Chapter 22

I overslept a little in the morning because I had been starting to become accustomed to California time. Our flight was not until 10 o'clock so there was no problem with sleeping an hour beyond my normal early rising hour. I still had plenty of time to take a long, leisurely soak in the tub, and enjoy the breakfast that Mom had ordered. Since we were no longer in California, Mom let me wear a normal skirt and blouse. I even got to wear 2-inch heels instead of the 4-inch heels that my sexy image usually called for.

We arrived at the airport early, and sat down to wait for our flight to be called. I had found a copy of Variety at the newsstand and, as we waited, I enjoyed reading about the world of entertainment that I had so recently joined. I had a difficult time figuring out what was being said in some of the articles. It seems that they use their own show-business language, but with perseverance, and Mom's help, I was able to decipher most of it. I even found a small article about our new series. Nothing about me, of course. The article just talked about the premise of the show, and about the producer and the director. I had finished most of the paper by the time that our flight had started to board. The commuter flight did not lend itself to reading, so I stuck the paper in my purse as we queued up to board. It seemed like the plane had only just finished climbing before it was time to start descending. Less than an hour after boarding we were exiting the plane. Wouldn't it be great if it was like that on the flight to California?

We noticed, upon entering the house, that the answering machine contained a full week's worth of messages. We carried our bags upstairs and unpacked before returning downstairs to prepare lunch. As I opened some tuna fish and toasted some bread for sandwiches mom listened to the messages on the answering machine. I had lunch ready when Mom came into the kitchen with her notepad full of messages. As we ate, Mom told me about the messages that she had found on the answering machine.

She said, "About half of them are for you, honey. There are a couple of messages from your friend Sean, a few messages from people requesting personal appearances, and a bunch of messages from media people who want interviews."

"I don't want to give any interviews, Mom."

"You'll have to do 'some' interviews, honey. I'm surprised that the media people haven't been chasing after you before this. I would have expected the theater critic from the newspaper to pursue an interview long ago. He's been your biggest fan up until now."

"But why do I have to do any interviews? Can't people just enjoy the play or the show, and leave me alone after it's over?"

"When people enjoy a performance they want to get 'closer' to the performer. They do that by getting photos, autographs, souvenirs, and mementos, and by reading about the performer. The media want to provide the stories that the fans are calling for. People have enjoyed your performances and want to be 'close to you, and to know about you."

"But I can't let them know about me."

"They will only want to know things like who your favorite actors are, and what kinds of books you read. Although some will want to know if you have any love interests, and if there is anything between you and Oliver."

"Those last ones are the kinds of questions that I am afraid of."

"Just be vague and non-committal. Say things like 'I am not involved at present', or, 'we are just good friends'. You can get through an entire interview without giving any real information at all, just look at the interviews that the press has with politicians. I saw an interview once where a reporter asked a politician what his favorite color was? The politician never hesitated at all and answered that he had always been partial to plaid."

"Mom, what if they want particulars like the names of my best friends, or if they want to know what schools I've attended? Things like that."

"Just say that you've had a normal childhood, and you respect the privacy of your friends."

"Okay, Mom. I do hope that the issue never comes up though."

After lunch, Mom dropped me off at the theatre. Barbara and Marge pummeled me with questions about my trip to California, and wouldn't let me go backstage to check for notes from Mr. Tucker until I had filled them in on all of the details of my three days in front the cameras, and of working at the studio. Marge ooh'ed and ahh'ed as I told her about how I had spent the days kissing Oliver. I tried to remind her that it was only acting, and that there were dozens of crewmembers watching intently as we touched our lips together, but she preferred to think only in terms of romance and passion. Both Marge and Barbara laughed as I related how Oliver and I had spent the better part of an afternoon hanging in our paragliding harnesses near the edge of a cliff.

