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Tatiana had almost died. If her footwork hadn’t been sloppy, she probably would have been crushed. At the very least, severely wounded.
It could have been me.
A random light crashing onto stage. Tatiana was closer to being hit, but I was only a few feet off. A little extra randomness and I might be a red smear on the stage right now. Or if I had been practicing Tatiana’s lines instead of her, and my footwork was crisper…
I shook off the thought, because the longer I thought about it the more it made me want to curl up in the fetal position backstage.
“HOW?” Tatiana was screaming at anyone and everyone. “How could this happen? WHO DID THIS?”
Atkins turned his attention from yelling at Andy and Ryan to console her. He knelt at her side and said, “Tatiana, dear, everything is fine. A simple accident…”
Tatiana changed from despondent to furious like someone had thrown a switch. “I cannot work under these conditions! I will not work like this!”
She stormed backstage. Atkins followed, trying desperately to calm her down.
Everyone seemed to realize at once that if one light fell, more could follow. The rest of the cast dispersed backstage or out into the audience, looking over their heads to ensure they weren’t underneath anything heavy.
Only Andy and Ryan stayed. Both of them peered up at the catwalks as if wondering what the hell could have happened.
“It wasn’t the same group of lights,” Ryan finally said. “We never even touched that truss.”
“I know.” Andy removed his glasses and cleaned them on the edge of his shirt. He put them back on and said, “What could have happened? It cannot be a coincidence since we just replaced and cleaned all the housing in the group next to it…”
I suddenly remembered the noise Dorian and I had heard before rehearsal. Before I could bring it up, Atkins stormed back out.
“I want to see both of you in my office,” he said, biting off every word. He raised his voice for everyone else and said, “Rehearsal is over.”
Everyone dispersed. I grabbed my bag and headed for the exit numbly.
I had a shift at the bar tonight, so instead of heading for the subway station I began walking east. I realized my hand was shaking. Someone had almost died right in front of me.
I was shaken up. Tonight might be one of those nights where I pour myself a shot for each one I pour for a customer. Nothing like some Johnnie Walker to calm a woman’s nerves. I’d never been close to someone dying before. The closest thing was in the subway when I first moved to the city and an old man tripped and almost fell in front of a train. This was a lot more personal.
“You okay?”
Braden’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t noticed him falling in beside me. “I’m fine.”
“Your hand is shaking.”
I realized I was clutching my phone in my hand, and it was indeed trembling. I shoved it in my purse, wishing my yoga pants had pockets.
“Okay. I’m a little shaken up.”
“That was fucking crazy,” Braden said. He stared straight ahead, with a vacant look in his eyes. “Can you imagine if it had hit her?”
“I know,” I said dryly. “It would’ve ruined her hair.”
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I was afraid they were too dark. Thankfully Braden chuckled.
“She really has her priorities straight, huh?”
“Getting killed is bad, but having a perfectly good blow-out ruined is unforgivable. Do you think Ryan will get in trouble?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s a pretty big fuck-up,” I said.
Braden shrugged. “I know Ryan. He’s sarcastic, and a huge pain in the ass when it comes to doing his share of the dishes, but he’s one of the hardest workers I know. He checks everything three times. If I were a betting man, I’d bet the house on this not being his fault. Something else caused it.”
