Dopplegangster Read Free

show.”
    “It probably hurt the budget a lot when Golly, er, disappeared for more than a week?” Lopez said, watching me with cop eyes now instead of potential-lover eyes. This was exactly the sort of thing that had made our first two dates a tad awkward.
    “Yes. Keeping the theater dark for that long was expensive.” I had refused to go on in Golly’s place and do the disappearing act without knowing what had happened to her. It was the only time in my entire life I had let a show down. And it’s a good thing I did! If I had performed, I would have become one of Hieronymus’ victims. The show only resumed ten days later, when the evil apprentice was dead (or dissolved) and Golly was back where she belonged. “Losing all that income hurt us.” I took a bite of my ice cream.
    “Golly has never been very clear about where she went.” When I didn’t reply, Lopez added, “You haven’t, either.”
    “Oh, it’s all over now,” I said, scooping up another bite of ice cream and offering it to him. “So I don’t see why—”
    He pushed the spoon aside as he said, “Because filing a false report with the police is illegal.”
    “No one filed any false reports!” I put the spoon back in the carton.
    “And now Golly’s explanation—like yours , Esther—is vague, contradictory, and makes no sense.”
    “I haven’t given you an explanation!” I snapped.
    “That’s right. You really haven’t.” His expression said he was waiting for one now.
    Oops.
    I decided to change the subject. “Can we please focus on my crisis for a minute? I’m out of work!”
    He had the grace to look a little contrite. “Okay. Fair enough. Are you—”
    “Worried about bills? Yes! I’m also worried about paying rent! Worried about when I’ll get another acting job! And trying to find a way to earn a living until then.”
    He let go of my sticky hand and put his arm around me. “I’m really sorry this happened,” he said soothingly. “I know you were hoping the show would run a while, maybe even move to Broadway.”
    I leaned into his arm. I’m not prickly, I like being comforted. I admitted, “I guess I wasn’t being realistic. We never really got off the ground, and an expensive show needs to come out of the gate like gangbusters to succeed these days.” I sighed wearily. “But I did think we’d at least make it through summer. So now it’s May and I have no prospects for a summer job. I’ll have to find a way to make some money.”
    Lopez had spent enough time with me by now to know that actors differentiate between a real job, which means acting, and just earning money—which means waiting tables, office temping, and other between-job gigs that keep us from starving. In New York, an actor who is “resting” is usually working fifty hours per week somewhere to pay exorbitant rent on an apartment the size of a phone booth. I was lucky, at least, in that I could reduce my expenses by getting a roommate for the second bedroom in my rent-controlled apartment. Although what qualified as a “second bedroom” in Manhattan would scarcely have passed as a small walk-in closet in most other cities.
    However, I really liked my space and my privacy; and I also hoped Lopez might start coming over more often. So I’d rather work for a change in my fortunes than let someone move into my apartment. Especially since this city (brace yourself for a shock) is full of weirdos.
    “Look,” Lopez said, giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze, “why don’t you change—um, shower and change—and I’ll take you out for a nice dinner. Maybe it’ll cheer you up a little, and we can come up with some ideas for—”
    “I can’t,” I said apologetically. “I’ve spent the past two hours making phone calls, and now—”
    “I thought you spent two hours being depressed and forgetting I was coming over,” he said.
    “I did that, too. I’m a multitasker.” I shrugged. “I’m freaking out right now, but this kind of thing