No Rules To Love

Epilogue- Six Months Later

With one final wave to the audience, the curtain descended from above. We were left in darkness for a brief moment until the stage lights came on.

I stood there, taking deep breaths. All the other cast and crew members around me were hugging and chatting. I had to compose myself because it wasn't as big of a deal to them as it was to me. They had done more professional production than I had. This was my first and implausibly; I was the lead.

That was so difficult to comprehend, even after months of rehearsals.

"Well done!" My cast-mate and on-stage romantic interest, Jake, who played Christian, enveloped me in a hug. "I can't believe we made it to opening night!"

"I know, it's crazy!" I laughed. "Congrats to you too!"

Jake was a little bit older than me and he had more experience in West End musicals. But he had been in the ensemble and understudies for the majority of shows he had been in. This was his first major lead role.

"I hope the critics liked it." He said to me, as the entire cast made their way down to their dressing rooms.

"Well, we can only hope!" Holding up crossed fingers, I chuckled. I had just received this job; I didn't want to lose it so soon. As Jake's room was next to my dressing room, I smiled at him as we simultaneously opened the dressing room doors.

"Will I see you downstairs in a bar for a few drinks when you're done?" Jake asked. Though this was my first job, I knew it was a tradition for the cast and crew to have a drink after opening night.

"If I'm having water, then yes." I laughed. I didn't enjoy drinking alcohol during the run of a show; another of my precautions. Though I had abolished thinking hard about my rules a long time ago. "Plus, my family is here, so they'd kill me if I left without saying goodbye. Especially because they've spent much of their day travelling down from Manchester."

We both laughed as we parted ways into our dressing rooms. Before I got changed, I sat on the chair in front of the mirror and let a giant smile spread across my lips. Then I squealed and jumped up from the chair and danced around my dressing room in a frenzy.

I had to keep up a calm façade in the interest of professionalism during rehearsals and in front of the cast and crew. I had tried to keep calm throughout the entire process and not let my ecstasy spike and become clear. But now that I was alone, I could finally let my excitement out.

And boy, was I excited.

When I had finally calmed myself down, I took the pins out of my hair and let it fall around my shoulders. I then got out of my tight costume and got into my normal clothes. I took my make-up off, bedraggled, and smudged from the intense, emotional ending scene. Then I collected all my things together.

I closed my dressing room door, and all but sprinted to the bar, excited to see what my friends and family thought of the show.

As soon as I stepped through the doors into the bar, thunderous applause and cheers met my ears. I didn't have to look to know it was my parents and Ashley and Michael. You know, for only four people, they could sure make a lot of noise.

As I put my head down, I felt heat appear on my cheeks at the scene they were causing. I rushed towards them to subside the cheering and make it end quicker. I was then consumed in a giant group hug by the four people who had come to support me.

"Talia, darling! I'm so proud of you!" My mum placed both of her hands on my cheeks. I noticed that her own cheeks were red, and I could tell that she had cried a bucket of tears. They more than likely started as soon as she arrived at the theatre and she had probably only just stopped.