“How was your run?” I say.
Neither of us spoke a word for the first few minutes of the ride and I finally felt like I had to say something… anything… since we’re already half way to Dex’s.
“Good.”
I wait for a minute to see if he says anything else. The moment we got in the car I lost some of the nerve I had worked up and I was trying to talk myself out of saying anything to Spencer. I tried to convince myself there was still plenty of time to talk before I left for Chicago… but I know that’s a lie. I have to leave in a couple of days and there’s no way I can go without talking to Spencer about it.
“Should we go get some breakfast?” I say.
“If you want… are you hungry?”
“A little… I was thinking you must be, since you just ran.”
“I could eat.”
“Should we go pick up the script and then find somewhere to eat?”
“Sure.”
I know it’s not exactly what I had planned, but at least if we go out to eat it’ll give me another chance to talk to Spencer… now I just have to force the words out of my mouth.
When we reach Dex’s house there is a small package just on the other side of the fence. Spencer stops the car and I jump out. I assume it’s the script and whoever delivered it was lazy enough to not get the attention of Dex or Gina… although they might not be here right now. I stick my arm through the gate and manage to grab it. I pull it back through and turn it over in my hands. It’s addressed to me and feels like a stack of paper should. I get back in the car and put the package on the floor, between my feet.
“You’re not going to open it?” Spencer says.
“No… I’ll wait until we get back to the house. I want to have breakfast with you… and I don’t want to be distracted by looking over the script.”
I look over at him just in time to see a faint smile on his face, but it’s gone within a second as he turns his attention to driving as he pulls back onto the street and heads for Santa Monica Blvd.
“Any requests for breakfast?” Spencer says, as we reach the stop light.
“No… whatever you want.”
He nods and looks to the left to see if there are any cars coming. There’s a large break in the traffic and Spencer uses the opportunity to turn right at the red light.
Spencer parks the car in a spot on the right a few blocks down and we get out of the car. He points at a café two shops down as he steps up onto the curb. I take his hand in mine as we walk toward the restaurant. Spencer opens the door and holds it for me. I blink a few times once inside as my eyes try to adjust to the contrast in light compared to outside.
“Two for breakfast?” the hostess says.
“Yes.”
“Do you want to sit inside or out?”
I turn to Spencer and he just shrugs in response.
“I guess… outside,” I say, turning back to her.
She nods and grabs two menus from the stack next to her. We follow her out a door next to the one we came in, but this one leads to the patio on the sidewalk that is fenced in. She places the menus down on a table set for two and steps back as we sit down.
“Your server will be with you in a few minutes.”
“Thanks.”
We sit down and I pick up the menu. I guess we should at least place our order before I try to talk to Spencer. That way our server won’t interrupt us. I take a deep breath as I scan the menu. It’s pretty standard breakfast stuff… and my stomach grumbles as I try to figure out what I want to order. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.
“Are you ready to order?”
I look up from the menu at our server, a young girl that’s probably my age. She has long blond hair and a big smile on her face. Spencer sets his menu down and looks at her.
“I guess,” he says, “are you ready, Amy?”
“Yeah… I’ll have the short stack of pancakes.”
She nods as she writes and then turns her attention to Spencer. I know pancakes aren’t exactly the healthiest option for breakfast… just sugar and carbs, but it’s the only thing that sounds good right now.
“I’ll have the Santa Fe scramble… and coffee.”
“Anything to drink for you?” she says, turning back to me.
“I… just water, thanks.”
We hand our menus to her, but she doesn’t walk away… her eyes are locked on Spencer.
“Sorry… but… are you… Spencer Thomas?”
“No… but a lot of people ask me that.”
“Oh… sorry.”
She turns and walks away with a seriously disappointed look on her face. That was weird. Spencer pretty much will always talk to fans and sign an autograph if that’s what they want. I guess maybe whatever is going on with him is having more of an impact than I originally thought.
“Can we talk for a minute?” I say.
“Sure… what about?”
I look into his eyes and clear my throat. I immediately regret saying I want to talk… I just have to think of this conversation being a band-aid… I need to just get it over with and then it will get easier.
