She was going to do her best not to think about it. She had no control over it, and if she let herself get her hopes up, she would only end up disappointed later. Jules was a nervous wreck right now. Frankly, Sophie couldn’t believe how frazzled she’d been yesterday. Coming out was probably the last thing on her mind.
“Oh my God, are you excited?” Gia asked as Sophie joined her at the table.
She felt her lips stretch into a smile. “So excited, you have no idea.”
“I can see it on your face,” Gia told her. “I’m so bummed I couldn’t get tickets for tonight, but did I tell you that Kit’s coming with me next week?”
“You did, and I can’t wait,” Sophie said. “Let’s plan to grab drinks after the show.”
“Definitely,” Gia agreed.
An hour later, Sophie left the deli. She’d be early to the theater, but she didn’t care. She was bubbling over with restless energy and counting on some of her castmates being early birds too. Maybe she could borrow a page from Jules’s book and take some behind-the-scenes selfies for her Instagram as she got ready.
Actually…
She paused on the street as fresh snowflakes swirled around her. Lifting her phone, she stuck out her tongue as if she was catching a snowflake and snapped a selfie. Then she snapped several more until she got one that looked cute. She uploaded it with a caption about the afternoon’s surprise thundersnow and tonight’s performance.
She paused outside the theater’s back door, stomping the excess snow from her boots and shaking it from her coat and hair before she went in. She headed straight downstairs, disappointed to see Jules’s door still closed. Sophie’s was open, though. Tabitha was inside, snapping a selfie in front of the mirror.
“Hey,” she called as she caught sight of Sophie.
“I see I’m not the only one anxious to get moving today,” Sophie told her as she dropped her bag on the couch.
“Nope. Plus, I was worried about how long it would take me to get here in the snow, so I left home super early.” Tabitha lived in Queens, and it often took her an hour or more to get to the theater on a good day.
They chatted for a few minutes about travel woes delaying friends and family for the show tonight, and then Sophie’s phone buzzed with an incoming text from Jules.
I’m here. Are you?
Yes. Be right over!
Sophie felt almost giddy in anticipation of seeing her. “I’m going to run down and say hi to Jules before things get crazy. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Mm-hmm. Better go now before you’re wearing any lipstick to smudge,” Tabitha said with a knowing smile.
Sophie raised her hands in defeat. She’d never confirmed their relationship to Tab, but she knew their secret was safe with her. Grinning, she jogged down the hall to Jules’s dressing room, finding the door ajar. She rapped her knuckles against it as she pushed it open to find Jules pacing in front of the couch.
“Hey,” Sophie said.
Jules turned toward her, a wild look in her eyes as she flung herself into Sophie’s arms. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Of course you can,” Sophie told her, holding her tight. “And you’re going to be great.”
“I’m a mess,” Jules told her. “I’ve already thrown up twice today.”
“Was your mom able to help at all?”
“Oh, she tried,” Jules said, pulling back to sit on the couch. “She’s been giving me Manzanilla tea and distracting me with endless updates about every member of our extended family.”
“What’s Manzanilla tea?” Sophie asked as she sat beside her.
“It’s, um…” Jules gave her a blank look, and wow, she was really not herself right now. “Chamomile.”
“Oh, okay. That’s good.”
“Mm.” Jules glanced at a half-full mug on the table.
“Look at it this way,” Sophie said. “You were really nervous last night until you got on stage, and then you were fine as soon as the curtain went up. There’s no reason to think it will be different tonight.”
