“I know, Liss, and I’m really sorry, but I can’t find someone to watch Jonah and Abbi, and I can’t just leave them home,” I explained, holding my phone to my ear with my shoulder as I chased the troublesome toddlers down the halls of the hotel.
“C’mon, Liv, the boys were really looking forward to meeting you,” Lissy sighed, her voice nearly drowned out by Abbi’s giggles.
“And I was looking forward to meeting them,” I shot back. My voice softened. “I’m sorry Lissy.”
“Why don’t you bring Jonah and Abbi?” She suggested.
“Is-is that alright?” I asked.
She mumbled something to someone on the other end of the line. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
I broke out into a wide smile. “Okay, I guess. I might be a little bit late though.”
“That’s fine,” She assured me. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah.”
My phone beeped, signaling that Lissy had ended the call. Smiling, I put my phone in my pocket as Jonah and Abbi turned towards the staircase.
“Jonah! Abigail!”
They froze and turned to face me sheepishly. I motioned for them to come over to me. Hesitantly, they obeyed.
“You’re not in trouble,” I told them. They visibly relaxed. “We’re going out to dinner tonight. Aunt Lissy is going to be there and 3 of her friends who are in the show.”
Jonah smiled a toothless smile. “Can we go to McDonalds?”
I giggled. “Not McDonalds.”
“Then where?” Abbi asked, tilting her head to the side.
“I’m not sure,” I confessed. “But it’ll be fun. I promise. Now, let’s head out.”
We made a quick pit stop at the room so I could grab my show bag and my purse and the twins could grab their tablets, before making our way to the lobby, where Lissy stood with three boys - a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead.
“Auntie Lissy!” Jonah exclaimed, running up to her and hugging her knees.
She picked him up. “How’s my favorite nephew?”
He beamed. “I lost another tooth!”
“Did you?” She asked. “Well, you are growing up too fast. And what about Miss Abigail?”
“I learned how to do a cartwheel,” She told her.
“A cartwheel?” Lissy asked. “Now that is impressive. Can I see?”
Abbi shook her head. “I can’t. I’m wearing a skirt.”
“You’ll have to show me later then,” Lissy smiled. She turned to me. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Me too,” I replied. “These must be the infamous Josh, Ben, and Sky.”
The boys chuckled.
“Infamous?” The blonde asked jokingly. “Well, it seems Lissy speaks quite highly of us.” He chuckled. “I’m Ben. You must be Olivia.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you Ben.”
“I’m Sky,” The redhead told me. He nodded towards the brunette, who had started playing with the twins. “That’s Josh.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sky. You play. . .”
“Albert,” He told me.
Ben smiled. “I’m Race. Josh is Jojo and Darcy.”
“That sounds really fun,” I replied. “I could never do what you guys do.”
“And why not?” Sky asked.
I chuckled. “I have stage fright.”
“But you still perform though. You’re in the pit,” Ben reminded me.
“It's different,” I told him. “In the pit, the audience can’t see me. On stage, I have thousands of eyes following my every move. It’s just not my thing.”
Ben nodded. “I guess that makes sense. What instruments do you play again?”
“Oboe, flute, piccolo, and clarinet 2,” I told him.
“That’s a lot of instruments,” Sky pointed out.
I shrugged. “None of them play a ton. At least not in this show.”
Ben chuckled. “I suppose, but I’ll have to listen for you during the show tonight.”
“Should we get going?” Lissy asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
Jonah and Abbi came up to me and each grabbed one of my hands.
Lissy led us down the street to a Schmackary’s. We each got a cookie and sat down to eat.
Ben started the conversation. “So, Olivia -”
“Liv,” I corrected. “I prefer Liv.”
“Sorry - Liv, how old are you?”
“I’m 16,” I told him.
“No way!” He exclaimed. “I’m 16!”
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. “I guess we’re the lone youngsters - other than Vincent and Anthony, obviously.”
“Yeah,” He replied.
“So um, how old are the twins?” Josh asked.
“This many,” Jonah smiled, holding up 4 fingers.
“Four?” Josh exclaimed. “Wow you are big.”
The twins beamed.
“So, remind me again how you two know each other,” Sky said, motioning between Lissy and I.
“Um, my family fostered her for 4 years,” I replied. “And then we ended up going to the same high school.”
“That’s cool,” Ben smiled. “How did you get involved with like pit orchestra and stuff?”
“I did band at school,” I told him. “And then back in 2012, when Jeremy adopted Lissy, she pulled a few strings and got me a spot in the pit, and I’ve been with Newsies for the past 2 years. Jeff offered me a spot in the pit for tour, and I accepted.”
He nodded in understanding.
The table descended into a comfortable silence as we finished our cookies. Soon, we decided to head to the theater to get ready for the show. We went up to Lissy’s dressing room, and I sent the twins with Meredith and Wren.
“So, Liv, do you mind if I ask about the twins?” Ben asked.
“What about them?” I wondered.
He looked nervous. “Well, you’re only 16, and they’re 4, and I was just wondering-”
“They’re not my biological children if that’s what you’re asking,” I told him. “They’re my niece and nephew.”
“You don’t have to answer this, but how come you’re in custody of them?” Josh questioned.
“Um, my sister and her husband passed away a little over a year ago,” I explained. “Technically, I’m not in custody of them, my parents are. But there’s no way I’m putting them under their care.”
Absent-mindedly, I traced one of the scars on my shoulder.
The boys seemed like they didn’t know what to say. Lissy came over and wrapped her arm around me.
“I’ve gotta go get ready for the show,” I said, breaking the silence. “It was really nice to meet you guys. Break a leg.”
They all muttered a thank you as I left. I walked down to the pit and started soaking my reeds while I assembled my instruments.
Once everything was set up and laid out, I went back up to Meredith, Melissa, and Ginna-Claire’s room.
“They’re with Wren in the guy’s dressing room,” Meredith said before I could even voice my question.
I chuckled. “I hope I’m not disturbing anything, I just wanted to pop in.”
“You’re always welcome,” Mel assured me. “And you’re not disturbing us, we’re just getting ready for the show.”
“I can see that,” I smiled, motioning to each of their half-finished pin curls and costumes. “Crap! I’m going to be late! Break a leg!”
I ran out before I could hear their responses. As I ran, I bumped into someone.
“I am so so so sorry,” I exclaimed.
I looked up to see Ben.
“Someone’s in a hurry,” He joked. His face became serious. “I’m sorry if we asked too personal of questions earlier. Josh and Sky and I feel really bad.”
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “Break a leg tonight.”
“You too,” He smiled.
I brushed past him and ran down to the pit, and just in time too. We warmed up, and soon it was time for the show. I paid extra attention to the boys, noticing little things I’ve never noticed about the show.
When the show was over, I grabbed the twins and walked back to our hotel. Once I had gotten them changed and in bed, I turned on the TV until I fell asleep myself.