Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  He put a lot of expression into the song and brought the words to life, making it seem so effortless. As I listened to the words, it amazed me how much this song probably matched how Miguel felt about his own life, and how he wanted to make his mother… and now his father… proud.

  Caught up in his performance, I forgot to listen to the director’s thoughts, so I quickly tuned in and heard some of the same things coming from everyone there. He was really good… looked the part… wow… he might be the one… how did he look without a shirt? How old was he again? Maybe he could start out as an understudy?

  Miguel finished, and the director stood, which took the others by surprise. I picked up that he didn’t do that very often. “Miguel, would you mind putting on a bit of the costume for us?” The director asked for a stage manager to find a vest for Miguel, then he glanced into the back of the auditorium and asked if Rachel was there.

  I picked up that she was the female lead, and he wanted her to sing with Miguel, just to hear how they sounded together. The small figure of a young woman with beautiful long, dark hair stood from the shadows on the other side of the auditorium.

  As she came down the aisle, she was thinking that Miguel’s voice was pretty amazing. But he seemed awfully young for the part, even if he looked great. She didn’t like breaking in novices, and what if he was a jerk? What about his experience? He had nothing, and it didn’t seem fair to everyone else in the cast.

  She got up on stage at about the same time that Miguel came back out wearing only the vest along with his jeans and shoes. My lips widened into a smile at the intake of breath that came from most of the people in the room. Even Rachel did a double take. He was a lot taller than the former Aladdin, which seemed pretty awesome to everyone, including Rachel.

  The director asked them to sing A Whole New World together. Miguel knew from the agent that Aladdin and Jasmine sang this while they rode the magic carpet. He didn’t hesitate to sing the song to Rachel like she was the real Jasmine and he the real Aladdin. From her response, she seemed just as caught up in it as he was. A spark of chemistry flowed between them and caught the director’s attention. He grinned, liking what he saw.

  At the end of the song, the director stood again. “Really great, Miguel. There’s one more thing. Can you dance?”

  Miguel smiled and nodded, thinking that all of those lessons learning the Jarabe Tapatío and other traditional Mexican dances would finally pay off. He began moving through his steps and got faster and faster, then ended with a big finish.

  “Wow. Great. Thanks Miguel. Uh… go ahead and change. We’ll be in touch through your agent.” He was thinking that he might have to have him come back in the morning and get another opinion from the rest of the creative team. The others who had auditioned were more experienced, and he wasn’t sure he could go with someone so young and unknown, especially without a bigger resume.

  But Miguel was simply amazing. As much as he liked the others, his gut was telling him that Miguel was made for this show. And that kid could certainly dance. Whoa! He was everything in one awesome package.

  Still, it would be taking a big chance on an unknown, and not something he’d ever done before. The resume counted for a lot in this business, and offering him the job would make a lot of people unhappy. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Miguel was special, and if he didn’t sign him now, he might lose him. Curiosity about the new lead could bring people back who’d already seen the show, and there would always be new fans who would love him, too. It could be a huge draw.

  The agent chose that moment to ask the director what he thought, and he got enough of a positive reaction that he knew he needed to sign Miguel with his agency before someone else snatched him up. That meant calling Chris and working out the details.

  Wow. I took a deep breath and let it out. Things had happened so fast, and now it looked like Miguel had a chance at the part. How was Uncle Joey going to take that? What about Miguel? Even as an understudy, he’d have to move here. This would be a big change for everyone.

  Miguel stepped from behind the stage and came toward me with a big smile on his face. He knew he’d done a great job, especially after the stage manager told him that he hadn’t seen the director so excited after an audition before.

  “Good job,” I said, patting his arm.

  “Thanks.”

  The agent hurried over and told us that he’d walk us out. He spoke to Miguel about signing with his agency in case he got an offer for a spot in the play. Miguel readily agreed, with the stipulation that the agent talk to Chris first.

  “Great,” the agent said. “I’ll give him a call and have the papers drawn up.”

  “So is this happening soon?” I asked him. “You think he’s got a part?”

  “It looks promising, but I don’t know anything for sure. I told them you were going back home tomorrow, so we should hear something either tonight or in the morning.” He turned to Miguel. “They might want you to come back in the morning. When does your flight leave?”

  “It’s not set in stone, so we could probably leave a little later if we need to, right Shelby?”

  “Yeah… if they want you to come back tomorrow, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Good.” The agent was thinking that this was moving faster than he thought, but he had a standard contract ready to go. He could work on any changes Chris might want, although he didn’t see a problem unless Mr. Manetto changed his mind. If that happened, he didn’t think Miguel would ever get another chance in this business.

  The agent pulled the door open and ushered us out. “Thanks everyone. Oh… here are your tickets for tonight. I hope you enjoy the show.”

  “Awesome. Thanks,” I said, taking them from him.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.” He disappeared back inside the building, and I glanced at Syd, realizing he’d been awfully quiet this whole time.

  “What do you think?”

  Syd glanced at me, then at Miguel and shook his head. “I think it will be a surprise if he doesn’t get on the show in some capacity. You were amazing, kid. Your dad… well, I hope he’s ready for this.”

