Well, I'm so sorry for taking so long to get this out to you. I never intended it to take this long, but other things have a habit of getting in the way.
I had some encouragement to get this chapter written: thanks go to Tofu9162 for leaving so many reviews, and also to Missmaraudeur, who is pretty much just generally awesome. Don't tell her I said that though, will you? She would probably get a big head over it.
On with the chapter, and as for the title: I had to go there sooner or later!
Chapter Thirty: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Emily
"No way."
"Emily, it should be relatively simple…"
I shook my head firmly as I looked around at the imploring faces of Cook, Katie and Naomi.
"Did I say 'no way?' Because I meant to say no fucking way!"
We were gathered in the rehearsal space, and the others had filled me in on their plans for the new ending to the show. They had decided that my presence should finally be revealed to everyone – which I thought was a great idea. Everything was to proceed as it normally did, right up until the moment when I released myself from the ropes. Then instead of hot-footing it backstage and out of sight, I was to be moved elsewhere, ready to be revealed shortly after Katie's appearance at the back of the theatre. Then Naomi would say a few words, introducing me to the audience for the first time as myself.
Which all sounded fine, except for one thing: the way they intended to reveal me to the audience. Their idea was to have me dangling from the rafters on some sort of flimsy trapeze.
"Emily, it'll be amazing!" enthused Katie. I wasn't convinced.
"Do I look like a fucking trapeze artist to you?" I snapped. Naomi sniggered.
"Well, maybe in an alternate universe somewhere…"
"I am not going to be hauled thirty feet above the stage on a bit of dowel rod attached to a couple of bits of string!" I insisted. Katie snorted.
"It's not thirty feet! And it'll be easy - you just have to sit there!"
"You do it then!" I barked back. I knew that it wouldn't really work that way round, but her insistence that me risking my neck was 'easy' did nothing to calm my temper.
"Emily, listen to me." Naomi stepped towards me, speaking in a smooth, consoling voice. She ran her hands gently down my forearms, before taking both of my hands with hers. "It's not a bit of dowel-rod, it's a swing. You'll be able to sit quite comfortably." I opened my mouth to argue further, but Naomi didn't give me any chance. "And you'll be attached to a safety-harness, so you won't be able to fall." She took a step closer to me and slid her hands now around my waist, pulling me in to the warmth of her body. "Do you really think I could ask you to do something dangerous?" She asked, gently.
"Well, no…" I felt my resolve weakening somewhat in light of that argument.
"Of course not. Emily, I couldn't bear to see you in danger. I couldn't bear to…" Naomi glanced awkwardly around us, as though suddenly recalling Cook and Katie's presence. "…Well, I like having you around" she added, with a tentative smile. "It's all perfectly safe – we'll have all the equipment triple-checked." I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh.
"I'm not sure if I can do it" I confessed.
"Look, if you're really not happy, then we'll think of something else. But I know you can do this. You're an amazing woman Emily Fitch. I think you can do anything." A warmth spread through me at her words, filling me with the desire to do whatever Naomi asked of me. I felt the corners of my lips twitching upwards into a reluctant smile.
"Okay, let's take a look at the harness" I agreed.
As Naomi led me over to the apparatus that I was to use, I saw Katie staring at her with an expression of grudging admiration.
"You're good, Campbell" she admitted, simply. Naomi grinned broadly at Katie's compliment. "Is that how you persuaded my sister that you're a decent catch?" Added Katie, with a devilish grin.
As it turned out, the apparatus was relatively simple to use. A couple of safety guys showed me how to use it and what would happen. At Naomi's insistence, they went through all of the safety features, explaining them thoroughly. And she would not let them strap me up until they had triple-checked every last inch of the contraption.
"Okay that's good" announced Cook, bringing our rehearsal time to a conclusion some time later. Our practice had gone smoothly, and we all felt relatively confident with the new ending. "We'll have more time to rehearse tomorrow, but that's looking pretty slick so far." He turned towards Naomi. "But you need to get your final speech sorted out." So far, Naomi didn't have a script prepared for how she would introduce me to the audience. She nodded.
"Yeah, I know roughly what I'm going to say. I'll write something out tonight."
The others began to drift towards the exit, and I realised that we had forgotten something.
