Lack and Luster

Molly and I were so excited. We had our first staff meeting over the weekend and it was going to being the new theatre space. Neither of us had seen it so we were very excited for our first look. Until we got there.

Girls, Girls, Girls

I spent the rest of the week feeling sorry for myself and being angry. Eventually, Suzy called and insisted I join her, Amber, and Dina for a day out in the city while the weather was still hot.

Square One...Again

Well, it’s official. Eddie has completely screwed me over.

Bet the Farm

Well. I officially signed my contract for The Glass Penny. Things aren’t quite set in stone yet, though.

Pens at the Ready

Molly and I sat across from Shelby in her office. We’d brought the new contracts Hazel had couriered to us that reflected the changes to our positions on the board.

The Glass Penny

Molly and I showed up at the restaurant early. We were both wearing knee-length dresses with professional necklines. I was wearing a light purple dress with a boxy neckline and pencil-style skirt. Molly was wearing a navy dress with a circle skirt and straight scoop neckline. We awkwardly stood amongst crystal artwork in the foyer wondering if Zeke was here or if we should wait but a waiter showed us to a large round table with a white tablecloth where Zeke was seated.

Big Moments

I have been so busy lately and I haven’t updated in awhile! So much has happened in the time that I’ve last written.

The biggest thing that’s happened is that I met Mike’s parents! I didn’t want Thanksgiving to be the first time I met them so Mike took me to his parents’ house to have dinner. His dad’s name is Frank and he’s a retired fireman. He’s also really into cars and has been trying to refurbish one with Mike When they have free time. It’s adorable. Mike’s dad didn’t want to retire, actually, 3 years ago he was riding in a fire truck on the way to a burning building when it was hit by a car. The accident broke his back in 5 places and he had to have a ton of surgeries but he still has a lot of back pain so he was sort of forced to retire. Now he builds wooden toys and sells them on Etsy, which is also just super freaking adorable, too.

Mike’s mom is a very warm woman. Her name is Betty and she’s just a very naturally happy woman. She made me feel welcome as soon as she opened the door, in fact, the very first thing she did was give me a hug. She’s such a sweet woman and I feel silly for not wanting to meet her sooner.

Mike’s parents also call him Mikey which is hilarious to me. I’ve never met such a cute family.

Before we ate dinner (lasagna; Mike told his mom that I loved her recipe so she insisted that we have that) Mike showed me his childhood bedroom and…you guys…my boyfriend is a GIANT nerd. First of all, he slept in a racecar bed all the way through high school. I don’t really understand how he fit but he slept in a blue race car bed. Second, there were nerdy posters all over the walls. Magic: The Gathering posters, Star Trek posters, Doctor Who posters, Pokemon posters.

“Oh my God.” I said when he showed it to me.

“I know.”

“You are such a nerd.” I said stepping into his room to take it all in.

“I know.”

I leaned against his dresser and stared in awe. Above his bed was a picture Xena the Warrior Princess and Wonder Woman which made me giggle.

“Please don’t dump me.” He joked.

“Well that depends, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“On what?” He said putting his hands against my waist and leaning on me.

“Which was your starter Pokemon?”

“Which gen?”

“First.”

“Psssh, charmander, OBVIOUSLY. The best one, duh.”

I scrutinized him, “Good answer.”

Mike kissed me and laughed.

“You have an inner nerd, too?” He asked.

“Mike, you don’t even KNOW how much I love Pokemon. My games are hidden in my closet; I play them sometimes when it’s slow at work.”

“God, I love you.”

And THAT, would be another big thing that happened while I’ve been too busy to write. Mike told me that he loves me and I said it back and really meant it. I do love Mike. I think I’m still falling in love with him but I’ve definitely passed the threshold between love and like a long time ago, probably even before we had sex.

Another thing that has happened since my last post was that we started our rehearsals for the show. It’s been going very smoothly and my cast is a dream to work with. Tech will be exhausting, though, if everything Joe is planning works out. We’re going to have fog machines and flying actors and pyrotechnics. Just thinking about all the safety checks I’ll have to do every night before we open the house is making me dizzy!

