Free Little Disquietude by C. E. Case Page B

Sunday best, greeting each other
with long-lost joy. They were treating themselves to a show
tonight. Some of them might have waited all year.
    Each of those watchers would feel powerful,
catered to, special. They were paying for the privilege of having
people perform for them, just them, something their fellow man
would never experience; not on that night, not at that time.
    Leah knew the intoxication of being stared
at, desired, and loved. She wanted to join the crowd and be a part
of its energy. She wanted to see Sophia on stage again.
    The crowds thinned, and then disappeared
completely into the theater, leaving the street empty in the last
vestiges of daylight. She went to the ticket booth, where they were
closing up and counting money.
    "Hey, Leah," Seth said. "You want a ticket?"
A summer intern from the community college's theater department,
his nose and both ears were pierced, and he had a chorus part in South Pacific .
    "No. Full house tonight?"
    "Oh, yeah. Sold out. All the season ticket
holders showed up, too. Fatime looked for empty seats, but they
were all gone."
    Fatime, the overweight, smiling high school
girl who had just wanted a summer job that didn't involve the food
or retail industries, nodded in agreement.
    Leah imagined people waiting months in
advance, or maybe years, buying tickets to shows they didn't even
care about, just because it might be interesting. And they had no
idea they'd be getting someone like Sophia. Only a few knew to hope
for Elaine.
    "So, what do you do now that everyone's
trapped inside the theater?" Leah asked.
    "Yell fire?" Seth said.
    Fatime shot a rubber band at him.
    He winced and said, "Now we sit around and
talk for a half hour, then we start getting the food ready. Snacks
for the cast, champagne and candy bars for the tourists at
intermission. We point people to the bathrooms, organize the lines.
You know."
    "And you guys volunteer for this?"
    Seth grinned. "I get school credit."
    "Part of my parole," Fatime said.
    Leah's eyes widened.
    Fatime winked.
    "In New York, you guys would be unionized,"
Leah said.
    Seth raised his fist. "Join us, famous actor
lady."
    Leah's face grew hot. "I should go," She
said.
    "Oh, come on, stay," Fatime said. "Tell us
about New York?"
    There was an eagerness in her voice that
compelled Leah, so she went behind the desk and sat in an
uncomfortable wicker chair, and let herself feel important to two
school kids who handed out playbills because they wanted to
act.
     
    * * *
     
    Fatime cracked the auditorium doors as
Macbeth died. Leah felt a pang. Lady Macbeth was already dead.
Swarms of people left after the house lights went up, like a wave
pouring out of the theater. Some lingered, chatting with each
other, or waiting for the actors to make appearances in the lobby.
Their family, their friends.
    A couple had flowers for Banquo.
    Sophia walked through the lobby with Oscar,
who Leah recognized as Macduff by the boyish haircut and the
circles of makeup under his eyes, smeared by his recent anguish. He
smiled, leaning in to tease Sophia about something. She elbowed him
in the ribs and he danced away, and then circled back, putting his
arm around her.
    Leah watched, torn between possessiveness and
paralysis. Sophia spotted her and smiled.
    As they walked closer, Leah moved to
intercept them. "Hey," she said.
    "Hi," Sophia said. She hugged Leah, and
asked, "Did you see the show tonight?"
    "No, I was just hanging around after a late
rehearsal."
    "That's good," Oscar said. "You missed a
doozy."
    "Oh?"
    Sophia glared at him, but Oscar grinned and
said, "Someone forgot her lines."
    "Someone threw my timing off."
    "Well, tonight it wasn't about the seduction
of a man," Oscar said. "It was about getting through lines without
choking. And yet, dude, standing ovation. People over appreciate
us."
    "Or there's power in simply being," Leah
said. She had her hand on Sophia's shoulder. Sophia leaned into
her, just enough to let her know she was pressing back,