Unfinished Symphony (Logan 3)

"The address?" I looked at the street sign and then read it to him.

"Okay. I know where that is. Wait right there," he said. "It'll be a good twenty minutes."

"Thank you."

After I hung up, I looked for a place to sit and wait, but there weren't any benches around so I went into the coffee shop on the opposite corner and sat at the counter. I ordered a cup of coffee, but barely sipped it, watching the clock. When fifteen minutes had passed, I went out again and stood on the corner. While I was waiting I saw a man I thought might have been Harris come out of the studio and disappear into an alley. Almost ten minutes later, just when I was starting to get nervous, I heard a car horn and- saw Mel. I was never so happy to see anyone. He pulled over and I got in quickly.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" he asked. I started to cry, sucked in my breath, and told him. "Marlin wanted you to be in an X-rated film? Some break," he said. "They can make good money. I'm not saying he lied about that. Does your sister know?"

"No. So you think Richard knew it was that kind of job?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? Those jobs are right up Marlin's alley. Well you did the right thing walking out like that. These things can come back to haunt you when you do get decent work and become a star."

"I'm not going to become a star, any kind of star. That's not why I came here," I protested. Wouldn't anyone believe me?

"Why did you come here?"

"Just to visit," I said. After a moment I added, "But now that I'm here, I hope I can talk my sister into going back home with me."

Mel laughed.

"I don't know your sister that well, but she looks like she's been bitten, just like the rest of us. Don't get your hopes up."

Now that I was in his car and we were driving away from Live Wire Studios, I swallowed back my panic and felt my heart stop pounding.

"Thank you so much for coming to get me," I said. "You sounded terrified. I borrowed my roommate's car. I don't have a car myself."

"Oh. It was nice of him to lend it to you."

"Yeah. So why did you leave the party so quickly last night?"

"I was feeling exhausted. You didn't see how dirty my sister's apartment was and how much work I did."

He laughed.

"I bet. She's no Suzy Homemaker, huh?"

"No. She never was."

"What, did your parents spoiled her?"

"My father did," I said. It wasn't such a lie, I thought. "He and I ended up doing most of the work, even the cooking."

"What about your mother?"

"She died when we were very young," I said.

"Oh, sorry."

"I can't believe what Richard wanted me to do," I muttered, still half in shock.

"It doesn't surprise me. To a manager or an agent, it's easy money."

"I have to find some other way to earn money while I'm here," I moaned.

"I can always get you a job at the supermarket," he said, half kidding.

"Could you?"