  Miguel nodded his thanks, then sighed, unsure how his dad would take it. “I hope he’ll be good with it.”

  “He will,” I said. “You’ll see.” I smiled broadly, hoping it was true.

  “Thanks Shelby.”

  We followed Syd down the street, and I was grateful that he knew where he was going, since I had no idea. “Oh wait! I promised Savannah I’d get her a souvenir. Is there someplace we can find something?”

  Syd glanced back at me with a smirk, thinking are you kidding me? “Of course, follow me.”

  I took in the sights and smells of the street, marveling that I was in the heart of New York City. Syd motioned us to cross the street and led us into the center of a plaza. He stopped and smiled. “Here we are.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Times Square. This is it.”

  My breath caught, and I turned in a circle, seeing the huge, brightly adorned billboards and advertisements with constantly changing lights. I finally recognized my surroundings from seeing it so often on TV and in the movies.

  “Wow. It looks different standing right here in this spot. This place is huge.”

  Around me, bright signs advertising all kinds of things lit up the entire area going halfway up the buildings. The square itself was bigger than I thought. In fact, there was so much going on, that it was hard to know where to look.

  “Let’s take a picture,” Miguel said. He held out his phone and pulled me against him. Then I took out my phone and snapped some more. We laughed and smiled, drinking it all in.

  “This is crazy,” I said. “We’re standing right here in this famous spot!”

  “Yeah… I know what you mean,” Miguel agreed.

  “Hey look! There’s the Disney store. Should we look for something in there for Savannah?”

  “Sure,” Mi
guel said, thinking she might like something from Aladdin.

  “That’s a great…” Oops. I glanced away and tried to come up with something that made sense. “Uh… a great spot for the store.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded, his brows dipping together, not sure he really wanted to go in there. Then he shrugged and glanced at Syd. “Come on Syd.”

  Syd took a deep breath, thinking he’d never been inside the Disney store, and he didn’t want to start now. With a shake of his head, he followed us in. We managed to stick together, mostly because we were all looking for the Aladdin section, but it was hard not to get sucked into some of the amazing displays. Still, once we found Aladdin, the lack of items was a little disappointing.

  Jasmine was on everything, and there were a couple of Aladdin and Jasmine dolls, but that was it. Plus, pretty much everything here was for little kids. Miguel was thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Savannah was too old for this stuff, and this place was starting to get to him. All the toys… all the kids. What was he doing in here?

  “You know… maybe we should look somewhere else,” I said.

  “That’s a great idea,” Miguel answered, grateful to get out of there.

  Syd let out a relieved breath. “There’s a real souvenir shop not far from here.”

  We made it out of the store and crossed the street, dodging lots of people to find the shop. Inside, Miguel picked up a cute little stuffed bear that had “I Love New York” written on it. “Do you think she’d like this?”

  I laughed. “I think she’d love it.”

  We found a couple of other things that I had to buy, one of which was an “I Love New York” t-shirt for me. I got Josh an “I Love New York” baseball to go with the theme, and I got Chris a New York license plate that said, “fuhgedaboudit,” which I knew would crack him up.

  Then of course, I bought me a pair of silver earrings that had nothing to do with New York except that they would always remind me of this trip.

  I took everything to the register and glanced up to find both Syd and Miguel with pained expressions about the whole shopping thing on their faces. “Hey… why don’t you guys wait for me outside while I pay for this?”

  I didn’t have to tell them twice. By the time I got through the long line, and paid a bazillion dollars, I was ready to get out of there myself.

  I came outside and glanced in both directions, but with the huge crowds of people, I couldn’t find either of them anywhere. I pushed my panic down and took a couple of deep breaths, then held still and looked harder. They couldn’t be too far. I mean, they wouldn’t just leave me, would they?

  “Shelby!”

  I turned toward Miguel’s voice and found him waving at me. With a relieved sigh, I hurried to his side. He handed me a soft pretzel dipped in sugar and cinnamon. “We saw these and had to get some.”

  “Oh nice. This looks amazing. Thanks.” Enjoying every bite, I gladly followed Syd and Miguel back through the crowds to the hotel.

  Syd stopped in the lobby, checking his watch. “Frank wanted to have dinner with you before the show, so you’ll need to come back here at about six-thirty. The show starts at eight, right?”

  I pulled out our tickets to make sure of the time. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “Okay. The restaurant seating is right over there.” He pointed to the back section of the lobby, where several people sat at tables covered with linen tablecloths, crystal goblets, and candles. “I’ll come find you after dinner, at about seven-twenty, and walk with you to the show.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Syd.”

  He nodded and left. Miguel and I took the elevator to our rooms. Miguel used his keycard to unlock the door, and we hurried inside. I pulled the stuffed teddy bear out of the bag and propped it on the table. It was just so cute that I knew Savannah would love it, especially if she knew Miguel had picked it out.

  Miguel’s phone rang. He retrieved it from his pocket and glanced at me with surprise. “It’s your husband.”

  As they talked, I picked up that Chris had just gotten off the phone with the agent and wanted to let Miguel know that he was going over the sample contract the agent had sent him. He told Miguel he would talk to Uncle Joey about the terms and didn’t want him to sign anything before that.

