Chapter 81: Parties and Invitations

As we entered the lobby, I noticed that members of the cast were standing in a row leading from the theater to the exit doors. The closest to us was the man who had played the Rum Tug Tugger. Angelique noticed him and dropped my hand so she could run towards him.

"Angelique!" Lenore called out in a panic.

The man noticed the child running to him and knelt down. Angelique stopped near him and froze. It was clear she was not sure what to do. Lenore raced up and knelt down to look at her daughter.

"Mommy?" Angelique asked she still seemed confused.

Lenore looked at the man. "I'm so sorry about this."

I looked at the line. The next actor was the woman who had played Grizzabella. Next to her was Bombalurina. They were waiting patiently and shaking hands with the exiting audience.

The Rum Tum Tugger laughed. "I think she's one of the youngest audience members. Little girl, did you enjoy the show?"

I watched Angelique nod shyly. "Yes," she said.

"Which song did you like the most?" the Rum Tum Tugger asked.

"The play where the two packs of dogs fought!" Angelique said merrily. "I loved the Rumpus Cat."

The man laughed. "That one is fun. I'm glad they didn't take that out."

"It gets removed?" I asked.

"Sometimes," Grizzabella said. "Some places want a shorter show so you either remove that or the whole Growltiger segment. It's nice to be able to leave both in."

"Must be tiring," I said.

"It's worth it. We are having fun," the man said. "Did you enjoy the show?"

I reached into my pocket to pull out the invitation to the post-show party. "I did. Oh, I guess I need to show someone this, but I'm not sure who."

The man took the invitation. His eyes grew wide as he read the contents. "You were the one who made the calls that got us invited to come?" he asked.

"I have to admit that it was my father who let me know you wanted to come. Not that I believe he really cared much except it gave him an opening to get back to the US. He was trapped somewhere in Eastern Europe," I said.

Grizzabella reached out to shake my hand. "Thanks for doing that. We never thought we'd get a chance."

"It truly an honor," I said. "Dare I ask where the party is?"

"We are staying in the hotel next door. After our last night in a city there is a conference room reserved for us to party in. You can go there now or chat for a bit," the Rum Tum Tugger said.

The lobby was rapidly emptying. Two more cast members wandered over. I did not recognize either one. "Who is this?" a woman asked.

"This young man was the one who provided the opportunity for us to come," The Rum Tum Tugger said.

"I merely made a couple of phone calls," I demurred. "I'm Mark Parker."

The Rum Tum Tugger laughed. "Sorry, I'm Vlad. We have Sveta who played Grizzabella. Rustan played Muskustrap. Jan played Admetus as well as Macavity."

"And scared my daughter," Lenore said with a smile. "You were excellent."

Jan laughed. "We have tried to get that just right."

"I hate that song," a woman's voice said as Bombalurina walked over and joined the group.

"Now Tatyana, you haven't had a lot of practice. Sofia normally plays your part," Vlad said merrily.

"Oh, it was fun, but I hadn't realized how much work the part is. Hello, I'm Tatyana. Usually I play Electra, but they wanted to reward me," the woman said as she joined the group. "Who are these people?"

"Mark here was the one who made the phone calls that got the promoter interested," Vlad said.

"I think he was more interested in the offered funds," I said. "I understand that a bribe was offered to get him to set this up. But I hear your tour is very successful."

"If you consider having Monday and Tuesday shows added in many cities successful it is," Sveta said. "We aren't getting many breaks, and we've lost five cast members and three of the crew to pickups."

"Is that bad?" Ashley asked as she came up and put a hand on my shoulder. I noticed that Sveta and Tatyana looked a bit upset by that.

"Not really," Vlad said. "The truth is that we are all hoping we can meet a pickup, but at the same time we are enjoying performing. I understand that if we are taken as concubines, we probably won't perform again."

"Unless you end up under some kind of impresario," I agreed. "Should we allow you to change before we head to the party?"

Tatyana laughed. "I can walk to the hotel. I can see that you like my outfit."

