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Dorothy and David read the script together. It was a love story and it ended in tragedy, like "Romeo and Juliet". However, unlike real life, Dorothy and Abraham died together, sinking with the ship and declaring their love for each other. It was a beautiful script and Dorothy made many compliments about it.

"Where did you get the name Dorothy?"she asked with a smile,"That's a fascinating name"

"I chose the name Dorothy because I was sick of making up names when I was thinking of you anyway"he said to her. "I guess in my mind since I cant have you act in it, I can have someone with the same name..."he said and then sighed,"I would love for you to do it. Its kind of like backwards method acting, you've already experienced it but I cant ask you to do that..."

Dorothy smiled sadly,"I knew you were going to ask me, and you know that I could never say no to you. Im not much different"

"If you did it, I would change the lead characters name. Charlie Chaplin may play Abraham he wouldn't mind if I changed the name. Just so you would be comfortable"

Dorothy shook her head,"No no no no. Don't change anything for me"she said,"Let me think about it alright?"

"Alright, Im here through the rest of the week. Can you get back to me by then?"he asked her

"Sure. I will"she said

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Since Salomi had to open up at 9, Gabriel came with her. He watched her go over papers and do her numbers and math in her head and write things down. He smiled as he watched her. It was like when she was behind the desk, working, she was a different person. More focused, she seemed older and more mature. It was different from her young and vibrant spirit. "You aren't bored of this are you?"she asked him

"No. I could watch you all day"he said to her. She giggled and wrote a couple numbers down in a book and then continued looking over papers. Just a few hours ago, he thought that she was just an angel that didn't make it. Then she turned into a reality. It was crazy but it was like he was scared to leave her alone. Afraid that this was all a dream or she would disappear into thin air.

"Are you nervous?"she asked him.

"Nervous?"he asked slowly, he was afraid that he was distracting her from her counting.

"Nervous about the show tonight. It's a Friday night, usually tonight and tomorrow are packed. Many of Dorothy's fans come here to catch a glimpse of her. Some of her Broadway friends stop by or people she knew from Hollywood and it seems all of Harlem comes here sometimes. We get rather busy"she said as she did her math. She was multi talented she could hold conversations and count and not make a mistake.

"Ive performed for thousands"he said nonchalantly and smiled, remembering his circus days. "But I am nervous. But I need that to keep me going, you know? The nerves give me energy"

Salomi nodded as she counted money. "Makes sense"she said,"Do you know what you are going to do? Are you going to pick a table up with your teeth?"she asked as she put some money in a small stack and looked at him and smiled,"I remember when you first showed me that in first class"

"Yes I'll do that. That's what blew Dorothy away"he said,"Should I practice?"he asked her

"It wouldn't hurt. None of the performers are here yet. You should practice now before they all demand their time. You performers are so demanding"she said and winked at him

"Good idea"he said as he walked around the desk and leaned down and kissed her. "Will you watch me tonight?"he asked her

"Of course I will"she said,"I have a feeling you'll be my favorite"she said as she returned the kiss.

Then the door opened and a blonde girl stood there and gasped,"Salomi Squires!"

Salomi rolled her eyes,"What Ruth?"

"Who is this? You know Dorothy doesn't like just anybody in her office"

"Hes an exception"Salomi said

"Well who is he?"she asked her

"He's my boyfriend"she said

"Aren't you a little too young to have a boyfriend? You are only 14!?"

"And shouldn't you be married? Arent you old enough?"Salomi shot back.

"Im Gabriel Brewster. Im one of the new performers that Dorothy hired this morning"he said as he held out his hand, introducing himself.

However, she didn't shake it. She looked through the clipboard, that was piled high with papers, that was in her hand. "Gabriel Brewster..Gabriel Brewster..I don't have a Gabriel listed"she said, starting to panic. Ruth Watkins was Dorothy's other assistant. While Salomi did the books, Ruth was in charge of the club- she managed the bar and everything that went on backstage. She was a big fan of Dorothy and worked here so that she could go to college in the fall. She and Salomi didn't get along well. Ruth was quick to panic while Salomi was nonchalant. Ruth was quick to tell Salomi that she was a child or she should ask someone for help when Salomi knew she didn't need it. She wasn't a child. "I don't have your audition form"she said

"Oh here it is"Salomi said and handed it to her

"Why are you giving this to me now? An hour before the show starts"Ruth panicked. "Ive already set all the other new performers up with dressing rooms. Everyone gets 5 minutes of rehearsal time and that leaves just enough time for the show to start, now I have one more performer to worry about!?"

