Page 53 of Count Down

I use my phone to play the music and we fit a couple more rehearsals in. It’s looking good. I have barely any new notes to give them. We all head back out to the theater and watch the rest of the pieces until it’s our turn.

I go and sit with Luca until...

“FREE FALL!” Alvaro calls out. It’s our turn on stage.

I turn to look at Luca. I’m nervous again.

“Merde,” he says to me and kisses my forehead. Then he leaves the theater and heads out to the lobby to let us run our piece.

The first run-through was okay. I could tell that Anthony forgot a part of the choreography and kind of flubbed it. The rest was fine.

“I forgot that turn,” Anthony explains as I meet them in the wings.

“No worries,” I tell them. “I know you’ve got it. It’s the first time performing it on stage. And they’re doing all the lighting tests, so that’s a bit distracting. Really make sure you’re looking up to the loge on this next one and I think it’ll look great. It looked really good on stage!”

I’m hesitant to admit it, but it did look really good. It looks different than when I first imagined it. I made inevitable compromises during its journey from my brain to on-stage. But it says what I wanted it to say.

I’d love to have another three weeks with it. I’d love more time to fine tune some parts and tweak it a bit more. But I feel good enough to put it out there and let it be seen.

“Any questions?” I ask the dancers. They all shake their head. I know they’re just eager to run through it again.

“Remember,” I say, gesturing up to the top balcony, “look up to the loge…”

As I look up to the audience, I see a small flash of blue light. Then I see a figure walking away. I didn’t think anyone was sitting up there. I squint, but I still can’t see who it is. It was in the same area where my parents usually sit. I try to ignore the pang I feel.

“…Especially for you, Anna. When you come out of the really contracted section, you’ve got to look higher than everyone else.” She nods her head and lifts her chin. “That’s the point where you’ve fucking arrived.” She grins back at me.

I leave the stage as Alvaro and the lighting designers signal they’re ready for another run-through. This time around, it looks amazing. The lighting designer has seen the piece once and experimented with the colors, so this time through, they really highlight the piece. I’m excited with the way they change up the lights at the transition when Ivan comes in.

“That was great!” I tell the dancers after they’ve finished. Alvaro walks past me as he goes to get the next performers. He gives me a slight nod of approval. My legs almost buckle underneath me. From him, that means a fucking lot.

“Just do that tomorrow. How did it feel?” I ask.

“Solid,” Ivan says.

“It felt right,” adds Anna.

“Yeah, good,” Anthony and Daniel agree.

I nod along. Glad they’re feeling good about it as well. I’m pretty damn proud of them. “Well, that’s all for tonight, then. Get some rest. Be back and ready same time tomorrow. You’re going to be great!”

I grab my stuff from backstage and head back down to the theater floor. As I walk up the aisle, Luca opens the door from the lobby. “I heard there was no music,” he says. “So, I thought maybe you were done.”

“Yep,” I say. I wrap my arms around Luca’s left arm and lean my head against his bicep. “We can head home now.”

I feel so relieved that the piece went well. I know it doesn’t solve all the problems we’re facing. Life-or-death situations don’t magically disappear. But those feel like they’re nothing compared to what I’ve just accomplished.

* * *

Luca and I head back to my apartment. When we get there, Lexi is home.

She looks at me from the couch with a confused expression. She points at me and then says, “You look just like a roommate I used to have!”

“Shut up,” I say. “I stayed here the night before last. Where were you?”

“Anyways,” Lexi changes the subject. I always knew she could dish it out better than she could take it. “What are you two doing tonight?” She nods at Luca who closes the door behind him.

“Not much,” I say. “I just finished the dress rehearsal.” I look to Luca. “Probably just order some food and stay in?”