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Willeratulations froht, and condolences for next week He accepts them both

Max is by his side, as always She is the other understudy, for Rosalind, and Willem’s best friend in the cast "You win some, you lose some And sometimes you win and lose at the same time Life’s a bloody cockup," Max says

"Is that Shakespeare?" Willem asks

"Nah Just me"

"Sounds like the Universal Law of Equilibrium," Willem says

"The what?"

When Willeht away, she says, "Sounds like a bunch of shite"

"You’re probably right," Willerees And then he asks her if she’ll coover froht," Max complains "How many parties does one man need?"

"This is different," Willem says

"How is it different?" Max asks

Max has become one of his closest friends these pastto do now but to tell her everything

"Because I’m in love"

• • •

Kate and David arrive just before curtain She’d ht from the airport, but when she’d seen David, she had been overcome It was a bit silly, really It had only been a few days since she’d seen hiether for five years But she’d been feeling roiled since last night A good Shakespearean performance was known to have aphrodisiacal effects So when David arrived, she’d hustled hier hotel and had her ith hiotten themselves massively lost on the way to the park (someone should mention to city planners that Amsterdam was laid out like a rat’s maze, albeit a very pretty rat’s maze) and now here they are

I hope I haven’t oversold it, Kate thinks as the lights go down She has essentially proht’s perforree Willeood But she is nervous now They’ve offered apprenticeships to foreigners before, but sparingly, because the visa paperwork and union issues are such a headache

Willeins as Orlando

Kate breathes a sigh of relief She hasn’t oversold it

• • •

It is better than last night Because there are no walls No illusions This ti to

"The little strength that I have, I would it ith you"

She is his Mountain Girl

"What would you say to me now, an I were your very very Rosalind?"

NoBecause he knows She knows

"Fair youth, I would I could make thee believe I love"

She believes They both do

"I would kiss before I spoke"

The line is a kiss Their kiss

"For ever and a day"

For ever and a day

• • •

"Holy shit," David says to Kate when it is over

Kate thinks I told you so, but doesn’t say anything

"And this is the hitchhiker you gave a ride to in Mexico?"