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Opening night. Jimmy was vibrating in excitement—well. Somewhere between excitement and nerves. This was it! His big moment was almost here! He hadn't ever had a role quite this big before… But, the rehearsals for this production of Hadestown had been going very well so far. He had no reason to be scared. And yet… It was completely sold out tonight. Some of his friends were planning on coming to watch, which, if he was being honest, was terrifying. But… It doesn't matter. He's got this.
The singing warmup went smoothly, as he expected. He wandered back down to his dressing room, only to find a letter, and a flower on top. He tilted his head, stepping closer. The flower was a red carnation. The flower Orpheus gave to Eurydice in their production. In fact, Jimmy wasn't entirely unconvinced it wasn't just the exact prop… If he hadn't seen the prop on the props table as he walked past just now, he would have believed it was. And if it weren't for the fact that the carnation wasn't a real flower…
Jimmy opened up the letter.
My dearest, Jimmy,
It's been a pleasure to be rehearsing with you these last few months. I've loved every minute of it. You've, by far, been my favourite person to act opposite onstage, and off-stage… Well, I've enjoyed our company lots, a lot more than I have with some other principals. I wish you all the best for opening night—I know this is your first major role, and I know that you will smash it
Love, Scott xxx
P.S. In case you didn't know, carnations mean 'love and devotion' in Flower Language xxx
His cheeks were hot. O- Oh… Love and devotion? He picked up the carnation. It made sense that the flower was used in Hadestown, then… And… Does this mean Scott felt the same way? Jimmy had worried that this 'Showmance' was one-sided, or just… A result of a lot—a lot—of on-stage kissing, and other intimate activities… Grian had really been trying to make Jimmy blush while directing this show, and he knew that. But it was… It was really nice to learn that Scott felt the same way… There was a comma after 'dearest', after all!
He put the carnation down, back onto his dressing table, tucking it into his make-up box for now—he'd get some water for it later, after the show. The letter, he folded up gently, and put it into his bag. That wasn't a 'good luck' card he wanted to have on display, Grian would be teasing him too much.
As if on cue, Grian burst into the room, in a green dress, ready to play Persephone, grinning.
"You ready, Tim? Beginner's call now! Break a leg!"
Grian ran out again, presumably to tell the others. Jimmy took one last look at the carnation, and smiled. Yeah. Yeah, he was ready. He hurried up to the wings, just in time to hear the trombone playing the first few notes of 'Road to Hell'.