This Thursday I’m going over to Mike’s family’s house after rehearsal for dinner, I’m bringing the wine.

Finally!

 Mike and I were lounging about on my couch, watching a movie when my phone buzzed. It was Molly. Mike was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt and I was wearing my fuzzy pajama pants and a long-sleeved sleep shirt.

“Is everything okay?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, Molly’s hotline shift was cancelled so she told me she’s going to say over at Calvin’s tonight.”

“So…she’s not going to be here until tomorrow.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“Yeah.” I said not catching on.

“As in, we have the whole place to ourselves tonight and neither one of us has to work or anything?”

“Yeah…” It finally clicked.

Mike and I looked at each other before we both hopped off the couch and sprinted to my bedroom, throwing off clothes as we went. Honestly, the first time went by very quickly but I think that was because we were both so ready to finally have sex with each other that we just rushed through it before we could be interrupted again. It was okay but not nearly as good as the second, third or fourth times we had sex later that night (and the following morning). Mike has incredible stamina and the body of a fireman which is also a definite perk.

He was showering in my bathroom when I woke up after a session of intense morning sex and I just kind of laid in my bed and smiled for awhile because it was definitely worth the wait. Eventually I got dressed and made some coffee. Molly was still out from what I could tell but I kicked the clothes we’d pulled off  in the living room into my room so the living room wasn’t a mess. Mike came out right after the coffee finished brewing, he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Ahhh, coffee.” He said pouring us both a cup. He kissed my head and then joined me at the table for some bagels.

“I need it. I Didn’t get much sleep last night.” I smiled.

Mike laughed.

“Finally!” He said between laughs. I nodded and we both just burst out laughing because “finally” really did sum it up.

“It was worth the wait.” I said.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the rest of the day together because Mike had to go to work and I had to go talk to Eddie  about some things for the holiday show schedule and tech so Mike left shortly after breakfast. We’re going to dinner tomorrow before I have to go to work at Bruno’s.

To be honest, I’m kind of relieved we’ve finally had sex (and that it was great!). Part of me was worried we’d sort of missed the boat to take things to the next level and were going to be stuck in this weird we’re-in-a-relationship-but-not-serious-enough-that-we’re-having-sex place forever.

In work news, the show was cast about a week and a half ago and we’ve started rehearsals. We’re going to go into tech in about two weeks and then open the show until we close in January. Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to go home for Thanksgiving OR Christmas this year and I’m sure it’s going to just devastate my mom. I’m really not looking forward to telling her.

Mixed Up

Mike and I went out for lunch together and then ended up back at his place. I wore my sexy underwear just in case we would have sex.

“So…I kind of want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to freak out, okay?”

We were sitting on his couch, making out.

“Um…okay?” I said pulling away to look at him.

“I…I want you to meet my parents.”

I was shocked.

“W-wha-we haven’t been dating that….r-really?”

“You’re freaking out.”

“Yeah.”

“Look, my parents live in town, they have a family dinner once a week, it’s not a formal thing, I swear. I go every week. We’ll just go to their house, hang out for a few hours, eat my mom’s cooking, and go home. You love my mom’s lasagna so I know you’ll love the food. They’re very friendly people.”

“That’s…really….that’s a big step.” I said.

“Look, just…just think about it, okay? No pressure, just…when you’re ready.”

“O-okay,” I said, “This was not what I thought we’d be doing when you invited me back here.” I tried to make a joke.

“Oh, well, I figured that would happen, too.” Mike smiled and started kissing me again.

“Would you be willing to meet some friends of mine?” Mike asked, breaking his kiss.

“THAT, I can do. You met my friends, so it’s time I met yours.” I started kissing him again.

We made our way to Mike’s bedroom, I took off his shirt and he started unbuttoning my jeans before he pressed his body on top of mine and suddenly stopped.

“Uh, your crotch is…vibrating.” He said out of breath.

I reached my hand down into my pocket and pulled out my phone.  It was Eddie.

All of my energy went out of me as I let out an angry sigh.

