Hello awesome fellow romantics,

How about one last script excerpt? Better late than never, right? 😉

As mentioned on the community, the last episode of The Diva Story will be released here on Tuesday, along with the official release.

Hope you enjoy the excerpt!

Sigrid

“I’m so s-s-sorry,” the girl stuttered.

Milly sipped her coffee and smiled. “Take your time, Carol,” she said, feeling amused.

She watched the young reporter who was frantically trying to find a list of questions in her leather shoulder bag. Milly spotted a few beads of sweat on her forehead.

“I really did put them in here somewhere,” Carol squeaked as she pulled several crumpled pieces of paper from her bag.

Milly covered her mouth to hide her grin. Carol had a short, feisty haircut and a tiny silver earring in her left ear. Milly suddenly noticed the rainbow colored bracelet on her wrist.

Ah, so her gaydar had been spot on. It had gone off the second Milly had seen Carol waiting for her in the glamorous hotel bar.

In hindsight, Milly should have picked a different place for this interview. The reporter looked horribly out of place in her jeans and sneakers. Milly was going to a recital at the Met after this appointment and looked the part.

She was wearing a long gown, with her shoulders bare and her hair pinned up. The lobby bar was fancy, Milly was fancier. The contrast with Carol couldn’t be bigger. “Poor girl,” Milly thought.

She should probably give the young woman a break. She was partly responsible for this awkward situation after all. Plus, she had to get out of here as soon as possible, or she’d be late for tonight’s concert.

“Why don’t you just ask what interests you most? Don’t bother with the list?” she suggested gently.

Carol looked up in alarm. Milly saw her eyes drift downwards, then snap back up, even wider than before.

“I am so sorry, Miss North. My co-worker arranged this interview, and he fell sick.”

Milly moved to the edge of her seat. “Now see, that’s a great place to start,” she said and smiled conspiratorially.

“It is?”

“Yes, I got my latest role because, unfortunately, the singer hired for the job was unable to travel because of an illness.”

Carol tilted her head. “Really? So you came on board last second?”

Milly pursed her lips. “Not last second. But pretty late yes. I had to rush over and start rehearsals in Boston immediately. It was an immense opportunity, and I jumped at the chance.”

“How were you able to do that? Did you study the part at record speed?”

Milly smoothed out a crease in her gown. “No, thankfully not. As an opera singer, you always have a selection of operas you know very well. I would not have auditioned for this role if I had not studied it before,” she said.

Carol nodded. Milly saw her glance down at the recorder on the table between them. “I hope she remembered to press record,” Milly thought.

“The production of La Clemenza Di Tito in Boston was praised to high heaven by the critics. So much so, it made the mainstream news nationally. Not exactly a daily occurrence for an opera production these days,” Carol said and smiled somewhat apologetically. “How do you look back on it now that you’ve returned to NYC?”

Milly was pleasantly surprised. It might have been a last-minute assignment for the reporter, she still clearly had prepared for it.

“Oh, I am so proud of what we achieved. I had a feeling this production would be special from the start. I think the whole cast and crew felt like that in a way. It was an inspiring cooperation, and it brought out the best in all of us.”

“Your performance, in particular, was praised, Miss North. You were the surprise talent, so to speak. Was this the breakthrough you had always hoped for?”

Milly narrowed her eyes. “No. It was more like…” She hesitated. “What I always worked for. Not *hoped* for.”

Carol’s cheeks took on a new shade of crimson red. “Of course, of course.” She jotted down something on one of the messy papers she was holding.

“How does that feel?” Carol asked, quickly recomposing herself.

“How does what feel?”

“Finally accomplishing what you’ve *worked* for all these years.”

Milly crossed her legs. The question should have been easy to answer, really, but she didn’t know what to say for a second.

Carol tried a different approach. “Do you feel like it changed you?”

Milly shook her head slowly, a smile forming on her lips. “No, I think I actually changed *before* it happened. Like, I changed, and that made it possible for everything to fall into place.”

“How so?”

This interview was quickly becoming more personal than she’d expected, Milly thought. She took in a deep breath. “I had to let go of things. I had to let certain things happen.”

“Like what? Can you give me an example?” Carol asked.

Milly shifted in her seat. She felt a bit annoyed about this follow-up question, but Carol was right to ask for something less vague.

“I had to open up,” she said and put her hands on her knees. “Professionally and personally.”

Carol raised her pen in the air. “I can imagine a job like yours dominates your whole life. How do you combine a career in opera with a personal life?”

Milly looked down at her bright red fingernails. “Oh, ehm… I guess you need a partner who understands the sacrifices you have to make. You need to talk things through together a lot,” she explained hesitantly.

Then she realized Carol had not exactly asked about her love life. Shit. She should have talked about her hobbies!

“Is your partner in the same industry? Does that help?”

Milly smiled nervously. She sure had set herself up for this like an expert. “Now what do I say?” she wondered. Then she thought “Fuck it!” She’d give this girl a bit of a surprise.

“Not really…*She* runs her own retail business,” Milly said with a bright smile.