Going in Blind

I’ve been working day shifts at Bruno’s because I have the show to call cues for at night during the run and as I was leaving for the show tonight, I ran into Brad who was just arriving for his shift. Well, I ran into Brad and Angel.

I walked out through the back door and into a make out session.

“Oh!” I said awkwardly.

They broke apart and Angel smiled at me while she ran her hands up and down Brad’s arm.

“Sorry, Faith, didn’t mean to be in your way.” Brad said sliding over so I could pass by them without having to sidle next to the dumpster.

“It’s okay.” I said hitching my bag up on my shoulder and walking past.

I heard Brad mumble something and then the door to the bar close before I could feel someone’s hand on my arm. I turned around to find Brad.

“I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

I gave him a dirty look before turning on my heel and heading out of the alley.

“Come on, Faith!” He said.

I spun back around.

“I don’t know what you want from me Brad. I don’t care. Make out with your girlfriend, hump her in a movie theatre while I’m sitting right next to you, whatever.”

“She’s really into PDA.” He said trying to offer up an excuse. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes.

“Okay?” I said crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m sorry if seeing me with someone else is hard for you. I got that vibe from our night at the movies.”

“I won’t lie, Brad, my feelings were hurt, but not because you brought Angel with you. You and Cara didn’t tell me you were bringing dates. I felt like a third wheel the whole night.”

“Oh…Cara was supposed to tell you.”

“Yeah, well, she didn’t.”

There was an awkward silence.

“So…you’re okay with me dating Angel?” He asked sheepishly.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I told you to move on…and you most certainly did.”

“See, that right there! That attitude you’ve got. You clearly are not okay with it.”

I sighed with annoyance.

“Brad, did you ever think that maybe my annoyance has to do with me constantly running into you and Angel playing tonsil hockey? It’s gross. Quit it. You’re 27 years old, it’s a little late to act like a 12 year old boy, don’t you think.”

“Okay, fine. We’ll tone it down.”

“Thanks.” I said before leaving. I didn’t say good bye.

The show went fine last night and today was my day off. I ended up hanging out at home and relaxing. I was giving myself a pedicure while Murphy played with his favorite mousie toy when my eyes fell on the slip of paper on my desk Molly had given me. I penguin walked over to it (so I wouldn’t mess up my freshly painted toenails) and thought about whether or not I should call the number written on it.

“What the hell?” I said grabbing my cell phone and shrugging.

I took a deep breath and dialed it. And then I hung up after one ring. I took another deep breath and tried again. A man answered it.

“Hello?”

“Um…hi. My name is Faith, you gave my friend Molly your phone number after my apartment burned down.” I winced at what a lousy introduction that was.

“Oh…hi. I, uh, I’d given up on you ever calling me. I’m surprised you even bothered.”

“Really? Why?”

“Well, because picking up girls that you know because their home was on fire is usually not the best introduction for asking people out.”

We laughed.

“Actually, I just figured you had more stuff to think about what with your apartment burning down and your cat…” He said.

“Oh, that’s actually why I was calling. My cat was found. He’s happy and healthy and home with me. I found him a few weeks ago in a shelter.”

“Wow, lucky cat.”

“You have NO idea.” I found myself smiling, “But I wanted to thank you for trying to find him for me that night. I thought you’d want to know that he’d been found.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad he was found.”

There was a somewhat awkward pause on the phone.

“My name is Mike, by the way.”

“Oh. Mine is Faith.

“Yeah…you mentioned that.”

“Oh.” I said feeling myself blush.

“How are you doing after the fire?” He asked.

“I’m doing well. I found a new apartment and I’m back on my feet now. It was a hard thing to go through, but I’m past the hardest parts, especially now that Murphy has been found.”

“I’m really glad to hear that. It’s a shame that they still haven’t found out who the arsonist was that set that fire. I’m sorry about all of your neighbors.

“Thanks.” I said somberly.

