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I got married in Las Vegas today. Wish me luck.

Mom

We all gathered in her room to console her. She wagged her head to shake off her tears and then declared with conviction, "I don't care. You are my only family now, and the theater is my only home."

No one spoke. but I felt that, despite our work and our talents, that would not be a good substitute for my family and home. Grease paint, costumes, props, and scenery were all part of the illusion. You could pretend to love someone on stage, embrace a family, have wonderful, close friends, but it wouldn't work when the curtain came down.

Later that evening. I decided that before I went to bed, I would visit Rose once again to see if I could cheer her. Just as I stepped out into the hallway, I heard a loud creak and looked at the stairway that led up to the costume room. Howard Rockwell stopped midway. He looked very guiltv, shifting his eyes to avoid my shocked gaze.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"Costume room," he said quickly.

Much too quickly, I thought. "Why?"

"I wanted to check on my costume for Performance Night. Who do you think you are, crossexamining me like this, anyway?" he added and hurried down and to his room. I waited until his door was closed and then I hurried across the hall to Cinnamon's room instead of Rose's. I knocked and went in.

She was in bed, reading her script.

"What'swrong?" she asked. sitting up after taking one look at my face.

"I just found Howard coming down the stairs. I think he might have gone into Gerta's apartment."

"What? Why do you think that?"

"Just the way he looked... very guilty." She threw off her covers.

"I'm not positive," I added, seeing how enraged she was becoming. "He did claim he was checking his costume for the second Performance Night."

"Is that what he told you? It's a downright lie. He knows his costume was sent out to be cleaned and pressed."

She shoved her feet into her slippers and practically lunged for her robe on the way out of the room. The look on her face frightened me. She seemed capable of bludgeoning him to death. I hoped I wasn't making a mountain out of a molehill.

"C'mon," she said.

"Where?"

"We'll go up to see Gerta and learn if he was there without us or not."

"Should we get Ice and Rose?"

"No," she said firmly. "It'll be quicker and less chance of being discovered."

We moved quietly to the stairs, but they creaked just as they had under Howard's feet. No one came out of his or her room, and moments later. we were in the costume room. We could see where the dresses were moved to permit someone to open the door. Cinnamon looked at me knowingly. turned the key, and continued. My heart was beating like a hailstorm against a window.

The lights were out in the living room, but there was some dim illumination coming from Gerta's bedroom, We walked quietly to the door and looked in to see her lying in bed, wearing the wig that had the long, gold pigtails.

She turned to us.

"Hi. Gerta, how are you?" Cinnamon asked her. Gerta's face began to crumble.

"I was bad again."" she said. "I was Gerta Berta."

Cinnamon hurried to her bedside. I followed.

"What do you mean. Gerta?"

"Daddy was here," she said. "I was bad,"