The Property of Edward James

Chapter Two-1

Chapter Two

The Day I Met Elizabeth Rose

After graduating with a degree in Drama, I did several small productions for a couple of years around San Diego to build my resume while working a variety of part-time jobs to survive. I told Mr. Bergman that I was the type of actor who would take any part offered, anywhere, no matter what the content of the play was or the size of the part. I also didn’t care whether the parts required clothes. I became the go-to guy for plays that required nudity. It turned out that the director of a play I was cast in knew about Mr. Farnsworth’s obscure movie project and gave me his number. I called him immediately to set up an audition. I was very excited and felt fortunate for the chance. I naively thought that I was finally in the right place at the right time, and that my history of doing one awful theatrical production after another was finally over. This would be the big break every actor hopes for. It wasn’t, of course, but I always considered getting that audition to be the luckiest moment of my life, for it was how I came to meet Elizabeth Rose.

The audition was held at the director’s home in a very run-down poor neighborhood off the 805, on a street of cookie-cutter housing, one right next to the other. The street was lined with old rusted cars and unsavory characters on the corners, looking suspiciously over their shoulders as I drove by, in the midst of what looked like drug deals. When I arrived at the address I breathed a sigh of relief. No one wants to be memorialized on the Obituary Page in an article entitled, “Unknown Actor Murdered on the Way to Audition for Low-Budget Porno Movie,” right? Mr. Bergman nodded and smiled at my joke.

The door was open and I went in. There was a girl named Delores seated behind a table in the living room whom I introduced myself to. She gave me a few pages of a scene, after I gave her my 9 by 12 glossy picture and resume. I sat down on the couch and started reading the script. The scene was between two characters, some kind of monk wearing a brown hooded robe and a servant girl who attended to the needs of the brothers in the monastery. At first glance the script looked kind of interesting to me. The dialogue was not too bad.

Before I started studying the script, I heard someone else walk into the house. When I looked up, I saw Elizabeth for the first time. She was easily the most breathtaking woman I had ever seen. She had a movie star quality about her, as if she was used to being watched, and in fact invited the attention by the way she dressed. She wore a white lacey open-backed silk sun dress that loosely covered her body and showed off her curves. I could see she had painted her toenails bright red through the sandals on her feet. Her straight blonde hair cascaded all the way down her back, the tendrils resting lightly upon the curve of her hips. Her blue eyes were moist and responsive, fluttering with life. She introduced herself to the girl at the desk. The girl asked Elizabeth for a picture and resume and she said she didn’t have one. Who needs a headshot when you are Beauty Personified? The girl at the desk took a contact number and some basic information from her and gave her a script. Elizabeth sat down on the couch opposite me. She set the script aside without looking at it and started to touch up her makeup and hair.

Her phone started buzzing and she sent a text back with flying fingers and thumbs. I felt like an i***t, trapped in the analog age, without a cell phone. I suppose I didn’t have anyone to call, so what would be the point to have one? Her cell phone rang and this time she answered it. I know it’s rude, but I eavesdropped on her end of the conversation, when I should’ve been studying my script and minding my own business.

“Hi, Dirk. And why are you calling me again? Listen Dirk, can we talk about this some other… Yes, I enjoyed going out with you once and I had a nice time but… No I… I don’t want to… Dirk, I’m rather busy at the… I’m at an appointment… What? I don’t know, it’s like some kind of job interview… Sorry I’m getting another call. I gotta go. No, Dirk… What? Well, it was never my intention to hurt your feelings. Dirk… I’ve got to go. Please don’t call this number again.”

After breaking the first man’s heart, she answered her next call.

“Hey, Duke. Oh my God I completely forgot. I’m so sorry. That’s right, we were supposed to meet for… oh no, Dukie, no don’t wait for me, you go ahead and enjoy your lunch. I’m all the way over here in some god-forsaken part of Chula Vista of all places. I know, a girl like me shouldn’t be caught dead south of Market Street. At least now I know where I can buy a cheap bag of heroin, right? No, I’m just joking, I don’t use drugs. What? No, I’m at this “audition” for something or other. It was my day off so I thought I’d come just for kicks. No, I have no idea what it’s for. They gave me this script but I haven’t… Oh gosh, Dukie, I can’t believe it, I’m getting another call. Call me, or I’ll call you and we’ll meet at Horton Plaza next week during my lunch break, I promise. Bye, Dukie.”

“Hi, Derrick. Dinner? I don’t know, maybe. I’m at the audition. I think it’s for a movie, actually. Yeah, isn’t that funny? Me, an actress? Where? I don’t know. It’s in this really crummy neighborhood. South of downtown near the 805. No, it’s past National City, on the way to Tijuana. I know, I know… Derrick, I appreciate your concern, but… Ok Dad, I’ll be careful. I’m a big girl now, Derrick, I think I can take care of myself. No, I’m just doing it for fun. You should know by now I like to do things just for fun. Don’t you know that about me yet, Derrick?”

When Elizabeth said that last bit, she suddenly looked up and caught me listening in on her conversation and staring at her. I immediately looked down and acted like I was studying my script. I pressed firmly on my chest with my fingertips in an effort to calm my racing heart.