“UGH! We are NEVER going to have sex, are we?” I said to no one, “I really have to answer this.”

Mike rolled off of me and I put the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hi Faith, we’ve got an emergency.”

“What happened?”

“Joe’s wife is in emergency surgery, she collapsed at work and apparently it’s something with her heart.”

“Oh, that’s terrible, is Joe okay? Do they know anything yet?”

“Joe is holding up and I don’t think they know anything yet but here’s the problem: we’re supposed to get the lumber order for the show today and the delivery people are going to be at the shop in 30 minutes but no one is going to be there to sign for it. I need you to get to the theatre and sign for the order, okay?”

“Okay, I’m leaving now.”

I hung up the phone, zipped up my pants, and looked sadly at Mike.

“I’m sorry.” I said.

“It’s fine, go. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I just have to sign for it, so I should be back in an hour.”

“Well,” Mike said running a finger up my arm, “You could come back and we could continue this then?”

“Deal,” I said smiling.

I rolled on top of him and gave him a deep kiss before heading out.

I met the delivery men just in time and was about to sign for the order when Joe called me.

“Hey, Joe, how are you? How’s your wife?”

“Hi, Faith, thanks for helping me out. She’s still in surgery. Look, I need you to sign for the order after they’ve unloaded it into the shop, okay?”

“Okay.” I said. Internally I was annoyed because I knew that would take longer but the guy’s wife was having emergency surgery and my sex life wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things.

I told the delivery men that I needed them to unload it before I’d sign for it. They groaned but started moving stuff off the truck.

Mike was sending me dirty text messages the whole time so I wasn’t paying attention to what was being placed in the shop. When I looked up there were bright yellow set pieces, one looked like a pyramid, another was a giant sparkly sun. Not exactly the kind of stuff you’d expect for The Christmas Carol.

“What is this!?” I said to the guys that were currently moving a giant Egyptian statue into our loading dock.

“Whaddaya mean?”

“This CAN’T be our order.” I said. I immediately dialed Joe, “Joe, this order is wrong! Do you have the purchase order anywhere in the theatre?”

Joe told me where to find it in his desk and I brought it over to the guy in charge of the delivery so he could double check the order number.

“Yeah, welp, this ain’t the right order, lemme call my boss.”

He was on his phone for 20 minutes before he came over to me.

“So, there’s been a mix-up. We gotta truck on the other side of town with your order; it’s being redirected to here. Sorry ‘bout that. We’ll get this stuff outta here right away.”

I sighed and called Mike.

“So…I’m going to be REALLY late.”

“Oh.”

“There was a huge mishap and I have to sort it out. I’m sorry, Mike. I should be home by…eight, maybe?”

“Oh, Faith, I have to get to the station by 7 for my shift tonight.”

I sighed.

“Hey, we’ll just…figure something else out, okay?”

“Okay.” I said sadly.

I said goodbye and angrily settled in for the right delivery truck to arrive. It took three hours for them to get there, unload  everything, and get the paperwork for me to sign. The good news, though, is that Joe’s wife made it through surgery and is on the mend.

Spree

Zoey and I went shopping together so I could spend my final half of my stipend from the show on some new clothes. My wardrobe has been pretty sad ever since the fire, Anna and Zoey helped out by giving me the clothes they get from work every now and then but I’m still missing a lot. I bought three pairs of shoes (I’ve mostly just borrowed shoes from Molly since I moved in and before today, I only had two pairs of shoes so this was a necessary purchase), a few dresses and t-shirts, a couple pairs of jeans, and a professional suit. Most of the stuff I bought was black so it can do double duty for being nice clothing while also appropriate for working backstage.

I officially signed another contract with Eddie to be the stage manager for the holiday show. We open November 9th and the auditions are in two weeks and I’m going to be responsible for running them. For the last show, the cast was already assembled since the stage manager walked out halfway through the rehearsal process.  I’m hoping it will be a smooth production.

I told Zoey about the new opportunity and she demanded tickets. We were at our last stop of the day: a lingerie store.