“Is everything OK?”
“Yeah… why?”
I expected him to say no… or at least try to avoid the question… not answer it directly by telling me everything was fine.
“Maybe… I dunno… I guess maybe it’s in my mind… but I feel like you’ve been distant since we were Aspen.”
“What do you mean?”
I look down at the table as I try to figure out the right configuration of words to tell him how I feel.
“It just seems like there’s something on your mind… something that’s really bothering you and I’m starting to worry a little.”
He glances toward the street and bites his lip before turning back to look at me.
“It’s OK… there was something… but I figured it out while I was running.”
I remember what his mom said about not pushing him too much… and just trying to be there to listen and help him with whatever it ended up being.
“Good… do you want to talk about it?”
Before he can answer, our server comes back and drops off his coffee and my water. Spencer opens one of the creamers and dumps it in his cup. He puts in a packet of sugar and then stirs the coffee for a few seconds before looking back at me.
“It’s fine… there’s nothing to really talk about.”
I take a drink of water while I try to think about what to say. Something is obviously bothering him, but he still seems a little distant and doesn’t want to talk about it. I’m worried, but at least he’s finally admitted that something is going on… even if he doesn’t want to tell me what it is.
“OK… I’m glad you feel like you’ve got it figured out. If… if you ever want to talk to me… about anything… you can. I’m here to listen… I love you and I want you to be happy, no matter what it takes.”
He smiles and nods. Spencer reaches across the table and takes my hand in his, giving it a light squeeze.
“I love you, too.”
Our server is back and sets down our food in front of us before I can open my mouth to say anything else to Spencer.
“Do you need anything else?” she says.
“No,” Spencer says, “I think we’re good.”
I nod in agreement and pick up my knife to spread the butter around on my pancakes. I set the knife down and pick up the syrup as our server walks away. Spencer lifts a bite of his eggs to his mouth as I put the syrup down and reach for my fork. I look up at him as I cut the top pancake and lift a bite to my mouth.
“I hope you understand why I even brought it up… I feel bad, like if you wanted to talk about it you would have said something… but your mom and Dex both seemed concerned, so I thought I should say something.”
Spencer takes a second bite of his eggs, sets down his fork, takes a quick sip of coffee and nods in response.
“I’m fine… really, but thank you for your concern.”
He smiles at me and I can tell it’s genuine. I’m glad he’s told me that whatever it was that was bothering him has been resolved… but I’m still kind of curious as to what it was and why he didn’t want to talk about it. I guess it’s something to talk about another time… or maybe it won’t matter. I just want him to be happy.
“Spencer!”
We both turn toward the street just in time for a paparazzi to snap a picture of us. We both shake our heads and turn back to our breakfast.
“Should we get out of here?” he says.
“Sure.”
I take a couple more bites of my pancakes as Spencer tries to flag down our waitress, which is proving to be a bit of a problem. She eventually sees him and starts walking over.
“Yes?” she says.
“We need our check.”
She nods and turns around before walking back inside. I set my fork down and stand up from the table. I only finished half my breakfast, but I guess considering the complete lack of nutritional value in pancakes it’s not exactly a terrible thing. I glance over my shoulder and shield my eyes from the sun as the paparazzi continues to snap pictures. I have to say that was one of the great things about being in Salem, and even Aspen… there was no one constantly bothering us. I guess it’s part of being an actor… and we should be thankful that people are interested enough to support what we do for a living.
Spencer takes his wallet out as he walks toward our waitress and hands her a couple of bills. He turns and we head outside. Spencer takes my hand in his and we quickly walk to the car. He opens my door and closes it as soon as my legs are inside. The guy snapping pictures follows us and I can still see him in the side mirror as Spencer pulls away and takes the next turn on Santa Monica Blvd. The drive takes us back through the neighborhood near his and I get distracted by all the gorgeous houses.
“Amy?”
“Yeah?”
“I was just asking if there’s anything you need to do before you leave for Chicago.”
“Sorry… I was just looking at the houses.”
