Yancey didn’t have much time before Nicole would return to the room to prepare for the evening’s performance. She rushed into their hotel room, put on the safety latch, and went into the bedroom. She dropped her gym bag on the queen-sized bed nearest the telephone and dialed Ava’s number.
“Ava Parker speaking.”
“Ava! This is Yancey.” Yancey removed the light blue sweatband from her head, then released her ponytail.
“You sound out of breath, child! Is everything all right?”
“Fine. Everything is great. I just got in from the gym and wanted to talk to you before Miss Pretty gets back. You know, Ava, I don’t know if rooming with her was such a good idea.”
“Why not? How else are you going to get even with her?”
“It’s just that she’s always around. Like the bitch ain’t got nothing to do but hang with me. Most of the cast members would die for the opportunity to spend this much time with Nicole alone, but she’s always with me. I can’t wait until next week when her husband comes to visit. I’m going to have a private room the last few days here in Detroit and then we’ll have a chance to talk more.” Yancey ran her fingers through her hair. She needed a shampoo and conditioning, and for once, she was thankful Dreamgirls had so many wig changes.
“Well, even though she’s all up in your face all the time, you seem to be working it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the review you faxed me.”
“I’m working them fierce and it’s working everyone’s last nerve.”
“Including Miss Pretty?” Ava asked.
“That’s the problem, everyone except Nicole! This is one seasoned diva. Whenever I get great reviews, she congratulates me with that beauty pageant voice of hers. Like she’s trying to win Miss Congeniality or something. It’s just so damn fake.”
It was really beginning to wear Yancey out that Nicole was always so supportive and gracious. It didn’t bother Yancey at all that her great reviews brought cold shoulders and looks of disdain from the other cast members. She knew where they were coming from. But Nicole, who should have been threatened by Yancey’s success, was as nice as she could be. Bitch! Even when Yancey lied and told Nicole that the producers of Chicago were flying her back to New York to audition for the lead in the Broadway company, Nicole was deliriously happy for her. The truth was that Yancey had to pay her own way and the audition was only for the chorus. Nicole had even confided her disappointment when the same producers had turned her down because Chicago was a “Bob Fosse dancers’ show.” “But I can dance,” Nicole had said. It was common knowledge among some Broadway casting agents that Nicole Springer was a singer who could act, but she had limited dancing skills.
“Where is she now?” Ava asked.
“Still working out at the gym. I know she’s wondering how I can rehearse three to four hours a day, work out at the gym, and then turn it out when the curtain rises, but she’s right there hanging in with me.”
“So I guess she’s got to work out to keep that shape,” Ava said.
“I guess so, but not to worry, gravity will take care of her.”
“I can’t wait until she has a baby,” Ava said, “then hopefully, she’ll have those childbearing hips.”
“That’s why I’m calling,” Yancey remembered. “I don’t think Miss Girl was ever going to have any children. I don’t think she can.”
“What? Why not?”
“It’s just a feeling I have. Do you know this friend of hers named Delaney?”
“Naw, never heard of her. Was she a pageant girl too?”
“I don’t know, but I think they met in New York. Nicole has never mentioned her, but Cedric, one of the gay boys in the show, told me Nicole and Delaney used to be real tight. And when Cedric brought up Delaney’s name in front of Nicole, well, you would have thought Miss Pretty had just seen a ghost.”
“Now, I wonder what’s up with that?” Ava said.
“It gets better …” Yancey paused dramatically, setting Ava up for the really juicy news. “It seems this Delaney person is funny. You know, a lesbo!”
“Girl, shut up! Naw! You’ve got to be kidding?”
“Now, tell me if I’m wrong, but I do believe there’s a story there. And I intend to find out what it is.”
“You don’t think Miss Pretty has been bumping pussies, do you?”
“I don’t know, but if she has, wouldn’t it be special if you and Miss Delaney showed up at our dressing room one night just before a performance?”
“Darling, just tell me when,” Ava said.
“First we have to find Miss Delaney. I’ll see what information I can get from Cedric. He loves to run his mouth when he gets a little liquor in him.”
“And I’ll look through some of my old programs and see what I can find out,” Ava said.
“You do that. I know we can find her. And Ava, guess what?”
“I don’t think I can take any more news. What?”
“My new agent called and said some people in L.A. saw me on the Rosie show. They want me to come out there for pilot season!”
“That’s great! Who are these people? And when are you going?”
Before Yancey could answer, she heard a knock at the door.
“Yancey?” Nicole called out. “The safety latch is on.”
“She’s back. I got to go,” Yancey whispered into the phone. “Hold on, Nicole. Here I come, darling.”