“I don’t have a ton of sexy underwear so I think it’s time to stock up.” I said.

“And so you can buy something to rev up Mike’s engine.”

“Yeah, that too.” I sighed.

Mike and I have gone out a few times since I load out and no sex has happened, I think he’s afraid of being rejected again. But we have a date coming up and I am SO ready for the sex to happen, hence my trip to the lingerie shop.

“What about this?” I said holding up a black lace teddy.

“Well, that depends…is Mike a lace guy? Does he like red? Or silk? Or sheer?” Zoey held up a bunch of options.

“I don’t know.” I said with an air of disappointment, “It seems like Mike’s lingerie preferences are the only thing we haven’t talked about when it comes to sex.”

“Hmm. When in doubt, go for the thigh-high fishnets, teensy thong, and lacy bra.” She said piling up my arms with the items as she ticked them off.

“Really? You think this’ll do it?”

“Yeah. The thing about guys is that they might like a certain kind of lingerie on you but it doesn’t matter if it’s not their preferred garment, it’s going to end up on the floor anyway.” She joked.

“You’re right.” I said and went to try everything on.

I bought some more things at the store, like, bras which I was in desperate need of, some underwear, and some new pajama pants.

We trekked back to Zoey’s car and then stopped for Chinese at a new restaurant near my apartment. It was nice to spend time with her. We don’t hang out as much as we used to but we’re both incredibly busy. We text each other and call each other a lot but I need more Zoey in my life and I told her so.

“I miss hanging out with you.” I said over my beef fried rice.

“Me too. Everything is just so busy.” She said.

“I think we should try to a weekly thing like we used to.”

“I would like that.” Zoey smiled and dug in her purse to get her phone so she could look at her schedule.

We decided that we’ll meet for brunch every Saturday and that we’ll invite Anna and Molly, too. I’m excited to hang out with my girls again. I also can’t wait to tell them about the night Mike and I finally have sex which will hopefully be tomorrow night.

One Giant Leap...

I had my career changer class last night. We mostly worked on how to sell yourself in an interview using your previous career’s experiences and applying it to a hypothetical new career path. We did mock interviews for the majority of the class with Sue correcting us as we went. I felt kind of silly but I learned a few really helpful tips.

As everyone was gathering their things to leave, Sue passed around a sign-up sheet for our private consults. I signed up for a time and then approached her.

“Sue?”

She turned around from packing her briefcase.

“Yes, Faith?”

“I was wondering if I could talk to you about something for a minute…”

“Okay. Go for it.”

“I’ve been offered a work opportunity that could lead to a career but I really just need some advice.”

“What field is it in?”

“It’s in theatre. I would be a stage manager.”

“And you used to work in HR, right?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of advice are you looking for?”

“Well…whether or not I should take it.”

We laughed.

“Hmmm. Theatre is a risky career choice. There’s so much competition and the pay isn’t as great or as stable as pretty much any other job. But, if you take this opportunity, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to commit to it as a new career choice. I’d say go for it. Opportunities like this don’t come around that often, especially for professional theatre spots. If you don’t like it, take your paycheck and look for something else, I say.”

I thanked her and thought about what she said on my short walk home. I’ve been weighing the pros and cons of taking the stage management job for the past two days. When I got home, I plopped down next to Molly.

“Hey, how did your class go?” She asked.

“I think you should give me Eddie’s number.” I said.

“REALLY!?”

“Yeah, but I have a feeling I’m going to regret this somehow.” I sighed as Molly ran to get her phone.

I spoke with Eddie for about 25 minutes and e-mailed him my resume. He hired me after a short phone interview and then gave me all the details. I start tomorrow. I’ve spent most of the day being e-mailed all sorts of documents and phone numbers and calendars for the production. The show is The Glass Menagerie. The director’s name is Tucker and I’m going to meet him for lunch later today, here’s hoping I don’t immediately regret this.

An Actual Paycheck?

