by M. J. Duncan
Once the back-and-forth of the main curtain call had finished, Mallory made her way to the side of the stage to collect Clara for her turn in the spotlight.
“Pretty sure this is supposed to be Addison’s job, yeah?” Clara laughed as Mallory offered her her hand.
“She thought this would be a more fitting end to the evening,” Mallory shared as she gallantly led Clara to center stage. “And besides,” she continued as she spotted Addison turning toward the opposite wing, “this way it left her open to collect Nina.” She laughed at the way Clara’s eyes widened. “Breathe, Martin.”
“Sod off, Collingswood,” Clara murmured out of the corner of her mouth as she turned toward Nina, who was crossing the stage toward them in a stunning black gown.
Mallory fell back a step to stand beside Addison as they gave Clara and Nina their time in the sun. Once Nina and Clara had sufficiently basked in the audience’s applause, they fell into position at their sides—Clara to Mallory’s left and Nina to Addison’s right—and bowed one last time before the main curtain cascaded back to stage and the assistant stage manager rushed to catch the tabs to hold them shut.
“Corps, dismissed,” Nina called with a smile. “I shall see you lot Tuesday morning for class. The season might be done, but that’s no excuse to not be in top form for our tour this summer.”
A chorus of, “Yes, Nina,” echoed around the stage as the corps dancers took their leave.
Nina turned to her four stars as the stage began to empty. “You four were wonderful. Enjoy these runs—you have earned them.”
Mallory expected Nina and Clara to take their leave at that—as performers, their obligations were not quite met for the evening, but there was no reason for them to stay any longer—but they lingered in the liminal space between the curtains as Matt and Gabs slipped through the tabs.
“Well, Clara…” Nina asked once it was just the four of them.
Clara grinned. “Absolutely. It would be my honor.”
“That’s what I thought,” Nina chuckled. Mallory and Addison shared a confused look, which made Nina laugh harder. “It’s good news, I promise.”
“Brilliant. Am I going to be clued-in as to what that good news is?”
Now it was Clara’s turn to laugh. “Yep. You both will be fully briefed Monday morning at eleven when we meet in Max’s office.” She looked at the tabs that fluttered open, and added, “But, for now, just enjoy this. Lord knows you’ve earned it.”
“And on that note, we shall leave you to your adoring public.” Nina smiled as she looped a hand around the crook of Clara’s arm. “Do not disappoint them.”
“Of course not, Nina,” Addison deadpanned as Clara led Nina into an elegant spin and led them toward the wings.
“What was that about?” Matt asked.
“No idea,” Mallory murmured.
“Sounds like they’re not done with you yet,” Addison added, grinning at her friends as she tipped her head toward the amphitheater.
“Let’s do it together,” Gabs suggested.
Addison laughed. “So you can leave us to god knows how many runs while you disappear?”
“Bloody right. We’re not the stars of this show. All of that applause”—Matt winked at them as he slipped a hand through the gap in the tabs and pulled the curtain open—“is for you. So go soak it up. I don’t know if you quite realize how incredible you were tonight, but you deserve this moment. Go enjoy it.”
Mallory arched a brow at Addison and smiled when a sure hand slipped into her own and tugged her forward. The audience’s applause swelled as the four of them emerged, and Mallory laughed when Gabs and Matt broke away almost immediately to applaud them alongside the crowd.
“And there they go,” Addison murmured, her tone amused as they ducked through the tabs with one last wave.
Mallory would have responded, but the noise inside the opera house rose a good half-dozen decibels at Matt and Gabs’ exit, so she instead just squeezed Addison’s hand in solidarity before letting go so she could wave to the audience that was on their feet applauding their effort. Later, they could plot their revenge but, for now, there was nothing left to do but smile and wave and enjoy the moment.
