“So I assume you’re playing the young and lovely Elaine Harper, VL,” said Trib with a smile and a quirked brow.
“No. I’m directing,” she replied, squashing a little pang. “I’ve got Penny Stern—you know, she had that little stint onBull?—to play Elaine. She grew up in Muskegon—did you know that?”
“But VL…you’re the biggest local celebrity we have—next to that darling Ethan Murphy.” Trib seemed genuinely surprised. “Roger Hatchard notwithstanding.”
“This man. Who even says ‘notwithstanding’ anymore?” Vivien said to Helga. Then she looked back at Trib and smoothly changed the subject. “We’ve got so much to do to get things ready at the theater besides actual rehearsals. There’s a Scout troop that’s going to come in and help with some of the cleanup, and the high school football team, the pom squad, and the drama department are also going to volunteer some time. The students all have to do service hours over the summer, and helping with the restoration of the theater is being considered community service. That’s going to save me quite a bit of money. In fact, I’ve got to meet them tomorrow morning at eleven.”
“Eleven?” Trib said. “That’s getting to be the hottest part of the morning.”
“They’re teens. I’m lucky to get them there before noon on summer break,” Vivien said dryly.
“Good point.” He was looking at her curiously, but to her relief, he didn’t press on his earlier question. “Speaking of Ricky, have you met his son? I’ve been trying to figure out whether he’s a prospect or not. I’ve only seen him from a distance—but that was enough.”
“I’ve met him several times,” Helga said. “And no, I don’t think he plays for your team, Trib.”
He sighed. “I was afraid of that. And he’s a doctor, too!”
Vivien stilled. Something jangled in the back of her mind.“Be seeing you around.”
No. Surely not…
With a feeling of impending doom, she was compelled to ask, “So, this Ricky—what is his last name, anyway?”
“DeRiccio. His name is actually Fabrizio, but everyone calls him Ricky. What’s the matter?” Helga said.
Vivien took a big sip of wine and shrugged. “Nothing.” But inside, she was shrieking epithets at the universe.
“Speaking of cues, that’s mine to get back inside,” said Trib when his assistant manager poked her head out of the restaurant and beckoned. “And I was just getting comfortable. Ah well, a genius’s work is never done. I’ll come by the stage soon, darling, and take a look at the dressing rooms—and the actors. You might just get me to play dead after all. I’ll send Benjamin out to say hi if I can spare him for a few—though he showed up late for his shift yesterday morning, so I’m still annoyed with him.” He smacked a kiss onto Vivien’s cheek, then Helga’s, and then was off in a swirl of lime green.
“Who’s Benjamin?” Helga asked.
“Younger brother of Louise London, believe it or not. Wants to be a chef, obviously, so I helped set him up with Trib for the summer. Speaking of Louise, oh-em-gee, she is driving me a leetle crazy.” Vivien held up her phone to show Helga the fifteen text notifications from the actor. “This is just in the last hour.”
“Well, she is your biggest client. And her voice is so amazing,” Helga said. “I just loved her inWickedwhen I saw her in Chicago. Too bad you couldn’t get her to do Elaine Harper…”
“I know. I really do like her—and she is so very talented—even though she is a little high-strung. But, ugh, she thinks just because I’m in Wicks Hollow that I’ve fallen off the face of the earth.” Vivien shook her head. “She was really upset when I told her I was moving, but I don’t need to live in her zip code to do my job. After all, I’ve been working with Tanya Rheim out of L.A. for years. Anyway, Louise should be happy—I’ve got a line on her doing some paid posts for…”
She trailed off when she saw the way Helga was looking at her—with thatdon’t eventrylying to me—I’m a coplook.
“What?”
“Youshould be playing Elaine Harper,” said Helga. Then she just looked at Vivien, whose expression must have said it all. “Do we need to order another glass of wine to get through whatever this is?”
“I’m thinking a whole bottle,” replied Vivien. “Ugh.”
“We’d probably better get some food too, then,” said her friend, and flagged down a server.
And then, being the patient, pragmatic, close-to-perfect friend she was, Helga settled back and waited for Vivien to talk.
It took a few minutes for Vivien to figure out how she was going to unload everything, then she decided to just start at the beginning and walk her friend through the upheaval of her life.
“The phone call yesterday was from the bank with the final approval on the loan,” she said, then raised her almost-empty glass in response to Helga’s congratulatory toast. “Yes. I am very excited.”
“You should be, but you don’t look it, VL. I know you’re probably a little scared and nervous. Look, we really need something like the Stage here in Wicks Hollow, and who better to make it happen than Vivien Leigh Savage? You’ve got the name, the experience, the contacts—and you’re basically a local girl. A child actor who never went off the deep end. The Olivia Dee Theater is going to be great, girlfriend.”
Vivien gave her a sad smile.The child actor who never went off the deep end—despite her tragic life.
She hadn’t known Helga when she and Liv were in their “heyday,” such as it was. In fact, Vivien hadn’t met Helga until she and her mother moved permanently to Wicks Hollow, five years after Liv died and right when Vivien was about to start high school.
