Page 105 of Something Cheeky

They’d rented a crappy apartment that was a fifteen-minutewalk from their classes. It was all they could afford then but it was their refuge from class.

“We solved a lot of problems on that rooftop,” said Derek.

Zoe nodded and smiled at the memories of their late-night conversations. He pushed two black wooden cubes together and laid on top of them. She dragged two more next to him and did the same. In acting class, she loved how a silent agreement between actors and the audience turned these humble wooden blocks into beds, rocks, or, tonight, a rooftop.

“The stars are pretty tonight.” Zoe waved at the ceiling. “Is that the big dipper?”

“That was the only constellation we could pick out.” He laughed.

“Hey, I majored in theater, not astronomy.” She was glad to see color returning to his cheeks.

“Th?o is mad because I made the call to change the songs to all English lyrics, specifically the duet.” He looked at the “stars” as he spoke.

“That song brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of my grandfather’s favorite c?i luong but with a more modern sound.”

“Th?o would love to hear that. She gets all the credit for that song.”

“The lyrics are beautiful and the music evocative. Her rhymes were super clever, too.”

“That’s what all the Viet speaking actors said, too. But I don’t know my mother tongue, Z.” He ran his fingers through his hair and massaged his head.

She couldn’t believe it. All these years and it still bothered him.

“I can translate it for you,” she offered.

“Th?o did that already, but it’s not the same.”

“Oh.”

“I—” He swallowed hard. “I can’t direct that scene the way itdeserves because I can’t understand it properly. Besides, it’ll alienate the non-Viet audiences.”

Zoe’s eyes narrowed. What was he hiding from her?

“Yeah, that stumble through was rough but you’re good at what you do. You could always provide supertitles like they do at the opera,” she suggested.

“That’s too distracting. The musical would be more viable if we change all the songs to English.” He kept his eyes on the stars instead of looking at her.

“You’re scaring me, Derek. You sound like Gregzilla.” She hoped the inside joke would bring some levity.

“Greg wants the show to have universal appeal.”

“Sisterhood and a love story with magical transformations isn’t considered appealing?”

“Maybe not.” Derek shrugged.

Zoe huffed. What had happened to the confident man she’d been working with—sleeping with—the past few weeks?

“Wow. I didn’t believe them, but Danny and Katie Mai were right.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, finally sitting up.

“They came to me today because they were concerned that you were no longer following your vision forThe Brocaded Slipper. And that you kept changing things to make Greg happy.”

“It’s more complicated than that. I have to think big picture. First, we need people in DC to love the show so we can bring it to New York.”

“How can you compromise who you are, Derek? You’re removing all the Vietna—all of us from the show.”

“The story is still Vietnamese. Removing the language won’t change that.” Hurt filled his eyes. “I’m still Vietnamese, aren’t I?”

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