True Eminence
"How do I look?" she asked, pressing her dress down and turning in the mirror.
Jacob looked up from the evening program his assistant was holding. Looking herself over in the mirror, Rachel had that look he was now so familiar with. Her eyes pulled back as if she was trying to hide, and her bottom lip slightly pouted.
"Wait outside a moment, Andrea," he said, and his assistant left, closing the door to the dressing room.
He stood for a moment, hands on his hips. Rachel turned, her eyes seeking consolation. Though she was trying to hide it, he could tell she was nervous, her chest rising and falling.
"Come here," he said, sighing as he beckoned. She crossed the floor and slid into his embrace. He held her for a moment, trying vaguely to not mess up her dark curls. When she stepped away, he smiled, her arms lingering in his. "Remember what I told you when you started."
"I know," she nodded, and an easy light began to settle in her eyes as her nervousness began to turn to excitement. "'The best performers follow their heart, not their head.'"
He leaned his head against hers, their eyes closing. "What does your head say?"
He could feel her smile. "That I better not mess up."
"And what does your heart say?"
She breathed in sharply, holding on to his arms. When she said nothing, he opened his eyes. Hers were still knit closed, and she was biting her lip. They opened when he brought his hands up to hold her face, and her eyes lit again when she saw his smile.
"You will be... amazing."
They left the dressing room as if in a dream. And as if in a dream, she floated from his arm onto the stage.
Jacob found himself in the dark, standing alone in one of the balconies, watching the production. On any other night, he would've been carefully noting when then crowds clapped, laughed, or cheered. Tonight, somehow, all he could see was his star shining below. And when her last note rang out to the heavens, he allowed himself a small smile.
"She did it."