Lights, Camera, Rumblefish!

Chapter 4

LCR 4

"Here," I handed Susie the pamphlets on the set a couple days later.

"What are these?"

"Nursing school pamphlets," I said.

"You want to go to nursing school?"

"Yeah," I said.

"When did you decide this?"

"Uh a couple weeks ago, but Matt and I just started discussing it," I said.

"And what did he say?"

"I mean it took some convincing but we're gonna try it out," I said.

"Essie, how are you going to be able to do this? He wants to start a family and you want to go to school," she said.

"Yeah I know."

"And he has a job that causes him to travel all over and you're getting married so you can't get a loan now," she said.

"Hey, whatcha two talkin' about?" Matt ran up behind me and laid his hand on the back of my directors chair, out of breath.

"How do you two think you're going to sustain a new family, college, an apartment, and a wedding with the amount of money you have now," Susie said.

"We're still talking about it," he said.

"So she's gonna get pregnant and go to school and then what happens after the baby's born? Or she's in labor and you're somewhere halfway across the globe?" She said. I shook my head and turned to him.

"Hey," I said, grabbing his hand. He intertwined our fingers and kissed me.

"Hey," he said.

"You're sweaty," I said.

"Yeah, it's hot in here," he said.

"What are you doing? Why are y'all not filming?" I asked.

"Taking a break..." He started to smack on his gum and smile with both sets of teeth showing, open mouthed.

"You wanna go to lunch with me later? We can go down to a diner or a deli," he said.

"You never take me out anymore," I said.

"I'm asking you if you want to go our for lunch," he said. I ran the back of my hand across his cheek and kissed him.

"Yes," I said.

"Okay. Until lunch, love," he bent down and kissed me and then moved to my cheek before running off.

"What do you think you're gonna talk about at lunch?" Susie asked me.

"I don't know."

"Finances."

********

"So if you're continuously on the road, then I have to take care of the apartment and the paycheck while also doing my school...then it may not work. I don't know if any of this will work," I said, resting my head in my hands. Matt grabbed my wrist across the table and smiled when I looked up.

"We'll work this out. Trust me. What figures do you have for school?" He asked as the waiter brought us our food laid it in our spots, causing him to let go of me.

"Two years... It's this amount," I slid my notebook over to him and circled the cost. He widened his eyes and popped a French fry in his mouth.

"And for four years, it's the other circled one," I said.

"Wow... Okay, what's the difference between four years and two years?"

"Four years, I can do nursing without supervision but the two years is with supervision and most likely in a hospital..."

"Which one would you rather do? Because, I mean, if you're willing to work in a hospital, you should just do the two year program. I mean, I sure don't want to go to school for two more years than I have to," he said, slightly licking the outside of his lips like he does.

"Yeah, says the high school dropout," I joked, taking back my notebook.

"Haha, very funny. Look, this all means that we're not going to be having kids anytime soon."

"If I go through with it," I said.

"It's gonna be quiet around the apartment," he said. I sighed.

"What if we got a dog?" I said. He dropped his hamburger back in his plate and wiped his hand on a napkin.

"A dog?"

"Yeah, a dog. You want kids and we can't have them, so what about a dog?"

"Essie, dogs cost money," he said.

"So do children."

"Okay, I get your point...If I'm away all the time, and you're at school or work, who's gonna take care of the rugrat? My ma?"

"No, we would. He'll only be a small thing," I said.

"He's just gonna be another chore to take care of," he said.

"It's better than getting a cat and then it peeing all over," I said.

"Dogs pee too," he said.

"Matt! Just consider it, please."

"Alright...but if we did get a dog, I want like a watch dog, not some rattyass stuffed animal to fit in your purse."

"Well, I was thinking about a pug," I said.

"A pug? A pug?!"

"Yes, a pug. They're soft."

"So are German Shepards."

"We're not getting a German Shepard for our apartment in New York City."

"Then why are we getting a pug?"

"Because they're soft and cute and nice and they have small tongues and they make me feel better," I said. He started to laugh at me and leaned back.

"Sweetheart, we'll look. If they have pugs, we can see if we can get one..."

"Can we name him Bartholomew?"

"No, we can't. Eat your lunch before we have to go back."