When I had answered all of their questions, they let me leave the makeup room to go backstage. I discovered an envelope with my name on it, lying on the word processor desk, and upon opening it I found several pages of jokes for our next-to-last weekend of performances. The jokes were wonderful, and were certainly up to the standard that I had come to expect from Mr. Tucker. It was amazing to see such terrific, fresh material each week. I worked on memorizing them, and then practiced my delivery until my fellow company members began to arrive at the theatre. I put the envelope into the desk and went to wardrobe to get into my first costume before the rush started. As we prepared for the evening's performance, every cast member wanted me to tell him or her about my California experiences. I continually repeated my answers as newly arrived members posed the same questions.

The house was packed for the first performance of the weekend. I delivered the introduction and then launched into the monologue. The audience howled with laughter at the jokes, and they could almost make me believe that I was funny, but I knew that the real wizardry was from the creators of the jokes that I was simply repeating. When I had finished and was about to go backstage, a voice from the audience yelled out a question about the television show, so I spent another five minutes on stage talking about the series. I didn't know what would survive the final editing cuts so I didn't give particulars, just generalizations about the show and the actors. I finally had to call an end to the question period so that we could start the play. Everything went very smoothly and I could sense a looseness in everyone's performance. Knowing that only one more weekend of shows were scheduled had resulted in a more relaxed attitude for the entire cast.

The audience showed their appreciation for the performance at the end of the final scene, and gave us six curtain calls. I was besieged by questions again in makeup, and I continued to answer questions about California as we cleaned up and prepared to leave the theatre. I was happy to finally say goodnight to the remaining cast members and leave with Debbie. Outside of the theatre, a throng of autograph seekers delayed us for another 15 minutes. When we were able to get away, at last, I relaxed in the seat as Debbie drove me home.

Debbie was curious about the California job also, and I spent about an hour telling her all about the trip as we parked outside of my house. When I was finished, she grabbed me and pulled me down onto her lap so that I was facing upwards, and then bent over me and kissed me passionately as I first relaxed, and then melted in her arms. We kissed like that for ten minutes, before she pulled away and looked at me as she stroked my hair.

When I could get my breath again, I giggled and said, "That was nice. What was it for."

"I don't want you to forget whose woman you are. Oliver may be a big TV star soon, and I don't want you to forget who really loves you. I rented one of the movies that he was in, and I can honestly say that I think that I am as much a man as he is. In fact, he acts more like a woman than a man."

"I thought that that was supposed to be the new image for men. Sensitive and not afraid to cry, as opposed to the traditional macho and unfeeling demeanor that has been predominant until the last few years."

"There's such a thing as taking it too far. I don't know how successful the new series is going to be without a strong lead character. I hope that his co-stars have strong characteristics. Somebody is going to have to carry the show."

"I think that you're just prejudiced because he spent so much time kissing me. After I sail off into the never-never, you can give the show, and Oliver, an honest appraisal."

"It sounds like you really like this guy?"

"I think that he's very nice, and he did help me to get the job. The money will really help our college fund and I want to remain friends with him. This one job will add about $5,000 to our fund according to Mom. You know that tuition, books, and living expenses for a really good college can be as high as $50,000 a year. Until now, we were resigned to attending the community college. Not that it isn't a good school, but I'd love to attend an Ivy League college, and now we might have the chance."

"Yeah, okay. I've never worried about college money because my folks have money. I'm sorry for dis'ing Oliver; I guess that I'm just a little jealous. I want to be the only one kissing my little Crystal."

"That was just stage kissing. Now stop talking nonsense and kiss me."

We spent about another ten minutes in the car before I made Debbie let me up so I could fix my makeup. The windows of the car were beginning to steam up a little and I didn't want the neighbors to start investigating. I gave Debbie one last kiss and got out of the car. As I opened the door to the house, I waved to Debbie and she drove away after returning my wave.

