5. January 2024
5
January 2024
D espite Harrison’s claim that Willow had poor taste in food, he joined her and Lili for pho, even topping his with condiments he had claimed—twice—were breeding grounds for bacteria.
‘This is fine,’ Lili said. ‘You should see some of the places I eat at in Shanghai when I visit.’
Harrison’s face creased with disapproval. ‘No thanks.’ He squeezed half a lime into his bowl. ‘You both did a great job today. I think Vaughn Gallo was about as impressed as someone like him can be.’
Willow looked out the window to the traffic now at a standstill, her insides warming at the memory of Vaughn’s praise. It wasn’t so much what he said but the way he said it. The depth of his voice seemed to penetrate to her bones. She couldn’t ignore the childlike excitement she felt when she first saw him standing there and the lift in her chest when he looked up.
She wasn’t normally one for heavily tattooed men, but she suspected that every word and image etched on him carried some sort of meaning. Another form of art to indulge in—and she wanted to see all of it. She had so many questions about the symbols on his knuckles and the flame licking his hairline behind his left ear. While she would never admit it to her overprotective bestie next to her, Willow wanted to know Vaughn Gallo.
‘Lili, now might be a good time to let you know that I’m seriously considering you for the role of Myrtha in Giselle next season,’ Harrison said as he poked at his meal. ‘I think you could bring a lot to that role.’
The chopsticks fell from Lili’s hand into the bowl, her eyes widening. ‘Really?’
Harrison looked at her properly. ‘Yes, really.’
‘Wow. Okay.’ She glanced at Willow, who grinned back at her. ‘I was not expecting that. Thank you so much.’
‘Of course, nothing is set in stone yet,’ Harrison cautioned, ‘but I’ll be watching your progress closely this season. I see no reason why you shouldn’t have a real shot.’
Willow felt a rush of happiness for her, alongside a twinge of envy. She quickly pushed that envy aside, reminding herself that Lili had been with the company for four years. She had earned the opportunity.
Lili’s phone rang in her bag, and she bent to wrestle it out. ‘Bàba,’ she said, looking at the screen. ‘I’m going to take this outside.’ She rose from her stool and exited the restaurant.
Once Harrison and Willow were alone, he turned to her. ‘And there’s something I wanted to ask you too.’
Willow held her breath, going through every Giselle role and dancing each one in her mind as she waited. She would love to play Berthe?—
‘I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to see Les Misérables at Enigma Theatre tomorrow night.’
Her stomach fell all the way to the unsanitary floor. ‘Oh.’
He ate a mouthful of noodles before continuing, ‘They’ve finished their refurbishments. Made significant changes in a very short amount of time. I thought it would be valuable to see what’s possible.’
She was struggling to hide her disappointment.
‘I’d appreciate your opinion,’ Harrison said, misreading her expression as confusion. ‘Interior design isn’t exactly my wheelhouse.’
It wasn’t hers either, but she could appreciate the beauty of a place. She had certainly appreciated it at Titian. Disappointment aside, Willow was not entirely comfortable spending an evening alone with Harrison. She worried that others in the company would find out and draw conclusions. It was bad enough that most people knew she had gotten a place at Victoria Ballet because of her existing relationship with him.
‘Come on,’ he said, flashing her a movie star smile. ‘You love Les Misérables. It was all you talked about when you were fifteen.’
Sometimes it felt like he remembered more about her teen years than she did. He had taken his role as mentor seriously. He was right, though. It was one of her favourite plays.
Brushing her concerns aside, and reminding herself that it was a professional invitation, she accepted. ‘I’d love to. Thank you.’
His eyes creased at the corners as he reached out and gave her arm a friendly squeeze. ‘Excellent. We’ll work out the details tomorrow after rehearsals.’
She glanced out the window at Lili before returning to her meal.
The following night, Willow and Harrison climbed the steps of Enigma Theatre on their way to their seats. People spoke in soft conversation around them. Willow took the opportunity to observe the smaller details of the theatre, running her fingers along the polished handrail as they walked.
‘The wallpaper is stunning,’ she told Harrison.
He slowed his steps to look at it. ‘Certainly makes it a more interesting space.’
‘It gives the space a luxurious feel.’
He smoothed down the front of his expensive shirt. ‘Agreed.’
They reached the top and headed for the dress circle, where they located their seats.
‘Here we are,’ Harrison said, gesturing for her to go ahead of him. ‘I prefer it up here. I find it gives a better perspective of the entire stage.’
