Television Romance

Wrong Hand, Jules

INT. TABLE READ ROOM - DAY

Vian went to say hi to Jerry before retreating to Five, but after that, she didn't see Juliet until the table read at three p.m. Juliet had traded her jeans and fitted pink top for a black midi skirt with an oversized white shirt. The shirt sported several Sesame Street characters staring chummily ahead. Her blonde hair, evidently damp, was piled on top of her head in a bun. She was chewing gum.

"You went home?" Vian asked as they walked into the table read room.

"No. I showered in the guy's bathroom," she joked, "You can probably squeeze in between Jerry and Eli." Eli was one of the cast, short, Asian, and very friendly looking. Vian took a folding chair that was propped up against a wall and sat between the two guys.

The table read went almost exactly as Juliet had foretold. The only thing Juliet hadn't mentioned was that it lasted three hours. By the end of the first hour Vian, who had only slept about three hours total the night before, felt like melting into the carpet. The antidote to this miserable feeling was the anxiety that jolted through her when she heard Greg say the name of her sketch.

Vian considered herself to be relatively steady, not the type to freak under pressure, but she was practically shaking as she heard members of the cast recite the lines she had written for them. She was internally cursing and regretting her decision to take this job when the most lovely sound filled her ears. Laughter. The table was laughing at her joke. She looked up from her script and made eye contact with Michael who winked at her. A wide smile bloomed on her face in spite of herself and she looked back down as she tried to wrestle it down. Down the table, Juliet nudged Bill like a proud mom, but he didn't look up for fear of losing his place in the script and missing a line.

Juliet, Bill, Jerry, and Vian walked back to Four together. They each congratulated on their sketches and sat in silence for a full minute, decompressing.

"Really, that was a solid sketch," Juliet told Vian.

"Thanks, but the credit should probably go to Nat and Max. They gave me a bunch of notes. And that joke about restaurants in Oklahoma."

"Hey," Bill interjected, "Why doesn't Texas float into the Gulf of Mexico?"

"Why?" Vian asked. Juliet was already shaking her head.

"'Cause Oklahoma sucks." He chuckled, having amused himself more than anyone else.

"You know you don't have to assert your Texan-ness every five minutes, right?" Juliet told him. The two of them were on the couch again, her boot-clad feet in his lap.

"You went to the Taxman, huh?" Jerry asked, referring to Nat and Max's help.

"Boooo," Bill called through cupped hands.

"Have I ever told you that name sucks?" Juliet asked, evidently sharing Bill's feelings.

"Only every time I say it."

"Good for me," Juliet asserted.

"It doesn't make sense. It only works on one level," Bill said, fiddling with Juliet's shoelaces.

"Why don't you just call them 'the MaN', you know, like Mat... and... Nat? But also like a position of authority," Vian said. She was leaning against Juliet's desk. Jerry stared at her. She blinked back. Her brain was fried.

"That's somehow worse," Juliet said.

"It's perfect. I think I'm in love with you," Jerry deadpanned.

"Sorry, I'm taken," Vian said cheekily. She held up her hand to show the silver band on her ring finger.

"Jesus," Juliet said, "You're married?"

"Wrong hand, Jules," Bill said, "Engaged." She ignored him.

"To whom?"

"His name is Richard. We met at my cousin's wedding." Vian watched for Juliet's reaction but none came.

"Sexy," Bill said.

"Absolutely," Vian said.

"Probably for the best. Sadie's not the type for an open relationship," Jerry said, equally deadpan.

"Sadie is his girlfriend who he is desperately and pathetically in love with," Juliet provided before Vian could ask.

"Do you want to start with 'pathetically in love?'" Jerry asked, actually turning his chair from his computer.

"Oh, shut up," Juliet shot back lamely. Vian raised her eyebrows at Bill who just shook his head as if to say, "Don't bother." Jerry swiveled back.

"So what do we do now?" Vian asked.

"The setlist comes out in a couple of hours," Juliet said, "It's like 7:30 p.m. now, so we wait. And eat, usually."

"Thai?" Bill asked, hearing his cue.

"We had Thai last week."

"Yeah but it's January so they have that thing you like."

"Ooh, good point. Will you get me a-"

"Root beer?"

"Thanks."

Bill asked if Vian wanted anything and she asked for whatever he typically got, then, remembering he was from Texas, qualified that with "not spicy." Jerry put in a request and Bill left, his mission clear.

"He's leaving? Why doesn't he just order over the phone?" Vian asked.

"He will but they don't do delivery so he has to pick it up," Jerry answered.

"It must be good Thai food to be worth picking up."

"It's only a few blocks. And the pilgrimage makes it better," Juliet said, "Now, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when the food's here."