I swallowed, wanting him to disappear into thin air. “She’s taking a shower. I thought you only needed eggs. What’s all the other stuff?”
Taylor had his head stuck in the fridge, and when he went to pull it out it smacked against the open freezer door. “Holy fuck! Shit that hurt.” He stood up carefully and gingerly rubbed his head like a baby. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Damn Zac, stop laughing that hurt!”
“Need someone to kiss it better?” Libby strolled into the kitchen in her housecoat. Tay turned around and pulled her into his arms giving her a kiss.
I rolled my eyes, “Hmm… look at this! Mono is running through the city. It says here that New Yorkers should avoid kissing for three weeks in order to stop the spread of the disease! Wow… you two are gonna have a hard time sticking to that one.”
Taylor smacked me upside the head, and Libby stood there laughing at us. “You know, I don’t know what I’d do without the two of you. My life would be so boring.”
She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down beside me while Taylor continued to rub his head. I couldn’t understand why on earth she’d want to be with such a dork. He couldn’t even handle the slightest bit of pain.
I glanced back at the paper and a brightly colorful add struck my attention. It was for an upcoming play called ‘Roses In December’* playing at the Urban Stages Theater. I grinned realizing why it looked so familiar; it was the one that Libby had snagged the lead role in. I shoved another mouthful of cereal in my mouth and checked the opening date. I planned on being in the front row cheering her on like she had done at every Hanson concert she could get to. It opened on May 16th at 8:00pm. I frowned, that was coming up soon.
I turned to her, “What’s the date today?” She held up her hands cause she had just shoveled a huge spoonful of cheerios into her mouth. I waited patiently for her to finish. Taylor wasn’t paying any attention as he was wrapped up in the omelet he was making.
Once she swallowed, a huge smiled crept over her face, “The 16th of May! My opening night! You have no idea how stoked I am!” Libby was playing a University student named Carolyn who starts the play by writing to a guy named Joel Gordon (a well known Author who is somewhat inaccessible) asking him to attend an Alumni weekend that her school is hosting. He declines, but she decides to be persistent and keeps on writing to him. They end up starting a friendship that leads towards a secret from Joel’s past, shedding light on the mystery behind the identity of Carolyn’s Father. The play (told entirely through letters) sounded incredibly artsy, and the role was perfect for her. I couldn’t wait to see it.
Taylor’s head snapped up suddenly, and he whipped around to face us completely forgetting his food. “That’s tonight?”
Libby nodded, “I’ve been telling you for a whole month that we open tonight. You switched your meeting didn’t you? I really need you to be there tonight Taylor. This is my first lead, and I need all the support I can get.”
I knew right away he hadn’t switched the meeting with our manager, and I was mad as all hell. Chris was in town for a week, and we were supposed to discuss who we were going to have producing the album that we were already in pre-production for that night. The dumb ass forgot, and he could have changed the meeting without a problem but he was too self-absorbed to remember something important like Libby’s opening night.
Libby’s eyes were shining with tears and I could see that she was hurt, and I was ready to punch him out. “I forgot. We’ve been so busy lately, and I guess it just slipped my mind. I’ll be there tomorrow night, I promise.”
She shook her head, “It’s not tomorrow night that I needed you Taylor, it’s tonight. I’ve been there for you whenever you needed me. I haven’t forgotten a single thing, and the one time I ask the favor is returned, you have to go and screw it up.”
She got up and left the kitchen, with Taylor standing there stunned. I rolled my eyes, “Your omelet is burning.” He snapped out of it, and jumped around to save the eggs cooking in the frying pan. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten the girl who was probably sitting on her bed crying.
“Shit. Can you hand me that flipper sitting beside you please, before this is ruined.” That was it; he had crossed the line on that one. I honestly didn’t think it was possible that he could be this wrapped up in himself.
I picked up the flipper from the canister sitting close by on the Island, and hucked it at him. It hit him in shoulder, and the anger that flared in his eyes was probably matching the anger in mine. “Dammit Zac! What the hell is wrong with you?”
“What the hell is wrong with you Taylor? It’s a bloody omelet! Your Girlfriend who you say you love is sitting in your bedroom probably crying and all you can think of is your freaking stomach. Tonight is a big deal, and all it would have taken was a simple phone call to Chris to change the meeting. You are so stuck in your own little world that you don’t see what’s going on around you! Get on that damn phone and call Chris right now, and you better start praying that you still have a chance to fix things or you’ll find yourself with a broken jaw, and that won’t be good for the band.” I got up from my stool, and went to see if Libby was ok. Taylor stood in the kitchen glaring at his feet. He knew I was right, and it wouldn't have done him any good to fight with me over it. I didn’t normally bud into his relationships, but this one was too close for me not to.
* Roses In December is a real play written by Victor Kahn. The author is in no way associated with the Playwright or the production and takes no credit for any of the information about the play that appears in this story.