The Final Act

Chapter Ten: Is This Love?

Rory left the theatre whirling in emotion, thoughts spinning in his already overloaded brain. What an incredible experience he just had. Angel was on fire and he was now left to comb through the ashes and sort out his feelings for her. Was it plain crazy to think that this was love? They hadn't even had a conversation outside of their dialogue. He knew absolutely nothing about her. But he was smitten.

He caught his Uber car and saw that it was Frank again.

"How did the rehearsal go?" he asked as Rory slid into the back seat.

"I don't even know what to say, Frank. It was the most charged scene I have ever played. I'm still not sure what happened in there. That girl, I mean Angel, is a force to be reckoned with." Suddenly, the name seemed so gentle for a girl with such fire within her. Rory knew there were depths to be plumbed to discover her real personality and he was up for the challenge.

Rehearsal the next day was a light-hearted scene with lots of banter, going back in time to when the main characters first met in the book store. The mood was uplifting without the intensity of the love scene. Rory saw a glimpse into the happier side of Angel and played to it. When the director called a break for lunch, Rory screwed up the courage to ask Angel to have lunch with him.

Angel reluctantly agreed. She had to eat anyway. Lunch can't hurt, she thought. We'll be surrounded by a crowd and it won't be so intense as it is on the stage. She hesitantly agreed, steeling herself to conceal her true emotions. She was uncomfortable being herself, especially around someone new. Lunch would be over soon enough and she could slip back into the role of Maggie in the bookstore.

They headed out to one of the corner delis—they were on every corner of the New York streets—and struggled to make their way through the mass of humanity lining up inside. That was always a good sign that the establishment was good. A couple was just leaving as they picked up their order and they pulled up two stools at the counter. You can do this, thought Angel. It's only a casual conversation. But after the intensity of yesterday's scene it would be hard to pretend that they had just met.

Rory, ever the loquacious one, started the conversation by telling her a little bit of his background. Then he steered the conversation to her and asked her what she did before she got into acting.

"Oh, I was a teacher for a few years," she answered, surprisingly calm. He seemed to have that effect on her—the ability to make her feel at ease—and she was grateful. She explained that she had always wanted to be an actor and had gotten her first real break last year. Now she hoped this play would really make it big and she would get her name out there.

"If you continue like you've been the past few days," Rory said, "this thing is sure to be a success."

Angel blushed at the compliment, glancing at her watch to see when they would have to get back. Rory, seeing her reluctance to continue the conversation, suggested they head back to the theatre. Angel gathered her things with a relief washing over her like a cool rain.

Once back in the theatre the director began working with the other actors in the play. Although it was primarily Maggie and Kevin, the main characters, in the spotlight, there were supporting actors to move the scenes along. Rory and Angel took up seats in the vacant auditorium. Every once in a while, Angel could see Rory stealing glances at her. She welled up inside thinking that someone might actually be interested in her. She remembered back to when she was 16 and this boy had finally asked her out and how fearful she was of being in one of her moods. That date had actually gone pretty well and they ended up going out a few more times. She guessed her life had not totally been one of depression; it's just that the episodes would come on without warning and some of them had been pretty severe. The medication and therapy she was now getting was helping her immensely and she had great hopes for some stability in her life for once.