“Siobhan wants us to bring a salad for toni—” Mallory grabbed onto Addison’s waist to keep from knocking her over as the dancer stopped suddenly in front of her as she was reading the text she had just gotten from Siobhan. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine, love.” Addison shook her head as she pointed to a black and white framed photograph hanging on the exposed brick wall of Higher Ground that certainly hadn’t been hanging there the last time they had stopped in.
Mallory gasped softly as she drank in the sight of her and Addison on stage at the Royal Opera House. She was braced on her left leg with her right extended in a line behind her, while Addison seemed to hover on the pointe of her shoe in front of her, fingertips resting lightly on the scroll of her violin and her left leg lifted behind her in a line that continued the angle of Mallory’s extended leg. It was the hold Nina had chosen for the mailers at the beginning of the campaign and, while that shot had been incredible, the months of rehearsals that had happened since then was clearly evident in the sharp lines of their bodies and the seemingly effortless way they pulled it off. “Wow…”
“Ah, damn,” Lena’s laughing voice interrupted them. “I was hoping to see your faces when you saw it for the first time. It’s brilliant, right?”
“It’s incredible,” Mallory murmured. She stepped closer to Addison and wrapped an arm around her waist as she murmured in her ear, “I almost can’t believe that’s us.” Addison laughed, the sound light and awed and happy, and Mallory smiled as she kissed her cheek. “You like you’re floating…”
“I always feel like I am when I’m with you,” Addison whispered as she sank back into her. “God, Mal…look at us…”
Lena cleared her throat softly. “Is it okay?”
“It’s the most beautiful photograph I’ve ever seen,” Mallory assured her as she finally tore her eyes away from the frame.
Addison nodded in agreement as she turned in Mallory’s arms to look at Lena. “What would it take for us to get a copy of that?”
Lena grinned. “I’ve got it behind the counter for you already.”
“Of course you do.” Mallory chuckled fondly. “Seriously, though, how were you able to get a copy? Doesn’t the ballet hold the rights to his photographs?”
“They do.” Lena nodded as she led them toward the register with a little wave. “But Pierce and I go way back, and Nina doesn’t have a problem with him slipping me a picture to put up on the wall here every now and again. It’s not like I’m selling the prints and, besides, it’s free publicity.”
“Fair point,” Mallory agreed as Addison took the large manila envelope Lena offered them.
There was a sparkle in Lena’s eyes that suggested there was more in the envelope than the photograph they’d been discussing, and Mallory peered over Addison’s shoulder as she opened it. “That’s more than one print,” she observed as Addison reached into the envelope.
“It is,” Lena confirmed, her tone light and playful, with just a hint of oh my god just hurry up already.
There were four copies of the print they’d been admiring when Lena found them—two in color and two that were black and white—but that wasn’t the end of their surprise. “We weren’t sure if you’d prefer the artsy one or the color one, so he included both. And then there’s the—”
“Oh…” Addison’s breathy exclamation interrupted her as she fanned through the stack of prints and saw the additional shot that had been slipped into the pile.
Mallory echoed the sentiment as she wrapped her arms around Addison’s waist and rested her chin on her shoulder. She had been so, so wrong when she’d said the picture of them dancing was the most beautiful one she’d seen. This one was. It was a simple candid of the two of them sharing a tender kiss in the liminal space between the main c
urtain and the less glamorous drop curtain that hid the working part of the stage from the audience during encore curtain calls, and the combination of the dimmed lights and the dark crimson curtains and their dresses created the most romantic image she had ever seen. The shot of them dancing was striking and beautiful and artistic, but this was soft and warm and open and unguarded, and it stole the breath from her lungs. She squeezed Addison’s waist and whispered against her ear, “I love you.”
She smiled at the way Addison melted into her as she replied softly, “Love you.”
“God, you are so cute,” Lena laughed. “I’m glad you like the pictures.”
“Why so many copies?” Mallory asked as Addison tapped the pages into a block so they’d slide easily back into the envelope.
Lena shrugged. “Figured you’d both want them.”
“Besides, this way I can put them up in my dressing room and then the others can be put out at home,” Addison chimed in.
