Without saying another word, he picks up the phone and dials. I wander out of the office while he's pitching this deal. God, I hope she says yes. There's already been a lot of press about this show, and there's bound to be more in the coming week.
My name means a lot.
Actually, I take that back. Tabitha Stetson isn't even that recognizable. They still have to put "Tabby Cat from the Sassy Cats" on most of the publicity so people can place me. The name no longer sits well with me. It's like pants that I outgrew but kept in the back of my closet for that time when theymight fitagain. I mean, four years ago, I did squeeze back into them when we did that reunion performance. But there are no plans to get back together, which is fine with me.
That realization makes my heart rate rush. I don't want to be a Sassy Cat, but I don't know what to do without that safety net.
This.
A voice rushes through my head.Do this.
Maybe? I could look at doing more theater. I've had fun so far, and it's not nearly as intimidating as I thought. Even the dancing I've seen them teach seems manageable. I could pick and choose what shows I do—surely my name would afford me that luxury—so I could work when it works for Paisley and me.
I could be her momandan actress.
My heart begins to slow and my muscles relax. I could do both.
My phone sounds, the telltale theme of the Wicked Witch of the West letting me know my mother is calling. Without thinking, I rush to share my epiphany with her.
"Mom, I figured it out. I can do this theater thing and still be there for Paisley. I can just do it during the summer or at a time when it's convenient for her. I've got Maria, so I think this could really work!"
"Theater? Really? Tabby, is that really who you are? Theater people are deep and intelligent. You're … more California."
Leave it to my mother to rain on my parade. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, the LA beach Instagram scene. Like Khloe Kardashian. But older. New York theater people are more intellectual. Like well-read and stuff."
Khloe Kardashian and I are the same age, for the record.
"Mom, it's not like I'm illiterate. I graduated from high school."
"Barely, and only because you slept with one of your teachers. Tabby, you need to know what you're good at. Have realistic expectations. That's all I'm saying."
She might be three-thousand miles away, but for all intents and purposes, she may as well have been standing right here, taking a stiletto to my gut. Shame burns my face as if I opened a pizza oven. Normally, I own my sex life. Right now, I feel like the lowest of low.
I willnevermake my daughter feel the way she makes me feel.
"So Mom, tell me then, what do you think I can do?"
"You should see if Callie will get the group back together again. You're not getting any younger, and if you don't start getting work done, you won't be able to cash in on your sex appeal. You have a very small window of time left to use that."
"Do you think I can do anything without the group?"
"If you could have, wouldn't you have by now? Callie's a megastar. Angie too. I hear Mandy's coming out with new music. You and Daphne are the weak links. And we all know how Daphne got into the group."
She doesn't say it, but I know she thinks I slept my way in. It was, perhaps, the one time that I used my talent—my vocal talent, that is—to get ahead. Well, then and now.
But what if she's right? What if I'm not smart enough to make it here? Hell, if I can't succeed in this rinky dink place, I can't succeed anywhere. But I'll never get to prove myself either way if this show doesn't go on. I disconnect the call and rush back into Henderson's office.
"Did you get in contact with her? What did she say? Is she coming? Does she live in the city? Do you want me to drive down and get her?"
This is when you know I'm desperate—me, offering to drive to New York City. I can barely find my way from my rental house to The Edison. With a GPS.
Okay, fine. Maria drives me and drops me off every day. I'm hopeless.
"I'm gonna see if Kyle can pick her up from the train station tonight."
"So she's in?"