It was late and Mom was waiting up for me. She turned off the TV as I came in and then we walked upstairs together. After loosening my corset, she kissed me goodnight, and went to her own bedroom. I removed my makeup and washed up before climbing into bed. It felt so good to be back in my own bed after days of traveling, and sleeping on the mattresses of several different hotels. I fell asleep almost immediately, but slept fitfully as I dreamed of living my television series life, which culminated with my being lifted towards the heavens over the deep blue waters of the Pacific. I awoke drenched with sweat as the early morning light filtered through the window blinds. I pulled back the single sheet, which was my usual cover this time of the year, and put Miss Scarlet back up onto her shelf perch before walking to the bathroom to wash up.

I started breakfast when I went downstairs and I was all ready to cook the omelets when Mom came down. I had already made fresh OJ and fresh biscuits. Mom made a pot of tea before we sat down, and she had put one of the antibiotic capsules at my place setting, for me to take before breakfast. This breakfast sure beat having a prune Danish and tea like we had had in California. Over breakfast Mom and I talked about our most recent trip.

Mom said, "I wish that we could travel directly to LA; that’s one of the few advantages to living in or near a big city."

"I wish that the trip didn't take so long. I'm just glad that we don't live further east. It would be nice if the trip was only about an hour, like the commuter flight."

"If you were to get a regular job, we could rent an apartment in California while you were working. Would you like that?"

"I don't know. I'd miss my friends at the theatre, and a few at school."

"That's part of growing up, dear. You move on and you make new friends. You don’t forget the old ones, but you have to follow your own dreams and destiny. And you only have two more years of high school before you'll all be going your separate ways anyway."

"I guess so. And having an apartment in LA would save a lot of commuting time if I get any jobs out there which require me for more than a few days. I wouldn't want to live out of a hotel for an extended period."

"Next time we go out to LA, we'll make some extra time to look around. You won't have to be hurrying back for the play any more. Carol has been dying to go also."

After breakfast we cleaned the kitchen and then I went upstairs to bathe. With the play winding down, and the TV series behind me, I felt very relaxed and stayed in the bath until the bubbles were long gone, and my fingers had started to prune. I spent the remainder of the morning primping. I worked on my nails because I was still wearing the color that the manicurist had applied at the studio. I changed back to the softer shade that I preferred. I also played with my hair for a long time before finally giving up and putting it into a ponytail. The hair people at the studio had been magicians. My hair had always looked wonderful after they had worked on it.

Before getting dressed, I spent some time examining myself in the mirror. Wearing the corset practically 24 hours a day had molded my body into a shape that any 16-year-old girl would be proud of. My waist was only 22 inches now, while my bust was 36 inches, and my hips were 32 inches without the padded panty girdle. I wondered how long my shape would stay this way if I stopped wearing the corset. Of course my bust wouldn't change, and I might be able to go without the corset on some days as long as I always wore it at night. I decided that I wasn't going to wear the padded panty-girdle as much. The gaff would hide my secret, and I didn't really need the extra padding when I wasn't in costume.

Mom came in as I started to dress and she laced my corset. Until the play was over I would have to maintain a 19-inch waist so that I could fit into my costumes. Mom disapproved of the outfit that I had selected and picked a different one for me. She said that I had a certain image to uphold now that I was appearing in the television series and that I must continue to dress the part. That meant that I would continue to wear the padded panty-girdle, very tight skirts or dresses, and very high heels, whenever I went out in the public. I groaned inwardly but dressed as she instructed.

After I was dressed, Mom and I had lunch before she took me to the theatre. It was still pretty early in the afternoon so she came in to visit with Barbara and Marge. As usual, they were the only ones in the theatre at this hour, and they were engaged in their favorite pastime of playing cards when we entered the makeup room. They halted their game when Mom and I came in, and both stood to greet Mom, as you would do for a new friend. When the greetings were over we sat down to talk and the conversation naturally turned towards our most recent trip to California.

