G'Day USA Read Free Page B

been up to?’
    Kent placed the beer on the kitchen table. ‘Bit parts here and there.’ He slapped his leg. ‘This fucking limp doesn’t help any.’
    Bart grimaced. ‘That happened on the Bondi shoot, right? Ever figure out how it happened?’
    ‘ You really don’t know?’
    Bart shrugged. ‘You just showed up limping one day. Perfect timing.’ He turned to Charlie. ‘And you, old boot. You disappeared. Haven’t heard a peep out of you. What kind of movies you making these days?’
    Charlie looked at Kent then back at Bart. He pulled a bottle out of the case, twisted off the top, and took a long pull. ‘Really?’ He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. ‘You didn’t know? Find it hard to believe.’
    ‘ What, is it a fucking mystery? I don’t keep track of everyone I used to work with. You’re here in the States, so you must be doing pretty good.’
    ‘ I’m a contractor. Working for one of the mobile operators here. Technical role. I haven’t been on a movie set since Beast . Thought you, of all people, would know.’
    ‘ And how in the hell would I know?’
    Charlie took a step toward Bart, almost nose to nose. ‘I’m out because you made it the worse experience of my life.’
    Kent jumped between them. ‘Hey, guys, cool it. Let’s head out to the balcony and enjoy.’ He sniffed. ‘It’s a bit stale in here.’
    Bart took a deep breath, looking Charlie in the eyes. ‘Forgive me. I was an asshole. I’ve had over a year to realize what a dick I was. Truly sorry, Charlie. You should get back in the business. You really were good. If I can give you any references, just let me know.’ He took the pizza from the table. ‘Kent is right. Let’s head outside. It’s still warm out. Sun’s down, but the heat remains.’ He looked to Kent, then Charlie. ‘Clocks change next weekend, right? So longer days.’
    ‘ Same length days. I just have to get up earlier for work.’ Charlie followed Kent and Bart outside, the three of them taking up three sides of a patio table. He sat facing the guesthouse. He nodded toward it. ‘That’s where it happened?’
    ‘ What?’ Bart strained to look over his shoulder. ‘What happened?’
    Kent placed his hand on Charlie’s arm. ‘Don’t, mate.’
    He shrugged it off. ‘You know. The thing you ended up in jail for.’
    ‘ Guys, ancient history. I made a mistake. Bourke exaggerated the evidence. Hey, I was let go today. It’s in the past, okay?’ He flipped a pizza box lid. ‘What have we got here? Pepperoni? Grab a slice guys.’ He slid the box off the one underneath it. ‘And Hawaiian? You’re too good to me.’
    Kent caught Charlie’s eye and shook his head. He sniffed. ‘Only the best for our favorite ex-con. What are you going to do now? The movie business is probably not in the cards. Too many bridges burned.’
    Bart smiled and sipped his beer. ‘You think?’
    ‘ You know, just saying. It was a pretty serious crime.’ Kent held up his hands. ‘I know, I know. You were let go. Double jeopardy though, right? You can’t be tried for the same crime twice. So you’re safe. Did you do it?’
    Bart shook his head and pulled a slice of pizza from the web of melted mozzarella. ‘Some nerve, boy. Some fucking nerve. I’m hosting you in my house and you’ve got the nerve to bring that up.’ He looked at the expression on Kent’s face and laughed. ‘Fucking with you. Eat. It’s good.’
    They sat in silence; the only sounds the light traffic on the street, the odd bird in the trees and the sound of the neighbor’s TV.
    After fifteen minutes of eating Charlie broke the silence. ‘You say you enjoyed working with me in Australia, and I’ll admit the first few weeks were okay, but after that you were an unholy asshole. What the fuck happened?’
    Bart chewed on the crust. He held up a finger, swallowed and said, ‘I was under considerable stress. We were running out of time and money. It was just pure luck things got on track. Really sorry