Why Lorie? Part II

Chapter 14: A Fateful Night

It was the night of the premiere: March 1, 1911. Josette had spent all of February rehearsing for the role of Floria Tosca. After a slightly awkward beginning, mostly due to her extensive absence from work, she quickly adjusted to her new environment. The Vienna Opera proved to be a perfect match for her personality. Josette enjoyed working with everyone there, from the other members of the cast, to the conductor and orchestra players, the costume and wig designers, and even down to the stage decorators and lighting personnel. They were all friendly and welcoming people, and proved to be extremely helpful to her along the way.

The opera director, Franz Schiller, had gradually become a close friend and confidante. He never stopped singing Josette's praises, and still thanked her for accepting his job offer. He even introduced her to his life companion, Gerard Atkins, a London financier who had relocated to Vienna in order to be near his partner. Josette enjoyed spending time with the elderly couple who accompanied her to the many museums and art galleries Vienna had to offer. They were both well educated, cultured and witty, and Josette appreciated their sincere friendship.

As the premiere night of Tosca approached, Josette started to once again feel like the rising star she had been in Paris, six years before. It felt good to be appreciated for her talent and hard work. She couldn't wait to be in the spotlight once again. She especially looked forward to seeing Lorie's reaction after the show. Her daughter asked her every day when she would get to hear her Maman sing on stage. She was as excited as Josette about it, perhaps even more so. Now, the fateful night had finally arrived! Josette procured front row tickets for her parents, Lorie and Peter. To her disappointment, Viktor had not returned from America in time to see her performance.

Josette was already wearing her costume as she applied the last touches of make-up in her backstage dressing room. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Floria Tosca was a brunette, and with the dark ringlet wig on, Josette almost didn't recognize herself. She smiled at the stranger looking back at her, and suddenly remembered how much she enjoyed the pretense of being someone else... even if it was for just a few hours.

A rapid knocking interrupted her reverie.

"Ready, Mademoiselle Lafoure?" The stage hand's face peeked around the door.

Josette took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes. Absolutely."

She followed the stage hand and waited for her cue. When she stepped onto the stage, the bright lights briefly blinded her. Josette gulped, but then looked around at the rest of the cast. They regarded her with much expectation, and gave her encouraging smiles. She gracefully walked to the center of the stage and began to sing. Suddenly, Josette Lafoure was gone... and Floria Tosca came to life.

***

The performance was a resounding success. Josette returned three times to the stage after the final curtain call, in order to receive standing ovations and flower bouquets from the exuberant audience. As she gracefully curtsied to the spectators, her gaze fell onto the first row, where she immediately spotted Lorie's blonde hair. The little girl was jumping up and down, clapping excitedly, her hazel eyes full of adoration and admiration for her beautiful Maman. Josette saw Peter whisper something into Lorie's ear, and her daughter eagerly nod in response. To Josette's delight, Lorie grabbed a gorgeous bouquet of purple lilies mixed with white roses from her stepbrother, and ran to the stairs located at the side of the stage. Lorie then rushed across and into the full spotlight, and handed Josette the flowers along with hugs and kisses.

The audience went absolutely wild when they realized who the pretty little girl was, since Lorie was the identical miniature of their new opera star. The standing ovations and bravos continued on and on, until Lorie held on to Josette's hand and curtsied alongside her, smiling shyly, to the audience's delight.