Chapter 9

That night, Melissa dreamed she was on the set of a film she knew nothing about and in which she didn’t want to participate. No matter how much she protested, everyone insisted she played her role. Each time the director shouted, “Action,” the crew stared at her, expecting her to know what to do.

She woke up and, for several terrifying seconds, she didn’t recognize her surroundings. Then she realized she was in her childhood room.

A ray of sunlight was coming through the drapes. She didn’t want to get up and face what lay beyond the bedroom door. She wished she could stay safe in her old bed.

“It’s time to get up, Melissa. Mom made tea and toast,” Lindsey announced entering her room and opening the curtains to let the light in.

“What time is it?” asked a sleepy voice from the bed.

“Half-past nine. We have a lot of things to do today. Rise and shine.”

Melissa sat up and swung her feet out of bed. No matter how appealing, she couldn’t stay in bed forever. She shuffled to the end of the bed and pulled on her kimono robe over her short pajamas. Her cell phone sat on the dressing table and she grabbed it before following Lindsey down the stairs.

A bowl of strawberries sat in the middle of the pedestal table and the older woman carried two small plates of toast to the table. “Would you like jam?”

“No, thank you.” Melissa slid into a chair. She curled her hand around a delicate blue cup and brought it to her lips. “What do we have on our agenda, Lindsey?”

“We haven’t nailed down an exact date for your Tonight Show appearance. We’re waiting to see if they’ll reschedule to fit your calendar.”

Melissa sipped her tea and nodded. “What else?”

“We have to answer Carl about the script he sent you weeks ago,” Lindsey informed her sister.

Carl Carlson was Mel’s agent.

Mel grabbed a strawberry and bit it in half. She grabbed her phone and punched a number.

After the pleasantries were exchanged her agent went to the point. “Where are you? I called the hotel and they told me you left in a rush...”

“I’m taking care of some personal matters, Carl. Nothing you have to worry about.”

“I always worry when you disappear. Did you read the script? It’s great, isn’t it?” he asked without waiting for a response from her.

Melissa hated when her agent did that sort of thing. He was constantly asking her questions that he never let her answer.

He always expected her to agree, and she usually did, in part because she hated rocking the boat.

Melissa loved acting, but there were times, like right now when she really wanted a break. Her soul needed something normal back in her life. No matter how much she enjoyed being a part of the entertainment business, the life she led was nowhere near normal.

“Hello, Mel? Did you hear me? I asked if you read the script?” her agent’s voice interrupted the chain of thought.

Melissa decided to be brutally honest for the first time since she met Carl. “I hated it,” she admitted.

“You hated it?”