Waiting in the Wings Read Online Free PDF Page B

effect.
    The young man smiled in return. “I’m sure that can be easily arranged, Miss Kenyon, compliments of the house. My wife and I have tickets to your show on Sunday. We’re both fans.”
    “Well, I can’t thank you enough for that. I hope you have a great time. Say hello to your wife for me and let her know we’ve had a blast here in Detroit.”
    I watched the exchange, impressed with the class Adrienne exhibited. “All right, the library scene, let’s see what you got.”
    We started running lines and I was surprised I knew as many as I did. Watching the show tonight had helped cement some of them in, as I was able to visualize the action as I said the words. On the second and third run-through of the scene, I noticed Adrienne was rearrang- ing the wording in her lines and sometimes adding in portions I knew didn’t exist. When I found myself floundering in response, I gave up. “You’re totally trying to screw me up, aren’t you?”
    “Me?” With mock innocence, she reached for my glass of wine, stealing her second sip of the night. She smiled triumphantly at her accomplishment. “I would never dream of partaking in such acts. But it is up to me to keep you on your toes, right? Plus, if you think this is bad, wait till you see what I do when I’m bored onstage.” She popped the last bit of cheeseburger into her mouth.
    “I can hardly wait.” I threw a glance behind me and noticed the restaurant had grown noticeably darker and quiet. A nearby vacuum roared to life. “I think we’re shutting the place down.”
    “We can always finish the last two scenes in my room and let these poor people go home for the night. I can make us some hot tea. Good for the pipes.”
    I nodded. Hot tea sounded great. On the elevator ride up, I began to feel the effects of the day’s workout. I rolled my head back and forth between my shoulder blades to relax the muscles there. My left knee also hurt a bit as I flexed the joint back and forth.
    “Oh, you’re in some pain, aren’t you?” Adrienne observed sympathetically. “I’ve been there. A heating pad does wonders, by the way. Do you have one with you?”
    “No. I’m rethinking that packing decision now. I’m sure I can pick one up at the pharmacy down the street.”
    “Don’t bother. You can borrow mine.” “Okay, great.” She was offering after all.
    The first thing I noticed upon entering Adrienne’s hotel room was that it was a lot bigger than mine. Like, a lot-a-lot. There was a great deal to be said for the star slot, apparently. I decided to take notes.
    “I’ll get started on the tea. Make yourself at home and go ahead and start with those lines. We can just yell back and forth.” She headed into the bathroom that looked to be the size of my entire room.
    I began the scene. I have to admit, I felt a little self-conscious yelling my lines across the room, but she had suggested it. When Adrienne hollered back, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at the ridiculousness of the situation. But I continued the madness. Eventually, she returned and looked at me quizzically.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “Oh, I don’t know, this whole thing, shouting back and forth, me hanging out with you in your gigantic room. Maybe I’m just exhausted.”
    “Maybe so,” she answered, handing me a cup of hot tea. “Tell you what, let’s see if I can help. Turn around.” I raised my left eyebrow at her questioning. “Trust me. Prepare to be amazed.” She set her cup on the coffee table. I did as she said. Soft, strong hands landed on my shoulders and started a slow massage. The strain in my muscles and tendons began to drift away as Adrienne manipulated each precise pressure point with obvious skill. “Is this helping?” she asked quietly.
    “Is it helping? You must be missing my contented sighs of encouragement about every three seconds. Of course it’s helping. Where did you learn how to do this?”
    “Well, I needed a backup in case the whole acting