Over the next several hours we talked about every facet of show business. From their long association with the theatre, and from having read every issue of Variety for a number of years, Barbara and Marge had a wealth of information about the business side of show business. Mom drank it all in as they voiced a seemingly endless stream of facts and advice about how I should handle my career, and what pitfalls and pratfalls I must avoid. Much of Barbara's advice centered on watching out for back-stabbing actors, larcenous producers, and lecherous directors, although she also gave us a lot of tips about selecting proper roles and public appearances. Marge echoed many of the same sentiments and gave us advice on fitting in without becoming 'too Hollywood', a term she used to describe people who had adopted the worst habits of wealth and fame.

When other cast members began to arrive, we ended our discussion and Mom left to run some other errands. Marge and Barbara had invited her to stay and help out but she had a number of things to take care of. She promised to come in with me next Sunday for the final performances, and to remain to assist for the entire day. After she had gone, I quickly went backstage to see if there were any notes from Mr. Tucker. I hadn't expected any, but really should have checked earlier. I relaxed when I failed to find any manila envelopes on the word processing desk. I knew what jokes I intended to use for my introduction, and would have been unprepared if Mr. Tucker had left others that he wanted me to work in. I brewed a pot of coffee before going to wardrobe to get into my first costume.

The theatre was packed for the Saturday evening performance and the audience showed their appreciation with laughter and applause. After the show, Debbie drove me home and we kissed briefly before saying goodnight. Mom was still up and helped me to undress before continuing on to her own room. After finishing my preparations for bed, I slid between the sheets and drifted quickly off to sleep.

I dreamed about the upcoming confrontation with Dad. I guess that you could call it a nightmare instead of a dream. My mind played out the very worst scenario that I could imagine, and that meant that there was no understanding on his part at all. In my nightmare he ranted and raved about my appearance and took his anger out on Mom, slapping her so hard that she was knocked to the floor. I awoke trembling, and soaked in sweat, in the early pre-dawn darkness. Getting out of bed, I stumbled to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face, and washed up. Beginning to feel a little better, I made my way back to the bed and lay down. I was much too wide-awake to sleep right now, and it was too early to get up, so I just lay there thinking about the situation. In less than two months an entire new life had been created for me, a life which was almost the exact opposite of my former life. Feelings that I was living a lie permeated my thoughts each day and I lived in fear that I would be found out and embarrassed in front of the whole world. As I became more well known the chances of having my secret detected increased, and the need to maintain my new identity also increased in order to avoid being discovered as a fraud. To further complicate matters, I had begun to enjoy my current situation at times. I was no longer anxiously awaiting the day when I would become Cary again. I would be content to remain as Crystal for as long as it took to raise all of the money needed for our college fund. But I did feel very alone and vulnerable right now, so I got out of bed and took the Scarlet doll down from her perch on the shelf with my other dolls. Returning to bed, I clutched her tightly in my arms and derived a small sense of comfort in the contact. As I calmed down, sleep overtook me once again and I slid into unconsciousness cradling Scarlet in my arms.

The sun was above the horizon when I awoke next. I found that Mom was already preparing breakfast when I stepped into the kitchen. We kissed good morning.

She said, "Sit down honey, the eggs will be ready in a minute. Have your juice and take your capsule while you're waiting."

I drank the OJ that she had poured for me and took the antibiotic capsule that was on my napkin. As I poured a cup of tea, she brought the salsa-eggs over to the table and sat down in her customary chair.

I debated whether to tell her of my nightmare, then decided not to. Instead I said, "Has Dad called?"

"No. There were no messages on the machine. He may have forgotten about it after he saw that he wasn't going to just slip into your life so that he could take advantage of your new career."

"Do you think that that was all that he wanted?"

She looked at me pensively. "I'm sorry, honey. I'd like to tell you that your father was a good man underneath all of the selfishness that he always exhibits but I can't. I firmly believe that had he not been ordered to make child support payments by the court, then we would never have seen a penny from him during the years that he and I have been divorced. I only hope that when you marry you find a better husband than I did. But let's not talk about your father unless we have to. What time are you going in today, Eleven again?"

