4.
With a feeling of déjà vu, I made my way from my car to the audition studio dodging people, objects and things that moved with little motors. Cautiously I opened the door to the studio, praying I did not have the wrong day again. It was the right day thank goodness, as I looked at the young women sitting anxiously waiting to impress the producers. While I was mentally running through the lines for the umpteenth time, the lady I’d reported to on arrival called my name and told me to proceed to the audition room. I introduced myself to the two women sitting on large comfortable chairs behind a desk.
‘Hello Ms Porter, my name is Paula, please proceed,’ the woman with huge purple hair said with a smile.
I adopted the expression I’d been working on and got my mind into the role I was meant to play. When I finished, I took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, lifted my head and smiled at the two women across from me. They were both still watching me which I hoped was a good sign. I waited on the spot marked with an X as they simultaneously looked down at their papers and wrote notes. The lady with the purple hair got up and took a few short steps to the urn with her glass, filled it up with water and returned to her seat.
‘Thank you, Ms Porter, that was well done.’
‘Thank you for this opportunity,’ I said earnestly and left the room.
When I was outside the huge studio and in the alley, I did a little jig, squealing ever so loudly. I was so happy it had gone so well I just had to get the excitement out of me.
‘You get the part?’ I was interrupted by a male voice, bringing my exuberance to an abrupt halt.
I turned bright red as I recognised the man’s face.
‘Callum, what are you doing here?’
It was his turn to blush as he looked at his feet and then into my eyes almost as if pleading. I was so extremely happy to see him I forgot how disappointed I was not having heard from him.
‘I’m so sorry I haven’t been in touch. When I got to my sister’s house with Logan, he got hold of my phone and flushed it down the toilet! I managed to recover most of my contacts but a few, yours included, were lost. I thought of finding you on Facebook but realised I didn’t even know your surname.’
He stood still, fiddling with his hands as he continued his confession sheepishly, ‘Then I heard about this audition, and I knew it would be a role you’d love so I found out when it was and have been skulking around here hoping to bump into you. And here we are.’
He laughed a little apprehensively and motioned with his hands confirming that I was, in fact, standing in front of him. I stared at him for a few moments not quite believing my good fortune.
My face coloured, and I laughed before replying, ‘Uhm, so I wonder if I should be happy that you stalked me or if I should make a run for it now? I hear a lot of crazy stories about stalkers.’
I couldn’t help laughing, taking the seriousness of stalking completely out of the threat.
‘You doing anything now, or can we go for coffee?’
‘Coffee will be super.’
‘But before we go anywhere please give me your number again…’
He stopped and got his phone out of his pocket ready to tap in the numbers.
As I repeated my number and my surname he asked, ‘Why did you not contact me?’
‘Let’s get coffee and we can put all our cards on the table.’
There was a quaint restaurant on the studio premises, and we made ourselves comfortable at a table near the entrance. It was almost full as lunch hour was upon us.
‘Honestly, I did not think you were serious about staying in touch with me and that you only took my number to be kind.’
When I looked at him, he had a look on his face that immediately made me regret my actions.
‘I wish you’d contacted me, you’d have saved me many, many sleepless nights. I gather men “play the field” as they say, but I’m not one of those men. Maybe I’m old-fashioned or boring, but when it comes to dating, I take it seriously. I’ve been hurt too many times to be cruel to a woman.’
I wanted to hug him so badly. Was this the man of my dreams or what?
Before we left the restaurant, we had accepted each other as friends on Facebook, had taken a selfie and uploaded it to an album on our profiles and had even given the albums the same name. Since he would be working on the production I had auditioned for, I prayed and prayed my audition was successful; if not for the lead role than for any role just so that we could be together as much as possible.
The following two weeks I checked my emails almost every half an hour and pounced on my phoned when it rang in the hope that it was Jeska with good news. Callum visited every evening, and on weekends when he was not working we spent time exploring the beautiful Cape. He was adventurous and excited about discovering new places and enjoyed visiting old historic sites. There was never a dull moment when he was around unless he was sleeping. It was not long before we declared our love for each other.
I still worked in the voice over studio and one Friday at lunch I switched my phone on to check for messages. There was one from Jeska – I had to call her back immediately.
‘Hello Jeska,’ I nervously said when she answered.
‘Did I or did I not tell you-you were perfect for the part?’
‘Jeska don’t tease me please, tell me!’ I pleaded.
‘Oh yes my dear, yes you did it. You got the lead role! I am so happy for you!’ she almost shouted over the phone, thrilled on my behalf.
I did my happy jiggle dance and shrieked with joy before I calmed down enough to thank her properly.
‘Oh Jeska, thank you so much. I promise I will be forever grateful to you.’
‘Just remember to thank me at the Oscars,’ she laughed before we ended the conversation.
The first thing I did was thank God for answering my prayers, and then I phoned Callum to tell him the happy news, and then my parents. I was so happy I wanted to burst. My big break had finally come. I resigned from the voice over position at the end of the work day and met Callum in the restaurant at the studios. When he saw me, he ran and flung his arms around me, hugged me tightly and then gently kissed me. He drew his face away from mine by just a few inches and looked directly into my eyes and into my heart.
‘Well done Skye, I’m so happy for you,’ he kissed me again before drawing away, still holding my face cupped in his hands, ‘and I am even happier because we will be working together, sort of.’
He hugged me again, and I wanted to remain there in his arms forever. When he held me, even if he so much as just held my hand, I felt at peace and secure in the world. As though I was in the right place at the right time, in God’s universal plan. I was sure I had found my soulmate. I was completely and utterly in love with him.