“Oh,” she whispered as happy tears welled in her eyes. “Wow.”
“Can I take you to lunch to go over all the details?” he asked.
“Yeah…yes, that would be great.” She gave her head a shake, still waiting for it to sink in. She’d done it. She’d landed her first leading role. Her fingers clenched around the phone.
“How about Flora at one?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you there. Thanks again, Pierce.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
She stood as she ended the call and twirled in the changing room, glad she was the only one in here at the moment. As much as she wanted to shout her news from the rooftops—and call her mom—she also wanted a few minutes to savor it for herself, to walk home with a secret smile on her face and a spring in her step.
So that’s what she did, daydreaming her way home as she envisioned herself up on stage with the spotlight in her eyes, basking in applause from the crowd, taking a bow during curtain call. For the first time, she’d be the one out front. It was more than a dream come true. This was a pinnacle moment in her life, the reason she’d left her family in Miami and moved to New York. It was the realization of their hopes and dreams for her, and okay, it was starting to sink in now.
She felt herself smiling as she climbed the stairs to her apartment and let herself in. Pippin trotted out from behind the red-patterned curtain she’d strung across the room, hiding her bed from sight. It provided as much privacy as she could hope for in a studio apartment. He meowed as he reached her, twining his gray-striped body around her legs.
“Hey, Pepito,” she said as she knelt to rub him, one of her many nicknames for him. Pippin was her affectionate cat. His brother, Phantom, lifted his head from where he slept on the couch. Phantom was less vocal about his affections, but he was a total goofball, often sleeping in the most ridiculous positions and making meme-able faces, which had made him the star of Jules’s Instagram feed.
She turned on the espresso machine to make café Cubano, although surely the last thing she needed right now was caffeine. Her hands shook as she poured ground espresso and water into the machine.
Bianca Scott.
Fresh tears pricked her eyes. She went into the bathroom for a quick shower while the machine heated up. She’d make her coffee, and then she’d call her mom. Her mom would tell her grandma and her brothers, and before Jules knew it, her whole family would have booked tickets to New York to see her on opening night.
Opening night.This is really happening.Jules dressed and returned to the kitchen. She brewed her coffee on autopilot as her brain spun through visions of herself on stage, performing the piano solo she’d learned for her callback audition. With a happy sigh, she lifted her cup and inhaled the rich aroma. It wasn’t as good as her grandma’s, but Jules hadn’t found anywhere in Manhattan to get a better cup of Cuban coffee than her own.
She blew on it and sipped, letting the sharp flavor zap away the haze in her brain. Then she sat on the couch next to Phantom, picked up her phone, and dialed.
“I did it. I got the part,” she blurted the moment she heard the call connect.
On the other end of the line, her mom let out a shriek more reminiscent of a teenager than a woman in her fifties. “Oh my goodness, baby, I am so proud of you! I just knew it. I knew in my heart this was the one for you.”
“I had a good feeling about it too, but if I had a penny for every time I’ve felt that way over the years…”
“It’s your time,” Paula said. “Oh honey, I just can’t believe it. Hang on, let me get yourabuela.” There was a pause, and Jules heard her mom call, “Mami, get in here! She got the part.” Another pause. “Yes, she’s on the phone right now.”
Jules smiled, picturing them together on the floral-printed couch in the house where she’d grown up. There was a rustling sound, and then her grandmother’s voice came on the line.
“Julia, I am so proud,” her grandma said, her voice gruff with emotion. “I can’t wait to see you up on that stage, shining like a star.Mi estrella.”
“Thank you,” Jules said, pressing a hand against her heart.
“You’ve worked so hard for this.” It was her mom again. “All those years of training and classes and auditions.”
“I’m going to need to add piano lessons back into the mix,” Jules told her. “I have a solo near the end of the second act where I’ll play the piano on stage.”
“My baby girl, Broadway star. Oh,mija, your father would have been so proud.”
“Papi will be there in spirit.” Jules’s throat tightened. She’d lost her father five years ago after a long struggle with kidney disease, and she still missed him so much, it took her breath away in moments like this, when she realized he wouldn’t be able to see her realize her dream.
“He’ll be watching over you every night,” her mother said.
“I know.” Tears rolled over Jules’s cheeks, the same tears she heard in her mother’s voice. Right now, she would have given anything to have her mom and grandma there with her, to give them both a huge hug, to spend a girls’ afternoon together, celebrating her good news. She loved living in New York and had the most supportive family ever, but sometimes, she missed them so much, it hurt.
“Tell me more about your role,” Paula said in her ear, shifting them back onto less emotional ground.
“Well, it’s a brand-new production, written by a woman, which is amazing. I play Bianca, who’s an actress herself, trying to balance her personal and professional life. And ultimately…it’s a coming out story.”