‘The seats are great.’ Willow sat and ran her hands over the fabric of the armrests. ‘I wonder whether these are difficult to clean.’
He looked down. ‘Leather would certainly be easier.’
‘But more expensive.’
The lights dimmed, and the theatre fell silent. From the moment the orchestra began to play, Willow was immersed into the world of Les Misérables . Her eyes were fixed on the stage, taking in every detail, from the elaborate set to the costumes. She was transported to Paris, 1815, where she soaked up every emotion, song, and piece of dialogue. Each scene drew her deeper into the story. Though she was dragged out of it every time Harrison leaned in to whisper an observation or give a critique. She eventually grew tired of the constant interruptions and leaned away, putting space between them.
When Javert sang the final few notes of ‘Stars,’ Willow almost burst from her seat. She looked around as she applauded, drinking in the reactions of the audience. Her gaze drifted to the private boxes, three each side, wondering if the luxury added to their experience. To her left, an older couple sat in the box closest to the stage, politely clapping. The second box contained a group of four. They were more interested in keeping hold of their drinks than applauding. But at least they were smiling. The third box…
Willow stiffened when she recognised Vaughn Gallo seated alone.
Harrison must have noticed her reaction because he leaned over and whispered, ‘What’s wrong?’
Her gaze snapped to his, and she forced a smile. ‘Nothing. Just caught up in the music.’
He straightened as the applause died out and returned his attention to the play.
Willow tried to focus on it also, but her eyes kept returning to Vaughn. There was something electric about watching him follow the performance, completely unaware that he was being scrutinised. He appeared relaxed for the most part, an ankle resting on one knee and arms taking up the entirety of the armrests. His jaw tensed periodically, but other than that, he rarely moved. Willow couldn’t tell whether he was enjoying it or not, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would stick around if he wasn’t. She kept waiting for someone else to enter and join him. A date, perhaps. But no one came.
At intermission, the lights came on, and Willow picked up her bag. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’
‘Meet you in the foyer?’
‘Good plan.’
She made her way downstairs to the larger bathroom. The line was out the door and halfway across the room. She reluctantly joined the queue.
While she was waiting there, Vaughn walked by, pulling a cigarette from a silver case. A small part of her wanted him to look in her direction, to notice her. Maybe even to feel her standing there. But the room was pure chaos, with queues for the bar clashing with the one for the bathrooms. She watched in disappointment as he disappeared through the main doors to the street, eyes straight ahead.
Willow remained in line for a few more minutes, making little progress. Then, looking towards the exit, she abandoned her place in the queue and went outside. Her heart rate was elevated as she stepped out into the evening air, greeted by the sound of a tram passing by and laughter spilling out from the pub next door. Looking both ways, she spotted Vaughn leaned against the wall down the footpath, a lit cigarette between his fingers. She watched as his head tipped back to rest against the brick, eyes closing for a moment. The ink on his neck was on full display, and her eyes narrowed on the cross at the base of it.
Slowly, she walked towards him, stopping a good five feet away. ‘Someone once told me that every packet of cigarettes a person smokes takes twenty-eight minutes off their life.’
Vaughn opened his eyes, his gaze landing on her with such weight that she almost took a step back. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Same thing you are. Losing a piece of myself to this musical.’
He pushed off the wall and moved to put his cigarette out.
‘Don’t do that,’ she said. ‘Finish it.’
‘So you want my lifespan shortened?’
Colour rushed to her cheeks. ‘No.’
He took one more drag before putting it out, then slid his hands into his pockets. ‘Who are you here with?’
For some reason she hesitated. ‘Harrison.’
He studied her a moment. ‘You two on a date?’
‘No.’ The word came too quickly, like she was guilty of something. ‘That would hardly be appropriate given his position.’
Vaughn didn’t reply.
She felt the need to explain herself. ‘He wanted my opinion on the refurbishments.’
Nothing changed on his face. ‘And what’s your opinion?’
‘It looks amazing. You can tell every detail has been carefully thought out.’ A car revved past them, and she glanced in its direction. ‘Are you here with someone?’
Vaughn shook his head. ‘No.’
She pressed her lips together. ‘Truthfully, I already knew that. I spotted you from the dress circle earlier and saw that you were alone.’
‘Ah.’ The faintest smile came and went on his face. ‘You should be focused on the play.’
‘I was.’ Again, too quickly. ‘I just happened to glance over.’ She cleared her throat. ‘Do you prefer to watch alone?’
