‘Please.’ Walter could barely see Hamish through his throbbing eye sockets, but he took great pleasure in seeing his smug expression falter, even if just for a second.
‘What?’
‘Keys,please.’
‘Give them to me, boy.’ Walter was merely a nuisance to Hamish. A nobody. Asinsignificant as a theatre mouse and until now Walter had reinforced that status by behaving as such. But now, seeing the shell of Fawn with the life sucked out of her, a defiance rose up in Walter that he didn’t know he had within him.
‘Just because you got rid of Lenny doesn’t mean I’m going to take any less respect than he demanded. So, if you want to keep acting like an arse you’llhave to get rid of me too. B–because I won’t stand for it either.’ Fawn’s eyes flickered to him and although she didn’t smile, couldn’t smile, Walter knew his words meant something to her.
‘I don’t know what you’re insinuating, boy, but I know I don’t like it.’ Hamish beat his fist down on the desk and then opened up his fingers. ‘Now give me…my bloody keys.’ Walter took his set out ofthe key box and threw them over, looking Hamish directly in his eyes, to which Hamish scoffed and stormed through the doors into the building. Walter turned to fetch the set of keys for Fawn’s dressing room, but he heard the sound of something hitting his desk with force. He turned back to see tears spilling down Fawn’s cheek, her pale hand clenched tightly on the desk. After a moment of composingherself, she lifted her hand to reveal a beautiful pearl that shone in the lamp light.
‘Tonight,’ she whispered, the word catching in her throat. Walter looked at her. Her face was no longer young and fresh but pale and pained, her eyes shining from her tears but without their usual wonder. Walter picked up the pearl and rolled it between his fingers. It was warm from Fawn’s clenched fistand he found it utterly astounding that such a tiny object could hold so much weight and significance. This old pearl might just be their new beginning.
‘Tonight.’
