“Yeah...”
“You have the show memorized?”
I nod. After all those hours helping Liam rehearse, how could I forget?
“Great. Come on.”
“Huh?”
“You’re going on.”
“I can’t!”
“Why not?” She takes my arm and starts leading me backstage, Philip trailing behind us.
“Dr. L kicked me off the show.” Just because she apologized to me, it doesn’t mean I’m allowed back in.
“This is an emergency.” She waves her hand. “I’ll deal with Tracy. You get into costume.”
“But Cam’s still in his.”
“We’ve got plenty of dresses. We’ll figure something out. Come on.”
49
Denise finds this salmon-colored dress, with big sleeves that aren’t period-appropriate, but this is an emergency. The neckline is a little low and shows the few scraggly dark hairs growing in the valley of my chest. Liam used to like tickling them.
I’m about to shake off the memory but that will ruin Jamilah’s work on my makeup. Which is a rush job that mainly focuses on my eyes and lips. There’s no time for a wig, plus if I wear a wig I won’t be able to hear for all the hair scratching against my hearing aids—not to mention the risk of feedback—so I’m a short-haired Olivia, but whatever.
Laken pops her head in. Her show blacks and headset suit her. “How much longer?”
“Somethingsomething places,” Dr. L says, yanking on the laces at the back of my dress, forcing the breath out of my lungs. I might actually be Dorito-shaped, like Liam, when she’s done.
“Thank you, places.” Laken follows Jamilah out, letting the prop room door swing shut behind her.
Dr. Lochley gives one last, fierce yank and ties me off. She swings around to my front.
“You sure you want to do this? You know you don’t have to.”
“The show must go on, right?”
“The show must go on,” she agrees, thumbing away a bit of lipstick. “All set. You need a mirror?”
“Would it matter?”
She laughs. “At least let me take a picture. Your stage debut.”
“Okay.”
Dr. L pulls out her phone. “Thank you for stepping up. You didn’t have to.”
I think of everyone who worked so hard on the show. Afternoons of rehearsal and laughter. Movie night. Saturday work days. Liam.
“Yeah. I did.”
Dr. L smiles. “Well then, break a leg.” She opens the door for me. I step out into the hallway and bump right into Liam.
“Oh. Sorry.”