“Hey, Derrick, can you call me back later, honey. I’m kind of in the middle of something here. Thanks.”

I thought perhaps Elizabeth had ended the call, but I was too nervous to look up to find out. Even though I needed to study the script, I couldn’t seem to concentrate on it. The words appeared on the page, but as disconnected letters, without meaning. I could sense her staring bullets at me and I heard her rapidly tapping one of her heels on the floor. After a short moment, she spoke.

“Excuse me…” Elizabeth said slightly peeved, obviously not used to being ignored.

I looked up from the script with innocent wide eyes.

“Hmmm?”

“Don’t pretend I didn’t just catch you listening in on my private conversation.”

“What? Me? No, I was—”

She leaned forward, her loose dress opening to reveal a generous view of her cleavage, and whispered in a sexy voice.

“In case you were wondering about Dirk, Duke and Derrick, I just wanted to explain, I’m working my way through the letters of the alphabet, one boyfriend at a time...”

As she went back to applying her makeup, I tried not to stare, but my eyes drifted down her rounded feminine body, following their own primal urges. I could tell immediately that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Each time she moved, sweeping a brush through her long thick hair and reapplying color to her bright red puffy lips, her bouncy, full breasts demanded my attention. I simply had no choice but to look and appreciate her flesh, practically falling out of the halter top she kept tied in a loose bow behind her neck. I could easily see the outline of her puffy n*****s, pointing upward, as if defying gravity through the thin material of her dress. It was impossible not to stare at her. She was the very essence of healthy feminine youth and beauty. What I couldn’t seem to draw my eyes away from in particular was how the crescents of the large brown rings of her areolas were plainly evident, visually contrasting in a sensuous manner with the white skin of her cleavage. Time seemed to slow down as I basked in the warmth of her beauty. Even the ticking of my wristwatch seemed to stop, effected by her magnetism. I held it up to my ear, just to see if it still worked. Saliva formed at the sides of my mouth as I watched her apply makeup to her pink cheeks and blue eyelids, while she gazed into a small hand-held mirror. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen, totally unattainable to me, just like the head cheerleader who dated the hunky quarterback of the football team at Kearney Mesa High School, who never looked twice at a skinny drama geek like me. She was mesmerizing to watch, a natural performer. As she perfectly applied her mascara, I pictured her beautiful face filling a forty foot high movie screen. Just when I thought she had forgotten I was still in the room, she suddenly spoke to me. My heart stopped, restarted and then pumped wildly in my chest.

“Do you enjoy staring at an innocent woman’s breasts?” Elizabeth asked, checking her lipstick in the mirror.

“Yes… I mean, no. Excuse me, I didn’t mean to stare…” I mumbled, looking down nervously at the script, embarrassed to have been caught looking at her body again.

Elizabeth stood up, sidled across the small room and sat next to me on the couch. Reaching an arm out to me, she touched me for the first time. I’ll never forget how her touch made a chill shoot up my spine. Elizabeth lifted my chin up with her outstretched index finger and looked at me curiously, like I was a rare, cuddly animal at the San Diego Zoo. She made direct supermodel eye contact with me and gave me a dazzling smile with her professionally whitened teeth.

“Listen, honey. You don’t have to feel ashamed to stare at me. I really don’t mind you looking. You can look at me any time you want. Don’t be shy. I give you my permission to look, OK?”

She leaned back on the couch, continuing to look me in the eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was teasing or if she thought I suffered from some form of mental disability, and since I was unable to control myself, she gave her permission to stare inappropriately, out of pity for me. I didn’t help that I was unable to string together a complete sentence with her. I swallowed my saliva.

“I-I’m sorry. As I said, I don’t mean to…” I mumbled stupidly.

“You don’t mean to what?”

“Stare at you…”

“You’re so cute. I’m Elizabeth. What’s your name?”

The synapses in my brain seemed to freeze as she gazed at me.

“Your name, Sir?” she repeated, blinking at me.

“Oh. It’s Edward James… Hi, Elizabeth,” I said.

As I said hello, I held my palm stiffly up at my side, like I was taking an oath of office. Elizabeth was kind-hearted to overlook my social awkwardness. In fact I think she may have found it endearing. She smiled in a very warm and friendly manner at me. Along with being so sexy and attractive, she was a nice person as well. I could see why every man in San Diego fell instantly in love with her. I fell in love with her too, from the first moment I saw her.

“Edward! I love that name. And it starts with an E. And you know what the letter after D is, don’t you, Edward? I think you’re next in line, my friend…”

“Lucky me,” I said, which was about the wittiest comment I could come up with.

“You know, I had a little pussycat I named Edward when I was a little girl,” Elizabeth said, flirting.

“Oh, yes. That’s nice. I like cats too,” I managed to say.

I wanted to say, “I’ll be your little pussycat, if you want, Elizabeth.” Why didn’t I? I guess I was too nervous around her to come up with a witty retort. I began having physical problems around her. I could feel my heart racing, pumping right under my chest, as if it wanted to explode out of the thin layer of my skin in a burst of bones and blood. I took a deep breath to calm down. I was already nervous for the big audition and meeting this impossibly sexy woman made it worse. I noticed my hands were sweaty and trembling. I tried my best to stay composed.