I glance over at Knox. “Yeah?”
“You’re an actress, right?” Mr. Jensen asks.
“Yes, I mean I want to be one.”
He looks at Knox, then back at me, and smiles. “Well, you either are one or you aren’t, eh? The way I heard it you're a born actress.”
“Is that so?” I nudge Knox on the shoulder. “Believe nothing this one has said about me though, and by the way, the show was amazing tonight. That performance of Defying Gravity was pure perfection. I’m sure you’re going to sell out the entire run.”
“How did you know?” He smiles triumphantly. “We’re already sold out.”
“Really? That’s fantastic!”
“It’s not so hard when you’re doing a popular show like Wicked. Listen, I’d love it if you’d two come back opening night. I’ll give you and Mr. Masterson some tickets, and you can come to the cast party backstage afterwards. You can meet the cast and talk shop.”
I am beyond excited.
“That is so generous of you! Thank you so much.”
“Knox told me you were a theatre major at Temple U and Wicked was one of your favorite shows.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Are you a musical theatre or dramatic theatre major?”
“I love musicals but I’m a dramatic major.”
“We’re opening auditions for Alice In Wonderland. My production of it will have major adult themes, so it’s not for kids, and I’d love for you to come to the open call.”
I inadvertently squeeze Knox’s hand in my excitement and only stop once I feel him flinch from the pain.
“Thank you, Mr. Jensen. I would love to.”
He hands me a business card.
“Check the website in a few days. We will post dates and times for open auditions soon.”
“Great, thank you again.”
After Mr. Jensen walks away, I turn to Knox with a totally confused look on my face.
“What?”
“I don’t understand how you did this. You haven’t lived here in years. How do you know a director of a regional theatre in the middle of New Jersey and nab us tickets to a private dress rehearsal?”
“He owed me a favor.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question.”
“Then why don’t you ask the real question you want the answer to, Gigi?”
“Which is?”
“Why I did this.”
“That’s a simple answer. You feel guilty as hell about crashing my place and blowing up my life. You pretty much just told me as much before the show.”
“Actually, I don’t feel guilty about anything. I apologized because it sounded like the right thing to do, but the reality is if it wasn’t for me, fake Ben might have locked you up in his basement by now.”
