Post by Skye on Jul 7, 2011 9:00:42 GMT -5
The show ended, and Skye left the arena floor, thankful to be out of the spotlight. She made her way to the locker room in a bit of a daze, smiling wanly at the backstage crew who patted her on the shoulder and murmured sympathetic things as she passed. Relief swept through her when she finally closed the locker room door behind her.
There was an envelope taped to the door of the locker she’d used. She removed the envelope and opened it, sighing as she saw what was enclosed with her final paycheck. Her plane tickets had been changed to the next morning. So much for some New York City sight-seeing, she’d be heading straight back to San Francisco. Tucking the envelope in the outside pocket of her garment bag, she slipped out of her show outfit and got into her street clothes as quickly as she could. She’d head back to the hotel and take a nice long bath before crawling into bed. There was time enough to figure out what she’d do with all her newfound free time when she got back home.
Pulling into the arena parking lot in Sonny’s borrowed car, Skye noticed it was mostly empty. Good, the fewer people she had to encounter, the better. Still, the back door was open, so some crew employees were around. She pulled a box out of the back seat, entered the building and headed straight for the ladies locker room, making as little eye contact as possible with the few guys she saw.
It didn’t take her long to clear out this locker as she’d never kept too much here, so Skye was done in just a few minutes. One last look around before she hefted the box and walked out the door. 'Goodbye EU… Asylum, yeah, asylum – glad I don’t have to remember that.' As she walked back to the outer door, some of the guys got a little bolder about trying to catch her attention, making offers to carry her stuff as she passed, all of which Skye turned down graciously with a shake of her head and an “I’m fine” stage smile. She casually set the box in the back seat of the car, got in and headed home.
Stepping into the cool interior of her condo, Skye set her purse and box on the kitchen counter. Kicking her shoes off at the edge of the living room carpet, she padded across the room barefoot, opened the shades and slid open the patio door to let in the breeze. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous Bay Area summer day. Curling her feet under her, Skye settled on the sofa and enjoyed the relative silence, only the sound of the birds and the wind in the foliage outside and the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen for company. It had been a while since she’d just sat and let things be. But she was at a place in her life where she needed to be still for a little while and think. She was single again, jobless again. 'Jobless…' She wasn’t sure what had motivated Rivera to fire her. His announcement hadn’t rung true. He was a business-man, he’d give the fans what they wanted. And they’d made their displeasure at his announcement known. While she was flattered at the reaction, it was a bit weird to think that she had ‘fans’. 'Rivera was a jerk, perhaps he was a misogynist? Or perhaps he just couldn’t stand smart women? Was it because she’d been Toby’s girlfriend?' As the thoughts ran through her mind, she began to get angry. He’d really had no call to fire her, she’d done her job well, she’d never missed a show due to illness, never shown up late, or drunk, or badly dressed. And she’d certainly never represented the company in a bad light. Skye wondered if there was anything in her contract that she could find that would bear out under scrutiny. Or would he simply try to play the “This isn’t the EUW anymore” card? A loud chirping outside the window caught her attention, reminding her of the beauty of the day. 'Right… don’t waste such a pretty day thinking of that slime-bucket.' Skye took a deep breath, to clear her thoughts.
'So… what path waited for her next?' Smiling softly to herself, she pondered the possibilities before her. There’s was still so much she could do. She’d been able put quite a bit of her paychecks aside, so she didn’t have to go looking for a job immediately. She could take some time to pursue the artistic side of her photography, something that being in the spotlight had put on hold for a while. It had been difficult to ‘just take photos’ being recognized nearly everywhere she went. Stepping into the background, being just one of the crowd, that might be a good thing. Maybe she should finally send some applications in to the travel magazines like Grampa kept urging her. Or maybe she’d just take a road trip on her bike, pack her camera and travel cross-country, visiting friends along the way. So many options.
The phone rang, and Skye let it go to voicemail. When she realized the muffled voice on the machine was Annette, Skye jumped up from the sofa and grabbed the handset off the side table, “Argh, don’t hang up, don’t hang up!!!” She pressed [talk] “Annette, are you still there?”
“Skye? Yeah, I’m still here.” Annette sounded relieved to have found her at home, “Are you ok?”
Skye smiled at the motherly tone of her voice, this was the friend she’d missed the last few weeks, “I’ll be fine, it’ll just take time. More to the point… how are YOU doing? Everything’s moved so fast I hadn’t had a chance to get in touch with you after…”
Annette interrupted her, “Well, don’t just sit there asking, hop on your bike and get your ass down here to the bar and find out then, girl! I expect to see you in no more than thirty minutes. And Then I’ll tell you the whole story from my side.” The smile had been evident in her voice, just before the line went dead.
