Chapter Seven

Dana's mind was a maelstrom of battling thoughts. Sloan as a woman? Could she do that to her own husband? How could she even talk to him about it; and what about the other things that Ms. Sharp had hinted at? There was definitely a weirdness about her and her husband's relationship with Gabriel.

As all of these thoughts warred in Dana's mind, her husband was covering the bar at 'The ANVIL'. Sloan actually liked tending bar. He enjoyed the give and take with his customers, as well as the staff. There was a rarefied atmosphere to the place, as Hollywood's 'big-timers' would come in during the day to take a meeting, pitch a story, or close a deal. Later the 'unwinders' would stop by for a couple of drinks and to swap a few stories before fighting the traffic. Finally, you had the 'party crowd' who came to see and to be seen. It was a fascinating way to observe characters and try to assimilate them into his repertoire...and who knows, maybe one of those big-timers would spot him and open the door?

Toni, one of the cocktail waitresses, came by during a lull and interrupted his people-watching.

"How did it go today?"

He frowned, "I don't know, Toni. The director had me in and out of the room in under 30 seconds. Not a good sign."

"Well, you know what they say, Sloan... you just gotta keep putting yourself out there....", her voice trailed off.

"I suppose, but I feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't put my finger on what it is, but I feel like I'm auditioning for the wrong roles...which is ridiculous because I audition for everything"

"Maybe you should start auditioning for the women's roles", she laughed.

"Very funny"

"Well, the word is out that Matt Sharp is looking for an actor that can play both a male and a female in his new film."

"Well, at the rate I'm going, I'd try anything."

"Just watch your ass, Sloan. I hear the Sharps use the casting couch", Toni giggled as she turned to deal with a couple of her tables.

Sloan idly watched her as she walked back across the room, but his mind was years away.

-Sloan always loved to perform. He just seemed to delight in making people smile. As the baby of the family, he had two older sisters that he loved dearly. They told him stories at bedtime, helped him with his homework, taught him how to dance, and played with him when he was bored.

The talk that followed was confusing and left him feeling sad and ashamed. Somehow, he had disappointed his parents, and he had done a bad thing. He was never sure what was bad about playing dress-up since his sisters did it all the time, but apparently it was a bad thing for Sloan to do.

Sloan never played dress-up with his sisters again, but a year later he was performing in plays and suddenly it was OK to dress up and pretend to be someone else.