“You know I do.”
“Then I’m not giving up on us. I refuse to. We have to figure this out.”
“You won’t give up your work. I can’t give up my life here. We’re at an impasse. You know we are.”
“I could work less.”
“And resent me every time you have to turn down a movie role or another series?”
“I wouldn’t though,” Jason said. “It would be my choice. You would be the priority.”
She sighed, exasperated. “Let’s put a pin in this. We’re just going to get into a fight, and I don’t want to waste one of our nights together.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, okay.” He brightened. “I brought a bottle of wine.”
“Open that thing. Now that Reese is pregnant, we had herbal tea for our weekly hang out.”
He stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “Reese is pregnant?”
She clamped her hand against her mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to share that. They wanted to wait until the first trimester is over.”
“Okay. I didn’t see that coming.” Jason’s face crumpled, his eyes misting. “I’m sorry, Mauve. For all the things I can’t give you. I wish I was a different guy. The guy you deserve. But I’m not. I love what I do, and it’s taken me so long to get where I am.”
“I understand. I really do. And you’re a wonderful man. That’s not the issue.”
“I’m just not the man for you.”
“I wish it was different too,” she whispered, fighting those nagging tears waiting at the back of her eyes.
He pulled her to him, holding her tight. So tight that she thought he might never let go.
Which is exactly what she wanted. And exactly what couldn’t happen.
11
JASON
The next afternoon, Jason waited for Marcus to come home from school. He’d spent some time looking through the monologue pieces in preparation. In his opinion, Marcus had chosen well. They were good choices for a kid serious about getting into drama school.
He’d just made himself a cup of tea when he heard Marcus come through the back door, drop his backpack on the bench, and kick off his boots.
“Hey, bud. You ready to get to work?” Jason asked.
“Heck yeah, I am.” Marcus gave him a lopsided grin. “I’m nervous too.”
“Don’t be. I’m just your Uncle Jason.”
“Who happens to be a famous actor.”
“I started just where you are now. Feels like yesterday I was in this very kitchen working on my audition monologues.”
“Which did you do?”
He chuckled. “The famousHamletspeech, which in hindsight was ridiculous given how young and inexperienced I was.” He recited the opening line, “‘What a piece of work is man.’ And for my contemporary, I did Tom fromThe Glass Menagerie. Also ridiculous for a kid.”
“They considered that modern?” Marcus asked.
“Very funny.” Jason gestured toward the papers with the monologues Marcus had left for him before he went to school. “I’ve been looking at them. Do you have the play and book with you?”
