“I mean, some of the language is a little bit mushy,” I say, gesturing to the page in my hand. “Kinda over-the-top with the romantic, poetic speak, you know?”
“I see,” Jessica jots down a note, but her voice is icy.
I notice the other two women looking awkward. Meanwhile, Lacy is shifting away from me on the couch, as if to distance herself from me and my ill-informed opinions.
“It’s just that, you know, like you said, you want this to be about an everyday couple that everyday people identify with. Nobody talks like that in the real world,” I conclude bluntly.
“Well, I’ll take that into consideration for future drafts,” Jessica says evenly. Nobody is smiling now.
“So, shall we call it a night, ladies?” Lacy asks brightly. “Next week, same time?”
“Sounds good, Lacy!” Cassandra replies.
“Yup, works for me,” Celia adds.
Jessica just gives a tight-lipped nod to the screen. Wow, I really pissed her off.
“Bye Benjamin, it was nice meeting you!” Celia says, giving a wave to the screen.
“You too!” I give a wave to Lacy’s laptop camera.
The other two women have already signed off.
Lacy slams her laptop shut.
“Well, you screwed that!” She says sharply, turning to me.
“I thought the whole idea was to give feedback?” I turn to her, my hands up defensively.
“In a constructive way! You were way too harsh on her! Not to mention, you called her husband a dud.”
“How was I supposed to know that the guy in the book was modeled after her husband? And from the way the other two ladies were smirking, it seems like her husbandmustbe a dud.”
“You can’t say that to people!” Lacy says, getting up from the couch and whirling around to face me. “You have to be more aware of people’s emotions, more sensitive when giving feedback!”
“Or maybe people have to grow thicker skin? Imagine if I freaked out like she just did every time I got a shitty music review, or a bitchy tabloid piece written about me?” I retort. I knew Lacy wasn’t happy with how things went, but I didn’t think she’d be this pissed at me.
“Not everyone is living this wild rock star life of yours, Ben!” Lacy says, stamping her foot. “You can’t expect everyone to let bullshit like that slide off their back.”
“Well, maybe they should work on that,” I say grumbling. “First, I’m invited to give feedback. Now, I’m getting bitched at for providing feedback. I don’t get it.”
“It’s not necessarily the feedback you gave,” Lacy says patiently, calming down slightly. “It’s the way that you deliver it.”
“Whatever you say, Lace.”
“I’m serious, Ben,” she says, looking at me with a slightly helpless expression. “You’re so used to flying solo, you don’t know how to give or accept constructive criticism. You lack the sensitivity.”
I flash back briefly to my ex-songwriting partner. They’d said something similar to me, years ago. Was Lacy right?
“Anyway. It’s just something to think about,” Lacy continues. “Like Cassandra said, you’ve been creating in a vacuum. And it seems to be taking a toll. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have wasted the last six months of your life hanging around Rose Manor, trying to get past writer’s block, with nothing to show for it.”
Ouch.I stare at her in surprise.Talk about honest feedback.
“I’m going to bed,” she finally says. And with that, she leaves me sitting there on the couch, alone, thinking about what she said.
Could she be right?
Chapter Six