Sweet Tea and Southern Charm

“ Lately I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep. Dreaming about the things that we could be. And Baby I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard…”

Savannah shot up in her bed glancing around quickly. It was still rather dark outside…A bit early for her alarm to be going off. She sighed, grabbing her phone, seeing that it was indeed the correct time for her to be waking. With a yawn she stretched before plopping down against her pillows. After only five hours of sleep the last thing she wanted to be was awake.

“Oh well.” She murmured as she threw the blankets off of her and stood from the bed. She made her way into the small bathroom and started a shower. The sooner she got ready, the better. Perhaps the hot water would help her to wake up more. Well, that and her usual coffee, of course.

After a hot shower, Savannah dressed in a pair of jeans cuffed a bit above her ankle and a thin light green, oversized sweatshirt. With the rain that was pounding against her windows, it was sure to be a cool day. She quickly dried her medium length auburn hair and pulled it up into a messy bun, wrapping a black headscarf around the mass of natural waves. After applying a small amount of makeup and slipping on her favorite chucks, she grabbed her purse and an umbrella and went out the door.

She made her quick stop at the coffee shop, picking up her usual macchiato as well as a cinnamon roll and a bottle of water for later on in the day. She didn’t linger at the small cafe, however, in fear that the rain would pick up significantly. After all, it was hurricane season.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the theatre at a brisk jog, though unfortunately the rain had picked up, making her umbrella almost useless. Her clothes and hair were a little more than damp, so much that she considered asking Izzy for a ride back to her flat to change, but she dismissed the thought. There was a dryer in the costume room, and she kept a tee shirt and pair of sweatpants in her makeup station for emergency situations. She could just throw those on and dry her outfit before everyone arrived.

Savannah hurried to the small room and closed the door, slipping off her shoes and placing them in the corner. Just as she was about to head toward the small shelf on the back of the wall, something caught her eye. She turned her attention to the vanity, a small gasp escaping her lips. There sat a beautiful bouquet of white daisies and vintage lace baby’s breath. The flowers were arranged in a lovely teal tinted vase. Sticking from the arrangement was a small card.

“Thanks for helping a guy out last night. You’re a life saver, Miss Savannah.” Savannah smiled as she read the note a few more times before tucking it gently into her purse and setting the flowers on the small table beside the couch. She then changed into the sweats and tee and headed to the costume room.

The theatre was a bit more lively than it had been the day before, with stage craft working on some repairs to the set. There didn’t seem to be any sign of the actors, however. And there wouldn’t be for quite some time. There wasn’t a scheduled dress rehearsal that day, so the cast wasn’t expected to be there until the 4:00 pm call. That would be plenty of time to get her clothes dried and to get a few things done before her first makeup job of the day. After the clothes were thrown into the dryer, Savannah started to head back to her dressing room to make sure everything was set up and ready to go.

“I, uh, I don’t think I got the memo, is it Casual Friday or something? I feel terribly overdressed.”

Savannah grinned, turning to see Bob standing behind her with a smirk playing at his lips. Of course, he was dressed rather nicely in a pair of dark wash jeans and a black button up shirt. His hands were stuffed inside his pockets and he leaned against the wall across from her makeup station. Savannah glanced down at her apparel, her cheeks instantly flushing in embarrassment. And of course, her hair was still a stringy, damp mess of curls. “Oh, um no. I got a bit soaked on my commute to work this morning. Thankfully I had some extra clothes on hand. My others are in the dryer.” She explained, biting on her lower lip rather nervously.
“Oh, I saw the flowers. Thank you, though you really didn’t have to do that.”

Bob shrugged, shifting his feet a bit. “Hey, if you hadn’t have helped me out, I’d have still been stuck on the side of the road. I owe you one.”

“I don’t know about that, I’m sure someone would have come along. But it was no problem, I was glad to help. I couldn’t leave a stranger stranded.” She chuckled. ‘So, what are you doing here so early? We have hours before call time.”

“Well, ya know, it was the darndest thing. I was on my way to get coffee and I ended up here.” Her smirked, shaking his head. “Actually I thought I’d check out the theatre..See something other than the audience area. But, there doesn’t seem to be much to see. The tech woman won’t let me near her sound board. “He chuckled.

“Oh, no, she won’t let anyone touch her soundboard.” Savannah replied. “Izzy is pretty picky. Uh, I was just headed back in here to set up for my first makeup job. You’re welcome to come in if you’d like. I have a couch, it might be a bit more comfy than some of the other backstage seats.” She offered opening her door.

“My my, Miss. Savannah, you’ve known me a day and you’re already inviting me to your
place. I must say, I’m flattered, but I’m just not that type of guy.”

Savannah couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles as she stepped into the room. “In your dreams, Ford…I could always send you to stage craft, if you’d like. I’m sure they could use a hand.” She took a seat in the chair in front of the vanity and removed her headscarf and hair tie, grabbing the hair dryer and plugging it into the socket.

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I’m fine right here, thanks.” Bob took a seat on the couch and leaned his head back against the back cushion. “What in the world are you doing?”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “I’m baking a cake, wanna help?” She replied, sarcasm dripping from her words. “I’m drying my hair before it turns into a giant frizz ball, it won’t take but a second.” She flipped the switch on the device and began drying her mess of curls. As she continued the task, she glanced in her mirror at the rather bored looking man on her couch. He was smirking at her and pointing at the watch on his wrist.

“I’m timing you, you know! 65 seconds, so far.” He called, making sure to speak over the hum of the hair dryer.

“Oh hush! I’m almost done.” Savannah finished drying her hair and pulled it back into a bun, wrapping the headscarf around the middle once more. “See that didn’t take so long.” She turned In her seat to face Bob.

“Are you kidding me? It took an eternity. And it looks the same as it did before you pulled that thing out.” He pointed at the purple hair dryer.

Savannah raised a brow, “I’ll not comment on that.” She turned to her makeup kit and began to pull out the appropriate shades for Lyndsey, as she would be the first to arrive, without a doubt. A comfortable silence fell over the two as Savannah set up her supplies and Bob checked his emails.

Once Savannah was finished, she turned toward Bob. “Hey, I’m finished for now, and we have a few hours. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty hungry, want to go grab a bite? There’s a Panera down the street?”

His eyes seemed to brighten at the sound of the food. He stood from the couch and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “Best idea I’ve heard all day! I never did get that coffee I mentioned.”

Savannah chuckled. “Just let me change, I’ll be right back.” With that, she headed to the costume room to retrieve her clothes. She went ahead and changed in there, folding her sweats up neatly before she returned to her station. She barely had time to slip on her shoes before Bob attempted to drag her out the door.

“Come on, Come on, woman! I’m hungry enough to eat a horse!”

Savannah giggled as she was literally pulled into the hallway and up the staircase to the main exit. “Keep your pants on, Ford!”