He laughs and shakes his head.
“No,” I say, “there’s not really anything I need to do… just spend time with you. Can we talk about your schedule, too? I want to try to figure out a way that we can somehow still see each other while I’m there.”
“Of course… we can do that whenever you want.”
Spencer turns the car into his driveway. He turns it off and looks over at me with a smile on his face.
“What?” I say.
“Nothing… just thinking about how much I love you.”
My cheeks feel warm as I smile back at him.
“I really love you, too.”
We sit there for another minute, not saying a word to each other. It’s a perfect moment and I don’t think either of can really express our true feelings using anything other than the look in our eyes.
Something catches our attention from the house. We turn at the same time and see Brenda standing at the front door… just watching us. She sees us looking at her and she heads back inside. I start laughing and shake my head.
“Ready?” Spencer says.
“Yeah.”
I grab my purse and the package with my script. We head inside and Brenda is already sitting back on the couch. She's apparently finished with the magazine because she's moved on to reading a book… something with a teal cover and a wispy white font that I can't quite make out.
“Is everything OK?” Brenda says, looking up from her book.
“Yeah,” Spencer says, “we got the script and then stopped at a cafe for some breakfast… but that was cut short when a paparazzi started to hassle us.”
“Oh… sorry. There's still some leftovers if you two are still hungry.”
“I'm fine,” I say.
“I'm good, too.”
I turn to Spencer and he looks down at me.
“I'm going to go out back and look over the script,” I say.
“OK.”
He leans down and plants a quick kiss on my lips. I wish it would've lasted longer, but his mom is sitting there… so it might have been a little awkward. I smile at him and he winks at me and raises his left eyebrow. I roll my eyes playfully and walk toward the back door. He's acting like his old self again… and I'm really thankful for that.
I sit down outside and rip the package open. I pull the script out and take a deep breath as I read the title. Found Hope. It's an interesting title… and the writer's name, Jim Myers, certainly sounds familiar, but I'm just not sure why. I must have seen his name on a movie that I've seen. I make a mental note to look him up later once I've had a chance to look over the script.
As I turn the page a single half-sheet of paper falls out and into my lap. I set the script down and pick it up. It's from Brian.
Amy,
Hopefully you're doing good and getting ready for your trip. If I don't talk to you before you leave, know that you can always give me a call if you need anything while on location. I fought hard for the contract I got you… so make sure they are treating you like the star I know you are. I know you'll do great.
Brian West
p.s. I'm already looking for your next film… I hope you're as excited as I am.
I set the note down and pick up the script. Brian has turned out to be everything Spencer said he was… he's a good agent and he really does care about getting me the best parts he possibly can. I was a little skeptical of him when he first showed up at Dex's house, but he's starting to grow on me. It's hard to imagine that by the time I finish filming in Chicago that he might have another role for me… I guess it's a good thing, though. I have a feeling acting is a momentum thing—once you get roles it's best to work as much as possible because if they dry up you're left without anything… and then it's a hard road to try to get back in the business.
I open the script and start to read the first few lines. I'm already excited and I'm not even on set yet.
Scene One
Eva, a strawberry blond wearing a graphic tee and skinny jeans, is standing on the balcony of a high-rise apartment. The skyline of Chicago is in the background. Lee walks out onto the balcony and stands next to her. He holds out a flute of Champagne. She takes it without looking at him and takes a long sip.
Lee: How are you?
Eva: Seriously? How do you think I am?
Lee shrugs and shakes his head.
Lee: I'm sorry… I know an apology won't fix what I did… but you have to believe that I still love you.
Eva downs the glass of Champagne and gives him an irritated look.
Eva: You still love me? Really?
Lee: Yes… why don't you believe me?
Eva throws the flute to the ground where it shatters. She storms back inside. Lee turns and runs after her.
I set the script down and take a deep breath. I'm not even done with the first page and I'm already dying to know what happens in the story. I can tell this is going to be good. There's no telling if it's going to turn out like Dex's movie… but I have a really good feeling about it. I lift the script back up and continue to read.