I walk out of the bathroom, wincing as I have to use my hand to pull open the door. No one's around, so I don't bother to hide my tears—
"Leslie, are you okay? What's wrong?"
Oh shit. It's Tabitha. I can't let her see me cry. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. Well, that was a dumb move. Tabitha sees my jacked-up palm and grabs it. "Seriously, Leslie, are you okay? This looks bad. Should we get someone to look at it? You've really torn up your skin here."
"Yeah, I just poured some alcohol on it to clean it. It brought tears to my eyes." I wave my hands, trying to dry off the alcohol in the hopes that it stops burning. "I'll be fine in a second. I just don't want this to get infected."
Tabitha takes my hand again, examining it. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is open in a shocked "O" shape. "What are we going to do? Do Henderson and Grayson know? Have you told Levi? Can you change the choreography?"
As if. I'm going to push through this, as I do everything else in my life. It's like my hands are a metaphor for me. I shake my head. "I'll be good. I need to air it out for now. I didn't use enough chalk last night and this morning. I'll tape it for tonight. I think I might have the seamstress bedazzle a pair of trapeze gloves to match my costume. I ordered them on Prime, so they should be here by tomorrow."
They didn't have a lot of color choices, so I hope we can do something to hide the black wrist straps. My costume is so gorgeous that I don't want the stupid gloves to detract from the overall look.
Tabitha looks me up and down, still holding onto my hand. She's probably going to call me crazy. "Damn, girl. You are a badass."
That's not what I was expecting to hear. I never expect to hear something good or positive. Only the negative. Probably because that's all I ever tell myself. I don't know how to accept Tabitha’s compliment.
I pull my hand from hers. "Yeah, well, the hand is the least of my issues." At least you can see the injuries on my hands and the bruises on my legs. No one can see that my heart is broken. I continue, "I've been a ballerina for years. My feet have seen worse and still performed. I'm not saying it feels awesome, but you know, the show must go on. Is it really a show if someone's not bleeding?"
Tabitha shakes her head. "You're my hero. But when this is all healed, I'm taking you for the most luxurious manicure this town has ever seen. Complete with paraffin and hot towels and a bottle of champagne."
That mental image is enough to make me smile for the first time today. Probably for the first time in several days. It sounds like heaven. "I don't even really know you, but I'm totally going to take you up on that. Can you find a whole-body paraffin tank? By the end of these three weeks, I'm going to need to soak for about three years. This has all been so crazy."
Crazy is right. Here I am, shooting the breeze and making plans for a girls' spa day with Tabitha Stetson. I heard she hooked up with Jonathan Spencer Maxwell once. I wonder if she'll talk about it as we lie there with face masks and cucumbers on our eyes?
"Well, you're a rock star to me. I've gotta run for a final fitting." And with that, she's gone.
Did that really just happen?
My fall from cloud nine is swift as I realize that the only person I want to share this with is the one person who wants nothing to do with me.
Chapter 18: Josh
These have been the fastest three weeks of my life. I can't believe we're almost to the closing forThe Greatest Showman. After tonight's performance, there's only tomorrow's matinee left. It's been more amazing than anything I could have ever possibly imagined. Having Tabitha in the cast just elevated The Edison into a brand new stratosphere, and I think she's going to take us all with her. The star power radiates off of her like a comet's tail.
"You heard the rumors, right?" Morgan says to me. "Angie Aliberti and Mandy Calhoun are coming to the show tonight." I think shesqueesa little. Morgan is not the type to squee. "There was a call to the box office, but they said not to tell Tabitha."
"Until I see them both, it's just a rumor, not a fact." Regardless, I still want to look my best for the show. I hightail it into town and find the barber who just laughs at my long hair. "Why don't you check out Fifi's for all those beautiful curls you have?" he suggests.
"Whatever, man. You just lost my business." I head next door to the beauty salon. Let's be honest, they're going to have a much better idea of what to do with my hair than good old Chuck with his straight blade and electric clippers. Thirty minutes later, I have less than half the hair I used to. It's still long enough to give me a rock edge, but I don't have to wear it in a ponytail or a bun anymore.
I wonder if anyone will notice.
There is a moment that makes me sad as I look at the tufts of my hair on the ground. My momhatedlong hair on guys with a passion. In fact, there was a distinct period where I had a buzz cut because she was afraid it was going to grow overnight and get too long.
A few years after she died, I was so pissed at not having parents anymore that I decided to grow my hair out as an act of rebellion. Like I was going to show the Universe or something.
I look in the mirror and know she would be pleased with my trimmed tresses. Actually, she'd ask me if I wanted to take a few more inches off. Still, it's an improvement for me.
It's not like I'm trying to pick up one of Tabitha's friends or anything, but I don't want them thinking I'm a hobo either. That is if they do come to the show.
They totally come to the show.
Okay, maybe Morgan isn't the only one squeeing here. It's not just because they're famous. Tabitha actually said she'd look at my show this week now that she's done.
And Mandy said she'd look at it too. If they're both looking at it, this might be an actual chance for me.
Plus, it's three-fifths of the Sassy Cats. Tabitha told me the other night that they actually sang with Prince one time. That's why her daughter is named Paisley. She also told me that he was super weird and that they weren't allowed to speak to him or make eye contact with him. Still, it feels like I know Prince by association or something.