"I'll worry about him"Salomi said

"Im sorry. Whats your name?"Gabriel asked, trying to help

"Her name's Ruth"Salomi said with a sigh,"Calm down Ruth, its not that serious"she said to her

"Yes it is. I made a schedule and I don't think we have any empty dressing rooms-"

"Ruth? I need to talk to you"another blonde said as she came to the door. She saw Gabriel and smiled, ooooh a new guy? He sure was cute!

"In a minute Tina. Im busy trying to figure out this mess that somehow accrued"

"Dorothy forgot to give you his audition sheet. Just tell her when she gets here, she'll take care of it"Salomi said

"By the time she gets here, the show would have already started! She told me she will be running late"she said,"Which puts me in charge of everything. I need to open the box office in 30 minutes and I have so many things to do"she said. She hated when Dorothy put her in charge. She was always afraid that nothing will go right, that the whole club will come tumbling down and it would be all her fault. Like Dorothy, she aimed to please, especially if it was her favorite film star. She didn't want Dorothy to know that she made mistakes. Which was nearly impossible.

"Well Im her assistant too, you know, how can I help?"Salomi asked impatiently. Ruth wasn't making the situation any better by panicking.

"Ruth, this will only take a minute"Tina said impatiently.

"What? Yes? What is it?"Ruth snapped at her.

"Tess is sick-"

"Again!?"Ruth said, getting even more panicky

"Yes, shes pregnant. That's why shes been sick this whole time"Tina said. "The doctor suggested that she not perform until the baby arrives"she said. Tina and Tess were the blonde Tumbling Twins. The men loved them and they loved them right back. Tess probably got pregnant by any of the regulars. But now what would this do to her performance? Would they let her go on by herself?

"Are you serious!"Ruth shouted. "I cant believe this!"

"I was wondering if I could just go on..make the act a few minutes shorter"Tina said. Just because her stupid sister got knocked up didn't mean that her career had to go out the window.

"No! You are the Tumbling Twins! Which means we need two people!"Ruth said

"Ok lets just think this out"Salomi said,then smiled,"This is simple. Tina can be called Tumbling Tina. We'll make her act 5 minutes instead of 10. Dorothy wants Gabriel to be a filler anyway so he can fill that time. Gabriel can also take Tess's dressing room. Problem solved"she said rationally

"Thanks"Tina said, still eyeing Gabriel. "So your Gabriel?"she asked him. He nodded,"Im Tina, nice to meet you"she said and winked at him,"I'll be back"she said and then left.

"Now Ruth, calm down and go about your business. I'll set up Gabriel's dressing room and whatever he needs and I'll let Dorothy know about Tess's situation. We have a lot of new performers so it shouldn't be a problem"Salomi said,"I'll finish the books later"

"But-"

"Just say thank you Ruth"Salomi said,"Come on"she said to Gabriel and led him out the room, leaving a panicked Ruth standing there with her mouth hanging open.

"Thank you!"she shouted after them

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Salomi set up Gabriel's dressing room while he warmed up and rehearsed onstage. He was still there when all the performers started to arrive and Ruth ushered them to their places, but she was so panicked, it was like herding cats. A lot of them were watching Gabriel and clapped after every trick. "That's nice Gabriel. But you need to get down off that stage now. Others need to rehearse and we are opening house soon"Ruth said hurriedly,"New performers! Please follow me, I need to give you your tour"she said. But she said it in a soft voice that no one paid attention to her and it took about 5 minutes for the new performers to start their tour.

Dorothy came in and found Salomi,"Things are running smoothly?"she asked her

"Not if you ask Ruth"Salomi said with a roll of her eyes

"Now be nice. Ruth is a hard worker and a good one. Shes very organized"

"Shes always panicking about something. She's a nervous wreck"

"People work different under pressure. People are different in general"she said,"What was she panicking over?"she asked

"Tess is pregnant"

"Tumbling Tess?"Dorothy asked

"Yes, her doctor said that she shouldn't perform until the baby arrives"

"Oh well Tina can still perform right? Its not like they're joined at the hip"

"That's what I said"Salomi said."So that's the way it will be, meanwhile Gabriel gets Tess's dressing room and he will fill the extra 5 minutes since Tina will only have a 5 minute show"

"Sounds reasonable"Dorothy said. She was very calm about it, which was great but it seemed that the only reason why was because she was distracted.

