Chapter Thirty-Six: Start of the Show

The next week passed in a flurry of activity. Everyone was rushing around, getting things at the theater ready for Night of the Stars. I was working on the final touches of my costume in between rehearsing the two acts I was in. Maggie and Jamie were continually practicing their dance routine, and coming up with clever things to say as they played the part of the Mistresses of Ceremony. And other acts were just flat out nervous about performing. But while everyone was stressed out, we were also having a lot of fun, and working on the variety show was my favorite thing to do every single summer. Yeah, it left me wanting to pull my hair out some nights, but the final product always turned out amazing, and the exhilaration and fulfillment were worth it.

At last it was the night before the big show, and everyone was upstairs, enjoying pizza. Mrs. Gardens and Mr. Gardens were too tired to cook anything, as were Maggie, Erik, and I, so we sat munching our junk food in the living room. It was decided Erik would be staying with the Gardens, until the secret panel in the theater was repaired… but he didn't seem to be in a huge rush to get it fixed. So he was sitting by me on the couch with an arm around my shoulder, also enjoying supper. I had a feeling that as long as I stayed in the house with everybody he'd be there too. And I think everyone was okay with that.

"You know, even though I'm taking time off work," Mr. Gardens said, looking at all of us, "I think I'll have to take another week to actually have a vacation." We laughed. That week Mr. Gardens had been helping out at the theater, by being my accompanist and working with Mrs. Gardens on advertising and other matters that had to do with the show. It meant a lot to everyone in the house that he would willingly step away from his company for a week to help us with the show, and be involved.

"I think all of us will need a vacation after this." Maggie sighed, "But I know this show is going to be awesome!"

"Mrs. Gardens," Erik said suddenly, looking up from his dinner plate, "do you think that, before the doors open tomorrow at the theater, you can get me inside the auditorium?"

"Why Erik?" She asked.

He grinned. "I think the Theater Ghost needs to make an appearance in Box 5."

She chuckled. "Well, I think I could sneak you in. Call for the cast is at five, so can you be ready to leave here by four?"

"Of course. We need to sneak me in before anyone gets there."

"That's the plan."

"Does it look like it's going to be a good show?"

"Well duh." Maggie said, "It always is. And you should've seen Chris today at dress rehearsal."

He gave me a playful glare. "Well, if she would show me what she's going to wear now for her personal act, I would know what to look for on stage!" He teased.

I giggled. Maggie and I had gone into town the Saturday before to buy me a dress for my act. I have always had this crazy belief that a dress for the stage should never been worn outside it's intended performance, unless it was for rehearsal. And I had been driving Erik crazy, not telling him what I was going to wear. During our lessons he would go on and on about him 'being an artist' and wanting to 'visualize my performance' while I sang.

"I all ready told you it's white." I said, "What more do you want?"

"Okay, so that narrows it down to about five million dresses in the world."

I stood up to make my way back to the kitchen, so I could place my plate in the sink. "Would you like some whine with that cheese, love?"

"Oh, knock it off you two!" Mr. Gardens laughed, "Or I'll start singing!"
"NO!" Everyone yelled at once. Even though he was a great piano player, everyone agreed that Mr. Gardens was better off singing 'solo'… so low no one could hear him.

That night I managed to fall asleep by midnight, which was a miracle considering how nervous I was. But I had to rest up, since I knew of the long day ahead of me. No one had to be at the theater until call at five, and then the show started at seven. Just the waiting to be on stage would make me anxious enough though, and I knew that I would want to run through my song at least once with Mr. Gardens before hand.

The next day I was up by eight, even though I could have slept in. I had tried to go back to sleep, but excitement filled me, so my efforts were in vain. I listened to the stillness of the house, to see if anyone else was up, but heard nothing. I got out of bed and trudged upstairs into the kitchen, ready to pour myself a nice, cool bowl of chocolate Cheerios. Instead, another sight met me that was so hysterical, I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't burst out laughing and wake up the house.

There was Erik, leaning over the stove, whipping up pancakes. Now, that wasn't the funny part. The funny part was that he was wearing an apron… a powder blue frilly apron with a purple bow, something that I recognized from Maggie taking Home Ec this year. Underneath he was wearing jeans, and a red button down shirt with his mask on, and socked feet. He really looked quite nice, but that apron…

After flipping about six pancakes and sliding them on a plate with a spatula, he turned around and saw me in the doorway. That was when I noticed the large purple heart on the apron, sewn on my Maggie's (at the time) inexperienced hand. I couldn't help it then. I burst into a fit of giggles, trying to silence myself by planting my hand over my mouth, but it was no use. I was giggling so hard, I actually slid down on the floor and sat against the wall, trying to contain myself.

