Hey there,
This morning, I suddenly realized I *can* give you a bit of early access today. I’m still recording, but the script is ready. So here’s an excerpt from the script of Part 10. I don’t think Milly is where we want her to be…

“So, a glass of wine, Milly? And before you say ‘no’, *one* won’t hurt. We don’t have to work tomorrow. Believe me, if you wanna make it in this business, you have to stay sane…and relax now and then.”

Milly rubbed her throat nervously.

“Ehm, I just never… Almost never…”

Suzanne walked over and smiled, running her long, elegant fingers through her hair. She sat down on the couch, next to Milly. Milly swallowed hard.

“I’ve been in this business a *bit* longer than you, and please, let me tell you one thing. You need evenings like this. Nothing too crazy. Just a glass of wine with a friend. Relax for a while, you know.”

Milly smiled back nervously. “Eh, sure, ok.”

Suzanne slapped her knees and got back up. “Brilliant. Let me go open a bottle. Make yourself at home, ok?”

Milly watched Suzanne disappear through a door on her right. Suzanne looked stunning. She always did. She had this casual elegance Milly had never seen before. Even now, while she was wearing a blue polo, low cut jeans and walking around on her bare feet.

“Oh god, I can’t believe I’m here!” Milly thought. She glanced around the room. This was a beautiful apartment. The spacious living room was decorated with Scandinavian furniture. It was stylish and comfortable.

“The rent for this place must be through the roof!” Milly thought. But it wasn’t like she had anything to complain about. She had been pleasantly surprised by her living arrangements in Houston. The rent was almost half of what she paid in NYC, and yet the apartment here was twice the size.

Milly turned around to look through the floor to ceiling window behind her. Houston’s skyline looked amazing from here.

“I picked my favorite Burgundy. That ok for you?” Suzanne asked – still in the kitchen.

“Yes, of course.” Milly stared down at her hands. They were shaking a bit. She was feeling overwhelmed, to be honest. Suzanne had invited her after they had practiced together for most of the day.

Rehearsals of the production were going pretty smoothly, considering Milly didn’t have that much experience compared to the rest of the cast.

The director didn’t like to distract from the music too much, he had explained, and so Milly didn’t have to jump through hoops or remember complicated moves while she was singing.

But it was still very hard. And very scary. Every morning, Milly woke up nervous and anxious to go to work. Would this be the day she disappointed the director and the rest of the staff?

Luckily, she seemed to have a magic switch once she arrived at the Wortham Theater. All of Milly’s nerves would be gone by the time she had locked her rental and was walking to the artist entrance.

But when Suzanne, the American soprano singing the prestigious role of the Countess, had invited Milly to come by her place after work, Milly’s stomach had started churning.

Suzanne was not just any singer. She had already gathered a lot of fame for her performances as the Countess in Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro. She basically traveled around the world to sing the role in prestigious opera houses everywhere.

Why on earth would she want to invite a first time mezzo, who got this role just because someone else had had bad luck, to come over for a drink?

Sure, they got along well. Everyone did, really. Milly was surprised how civil and positive everyone was. The director was great at keeping his cast’s ego’s in check.

“Here we go…” Suzanne interrupted Milly’s thoughts. She was suddenly standing next to the couch and was holding two large wine glasses.

Milly moved to the edge of her seat to accept the glass. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  Suzanne sat down on the couch next to Milly again. Milly looked up to see two beautiful grayish blue eyes focused on her. She smiled nervously.

Suzanne was sitting so close Milly could see her eyelashes were a bit darker than the long, blonde hair in a loose pony tail.

“So…”

Milly couldn’t help lowering her gaze and studying Suzanne’s full lips, but she quickly caught herself and looked back up.