Forever and a Day Page 2
JJ stared at her friend who looked like she was far, far away in her thoughts. She found it disconcerting, as she had never seen her like this. Whatever is going on it must be serious she reckoned.
A figure of a man standing just outside the canopy caught her attention. “Uh, Halo? There is someone here to see you.”
JJ stood back as Halo quickly spun around to see who it was.
“Oh, hey Phillip…” Halo said quietly and nodded to JJ to give them a few moments alone.
September 2013
Xander woke up from the same dream he had been having of late by the incessant vibrating of his cell phone. He groggily flailed about trying to grab it in the darkness. His clumsy grasp spun the TV remote off the nightstand and onto the floor as he grappled his phone. He looked at the screen with sleep-blurred eyes then quietly sat up and pressed the screen with a sigh.
In a quiet whisper he answered the call, “Eric… what the hell? It’s five thirty.”
The voice on the other end shouted back, “Xander Kostinos! Get up and get moving!”
“What? Wait a sec.” Xander groaned as his wife gave him a hard shove. He turned to her and the glow from the screen lit her unhappy face. “Sorry Evie, it’s Eric.”
“Tell your agent, the Malaka, he’s on my shit list for calling so early… and it’s our Saturday too.” Before Xander could apologize, she grabbed his pillow and turned away covering her head with it.
Xander slid off the bed and headed to the bathroom with his phone at his ear.
“I heard that! I’m always on her shit list anyway. Can you talk yet?”
Xander flipped on the light to the bathroom and its harshness caused him to cover his eyes, “Yeah, what’s so damned important?” He heard Eric laugh.
“I think you should sit down my friend.”
“Dammit all, Eric, I’m trying to be quiet so Evie can get back to sleep!”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Eric laughed, “Are you sitting yet?”
“I’m freaking leaning on the counter, what’s got your panties in a knot?”
“You really should be sitting…”
“Eric!” Xander hissed into his phone and heard his agent happily laughing back.
“I got you an audition for a sweet juicy role down in Los Angeles! I need you to be on a plane in about two hours headed there. They want you ASAP!”
Xander held his hand up to his forehead and shook his head, “Eric I can’t just blow money on some random audition… hell what is it this time? A feature role or is it a guest role? Please tell me it’s not background…”
“Xan!” Eric chuckled, “It’s an audition for a major role, its last minute. Plenty of lines, it is a real role and with a well-funded production company. Ask me who’s in it! Come on!”
Xander sighed, and grumbled, “Fine. Who is in it?”
“Halo Raines… it’s her production.”
Xander heard the name and froze. Intense memories of Halo Raines flooded his conscious then dread hit him as his memory of that day, two years ago, punished him… it had been the worst day of his life. Eric’s shout snapped him out of it.
“HELLO!”
“Yes, I heard you. Halo Raines…” He replied quietly.
“This is your shot! I worked my ass off to get you this!”
Xander cut him short, “I dunno if I’m up to it Eric, besides we are saving up to vacation in Greece for next Easter. Evie is going to go ballistic…”
Eric in turn cut him off. His voice went from happy to incredulous, “What the hell do you mean ‘you aren’t up to it’? This is your SHOT! It may be your only fucking chance buddy boy! Even if you don’t get it, THEY want to see you and what you got! Your fucking foot will be in their door!”
Xander struggled to get a word in but Eric kept yelling.
“You need to man the fuck up Xan. This is what you and I have been working so damned hard for! We’ve been friends for what… twelve years? I got your ass started in this game after harping on your ass for ten years, because I saw the potential in you. Sure, you are no Brad, Channing or McConaughey, but you have a great look and ability man! They have seen your reels and this right here in front of me proves it, they want to see you like right now.”
He heard everything his agent had to say and knew he was right. The problem was Evie, when she finds out, he knew all hell is going to be unleashed. He rolled his shoulders a bit and answered his agent, “Fine. What does the scene entail and who is it with?”