"I don't look that funny." He stated, putting the plate of pancakes down on the kitchen bar, and crossing his arms over his chest to glare at me.

I nodded, tears in my eyes. "Actually, yes you do." I chuckled, trying to stand back up.

"Well you look funny too." He said, eyeing my purple polka dot pajama bottoms and top. "Like a purple people eater with frizzy hair."

"Oh good, we match. With your purple heart and my ensemble, we could lead a parade. How about that, Barney the Dinosaur?"

"Really now?" He said, giving up his glare and finally smiling. "That's just an insult my dear. I sound ten times better than Barney."

I at last quit laughing, and stood up to walk over and hug him. His arms found themselves around my waist, and he gently kissed my forehead.

"Good morning beautiful." He greeted.

"Good morning Barney." I teased, "I thought you said I looked like a purple people eater."

"Well you're my purple people eater." He chuckled, stepping back to untie the apron, and hang it on a hook in the wall, "This thing was the only covering I could find. Well, either that or an apron covered with Easter bunnies and eggs."

"Oh, now that one would've been a blast to make fun of." I said, "But anyway, what are you doing up so early?"

"I've been up for a while." Erik sighed, "I woke up at seven and couldn't go back to sleep. Then I heard you stirring in your room, and I thought, why not make you some breakfast?"

I grinned. "Thanks, Erik."

"Hey, today's a big day for you." He said, walking over to the cabinet to fish out two other plates for us, "I thought I'd do something special."

Soon we were sitting down on two bar stools, eating at the kitchen island. I took a bite into one of my three pancakes, and my taste buds exploded with happiness. The pancake itself was hot and fluffy, while I could taste a bit of white chocolate, and some kind of nut.

"Are there almonds in here?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered, "Mrs. Gardens used to make these for me when I was younger: almond and white chocolate pancakes. I finally got the recipe and learned to make them myself."

I turned his face toward mine, and carefully lifted the mask off him. "Thank you." I said, kissing his lips, "Erik, you're too amazing to me."

"You're amazing to me, every waking moment of every day. And sometimes, in my dreams." He said.

I felt my heart flip when he said that. If every person in the world had heard what he just said, no one would question why I was so deeply in love with this man.

"Are you nervous about tonight, Christine?" He said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yes." I confessed. "I'm terrified to be honest."

"Hey, you and Mr. Gardens are going to be amazing. And I'll be there, watching you. You'll be the star of the show. And afterwards, you'll go to Beat of the Sea, and meet your adoring fans."

I laughed. "Adoring fans might be a strong phase to use, but it'll be fun."

"What's the theme of the party this time?"

"Oh, you'll love this. It's Rock of Stages. Pretty much, rock and roll theme. I'm just going to wear the dress that I perform in to the party though."

"So, since today is the day of the show, are you going to tell me what it looks like?"

"No. But I'll give you a small detail. It's a short dress."

"How short?"

"Not going to tell you."

"Ah, now I learn that my Christine Davis is a tease."

I smiled. "We've made out before. I thought you knew how much of a tease I was."

"Hey, something smells good in here!" I turned, to see Maggie entering the kitchen, wearing pink shorts with a tank top, her usual pajamas. She eyed the plate of pancakes and grinned. "Oh my god, are these Mom's white chocolate and almond pancakes?"

I looked over at the apron on the hook, and giggled. "I guess you could say that."

At that moment Erik gave me his if-you-tell-anyone-what-you-saw-I'll-hunt-you-down stare, and I touched his arm, letting him know that our secret was safe… for at least for a week or so.

I spent the rest of the day either relaxing in front of the TV, or with a book, trying to keep myself chill before the show. I didn't eat much for lunch, only nibbling on a sandwich, before going to Erik in his room to get in a quick lesson before the show. This time instead of Erik playing the piano, Mr. Gardens accompanied me, and Erik gave me a few pointers. Just the usual "use your body subtly to express the song", "breathe", "stop worrying, Chris, you'll be fine". Oh yeah, there was a lot of the latter being said.

