That made everyone laugh, Texas included. She clutched her side, giggling into her fist. That was good. Encouraging. Maybe this speech wasn’t a complete bust.
“I think what made me fall in love with her, was that every time we were together, we smashed each other’s walls with a hammer. It was ruthless. She put a mirror to my face. I put a mirror to hers. We saw each other at our best and worst. We made each other face our fears and insecurities and loneliness. At the end of it, I was so completely, ridiculously, pathetically in love with her, I couldn’t even see straight. And I screwed it up. Big time.”
This was the hard part. The own-up-to-it part. The part I loathed. I turned to look at her. Her face was searching, her stance lax.
“I’m sorry I was less than you deserve, Tex, but I’m afraid I can’t let you walk away from this. You see, it’s too good, too rare to give up. I said in the cafeteria you weren’t my girlfriend, and you weren’t.” I paused, watching her face twist with shock again. “You were my everything. Still are, baby. You wanted me to make you feel beautiful, but there’s no one half as pretty as you are in this whole goddamn world. Please …” My voice broke, and I bent the knee, like I’d always planned to.
“Don’t break my heart so soon after putting it back together.”
The air was thick in the auditorium as everyone held their breath. I was pretty sure for every second that ticked without her reaction, I lost an entire year of my life. Silver lining: a full minute of that, and I’d drop dead and wouldn’t have to witness my own, very open disgrace.
Finally, Grace found her voice. “On your feet, St. Claire,” she whispered under her breath. “A king doesn’t bow to others.”
I got up and scooped her up, giving people something to look at and talk about for years in this godforsaken town, pressing a dirty kiss to her lips and almost breaking her jaw in the process.
“He does for his queen.”
Grace
Three Years Later.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for the cast of King Lear!”
I step forward, holding hands with my fellow actors, and bow my head. The limelight is on me, the bright yellow hues slicing my figure. The audience has noticed the scars throughout the show, no doubt.
I don’t mind. I’m solely focused on celebrating my very first paid work as an actress at Austin’s Paramount Theater. It is a small part, but it is going to pay the bills and then some.
I’m a paid actress.
I do what I love.
What I was born to do. Even if I tried to convince myself for a second that it wasn’t the case. That I couldn’t pull through.
The third time I bow my head, I notice him in the third row, clapping and whistling.
The love of my life. The man who never gave up on me, long after I’d given up on myself. Easton is sitting by his side, with his girlfriend, Lilian. And … is that Karlie? What is she doing here? She’s supposed to be in DC, having snagged a prestigious internship at a local newspaper.
I can’t help it. A grin spreads across my face. I blow them a quick kiss and duck my head, knowing I’m scarlet-red under my makeup.
The clapping subsides, and all the actors return backstage, hugging and congratulating one another. I slip into the dressing room and switch back to my normal clothes—no more hoodies for me. A pair of tight jeans and a short-sleeved shirt do the trick. We’re going for some after-show drinks down the block, but I’m hoping I can have the first round of drinks solely with my boyfriend, Easton, Karlie, and Lilian.
West and I have been spending a lot of time together with Lilian and Easton ever since I moved to Austin after graduation. West was the first one to move, having graduated before me. He and Easton opened a gym together. They’re super successful, and really hitting their stride. Lilian is their executive assistant, and her click with Easton was immediate.
I still can’t believe how well everything worked.
West stayed in Texas, renting an apartment not even fifteen minutes away from Grams’ nursing home. As I was finishing my degree, I would study in Sheridan during the week and spend the weekends with him. I moved in with him at the beginning of this year, exactly one day after I graduated.
I slip out of the dressing room as fast as I can. My friends are waiting for me just outside the backstage, the closest they can get to the actors before security stops them.
“Karlie!” I pounce on my best friend. We hug and twirl each other around, giggling. It takes us a full minute to pull ourselves together, even though Karlie has been gone for less than four months.