Beautiful When You Don't Try (Camren)

Chapter 49

A/N: I know a few of you have asked me to reference actresses for who I see Kim and Adrianne as...but I don't know of any that fit what I see in my mind. Even if I did, I would be hesitant because it would mess with what some of you already have set in your minds.

In this chapter: Clara's apartment (kinda), Camila's contemplation, and Lauren wanting to know why they hired Frankie ;).

Oh...the toaster joke. It was a joke started in response to close minded individuals who said that the gay and lesbian community was 'recruiting' new members, turning people gay. So the toaster was a 'prize' that one could get for turning a straight person gay. It's kind of a slap in the face to those who suggest that homosexuals are seeking to turn the world gay, turning it into a joke and fake contention.

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"No, Scott. It's just a sore throat, nothing to worry about. I just need to rest it for forty-eight hours just to be safe. I'll be back for Saturday's show...I know that makes four missed shows in two weeks but this can't be helped...I was actually thinking along those lines too...We'll talk about it then...Bye."

"Everything alright?" Clara asked as the pair walked towards Kim's building, somehow managing to rid themselves of the camera crew for the excursion. Camila believed it was because they got what they were wanting at dinner when they recorded her and Lauren's conversation. Lauren didn't show it if she was pissed that she forgot to turn the mic packs off, but she was at least thankful that the cameras weren't in her mother's face. Still, it was nice to be without them today though.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. We were just thinking that I might want to look at some of the offers I've been given away from Broadway."

"Why? I thought being a star on Broadway was your dream."

"It is." Camila assured her. "But I've already accomplished that and life has taken a different track for me now. A Broadway schedule is no longer conducive for where I am at and where I want to be right now."

"She's not going to let you give it up. You know that, right?"

Camila forced a smile as she looked up the address again and pointed to the next building. "Doing eight shows in six days a week, every week, just isn't making me happy anymore. I want to spend more time with Lauren, but her telling me she doesn't want me to quit isn't going to make me any happier at work. I can take some time off and then go back when I'm ready."

"But is that what you truly want to do?"

Clara was pressing but was only wanting Camila to think about it carefully. "It is. I'm not saying I'm not going to miss it, but it will give me an opportunity to do all those other things that I've wanted. Most people don't understand what it's like to not be able to go out to dinner with friends whenever you want because you work every night. You don't have the opportunity to go out to the movies or on a romantic, impulsive date. I can't even tell you the last time I was able to go to a show just to watch as a fan. Do you know that I have done over three hundred shows this year? It's getting a little old."

"How much longer to you have to go?"

"I have eighty more shows. I'm ready for a break that is longer than just a few days." The older woman nodded her head as they entered the building. She would be too after having to do the same show over and over hundreds of times.

The loft was nice, set up almost identical to Kim's, just reversed. The kitchen was on the left, the bathroom on the right. "It's definitely smaller than your house in Miami and Lauren's apartment." Camila noted. She liked it, she just wasn't sure it was for Clara.

"I don't need big. I need manageable. And this is it."

"So you like it?"

Clara nodded her head as she looked around the kitchen. "I do. And it is nice to know that Kim is just two floors below. I hadn't thought it would make a difference, but it really does. I don't feel alone at all. That should ease Lauren's mind."