Lily smiled, and Gran raised her eyes to the heavens.
‘Oh you are in love. I can see it now.’
Lily was silent for a moment, thinking of her night with Nick.
‘I think I am, Gran.’
Gran smiled and closed her eyes. ‘Perfect.’ She was quiet for a moment. ‘Rehearsals tonight?’
‘Yes, not long now. We open in two weeks,’ she said trying to keep her voice cheerful. ‘I really hope you can come and see it, but I understand if you can’t, you know, if things are beyond your control,’ she said leaving the unspoken between them.
‘I’ll be there,’ Gran whispered. ‘I’m just a bit tired now but I’ll perk up.’
‘You should rest,’ Lily stated, straightening up and adjusting Gran’s bed linen. She leaned down and kissed Gran’s forehead. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow.’
‘Lily.’ Gran grabbed her hand. Her grip was strong, despite her weak appearance. ‘Don’t do anything you don’t feel passionate about in life, you know, the big things. Just try everything that speaks to you,’ she said, her eyes bright. ‘Don’t waste your time here living another person’s life. Live your own.’
Lily nodded, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. ‘I won’t, I promise,’ she said as Gran then let go of her hand.
‘Now go, I need my beauty sleep.’
Lily left the room, closed the door and leaned against the wall outside Gran’s room. Her chest was tight and tears fell. She had never seen Gran look so vulnerable and she knew what Nick was saying was true. The realisation struck her like a physical blow: Gran was dying. This was it, and the question was: would she get to see her sing one last time?
Lily walked out of the hospital in a fog, not noticing the busy reception area or the sliding doors that opened for her. As she stepped outside, she felt the fresh air on her face and took a deep, trembling breath.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Sheila sent a text:
Rehearsal in thirty minutes. Do not be late!
Lily looked at the message, her eyesight blurring. How was she meant to attend rehearsal now? How could she sing and dance while Gran lay in a hospital bed looking so unwell?
But she knew exactly what Gran would say. ‘The show must go on,’ she would insist, her blue eyes gleaming. Lily could almost hear her own voice.
It felt like she was walking through tar as she headed to her car.Keep it together,she said to herself as she started the drive to Appleton Green.Concentrate on the show, concentrate on Nick,she told herself, and she thought of them singing the Cole Porter classic together, the way their voices sounded so perfect together, the way they kissed, the way their bodies fitted together.
‘Concentrate, Lily,’ she said loudly in the car, attempting to collect herself. ‘Onwards,’ and she drove to rehearsals.
When she arrived, she could see some of the cast members approaching the hall, chatting and laughing. She envied them and their moods and she took a moment.Don’t bring bad energy into the rehearsal space,was one of the biggest lessons she had learned at university and never had it been more apt than this moment.
She took a deep breath and exited the car, walking towards the entrance. She smiled as she pushed the door open and walked inside and gasped.
The makeshift stage that she had become accustomed to was gone and in its place was a beautifully built set that could have been used in a professional show. The entire hall had been transformed, in fact, with the old walls now hidden behind carefully painted sets of London streets in the 1800s.
The stage was lined with intricately designed shopfronts and lampposts, making a lively, three-dimensional cityscape, and there were even lampposts along the aisle, carefully placed so they didn’t disrupt the view of the audience but still lent ambience to the room.
On stage was the Covent Garden flower market, complete with flower carts and vendor stands with lots of artificial flowers. The attention to detail was amazing, from the floor that looked like it was made of worn-down cobblestones to the lighting that was meant to look like gas lights. Lily could almost smell the scent from the pretend flowers and hear the city’s noise.
She stood in shock, as she realised that this amateur show had all of a sudden become very professional. The set wasn’t just a background; it was a live, breathing part of their show that made it better than she had imagined.
‘Jasper, it’s incredible,’ she cried out. ‘It’s absolutely incredible.’
Jasper turned to see her and he beamed. ‘You wouldn’t expect anything less would you, Miss Baxter? Now, we will run Act One from the top.’
Lily nodded, still in awe of her surroundings, and made her way to the stage. As she looked around, she almost prayed that Gran would get to see this.
Sheila cried out, ‘All right, places, everyone. Lily, centre stage please.’
Lily took her place on the stage, and as the scene ran through, she heard her name.