He took a slow step towards her. ‘Depends on my mood. I wasn’t up for small talk this evening.’
‘Oh.’ Her hands went hot. ‘And here I come with the small talk.’
One corner of his mouth lifted. ‘I don’t mind it so much with you.’
She searched his eyes, then swallowed.
‘There you are’ came a voice behind her.
Willow jumped at the sound of Harrison’s voice, then looked over her shoulder.
‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ Harrison said, clearly agitated. ‘Everyone’s going back in.’ He stopped in his tracks when he saw Vaughn standing there. ‘Mr Gallo?’
Vaughn nodded a greeting.
Willow drew a breath and found a smile. ‘Sorry. I spotted Mr Gallo in the foyer and thought I’d come say hello.’
Harrison looked between them. ‘Great.’ His tone didn’t match the sentiment. ‘You enjoying Les Misérables ?’
Another nod from Vaughn. ‘I am.’
‘Good. Well, I’ll steal my date away so we don’t disturb you any longer.’ He extended a hand to Willow, summoning her like a toddler. ‘Let’s go.’
Of all the words he could have said, he chose ‘date.’
Vaughn regarded Harrison for a long moment before his gaze slid to hers, his expression amused. ‘You two have a good evening.’
Heat crawled up Willow’s neck. ‘Goodnight, Mr Gallo.’
He pulled his cigarette case from his pocket, eyes never leaving her. ‘Goodnight, Miss Hayes.’
She turned and walked over to Harrison, who placed his hand at the small of her back as he guided her inside. She stared at the footpath the whole time, not looking up until they reached the doors.
‘I wouldn’t be alone on a dark street with a man like Vaughn Gallo if I were you,’ Harrison said once they were well out of earshot. ‘You need to be smarter than that.’
She kept her eyes ahead. ‘Why? Does he have a history of hurting women or something?’
‘Probably. Nothing would surprise me when it comes to that family. The rule of thumb with them is just because they haven’t been convicted of something, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.’
Willow fell silent as they made their way through the foyer, resisting the urge to look back. Harrison remained painfully close as he escorted her up to the dress circle, as though he were afraid she might flee. The protective big brother act was suffocating at times.
When the lights dimmed once more, Willow’s gaze went to the balcony where Vaughn had been seated earlier, but he was nowhere to be found. She kept looking over, waiting for him to return, but he never did.
The curtain fell, and the audience erupted into applause as they rose from their seats. Harrison looked at Willow with a wide smile. ‘The orchestra was very good, don’t you think?’
‘Amazing,’ she agreed, trying to compete with the noise. Though in truth, she had been distracted through most of the second half wondering why Vaughn hadn’t returned.
After a few minutes, the applause died out and the lights came on. The pair joined the slow-moving crowd making their way out.
‘I appreciate you coming along,’ Harrison said as they headed down the stairs. ‘Always helpful to get a woman’s insights.’
She gave him a weak smile. ‘Not sure how helpful I was.’
When they reached the foyer, Willow moved to walk beside him. ‘I’ll be so happy to see Lili get the recognition she deserves. She hasn’t stopped smiling since you mentioned the Myrtha role.’ Before he could respond, she quickly added, ‘And yes, I realise that nothing is definite yet, but the opportunity alone is huge.’
Harrison nodded. ‘I knew it would make you happy.’
‘This isn’t about me,’ she said, her smile faltering.
‘I’m not allowed to make you happy?’
Willow’s feet slowed. ‘I wasn’t a factor in the decision, right?’ She searched his face for confirmation. ‘This is about Lili’s incredible talent and work ethic. She’s at peak fitness too.’
Harrison gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. ‘Lili will make the perfect Myrtha. Seeing you happy is just a bonus.’
The uneasy feeling in her belly remained. She really hoped he wasn’t offering the part to Lili as a favour to her. She didn’t want to be a factor in Lili’s success, because she knew how important it was to a dancer to earn it, in the same way Willow never wanted any special treatment from Harrison because of their shared history. Past and present had to be kept separate.
‘Lili was always going to outgrow the chorus eventually,’ Harrison said. ‘She’s ready. I know that.’
Relaxing a little, Willow nodded. ‘She is.’
When they exited the theatre, she glanced over at the spot where Vaughn had been earlier as if expecting him to still be there, but he was long gone. She hugged herself against the cooling air and increased the space between herself and Harrison as they headed for the car park.