"How am I going to get back to my room?" I asked. The rest of the group stopped short and turned their guilty expressions towards me.
"Shit, I forgot about that" answered Naomi. "I'm not keen on using James' disguise any more than we have to." I glanced forlornly back in the direction of our dressing rooms.
"I guess I'll have to sleep here tonight."
So that was how I found myself alone in the theatre, contemplating an uncomfortable night ahead.
A couple of hours after they had all left, Naomi returned. She had promised to bring me some things to make my night more comfortable. She arrived backstage with a huge holdall thrown over one shoulder and a carrier bag full of take-away clutched in her other hand. She had the collar of her shirt turned up, and a beanie pulled firmly down over her blonde locks. I smirked at her.
"Is that your idea of a disguise?" I asked. Naomi dropped the holdall to the floor with a dull thud.
"I just didn't want to draw attention to myself that's all" she answered, as she stretched out her shoulders.
"Did you get your speech written?"
"Yeah." She held up the carrier bag she was holding. "I brought us some take-away." I noticed her reluctance to talk about the speech, but I didn't press her on it. Naomi walked towards her dressing room, dragging the holdall behind her. "Just give me five minutes, yeah?" She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. Left alone in the empty corridor, I was feeling slightly puzzled.
A few minutes later, Naomi emerged from the dressing room.
"You can come in now" she told me, with a sheepish grin. My curiosity heightened, I followed Naomi as she disappeared back into the room. The room was dark by contrast to the bright corridor. As my eyes adjusted to the alteration, I realised that the only light in there was candlelight. Naomi must have brought every single candle that she could lay her hands on, and set them up all around the sides of the room. She had pushed the sofa to one side and arranged a make-shift bed in its place. Blankets pillows and a quilt were spread out invitingly across the floor. In the middle were two glasses of wine with the remainder of the bottle, and our take-away already plated up. Naomi's ipod and dock were set up in one corner, with a gentle, romantic beat emanating from it. "Hope its going to be comfortable enough" said Naomi.
"It looks great" I told her with a smile. "Thanks."
She grinned broadly at me.
"Well, I hate the idea of you having to sleep down here, so I wanted to at least make it half-way decent."
"No wonder you brought such a big bag" I mused, casting a glance at the discarded hold-all. "You had loads in it."
"I couldn't fit everything in it" she told me as she sat down next to the food. "The only thing I didn't bring was some pyjamas."
"You know I don't wear pyjamas." I sat down beside Naomi and bumped my shoulder playfully against hers. She smirked at me.
"The pyjamas were for me."
"You're staying with me tonight?" I had hoped that she would, but this was the first indication she had given of that intention.
"Well I was planning to, but now it's awkward because I don't have anything to sleep in." I frowned and nodded sagely, as though in deep contemplation of this tricky problem. "I guess I'll just have to sleep in this" added Naomi, indicating the t-shirt she was wearing. I shook my head.
"No, you can't wear that" I insisted. I picked up my glass and dipped a finger into it. I pressed that same finger to Naomi's shoulder, leaving a single drop of wine on her top. "It's soaking wet." Naomi looked down at herself.
"Gosh, you're right – I didn't even realise." She clicked her tongue thoughtfully, continuing on our little game.
"Well then I suppose…" I began slowly, as though an idea had only just occurred to me. "I guess you could… sleep in… in nothing." Naomi's eyes widened comically.
"But Emily! Won't you be sleeping with nothing on?" I nodded. "We can't both sleep naked! That's how babies happen!"
"We'll just have to run that risk."
We were tired but very contented when we joined the others onstage for final rehearsals the next day. Katie took one look at our dopey smiles and touching hands.
"God, you two have been fucking all night, haven't you?" She asked, a look of mild disgust crossing her face.
"Pretty much" I answered with a shrug.
"Spare us the details." Katie gave a mock shudder, but I didn't care. She had many times shared way too much information with me about her encounters – I was being positively discreet by comparison.
"No, let the ladies share every last moment, if they feel the need" said Cook with a broad, hopeful grin. Naomi just shook her head at him.
"Sorry Cook. What we have is too beautiful to share." As Katie made exaggerated retching noises, we began to get down to work.
