Shy and successful Broadway singer, Carmen, is finally at the point in her career where she is auditioning for her dream role. After meeting Owen at the local coffee shop, it seems like everything is perfectly lining up for Carmen's future. When fac...
Carmen struggled to get her phone out of her small purse. When she finally got it, she unlocked it and looked at her notifications. Only one missed call, that's a good sign.
"I have to check this really quick, okay?"
Owen had no choice but to agree because she was already halfway out the door even as she asked the question. He found a place to sit down while Carmen stepped outside to check her voicemail.
Carmen tapped her pass code and smiled at Owen through the window as she waited for the automated voice to tell her she had one new message. When she heard the message, she felt like fainting.
"Hello, Carmen? This is Jodi from Beaksmith. I know you auditioned for us almost a year ago but we've had a position open up that we think you would be just perfect for. I've already emailed you the contract offer, but we really want to have you. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to have you move over here. I'll give you a call back tomorrow to discuss the details. I really hope you'll say yes. Have a great night!"
After Jodi gave her phone number, the message ended.
Carmen had to replay the message twice before it really sank in. Beaksmith was offering her a position. She pulled up her emails and read the contract. They weren't just offering her a position, they were offering her the lead role in not one but three upcoming productions.
Oh, I would have killed for this a year ago. Carmen paced the sidewalk outside the restaurant as she thought about what to do. Beaksmith was offering her a lead role, but they were a smaller company. She couldn't hope to make nearly as much money or achieve as much fame as she would if she stayed where she was and managed to snag the lead there.
On one hand, this offer was a guarantee of the lead role. It came with some creative control and very little obligations besides acting, which is basically perfect. But on the other hand, taking the job meant giving up the dream of a lead role in a more prestigious company. Could she leave the only New York family she had ever known just to take a lead role?
Carmen probably would have paced the sidewalk for hours if Owen hadn't tapped on the window and made some kind of hand signal. Carmen couldn't figure out what he wanted, and she had at least until tomorrow to decide what to do with this job offer, so she decided to go inside and finish her date.
"Hey, Owen. Sorry," Carmen sat down beside him at the counter against the window.
"No biggie," he smiled and ran his hand through his hair. "Is everything all right? It looked pretty intense?"
"I, yeah. It's fine." Carmen wasn't about to have that conversation with a guy she just met. "Let's get some ice cream, shall we?"
Once they were both sitting down with their small sundaes, they resumed their conversation from earlier.
"So, you work at a cafe," Carmen spoke between bites. "How did you come into that line of work?"
Owen laughed at her repetition of his question to her earlier.
"Well," he responded, "It's actually a family business and, let's say I knew the owners when I started working there about ten years ago. They've since sold it and now I run it."
It seemed like Owen was trying to hint at something obvious that Carmen was missing, but she couldn't pin it down, so she asked another question.
"Worked in any other shops I might have heard of?" Carmen smiled as she put the last bite of ice cream in her mouth before continuing, "I'm kidding."
"Oh, I don't know," he put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, "what have you heard of?"
He got up to return their dishes to the counter, something she hadn't seen many people do since she moved to this country.
"I think it's time we get you home," he smiled, offering his arm. "I don't want either of us to be late for work tomorrow. No one wants an angry boss."
She accepted his arm and allowed him to escort her home. Though she was not wearing the costume for it, that moment did feel a little like she had just stepped off the stage of a Regency piece.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Carmen let the question slip out her mouth before she could stop it.
"What makes you say that?" Owen looked at her, hoping for a response he did not receive.
When it was clear Carmen would not explain herself, he continued, "My parents are both born and raised here, but a few generations back we were Irish. I guess it doesn't leave ya."
They had stopped walking as they stared at Carmen's front door.
"Well, I had a lovely night, Owen." Carmen removed her hand from his arm and began walking toward the stairs, "But this is me."
She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Obviously he knew this was where she lived. Thankfully, Owen did not notice.
"I had a lovely night, too," Owen offered a hug, and she accepted it.
"I hope we can do it again soon."
"I'll call you tomorrow," she promised him.
"I look forward to it," he smiled and waved as she opened the door to her apartment building and disappeared behind it.
When Carmen finally closed her apartment door behind her, she sunk down against the wall until she was sitting on the floor. As she rubbed her feet to relieve the pain from her uncomfortable shoe choice, her mind wandered back to the date with Owen and the offer from Beaksmith.
She was fully prepared to wallow in her own thoughts for several hours. But as it was nearly midnight, she picked herself up and shuffled to her bedroom. Throwing herself into bed, clothes and all, she attempted to sleep before tomorrow's five am wake up call. Screw cardio.
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