"Bravo! Bravo!" The audience roared their applause. Maria and Johanna bowed along with the cast. When Maria stepped forward, the audience whooped and whistled. When Johanna took her bow, the building exploded with cheers and clapping.
Maria smiled at her fellow castmate. Johanna was crying happy tears. She never expected to be applauded for her debut, never mind handed long stemmed roses. Maria had roses too, she had fans. But Johanna, this was her night. They took their final bow and after the curtains closed, they walked off stage.
"Oh, my god. Holy shit. Pitch me. No way that was- OW!"
Maria and her castmates laughed. Johanna was glaring at her baby sister who was smiling with a "wasn't me" look.
"Very funny. Did I fuck up, especially during the attic scene?"
"Jo, you were fine. You never missed a cue." Her fellow costar, who played Cassie says.
"But I was looking left, not down."
"You were fine. No one noticed. When you told off the grandmother, the song you snag brought down the house. Johanna you killed it." Maria says.
"Jo, you worry too much. C'mon. Let's get change. The twins want to go out for dinner, and I'm starving." Julie says with her stomach rumbling. None of them ate, they were too nervous.
Afterwards, their friends waited patiently as Maria and Johanna signed autographs for their new fans. When they were done, they jumped in the limo Lila ordered and left. Except for Lila, they were all sipping champagne and laughing.
"So, how was it?" Maria asked.
"Amazing. Johanna, why didn't you ever act in Sweet Valley, you were amazing. You were born to be on stage." Billie says. She was still fixing her makeup from the crying she was doing while watching the play.
"What about me? I'm a professional." Maria says in a pouty manner. Than laughs in a "I'm kidding" tone. She acted several times when she was younger, on stage and in front of the camera.
"Same here." Jessica pipes in. She didn't want to admit it, she was jealous. Johanna and Maria were amazing. Jessica knew that if she was there, she would faded in the background. Johanna and Maria were stars. True stars.
"I don't know. I was never interested in acting. I liked singing, but only in private."
"You could have been a star. Who knows you could have attended Julliard years ago."Julie says.
"But music was always your thing, not mine."
"C'mon Johanna, remember that contest we did, alllll the way back in sixth grade? That song we wrote Unicorn Rock? That steps we took to sing that song?" Lila tells her. That was fun.
Jessica says nothing. She was just a background singer. It was just a dumb contest, their friend Janet ordered the Unicorns to enter the contest. They wrote the song and asked their classmates to participate. Jessica and Lila both wanted to sing. Jessica back then was a good singer, but Lila wanted the spotlight. In the end it was Lila that performed. Or lipsang. She was jealous of Jessica's voice, and almost always lost out to Jessica.
What the Unicorns didn't know it was Johanna that was the true singer. Lila overheard her singing and practically ordered her to be in her music video. At least behind the scene. When they won, they wanted them to perform live. It was a mess. Jessica found out Lila was lip singing and wanted to expose her, but had no clue who the singer was. Both Lila and Johanna went to Los Angeles to perform but the guy refused to let in both girls. In the end, Lila forced Johanna to perform on stage. She was a hit, and became a minor celebrity in Sweet Valley Middle School for awhile.
That seed was planted in Johanna's mind. But it didn't blossom until tonight. She was very glad Julie pushed her to audition. She was glad to have Julie and Maria. Both of their supports helped her get over her stage fright.
"Anyway. To Johanna and Maria. Plus Julie. A glass. Cheers." Brooke says holding up a glass. Everyone chugged, except Lila who drank seltzer instead.
Afterwards they were seated in a exclusive section of the restaurant Elizabeth and Maria recommended. Elizabeth and Julie ordered a vegetarian meal, Jessica ordered shrimp, Johanna wanted a steak, Maria ordered salmon, Brooke was eating a BLT and fries, and Lila was eating lobster.
After the plates were cleaned up, they were sharing a bottle of a bottle red wine, except for Lila, since she was expecting. She was drinking apple juice. She was smiling, but on the inside her stomach was turning. Looks like the baby was disagreeing with her choice of dinner.
"Excuse me." She hurriedly got up and rushed out to the washroom.
Her friends watch her walk out sympathetically, especially Billie who had two pregnancies. Her first pregnancy was unexpected, her and Steven weren't expecting it. They were on the pill, but at that time, she was trying out a new prescription since the pharmacy recalled her pills due to a manufacturing error. The company that bought the company changed the formula and didn't bother to warn the women about the changes. Her body didn't have time to adjust to the new pills on time, and she got unexpectedly pregnant.
Seeing the stick, she sobbed. Her and Steven weren't ready. She was still in school, Steven as well. She was afraid. She told a stressed out Steven about her pregnancy and Steven basically shut down. Steven thought Billie was pulling away. She was, but not for the reasons he thought. Steven and Billie didn't know what their next step should be.
Billie went to the women's health clinic to get some answers. To confirm what she was expecting, and to get advice. Sure enough she was a few weeks along. The counselor gave her a list of options, including advice about abortion. Billie was hesitant. It was Steven's baby too. But the woman said it was ultimately her choice. She was carrying it not Steven.
When she got home her and Steven had a huge fight. Especially when Billie mentioned the abortion. But that wasn't the only reason. Steven found Billie's acceptance letter to her acceptance to the prestigious music program in Spain. Steven accused Billie of abandoning him, and Billie accused Steven of trying to control her. They didn't speak for two days, and Steven slept at Mike's. They had a long talk and reluctantly agreed to get married.
