Free The Actor by Maya Brooks Page B

pieces.
    Once he managed
to place the call and her voice answered, “Oh lover, I’ve been so worried for
you, is everything okay?” all lies washed away from his mind.
    He heard himself
plead. “Please help me.”
    Laugh, cry,
yell at me, please say something.
    “Of course I
will. Tell me all about it.”
    He stuttered
out an explanation of everything he could remember.
    “So… I was
thinking… could you, maybe… I’ll get you tickets on the next flight.”
    “Alright. Just
give me enough time to pack and get to the airport.”
    Good thinking.If the travel agency said there was a plane in fifteen minutes, he would
have booked it.
    “Yeah… Sure.”
    He rolled the
cool glass over his forehead. The relief that flooded up in him when Laura
agreed to come made him want to weep.  He hurried to say, before she could
change her mind, “I’ll arrange tickets for you and call you back.”
    And I still
can’t find the bloody wallet. I should probably call about the credit cards,
but who has the energy to care?
    The travel
agency had his information on file, and it took less than five minute to
arrange a seat.
    She’ll be
here tomorrow. Stay out of trouble for just one day and you’ll be okay.
    He stared at
the phone before calling her back. “Please don’t change your mind.”
    Laura’s voice
encouraged him. “Okay lover, I’ll be there tomorrow. Now, I want you to try to
eat something, and go take a nap.”
    In her voice,
the words seemed reasonable.
    “Will you stay
with me on the phone?”
    God, I’m
pathetic.
    The warm female
voice laughed.
    “Of course,
sweetheart. Go tell me what you have in the kitchen.”
    The fridge
contained moldy pieces of pizza and he hurried to close the door. The freezer
was more encouraging.
    “Yes!”
    “What is it?”
    “I just found
my wallet.
    “That’s great.”
    “And a pair of
socks.”
    She laughed.
    “What else do
you have in there?”
    “A packet of…
spring rolls.”
    He wanted to
toss the entire box into the microwave, just to be able to sit down, but Laura
scolded him, “No, don’t do that. They’re probably in plastic or something. Sit
down and read the cooking instructions.”
    As much as he
squinted, the letters on the box danced in front of his eyes. Maybe they
weren’t letters at all; maybe they were tiny ants.
    Why did
everything have to fight him like this?
    It wasn’t worth
the effort.
    Just when he
was about to throw the package at the wall, Laura interrupted him.
    “Take them out,
put them on a plate, and shove them in the microwave. Zap them for two minutes,
if they’re still not warm, zap them for two minutes more.”
    His heart beat
like a sledgehammer, and every bite seemed to grow in his mouth. His stomach
wasn’t adverse to the food, though, and he did his best to keep eating. “So…
What have you been up to?”
    “Nothing much.
Missing you, working, crying in Heather’s arms over your leaving.”
    Her words made
him laugh out loud. The mere thought of someone missing him enough to
cry was preposterous enough to belong in a comedy club.
    Once he made it
to bed, exhaustion took its toll and it was a matter of seconds before he
drifted off. He fell asleep with Laura’s gentle voice in his ears.
    “Sweet dreams,
lover. Call me when you wake up.”
     
    *****
     
    When Laura hung
up, she exhaled and forced herself to put the phone down slowly.
    She wanted to yell, slap him, and shake some sense into him, but that would be
counterproductive. Maintaining a serene façade took a lot out of her.
    What I’ve
been doing? For the last three days I’ve been worrying myself towards an early
grave. Before that, I told you to go home, to eat something, to get some sleep,
and to charge your phone, but you don’t remember any of it.
    His incoherent
ramblings had all but broken her heart, and the complete silence that followed
was even worse.
    Snatching the
phone up again, she called Heather.
    “I have to go
to Canada.”
    “ Canada?