“Cute,” I say, giving Gabe a look.
He shrugs, not taking the bait.
“It’s a great play,” Ollie says, clearly trying to defuse the ever-growing tension. “It was always on my list of potential material, but Gabe was the one who thought we should do it as a modern remake.”
“You started out in the theatre,” I say to Ollie. “Any plans to go back?”
He exchanges a look with Gabe.
“Actually,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here in Cooper.”
I’d been so distracted by the private plane and the subsequent revelation about the Broad Sheets article that I hadn’t even stopped to think about why Ollie was chartering us to Montana.
“Better clarify that this is off the record,” Gabe says.
I don’t like his tone, nor his implication.
Still, I make a point of putting my phone away. Ollie is looking between us, clearly not sure how to proceed.
“I don’t know if you remember,” Ollie says. “But Gabe did a show on Broadway a few years ago.”
The tension at the table suddenly ratchets up to eight.
“Oh, I remember,” I say.
I’d known that this conversation was inevitable, just like I know I’m going to have to ask Gabe about the phone call. I just hadn’t expected Ollie to be the one to shine a flashlight on this particular elephant in the corner.
“She saw it,” Gabe says.
“I saw it,” I confirm. “I saw the who-ole thing.”
The whisky has made my tone a little loopy.
Ollie’s eyes are ping-ponging back and forth between the two of us.
“I see,” he says.
He doesn’t. He has no idea what we’re talking about.
“She came on opening night,” Gabe says.
Recognition dawns, and Ollie looks down at his phone.
“Oh look,” he says. “An important call.”
“Your phone didn’t even ring,” I say.
“I must take this,” he says, getting up from the table.
“You’re not that good of an actor,” Gabe says as Ollie walks away, his un-rung phone against his ear.
Gabe looks at me. I look back.
“So,” he says.
I hadn’t planned on going. When I saw that Gabe had signed on to play Karl Lindner in A Raisin in the Sun during his Bond hiatus, I had planned to completely avoid Times Square for the duration of the limited run.
Then I was sent a ticket. To opening night.
I hadn’t told Jeremy. He’d been working nonstop on his second novel and things had been strained between us for months.
Gabe was still married, but the gossip columns had made a big deal about the fact that Jacinda was not relocating to New York with him and was staying in London. According to everyone, they were either separated or days away from getting a divorce.
I told myself that the invitation meant nothing. That it was business. That maybe someone on his team thought I’d write something about it. That maybe Gabe didn’t even know I was coming.
But I’d worn my nicest dress and gotten my hair blown out. I wore lipstick. Heels.
Jeremy didn’t even notice when I left the apartment.
It would be nice to see Gabe after all these years, I’d told myself on the subway. Like old friends. I took my seat at the theatre, feeling nervous and jittery, as if I was going to be the one onstage.
And when I saw him…
It was as if the entire theatre disappeared around me. As if the rest of the cast vanished. All I saw was Gabe.
Seeing him that close after all those years was like a drug.
And then, during intermission, one of the ushers came to my seat.
“Mr. Parker would like you to come to his dressing room,” she told me. “I’ll escort you back after the show.”
I spent the rest of the play in some sort of fugue state, barely registering what was happening onstage. All I could think about was what would happen when I saw him backstage. What would I say? How would I greet him? A handshake? A hug? A cheek kiss?
By the time the curtain went down, my entire body was vibrating with nervous energy. My fingers were ice-cold, my throat burning hot.
After the theatre had emptied out a bit, the same usher came to find me, and I followed her backstage, the narrow corridors overflowing with flowers and people.
“Here it is,” the usher said, leaving me in front of a closed door with Gabe’s name on it.
She left. I knocked, overeagerly turning the knob as I did.
That was my mistake.
I’d opened the door and found Gabe. With Jacinda in his arms.