‘Lily?’ she heard and she turned and saw Paul, her agent from London, standing to the side.
‘Oh hi, how are you? Did you see the show?’ she asked, surprised.
‘Yes, a friend told me you were in it and I thought I would come up and see if you were still as good as I remembered.’
There was a cold breeze in the air, and Lily shivered and crossed her arms.
‘I’m wondering when you’re coming back to London, as you haven’t called me back and I heard what happened atLes Mis, but they said they would see you again and, if not, there are several auditions coming up, closed ones, that I think we need to get you in to sing for, and there’s also a tour withPhantom of the Operathrough Asia. It would be wonderful for you. You’d be an amazing Christine, and you wouldn’t need the wig.’
He laughed at his own joke but Lily forgot to smile.
This was everything she had once wanted, and now it was being handed to her, she wasn’t sure what she thought. Paul was finally paying attention to her but did she want it?’
‘You ready?’ Nick was walking towards her and Lily stood between the agent and Nick.
And suddenly, everything she had been sure about didn’t seem so clear anymore.
Act Three
36
Lily stood still, stuck between Paul and Nick.
This couldn’t be happening now, could it?
The cool night air felt sharp on her skin, bringing her back to reality. It really was happening.
‘Lily?’ Nick’s voice interrupted her thoughts. ‘Everything okay?’
He walked up to Paul and held his hand out. ‘Hi, I’m Nick Stafford.’
‘Hi, Paul Meadows, Lily’s agent. I loved your performance tonight,’ Paul said to Nick. ‘Ever think about doing this professionally?’
Nick laughed. ‘No, I have a job already.’ He turned to Lily. ‘You didn’t tell me your agent was coming?’
‘I didn’t know,’ she said with a raised brow at Nick.
‘Nick’s my boyfriend,’ she said, and the confidence in her voice surprised her. That was one thing she was sure of, even though the end of the night had been weird with Jessica.
Paul sniffed at Lily. ‘I was just telling Lily about some great chances in London.Phantom of the Operais going on a tour through Asia that I think it would be great for her.’
Nick’s hand around Lily’s waist got tighter almost without her noticing. He kept his voice neutral and said, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing.’
Lily felt a rush of love for him. Lily agreed, her mind still racing, ‘It does sound amazing and thank you, but I’ve just started teaching here, and I need to help with my gran. I mean you don’t need to know about that but still…’ She was rambling.Stop talking, Lily,she told herself.
Paul gave a nod of agreement. ‘Of course, but Lily, chances like this don’t come up every day. You have had a quiet spell. It would be good to get back in the swing of things. You’re a real talent. A voice like that is hard to come by. I think you could do Broadway as well,’ he said.
‘I remember this speech,’ Lily said with a frown.
‘What speech?’ Paul snapped.
‘What you just said, it’s what you said when I graduated college. You said, I’m a real talent. A voice like that is hard to come by. And I could do Broadway as well.’
‘It’s the truth – that’s why I’m saying it again,’ Paul said, putting his hands deep in the pockets of his coat.
‘And you said it to Nigel, when he graduated.’
‘Nigel?’