“Look, do you, uh…you wanna grab some coffee some time?” He asked.

I smiled…I could practically hear him blush through the phone as he asked.

“I’d like that.” I said.

We decided to meet for a coffee date on Thursday in the late morning. It actually took a lot longer than I expected. My work schedule is pretty hard to work around with a normal person, but Mike is a firefighter and has an even weirder schedule than I do. I’m really looking forward to this date.

Movie Madness

Tonight was the opening of the show! There was an opening party afterward. I made a brief appearance before heading to meet Brad and Cara for the movies. When I got there, there were four people instead of two.

“Hey guys.”  I said walking up to them.

“Oh, good, you’re here! Let’s grab our tickets.” Cara said grabbing my hand.

“Cara, calm down, we have 30 minutes before it starts.” Brad said laughing, “Faith, that’s Cara’s boyfriend, Liam, and this is Angel, my girlfriend.”

“Wha-uh-oh.” I said feeling like the loneliest person in the world and quite possibly the biggest third wheel ever. I shook Liam’s and Angel’s hands before Cara dragged me to the ticket booth.

Liam is a young twenty-something guy with short brown hair. He’s about four inches taller than Cara and was wearing a brown suede jacket, light jeans, and a batman t-shirt. Angel had long black hair, really pale make-up, and was dressed all in black. Her lipstick was black and her eye makeup was all black, too. She had a nose ring, a lip ring, and safety pin going through her industrial piercing on her right ear. She was wearing huge black platform shoes that laced up all the way to her knees with skull-patterned laces. I wasn’t surprised that Brad would date someone like that, he’s into the alternative scene and also dresses in primarily black things. I wasn’t as shocked by her appearance at the PDA they were sporting. I glanced at Liam while Brad and Angel basically tried to swallow each other, he was visibly uncomfortable.

“You could have told me you guys were bringing…people.” I said when Cara and I reached the ticket kiosk.

“What? I thought Brad told you...or maybe I was supposed to…whatever! You’re here now, so let’s grab some popcorn!”

I tried to pretend like I was happy and excited about the movie but it would be a big fat lie to say I wasn’t hurt a little bit (or a lot, really).

I ended up sitting next to Brad and Angel in the theatre and that was…uncomfortable. They made out the entire movie and the slurping sounds made me lose my appetite for my overpriced popcorn. At one point Brad kept bumping into me because of how forcefully Angel was pushing herself onto him. I couldn’t wait until the movie was over so I could leave.

When the credits finally rolled up, we all walked out as a group.

“That was a great movie!” Cara said.

“Yeah, it was.” Brad said.

I had to stifle a derisive snort. I’m surprised Brad even knew the name of the movie considering how absorbed he was with Angel the entire time. When I got home, Molly noticed that I was annoyed.

“What’s up? What happened?” She asked as Murphy came running to me.

I picked him up and then plopped down on the couch next to her.

“Cara and Brad brought dates.” I said glumly while I stroked Murphy.

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. They didn’t tell me so I was the third wheel the whole time. And you were right, Brad has a new girlfriend.”

“Are you okay?” She said gently.

“You know…I am. I really am. I’ve seen Brad in a new light and I didn’t like it. At all. I think tonight was just what I needed to get over whatever it is that we had. I hope he and Angel are very happy.”

“Angel?”

“Yeah.”

“Well that’s fitting, kind of.”

“What? Why?”

“Because isn’t Angel an old television character who was a vampire? She kind of looks like one, so…”

“Molly that’s a terrible thing to say…Even if it is true.” I smiled.

“That’s my girl.” She said giving me hug.

“From now on, I only want to go to the movies with my girls.” I said.

“Understandable. We’d at least tell you if we were bringing dates.”

“You know, I felt really lonely at first but then I realized that there was no reason for me to feel lonely. Sure, I didn’t have a date to make out with throughout the whole movie but I was with two of my friends. So that’s one thing to keep it all in perspective.”

“Faith?”

“Yeah?”

