“Really? The agency is bringing out all the big guns tonight?”
“It’s rare, but occasionally, my parents and I still see shows together. We got lucky that each of us has a client in this one, so we coordinated our schedules to make it a family affair.”
“And how goes the dating life?”
“I won’t ask about yours if you don’t ask about mine,” he said with a quirk of his lip.
“Touché.” I threw my hands up in mock surrender, which was the end of that shortly lived discussion. “How goes the house hunt?”
“Still need to see a few more properties on the market. My real estate agent called. A Wall Street-type put his condo on sale. It’s in a nice building near the theater district. Apparently, it’s all hush-hush, so I don’t know the specific location. But I’m supposed to get an early preview of the space early next week. If I like it, I may put in an offer.”
“Condo board?”
“Of course, but my real estate agent doesn’t think I’ll have any problems with them. Apparently, the board is made up of mostly industry types, so I’d fit in nicely with the group.”
“And you? Any thought about leaving the Manhattan Plaza?”
“Leave my theater commune behind? Never.”
“What if you win a Tony?”
“I wouldn’t be the first Tony Award winner to live in that building. Heck, the place was home to Academy, Grammy, and Emmy winners. That place has history.”
“It is nice that there’s a place for struggling performance artists to live and thrive while trying to make a way in this strange business.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I hate to drink and run, but I need to head on over to Sardi’s, meeting up with my parents.”
“You’re meeting at Sardi’s? Isn’t that a bit cliché?”
“Of course, it’s cliché. But then, what’s wrong with cliché? One person’s cliché is another’s sense of classicism. Sardi’s is like great art. It has more stories to be told than any of us will ever hear.”
With that little nugget of wisdom, he grabbed the coat from the chair next to him, kissed me on the cheek, and was off to see his parents. I hadn’t noticed that he’d paid my bill before he’d left. He knows I would have wrestled him to the ground if he’d asked me first, which is why he decidedly didn’t ask.
I put my coat back on and grabbed my bag before heading out into the cold weather. At least the rain had stopped.
The walk back to the apartment was quick and dry. After my earlier soaking, I was looking forward to getting out of these clothes, even if they were dry now. Knowing how soaked I’d been earlier made a chill run down my spine. I entered the lobby and headed for the elevator bank.
“Hey, can you hold the door?” I heard someone yell.
I wanted to ignore the voice, but I kicked my foot out and waited for the person to join me.
“Howdy, new neighbor,” a man said, walking into the elevator with a couple of pizzas.
It took me a moment to remember that I’d met him earlier that afternoon. Let’s face it, I’d had a crazy afternoon. I tried to remember the guy’s name, then it hit me, “Kirk…right?”
“That’s me. I’m impressed you remembered.”
“Guess it’s that actor’s mind of mine.”
“How’d your audition go?”
“As well as could be expected. Well, that’s a lie. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But I was magnificent, and they want to see me again tomorrow.”
He looked at me before saying, “Sounds like you have a story to tell.”
“You have no idea. It starts with me being drenched from head to toe as a bus sped by me.”
His brow rose in surprise, which made me want to tell him more. Unfortunately, the elevator dinged, and story time was up. “I guess I’ll have to finish telling you about my day some other time.”
“Or you could come tell me now?” I looked over and caught a look of surprise that crossed his own face. “I mean, you could come over and tell Carissra and me your story. You know, Carissra, my niece. She’s in the apartment, so she’d be there, too. Is it getting hot in here?”
