A Star is Born

Ireland stared at Diane in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“No babe, they were in the back of the room and they said Eric and George would be nothing but pleased to meet with a fan.” The owner of Ain’t It Wonderful, beamed at her. The owner of the company that had picked Ireland up for the IMTA competition had pulled a string or two, she was sure, to let her meet two of the cast of CSI.

Ireland walked in a circle for a moment and it hit her. She was going to meet two of the most famous actors on television, she had just spent a week of grueling days on no sleep and although she’d gone to quite possibly thousands of callbacks, she hadn’t received word that anyone actually wanted to manage her yet. Something was finally going right. She started crying. She hugged Diane and just wept.

“That’s not all for us, I hope.” A male voice in the hallway behind her said. Ireland tensed, but did not move away from Diane.

She murmured into Diane’s blouse. “Oh please God let this be a cruel joke or a fantastic impersonator.” She turned around to find George Eads standing about 4 feet behind her. “Shit. It’s been a long week, and…um…”

George smiled and threw his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. I know IMTA week. No time, no sleep, lots of emotions. Would a little lunch make you feel any better? Eric’s waiting for us at a Deli down the street.”

“My knight in shining turkey and cheddar on sourdough.” They laughed as they walked down the street for a sandwich and a soda. Eric was already waiting at a table, soda in hand. They all sat down and chatted about nothing in particular long enough to have a spectacular lunch. When they finished George was nice enough to offer to escort her back to her hotel room.

“I’m a big girl George. I’m sure I could walk myself the whole two and a half blocks back to the hotel.” Ireland patted him on the shoulder.

“No, it’s my pleasure. We don’t usually get to meet people who aren’t screaming for autographs or wanting connections. It’s nice to go out to lunch and meet new friends once in a while.” They laughed their way back to the hotel and George dropped Ireland off at her room. He grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and wrote something on it. “Here. If you’re ever in Vegas, give me a call and I can show you around the set. Maybe we can grab lunch again or something.”

Ireland ripped off the blank half of the paper and wrote down her number. “Ditto if you’re ever in Washington. I’ll have to take you to my favorite deli.” They exchanged friendly hugs and waved good-bye at the door as Ireland turned to a room full of girls, chins on the floor. “Roll up your tongues ladies. It’s not a very becoming look. Goodniiiiiight.”

Ireland was getting ready to drive north to Modesto early Saturday morning when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. “Fuck!” She grabbed for the phone and dropped it, open on the floor. “Hang on!” She found the phone under the edge of the bed. “Hello?”

“Hey Ireland, it’s George. I didn’t get you at a bad time did I?”

“Hey! No, I was just finishing up packing. I didn’t quite expect the phone to ring so I threw it on the ground instead of answering it like a normal person.”

“I see. Well we can work on your social skills later. I have an offer you might be interested in,” he said slyly.

Ireland faked a thick Southern accent. “Why SIR. Are you tryin’ to proposition a delicate flower of a lady such as myself?”

“Delicate isn’t exactly the word I’d use, and no. But I do have a job offer for you.”

“You have a what?” Ireland nearly dropped the phone again. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

“One of our casting directors saw you do the stand-up routine, and they heard you have a background in forensics. They wanted you to come in for a quickie casting call, if you want.”

“I WANT! George, you are the most incredible person I have ever met! Let me tell Diane and I’ll call you right back for details, Ok?”

“You betcha, Hun.”

Ireland hung up and squealed. Maybe all that money she spent on IMTA wouldn’t be a waste after all. She dialed Diane and they shared a little squealing fit together as she told her the great news.