Casting Debbie

Chapter 19

Debbie didn't have the energy to do anything except lay in bed and watch TV. That was getting old, so she grabbed her laptop and typed into the search bar, Lou Miller's husband.

Rusty Ryan. Action movies. Way too smug looking.

She lost interest almost immediately, so she typed in Lou Miller's divorce.

"Shit." Debbie had no idea it had been such a big deal. The tabloids covered it for months. Paparazzi chased them both endlessly. Everyone had an opinion about who cheated on who.

"Gross!" Debbie grimaced when she read that there was speculation about Lou and their co-star, Claude Becker. No wonder Lou was so private now. Debbie couldn't blame her. They'd been relentless, trying to get the real story, or any story at all, even if it was completely false.

Her phone beeped. Lou had dinner ready. The last thing Debbie wanted to do was eat, but she pushed herself out of bed.

She went into the main house wearing a big wool sweater with pajama bottoms and slippers. "Sorry, I didn't have the strength to dress for dinner."

"That's okay, I didn't cook. Which you should be grateful for." Lou had several take-out containers lined up on the kitchen island. She pointed at the first container. "Thai coconut soup. I love this when I have a cold."

Debbie sat on a stool across the kitchen island from Lou. "That would be fine." Nothing would taste good. She was doing this purely for Lou, who was playing the doting nurse.

"No, you have to hear the other options." Lou placed her hand on the next container. "Good old-fashioned chicken noodle soup."

"Tammy is sick too. She's not flying out here tomorrow, thank god."

Lou slowly blinked as she stared at Debbie. "Did you... kiss her?"

"What?"

"Why is she sick too?"

Debbie rolled her eyes. "First of all, it's not mono. And I know you see Tammy as the devil incarnate and all, but it's really none of your business."

Lou put her hand on the third container. "Chicken pot pie." She kept her eyes down and waited for a reply.

"I'll have the coconut soup with a side of jealousy."

Lou narrowed her eyes. She pushed the soup container across the island and pulled a spoon out of the drawer. She slid the spoon so hard it almost flew off the other end but Debbie caught it with both hands. "Whoa!"

Lou grabbed a fork and the chicken pot pie. She went into the living room and turned on the television, choosing Debbie's old soap opera from the list of recordings. She turned the volume up and pointed at the TV. "Oh look. It's your asshole husband with his new wife and kid."

Debbie shuffled over and curled up in the corner of the sofa with her soup. "Everything changes and yet somehow manages to stay exactly the same in the soap world."

"And the writers don't ever say to each other -let's be realistic?" Lou sarcastically asked.

"And the women are all bitches."

"So you fit right in."

Debbie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Lou threw the remote on the table. "Sometimes, you're like a caged animal, Debbie. You bite the hand that feeds you."

Were they going to fight again? Debbie didn't have the energy. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"I don't want that bitch in my house or anywhere near me, so you should move out."