We spent the morning walking through the new ending, making sure we all knew how it fitted in to the rest of the routine. For me, this meant spending most of the time on the swing above the stage. My fears of the day before didn't resurface, and I was starting to feel more at ease up there.
After a short break for lunch, it was time for dress-rehearsals. We all emerged from our dressing rooms in full costume. Katie and I were in our matching white leotards – the only difference being that hers had a pair of fluffy wings attached to it. But that difference was about to be addressed. Panda had arrived, and was clutching a similar set of wings that she had made for me. She brought them over to me and showed me how I could quickly slip the straps over my shoulders before I climbed onto the swing. Once the wings were in place, she smiled in admiration of her handiwork.
"Wow, those look whizzer on you! What do you think, Naomi?" Naomi had been deep in conversation with Cook, and needed to be called a second time before she looked over towards us. When she did so, her eyes widened noticeably.
"Hey, I think I'm in heaven!" Laughed Cook, taking in myself and Katie as matching angels. "What do you reckon, Naomikins?" But Naomi seemed suddenly incapable of speech, and resorted to just staring at me. Her eyes raked over my whole body, before finally meeting mine. I swear, they were screaming 'I want to slowly peel that outfit off you and explore every inch of your body' at me. The thought of her doing so sent a dizzying rush of heat straight through me.
"God, would you put your tongue away, Campbell?" Asked Katie, breaking us both out of our staring contest in a flash. Reluctantly, I pushed my little daydream aside – we still had a lot of work to do. But I mentally filed it under 'things to do later when I'm alone with Naomi'.
"Okay, let's start the rehearsals" said Naomi quickly, looking a little flushed.
The rehearsal went fine, right up until the final moment of the routine. I made my appearance on the swing, which was then slowly lowered down to the ground while Katie approached from the back of the theatre. Once we were both onstage, Naomi stepped forwards to address the audience.
"Right, then I give my little speech and we all take our final bows" she muttered.
"It's a full rehearsal, Blondie" called Cook from within the cage at the back of the stage. "Which means saying all of your lines as if the audience was here." Naomi shrugged.
"I just have to say a bit to introduce Emily to everyone, then I ask the audience to keep the new ending to themselves. I don't need to rehearse it."
"We rehearse everything, you know that" answered Cook, emerging from the cage and making his way over to Naomi. She looked down at her feet and fiddled awkwardly with her hands.
"It won't have the same impact with no audience here. I'd rather just deliver it for the first time tonight." Cook frowned at her.
"You're the one who always insists that we rehearse everything."
"Just leave it" she said, dismissively. Cook was not so easily to be persuaded.
"You have written it, haven't you?" He demanded. Naomi sighed.
"Cook, don't worry. I've written it okay? It just won't sound as good until the right moment, so I won't say it until tonight." Katie and I exchanged puzzled glances with each other, both of us curious about Naomi's sudden obstinacy. Cook tried again to persuade her, before seeing that she would not change her mind. He then dropped it, but lapsed into a sulky disposition for the remainder of the afternoon.
The rest of the day flashed by so quickly. Before I knew what was happening, we were all backstage waiting for the curtain to go up. I was well used to the feeling by now, but this time seemed different. I was as nervous as I had been for our opening night. This was it: I was finally about to step into the limelight alongside the others. And the thought of that made me feel like someone had told me details of my parents' sex-life – very queasy.
I glanced around at the others. Cook and Katie were both very quiet – the only sign either of them gave that they were apprehensive. Naomi was attempting her now-familiar coin-roll. A half-dollar rolled back and forwards across her knuckles as she watched it with studious observation. The coin fell to the floor, causing Naomi to curse as she stooped to retrieve it. She tried again, but the result was the same. Clearly, she was very nervous about this night. Not that I was surprised: our whole future depended on what people thought about the new ending for the show.
After a few more failed attempts, Naomi tossed the coin away with disgust. Cook glanced over at her.
"You okay Blondie?" Naomi nodded distractedly. Seeing that she clearly was not entirely okay, Cook walked over to her. He threw an arm around her and pulled her close to him. "We're gonna storm it, okay? The new ending is the dog's bollocks. They're gonna love it." Naomi nodded a little more convincingly this time, and even managed to give her best friend a grin.
