A Long Time Coming by Cate Swannell

Author:Cate Swannell [Swannell, Cate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Lesbian, theater
ISBN: 9781619290624
Google: JuZxMAEACAAJ
Amazon: 1619290626
Publisher: Yellow Rose by RCE
Published: 2012-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Present Day

“HI, THIS IS Karen. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you.” Shelby waited for the tone.

“Hey, it’s me,” she said. “Give me a call. I’ve got some news about the tour. I’m at home all night, or you’ve got my cell number. Bye.”

She hung up and tapped the phone’s handset absentmindedly. It had been three weeks since the night she and Karen had spent together, two weeks since the show had closed its run at the Arts Centre. Since closing night she hadn’t heard a word from Karen, but she had resisted the urge to hunt after her.

Maybe I’m missing something here, she thought. But wasn’t she the one who crawled into my bed?

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and wandered back to her chair in front of the TV. Ah well, at least I had a good excuse for calling her. Shelby reached for the hard copy of the email she had received from her boss, the theatre company’s general manager, that afternoon.

“Shel, we’re taking the show on the road,” she read again. “Six weeks from a week on Monday—starting in Cairns and heading west to Mt Isa, back through the mining towns to the coast and then down through Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and Maryborough. Get your crew together and let me know who can and who can’t—it’s short notice, so no harm, no foul, if anyone can’t make it—there’ll be no penalty. But you need to let me know so we can plug the holes. And here’s the really good news—we’re going by train! I know, you don’t have to tell me how much that sucks, but it’s the only way we can make it a viable proposition, and the powers that be mean for us to make some money on this trip. Talk to you Monday. Gil.”

“Ugh.” Shelby tossed the piece of paper into the air and watched it float down on to the carpet. Train was not her preferred form of travel, particularly when that travel involved moving a complicated set, props, costumes, lighting, orchestral and sound equipment, and a bunch of silly actors. Usually the theatre company would hire a semi-trailer or two and a coach for the humans, but this particular production was proving to be a law unto itself. “Bloody bean counters,” she muttered.

In chartered vehicles she had total control of the what, when, how and who, but using the state-run railway meant a whole new level of bureaucracy to wade through every time she had to load and unload her people and stuff.

Shelby had already talked to the props master, costume designer and lighting guy, and they were essentially ready to go as soon as their gear could be loaded. Most of the crew was also available, but Karen and two others had not yet gotten back to her.

Most of her crew were not on salary to the theatre company, but were contracted on a show by

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