“Oh… that’s a good question buddy boy. Now you are thinking like the Xander I know and loathe!”
Xander heard Eric’s chortle and knew something was up, “What’s the catch?”
“Oh, no catch… your scene is with Halo Raines!”
Xander paused for a lengthy moment, “And? What else?” Xander demanded and heard Eric sigh.
“Xan, I know you can do this… just listen. The part you will be reading for is a mercenary who is Halo’s captor. And yes, you die again.”
Xander gave him a long pause and began pacing on the cold tile floor, “What else are you leaving out?”
“Well… you uh will be accosting Miss Raines in the scene. It’s a bit brutal…”
Xander’s eyes flew open wide and he yelled, “I have to do what? I—I can’t do that! No damn way!” Xander saw his reflection in the mirror: his face was now deep red. He saw Evie coming into the bathroom in a hurry then stop and glare at him with her hands on her hips.
“Xan! Why are you yelling? What’s the matter?” Evie hissed.
“Koukla, I’m ok. I’ll explain in a second.” He reassured her and waved her over.
“Xan, is everything ok?” Eric asked, “We can talk about this on the way to the airport. I have your ticket and I’ll pick you up in an hour, ok? This way Evie…”
“Yeah, fine.” Xander said abruptly, cutting him short.
“Good! Oh, by the way bring your checkbook you owe me for the ticket. Tell Evie if you get this role, you can take as shit load of trips to Greece. See ya!”
“Bastard.” Xander replied as the line went dead. He winced as he watched Evie picking at her short fingernails, she was examining them much too closely. Even through all the up and downs of seventeen years of a rough marriage he loved her… then there were days like this.
“Well?” Evie replied accusingly.
He tried to hug her but she backed away, “Koukla we need to talk…”
Evie crossed her arms, “So talk and stop with the ‘Koukla, ‘doll’ business.”
He leaned back against the tile countertop and took in a breath and smiled, “Eric is picking me up soon. I have a huge audition in LA today. I’m sure it will be just for one night.”
“Xan, this is our Saturday! I guess that’s not important anymore, nea?”
How could he forget, it was the only time she allowed him to be intimate with her. He shook his head and held out his hands, “This audition is big. If I do land it, we can vacation in Greece for the next couple of years.”
“And if you don’t?” She pointed her finger and shook it at him, “Then what? It will be a big waste of money… unless the Malaka is going to pay for it?”
“Uh, no… even if I don’t land it, the casting people down there will see me. They want to see what I can do!”
Still shaking her finger at him, “Then why were you upset at the Malaka?”
“Evie…”
“Answer me, why?” She demanded.
Xander sighed, ran his fingers through his thick tangled hair then felt dread wrap its tendrils around his guts, and begin to slowly squeeze, “The scene involves the actor accosting the actress, Eric says it is a bit brutal. Hey! It’s better than a love scene!” Xander realized his joke fizzled by the angry look on her face.
“Who is this actress?”
No getting around this he thought and without hesitation he replied, “Halo Raines.” He watched his wife’s mouth fall open and he steeled himself.
He crossed his arms and with a grimace he waited for the rest of Evie’s rendition of a Greek Tragedy to play out. “Act one.” He muttered to himself.
“HER!” She yelled, “You said you never met!” She shook her finger hard in his face, “I never did believe you! You said she was beautiful! How blue her eyes were! I know she asked for you! You want her! You—you don’t love me or our Athena anymore… you just want to throw us out on the street with nothing!”
Xander saw the deluge of tears that began falling in streams down her sleep lined face. She paused to gather her breath, he reached out to her, and she quickly pulled away, “Dammit Evie! Stop this!” It was his turn to point, “Do I not tell you every damn day that I love you? I come home every night, I don’t go out boozing. Sure once in a great while I meet up with Eric. Oh… and I go to the gym. Wow.”
Evie tried to interrupt and he held up his hand at her and raised his voice louder.
