Nothing Like This

“That girl who played Eponine was flawless,” I hear yet another person say as I wait for Beth with Annie and Tyler.
“She really was amazing,” Annie agrees.
“She blew me out of the water, and I’ve been helping her rehearse.”
As soon as I see her exit the dressing room hallway, people flock to her. She smiles widely and greets her new fans, accepting the single roses from them and smiling for a few pictures. Annie, Tyler, and I wait patiently until the crowd clears. She immediately rushes towards us, locking us all in a tight embrace. Well, as tight of an embrace as possible with her left arm full of flowers.
“Thank you guys so much for coming!” she squeals. She pulls away and waits for our reactions.
“You were amazing, Beth. I was sobbing,” Annie gushes. Beth laughs like she doesn’t believe Annie was actually crying.
“But she actually was,” Tyler assures, leaning his shoulder down where there are some mascara marks on his shirt from Annie leaning her head on his shoulder.
“These are for you!” Annie thrusts the flowers towards Beth, and she adds it to the pile.
“Thank you!”
“So, I’ll just hold these for you,” I laugh, holding up the large bouquet. Her lips pull into a bright smile.
“You’re amazing.” Her fingers lock around the collar of my shirt as she pulls me in for a quick kiss.
“We’ve got to head out, but you did great, Beth,” Annie tells her, locking her arms tightly around Beth.
“Yeah, really amazing. And good luck on your tour, man.” Tyler shakes my hand and hugs Beth while Annie hugs me. They wave goodbye and disappear with the crowd of exiting people.
I turn back to Beth. “Why don’t you let me take some of those off of your hands?” I pull a handful of flowers from her arms. “You really had a great performance tonight, Beth.”
She slides her fingers through mine as we head towards the back exit, away from everyone else. “You mean it?” She bounces excitedly on her toes.
“Of course. Didn’t you hear everyone talking about your performance?”
“It’s only because I’m the new face on a popular Broadway musical.”
I stop her and turn her towards me. “You really think all those people were talking just because you’re the new face? Babe, half of those people are tourists and have never been to a Broadway show before. You were amazing. You had me absolutely captivated.”
She smiles and kisses my cheek. “You’re perfect.”

Beth yawns and sits up. “Call me when you land, okay?” she tiredly requests.
“Alright. Go back to sleep. I’ll see you in a few weeks.” Her lips touch mine, and I head out for the airport.
After a long flight to Mexico, I’m reunited with my family and going through the rushed process of preparing for the first show of tour. Other than the jetlag keeping me up, I find myself tossing and turning while trying to fall asleep. It’s just not the same with Beth tucked into my side. I’ve spent the past few months sleeping like that, and I don’t want to have to sleep without her.
Like she’s reading my mind, my phone starts buzzing next to me. I pick up my phone and Beth’s name flashes on the screen. “Hey,” I greet.
“Hi! How’s Mexico?” her cheery voice responds.
“The whole two days I’ve been here? Great. I’ve seen the sun twice.” We share a small laugh.
“How was your show yesterday?”
“Amazing. Nick, so many people have been coming up to me after the show and telling me my performance stole the show. It’s…I’m just so happy. And, obviously, my voice is back.”
“I can hear that.”
“Oh, so what every happened with that independent movie you thought about being in?” I hear keys jingle in the background.
“Yeah, I got the script emailed to me yesterday. I’ve started skimming through it, and I’m going to take the roll. As my girlfriend though, I want to sit down and talk about this with you seeing as it’s a bit more of a,” I pause to think about a good word, “mature roll than I’m usually portrayed in.”
“Well, it’s not a pornography, right?”
I laugh. “No, babe. Risqué, yes. I’ll definitely be hitting the gym a lot more.”
“Oh, hell yeah. You can do my detox with me when you get back. We’ll get healthy together! Look at how cute we are. It’s almost gross…whoa, wait. Rewind. Did you just drop the g-bomb?”
“Well, it’s been quite a few months of this…whatever we have. Don’t get me wrong, I love every second of it, but I want to label it.”
“Look at you. Apart for only hours…”
We share a laugh. “I know. Give me all the hell you want, but I already miss you like crazy.”
She lets out a deep breath. “I miss you, too, Nick. It’s really weird being here alone.” We get quiet for a moment. “What time is it?”
“Ten, just a few hours earlier. You’d think I’d be more tired, but I’m really not.”
“Yeah, me either,” she replies. “Which is definitely okay with me. One of the cast members is having a party tonight. So, I’m going to drop in for a while.”
“It’s already midnight…”
“Yeah, I know. I guess I just want to keep my mind off of missing you.”
“Don’t go crazy tonight, please.”
“I won’t. I promise. I just want to get out of this empty apartment.” I hear the microwave in the background, and she’s humming Empty Chairs at Empty Tables to herself.
“Are you actually using Les Mis as irony in this situation?”
“Is it adding irony to the situation?”
“A little bit.” The microwave beeps. “Well, I’ll let you go. Have fun tonight.”
“You know I will. Call me after your show tomorrow, okay? I want to hear all about it.”

