Imitating Art

Jackie had been working on Second Chances long enough to know their story before they even opened their mouth. She looked over the middle-aged woman standing nervously in front of them. The uninspired haircut, bland makeup, and mom jeans told her that “Sue” had married young and spent her twenties and thirties as a cook, housekeeper and chauffeur for a gaggle of children. Now the nest was empty and she needed a new purpose in life, which usually meant going back to school.

“Okay, Sue,” she said, planting a warm smile on her face, “In two minutes or less, tell us why you want a second chance.” 

“First let me just say that I love your show. My husband Rob and I never miss it,” Sue gushed. “We’ve been married twenty-six years and have four beautiful children. Our youngest just graduated from college and we’re very proud of her. Not that we aren’t proud of our other kids, they’re all happy and successful and we’re so proud…” Sue realized she was rambling and corrected course. “Anyway, I dropped out of college when I got married and now that the kids are grown, I’m ready.” She fell silent for a moment before quickly adding, “To go back to school!” 

“Wow, nice,” Jackie said, doing her best impression of an interested listener. “And what do you want to study?” 

“Photography,” Sue replied. “I’d like to do professional portraits, maybe open my own studio.” 

“Thank you, Sue, we’ll be in touch,” Jackie said. Sue nodded and hurried out the exit. Jackie’s colleagues pounced the moment she was out of earshot.

“Pass,” Michelle said. “She’s too fidgety and her voice is too high. I can just picture people’s pets attacking the screen.” 

“And I don’t think she’s relatable enough,” Lou yawned. “I’m not sensing passion for the craft, or a desire to reinvent herself. She reads more like a bored housewife looking for a hobby.”

“Then it’s unanimous.” Jackie said, crossing out Sue’s name. She pushed the buzzer to usher in the next hopeful. 

A man of about sixty came through the door. His pants were wrinkled and there was a coffee stain on his shirt, suggesting that he wasn’t used to taking care of himself. Jackie surmised he was recently divorced and hoping to reconnect with an old girlfriend. “Hello…” she said, scanning his name tag. “Ben. In two minutes or less, tell us why you want a second chance.” 

“Last year I reconnected with my high school girlfriend on Facebook,” Ben said. “It was just like old times. We’d talk for hours about everything and anything. She was my rock during my divorce.” He adjusted his pants and ran his hand through his slicked-back dye job. “At the risk of sounding corny, I think I’ve fallen in love with her all over again. I want to fly her out here, sweep her off her feet, and hope that lightening strikes twice.” 

And hope that a popular tv show pays for all of it, Jackie thought. “Thank you, Ben, we’ll be in touch,” she said. Ben flashed what was supposed to be a charming smile and left.  

“Ugh, I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that story,” Michelle groaned. “I’d be living in a castle on the moon!”  

“People still eat it up though,” Lou said. “It could work if Ben was handsome, or had a great personality.” 

“I’ve seen wet socks with more personality,” Michelle scoffed.

“So no to Ben,” Jackie said. Having already crossed off his name, she buzzed in their next victim. 

A dark-haired woman in her early twenties walked through the door, past the mark on the floor, and stopped a foot from their desk. “Hi, my name is Amber and I want to win back the love of my life,” she declared. 

Jackie mentally rolled her eyes. They got a dozen stories like this every time they held open auditions. She cued up her warm smile. “Okay, Amber, in two minutes or less, tell us why you want a second chance.”  

“David and I met at UCLA. He was so funny and smart and kind, and his kisses made my toes curl. But most of all, he made me feel safe. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could just be myself,” Amber sighed with a faraway look in her eyes.

“After graduation we lived off side hustles for about a year. I eventually found a great job but he was still looking when he got a job offer in New York. I was so shocked when he accepted. What about our plans, I asked him. What about us!” Amber spat out the words so fiercely you could practically hear a thunderclap in the background.

Instead of the flash flood that usually followed such an outburst, Amber grew strangely calm. “We broke up. He moved to New York and I stayed here. It was the right decision. At least that’s what I’ve always told myself.” 

She took a deep breath and continued. “I realize now that I made a big mistake. I could have found a good job in New York. I don’t have deep ties to Los Angeles. No family, no close friends. My life is basically work and takeout dinners.” 

The atmosphere in the room had grown much heavier, and it weighed on Amber’s youthful features. A tear began spilling out over her eye and she swiped it away. “The truth is, I didn’t want to move because it wasn’t part of the plan. The one I came up with in eighth grade that mapped out my entire life. Where I would go to college, what city I would live in, when I would get married…everything was right on schedule until David got that job. The very idea of moving there scared the hell out of me. If I didn’t stick to the plan…well, I don’t know what I thought would happen if I didn’t stick to the plan. I only know that I torpedoed the best thing that ever happened to me because of something I wrote when I was thirteen!”  