“Stop and let me finish!”
Evie knew the line was drawn with her husband as he rarely ever told her to stop. Normally he would try to hold her and let her get it out. She uncrossed her arms, began to smooth out her wrinkled pajamas, and waited.
“I told you I never met Halo Raines! I turned my God damned back on her as she came up to me, I headed to holding and then they released me.” His tight laugh tinged with hurt, “Let’s get real here! What in the hell would someone like Halo Raines see in me? HA!” Xander held his arms out wide and stared at his wife, “I’m a nobody, Evie. Like you and Eric say, I’m no Channing or Brad. In addition, how in hell would she remember some random extra on her set from two damn years ago? Get real…”
Evie was back to looking at her nails. Without looking up she replied, “You said she’s beautiful…”
Xander threw his hands up in the air, “Yes, Halo Raines is beautiful. What is the difference between me saying that, compared to when you and your girlfriends say how hot Channing was in “Magic Mike”, or how hot Brad is? Hell, you even say Clooney is handsome… I don’t get that one, but whatever. You remember what you did the night before?” He paused for a long moment then continued, “I could have met her, but I left because of you and Athena.”
Evie looked up and gave him a long glare, ignoring his comment about her, “But now you are going to meet her, I’ll never meet any of those stars you mentioned.”
Xander pushed the palms of his hands hard onto his eyes and groaned. Dropping them to his side, he met his wife’s glare, “I really doubt I will meet her Evie. You think I will throw away our family just like that? Insinuating that really makes me upset. You know I’ve done all I can to hold this family together…”
Evie kept quiet and looked up apprehensively at him.
“One more thing. I am sick and tired of hearing that I want to throw you and Athena out on the street. That sounds like the ranting of some old Greek lady…”
Evie’s upper lip began to quiver and her brown eyes began to drop tears again. Xander saw the anger fade to hurt in her eyes and he stepped up to her and embraced her tightly. He waited for her to push him away, but all that came was more tears that dampened his t-shirt. Soon he felt her shoulders tense and she extricated herself from his embrace.
“I’ll help you get packed.” She murmured and headed to the closet.
He followed her in and with her back to him, he ran his hands down her arms then intertwined his fingers with hers. The proximity of her warm body against his reminded him of their usual Saturday morning romp. “Evie, we do have some time…”
“I’m still upset…” She pulled her hands from his, picked up his suitcase and brushed passed him.
Xander watched as she left the closet and opened the glass door to their shower. Reaching in she turned it on. Looking back at him, she pointed to the water. “Get inside, you are wasting water.”
Before she could exit their bathroom, he called out to her, “Evie, join me in here?” He saw her pause at the doorway then turn back to him. He could tell she was thinking about it then suddenly she shook her head and left.
In the bedroom, he found his suitcase open on the bed. He rummaged through it and found Evie did a good job of covering the bases in clothing choices. He zipped it up and with it in hand, he headed out of their bedroom. Passing his teenaged daughter’s room door, he paused and considered knocking. Athena was an avid fan of Halo Raines and he knew she would be excited to hear about the audition. Considering the early hour, he decided it could wait.
Heading downstairs, he paused at the kitchen door. Evie was busy at the stove making him breakfast. Ever the typical Greek wife, cooking enough for an army he thought.
“Did you get your electronic stuff to take with you?” She asked quietly.
“No, not yet, I wanted to check on you.”
“I’m fine. Go get your toys together; your breakfast will be done soon. Go.”
He shrugged, set down his suitcase and left for his office.
By the time he got back to the kitchen Evie had his breakfast on the table. She made his usual: Oatmeal, scrambled egg whites, Greek yogurt with honey and black coffee. Xander felt the uneasy tension as he sat down. Looking at his breakfast, he realized his belly had no desire for food and he stared down at it with his hands in his lap.
“You don’t like what I made?” Evie called out from across the kitchen.
