Page 92 of What They'll Say About Us

"My job isn't done."

"It's a hell of a job. You should have kept on acting. You could have come here. I would have cast you in a second. You were a fabulous actress, ten times better than Carrie."

"Don't let her hear you say that. She's already suffering from a lack of confidence."

"Yes, she can't seem to think or act without Robert around."

"She'll get it. You're a good director, and she has talent. She just needs to focus. She said I threw her off."

"Oh, please, she's been bad all day."

I smiled. "I hope she gets better."

"You and me both. So, why are you here?"

"I wanted to check in with you, and I wanted to talk to Carrie again."

"Was she helpful?"

"Maybe a little. Is Nate around?"

"He ran some errands earlier, but he should be back now." Vivienne paused. "You're probably not going to find this news disappointing, but your dad's gig got cancelled, so he's no longer coming to town this weekend. I did tell him you were here, but he said his band picked up another opportunity in Cleveland, so he wouldn't be able to get here for a few more days. I really wanted you two to have a chance to talk. It's been too long."

"It's fine. We'll talk again. There's nothing wrong, Aunt Viv. It's just the way it is."

"Your dad was feeling down last time he came through here a couple of months ago. He was saying how he wished he'd been a better father."

"That was most likely a temporary feeling," I said pragmatically. I was actually relieved not to have to deal with my father in the middle of everything else. For the past week I'd had to come face-to-face with a lot of my own missteps and wrongdoings; I didn't have the energy to get into his. Not now, anyway. "I'm going to see if I can find Nate. Looks like rehearsal is about to start up again, and I don't want to make Carrie nervous."

"Where are you going after you talk to Nate?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have a car right now because the one that was being tracked is back with Detective Barclay. So, I'm back to taking cabs."

"Take my car," she said. "I'm going to be here all day, and I can get a ride home with someone tonight and back here in the morning. I'm not doing anything besides this for the next few days."

"Are you sure? I already got one of your cars incinerated."

"Well, that wasn't your fault. But try not to do it again."

I smiled. "I will definitely try."

"My keys are in my bag."

I followed her back down the aisle, smiling at Jay. "It's looking good," I said.

"Liar," he returned, which was the second time in a few hours someone had called me a bad liar. Maybe I had lost my touch.

"Rehearsals are always the worst right before opening. Everyone is feeling the pressure," I said.

"Tessa is right," Vivienne put in. "It will all come together, Jay. It always does, and when the real lights go on, I believe Carrie and the others will rise to the occasion."

"I sure hope so," Jay muttered. "But I'd prefer to see at least some of that brilliance right now. There's Carrie. I'm going to have a word with her before we resume rehearsal."

As he moved down the aisle to Carrie, Vivienne handed me her keys. "Don't worry about getting this back to me. One of my stagehands lives three doors down. We often drive back and forth together."

"Thanks. I'll check in with you later."

"Do that. Because I worry about you."