“Who would you have brought if they’d told you to bring someone?”

“You, duh. Maybe Adam, I know he’s a fan of Batman.”

That was a lie, though. I was already with the person I would have brought. The problem was that he brought someone else. But I am really over him now.

Spotted!

It’s currently tech week with the show. Production has actually gone somewhat smoothly up to this point. Tucker cancelled a rehearsal because he was hung over last week and one time he showed up an hour late but I think, overall, I’ve kept him under control. But tech week is a lot more stressful than rehearsals. Each rehearsal during tech week is so long and it’s super tedious because we have to go through every cue of the show. It’s really all for my benefit since I call the cues and this is the only time during the entire process that I really get to practice calling them. Thankfully, though, the set is really simple, there are no moving pieces to worry about. I do have two projection screens, though, so I have special cues for the images that come up on those in addition to lights, sound, and actor cues.

I met with my run crew (the people who work behind stage), light board operator, and sound board operator. I gave them a breakdown I made assigning them each to their jobs before posting a schedule for the day. I already had all the cues written on my script from paper tech the day before, so I was ready.

I think the first day went really well. I feel really good about my cue calling and my crew is GREAT and the actors were all really professional. I did notice that people were getting tired as the day went on, so I appreciate that they didn’t let that affect their professionalism. Molly waited for me as I locked everything up and went through my check-ins for the night (make sure all the props are still there, all the doors are locked, costumes have been stored, etc.). We went home but stopped and grabbed some burgers on the way.

We both practically collapsed on the couch with our food. Murphy came running and sat on my knees while I inhaled my fries. He’s been very clingy (understandable) since I brought him home.

“How’s Brad?” Molly asked.

“I think he’s good. Things at work are more civil than ever and I think he’s moved on. I sent him and Cara texts to see if they wanted to go see the new Batman movie. We’re all going to see a midnight showing of it on opening night after the show ends. They’ll be getting off work and I’ll be done closing everything down so we’d figure we’d go. I’m on days now, except for weekends so I won’t see him as much. Why do you ask?”

“I saw him the other day.”

“Where?”

“I was at the fabric store picking up some last minute trims for the show and he was at an outdoor café across the street.”

Molly had met Brad while visiting me at work once. He’s actually met all of my friends except Anna and Adam.

“Okay.”

“Faith…he was with someone.”

“So? We aren’t dating, Molly. Why should I care who he sees outside of work?”

She shrugged, “Okay then.”

I couldn’t help my curiosity, though.

“How do you know he was on a date?” I asked looking at her sideways.

“Um, his face was practically glued to hers until their waiter came to take their order.”

“What did she…how did she look?” I asked trying to sound nonchalant.

“You are SO jealous!” Molly said.

“I am not, I’m just curious. Seriously, what was I supposed to ask when you bring something like this up!?”

“Okay, fine, sorry! Let’s just watch yesterday’s Project Runway and eat.”

“Fine.” I said grabbing my burger.

Later, I was laying in bed with Murphy curled into a furry purring ball next to me and I couldn’t stop thinking about Brad being on a date with someone. I know I asked him to move on but I guess I just thought it would take him longer. But it’s been two months since we had that talk…I have no right to feel jealous but at the same time, it’s weird that Brad hasn’t said anything about it at work. I imagine he decided not to because of our history. I’m kind of hurt that he wouldn’t share that with me even though it’s stupid for me to feel that way. I keep finding myself hoping that Molly was just confused and it was someone else she saw.

Treasure Hunt

I have been so incredibly busy, lately with work and volunteering and my classes! Yesterday was a very emotional day.

I volunteered at the shelter yesterday. I walked into the front office to get a leash so I could walk Sarah the pit bull when I heard Nancy hang up the phone and sigh.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Another volunteer quit at our smaller shelter in the city. They’re already understaffed and I don’t know what we’re going to do about it.”