He quickly looked up, “Uh, no Koukla its fine thank you. I’m just worried about you.”
“I’m fine. I need to get some snacks for your trip. Eat, it’s getting cold.”
Xander sighed quietly and continued looking down at his meal. Here was his big break and he knew it was hard on Evie. He had never given her pause concerning another woman. She just could not handle him being around women, especially without her close by. With a sharp pang of regret, he knew what would make her happy. As he made his decision, he felt his eyes sting. His life was already a series of sacrifices he thought… what is one more?
He quietly got up and went out the kitchen door, stepped around the corner and out of view of Evie. He took his phone out and stepped into his office. With a trembling hand, he scrolled to his contact list and chose Eric’s cell number.
“What are you doing?” Evie exclaimed from the open doorway.
Surprised, Xander spun around and faced his wife. Before he could answer her, she had a hold of his hand with the phone. He saw her look down and recognize Eric’s name on the screen. She looked back up with tears in her eyes then jerked the phone out of his hand.
“I know what you were going to do Xan.” She put his phone to sleep and continued, “You were going to cancel on the Malaka, weren’t you?”
Xander nodded, still a bit stunned at what was happening and managed, “I think it’s for the best.”
“No.” She stated, shaking her head at him. “My mom is right. I need to stop being jealous…” Evie covered her forehead with her hand and took in a deep breath then looked into his eyes, “You are going to go and do this! You are going to do the best you can to win this part. You’ve already gotten almost all of the parts you tried for. I know you can do it.” She saw him begin to object and her hand shot up and covered his mouth, “No. I will be fine. If you get the part, you can show me the money.” She followed it with a tight smile.
Xander felt his eyes begin to water and was suddenly grateful for her actions. He knew it would have killed him to stop acting, and he was sure to lose Eric as his one and only friend if he quit outright on him. He pulled her to him and embraced her, kissing her forehead he whispered to her, “Thank you Koukla.”
She hugged him back then slipped his phone into his pocket, “Ok. Go eat now.” Then she gave him a nudge towards the door.
Back in the kitchen, Evie took the seat opposite from her husband, “Xan, I—I know I don’t talk to you about my feelings… it’s just too hard for me. My mom is always on me to o
pen up…” She looked down at her hands and without looking up, she continued, “I—I know about all the pretty girls you used to date working at your dad’s restaurant… I never understood why you even liked me.” Evie looked up when she heard his spoon clatter in its bowl.
Xander looked on in dismay at his wife’s disclosure. He began to respond and she immediately shushed him.
“Here you were, this hot Adonis looking guy and you wanted to go out with me. I—I know our parents wanted us to date as we were both part Greek and belonged to the same Greek Orthodox Church.” She held up her hand to him to wait and began blurting out the rest, “I know my dad told your dad that I was parthena, uh, a virgin… then when you were in college your dad suddenly died and—and we began dating. I always thought you married me because your dad wanted it. Xan, I—I never felt I was…” she sighed and covered her face with her hands, “I just don’t understand.”
Xander was out of his chair and had his arms around her in a blink of an eye, “Evie! I love you—you do know that, right?” He felt her shrug.
Her hands came away from her face and she sighed heavily, “Xan, I see how much you love Athena and I think I see that you love me in your eyes, but… but I don’t feel it. I—I don’t think I can.”
Xander pulled back to look at his wife. The futility of telling her daily how much he loved her and how pretty she is was like banging his head repeatedly against a brick wall. Over the years, he did everything he could think of to prove it to her: Flowers, poems, cards, love notes, helping with chores… nothing seemed to sink in, and now this revelation. “Evie, I don’t know what to say… except that I’m sorry if it’s something I did.”
“It’s not you Xan, it’s me. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
The theme to Star Wars began emanating from his pocket, “It’s Eric…” Xander mumbled.
“Tell the Malaka you are ready.” Evie sighed.
Xander answered his phone and told Eric he would be outside in a few minutes. “Evie?”