After the hour-long lesson Mr. Gardens left to get a quick nap, and I stayed with Erik downstairs. We sat on the floor of his room, kissing, talking… doing the normal stuff a couple would. Which pretty much is slobbering over each other.

"Hey Erik, do you know what time it is?" I asked, as we came up for air after making out.

He looked at his alarm clock, which was behind me, and said, "It's three thirty."

"Oh crap, it is?" I stood up. "I have to get ready then, Erik. I need to get a quick shower, and then blow dry my hair, and gather my things."

"I know." He said, getting up off the floor. "My diva needs to prepare herself."

"Yeah. And you're leaving in twenty minutes anyway."

"Well, say goodbye to me now then, and go get ready."

I leaned into him and we kissed. "I'll see if I can make my shower quick, so I can see you right before you go."

"But in case… I'll see you when you get home after the party, all right?"

I nodded, and then left to grab my first outfit for the show out of my room, which was what I'd be wearing when I sang with Rich. I had a pair of black jeans, high heels, a crap vest with a white tank, and a black fedora. I left the fedora downstairs, but carried everything else with me to the bathroom on the next floor. As quickly as I could I got my shower, which consisted of me, shaving my legs, washing my hair, and then lathering myself in body wash. As I was getting out of the shower and drying myself, someone knocked on my door.

"Chris!" I listened close, and realize the person talking to me was Maggie, "Erik's about to leave!"

"Thanks Maggie!" I said, pulling on my tank and jeans. As soon as I was decently covered, I ran out of the bathroom and toward the entryway.

I caught Mrs. Gardens and Erik just as they were poised to walk out the door. They both turned to me as I was coming down the hall, but I stopped short when I saw Erik.

He was dressed completely in black, from his shoes to his shirt, which was a stark contrast to his white mask. His hair was slicked back, and his clothes seemed like they were tailored just to fit him, especially the dark suit jacket that he wore, which did wonders for his trim figure.

"You look mysterious." I said, gently taking his hand.

"That's my job as the Theater Ghost." Erik said, "To be a force, unseen. But if you want to look for me, I'll be in Box five. You'll be wonderful, my dear."

"With you, I think I can be anything."

"All right, cut it with the romantics." Mrs. Gardens laughed, "We have to go, Erik."

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "I'll see you later, Chris."
"All right. Bye Erik." I then turned to Mrs. Gardens, and saw she was wearing a short green dress, that came down to her knees, with pearls and her hair in a bun. "Oh, and you look nice by the way, Mrs. Gardens."
"Thank you dear." She said, "As do you. I'll see you later."

With that they left, and I moved back to the bathroom to dry my hair.

For the next hour I gathered my stage makeup, curling iron, and my new white dress for my solo performance, and got it ready to go to the theater. I would be doing my hair and makeup there, while possibly helping out the less inexperienced performers. I couldn't believe my weeks of work were finally coming down to this. I knew I had to get tonight's performances right, or I would feel like I failed Erik… and myself.

Finally Maggie and I were ready to go, along with Mr. Gardens. Maggie was in her dancing outfit, which she would also be wearing while she and Jamie MC-ed, and Mr. Garden was dressed in black pants, with a white shirt and belt. He looked like an old soul piano man, someone that could be found playing in a hotel lobby at night.

"You girls look like your ready to go." He said, gazing at both of us.

"Yep." I said, slinging my duffel bag over my arm, with my dress on its hanger in my other hand. "Yes we are."

"All right, then let's get going."
The drive to the theaters seemed shorter than usual, with Mr. Gardens at the wheel talking with us excitingly, and soon we parked and made our way to the entrance, and then backstage. I braced myself, knowing that the next two hours would be absolutely nuts with everyone getting ready.

And it was.

Straighteners, curling irons, and brushes were all in action in the women's dressing room. Older girls, such as I, were helping the younger performers with hair and makeup, while trying to get our own done. I managed to finally get my hair fully curled (and I hair sprayed it to death so that it wouldn't come undone the entire night) and then I had to go into the bathroom down the hall to apply my makeup in peace. I simply put on foundation, powder, dark eye shadow with a bit of gold, mascara, eyeliner, and red lipstick. I also finished applying the final touches to my outfit, which included putting on my crap vest and putting on my gold chain earrings and long necklace. I had chosen my jewelry carefully, so that my accessories would work with both my outfits, and the only thing I would have to change between my first and second performance would be my dress.

