The Hollywood Waitress

Chapter 22 - Tooth-brush Ponytails.

Before I knew it, four days had passed and I was fifteen storeys high at the Doubletree Hilton in LA – the major difference between me and the other ‘star’s was I had been alone for the most part. Jason popped in to see me between giving interviews and having meetings but he was extremely busy from the moment we landed.

I spent most of the time talking to my Mom through Skype, Poppy and Josie also called me every few hours whenever they had a break from the Café.

I couldn’t help wondering why I wasn’t invited to these interviews but for some reason I was uncomfortable asking Jason anything at all – he shrugged me off anytime I asked him a question and in the end I became accustomed to his annoying indifference.

However tonight was important as it was a ball for new actors and actresses to mingle with each other and meet other directors and agents. Izzy didn’t know about this of course, she would flip out and Jason advised me to keep tight lipped about the whole thing.

I was just about to run a bath when my phone beeped – it was muffled by the fluffy white towels with the gold foiled lines that lay on top of it. It was Jason - again.

He advised me on the theme which was all white – white gown- dress or even a very loose white suit but either way it had better be white.

Luckily, I brought the silky white gown I wore to my cousins wedding a couple of years ago – I know you are not supposed to wear white unless you’re the bride but it wasn’t your average wedding. No -one in my family ever really stuck to tradition and my cousin loved the fact that we both looked quite similar – she said it made her less nervous. Strange, I know.

I couldn’t help noticing the small kiss he’d put at the end of each of his messages – I tried my best not to read into whatever he did too much but I always held onto that one little kiss at the end.

Adding a few drops of lavender into the steamy water, I tied my hair up into a bun – dropping the housecoat off my shoulders I dipped one of my toes inside. – It was heaven. There were champagne flutes at the side of the bath so I took it as a sign and poured some of it in. Once settled into the water I took deep breaths allowing the bubbles to surround me.

Sipping small amounts I closed my eyes –sinking further down into the water letting my free hand drop down to the ceramic at the bottom.  My mind flickered like a dying candle, but I managed to incorporate some of the breathing exercises I picked up at a Yoga lesson I took once and soon my mind de-cluttered.

 I did giggle a little when I remembered how serious my instructor was especially when she made us hold our nostrils shut and take deep breaths which resulted in half of us temporarily losing our hearing – it came back after a few seconds of course, but I lost all concentration and found it hard to take her seriously after that.

The water had started to feel cold and it took a while for my eyes to re-adjust once I’d opened them. Why did I feel so dazed?

My right arm hung at the side of the bath, leaning forward I searched for the phone – I eventually found it snuggled in between the middle towel – my heart skipped when I realized the time. It was seven O’clock! The ball was due to start at seven thirty.

Scorning myself for falling asleep I leapt out of the bath and threw my arms inside the housecoat. Drenched strands of hair clung to the side of my neck as I rummaged through my suitcase to find the straighteners.

I couldn’t believe I had fallen asleep- I never did that, ever!           

 Ignoring the ringing from the phone I focussed on getting myself ready – my skin had become wrinkly from being in the water for so long but that was the least of my worries - placing the gown over my head I quickly arranged the straps around my shoulders – smoothing out the middle part across my tummy - I admired how the silk hung so well across my waist. At least there was one thing on my side – but my hair – oh my hair!