"Surely you must meet all sorts of celebrities in your line of work." I'm not impressed with his fan-girling routine. In fact, it's making me bloody crook. It's not like I've never lost my cool around a celeb, but Carson's just grating.
"But Iloveher." Carson stops and looks from me to Grayson and then back. "Oh, wait. Oh, God. This is too good. I cannot. I'm dying. Dead."
I have no idea what he's talking about, and don't have the inclination to find out either. I stand up. "It's been so nice of you to stop by, Carson, but Gray and I are way behind schedule. He was supposed to be on the three o'clock back up to The Edison. We're not close to finishing. Do you mind letting us get back to work?"
This was probably the wrong thing to say and do, but if Carson Reuben doesn't stop talking about Tabitha, I may explode.
I mean, it's nothing. Last night was nothing. Besides, it's not like she left because of me or anything I did.
It doesn't matter though. She's still gone.
Grayson picks up on my agitation. "Carson, thanks so much, but H is right. We're super bogged down. You know how complex this is. But I can tell you this—we're working on something totally fantastic for this season. I hope we can convince you to make the trek up to Hicklam to join us for a performance or two. Trust me, you're not going to want to miss this."
Carson looks at him for a moment before issuing a sly smile. He taps his nose. "I've got you, Grayson. I'm totally picking up what you're putting down. So I guess I'll see you soon then. Can't wait."
We sit in silence for a few minutes.
"That was weird," Gray finally offers.
"He's weird." He's not, but something about how he talked about Tabitha rubbed me the wrong way.
"Okay, before we go any further, are you going to tell me what happened?"
I shrug. It seems to be the best way to not have to talk about it. My two go-to gestures are eye rolls and shoulder shrugs. I guess I'm used to being in situations where either people are frustrating me, or I simply don't care.
The price and benefits of being perpetually alone.
"Come on, H. We're friends. You can talk to me."
What am I supposed to say? Yet another person bailed on me? No one, including my parents, think I'm worth sticking around for? It's pathetic. Totally pathetic. I'm just as bad as Carson Reuben, falling all over her and fawning about. I liked it better when I didn't know who she really was.
Actually, I liked it better when we were in my bedroom last night.
I can honestly say I was with Tabitha, not Tabby Cat. If I had to guess, I'd say that I saw Tabitha for her true self in ninety-percent of our interactions.
I doubt someone like Carson would ever stop to see the real her. It's got to be exhausting to deal with that all the time. No wonder she's lying low, trying to sneak around without people noticing her.
Perhaps it's for the best that this is over before it really began. I don't think I've got the chops to swim in her pond.
Gray is still looking at me, expecting me to talk or some shit like that. I sigh. "I do have something to say." He perks up like a puppy waiting for his treat.
Eye roll.
"We need to figure this out so you can get on the train and go back home. Where can we meet halfway?"
An exhausting two hours later, we've got enough for call backs. The dance audition will help us to figure out who's best suited for some of the more specialty parts. This season, we need a ballet dancer and aerialist, so those are auditions we definitely need to schedule.
The one thing we don't have is a big name star.
I mean, we've got Gray in at least two roles, but we should be looking for a female name to bring in some sales.
Sigh.
Tomorrow I'll be hitting my contact list, looking to see who I can scrounge up. I'm too tired to think about that now. Maybe Tabitha could put in a good word with Angie, and she'd be willing to slum it up in Hicklam for the summer.
Maybe if Angie was there, Tabitha would come for a visit.
Maybe I'm a pathetic drongo.