Lena’s eyebrows lifted as she waved a finger between them. “Wait. So does that mean you’re…”
Mallory nodded and held Addison just that little bit tighter. “After we’re both back from touring, but before next season.”
They’d only broached the subject the day before but, for all her fretting about moving too quickly or messing things up, it had ended up to be an entirely unremarkable conversation. She had planned on bringing up the idea of Addison moving in with her once she had returned from her summer tour, but Addison had made a comment while they had been lounging on the couch binge-watching Warehouse 13 about how she wished she had an artifact that would teleport her clothes from one apartment to the other when she needed them, and it had just…happened. Much like everything in their relationship, deciding on this next step had been so natural and organic that it wasn’t scary at all—it just felt right.
So beautifully, wonderfully right.
Lena arched a brow knowingly as a mischievous smirk quirked her lips. “So how much blood will be spilled in the halls next door vying for your soon-to-be old place?” A donor had left the apartment to the Royal Ballet in their will close to fifty years prior, and it was up to the company’s acting artistic director to decide who got the apartment with a killer location and rock-bottom rent.
“Probably far too much,” Addison admitted with a wry laugh.
Lena tilted her head in a way that said, Yes, well…, and sighed as she glanced behind them at the door. “A couple just came in, so for as much as I’d love to continue this… Your usuals?”
“Minus the pastry,” Mallory confirmed. “And to-go, unfortunately. We’ve got a meeting at the Barbican.”
“Both of you?” Lena asked as she grabbed a pair of paper cups and scribbled their names on the sides with a Sharpie so they wouldn’t get mixed up.
“Yep.” Addison nodded as Mallory finally released her hold and moved beside her to complete their transaction.
“No idea what it’s about though,” Mallory elaborated as she reached for her wallet.
Lena shook her head as she refused to take Mallory’s card. “Your money is no good here today, Collingswood. This one’s on me. And that’s bloody strange.”
“Extremely,” Mallory agreed. “But whatever it’s about, Clara is giddy with excitement over it all—so I don’t imagine it will be too awful. It is a little unsettling that we’ve both been summoned, though.”
“I’ll bet,” Lena drawled as she started making their drinks.
“Can you put these in your bag?” Addison handed her the pictures.
“Of course.” Mallory opened her briefcase and slid the envelope between her iPad and the folder of music she had yet to purge after the end of the season. Her eyes drifted back to the image of the two of them on the wall as they waited for their coffees, and she smiled as she zipped the bag shut.
“Let me know how it goes?” Lena asked as she handed them their drinks.
“We will,” Mallory promised. She glanced at her watch and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lena, but we’ve got to get going if we’re going to be on time.”
“Go, go.” Lena shooed them off with a smile. “Good luck.”
Addison lifted her coffee in farewell. “Thanks.”
The underground was busy but navigable—the real rush would happen in a few hours at the close of business—and they made it to the Barbican with relative ease. Although the LSO wasn’t the only occupant of the Barbican Centre, the halls felt deserted as they made their way up to Max’s office, a fact Mallory was most grateful for as it meant they wouldn’t run into anyone who would ask about the meeting. She had been trying her best to play it cool and act like she wasn’t worried, but there was no silencing the little voice in the back of her head that wondered if this was the shoe that was destined to drop since everything else in her life was going so well.
Mallory motioned toward the door to Max’s suite so Addison would know they had arrived before she turned into it, and she forced a tight smile when she saw Leanne look up from her computer.
“They’re waiting for you,” Leanne greeted them with a smile that was far more genuine than the one Mallory had managed.
“Cheers,” Mallory murmured as her right hand found the strap of her briefcase and began worrying it.
While she hated showing any sign of weakness, she wasn’t surprised that Addison had noticed, and she was nevertheless calmed by the gentle hand on the small of her back as they made their way through the open door to Max’s office.
