While Momma sewed up a blue streak, and Suzanne and I reworked lyrics, Char and her drama coach cruised the bars and clubs and made tons of phone calls, on a mission to find out when there would be good opportunities for her to audition. Finally, they came up with a plan. Char’s first appearance would be in a club where many new artists tried out their acts. A date was set. A few solid and reputable booking agents were invited to be in the audience without Char’s knowledge.

“I don’t want her to have any more anxiety than she’s already got,” Suzanne said.

“Good call,” I said.

Suzanne suggested that when Charlie was dressed as Char, we should use feminine pronouns and that seemed right to me and to Momma. And now that she was Char all the time, she was she all the time.

The day before her showcase I said to Char, “Okay, you have to do your nails. And that includes your feet.”

“I’ve never worn nail polish,” Char said.

“I don’t know how you missed it, but now you’re going to, so let’s go.”

“I’m nervous,” Char said when we were in pedicure chairs in the salon Suzanne sent us to.

“Me, too,” I said. “But you know what? You’re going to be okay.”

“Easy for you to say,” she said.

“Look, I’ve thought about this. If the show goes well and an agent appears to book you a pile of gigs? Great! If an agent never appears, I still love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, and the relief that flooded her was obvious.

“This is not a contest with an approval trophy from me, Momma, or Suzanne. It’s more like a little dream coming true. Don’t let the what-ifs eat you alive and take all the fun out of it for you. This is supposed to be fun. Remember that.”

“What if Cher’s in the audience?” Char said with a nervous laugh.

“What if Dame Edna’s in the audience?”

Realizing that the odds of their making an appearance were a billion to one, my Charlie, soon to be the world’s Char, relaxed again.

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m worried about nothing.”

“That’s right,” I said. “You’re worried about nothing.”

There was one rehearsal in the actual space with the lighting manager and the sound engineer.

“How did it go?” I asked when she came in.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

The evening of the showcase arrived and we went to the club on the early side so that Char would have some time to get comfortable in the space. She wasn’t the only one performing that night. There was a ventriloquist, a magician, a vocalist, and our Charlie. Char. There would be no costume change for Char, so that minimized the stress.