My new cooking class is super fun! The teacher’s name is Ty and he’s a 30-something guy with a serious passion for food. He taught us how to make five-cheese ravioli during our first class. Our class is 8 weeks long and he asked us all to write down things we wanted to learn on 3x5 cards. Some people asked about appetizers while others wanted to learn desserts. Ty said that we would do a unit on appetizers but desserts were going to have to be for another class because the techniques are usually more advanced. I might sign up for that one after this class finished up.

The best part about this class is that Ty doesn’t use overly complicated and difficult recipes; a lot of them are actually a mixture of homemade and store-bought. Like, for the ravioli, we used store bought pasta sheets to make them but we made our own egg washes with seasonings to add our own touch and build the ravioli ourselves. And we made the sauce from a combination of homemade and store bought stuff, too.

My career-changer class is only 6 weeks long and is taught by an older woman named Sue. Aside from career-changing advice, she also gives financial and budget advice. She also teaches a class completely about finances and budget that I’m considering taking once this one is over. Our first class was kind of boring but we had to get a lot of procedural stuff down, like resumes and cover letters. Next week is how to sell yourself and your skills to different fields. And our last class, all of us get to schedule a time with Sue for a personal consult.

When I got home from work, Molly was home. She usually has rehearsal or work at the hotline so I was surprised to see her.

“Hey.” She said from the couch, “You want some wine?”

“Sure,” I said grabbing a glass from the cupboard and setting my bag down.

I joined her on the couch and kicked my shoes off.

“I didn’t think you’d be home.” I said as she poured.

“Well, rehearsal is kind of…on hold for right now.”

“Really? I thought rehearsals were pretty inflexible.”

“They are. The whole production has been put on hold.”

“Why?”

“Our stage manager and director got into a HUGE fight. The stage manager quit so Eddie has to find a new one and they aren’t really easy to come by. No one wants to work with our director. He’s not a very easy person to work with.”

“Who is Eddie?”

“He’s the producer, he owns the theatre we’ve been working with for this show.”

“Wow.” I said taking a sip of wine, “So are you going to audition for a different show and leave this one?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. Hence the wine. It’s a pretty dire situation, Faith. I really need the money this show would bring in. I could finally pay off my car with some of it. They’re paying me to act and to be a seamstress for the costume designer. Aside from the financial pay off, working with this designer is a big opportunity for me career-wise. I don’t know what to do yet.”

“Well, if the stage manager quit, something big must have happened. I remember stage managing in college for a few shows and it’s a tough job but usually you just go with the flow. I wonder what happened.”

“There are rumors that they were sleeping together and things ended badly…but you’ve stage managed?”

“Molly, my bachelor’s degree is IN theatre. It was my major. I have a double major in communications and theatre. I thought you knew that?”

“UM. NO. Faith you should throw your hat into the ring! Give me your resume; I’ll give it to Eddie!”

“Molly, I haven’t worked in theatre since college. There are more qualified people out there, trust me. Besides, you just told me how much of a nightmare the director is to work with. I don’t need that. Not after working with Kevin.”

Molly was really discouraged and finished off her glass of wine. I felt bad for her and wanted to cheer her up so I kind of lied.

“I’ll…I’ll think about it, okay?” I said.

“Really, Faith!? I think it would be awesome if we worked together. I promise, I’m an ideal actor, I’m always on time and I memorize my lines really fast. You wouldn’t have to worry about a single problem when it comes to me!”

“I said I’d think about it, Molly, not that I’ll do it.”

“Do you want to know how much you’d be paid?” She asked giving me a sideways glance.

“Molly….I said I’d thi-”

She blurted the number out and I was flabbergasted. It was a lot of money. I’ve been living paycheck-to-paycheck since working at Bruno’s. I’ve only really been able to save a small amount of money because my student loans are so expensive. I’ve only been able to pay off the interest since the fire, but taking that job would fix a lot of that. I’d be paid half when the show closed and half when I signed my contract. I would have enough money to pay off one of my smaller student loans and even have a small reminder of what my savings account looked like before being unemployed and losing all my stuff in the fire.

I wasn’t really going to think about taking the job, I just told Molly that so she wouldn’t get too sad while drinking but I’m seriously considering it now. Am I crazy?