I thought of my dress now, and smiled. Maggie and I had looked all day the Saturday before to find the perfect dress for my performance, and after four hours of trying on stuff and searching, we found it in the last shop, near the back on the clearance rack. It was a one-shouldered number, which came down to my knees, was tight at the waist, and then flared out. Hundreds of gold colored beads were sewn around the waist of the dress, accenting my hourglass figure, and gold jewels were bunched together on the one shoulder. It had a sweet heart neckline, showing off my bust, and when I tried it on and fit me perfectly, I knew I had to have it. It cost me almost two weeks of my paychecks from the theater, but I didn't care. I hadn't spent a penny of my earnings, and I thought after working so hard, I deserved to splurge. The gold heels (that Maggie let me borrow from her closet) that I would be wearing were in my duffel bag. I knew that on stage, when Erik saw me, I'd be a knockout.

I finally left the quietness of the bathroom, and went back to the total chaos that was the women's dressing room. It was thirty minutes before the show—now crunch time to get ready. And then, when the last young girl's hair was sprayed, and the final touch of lipstick was applied to a performer, Mrs. Gardens called into the dressing room, "Ten minutes until we start!"

It was then that Maggie and Jamie ran out of the room to go do their opening monologue, and everyone else finally took a minute to breathe. I looked around at all of the performers, including a little girl dressed in pink who had an operatic voice, to Candice who was ready to do her Britney Spears number and, quite frankly, looked like a skank in her too tight, red sequined dress and overdone hair and makeup. We had such a wide range of performers for Night of the Stars this year, and it always pleased me to see such variety.

At last, it was five minutes before the show started, and me and some of the other girls ventured out backstage to watch the show open, me included. I watched from the side, hidden by backstage curtains, as the lights came up on the stage, went down on the audience, and everything became silent.

Suddenly from the other side of the stage, Jamie and Maggie cartwheel-ed on, and the audience laughed and clapped for them. I joined in, and I couldn't keep my smile off my face. As soon as they were standing up, they waved toward the attendees and Jamie said, "Well, we can't top that. See you guys later." They pretended to start exiting the stage, and everyone began laughing again. They went back to their places, and let out their showgirl grins. "Seriously though, thank you all for such a warm welcome. We're so glad you all are here tonight. We have such a great show for you…"

Their opening monologue continued and knowing that they were doing amazingly, I walked back into the dressing room to do some warm-ups with my voice. All the other acts had seen each other over and over again for the past few weeks, so while some stood on the sidelines backstage to support their friends, others tried to calm down in the dressing rooms and make last minute preparations for their own acts.

I knew Rich and I were performing right before intermission, so I had some time to kill. I spent most of it waiting, and then going backstage to seek him out.

He and his band were gathering their things, getting ready to be on stage in ten minutes. The amplifiers for their instruments were all ready set up near the back of the stage on a platform, where the instrumentalists would be performing. There would be two microphones set upon mic stands at the front of the, where Rich and I would be singing. Richard all ready had his wireless guitar in his hands, and everyone else gathered what they needed. Finally the act before us came off, and it was our cue to go on stage.

Jamie and Maggie worked out an awesome skit/monologue, to make us setting up be like part of the show. Jamie and Maggie came on, as we were getting ready, and Jamie walked over to help the band connect their instruments to their amplifies.

"Jamie," Maggie asked from up stage, "what in the world are you doing?"

"Helping out." She answered, "Come on, do you really think these guys' can afford a road crew in this economy?"

People in the audience laughed as Maggie walked over there to pull Jamie away. "Come on," She sighed, "stop trying to be a rockstar."

As they walked off stage (Jamie pretending to struggle the whole way) we managed to get everything set up, just as we wanted it to be. At last Richard walked toward the microphone, and began playing the intro toward the song. Then, he sang:

"I wanted you to know

That I love the way you laugh

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

Away

And keep you photograph

Not know it serves me well

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain"

Then I came in, and harmonized the chorus:

"Because I'm broken

When I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right

When you're gone away"

That performance meant little to me, though I did do my best singing the song, and entertaining the audience. When it was done I was surprised to hear how loudly everyone cheered, and some people actually stood up for their seats. I was hoping that Quinn Lockhart, that producer who was supposedly here tonight, liked it, and that maybe her praise would get Richard off my back.