Looking at the receiver before she set the handset back on the charger, Skye had to wonder at the woman. Whatever, it’ll be nice to discuss future possibilities with her. Slipping her shoes back on, she grabbed Sonny’s keys and her purse, heading for the Devil’s Due Tavern.
You’d think I would be exhausted, blissfully sleeping, after my reunion with Toby, but I was wide awake, blissful yes, but feeling more alive than I had in months. I felt… whole again. And as I lie here, enjoying another moment of just ‘being’, a memory comes to me.
Years ago, when I was a lot younger, I’d been to a carnival with some friends. There was a fortune teller there, and as a lark, we’d all gotten our cards read. Of course, we thought she was a fake, so we’d laughed about her predictions afterwards. I could still remember some of what she’d told me, however. Among the things she’d said, she’d told me that I would love a tall man, he would be very strong, many people would revere him, and depend on him. I’m rather small, most men are taller than me, so that had been one of those vague predictions that was expected by a sham, like tall, dark and handsome. She had said that loving him could be difficult, and I remember my thoughts at that age, ‘what was hard about loving someone?’ There were other things, I can’t remember right now. I wrote it all down, sealed it in an envelope, it must be packed somewhere…
When I met Dustin, he was tall, and strong… but no one depended on him. I loved him, but it was young love, easy love. I met Frank, and knew right away, that I could never love him, he was not an easy man to be with, or a safe man, people didn’t like him, much less revere him. Those had been my only two long term relationships before I met Toby.
I smile into the darkness of the room as my thoughts drift. I can feel Toby’s breath soft on my shoulder, his arm curved across my belly. I feel safe with this man, I always have.
I remember, as a photographer, when I first became aware of Toby. When he walked out on the ramp, or spoke to the press or the fans, or was talked about in the news, there would be a little hitch in my chest. But I never thought about him in any personal capacity. He was happily married, and I rejoiced for him and his family. Happy marriages are a blessing. It never occurred to me then that I might have a personal relationship with him. I was a fan, a photographer, and he happened to be one of my favorite photography subjects.
But the day he walked into the Devil’s Due garage… unaware of who he was… there wasn’t just a hitch... my heart did a triple somersault. Then I knew
I turn my head and look at him, lifting my hand to gently move the stray hair out of his face. “I love you Toby Hunter.” His arm tightens around me, pulling me closer.
There was an envelope taped to the door of the locker she’d used. She removed the envelope and opened it, sighing as she saw what was enclosed with her final paycheck. Her plane tickets had been changed to the next morning. So much for some New York City sight-seeing, she’d be heading straight back to San Francisco. Tucking the envelope in the outside pocket of her garment bag, she slipped out of her show outfit and got into her street clothes as quickly as she could. She’d head back to the hotel and take a nice long bath before crawling into bed. There was time enough to figure out what she’d do with all her newfound free time when she got back home.
●
Pulling into the arena parking lot in Sonny’s borrowed car, Skye noticed it was mostly empty. Good, the fewer people she had to encounter, the better. Still, the back door was open, so some crew employees were around. She pulled a box out of the back seat, entered the building and headed straight for the ladies locker room, making as little eye contact as possible with the few guys she saw.
It didn’t take her long to clear out this locker as she’d never kept too much here, so Skye was done in just a few minutes. One last look around before she hefted the box and walked out the door. 'Goodbye EU… Asylum, yeah, asylum – glad I don’t have to remember that.' As she walked back to the outer door, some of the guys got a little bolder about trying to catch her attention, making offers to carry her stuff as she passed, all of which Skye turned down graciously with a shake of her head and an “I’m fine” stage smile. She casually set the box in the back seat of the car, got in and headed home.
Stepping into the cool interior of her condo, Skye set her purse and box on the kitchen counter. Kicking her shoes off at the edge of the living room carpet, she padded across the room barefoot, opened the shades and slid open the patio door to let in the breeze. It was shaping up to be a gorgeous Bay Area summer day. Curling her feet under her, Skye settled on the sofa and enjoyed the relative silence, only the sound of the birds and the wind in the foliage outside and the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen for company. It had been a while since she’d just sat and let things be. But she was at a place in her life where she needed to be still for a little while and think. She was single again, jobless again. 'Jobless…' She wasn’t sure what had motivated Rivera to fire her. His announcement hadn’t rung true. He was a business-man, he’d give the fans what they wanted. And they’d made their displeasure at his announcement known. While she was flattered at the reaction, it was a bit weird to think that she had ‘fans’. 'Rivera was a jerk, perhaps he was a misogynist? Or perhaps he just couldn’t stand smart women? Was it because she’d been Toby’s girlfriend?' As the thoughts ran through her mind, she began to get angry. He’d really had no call to fire her, she’d done her job well, she’d never missed a show due to illness, never shown up late, or drunk, or badly dressed. And she’d certainly never represented the company in a bad light. Skye wondered if there was anything in her contract that she could find that would bear out under scrutiny. Or would he simply try to play the “This isn’t the EUW anymore” card? A loud chirping outside the window caught her attention, reminding her of the beauty of the day. 'Right… don’t waste such a pretty day thinking of that slime-bucket.' Skye took a deep breath, to clear her thoughts.