When Amber had first started telling her story she’d projected strength and confidence. Now she looked as thought it had sapped her of her very essence. Had there been a drain on the floor she could have slipped through it easily. But still, she wasn’t quite done.

“I haven’t worked up the courage to reach out to him yet. How do you apologize for breaking someone’s heart? How do you convince them you deserve a second chance? That’s why I’m here. I figure I need a grand gesture to show him that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win him back, even if it means risking rejection and utter humiliation on a reality show. But no matter what happens, I’ll have no regrets because he’s worth it.” 

It took about four seconds of silence for Jackie to realize Amber was finished. “Um…thank you, Amber,” she blinked. “We’ll be in touch.”

The silence hung around for another six seconds after Amber left. “Wow…that was really something,” Michelle said. 

“It really was,” Lou agreed. “Too bad she’s all wrong for the show.” 

“I know, right?” Michelle laughed. “If we were casting some vapid teen drama I’d sign her up in a heartbeat. Are we sure she’s not an actress trying to boost her profile?” 

“Believe it or not, I think she was sincere,” Lou replied. “But at her age it’s all about the drama. She just needs to find another guy who makes her panties tingle and she’ll forget all about Danny.” 

“David,” Jackie snapped. “You’d better get his name straight, because she’s in.” 

Michelle and Lou stared at her in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?” Lou said. “You know our rule. No one under thirty gets on the show unless they’re an addict, served time in jail, or have cancer.” 

“Other than that, twenty-somethings don’t need a second chance because they’re still on their first chance,” Michelle added. “Amber is young and hot and has a great job. Who’s going to feel sorry for her?”

“It’s my call and I say she’s in,” Jackie said firmly. 

Michelle and Lou exchanged looks. “The suits aren’t going to like this,” Lou huffed. 

“You let me worry about the suits,” Jackie cooly replied. 

“Fine,” Michelle relented. “Let’s just buzz in the next loser.” 

But by the time she finished that sentence, he was talking to an empty chair. 

*****

Dozens of thoughts raced through Jackie’s head during the four hour drive to her hometown. I’m so excited to see him! I’m terrified to see him! Everything’s going to be fine because he loves me and I love him. Everything’s going to be terrible and I should turn around and go home. Is this a crazy idea? Am I crazy? What am I doing? Before she knew it she was in Paso Robles, and she still had no clue what to say. 

She pulled up across the street from the single story Spanish Revival home where he lived. It was ten minutes to six, almost dinnertime. Jackie thought about coming back later, but realized that if she left now she might not have the nerve to return. She cut the engine and got out of the car. 

A plump, white-haired woman in a floral housecoat answered the door. Hers was the benevolent face of a cookie-baking grandma, but upon seeing Jackie it twisted into a disapproving frown. “Hello, Jackie,” she said. “This is a surprise.”

“Hi, Carol. I’m sorry I didn’t call, it’s just that…I’m here to see Bo. I want him back,” Jackie blurted out.  

Carol raised an eyebrow. “Really? I thought you left him behind because he was cramping your big city lifestyle. I’m supposed to believe you’ve changed, and risk letting you hurt him again?”

Her words stung, but Jackie continued. “I thought it was for the best, but something happened today that gave me some much needed clarity. I thought I had achieved all of my dreams. I moved to L.A.. I landed my dream job. I partied with celebrities. But dreams should never come at the expense of the ones you love. It turned me into someone I don’t like, and I want to be me again. The person I was with Bo.” 

Jackie could feel a large weight slipping off her. She squared her shoulders and lifted her eyes to meet Carol’s. “I’ll move to the suburbs, cut my work hours, whatever it takes. I just want him back.” 

Carol was silent. Jackie could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Well, it really isn’t up to me, is it?” She finally said. “If Bo forgives you, I won’t make a fuss about it. He’s in the backyard.” She stepped back to let Jackie through.

Jackie swallowed hard to push her heart back down her throat as she walked to the back of the house. Wiping her sweaty palms on her thighs, she grasped the patio door and slid it open. She spotted Bo lounging under the old sycamore tree and called out to him. 

Bo looked up and froze, and for a moment the two just stared at each other. Then he jumped up and ran to her, his long chestnut hair flowing in the wind, his tail wagging with unbridled glee. “There’s my good boy!” Jackie laughed, rubbing him fiercely behind the ears as he smothered her with kisses.   

“I guess I’ll be setting another place at the table,” Carol said. “Dinner’s in five.” 

Jackie thanked her, then moved over to a patio chair and took her phone out of her purse. With Bo’s head resting on her knee, she fired off texts to Michelle and Lou telling them that everybody they auditioned that morning would be on the show. She knew there’d be pushback, but she might as well get used to it. There would be more changes coming. Because for the first time in her life, Jackie truly believed in second chances.