I don't know how it's happened, but I'm bowing suddenly, hands grasped firmly in those of Malik and my stage daughter, Amber. They're smiling to the sound of applause, to the audience standing and clapping for us while the lights still blind me.

I release their hands, blow Aunt Vonda a kiss, then the Ferrises, even as I ignore my father. But it's hard not to catch the anger on Bianca's face, to enjoy it like a long drink of cold water on a hot day.

The curtain falls ...