Ashley laughed as I deliberately looked up and down Tatyana's figure. She stood about five foot eleven, and the skintight cat suit only emphasized her taut stomach and toned legs. Her breasts did seem a bit large for her body, and I wondered how they did not bounce around while she danced. It was harder to see her face and hair because of the elaborate makeup and wig.

"Don't you want to remove the makeup?" I asked.

"We only have so many makeup chairs, and it takes a few minutes per person," Vlad said. He looked down at Angelique. "Is she with you?"

"Yes," I said. "Will that be a problem?"

Vlad picked up Angelique and placed her on his hip. "Nope, want to go party with some cats?" he asked Angelique.

Angelique giggled and then nodded. She seemed a bit tired, but the excitement clearly had given her energy.

Vlad turned to the others. "I can wait on a chair today. Anyone want to walk over to the hotel?"

"I'll get makeup off," Jan said. Rustan, Sveta, and Tatyana all shrugged instead.

"Right," Vlad said. "Come I'll show you the room."

The man started walking out of the hall. Angelique squealed in happiness as he held her secure on his hip. Lenore ran after him, but the rest of my group followed at a slightly slower pace. As we walked Rustan moved close to me. "Are there lots of pickups?"

"They are very random, but I've seen a few since they were first announced. I've always been outside, but I wouldn't be surprised if your show eventually attracts one," I said.

"You think a show would attract one?" Jason asked.

"Remember when we were first at the testing center? Oh wait you were testing," I began. "Anyways I talked to the attendant. She was in training to be a ship commander. From what she said the ships available at the time of the announcement were limited to ships the aliens used. It sounded like the only transports they could use to move new citizens were small. That would explain the erratic pick up pattern."

Jason frowned, but then nodded. "That makes sense, but why would that matter to a show like this?"

"Well, I expect that there are new ships in production which would allow more people to be picked up at once. The theater here holds a lot of people."

"Just over a thousand at full capacity," Sveta said. "And we've sold out every show we performed."

"So figure if one percent of the audience has a good score that's ten citizens that can be collected. That's more than most fast food places where they might get five or fewer. Heck, I've heard that some pickups end up gaining only one person because its late at night at a diner, and there weren't many people there," I said. "If they need a lot of people, a show like this is a good place to drop in."

Rustan nodded. "That makes sense. You have thought about this quite a bit."

"He's been avoiding pickups," Jessica offered. "We wanted to allow his younger sister to turn fourteen before we all got picked up."

"Why wait?" Tatyana asked. Her voice had a purr to it that sent a bit of a shiver up my spine.

"My father is not a good man, and my mother has already been picked up. The worry was if she can't test before we leave, she might end up stuck on Earth. I would have loved to avoid that," I said.

"Is there no way around that?" Rustan asked.

"She's been my dependent for nearly a year. I'm now hoping I can just take her along when I get picked up. At least until she turns fourteen and tests," I replied.

"I think he dreams I'll get a six point five," Matti chirped.

"You don't hope for it?" Sveta asked as we exited the theater lobby. Vlad was a short distance ahead of us. I could see that Miki had joined Lenore. The two ladies were talking to Vlad as they headed to the hotel.

There were a few other cast members walking with us. I noticed that they all had makeup on their faces. The people in the area ignored us as we made our way to the hotel.

"I just can't fight," I heard my sister admit. "Mark can, he loves protecting people, but I freeze around hostile people."

"I try," I said with a shrug.

Rustan looked at me. "How old are you?"

"I turned fifteen back in February," I said. "Why?"

"You seem older in some ways," Sveta replied. "You have a quiet confidence about you."

"Mark tried to take on a lot of responsibility," Jessica said. "He's kind of been our leader since the announcement about the Sa'arm and the whole Confederacy Military."

"He has a good score?" Tatyana asked.

"It could be better," I said modestly.

Jason and Jessica started laughing. Maurice just slapped me in the back causing me to stumble. "For certain values of good," Maurice added.

We had reached the entrance to the hotel. Vlad was standing at the door and holding it open. He had set Angelique down, and the girl ran over to us. "I got a ride!" she told me happily.

"Did you thank him?" I asked.