“Well, I could volunteer there for awhile if you’re willing to spare me. It’s closer to home, so it really wouldn’t be an imposition. I could even keep coming here in addition to the city shelter.” I said shrugging.

“Would you really want to do that? It would be helping us tremendously but I don’t want you to feel obligated, you already do a lot here.”

“Are you kidding? I love volunteering here, sign me up!”

Nancy had Doc drive me over there right away. The city’s shelter just got a huge influx of dogs that were seized from a dog fighting ring and really needed help. I tried to do what I could: made beds for the dogs that passed health screens, filled up food and water bowls, helped give some of the dogs baths, etc. By the end of my shift, I was exhausted. I went to the front desk and grabbed my purse and bag before heading out to rehearsal. As I was leaving, I had to walk past some of the animals up for adoption and I stopped cold. There was a cat meowing at me. I did a double take and thought I was seeing things.

It was Murphy!

I ran to the glass and put my hand against it. His eyes were huge and he started spinning in circles and rubbing against the glass. I went to the front desk as fast as I could.

“My cat is here!” I said.

“What?” The lady at the counter said.

“You have my cat here, he’s up for adoption and I want him.”

“Oh, that’s so nice! Usually our volunteers try to avoid the adopting animals because they already have so many. It’s so great that you’ve found a pet you want.”

“No, you don’t understand.” I said getting frustrated, “Murphy is my cat. I owned him before. I thought he died in an apartment fire. He’s been missing for months and he’s here!”

The woman just stared at me like I was crazy.

“Come here, I’ll show you, he knows it’s me!” I went down to his kennel and he was pawing at the glass trying to get out.

“If you’d like to adopt Oscar you’ll have to pay a fee.”

“Oscar?” I said crinkling my nose, “Do you have access to humane society records?”

“Yes.”

“Look me up. You’ll see I adopted him. There’s bound to be a description or even a picture of the cat I adopted, I KNOW it’s him.”

She sighed and walked back to the front desk and sat down at a computer. I gave her my information.

“Well, it shows that you adopted a cat but they failed to include a picture, so there’s no way for me to confirm that that’s the cat you adopted. You’ll have to pay the adoption fee. I can’t just GIVE you a cat because you claim he used to be yours and you lost him.”

“I didn’t LOSE him! My apartment burned down and he disappeared. I thought he DIED!”

“Well, our records show that he doesn’t have a microchip implant, if you had actually adopted him, he’d have one with the humane society’s information about your address.”

“That’s because it was taken out of him.”

She looked at me like I was trying to convince her that the moon landing was a hoax.

“You know what? Fine!” I said.

I was so angry and sick of arguing with this woman. I whipped out my check card and handed it to her fuming. And maybe I was just taking it personally, but she seemed to be taking an unnecessarily long time with the paperwork.

“While you handle all of that can I at least SEE him?” I said waspishly.

She gave me a dirty look before letting me into a very small room with a bench in it. I sat down and she shut the door. A few seconds later she returned with a squirming Murphy in her arms. He practically jumped away from her to get into my lap and immediately started purring. I started sobbing immediately.

“I missed you SO MUCH!” I said holding him to me and crying into his fur, “Mommy loves you!”

Murphy is pretty thin. And he has a cut on his front leg that seems to have healed a long time ago. I called Zoey while the woman finished up with my paperwork.

“Oh my God, what is wrong!?” Zoey asked when she answered the phone and heard me sobbing.

“I found….Murphy!” I cried. I told her where I was and asked her to pick us up so I could get him home before I had to go to work and she was on her way within seconds of hanging up.

Finally, my paperwork went through and I was given a cardboard kennel for Murphy. I waited for Zoey outside the shelter and we stopped at a pet store to buy Murphy a litter box, food, a new bed, and some toys (of course). When I got him home, I immediately had to leave to get to work and all through rehearsal I kept thinking about getting home to him.

I still can’t believe I found him and that he’s here with me right now, sitting next to me while I type this up. It’s so surreal to have him back home with me again.