I let out an inner sigh of relief. The earlier tension between them now seemed to have passed completely. That was so often the way with those two – they had a disagreement, one or both of them sulked for a while, then it was forgotten about.
"Curtain time."
Those two words sent my mind hurtling back to the present time. I glanced at Naomi, hoping for a smile of reassurance, but she was lost in her own thoughts and didn't make eye-contact. I did my best to swallow down my fears, and watched as Cook and Katie stepped out onto the stage.
I watched most of the show from the wings as I usually did, not having much to do other than double for Katie a couple of times. Once during the severed head illusion, and once when she had a tricky costume change that took longer than she could be off-stage for. But once we reached the final illusion it was my turn to step up. I played the assistant from the start of the routine, while Katie had ample time to get in position at the back of the theatre.
I played the part as I had done in every show so far. Cook put Naomi into a cage then tied me up to the frame, pulling the curtain across to hide me from view. This time, instead of slipping quietly backstage and out of sight, I ran towards the harness. As the safety guys strapped me in, I quickly threw on my angel wings and sat on the swing. Then I was hoisted above the stage, ready to be swung down into view at the right instant.
I listened carefully for the point when Katie made her appearance at the back of the theatre. Normally this moment was met with gasps of astonishment, but tonight there seemed to be a knowing murmur around the audience instead. Just as we had suspected, they had all heard the rumours about there being a secret twin, and were here to see the proof for themselves.
But before the audience had too much time to process things, Katie gestured their attention back to the stage. Now Cook was trapped inside the cage, with Naomi standing triumphantly on top of it. She smiled at the audience, before announcing:
"Ladies and gentlemen… allow me to introduce the final member of our team." She motioned above the stage, which was the cue for me to be swung down into view. I clung tightly to the swing with one hand, while waving to the audience with the other. I smiled brightly, trying hard not to show the lurch that I felt in my stomach whenever I was suddenly dropped down like that. Despite trying to concentrate hard on what I was doing, I was still able to appreciate the reaction of the audience. It was clear that we had taken them by surprise – their excited chatter showed that no-one had expected us to reveal my presence so boldly.
The swing was then lowered slowly to the stage. By the time I reached the ground, Naomi had climbed down from the cage and came over to release me from the harness. Katie had made her way along the aisle and now released Cook from the cage. She took his hand as Naomi took mine, and we all made our way to the front of the stage. The reaction of the audience was still continuing, so Naomi had to wait before making her final speech. Just as the noise had passed its peak, she gestured for silence. As a hush fell, she spoke.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you have all already met the beautiful Katie." She gave a nod and a smile in my twin's direction. "But it gives me great pleasure to introduce you now to her equally beautiful twin sister, Emily." Here she turned towards me with a nod. Then I heard her take a deep breath, readying herself for her next line. I felt her hand tremble slightly in mine. "Emily has worked as hard on this show as the rest of us, but has up to now remained out of sight. I'm happy to introduce you to her all as not just an important part of our team, but also as the woman…" My heart leaped up into my throat. Is she really about to do this? Is the normally private and closed-off Naomi really about to tell the world her real feelings?
Realising that she was not continuing, I cast my eyes to her. She had a suddenly uncertain look on her face, and I realised that my hopes had been a little over-ambitious. With a swift movement, Naomi switched off the wireless transmitter of her hidden microphone.
"I can't believe I was just about to 'out' you to everyone!" She whispered to me in sudden alarm. Warmth rushed through me, as I understood the reason for her hesitation was only concern for me.
"Just do it" I whispered back. Perhaps I was caught up in the euphoria of our successful performance, but in that one second I gave no concern to all of my years in the closet. I just wanted to hear the woman I love declare her feelings for me aloud to the world. Naomi squeezed my hand gently. Are you sure, she asked silently. I nodded back. She switched her microphone back on and turned back to face the crowd. In a calm, steady voice, she continued.
"…But also as the woman that I have fallen in love with." There was silence in the auditorium, everyone wanting to catch each one of Naomi's words. "Emily is the most amazing woman it has ever been my good fortune to meet. She makes me happy every moment that I spend with her." I stood beside her with an enormous grin on my face. I hoped that she wouldn't ask me to say anything to the audience myself – the tears building at the back of my throat would make that impossible. Naomi continued. "And she has made me realise that being in love with someone - being in a relationship with someone – should never mean that you lose sight of who you are as a person. Real love just isn't like that." She turned towards me, her face shining with so much emotion that it was breath-taking. I didn't think about what I was doing, I just acted on instinct. I closed the space between us and pressed my lips to hers. The entire theatre burst into applause, led by Katie and Cook.
