“I can’t believe that just happened,” Spencer said, as they rode the bus home. “I’ve told you that you’re the best sister in the world, right?”
“You can repeat yourself. I will allow it.”
“I just spent the night working with Billy Whitehouse. Billy Whitehouse. Do you have any idea what this means?”
Scarlett smiled. It was good to see Spencer feeling like he was on top of his game again. But why had Eric left so quickly? Obviously, there was nothing going on between them. He barely knew her. Still…
“It means,” Spencer went on, “that something is going right. When I get rich and famous, I’m going to get you anything you want. Name it. Helicopter. Airplane. One of those hairless cats.”
He had no idea how close he was to what she actually wanted. He could probably even help. All she had to do was open her mouth and ask.
“An indoor pool,” she said instead. “With a shark in it.”
“You,” Spencer replied, throwing an arm over her shoulder, “are clearly my sister. We share the same practical streak.”
THE EXCITING LIVES OF NEW YORKERS, REVEALED
For two nights, Scarlett had watched the famous Billy Whitehouse lead the cast through their paces. Sometimes he just ran them ragged, forcing them to run the room while they said their lines, sometimes he put them facedown on the floor, or had them stand on chairs. Random as it all seemed, it was amazing what could come out when Billy was ordering everyone around. Lines that had sounded like gibberish to her before (either because she didn’t understand Shakespeare or the actors were saying them wrong) suddenly had meaning. Little gestures could produce laughter or tears. Hamlet became more menacing, the king more duplicitous, Ophelia more tragic. Billy tempered some of what Spencer and Eric had been doing, giving them a winsome edge.
By Saturday, they had come to the last of the sessions. Billy had the cast gather together in a huddle in the middle of the room. It was kind of an intense moment, and sort of not for observers, so Scarlett let herself out quietly to wait in the hall. She walked around, trying to get cell phone reception. When she looped back, she found Billy and Mrs. Amberson standing by the stairs, at the dark end of the hallway. They couldn’t see her.
“You’ll never guess who’s coming in later,” Billy was saying.
“Someone famous? Someone amusing?”
“Donna Spendler,” he said.
The name crystallized Mrs. Amberson. The smile fell from her face like it had come unglued.
“I thought you might react that way,” he said.
Something in the air changed. Maybe it was the air conditioning cranking to life, or the opening of the door in the background as the cast left, but something wasn’t right.
“Why is she coming?” Mrs. Amberson asked quietly.
“To get herself ready for a final audition on Sunday.”
“Final audition for what?”
“A new musical. She’s up for the lead,” Billy said. “I’m just getting her ready. I wouldn’t normally, but the producer is a friend. It’s purely professional. I plan on not helping her very much.”
“You should do what you have to,” Mrs. Amberson said.
“I’ll do the minimum. Was I right to tell you?”
She did not reply.
The full cast was coming out now, and everyone stopped to thank or hug Billy. Scarlett stayed in her spot, trying to figure out what she had just seen. It was a moment before Mrs. Amberson noticed her standing there.
“Is everything okay?” Scarlett asked.
Mrs. Amberson fumbled around inside of her bag for her cigarette case.
“Change of plan,” she said. “I was supposed to see some potential rehearsal sites tonight. I’ll call and reschedule. Just tell the others—Trevor and Eric. They’re still inside. They were going to come with me.”
With that, she left. Scarlett went inside to tell Eric and Trevor the news. They were lingering with Billy a few more moments as he locked up the room. When Scarlett told them the message, Trevor left, but Eric walked with her.
“Nothing to do now,” he said. “I canceled my plans for tonight because of this. Are you doing anything?”
Was this really happening? Was Eric actually asking her out? And could she really not go because she was taking Marlene to yet another of her many social commitments, because Lola was in Boston lying her face off about being at a skin care seminar?
Yes, Scarlett, she said to herself. That really is what’s happening. Which meant that there was only one option.
“Do you want to…come?” she asked. “It’s free food. And you can be the first of your friends to have a Hard Rock T-shirt! They’re really rare.”