Chapter 126 - Rumors, Rumors, Rumors...

"May I ask why?" Andrzej asked looking at Dominik carefully.

Dominik sighed and wrapped his arms around his knees. He didn't let go of the cup.

"I have no heart for it," he replied.

Andrzej felt a painful sting. So Dominik suffered one wound too much, to that extent that he lost his enthusiasm for the job he was doing.

Nowicki went to the couch, put the laundry on the carpet and sat down next to Śliwiński.

"Since that is your decision, I will support it. And… did you ever have a heart to act, or did you always do it out of force?"

"I guess I had," he admitted after a moment's thought. "My first movies were an adventure. Fun. It was something new and interesting. Then I played with momentum. People wanted to watch me, Marek wanted me to play, so I lived up to their expectations."

"And what were yours?"

"I didn't have any. Although… My only ambition was to please Marek, so when we broke up I had to start looking for myself."

"You found it?"

"Not quite yet. I don't know what I want to be or what to do, but I know I have more options than just being an actor."

"Being an actor is wrong?"

"No ... But I know that I can be an actor. I would like to know something else. Be someone else."

"I think I know what you mean. I have always been a photographer, but it was my conscious decision, a conscious choice. Nobody asked you for your opinion when acting was chosen for you and you wonder if you would be better at something else."

"Exactly."

"You are good at cooking and if you started a restaurant you would definitely have a lot of customers. Would you like to be a restaurateur or a cook?"

"Hm, I don't think so."

"You look great in front of the lens. You can be a model."

"I sure wouldn't want that."

"You know several foreign languages ​​well and you like to read. Maybe you would like to try your hand at being a translator?"

"I don't think I'm good for that."

"Then maybe ... you want to be a shipbuilder?"

Dominik smiled.

"A miner?" Nowicki tossed another proposal.

"With my height I would be a good sewer ..."

"You see! Your new profession is almost in your hand."

Śliwiński laughed.

Andrzej looked at him for a moment and then put his hand on his head and gently ruffled his hair.

"You don't have to choose now," he said gently. "But since you are determined to quit acting now, you should call Marczak in the morning and confirm that you are not interested. Unless you prefer me to do it?"

"What? No! I will do it myself!"

"Hey, take it easy, I just suggested. I know you don't like interacting with him."

"You ... don't you, too?"

"I admit that he can be useful, but yes, I do not like contacts with Marczak."

"Thank you."

"For what? For the fact that I don't like this Marczak shit?"

"No, for not forcing me to do anything. Thanks to this, I can learn my own way. Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't met you."

"Probably easier. You wouldn't have to think about anything. Marczak would tell you 'jump' and you would ask 'how high'."

"You know, it would even be funny if it weren't so real."

"I know," Andrzej sighed. "It's hard to decide for yourself, huh?"

"Too hard" admitted Dominik, "but it feels good."

"I am happy to. So what, breakfast?"

"Yes, I am very hungry."

***

The rumor suddenly broke into a little gossip weekly. Dominik was treated quite gently in it. Its main character turned out to be a certain tyrant who directs the actor to such an extent that he forced him to leave the party prematurely. As it turned out, he persuaded the young actor to play in an advertisement for his benefit.

The most disturbing fact, according to this rumor, was, however, that for some unknown reason the tyrant lives with Śliwiński, which is not practiced in the normal world. It was very suspicious.

The article, although it was mentioned in a large headline on the first page, was in a journal so insignificant and unreliable that Andrzej would not even have looked at it, if not for a message from Marczak. After receiving and reading it, Nowicki burst out laughing so much that intrigued Dominik looked into his room.

"Something happened?"

"I actually don't know" Andrzej finally mastered a laugh and began to wipe his tearful eyes with amusement.

"Did you read something funny?"

Nowicki considered for a moment whether to show the article to Śliwiński, after all it was just a meaningless gossip magazine, but he had already decided that he would not hide this type of information from him. It was Marczak who kept him under a shed, he intended to be completely honest with Dominik.

"Look," he turned his laptop towards him. "We're in the newspaper."

Śliwiński read the article but did not smile. He was definitely not amused.

"I'm sorry!"

"For what?" asked Andrzej.

"For the nonsense they write about you!"

"Come on, you didn't scribble this article!"

"But if it wasn't for me ..."

"Dominik, these are just stupid rumors. None of my friends will believe them, and I am not really interested in what strangers think."

"Yes but…"

"There is no 'but'" Andrzej took his chin and kissed him gently on the lips. "You know, it's even nice that you care so much about my reputation, but you should be more concerned about yours."

"Yes? Why?"

"It does not speak very well for a man if he is ruled by a shady guy like me."

Śliwiński smiled and his charming, though a bit shy smile lit Andrzej's whole room.

"If someone like you is going to tarnish my reputation, that's fine with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" Dominik assured. "We've already agreed on it."

"It is true. So what, we don't care about rumors?"

"We don't care."

As it turned out, however, the article was caught by another gossip magazine. Less than a week has passed and small rumors and understatements have started to circulate on the network.

One day it finally made its way to television too.

Though heavily gossipy, the show was broadcast on a major public station and was very popular. Show often hosted famous journalists working for renowned magazines. The shapely brunette leading it, although she based her materials on gossip from various magazines, never allowed herself any harsher comments or mockery. And that's probably why her show was generally liked.

"What do you think about the rumors that Dominik Śliwiński is a homosexual?" asked the host journalist from a reputable magazine.

The woman, equally young, though a little less attractive, was a frequent visitor to her. She, too, was a recognizable name and face. Her articles describing the lives of stars were not only popular. It was said that they had the power to make someone or take away popularity. The fact that both influential media ladies took Dominik Śliwiński's as a topic that had been carefully avoided so far, could not go unnoticed.

Like the rumors about him, which are repeatedly repeated in magazines and on the Internet.

"You know, it's hard to say," she replied, actually looking indecisive. "Śliwiński never flaunted his private life, but as far as we know, he was not involved in a relationship with any mysterious woman. It is also not proof that he is dating men."

"Don't you think it's weird he lives with a guy?"

"I did a little investigation into this. Did you know that the man he lives with was once a paparazzi?"

"I think I heard a little."

"There is a story about how they met and, as a consequence, they lived together."

"Really? Will you tell us about it?"

"Nowicki was observing Śliwiński and one day he saw the actor stumble and fall in his living room. They said it looked scary so he ran to see if everything was okay? Śliwiński broke a bit, but otherwise he didn't hurt himself. That's how they met."

"Are you kidding?" The host of the program smiled.

"I know what that sounds like. It's a bit naive and like taken out of some soap opera, but believe me, a lot more strange things happens in the world of stars. This is confirmed by completely independent sources."

"It's actually an interesting story. Looking at Nowicki, I myself would like him to run to my rescue. How did they come to live together?

"Since that incident, they became friends and met every few days. Rumor has it that Śliwiński was struggling with health problems at that time."

"I remember those rumors. At first he was seen in the clinic and recently, as we remember, he was in the hospital for a few days."

"I bet that Śliwiński might have been weakened by some infection, that's why he fell. Anyway, we have known for a long time that the most talented artists are usually the most distracted and someone usually has to keep an eye on them. I wouldn't see any erotic overtones in it, unless I was a lover of such stories."