She had expected Clara and Max to be at the meeting, but the sight of Gianna Ngo, Nina Devereaux, and an older gentleman with silver hair and sharp blue eyes in a three-piece pinstripe suit she didn’t recognize gave her pause. Everyone she knew how to read seemed relaxed—Clara was perched on the arm of Nina’s chair and, though they weren’t touching, there was no mistaking the familiar way Nina was angled ever so delicately toward her, and Max was all but slouched in his seat with his heels propped on the small table that anchored the sitting area—but the entire scene sent a feeling of déjà vu rippling through her.
“Ah, there they are,” Clara drawled with a grin as she spotted them.
“Right on time,” Nina added with an approving nod. She motioned to the man on her right, “This is Charles Neiman, one of the Governors of The Royal Ballet,” she added for what was clearly Mallory’s benefit.
“Pleasure to meet you, sir,” Mallory nodded at him as she stepped further into the room to shake his hand.
Charles pushed himself to his feet to greet her. His handshake was firm but far from crushing, and his voice was much softer than she’d expected as he replied, “Likewise, I assure you.” When he released her hand, he turned to Addison. “Ms. Leigh. Another spectacular season.”
“Thank you.” Addison tipped her head in a small bow.
“Yes, yes,” Nina drawled, waving a hand in a let’s get on with it kind of way. “So, I’m sure you’re both curious as to what’s happening here?” she added as she motioned them toward the two empty seats between herself and Max.
“Just a little,” Addison admitted as she took the seat closest to Nina and Clara.
“Terribly,” Mallory echoed as she sat beside Max, who dropped his feet to the floor as he straightened in his chair.
“Well, then we shan’t keep you waiting any longer,” Nina murmured with a smug smile as she turned to Max.
“As you both know,” Max picked up the conversation as if being handed a baton, “the LSO is doing another North American tour this summer and, as I’m sure you’re equally aware, The Royal Ballet is doing Asia and Australia.” He paused, waiting for them to acknowledge his statement, and grinned when Mallory and Addison nodded. “What you don’t know is that the LSO and The Royal Ballet have been in talks for at least a couple months, now, about those tours.”
“And I’m sure you’re also aware,” Charles Neiman chimed in, and there was no mistaking the fact that this entire conversation had been choreographed before their arrival, “
that Evolution has created quite the stir.” When Addison and Mallory nodded, he continued, “So, obviously, both our companies would like to capitalize on the hype you’ve created.”
Mallory held her breath as she waited for the punch line that was surely coming soon.
Gianna leaned forward in her seat as she took over. “Obviously, there’s no way for you two to be in two places at once, so we’ve all agreed that the best solution is for you to split your time between the companies this summer.”
Mallory let the breath she’d been holding go in a whoosh as she looked at Addison. Her heart leapt at the idea of not having to spend any time away from her, and she bit her lip to keep from mirroring the wide grin that curled Addison’s lips when their eyes locked.
Max chuckled. “You’ll do two weeks in Asia with the Ballet and then fly over to meet us in Southern California for the final fortnight of the LSO’s tour. With Nina, it’ll be the entire ballet being performed, but with us, it’ll just be your part, as the Royal Ballet can’t spare all their dancers and the venues we’re to play are not equipped to handle an entire ballet production.”
Addison nodded slowly, her brow furrowing ever so slightly as she processed the timeline that had just been presented to them. She turned to Nina. “Am I to rejoin the company in Melbourne for our last week, then, after we wrap with the LSO?”
Nina smiled and shook her head. “You’ve put in plenty of work this season. Goodness knows you’ve earned the extra week off.”
Addison took a deep breath and let it go slowly. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Nina replied. “And you, Mallory. I knew when I called Clara back in August that you were the only one who could have possibly brought Evolution to life, but your performance exceeded my wildest dreams. Both of you.”
“You’ll probably be dusting this one off at least once a year for the rest of your careers,” Max chimed in with a little laugh.
Mallory let the smile she’d been holding back finally break free as her eyes locked with Addison’s. “I think I can handle that.”