Hello beautiful romantic souls,

That last episode was just… Well, even I was sad to release it 😉

That’s why I decided there should be an extra long excerpt today. We need to get a better idea of what the hell Milly was thinking, right?

Okay, grab some coffee or tea, sit back and…

Milly peeked into the rehearsal room. There was no one there. She quickly closed the door behind her and walked over to the small window. She was already holding her phone, ready to call Hannah.

But then she hesitated. She started pacing around the piano. If she called now, would Hannah even answer the phone? Milly tucked her phone away in her back pocket, frustrated with her own indecision. She hit a random key on the piano.

After Milly’s meltdown about ten days ago, Hannah had left quietly. She had given Milly exactly what she had asked for: time and space. Milly felt horrible about the way she was treating Hannah.

She knew she was giving mixed signals. On most days, Milly had tried to prove to herself she was fine without Hannah. On others, she had caved in and sent Hannah a message. When she did, Hannah always replied within a few minutes.

The truth was, Milly just couldn’t stand not hearing from Hannah. Whenever something interesting happened, she wanted to share it with her. And so she had sent Hannah plenty of silly messages without ever addressing the elephant in the room.

Milly shook her head in disgust, pulled out her phone and selected her mother’s number instead. Lorrie picked up after the first ring.

“How did the audition go?” she asked enthusiastically.

Milly beamed. “Fantastic!”

“Yes! I knew you would do well!” Lorrie replied.

Milly imagined her mother doing a fist pump. She glanced back at the door and lowered her voice. “I think they’ll offer me the role. I don’t know why. I just have this feeling.”

Milly’s mother was quick to reply. “I hope so, honey. I really do. Will you still audition in Germany if you do?”

“I don’t know. I’d rather sing this role in Boston.”

“Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“Let’s wait and see. I just can’t believe my luck. This is the second time I get to audition because of a cancellation. I would never have had a shot at being in this production if they weren’t in trouble, you know.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. But yes, luck has been on your side in many ways lately.”

Milly propped her hip against the windowsill. An image of Hannah as she walked out of Milly’s apartment flashed through her mind. Milly winced.

“Yeah,” she said, less convinced than before. “I guess that’s true.”

“Hey, you sound completely different all of a sudden,” Lorrie said.

“I was just thinking about my flight back tomorrow.”

“Hmmm… Any plans for tonight?”

Milly started pacing around the room again. “No, going to bed early.”

“No plans with Hannah?”

“What?” Milly said, stunned. “No, of course not. Why do you think that?”

Lorrie giggled. “I don’t know. She seems like the kind of person who would hop on a plane just to spend an evening with you.”

Milly rubbed her chest. “Don’t be silly,” she said, but she knew her mother was right. Given the chance, Hannah would travel a thousand miles to be with her for just one night.

“How are you two doing?” Lorrie asked, suspiciously now.

“She’s like a shark with blood in the water,” Milly thought. “Fine,” she said.

“Mildred…”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this, okay?” Milly admitted reluctantly.

“Ready for what?”

“Dating someone.”

“Then why on earth did you start dating Hannah?”

Milly hadn’t expected such a sharp retort from her mother. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I… It just kinda happened.”

“Come on, Milly, you don’t let anything just happen to you.”

“Things went too fast! Someone from the Met saw us and is making a fuss about it.”

“Wait. So this is not about *dating* Hannah? It’s about other people *knowing* about it?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re going to pretend like you’re not dating Hannah?”

“Yes.”

“And Hannah is okay with that?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t asked her yet. I’m hoping she’ll understand.”

Lorrie sighed. “What are you doing, Milly?”

Milly’s hand curled into a fist. “Mom, if I come out, it might ruin my career!”

“And your career is more important than your happiness?”

“You don’t know what it’s like, mom. I worked so hard for this. I can’t take the risk.”

“No, Mildred, you’re *choosing* not to take the risk,” Lorrie said bluntly.

“Why are you giving me such a hard time about this?” Milly asked through her teeth.

“I don’t want you to live a lie! You’ll never be happy if you hide who you are. And you’ll make Hannah unhappy too,” Lorrie said, her voice emotional.

Milly’s chin was trembling. “I have to go. I’m hiding in a room in the concert building. I can’t talk about this right now.”

“Okay, honey, be careful…”

“I will.”

“Let me know when you hear something from Boston.”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Okay, sweetie, talk to you soon.”

“Bye.”

 

A few hours later, Milly had just gotten out of the shower in her hotel room when she heard her phone buzz on the nightstand. She wrapped the soft hotel bathrobe around her and went to check who had sent her a message.

Milly was surprised to see Hannah’s name on the screen. Her heart skipped a beat, joyful and instantly filled with hope. It was ridiculous, Milly thought. She reminded herself once more she was the one who had asked for space.

The message from Hannah was short. “Oh my God. Have you seen this?”

Milly tapped the link Hannah had shared and waited for the news article to load.

She stopped breathing as soon as she saw the title of the web page.

Milly selected play and watched the video with her mouth open.

I had to end this excerpt at some point, of course. Thought this was a good spot 😉