Warner Park

Chapter Eleven

Andrew

On our run that morning, Vince had mentioned needing help with some lines.

He had landed his first leading role in a made-for-TV movie that was going to launch on a popular streaming service, something he insisted wasn't a big deal, but I knew otherwise... He was downplaying this.

I had a class to teach downtown at noon, so I dropped by Vince's house to help him for a few hours beforehand. Yes, I was busy, but Vince asking me for help? I tried not to make it seem like it was a stretch for me to fit into my schedule, but the honest truth was...it was.

I now worked across three different yoga studios as an instructor, in addition to taking on my virtual classes and in-person instruction. While I was no longer worrying about paying rent each month, I was struggling with free time to hang out with Vince and Gary. I still had to figure out how to prioritize everything that mattered to me - this wasn't something I was used to.

"It's been a long long time since I did any acting... This is going to be interesting." I laughed, sitting on the couch reading over the script Vince had handed me. Recording the Relay bit with Vince seemed like ages ago now. It was hard to believe it had only been a few months.

"I usually land comedy roles I can improv... It's been a long time since I've done anything like this," Vince yelled out from the kitchen.

"What part of this are you struggling with? Remembering your lines?"

Vince laughed and shook his head, placing two glasses of water on the coffee table. "No." He paced back and forth in front of the giant TV on the wall, running a hand through his hair. "It's, uh...the delivery. I'm struggling with the delivery...in keeping it serious."

"Vince, this isn't a romantic scene or anything is it?" I looked at him suggestively to see a smile already creeping up on his face, "Are you doing some kind of Lifetime romance movie, Vince?" I teased as I looked over the script again - it definitely wasn't, at least not this scene, but he seemed oddly nervous and that would have been my first thought to explain it.

"It's not, it's just a scene that's been hard for me not to laugh all the way through."

He sighed, his smile wavering as he sat down next to me on the couch. I was going over the script, but then he immediately stood up again to pace the living room.

"Vince, what's up...?"

"I suck at this, Andy."

I was baffled. What did he just say? I looked up, worried over what brought him to confess something like that. He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm afraid this director's gonna fire me tomorrow after I butcher this scene. Everyone's gonna know I tried 'real acting' and failed at it. I shouldn't have taken it. I can't do serious stuff like this, I don't know what they saw in my audition. What was I fucking thinking?"

His open insecurity shocked me, I'd never seen him this way before. Sure, I'd seen him fake exorbitant amounts of confidence when nervous, but he never openly admitted when he was feeling insecure about something.

"...You're not gonna butcher this, Vince. Give me some background on the story, and I'll help you. So let's just run through it.' The worry on his face pulled at my heart.

"Okay... My character is a cop on a case," he explained, "In this scene he's talking to a suspect, that's you."

"Did I do it? The murder?"

Vince laughed, "No, you didn't."

"Ok, well, I'm ready."

Vince looked at me for a while, still pacing. Worrying didn't suit him, I wished he'd stop. I had caught on early in our friendship that there was insecurity masked under Vince's sense of humor, especially when he was being self-deprecating, but seeing it revealed first-hand was hard. I knew how much Vince cared about his work...