Meg deposited her tote in the dressing room, then went to the laundry to get the undergarments she had left to be washed the night before. Bringing those back to the dressing room, she picked up Belinda’s costumes and took them to be steamed. By the time she returned to arrange them on the rack in the order they were to be worn, Langley Tate was in the dressing room.
Langley sat at the makeup table, her head in her hands. She looked up, and Meg could see in the mirror that Langley had been crying.
“This isn’t what I thought it was going to be at all,” Langley sobbed.
Meg wasn’t sure what to say, so she didn’t say anything. As she hung the dresses, she listened to Langley’s continued whining.
“You should have seen how mean Keith was to me this afternoon.” Langley began to imitate Keith’s high-pitched voice. “You don’t do this like Belinda. You don’t do that like Belinda. You’re not going to seem mature enough to have been married for fourteen years.” She spoke in her own voice again. “When I told Keith that makeup would help take care of that, he said no amount of makeup could give me the incredible acting talent that Belinda had. Way to instill confidence, Keith.”
“Maybe he’s just worried,” Meg said.
“Well, I’m worried, too,” said Langley. “And the director is supposed to reassure his actors, not tear them down and make them think they’re awful. How am I supposed to go out there tonight and knock ’em dead when I know the director thinks so little of me?”
“He has to think you have talent, Langley, or he wouldn’t have chosen you to be Belinda’s understudy,” said Meg.
“You know what, Meg? I don’t think Keith ever thought that he was going to have to use me. Belinda is known for never missing a performance. She’s the twenty-first century’s Ethel Merman. So Keith didn’t think there was a real possibility that I would ever get a chance to play Valerie.” The tone of Langley’s voice had changed from despair to anger.
Langley stood up, walked over to the clothing rack, and lifted off the green velvet ball gown. “Let me try on these dresses to see if the costume shop has made the alterations, Meg. And Keith Fallows can go screw himself, because I’m going to show him.”