After the song was done, it was intermission, and as the curtain closed, the band got their things off stage. Everyone involved with that act actually came up to me personally, and thanked me for singing. I smiled, and a part of me was glad I did it. Even if I didn't think Richard deserved any attention from the producer, I believed that these guys did.

Richard came up to me as we finished putting away the last amplifier, and he touched my shoulder. "You did a good job, Chris." He said, "Really, I mean that."
"Thanks." I spat, "I didn't do it willingly. Now, I did my part of the bargain, so you do yours."

"But, I thought you and Erik…"
"It doesn't matter. He still deserves respect when it comes to his privacy."
He sighed, and I watched him like a hawk as he took out his phone, pressed a few buttons to get to his picture file, and began deleting the photos. It took about four minutes, and when the phone asked if he wanted the changes saved, he pushed yes. Only then did I relax a bit.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Yes."
"Do you promise?"
"Chris… I never lied to you. I might have done a lot of things, but I never lied." Well, I'd give hm that.

"Okay. Thank you. Now, goodbye Richard."
With that I turned around and walked away from him. I felt a big weight lift off my shoulders, and I guess everything would have gone smoothly…

If I didn't hear a crash backstage at that moment.

I spun around, and raced toward the sound, knowing that whenever a crash happened backstage in a theater, someone or something was either injured or damaged. Near the stairs where the costume room was, and where we had stacked up the speakers, I saw a group of people gathered, and I pushed through to see what had happened.

Murphy's law states that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and in that moment I found this to be perfectly true. The sight that met me was Mr. Gardens, being helped off the ground by Maggie and Richard, and Candice leaning against the wall, slightly shaking. To my horror, I saw that Mr. Gardens was holding his right hand protectively, and when it came to him being my piano player, I knew that, that only meant bad news.

"What happened?" I asked, as Maggie and Richard sat Mr. Gardens on the stairs.

"Candice was being a freak'in idiot." Maggie stated, "She was screwing around back here practicing her dance moves, and managed to topple over the amplifiers. Luckily, my dad pushed her out of the way…"

"Smashing my hand between two amplifiers in the process." Mr. Gardens finished.

Maggie turned to Rich and ordered, "Go get my mom. She's probably in the women's dressing room, and then ask her where the first aid kit is." He nodded, and ran off to go find Mrs. Gardens. At that moment Maggie began her own examination of her father's injury, aided with her experience with ballet accidents in the past.

"Dad, can you move your fingers?" She asked. He did so with struggle, and nodded. She took his hand, and carefully felt around his wrist. "God, you're all ready starting to swell but, I don't think your wrist is broken, just sprained."

"Great. Then I can still play for Chris." He said.

"No, you can't." I said, "You can barely move your fingers. There's no way you can play with your wrist like it is. I'll just… I'll just have to drop my act."

"Chris, no!" Jamie gasped from behind me, "You've worked so hard."

"You're one of the best ones here." Maggie said, "Do you have a recording of your song or anything?"
I shook my head. "No. I have NOTHING with me that'll work." I could feel my throat tighten, and tears come to my eyes, but I tried to fight them back. "It's all right. There's always next year…"

"Chris, I can play your song."

Everyone turned to see who had spoken. The person stepped out from behind the shadows, and my suspicions as to who it was, were confirmed.

The small group went completely silent seeing Erik, dressed completely in black and almost blending in with the darkness. The guys stared at his mask, while the girls simply stared at him. I was glad Richard was still gone, or he might have caused a scene.

"Who are you?" One of the performer questioned.

"He's a friend of Chris and I." Maggie said quickly. "We invited him to the show tonight."

"I'm just here to help." He said, "I've worked with Chris on her song, and know it on the piano."

I stepped past everyone, and to Erik. "Are you sure you're willing to perform?" I asked, then leaned in and whispered, "It's a risk."
He nodded. "I know, but I'm willing to do it, for you." He said, "This is your chance to shine, Christine."

I smiled, and looked toward Mr. Gardens. He looked back at me, and nodded.

"Well," He said, "don't just stand there. Chris, go get ready for your act!"

Everyone let out a cheer, as I ran back to the women's dressing room to change. On the way there I passed Mr. Gardens and Richard. I decided not to stay anything to them about what was going to happen. I'm sure they would hear it from Maggie anyway.