Chapter 32

It was another full night, including a 3:00 a.m. reprise, but I woke at my usual 7:00 and this time she only murmured and turned over. There was a strong temptation to wake her, but by this point my stamina was flagging a little and I resisted. I climbed into the shower, dressed—once more with lingering gazes toward the bed where she lay only half-covered—and Asmedogh and I went downstairs.

After coffee I decided to take her at her word and do my warm-up. I didn't know whether I woke her or not, but there wasn't a sound from upstairs all the way through. And if I listened closely between vocalizations I could hear the same soft, ladylike snores drifting down.

Belatedly it occurred to me that I was going to need to make plane and hotel reservations pretty quick now; we'd be leaving Monday, and it was Friday already. But that would keep at least until she got up; if possible I'd want to travel on the same plane with her, and certainly put up at the same hotel. I'd get the information from her and do the reservations over the computer while she did her own warm-up.

We didn't quite sort it out that way.

When I asked her she gave me a blank look. "For Heaven's sake, lover, I don't know. Marilyn handles all that stuff. Tell your guy, Sam, is it?" I nodded. "Tell Sam to call her." She rattled off the number. "All I know is I'm supposed to be at the airport by 11:30 Monday."

It was my turn to look blank. "Umm, Camilla, I don't think you quite understand the life of a comprimario, " I said. "You've got a manager, you're a star. I've got an agent who handles my bookings, but I do my own travel and all."

She looked abashed. "Darling, I'm so sorry, I'm rubbing it in, aren't I? I didn't mean to, honestly. It's just— Well, anyhow, you're going to be a star in just a few more weeks, and you'll need to make some changes. You simply won't have the time—or the energy—to do it all yourself. Look, I'll call Marilyn and have her take care of it. Hmm, you know, I need to call her anyway. Phone again?"

Her end of the conversation was fascinating to hear. "Hey, sweetie," she said. "Look, I need you to do a couple of things. Number—" She'd evidently been cut off and stopped talking a minute. "Marilyn, that's fresh!" She turned a bit pink in the face. "Yes, if you must know. It was wonderful, hell it was better than wonderful, and that's all I'm going to tell you about it ever. Now—" Another pause. "Nope, no more. So, two things:

"First, you'll need to get Nick a plane ticket. Pull the name out of the Turandot program. He travels with me; if they're full, put us both on the earliest plane you can find. Second—" Pause again. "Sugar, do stop interrupting. Second, we have a penthouse, right? Well, we'll need another room, same hotel. But dear, the room's for you, so make sure it's a good one." Pause. "And I care about that why?" Pause. "Oh, gossip columns. Honey, I'm not Hollywood, I doubt they'll be interested, and even if they are I'm not. Anyhow, take care of it and call me. This number, the cell doesn't get good reception here. Got it all? OK, bye."

She saw me looking at her wide-eyed, and laughed. "Marilyn's feeling a little displaced, but penthouse or no, three would most definitely be a crowd. And I love sleeping with you and I'm much too ladylike to go slipping around hotel corridors."

"What about, you know, the boy-toy thing?" I asked.

"Madeleine has boy-toys; I have a lover. Hers can't sing their way out of paper bags; I have one of the great baritones of the world, even though the world doesn't quite know it yet—but they will! If she's not ashamed of hers she ought to be; I'm proud as hell of mine!" She jumped in my lap and gave me a huge kiss. Then she burst out laughing all over again.

"What?" I asked.

"You know, when the news gets around—and it will one way or another, it always does—it's going to shock a lot of people. This'll be a first for me. Some of them gave me a sort of nickname, 'the ice queen, ' because I've never had anything with any other singer. I know more than a few have been sure I'm a lesbian because I always stay with Marilyn wherever we go and I never have dates. Well, even my woolly conservative Alabamy friends will like shacking up better than a lezzie."

I was looking more and more flabbergasted.

"Honey, I've had five lovers my entire life," she told me. "None at all the last three years. You're number six and out of comparison the best ever. Did you think I was easy because it's all gone so fast? I am very picky."

I grinned at her. "Now I'm feeling even more fortunate," I said. "Love, I'm pretty picky too, but you're a prize beyond belief."

"Just a prize?"

"I think you know better," I replied tenderly. She was still on my lap, and I gave back the same kind of kiss she'd given me.

"Mmm," she hummed when we broke. "Oh, for another free day. Well, never mind, let me up. Cammie's got to warm up and then worky-work again."

She was just finishing her warm-up when the phone rang. It was my phone; I answered. "Hello?"

There was a brief silence. "Is this the famous Nick Volker?" asked a very pleasant contralto.

"Not quite famous, I'm afraid," I said.

"You will be. I heard every performance of Turandot, all four, and you were spectacular. They're going to love you down here."

"Well, thank you." I was a little taken aback by the fulsome praise.

"Nice to meet you even over the phone, Nick Volker. The man who thawed our ice queen. That's already enough to make you famous." That one caught me flat-footed. "I'm Marilyn Torrado, Cam's manager. Now let me talk to her please."

I handed the phone to Camilla. "Hey, honey," she said. "Super. You always come through, dear. OK, send them both to my cell, I'll pick them up on the way in. See you Monday!" She hung up and turned to me. "Eleven-thirty at the airport, sweetheart. She's sending our boarding passes. OK, I'm good enough, let's start from Act I and keep going."

We actually got all the way to the end, including a walk-through of my death scene, before lunch. Camilla pronounced herself quite satisfied, and we were able to make it a decent lunch. Just as we were finishing she looked over at me.