The Intermission by Elyssa Friedland

Author:Elyssa Friedland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

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CRAIG’S WAS A Beverly Hills hot spot. Dimly lit, with a bustling bar scene and wide, leathery banquettes, it was the kind of place Hollywood heavy hitters went when they wanted to be seen. Paparazzi waited out front hoping for a money shot, but the restaurant had a back way out that celebrities could use if they had too much to drink or suddenly felt camera shy.

Alexi and Cass, along with two friends of Alexi’s from acting class named JuJu and Zandra, were finally seated after a forty-minute wait at the bar. Cass had had to be coaxed into going, even though it was a place she’d wanted to try since arriving in L.A. But dinner with three actresses talking about auditions while picking at kale salads didn’t have much to offer by way of emotional or intellectual nourishment, certainly nothing that could rebound her from her dismal first Puddles exchange. Alexi assured her the night would be more fun than Cass expected, but so far she was underwhelmed. The star sightings were C-list at best (washed-up sitcom stars turned reality contestants) and the wait for the table was downright obnoxious. At least the menu held promise. It was mostly comfort food, a relief since Cass had been expecting microgreens. A burger with fries and a second glass of red wine did a lot to unwind her, and the shortcake à la mode she ordered for dessert gave her serotonin a peppy spring.

The night with Alexi and her friends turned out to be entertaining. She even liked playing the role of single girl out on the town, though it was clear how it could get old fairly quickly. Her dinner companions spent a good part of the evening doing touch-ups and surveying the groupings of single men at the bar, so much so that Cass was sure they’d wake up with sore necks. Alexi, four skinny margaritas deep, was cracking a lot of jokes and Cass couldn’t help devolving into fits of giggles. Ironically, each time she let out a belly laugh, it made her think about Jonathan and then she was sad all over again. He frequently said how much he liked to see her “real” smile—told her some nonsense about her brow wrinkling cutely and loving that damn overlap of her teeth, but really it was more like he thought of it as a personal accomplishment.

Sipping the last of their skim cappuccinos, because naturally a group of women orders nonfat milk after a decadent meal without blinking at the irony, they readied themselves to leave. The check landed on the table and Cass seriously considered grabbing it. Listening to Alexi and her friends gripe about making rent and realizing the gray shearling coat she’d bought for herself for Christmas cost more than each of them made last year was causing her to flush, not unlike when Manuela used to iron her underwear. If she didn’t reconcile with Jonathan, she’d soon be joining their ranks, but for now she could be a sport and treat.

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