Angelique looked at the ground for a moment and then turned and ran back towards the door. Jason and Jessica both laughed again. "She so wants to please you," Jason said.

"She's a wonderful girl," I said wistfully.

"Yours?" Sveta asked.

"Oh, heck no. She's Lenore's daughter. But Lenore and I have an understanding," I said.

Tatyana stopped walking and looked directly at me. "Understanding?"

"Mark didn't like the idea of waiting for a pickup and then having to select from the random people there. Instead, he started talking to people and has found a few ladies who stick near him. The goal is to be together at the location of a pickup. If that happens, he already has the women he will take, and they can be confident that the man who takes them will treat them well," Jason said.

"Or woman," Jessica said.

"Or woman," Jason agreed. "I'm still a bit surprised that Milli stuck with you. The way you girls all talk."

Jessica laughed. "It's mostly talk. I did test Milli a bit when we were just starting, but now we save events like that for rare occasions when we are really in need."

"Do I want to know?" Tatyana asked.

"No," I said. "So tell me about yourself."

I heard Ashley giggle as Tatyana smiled. "Well, I'm nineteen. I've been dancing for a long time, but this troupe is my first real job. I'm mostly an understudy, but I'm hoping to start performing in a lead role."

"I thought you usually started playing a minor role and then moved up to a lead role," I said.

"Yes," Tatyana said. "But I have a sister back home. The only way she can come out is if I'm in a lead role, so I have to keep working hard."

Tatyana skipped through the open doorway and headed for an open door to one of the ground floor conference rooms. I paused at the doorway and looked at Vlad. "The party is on the ground floor?" I asked.

He smiled. "It's a way to keep the drinking down. We tell everyone that we won't drag them to the elevator so no one wants to drink too much. That, and this way the caterers don't have to bring the food upstairs."

"You have a lot of food for these?" I asked.

"Not really, but after a show everyone is usually a little hungry. It takes a lot of energy," Vlad said as we stepped into the hotel. We were the last two to enter.

The door closed behind us and we began walking towards the conference room. Vlad nodded to Miki and Lenore as they entered the room. "Those two tell me that they plan to go with you when you are picked up."

"That is the plan. Miki, Lenore, and Ashley will be coming with me," I replied.

"Only three girls?" Vlad asked. "How do you figure that?"

"They are the only ones I've met that I felt got along with the others," I said. "It would be monstrously unfair to bring in a girl that the others disliked."

"But what happens if you are picked up tomorrow," Vlad asked.

I sighed. "I'm trying not to worry too much about that. I keep hoping I'll meet someone the girls like."

"What about who you like?" Vlad asked.

"I'm a guy. If she's sweet, caring, and willing to join the others I'd be a fool to say no," I said.

"Really?" Vlad asked me as we stopped walking just outside the door to the party room.

"No," I said. "I do have to like her. I just usually let one of the girls give me a cue that it might be a good idea to think about it. Or really, I wait for Ashley to say something. She'll never be the one in charge, but she's got a lot of insight."

"Why won't she be in charge?" Vlad asked.

"She doesn't want to be," I said. "She wants to be a mother far more than she wants to be leading anyone. I think that is why she doesn't have a six point five herself. She makes a great second in command, but she can't lead and she doesn't really want to fight."

"Interesting," Vlad said.

"You are thinking something," I said accusingly.

"Oh, I'll wait and see if anything is happening inside. As you said, you won't make a decision unless others are interested as well," Vlad said with a smile. He opened the door and quickly stepped away from me.

I grabbed for the door and moved to follow, but Vlad had managed to disappear into the crowd. The room was not very big and the fifteen dancers combined with my family and friends made for a rather densely packed room. Frustrated by his final words I looked around to room to see what was happening.

Morgan, Jason, and Maurice were standing and chatting with Rustan and two male actors I had not met. Rustan was using one of the other actors to demonstrate some moves for my friends. They appeared to be rather engrossed in the conversation.

Beatrice had gathered Becky and the children. They were chatting with the woman who played Victoria. The woman had removed the wig she had been wearing, and I was surprised to notice that she had brunette hair. She smiled at Erica as they talked.