Good evening, Ms. Manoban," I whispered seductively in the phone. "This is Stacy from Housekeeping with your seven p.m. wake up call." I figured I would mess with her.
"Well, hello Stacy," she snickered lightly. "Thank you for being prompt."
"Of course, Mam. The management would like to know if you are enjoying your dinner this evening."
"Hmm, well I can think of a few things that would improve the ambiance. Perhaps you could put your manager on the line so I can complain."
"Sure, one moment please…" I tried to change my sultry voice. "Hello, this is Megan, the night manager. I understand that you're very unhappy?"
"Hello, Megan. By the way, I really like this game. Yes, I am very unhappy. I'd like to know what you intend to do about it?"
"We could give you a cash refund or if you'd prefer we could extend some complementary poker chips to you?"
"Er, not acceptable. What else are you offering?"
"We are hosting an all-you-can-eat steak dinner this Sunday. Would you like a complementary ticket?"
"I already have one. What else do you have?" she inquired.
"Did I mention that the dinner comes along with front row seats to Sunday's game between the Steelers and the Giants?"
"Yes, and I'm looking forward to that!" she stated with much enthusiasm. "But I'm unhappy now!" The whining in her voice was amusing.
"Well, Mam, since your happiness is our number one priority, why don't you tell me what would make you happy." I was momentarily relieved to lob the ball onto her side of the court.
"I can only think of one thing that would make me happy right now, and I don't believe that some girl named Megan could satisfy that. You wouldn't happen to have any Jennies there on staff, do you?" she asked.
I smiled. "Maybe!"
"You really know how to make my day. Do you know that?" she asked. "I was not in the best of moods right before you called. Now I'm having a hard time remembering why I was in a bad mood at all."
"I'm glad. You want to talk about it?" I asked.
"Ah, I'm just a little stressed. It's been a long day. I'd like to leave here and relax on your couch but I can't. Especially since the weather is pretty decent outside, we can get some additional night shots done. And I really just want to wash this crap off my face too!" she complained.
"What crap?"
"I have some stuff on to make it look like I have a cut lip. It itches. I really want to scratch it off."
"I'd like to see that. Were you supposed to be in a fight or something?" I asked. I was trying to imagine what she looked like.
"Do you want me to send you a picture? I can take one if you're that curious."
"Heck yeah! Is it just supposed to look like a cut or do you look like that idiot who didn't run away from the lit dynamite?"
"No!" she laughed. "I was in a fist fight. You should see the other guy."
"Did you pummel him?" I was trying to picture Lisa fighting with someone.
"Let's just say two of them won't be bothering me anymore."
"That sounds like a movie line." I chuckled.
"It is," she said amusingly. "Can you name the movie it's from?"
I thought about her statement for a moment. she even repeated the line for me a second time and gave me another hint.
"True Lies!" I answered enthusiastically, catching the inflection in her voice. "Bill Paxton says that to Jami Lee Curtis when she takes credit for killing those guys in the mall bathroom."
"I can't believe you got that one!" she sounded proud. "So why is it that you know other movies by heart but you haven't seen any of my movies yet?"
I was surprised she even asked me that question. "How will you ever know if I like Blake or just someone named Lisa? Isn't it better this way?"
"Hah. You're right. From now on you are hereby banned from seeing any of my movies."
I knew she was kidding, but at the same time visions of me not being invited to any premiers flashed through my mind. I didn't want the fame or the red carpet; I just wanted to be by her side, holding her hand, loving her, and being proud of her accomplishments – whatever they might be.
Once again I was setting my hopes up for nothing, longing for a relationship that could never be. Her inevitable departure date was still looming.
"Listen, Lisa, I have to go. Hyunji is all by herself behind the bar and we're kind of busy. It was nice talking to you." I had the sudden urge to flee.
"Okay. Um, I guess I'll talk to you later then."
I don't think I even said goodbye. I shoved my phone into the front pocket of my jeans and hurried back behind the bar. The sooner I could get distracted the better. I kept slipping up over and over again, letting my guard down with her and allowing myself to swim in dangerous waters.
A few minutes passed and my cell phone buzzed again. I opened the picture Lisa sent; she had a funny expression on her face while pointing to her fake cut lip. I couldn't help but laugh.
I tried to convince myself that I wouldn't get hurt if I kept this thing with her strictly platonic, but to do so I'd have to make sure that I didn't let her touch me anymore. No more holding hands, or running my fingers through her soft hair, staring into her eyes. Hugging… that was dangerous too. Anything that involved physical contact must be off-limits. I even tried to force myself to have a dream where we were only friends, playing a game of softball with us on the Kim's Pub team, but even my subconscious betrayed me.
The following day I tried to banish the lingering memories of the hot and steamy dream I did have about her, where I tore the baseball uniform off her body…
"Hey baby!" Hyunji greeted me as she started her shift Thursday night.
I dumped a new bucket of ice in the bin, thinking I should dump an entire bucket down my shirt too. "Hey. I have some applicants coming in today. I'd like you to interview them too, since we both have to get along with whomever I hire."
"Sure. No problem," she said as she tucked her bar rag in her back pocket. "Did you hear from Ms. Wonderful?"
I smiled. "She called me three times today."
"Three?" She looked surprised.
"She wasn't in a lot of scenes, so she was bored," I muttered privately.
"Bored? Yeah right! She's definitely crazy about you," Hyunji insisted.
Hyunji and I were handling a decent sized crowd when our second applicant came into the bar. He was twenty-something, dressed like a normal human being, and he was early. Hyunji spent about twenty minutes with him before she returned to the bar.
"I like this one," she murmured to me in passing.
The young man's name was Asahi. He was twenty-three, tall and beefy with a short haircut and a dark brown goatee. He was taking business and computer courses at the local community college and needed rent money.
Halfway through the interview Lisa called me again. I looked at the time; she was on her dinner break.
"Hi, um, can I call you back?" I answered quickly. "I'm interviewing someone right now. I'll call you in a few minutes, okay?"
"No, that's okay. I have to get back on set in ten minutes and then I'm going out to eat with some of the cast. I just thought of something I wanted to tell you. I'll call you when I get to the hotel later," Lisa rambled and then hung up.
"Sorry about that," I apologized to Asahi. Knowing Lisa, she just wanted to talk.
I escorted Asahi out to the bar, and instead of leaving, he sat down on a barstool. I liked the fact that he wanted to check out the atmosphere of the bar. It showed he was interested in working here.
"I like him too," I said to Hyunji. "If his references check out, maybe we can give him a trial run this weekend?"
"Yeah, sure." She nodded. "He knows his drinks and he seems like a nice guy. Something for all the females to look at?" she added. "Besides, two bitches behind the bar are enough."