"Yes, the normal time. Do you want to come for the day?"

"I'd like to but I have a lot of things to do so that we can head up to the lake tomorrow. I have laundry, and a few errands. Plus I have to sort through the mail and pay the bills that are due for the end of the month. I'll go next Sunday as I told Barbara and Marge yesterday."

"Okay, Mom."

After breakfast I helped Mom clean up and then went to bathe and dress. Mom took me to the theatre on her trip to the grocery store. Dropping me of front of the building, people stared openly at me as I exited the car and strode down the alleyway to the theatre's stage entrance. I never knew anymore if the attention was because of my new fame, or because I was dressed so provocatively. Certainly none of the other 16-year-old girls that I met on the street were dressed like I was. Most had jeans, shorts, or cutoffs, and almost all were wearing sneakers, instead of high-heeled pumps. My clothing was guaranteed to call attention to myself in the face of so much casual attire.

Marge and Barbara were playing cards when I walked in. We exchanged greetings and I sat down to watch and talk. I always felt comfortable in their presence and they never seemed to notice the way that my mother and sister wanted me to see me dressed, or at least they never mentioned it. I wondered if they thought that these clothes were my choice, but I decided not to bring it up. At noon I walked to the backstage area and brewed a pot of coffee for Mr. Tucker before going to Wardrobe to put on my first costume. Other cast members were starting to arrive as Marge worked on applying my wig, and I got out of the way, when she had finished, to make room for my fellow actors. I would return a half-hour before curtain to have my makeup put on.

Debbie joined me on the old settee backstage when she had finished getting dressed in her first costume. We sat and talked as people hurried all around us in their preparations for today's first performance. When I heard the first voices from the theatre seating area as people were being let in, I returned to makeup to have my face finished. As Marge worked on me I went over my monologue in my head in preparation for giving the introduction. I was ready and waiting in my assigned place when the stage manager gave the cue to the stage-hands to pull the curtain open slightly so that I could step out in front of the audience. In spite of having done this many times, I still experienced a slight case of butterflies in the stomach just before stepping out in front of the five hundred people. I wondered if anyone ever got over that initial sensation when appearing before large numbers of people like this.

The audience enjoyed the monologue and I scanned the faces looking for people that I knew as I waited between jokes for the laughter to subside. I recognized a number of people that I had seen at previous performances although I didn't know their names, a lot more faces that seemed familiar to me, and I saw that there were a lot of younger faces in the crowd since this was the matinee performance. When I had finished my monologue I again had questions shouted out to me about the TV series. I stayed long enough to answer them with generalizations as I had done previously, and then expressed my hope that everyone would enjoy the play before I stepped back through the curtains to prepare myself.

Judging from the applause that we received, and the curtain calls, I felt that the performance had been successful. During our afternoon break, and buffet, I sat with Debbie and the other girls as had become our custom. Most of our time was again spent talking about California since everyone was enthralled with the idea of being discovered and being whisked away to fame and fortune. Every actor ever born dreams of that scenario, and for my fellow cast members to actually see it happen filled them with hope that it could happen to them as well. I did my best to downplay the situation, and I knew that there were feelings of jealousy towards the 'newcomer' that had gotten so lucky in her first role. Human nature, being was it was, dictated that that would happen, but I also knew that we were all friends and that they also delighted in my success.

The second performance went as well the first and as the final curtain call ended Debbie and I went over to the settee backstage and plopped down to await space in the makeup room. We never liked to jockey for space at the makeup tables, preferring to wait until many of the cast members had finished and left before we began the process of removing our greasepaint. There were only a few autograph seekers at the stage door when we left so we were on our way home very quickly.

Debbie asked, as we drove, "When are we going to go out again? I've been waiting for weeks."

"How about the Saturday night after Labor Day. That's thirteen days from now and we'll be finished with the play next weekend."

