Duet Rubato by Claerie Kavanaugh

Author:Claerie Kavanaugh [Kavanaugh, Claerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Claerie Kavanaugh
Published: 2019-07-18T07:00:00+00:00

“Catie? Catherine, did you hear me?”

“Hmm?”

Sam sighs and rubs her temples with her index and middle fingers. “I said, step up.”

“Right.” I climb onto the fitting platform and my cheeks heat up. “Sorry.” Sam clicks her tongue.

“Where is your head today, girl? You haven’t said two words since we started all this.” Two dressers help me into the custom-made outfit Glinda is to wear for the opening and closing numbers. Addie stands to one side, scribbling notes on her clipboard. I shrug and offer an apologetic smile.

“Guess I’m a bit distracted.”

Understatement of the year.

I can’t get the way she looked at me out of my head.

Her eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them and there was something alarming flickering behind the anger. Disgust? Yes, that was there too, but it hadn’t scared me. Hurt? Almost, but not quite. This was something deeper.

Betrayal. Raw and rebellious and panic-inducing, like a starving lion let loose in a colosseum of unsuspecting tourists. She’d looked at me like that once before. And it was a feeling I hoped I’d never experience again. Like I was a lost cause, a hopeless case, someone better to walk away from than fight for.

God knows what Addie thought had happened. I’ve tried to talk to her countless times since but it doesn’t matter. She won’t say a word. Hasn’t since she left the rock climbing gym and Lyssa and I had to catch a bus back home before I had Brayden drop me at the theater.

It’s driving me insane.

I’m not sure what I’m going to tell her. But she deserves to know something. I owe her that much.

The scratch of her pen against the paper makes goosebumps crawl up my bare arms without the whir of sewing machines or snips of sheers through fabric to distract me. The costumes are pretty much finished now, most of them hanging up along the back wall, waiting for Helmsworth’s seal of approval. I bite down on my inner cheek.

I can’t let her distract me. What would Lyssa have to say about this dress?

A smile creases my lips as one of the stagehands closes in on my right, blocking Addie from my view as she slips the thin spaghetti strap over my shoulder, its edges bejeweled with periwinkle, rose, and lavender crystals.

“You look like a princess, Mom!” Lyssa’d say. And I admit, I feel like one. Sam’s design is rather brilliant.

The dress itself shimmers pearl white. The skirt and bodice are dotted with crystals in the same colors adorning my shoulders. They’ve been sewn in the shape of gardenias

The harness we’re using is similar to the one from this morning, called a single-point. It’s identical to the one I wore as Wendy, except Sam added extra padding so it doesn’t kill my inner thighs, thank God. She built the frame of the gown around it. Two pieces of fabric Velcro and clipped together in the back, leaving an extra hook peeking out from the seam at the bodice to secure me into the bubble.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.