"You alright?"Salomi asked

"Yes"Dorothy said with a nod. "Now go help Ruth and be nice alright?"she told her. Salomi obeyed and Dorothy went to her office. She needed to be alone and really digest the decision that she made earlier.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Dorothy couldn't go back to the nightclub now. She needed to think. She called Ruth and let her know that she was going to be late and gave her instructions. She then went home. She sat down on her sofa and read the script. She read it from beginning to end and then she paced the room. Memories of her and Abraham danced in her head. She smiled,"Im going to do it"she said. Something told her to and she had a feeling it was Abraham. So that's what she told David, he was ecstatic, he said he was going to let her know of the schedule and get back to her.

"You wont regret this"he said to her

"I have a feeling your right"she said to him.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Salomi smiled widely as the crowd cheered, hooted and hollered at Gabriel and his tricks. It seemed like anything he set out to do, he did it to perfection and the crowd went wild. When he was done, they yelled,"Encore!" and even threw coins onstage. He picked up every last one and danced offstage as The Piano King accompanied him. Tears came to her eyes as she laughed and clapped. She was so proud of him.

"He's very talented. And very handsome"Dorothy said,"You are a very lucky girl, Salomi"

"I know"Salomi said with a smile

"I need to talk to you"Dorothy said. She needed to tell her that she was doing another film. She knew how busy the schedules were and she needed to figure out what to do with her when she was gone. They walked into her office as Gabriel got offstage.

He was smiling widely and he felt like he could fly. Especially when he saw Salomi and Dorothy clapping for him. Now this was what his life was supposed to be like, making money doing what he loved. Performing. "Good job sugar"he heard someone say and he turned around and saw Tina. "Thank goodness Im before you, you are one hard act to follow"

"Thanks"he said as he looked around for Salomi,he was supposed to go on again in another hour or so. He wanted to hear what she thought. Her opinion mattered,"Tina right?"he asked her. She nodded,"Your not so bad yourself"he said."Excuse me"he said as he went off to find Salomi. Leaving Tina behind, if she got knocked up, she wouldna33;t mind if Gabriel was the causea33;.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

"We spotted him"Morietti's assistant said as he walked into his office.

"Be more specific? Spotted who?"Morietti asked impatiently

"The two deliverers that died with the Titanic"he said

"They are no good to me dead, especially when they had my money in that suitcase"Morietti mumbled

"One is still alive. Vernon Greene. And he lives upstate"

Morietti smiled wickedly,"I wonder why he didna33;t come back to work? When you work for me, you work for life"he said,"Find him"

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Dorothy told Salomi that she was going to do another film, maybe her last film. She was going to dedicate it to Abraham and Salomi was touched. She urged her it was a good idea and was proud of her. They agreed that she and Ruth would be in charge, even though Salomi didna33;t agree to the latter. Dorothy even decided to trust her with the apartment, she was a responsible young lady after all and she had her tutor, Ruth and Gabriel to watch over her. And when Dorothy left for Long Island to film the movie 2 weeks later, she knew she made the right decision.

Of course Gabriel didn't mind, soon his life went from worthless to worthy. He was no longer shining shoes and stealing food. He could afford to buy both. After Salomi finished her lessons, they would go out and eat. Several times they went to Coney Island, Salomi loved the wooden coasters. He hated how they threw him around but he rode them for her. They would go to the nightclub and then he would escort her home afterward. Most of the time he spent the night, it was always innocent. He wanted to go further but he wanted to savor just holding her in his arms and he wasna33;t sure that she was ready to.

Late one night, Gabriel waited outside as Salomi helped Ruth to lock up and he saw two men down the alley making some sort of exchange. What was it? Drugs? Money? "Ready to go?"Salomi asked. He nodded and he walked her home. They let themselves in and Salomi went straight to the cabinet and opened a bottle of wine.

"What are you doing?"

"Ruth stresses me out. I need this"she said as she took a couple of gulps. She handed it to him and he shrugged and drank as well. She turned on the gramophone and they danced around the room, laughing and kissing. They danced their way into the bedroom and she pushed him on the bed. She then started to take off her dress, he was about to ask if she was sure but she interrupted him, reading his mind. "Its alright. I love you. I want you to make me into a woman"she said.

Soon they both were naked and making love as the gramophone played a burlesque tune in the next room. Gabriel smiled as he felt her soft and small body against his, exploring every inch of it. In just 2 weeks his life changed for the better. He was in love, madly in love.

*_________________________________*









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