"Great. I can't wait. I've been thinking about our date for the past couple of weeks and I decided that I'd like you to wear that blue satin dress that you were supposed to wear on opening night. I cleared it with Barbara already and she is going to alter it to fit your smaller waist. Is that okay?"

I had been hoping to relax a little after the play was finished by not having to wear the corset so tight. If I agreed, then I would have to continue to be tightly laced for at least another week. I hesitated for a moment before speaking, then said, "It sounds like you have something special planned for us?"

"Just dinner at a nice restaurant, and maybe a visit to Gram's house afterward for some peppermint schnapps."

"Okay. I'll wear the blue gown, but you can't go in jeans. You have to get dressed formally also."

"It's a deal. I'll pick you up at seven, two weeks from yesterday."

We had reached my house and we sat in the car kissing for about ten minutes before I went in. Mom was waiting up and we walked upstairs together after briefly telling each other about our day. Sunday always wore me out and I slept soundly, with no dreams, or nightmares, that I could remember the next day.

By noon we had reached the lake after having stopped for some 'perishable' groceries on the way up. Jason and Barry were at the house and I hurried to change into my bathing suit so that I could join them and Carol in the water. Mom and Aunt Jessica prepared lunch as we cavorted in the lake for about an hour after our arrival. Then we spent an hour sunning ourselves after eating before more swimming again. It was wonderful and I wished that I could spend weeks doing nothing else. Mrs. Conroy came over for dinner and most of the conversation was about California again. I told everybody about the trip with Mom filling in any parts that I left out. When I finished she continued on with her perspective of the whole episode, and her opinion on where the appearance might lead if the series producer and the public liked the show. After cleaning up the dinner dishes, Carol, Barry, Jason, and I left Mom, Aunt Jessica, and Mrs. Conroy to discuss my career while we went for a walk. It was getting dark earlier now, and Mrs. Conroy called to us as we sat on the beach that Jason and Barry had to take the boat back before it got dark. I let Jason kiss me with a long passionate embrace before they had to leave. After they had left, I began to wonder why I had begun to enjoy kissing Jason almost as much as I enjoyed kissing Debbie.

The rest of the week was as wonderful as Monday, and I was sorry to see Friday come because it meant returning home for the final weekend of performances. But the bright side was that it was the final weekend of performances. As much as I had loved doing the play, and as much as I loved my extended family at the theatre, I had grown a little weary of the routine because it kept me from having fun up at the lake. Most summers had been a little boring, and I had spent much of my time at the library, or reading at home. But this summer had been so hectic that I longed for a little boredom. An old saying popped into my head about being careful what you wish for.

Mom and I arrived back in town about 2 o'clock and she dropped me off at the theatre. We had packed a lunch, and had stopped at a rest stop on the interstate to eat on our trip back. Mom continued on home after dropping me off and I went into the theatre, briefly talking with Barbara and Marge while putting my purse and sweater in the makeup room. Then I continued on to the backstage area to see if Mr. Tucker had left any new jokes for me to learn. I found another large manila envelope addressed to me on the word processor desk so I opened it and read over the material. Some of the jokes were jests about the previous seven weeks of shows, and showed an insider's knowledge of events backstage. I reviewed the jokes carefully and made sure that there was nothing that I felt would anger any members of our cast, before spending the next two hours practicing with the new material. When other cast members started to arrive, I finished up and put the notes away. I had decided to let the jokes about the show be a surprise to my fellow actors.

The monologue was a big hit with the audience, and while the audience laughed at the jokes, I thought that I heard louder laughter coming from behind the curtain. My suspicions were confirmed when I had finished up and had answered all of the audience's questions before going backstage. Several crewmembers were touching up makeup on my fellow actors where it had been smudged while laughing from the new jokes. Curtain time was delayed several minutes longer than usual so that everybody could get back into character, and some of the cast and crew continued to have the giggles until the play was underway.

