Piper plopped down on the floor and pulled her into a tight hug. “Have you seen him?”
“No.” Because he hadn’t come back for her.
“Then maybe she’s lying.”
“Why would she? Why now, unless he really is here? He’s the reason she’s always hated me.”
“Then you’ll deal. You’ve been dealing just fine the last eight years.”
“Well, the last six anyway. I don’t think either of us is under any illusions that I was fine at the beginning.”
As the back door opened, Tyler brushed at her face, though there were no tears to erase. “That’ll be Morgan. Let me just take a minute, then we’ll go meet Tucker.”
It helped to slide back into normal, to give Morgan details about what orders had come in, who needed to be notified. As Tyler slipped into the back to retrieve her purse, she imagined building a wall around herself again. Nothing about this could touch her. Which was an absolute lie. But once upon a time, she’d been a damned fine actress. She could play this role.
“It’s going to be so nice to have you back on stage,” said Piper, linking her arm through Tyler’s.
“You’re making the assumption I actually got cast.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Of course you got cast. What’s with the doom and gloom? Are you regretting auditioning?”
“No. Not really. It’s just a little bit bittersweet.”
Piper was wise enough not to mention Brody.
“I spent all those years not performing, and this might be the last show.”
“Have faith, dear one! The Madrigal will prevail! We will pull this off. You’ll see.”
That was Piper. The eternal optimist.
They rounded the corner onto Broad Street and saw Tucker waiting for them up the next block in front of the theater. He was bouncing impatiently on his feet, back to the doors. As soon as he caught sight of them, he made big waving circles of his arms, urging them to hurry up. Though she really wanted to go slow, to prepare herself, Tyler gave in to Piper’s urging and sped up her pace. Then they were there, in front of the doors. In her periphery, Tyler could see the printed page taped to the inside of the glass.
“Have you looked?” demanded Piper.
“I was a good boy,” Tucker informed her.
“Okay then,” she said, taking his hand and Tyler’s. “Together. On three. One. Two. Three.”
As one, they turned and marched to the door, crowding shoulder to shoulder to read the tiny print.
Bob Wallace would be played by Myles Stuart. Nobody Tyler knew.
There, second from the top, Phil Davis-Tucker McGee.
Next line down, Betty Haynes-Piper Parish.
And after that…
Judy Haynes-Tyler Edison.
Tucker and Piper whooped. Tyler felt something in her unclench. She’d gotten the part. All those years off hadn’t actually ruined her abilities. Relieved, excited, she scanned the rest of the cast list, noting familiar names from shows gone by, and a few new ones, too. And then she ran across a name that shouldn’t have been there at all.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Her voice sounded hard and brittle to her own ears.
Piper and Tucker stopped dancing around behind her and came to peer back at the list. “What?” asked Piper.
“Phil’s understudy,” Tyler bit out.