As the noise eased away, Naomi and I clung to each other in a tight embrace, neither one of us able to speak. Fortunately Cook seemed to sense this, and stepped forward to close the show in Naomi's stead.
"Well lads and lasses, we've reached the end of our show. Just remember that there are other people here in Vegas who haven't seen it yet, so please keep our surprise ending under your hats, and don't spoil it for the next bunch."
As we all took our bows, the noise level was absolutely deafening. I couldn't let go of Naomi's hand as we stepped off the stage, nor as we came back to take our second bows. I held on throughout a standing ovation, and wasn't sure that I would ever let go of it again.
Once backstage, we all burst out laughing from sheer relief at how well it had gone. We exchanged hugs and congratulations with each other.
"Nice speech, Blondie!" Said Cook. "They all lapped up that emotional stuff!"
"Who knew you had such a soppy side!" said Katie with a grin.
"I certainly didn't."
On hearing those softly spoken words, I turned around to face their unexpected source.
"Mum. I didn't know you were coming tonight." I had been so wrapped up in the moment that I hadn't even heard mum dad and James coming backstage. From the sudden strain in the atmosphere, I guessed that no-one else had either. Dad and James were grinning, but mum's solemn expression was unreadable.
"I gave them comp tickets" muttered Naomi. She was stood by my side, her fingers still laced firmly through mine.
"You were amazing tonight girls" gushed dad, pride written so openly across his face. "All of you were" he added as an afterthought, casting his grin to include Cook and Naomi.
"It was very… modern" said mum. I was assuming she was referring to the inclusion of a rather chaste gay kiss at the end.
"Don't you think they were wonderful?" Prompted dad. Mum nodded slowly.
"Yes. Yes, you were both amazing. I just… I didn't know…" She seemed to be struggling to understand her own feelings. I had never seen her so uncertain as this.
In a moment of uncharacteristic tact, Cook suddenly remembered something that he urgently needed to show to my father. They, James and Katie all drifted away in the direction of the dressing rooms leaving myself and Naomi alone with my mother. A little squeeze of my hand told me that Naomi had no intention of also slipping away.
"You really love her" said mum to Naomi, although her inflection made it unclear if it was a statement or a question.
"Yes I do" was the immediate answer. "How could I not?"
"And I really love Naomi, mum. This is the real thing, okay? It's as real as what you feel for dad."
Mum closed her eyes and let out a gentle sigh.
"I just don't understand why you can't find those feelings with a man."
Frustration bubbled up within me, but I knew that mum was trying in her own way to make some sort of peace between us.
"Fair enough" I said firmly. Mums' eyes snapped open. She looked at me with hope, not understanding my meaning. I moved to set her right. "I don't need you to understand - I just need you to accept it. I just need you to realise that this…" I held mine and Naomi's linked hands up to show her. "…is not going to change. If you can do that…" I left the end of my sentence hanging in the air. Mum looked thoughtfully at me, weighing up my words.
"Okay" she answered softly, almost reluctantly. "I'm not sure I'll ever understand it, but… I'll try to accept it." It may not have been much, but at least it was a start. Maybe her attitude would get better in time, if she wasn't fighting against it so much.
As mum drifted away to find the others, I turned to face my girlfriend. She was smiling apologetically at me.
"I gave them the tickets, and I arranged for someone to bring them backstage after the show. I thought if the two of you just keep talking to each other…"
"Thank you" I told her with a grin. "You did great." Naomi breathed out a sigh of relief. I drank in the sight of my wonderful girlfriend. "Is there anything you can't do?" I asked. She shrugged.
"I'm a crap cook" she admitted. "I can't even make beans on toast." I chuckled, and slid my arms around her.
"That's okay, I'm pretty handy in the kitchen."
Naomi smiled back at me.
"Right, then you can cook all the meals for us both."
Gladly, Naomi Campbell. Gladly.
Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!