Performance number 29 was another perfect performance by our little company and the audience showed their appreciation at the end. When our last curtain call was complete, most of the cast collected around me to congratulate me on a very funny monologue and they wanted to know when I had written the new jokes. I told them that I didn't write the jokes and didn't know who did, but they acted like they didn't believe me. They had apparently begun to attribute more to me than my simple talents allowed, because of my job in the TV series, and because the jokes were obviously written by somebody who knew the entire cast, and had been around since the company starting practicing together. I continued to plead my innocence as they congratulated me and I think that several began to believe me at last when I told them that they should ask Mr. Tucker where the jokes had come from.

There was only one fan waiting for an autograph when Debbie and I left the theatre. The excitement might finally be over, I thought as I signed her book, but I also knew that it was Labor Day weekend and a lot of people were out of town for the long weekend. Traffic was very light as Debbie drove me home. We parked for a few minutes before I went into the house so that we could talk and kiss.

Debbie said, "I made reservations at Giorgio's for next Saturday evening."

"Giorgio's? I've heard that that place is awfully expensive."

"It's not too bad. Dad has taken Mom and me there several times and I have a month's allowance saved up. Don't you want to go there?"

"It's fine with me if it's what you want. I won't be eating very much with my waist squeezed down to the 19 inches that I have to be to fit into my gown."

She smiled at me and said, "We'll get a doggie bag for later when your corset is loose."

"Woof woof", I said.

She laughed and pulled me down to kiss me. I lay across her lap for a couple of minutes before making her release me so that I could go into the house before the neighbors came to investigate the suspicious car in front of my house. Mom was still up and we talked for a few minutes before I went up to get undressed. I returned downstairs only long enough to have Mom loosen my corset, and I was in bed several minutes later. I was very tired and fell asleep very quickly. I dreamed about kissing Jason up at the lake, kissing Sean up at Lookout Point, kissing Oliver in San Diego, and kissing Rick in the play. I dreamed about kissing everybody but Debbie and that disturbed me when I woke up. I again wondered why, lately, I seemed to be finding more pleasure in kissing boys than girls?

Saturday's show was fairly routine except that I had again disturbed the concentration of my fellow actors by using more of the latest jokes about our production efforts. It took a few minutes to get everybody ready for the show once I had finished my monologue. Patricia Silbey, the actress who played my mother in the play, had the most difficulty maintaining her composure in the first act, and several times near the start of the play, she had to pause and look away to collect herself. Neil Broderick, who portrays my father in the play, adlibbed twice to cover for her when she couldn't get her lines out, and this caused her to giggle all the more. After the first act, things settled down and I think that the audience enjoyed the play all the more by seeing that we were having a good time on stage. With only one more day of performances after months of preparation and shows, everyone was feeling very mellow after we had answered the last curtain call. The unexpectedly long schedule had taken a heavy toll on everyone's summer plans and the entire group was looking forward to a few weekends off.

Debbie dropped me off at home after we had signed autographs for a few fans outside the stage door. Mom was watching TV when I went in and I sat down with her. She put her arm around me and pulled me close to her but we didn't talk until a commercial came on.

She said, "Your boyfriend Sean left a message on the machine. He wants you to call him tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks."

"How was the show tonight?"

"Good. Same as always. Everyone's looking forward to wrapping it up tomorrow. Are you coming to the theatre for the entire day as you said that you would?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I want to be at the final performances of the most successful play in the history of the Community Theatre in this city. Especially since my little girl is the star of the production and is responsible for much of its success."

"Great. I'm glad that you'll be there. I'm starting to get sad about leaving all of my friends and having you there will help."

The commercials ended and we ended our conversation so that mom could resume listening to the show. I went upstairs to start getting ready for bed, returning downstairs only briefly so that mom could help me. What I had said was true. While I looked forward to the end of the play, I was sad about parting from my friends. Thinking about it made me feel lonely so I took Scarlet to bed with me for comfort. I had become very attached to the pretty doll in the antebellum dress.

 

(continued in Chapter 23)

 

 

 

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