'So… what path waited for her next?' Smiling softly to herself, she pondered the possibilities before her. There’s was still so much she could do. She’d been able put quite a bit of her paychecks aside, so she didn’t have to go looking for a job immediately. She could take some time to pursue the artistic side of her photography, something that being in the spotlight had put on hold for a while. It had been difficult to ‘just take photos’ being recognized nearly everywhere she went. Stepping into the background, being just one of the crowd, that might be a good thing. Maybe she should finally send some applications in to the travel magazines like Grampa kept urging her. Or maybe she’d just take a road trip on her bike, pack her camera and travel cross-country, visiting friends along the way. So many options.
The phone rang, and Skye let it go to voicemail. When she realized the muffled voice on the machine was Annette, Skye jumped up from the sofa and grabbed the handset off the side table, “Argh, don’t hang up, don’t hang up!!!” She pressed [talk] “Annette, are you still there?”
“Skye? Yeah, I’m still here.” Annette sounded relieved to have found her at home, “Are you ok?”
Skye smiled at the motherly tone of her voice, this was the friend she’d missed the last few weeks, “I’ll be fine, it’ll just take time. More to the point… how are YOU doing? Everything’s moved so fast I hadn’t had a chance to get in touch with you after…”
Annette interrupted her, “Well, don’t just sit there asking, hop on your bike and get your ass down here to the bar and find out then, girl! I expect to see you in no more than thirty minutes. And Then I’ll tell you the whole story from my side.” The smile had been evident in her voice, just before the line went dead.
Looking at the receiver before she set the handset back on the charger, Skye had to wonder at the woman. Whatever, it’ll be nice to discuss future possibilities with her. Slipping her shoes back on, she grabbed Sonny’s keys and her purse, heading for the Devil’s Due Tavern.
●
You’d think I would be exhausted, blissfully sleeping, after my reunion with Toby, but I was wide awake, blissful yes, but feeling more alive than I had in months. I felt… whole again. And as I lie here, enjoying another moment of just ‘being’, a memory comes to me.
Years ago, when I was a lot younger, I’d been to a carnival with some friends. There was a fortune teller there, and as a lark, we’d all gotten our cards read. Of course, we thought she was a fake, so we’d laughed about her predictions afterwards. I could still remember some of what she’d told me, however. Among the things she’d said, she’d told me that I would love a tall man, he would be very strong, many people would revere him, and depend on him. I’m rather small, most men are taller than me, so that had been one of those vague predictions that was expected by a sham, like tall, dark and handsome. She had said that loving him could be difficult, and I remember my thoughts at that age, ‘what was hard about loving someone?’ There were other things, I can’t remember right now. I wrote it all down, sealed it in an envelope, it must be packed somewhere…
When I met Dustin, he was tall, and strong… but no one depended on him. I loved him, but it was young love, easy love. I met Frank, and knew right away, that I could never love him, he was not an easy man to be with, or a safe man, people didn’t like him, much less revere him. Those had been my only two long term relationships before I met Toby.
I smile into the darkness of the room as my thoughts drift. I can feel Toby’s breath soft on my shoulder, his arm curved across my belly. I feel safe with this man, I always have.
I remember, as a photographer, when I first became aware of Toby. When he walked out on the ramp, or spoke to the press or the fans, or was talked about in the news, there would be a little hitch in my chest. But I never thought about him in any personal capacity. He was happily married, and I rejoiced for him and his family. Happy marriages are a blessing. It never occurred to me then that I might have a personal relationship with him. I was a fan, a photographer, and he happened to be one of my favorite photography subjects.
But the day he walked into the Devil’s Due garage… unaware of who he was… there wasn’t just a hitch... my heart did a triple somersault. Then I knew
I turn my head and look at him, lifting my hand to gently move the stray hair out of his face. “I love you Toby Hunter.” His arm tightens around me, pulling me closer.
