Her mom squealed. “Oh my goodness. You’re famous now.”
Jules pressed a hand over her eyes, waiting for the room to stop spinning. She really needed to eat something. “There are people who collect signatures after every show they see. They don’t know who I am, or they didn’t before they walked into the theater tonight.”
“Well, they know who you are now,mija, and they’re waiting for you. Go on and get ready for your fans.” Her mom shooed her into her dressing room.
Jules went inside and shut the door softly behind her. Quickly, she slipped out of her costume and into the black knit dress she’d brought to wear tonight. She pulled on her boots and went into the bathroom to freshen up. Then she stared at her phone for a moment, wanting to text Sophie but not quite sure what to say. With a sigh, she tucked her phone into her purse and wrapped up in her coat.
She was about to sign at the stage door. This would be another bucket list item on an already memorable day. The only thing that would make it more perfect would be having Sophie by her side.Ugh.She hated the way they’d left things. She stepped into the hallway to find her brothers gone. Only her mother waited for her.
“They’ve gone ahead to the restaurant,” Paula explained. “The girls were getting restless.”
“That’s fine,” Jules told her. “Just give me a minute to do stage door, and then we can walk over too.”
“Oh, I’m coming out with you,” her mom said, holding up her phone. “I’ve got to get pictures of my baby girl signing for her fans for the first time.”
“Mami,” she protested, but truly, she was glad someone would be there to share this moment with her, and if it couldn’t be Sophie, her mom was the only other person she’d want to share it with. She led the way down the hall toward the back entrance, hurrying to keep herself from overthinking this. She couldn’t handle any more nerves today.
She pushed through the door to find a handful of people standing outside. It had stopped snowing, although the ground was covered in several inches of wet slush. The cold air was a slap to the face, but it did help to clear her head. Someone squealed in excitement, and Jules thought she might be having an actual out-of-body experience, because who would be that excited to see her? But then she saw that it was Josie.
“Oh my God, you were so great!” Josie exclaimed, rushing forward to hug her. Eve stood behind her girlfriend, smiling quietly.
“Thank you,” Jules told Josie.
Click. Click. Click.
Her mom, perhaps thinking Josie was a random fan who was super excited to meet her, was snapping away with her phone. Jules wasn’t sorry to have the moment documented, though. Later, when she was calm and rested and didn’t feel like she’d chugged battery acid all day instead of tea, she would be glad to remember her first stage door experience and the amazing friends who’d come out to support her.
“You really were great,” Eve agreed, leaning in for a much more subdued hug after Josie had finally let go of her. “I was very impressed.”
“Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it.” Jules swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I’m so glad you came. You totally didn’t have to stand out here in the cold snow to wait for me, though.”
“Oh yes, we did,” Josie told her. “And we’ve been talking you up to your new fans too.” She gestured to a handful of theatergoers Jules actually didn’t know, holdingIt’s in Her Kissplaybills and smiling politely.
Well, shit. She was really doing this.
“Hang on just a minute, ladies,” Jules told Josie and Eve, and she approached the group.
“It was a great show,” a woman said, holding her playbill toward Jules. “I really enjoyed it, and it was wonderful to see a lesbian relationship portrayed on stage like that.”
“Thank you,” Jules said, cheeks burning as she realized she should have brought a sharpie with her to sign with. What an amateur mistake. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find her mom holding a marker toward her. God bless her. Jules honestly didn’t know what she would do without her.
Jules signed the playbill, wishing she’d taken the time to practice her signature or think of something meaningful to write. Since she hadn’t—and her brain was currently operating at about five percent—she scrawled her name and passed the pamphlet back.
The woman thanked her, and then Jules signed for a handful of other people before returning her attention to Eve and Josie, who were watching with delighted expressions on their faces.
“Someday, we’ll get to say ‘we knew you when,’” Josie told her, holding out her own playbill.
“Are these friends of yours?” Paula asked, coming to stand beside Jules.
She nodded as she signed. “Josie rescued Pippin and Phantom, and this is her girlfriend, Eve. Actually, Eve is the one who pulled them out of a trash can when they were tiny kittens. Ladies, this is my mom, Paula.”
“It’s so nice to meet you both,” her mom said, smiling widely, although Jules hadn’t missed the way she blinked in surprise when Jules introduced them as a couple. “I knew you looked familiar, Josie. I watched a few of your YouTube videos after Jules told me about you and the theater kittens.”
“That’s me,” Josie said with a laugh. “It’s so great to meet you, Paula.”
“And Eve.” Her mom’s eyes widened, and she pointed a finger at Eve. “Wait a minute. Jules told me about you too. You’re the host of that makeover show!”
Eve nodded, lips twitching, clearly amused that Josie had been recognized before she was, given that Eve was an actual television star. “That’s right.”