“How’s Beth?” Mom wonders over morning. We’re the first two up, and we’re waiting on breakfast from room service.
“Good, she’s good.”
“Is she still staying at your apartment?” I nod.
“Yeah, until the show is over with.”
Mom takes a sip of her coffee and nods slowly. “I like her, Nick. She’s good for you.” There’s a tone to her voice behind the compliment that I know she intends for me to catch.
“But?”
“She’s absolutely in love with you. I can tell just from the way she looks at you, and I know you have a tendency to get nervous and back out when things start getting serious—“
“Mom, things have been pretty serious between us for a while. I can’t see myself without her.”
Mom smiles a little, but the smile soon falls. “How serious?” I open my mouth to answer, but I can’t think of a response. I didn’t think I’d have to have this conversation with my mother. Ever. “Nicholas…how serious?”
“You’re getting worked up about nothing,” I assure her.
“Nothing? You two live together, Joe doesn’t even—“
“We’d live together even if we weren’t dating. I’d still offer up my apartment.” She purses her lips like she doesn’t believe me.
“Nick…” Her eyebrows rise in that you-better-fess-up-now look.
“Yeah, okay,” I admit, throwing my hands up in defeat. “Yes.” She lets out a deep breath and stares at her coffee.
“Alright.” She looks up at me and sees the shocked expression. “What?”
“That’s it?”
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. You’re old enough to make your own decisions.”
“And there it is. You’re upset.”
“It’s hard for a mother to watch her son grow up.”
Joe’s heavy footsteps come down the hall. “Dude, your phone has been ringing nonstop for the past ten minutes.” He drops my phone on the table and marches back to bed.
I look at the notifications, a few from Annie but most of them are from Beth. So, I call her back. “Hey, I saw you called…multiple times. Is everything okay?”
“Annie, seriously, calm the fuck down,” Beth groans. “Have you heard from Ty lately?” she wonders. I can hear the irritation in her voice.
“How recently are we talking?”
“Anytime between when we hung up last night and now.”
“No, I’ve been sleeping. Why?”
“He hasn’t heard anything, Annie. I’m sure everything’s fine. I’ll be right back,” Beth says to Annie. I hear a door close. I lift my coffee cup to my lips for a sip. “Last night, Annie drank a little too much, and well, we found out she’s pregnant.”
I choke on my coffee. “What?” It takes a few coughs to clear my throat. “I’m sorry, what happened?”
“I guess she’s known for a few weeks, and she didn’t say anything to anyone. Then, she drank last night, spilled her guts to Ty and me, and now he won’t talk to her.”
“She was drinking,” I state in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah, I got on her for that. So, don’t bother preaching to the choir.”
“Wow…I’m actually really surprised.”
“Better her than me,” she mumbles. “I’m sorry, that was so uncalled for.” I let out a laugh. “Moral of the story, we need to get a hold of him at least to make sure he’s okay.”
“I’ll give him a call and let you know if he answers.”
“Perfect, thanks.”
I can feel Mom watching intently, so I excuse myself from the room. “Is everything else okay?”
She sighs heavily. “I don’t know. She’s stressing me out.”
“You were fine yesterday. What happened last night?”
“Nothing, nothing,” she assures. “Are you okay? You sound irritated.”
“I mean, other than the fact that my mother basically just forced out of me that we’ve had sex? Yeah, life’s great.” I drop down onto my bed and bury my face in my hands. “That sounds a lot worse when I reiterate it.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.” I hear her let out a deep breath. “What did she say?”
“That I’m old enough to make my own decisions…I don’t know, Beth. It’s not a conversation I was ever hoping to have with my mother. I love her, but there are things I’d rather keep between friends than family.”
I shrug. “Well, yeah…but this is the longest relationship you’ve been in, what, since you dated Miley?”
“Yeah, it is. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”