"If you say so. Golf is so boring." Levi rolls his eyes. "And rugby is so …" he wrinkles his nose and flips his hand, "burly and dirty."
"Yes, but those rugby players are tough, and they all have very nice-looking thighs. That's why I watch it." It's not—even though I'm only half-Fijian, being a die-hard rugby fan is in my blood. Most Americans don't understand that.
However, most people do understand a shapely thigh.
Levi is one of those people. "Girl, maybe you piqued my interest." He drops my hand, instead looping his arm through mine.Ouch.
This soreness in my arms does not bode well. My legs and feet are used to taking the brunt of my work.
"I'll let you know the next time a match is on."
"Here she is. Gloria, darling." He leans in to air kiss the cheeks of the woman who paused in the middle of sorting costumes to smile at us. "Are you available to help Leslie with some music? She's come in for Jasmine."
She nods. "Let's go into the rehearsal room." I follow her as she walks away. Gloria is one of those petite brunette beauties that I've always envied. I glance down. Yep. Small feet.
It's not that my feet are that large. They're just wide and flat. Not ballet feet. Finding pointe shoes was always tough because, in addition to ballerinas being pale, they're supposed to have slender feet as well.
I should have known then I wasn't going to make it.
"So, they called you in to save the day? They did that to me last season. No pressure or anything."
I smile. "I guess. It sounds like this show is super important."
Gloria pulls open a door and flips on the light in a large room. There are tables and chairs stacked up in a corner and music stands littering the floor. An upright piano stands front and center, commanding an audience.
"With the way finances run in a theater like this, every show is important. But this one more so. One, because of the workshop potential, but two, because of Tabitha Stetson."
The name sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't quite place why.
Gloria sees the confusion on my face. "Tabby Cat from the Sassy Cats. She's in this show."
Shut the front door.
And, oh crap.
This just ratcheted up the pressure. Like I need any more of that.
I kind of want to puke.
We make our way to the piano. "I'm not much of a piano player, so we'll see what we can do."
"That's good because I'm not much of a singer. We're probably well-matched." I smile at her. "And I can't play the piano to save my life, so you're automatically better than me. I would like to do a vocal warm-up before I try. It's been a while since I've had to sing." The audition was in March, which was three months ago. These pipes are bound to be rusty.
Gloria is patient and doesn't laugh at me too much. Her voice is incredible. I'll never sound like her. I could work day and night and I won't be that good. But I have to be good enough. This whole show is depending on me.
I can't believe I'm in the “good enough” mindset.
After what feels like forever, Gloria suggests a break. "I need to get some water." She stands up from the piano and glances around. "Do you have any?"
I shake my head. "Nah, I got started as soon as I arrived. Hell, my bags are still in one of the dressing rooms." I think. I hope.
"Have you eaten at all?"
I'm about to say I'm not hungry, but my stomach growls in betrayal. You’d think I'd be used to my stomach betraying my brain after all these years.
"Okay, let's head up to the kitchen. The kitchen's stocked and there are prepared meals in the fridge. You can certainly get your own food too. Just label it. And clean up after yourself. There's no maid, and the quickest way to become enemy number one is to leave your dirty dishes out."
"I'm used to roommates, so I get that. Do I contribute for the food? How does this all work?"
