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My eyes do not leave her face. “I’m going to tell you what I thought, Elaine. In case it’s not clear. You can’t go out walking alone. Come find me, ring me, or anyone else for that matter.”
“I didn’t know you cared,” she recites quietly.
“You didn’t know?” I raise my eyebrows. “What are you talking about? Hello, Elaine. I’m William. Have we met before? You didn’t know I would have wanted to make sure you were all right?” I take a step toward her. “If you can’t understand that, then you don’t know a damn thing about me!”
“Put your weapon down.” She backs away from the imaginary gun that hangs loosely from my hand. “Don’t you dare come near me with that thing.”
I toss the invisible gun away and step toward her again, into her personal space, causing her to back away once more. As I watch her body tense, I consider my next line and realize how difficult it will be to deliver, knowing she might find it too close to our own reality.
With apprehension, I step forward again so our faces are just inches apart. “What’s the matter, Elaine? Am I crowding you? Getting too close?” I pause as I watch the fear grow on her face. I wonder how real it is. “Scaring you?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.” She backs away again.
The remorse is instant. She stares at me in turmoil. If it’s strictly an act, I’m impressed. Neither of the other actresses were so convincing.
I let my chest rise and fall heavily as if I’m even more frustrated with Elaine than I am with Sophie. “Elaine, when I first returned from the war…you were so happy. What did I say?” I watch her carefully.
She sighs. “I don’t know, what did you say?”
I channel William’s exasperation now. “I asked where Daria was.”
She shrinks away from me as the Elaine in the script reacts to the mention of her sister, whom William had a relationship with earlier in the story.
“Elaine, if you’re unhappy because I’m making you remember things you want to forget, then I’m sorry…” I pause, thinking about Sophie’s scars that seem to make her afraid of me too. “I really am. And I’ll forgive you for being so careless if you’ll forgive me for one thing that’s bothering you.” I smile slightly. “Or is there more than one?”
“William, there are so many things that are bothering me. I don’t even know where to begin.” She looks absolutely exhausted.
In the scene, William’s demeanor softens, and I feel it in myself too. I move toward her, more gently this time, sliding my hands into hers. “Elle…my love, sit down with me for a minute.”
She doesn’t look at me, but I pull her gently down to the ground. Her small, soft hands grip mine back lightly.
I kneel in front of her and take a shallow breath. Her eyes are trained on the ground, waiting for me to act next.
Nervously, I lean in slowly and touch my lips to her forehead as gently as I can. I leave them there for a beat. “Elle…you know I care, right?”
“I know,” Sophie says quietly.
I pull back from her. “Look at me.”
“I can’t,” she whispers.
My heart beats a little faster as I reach out and take her face in my hands, lifting her chin. “Yes, you can. Are you really that scared?”
Her warm brown eyes finally look up into mine. “Terrified.”
I frown. “No, please, don’t be scared of me.” I run my thumb across her cheek, studying her face closely. “How can you possibly be so beautiful?”
“You’re just saying that.” Her voice is barely audible. “I mean, look at you.”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest. Her tiny figure is so delicate, yet so warm. She’s tense at first, but after a second, she relaxes into me. She feels wonderful in my arms, like she was made to fit there perfectly. I furrow my brow at the sensation. I want to hold her for so much longer, but I lean back and take her hands in mine again. “Elaine, you mean more to me than anyone else on this earth. You know that, don’t you? You were sent to save me, to hold me, and to heal me. I can’t go on without you…”
She’s staring at me in silence. There is fear in her eyes still, but there is also something else there. I’m not sure what it is.
I take a final breath and regard her with sincerity. “I know you’re afraid. But I’ll never hurt you… You can trust me.”
It’s the last line of the scene, but she stares at me for a long moment. I try to read the thoughts behind her deeply conflicted eyes, and eventually drop her hands from mine.
“Fantastic…” the casting director breathes. She isn’t even trying to hide her fascination. “That was really, really well done.”