  “Okay. I won’t,” Miguel said. Chris finished up, then asked Miguel if he could talk to me. “Sure. Here she is.”

  “Hi honey,” I said. “How’s it going?”

  “Good. Sounds like Miguel did great.”

  “Yes he did.”

  “I want to hear all about it. Will you call me after the show tonight?” I told him I would, and we chatted for another minute before disconnecting.

  “I told my dad I’d call him after the audition,” Miguel said, taking his phone from me. “Wish me luck.”

  I did, and Miguel took a deep breath. His mind was full of apprehension, but with a lot of hope mixed in. He hurried into his room and shut the door. I shook my head and went into my room as well, knowing that Uncle Joey would probably call me as soon as he got done talking to Miguel, and I didn’t want Miguel to hear what I had to say to him.

  Sure enough, a few minutes later, my phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Is it true?” Uncle Joey asked, not wasting time on pleasantries.

  “Uh… well, the agent seemed to think it looked promising.” I told him everything I’d picked up, even the part about the other person the director had liked. “He might want Miguel to sing again so he can compare them, hopefully sometime tomorrow morning before we need to leave.”

  “Do you think he’ll start out as an understudy then?”

  “Well, either that or the lead. You have to remember he’s an unknown talent without much of a resume, so I think it would be a miracle if he got the lead. On the other hand, the director really likes him and wants to cast him for the part. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

  “I can’t believe it,” he said. “I thought he might have a chance but… this is all happening so fast.” He swallowed and took a breath. “To be honest… I don’t want him to go.”

  His declaration caught at my heart-strings. I knew if Josh or Savannah wanted to move halfway across the country right after high school, I’d have a terrible time. “Yeah, I understand. It’s a lot to take in. I think Miguel’s a little torn too. Don’t get me wrong. He’d love to do the show, but he doesn’t want to leave you, either.”

  “Thanks Shelby. That means… a lot.” He cleared his throat. “So… what do you think of Frank?”

  “Well… we’re having dinner with him and Sylvie in about forty-five minutes, so I’ll know more then, but I think he’s great. He loves this hotel, that’s for sure. Um… he also knows all about your arrangement with Syd.”

  “He does? Hmm… well, that’s good to know. And… keep your ears open for anything else while you’re there, okay?”

  “Sure,” I agreed.

  “Good. We’ll talk later.”

  We disconnected, and I sank down on my bed, then stretched out and pulled a pillow under my head. Had Uncle Joey gotten a little teary-eyed there? Whoa. That was something I never thought I’d see. Of course, he understood what a big deal this was. Probably a lot more than Miguel realized.

  Things were about to change in their lives, and I was grateful I had a few more years before I had to go through that with my own kids. It reminded me of how I couldn’t wait to leave my parents behind and rush out on my own without a thought about how they felt about it.

  Of course, on second thought, that was probably a good thing. We all needed to forge our own paths, which meant that change was the one thing in life that was always constant. It was better to get used to it, than try and fight it.

  I took a quick shower without getting my hair too wet, then took my time freshening up my hair and makeup. Nearly ready, I even spritzed on some of my favorite perfume. After slipping on my black lace dress, I sighed with gratefulness that I’d brought it. There was somethin
g magical about being here in New York and, in this dress, I felt like I fit right in.

  But I missed Chris. I wished I could hear him say “oh baby, oh baby” after he got a good look at me all dressed up. But if Miguel got the part, we’d come back, and I could wear it again. With that happy thought, I sauntered into the sitting room.

  Miguel waited on the couch, fiddling with his phone. As I stepped into the room, his eyes widened. “Whoa. You look great.” He was thinking how lucky he was to have a cousin like me, one that he was proud to be with.

  “Thanks,” I said with a smile. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starved.” He hadn’t eaten much because of his nerves, but with the audition over, he was finally hungry again. I noticed that he wore the same jacket and jeans, but with a different shirt. He looked great and more relaxed than I’d seen him all day.

  We took the elevator down to the lobby and hurried toward the restaurant. Glancing around, I couldn’t find Frank anywhere, but the hostess smiled with recognition at our names and led us through the tables to a private room.

  She opened the door, and we found Frank sitting at the beautifully set, round table. He jumped up and smiled, relieved to see us. “Come in and sit down. Sylvie will be here in a minute.”

  As we took our seats, I picked up that Frank was anxious about something. He could hardly look me in the eye, and alternated between uneasiness and excitement. I glanced at the table and realized it was set for five instead of four.

  My stomach clenched, and a shiver of dread ran down my spine. “Is Syd joining us?”

  Frank’s brows drew together, and he wondered why I would think that. He was no relation to us. “Uh… no. But Sylvie’s bringing… oh here they are.” He jumped to his feet again and ushered Sylvie and another woman into the room.

  He stood beside the newcomer, and his face broke into a huge smile. His eyes even got a little moist with unshed tears. What was going on? I listened to his thoughts, and a wave of shock stabbed me in the heart. My breath caught, and my heart began to race, then my eyes bulged, and I even got a little light headed. No! This couldn’t be happening. Not this!