Page 28 of Spotlight on Poppy

"You were amazing, Poppy! How have I never seen you on stage before?"

"HANNAH!" Poppy pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "I’m so glad you're back!" She let go and stopped and looked at her best friend then pulled her in for another hug. Hannah was a good six inches shorter than Poppy, but they shared a very similar round build. While Hannah's hair was soft blonde waves, Poppy's was sleek and dark. Then her eyes were pulled up by the towering Scotsman standing behind Hannah smiling at her.

"Well done," said Graham.

"Thank you." A small chuckle bubbled up in Poppy. She was so glad Hannah was home, she needed to talk to someone who would understand the whole crazy situation she was in.

“The whole show was wonderful, but you and Josh did such a great job,” said Hannah.

“Thank you,” Poppy said again, pulling her into another hug. “I’m so glad you guys are back. Hey, what are you guys up to after this?” asked Poppy.

“Nothing that I know of,” Hannah said. She turned to look at Graham who gave a little shrug.

“You guys have to come to the cast party! It is that last one. We are meeting down at the Elbow Room. It will be fun,” Poppy pleaded.

“Sounds good to me,” Hannah said looking up at Graham.

“Aye, sounds good to me too,” Graham agreed.

“Yay! I’m so glad. I’ll meet you guys over there, just let me go change.”

Poppy left to go backstage. By the time she made it back she was the only one still in the dressing room. Everyone had already cleared out and made their way to the cast party. Poppy quickly washed off her makeup and got her things together. She looked through her bag for her cell phone but remembered that she left it backstage.

She made her way to the prop room where she had been sitting during the show. When she went to grab it, she saw Josh around the corner at the prop table checking his props.

"Hi," she said softly. "Are you going to the cast party?"

Josh looked at her and just nodded. His eyes were filled with something, something deep, she didn't know how to read.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"Yeah," he said in a low gruff voice. "I'm okay."

Poppy walked over to him as if being pulled by some force she couldn't see or identify but she could feel. The prop room was a giant ‘L’ and the prop table they were at was sat towards the back and hid them from view of the door.

Prop rooms in theaters were interesting places. They are this hodgepodge of things you would never find in real life. There was a leg lamp from when they did A Christmas Story and piles of vintage suitcases stacked on the floor, flowers hanging over their heads, wig heads stored in the back corner, piles of dishes and an old victrola. It was like a real life page from an eye spy book.

"I saw Hannah and Graham out there tonight, you must be glad to have them back," Josh said with a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He seemed far away. There was something almost haunting about the way he looked right now. This was not how she was used to seeing him. Josh was like a touchstone to her. He was a constant. She never quite realized it before now. He was always there. He was supportive and happy and made everyone feel so warm and welcomed, but who did that for him?

She walked over to him unsure what her plan was but knew she needed to close the distance between them. Poppy looked up into his eyes, trying to figure him out. Who was Josh Turner and why did he feel like a stranger but also felt like home all at the same time?

"Poppy, can I ask you something? What on earth was it that you saw in Damien?"

That brought her right out of whatever moment she was experiencing.

"What?"

"Damien. Why him? What did you see in him?"

Poppy's brain struggled to keep up. She wasn’t sure where all this was coming from. He had been gone for a week, and if she was being honest with herself she hadn’t actually thought that much about him since he left. She had been too busy trying to figure out her own stuff.

"I mean I get it, he was this hotshot Broadway star, but he was kind of a dick," he said.

Poppy couldn't help but laugh. Why was she laughing right now? He was right, he was kind of a dick, kind of a major dick.

"I don't know,” she shrugged. “I guess I just got wrapped up in the idea of him. But trust me, that spell is broken."

Josh looked at her and took a step towards her. His eyes burned with something Poppy had never seen before and it almost took her breath away.

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