Broadway and in Cabaret

Official Greetings

After lunch at the mall, Callie went back to her apartment. She rented out a studio apartment in upper downtown Toronto. As she slumped down on her soft blue couch, she sighed. On the car ride back from the mall, she got a text from Declan's manager saying that her attending the Canadian tour would make a great trial to see how styling Declan might work out. So Callie was officially going on tour with Declan (as long as Mr Coffure allowed her to do so). 

Even with the exciting news, Callie really just felt like laying down and sleeping. Tomorrow's show (the theatre one, not the concert one) was at eight o'clock. She thought about how weird it would be to wake up and not get ready to go to the theatre to do laundry for five hours. If she was going on tour, she had to be at the airport for 6am. She leaned over and grabbed her phone. She went to her contacts and called the one person she knew would help motivate her. Also, she just had to share the news.

"Hey mom." Callie said, nonchalantly. 

"Hey dear, how are you doing?" Her mom's sweet voice went into Callie's ears. She hadn't seen her mom in person for about two years. Hearing her voice was always a treat.

"I'm good. Were you doing anything?" Callie hated the idea of interrupting her mom. She was a busy lady, taking care of Callie's younger sister, Bo, on her own. Her dad died a long time ago. 

"No, no. Bo's in her room and I was just reading. What's up, my girl?"

"Well... I kind of have some news." Callie hesitated.

"Really? Are you pregnant?" 

"No, god mom!" 

"I'm just teasing! Is it something at work?"

"Well... I mean it has to do with work." Callie took a breath. Her mom didn't know who Declan McKenna was and if Callie ever told her, it's not like her mom would've remembered. This would take some explaining. "There's this musician I really like, his name is Declan McKenna. And I entered a contest the other week to win a chance to interview him and I won it-"

"That's great! That's so fun!" Her mom was always excited for her.

"Yeah... well. At the interview he was really nice. And I interviewed him about his clothes and how I think his style is really cool. And then, after the interview. I don't know why but he asked me if I wanted to be his stylist."

"What!? Really? Like, what would you do?"

"Well, he said that I'd come on tour with him and I'd style him for interviews and shows and stuff like that."

"And? What did you tell him?"

"I originally told him I'd think about it... then I talked to Van."

"Oh god, Callie." Her mom sighed.

"I know! I texted Declan's manager asking if I could finish the Canadian tour and... she said I could. So if it all goes well with Mr. Coffure, I leave tomorrow morning for Winnipeg." 

"Callie! That's... that's crazy and amazing. Are you sure? Are you sure you want to leave your job at the theatre to style some... guy?" 

"I don't know! I think so! I think it might be kinda cool." 

Callie heard her mom's breath as she thought on the other end of the line. "Well... you better make a call to Mr. Coffure... and you better get your ass packing."

"I know."

"I just hope you haven't made a terrible decision, my love."

________________________________________________________________________________

"This is a TERRIBLE decision, Callie!" Mr. Coffure looked sternly at Callie. They were on a video call and Vanessa was on the line with them, to moderate in a way.

"Callie darling. We need you. We need you here, dressing up our men and women to put on great art! You can't abandon us." Mr. Coffure was pleading at Callie. She had called to book the week off but he wasn't very helpful when it came to vacation time. 

"Mr. Coffure, I understand," Vanessa started, "but I can cover Callie's workload just fine. She will just be gone for the week."

"Vanessa, darling. You and I both know that Ms Ambrose does NOT intend on returning to the theatre after this week. And I am not going to sit around while you go try out another job. If I do that, you're not going to return and I'm going to find my ass missing a dresser and I'm not going to have that. I'm not going to wait around for you two."

Callie and Vanessa were quiet. "Callie. I will not give you a week off. I simply cannot afford it. If you arrive at our call time tomorrow, then you are welcome. But if you decide to venture out and style some pop star, then you will not be welcome back to the theatre. And when your little styling adventure fails, I will be sure to tell every theatre in the city NOT to hire you. Good day, ladies." And at that, Mr. Coffure exited the call.

Of course, the last threat wasn't true. Mr. Coffure runs a tight ship but he isn't that powerful enough to eliminate Callie's work opportunities. Yet, the threat still scares her. She is sitting on her bed, with a bag packed full of her clothes and a few of her old men's pieces from school just to her left. She stares at Vanessa. 

"Vanessa, what do I do?" Callie said in a low voice. "I don't want to lose my job."

"Callie, you won't. You know he's not serious. He'd welcome you back in a heartbeat." Vanessa pleaded to her friend.

"He seemed pretty serious to me." Callie stared emptily. 

"Well... if he's serious... then you will find a new job. You are the most talented stylist, costumer, dresser. If, in the off chance that Declan doesn't work out, WHICH IT WILL, you will have no problem finding a new job. Even if that asshole leaves you a bad review on Linkedin, or whatever." 

Callie was unsure, but she sat with Vanessa's words. 

"Callie. You have to do this. It'll be okay." 

________________________________________________________________________________

Gate 103. 5:52am. There they were. Isabel, Nathan, Will, Gabrielle, two other people she didn't recognize, the manager from the room, and of course Declan. Callie watched as, who she believed to be Nathan, nudged Declan's arm. He turned around and looked at her. She could see the leftover sleep on his eyes, but they grew to a squint as he smiled at her.

"Callie! Hey!" Declan said enthusiastically. He walked over to her. 

"Hi." Callie said, much less enthusiastically. Declan put his hand on her shoulder and guided her towards the group.

"Come on over and meet everyone." 

Callie began walking towards them. She noticed Declan grabbing her bag. "I'll take that," he said. She nodded, unable to speak, and kept walking.

The group smiled at her and welcomed her into the circle. She forced a smile as she tried to push down the knot in her stomach, telling her she's made the worst decision of her life.