Page 77 of Private Tutoring
38
HARMONY
Iwouldn’t have believed anything was real about the whole weekend if not for Mom. Not only did Stephen, Matthew, and Roberto show up at Mom’s and admit they loved me, they treated me to one of the best sexual experiences of my life. Which was saying something after all the ways we’d been together.
To top it off, they met Mom, charmed her, and then whisked me off to New York. They even offered to pay for Mom to visit me on opening night. She turned it down, and I knew it was because she needed to work. They’d tried to take care of that too, but Mom was too proud to take what she considered a handout. Matthew promised to film the show and send it to her.
By the time we made it to New York and I’d settled into the penthouse with them, the nerves over my decision had stopped. All I felt now was excitement.
Matthew met me backstage seconds before the curtain was supposed to open. “You’re going to be amazing.” He kissed my cheek, gripped my hands, and winked. “If you get nervous, you know where to find me.”
I wouldn’t get nervous, but it was nice of him to give me a solution to a potential problem. “Thank you.”
“Oh, and your mom is watching the whole thing live.” He grinned at my incredulous expression.
I wore a full face of makeup that made emoting difficult, but he knew how to read me. “How’d you manage that?”
“I have my ways. I think she’s starting to realize that we’re exactly what we promised.” He released my hands. “Show time. Break a leg.”
“I don’t like that expression, even if it is considered good luck.” I rolled my eyes, which almost caused one of my fake lashes to stick. Grimacing, I fixed it and shook out my hands. “Let’s do this.”
The lights dimmed, and I filled my lungs with air, holding it tight as the curtain opened and I walked on stage.
Time blurred as I sang, performed, and ducked backstage to change costumes. The entire production progressed without a hitch, to the point that it was almost unreal. Matthew had planned for everything. Thanks to his studious nature and history with musicals, he’d taken the time to consider everything that could possibly go wrong and build up a countermeasure to take care of it.
I closed my eyes as the last soaring note rose from my throat. The curtain closed, and applause fractured the air.
A wall of performers closed in around me, all of them bouncing and laughing with the vibrant energy of a successful show.
“Congratulations.”
“You did great.”
“I can’t believe this is your first show.”
The words swirled around me. I enjoyed the moment, but something nagged on the back of my mind.
Turning, I spotted Leighona standing in the shadows, her eyes filled with tears. I hugged my former classmates, grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler next to the rack of costumes, and approached Leighona. I held out a bottle, a kind of peace offering. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head hard and dashed the tears from your eyes. “Why?” Even after a full week of rest, her voice sounded like sandpaper.
I opened the water and took a drink. “I never wanted to take this away from you. And I’m sorry I accused you of threatening me.”
“But I did. I thought if I could just get him to stop looking at you, he’d realize I could do this.” She shook her head and sighed. “He was right. I’m no good for this role.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll never perform. You have a lower register, and there are thousands of roles where you’d be perfect. No one could have known that this role would take your voice.” I had no desire to make enemies, not even for the sake of my career. There were enough roles for all of us. We all had different abilities, different ranges. “I want you to be successful.”
“Thanks.” Leighona twisted the water bottle between her hands. “I’m sorry too. I never should have said those things.”
“It’s okay. Just please don’t do it again. We need to be supportive of each other. Lift each other up.”
Leighona rolled her eyes, but her smile ruined the mean-girl look she’d been going for. “You sound like a commercial. Be happy and everything will go your way.”
“Ha. We both know that’s not true. But tearing down other people has never helped me.” I stopped there. Leighona didn’t need a lecture from me. She needed a friend. “Here’s to next time.” I held out my bottle, and she clinked hers against it with a wider grin.
“Harmony, there’s someone here to talk to you.” Damien grabbed my elbow and guided me toward Matthew’s office. “I gotta say, you slayed it out there.” He bumped my shoulder with his and pushed me toward the dark hallway. “Good luck.”
“Um. Thanks.” Good luck? For what? I approached Matthew’s office, my heart in my throat. Had Dean Carpenter changed his mind? I’d gotten in one performance, but there were three more before the end of the show’s run.