A girl's wedding is something every woman dreams of. So Hallmark says. In reality, Billie was dreading it. She had no clue what to do. Her guests, her dress, her decor. She was lost. Steven had no clue either. He asked Alice, his mom to take the reigns.
You heard of bridezillas? Try a momzilla. Alice disregarded everything Billie wanted. Yellow flowers? Nope. It has to be purple. The food, nope. The guests won't enjoy it, despite Steven and Billie liking fried foods. She instead ordered finger sandwiches and pouched eggs. It looked like a Theta Tea.
Her own mom wasn't allowed to have a input. Her guest list was mostly Alice's and Ned's friends plus their coworkers. As for the cake, it was a vanilla cake with buttercream frosting with purple flowers. Shudder. Her dress was nice, at least Billie picked it out. She bought it off the rack. Steven was wearing his nicest suit.
Neither of them told their parents, Billie had a miscarriage. It was tragic and unexpected. They told the twins and both supported them. They were in love, and were living together but this next step wasn't the right time. They had a long talk, and gave a announcement that the wedding was off.
Alice was speechless. She was more devastated at the canceled wedding than anything. For once, she lost her voice. Billie and Steven's relationship was stronger than ever. Luckily for Alice, a wedding did happen. An elderly couple, one of them related to the family came by to say hello to the Wakefield's before they headed to city hall. It was either Jessica or Elizabeth that suggested they get married here. They had everything, except the bride and groom.
They clapped when they got married. Especially Billie. She loved Steven, but now wasn't the time. She and him had a good long talk and she headed to Spain to finish her schooling there. Steven and her had a long distance relationship. She visited home whenever she had time off and during her final year, they discussed getting married.
It was during the twins junior year. Jessica already dropped out, and Elizabeth was home from England. Billie was attending the Wakefield's New Year Eve party when Steven proposed. This time Billie didn't hesitate. She said yes. She remembered the applause, especially the twins.
This time around they planned the wedding. She had her mom helping. To be polite she asked for Alice to order the flowers. But once again, Alice tried hijacking the wedding. Thank god the twins stopped her. She ordered purple bouquets for the bridesmaids. Jessica called the flower shop and changed it to Billie's choice, yellow daffodils, marigolds and yellow roses.
The wedding took two years to plan. Billie and Steven needed to save up for the wedding and honeymoon. Her parents gifted them with a trip to Kyoto, Japan, to any resort they wished. Not wanting to be undone, Alice and Ned gave them keys to a new (used) SUV.
It was perfect. Her dress was exactly Billie dreamed of, a mermaid style dress with lace sleeves, and a vintage veil worn by the women in the Winkler family. Steven wore a tux. They married in the Wakefield's backyard with guests chosen from Billie and Steven.
After they married, they enjoyed their reception at The Red Lion, Sweet Valley University's coffee shop. Her parents asked why, Billie said this is where they first met. She was studying a law book that was hard to find, and Steven approached her and asked to borrow it for his law class. She thought he was the hottest guy she ever met, Steven wanted a excuse to meet her. He seen her in his freshman class, but didn't know what to say. Seeing her studying, it was a perfect icebreaker. They had a good talk and ended up dating that weekend. After that it was uphill. They moved in after six months, with Alice and Ned's disapproval, but it was meant to be. Now they weren't living "in sin" anymore. Alice was too old fashioned.
The reception was fun. They made arrangements to order fried chicken and wedges from their partner, Corral Chicken Palace (same owners) and instead of a wedding cake, they had yellow and blue cupcakes. They even had a purple groom cake for a tribute to Alice. They ate, then danced to their wedding song, "I Love You All Over Again" by Alan Jackson.
Then they spent the night at the Sweet Valley's BnB in the honeymoon suite and left to Japan the next evening. It was there little Austin was conceived. When they returned, they settled in the married life. Steven went back to his lawyer job and Billie went back to teaching. Then the symptoms started. This time they both went to the doctor and squealed in excitement when they were told they were pregnant.
This time they were ready. They moved out of that apartment to the one down the hall. A two bedroom. They had fun decorating the nursery with some input from both parents. They had no clue what the gender was and asked for a gender neutral theme. A beach theme. Perfect.
Steven was so overprotective and scared for Billie's pregnancy. The doctor warned her it was very high risk. Her body was risking losing the fetus. At the advice of her doctor, she took time off work to rest. They didn't want to lose this baby. Billie picked up the guitar and sang songs to her unborn child. She missed teaching. So as a compromise, they agreed for Billie to give lessons but only in their apartment.
She was taking a shower when her water broke. At first she didn't notice, not until she started drying herself. She rushed naked to the living room and told Steven the baby was coming. Thank god for the SUV. Billie's small car wouldn't fit her. Twelve hours later, little Austin was born. Six pounds three ounces.
Now that Austin was three, Billie wondered if they should try again. Give Austin a brother or sister. But not until the trail was over. Plus them getting the loan to buy that house they were looking at. Seeing Lila looking green, she suggested everyone that they return home. They paid the bill and tipped generously.
On the ride back to their hotels, plus Maria and Elizabeth's apartment, Billie gave Lila a number to the women's clinic in Sweet Valley. Lila saw Dr Rollins, but she needed advice. Billie said the counselors there will help Lila with any advice she ever wanted. Lila thanked her and took the card. She already decided. She was going to keep this baby.