February, 1955

Lily Valentine knew this was one of those life changing moments Mama had talked about.     

The No.23 bus pulled into the station and screeched to a stop. Lily elbowed her best friend, Daisy Parker, who had fallen asleep somewhere between the desert and the tall buildings of Los Angeles. Her head had landed on Lily shoulder and a strand of her brown hair lay strewn across her mouth, rising and falling with each breath.       

“Wake up, Daisy. This is the moment we’ve waited 2,000 miles for.”       

Daisy sat up and looked out the window. “We‘re here? Where’s the TV studio?”      

Lily looked at the map she had scribbled onto the back of a travel brochure. “The man behind us gave me directions to Desilu. We will have to walk. Will you be okay?”      

Daisy lifted the hem of her green skirt to reveal the steel brace on her right leg. “I’ll be fine.”       

Daisy had contracted polio when she was eleven. She had been through years of therapy but still had problems with that one leg.      

Lily picked up the suitcases, full of the only possessions they had brought from their hometown of Broken Spoon, Missouri. They stepped off the bus into the California sunshine and walked down the sidewalk.      

“Be looking for Cahuenga Boulevard.” Lily said.       

Daisy clapped her hands together. “Oh, Lily! Did they really ask you to come out and audition for a part on television?”      

Lily smiled. “That’s what the lady on the phone said. I guess some of Lucille Ball’s people were traveling out that way and happened to stop by on the night we were performing Little Women.”     

 “Lily Valentine, star of the Broken Spoon Theater, now soon to be a television actress in Hollywood. Can I have your autograph?”     

 Lily waved her hand. “Oh, come now. You are just as talented an actress as me. They might even offer you a part too.” 

     “What about my limp?”

“That’s nothing, Dais. It‘s barely noticeable. Just wait until they meet you. You’ll knock their socks off.”

Daisy kicked away a rock in her path. “I still can’t believe I’m here. It was so last minute. I didn’t even know if I’d be able to catch you before you left. I just had to get out of that house. You know how Mama’s been ever since Daddy left.”

Lily patted her back. “I know. It was a surprise to see you walking towards me at the bus station, but I’m glad you decided to come along.”

They walked in silence for several minutes. Lily had never seen so many tall buildings, cars, buses and people so close together before. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

As they approached the gates of Desilu Studios a man holding a clipboard walked out of a booth. His name tag said Stan.

“You can‘t go in there ladies. We‘re not open to the public.”

“Hi Stan. I‘m Lily Valentine. This here is my friend, Daisy Parker. They‘re expecting me.”

“I don‘t see your name on my list. Who was expecting you?”

“Lucille Ball. I’m an actress.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “Sure you are.”

“No, really. Someone asked me to come here and audition.They said they have a part that‘s perfect for me.”

“Just a minute.” Stan went into his booth and picked up the phone.

“Not very friendly is he?” Daisy asked.

“No, but he deals with a lot of a lot of riff raff. You know, people just walking in off the street and trying to get a job. Just wait until… oh here he comes.”

Stan tapped his clipboard with his pencil. “She‘s not expecting anyone with your name. In fact, she‘s never heard of you and no one else has either.”

Lily‘s heart sank. “I don‘t understand. Someone here called me.”

“Who did you talk to?”

Lily pulled a piece of paper out of her dress pocket and unfolded it. “Ima Lozier.”

“Oh, no” Daisy whispered under her breath.

Stan frowned. “I hate to tell you this but I think someone played a trick on you. There is no one here by that name.”

Daisy stepped up. “Can she at least get an audition with someone? In the Broken Spoon Theater production of Little Women Lily played Joe. She was a big hit. I played Meg.”

Stan smiled at Daisy. “That sounds fascinating Daisy and I’d love to hear more about this Broken Spoon place, but I don’t arrange auditions.”

“Could I at least talk to someone? Anyone? We traveled 2,000 miles.” Lily asked.

“You could have come 20,000 miles and I still couldn‘t let you in if your name isn‘t on this list.”

Lily sighed. “What do I need to do to get on the list?”

“You need to have connections. You need a big shot to connect you with the big shots in here.”

“Fair enough. I’ll just go out there and get to know someone with connections. This town must be crawling with big shots.”

“Well, good luck!” Stan went back into his booth.

Lily swallowed a lump in her throat and fought back tears as they walked away.

Daisy patted her on the back. “You know what? This sounds like the work of Nanette Beardsley. She was always jealous of you.”

The hair on the back of Lily’s neck stood up when she thought about her longtime rival back home.

Daisy continued. “I saw the look on her face when they announced that you got the part of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and she got stuck being your understudy. She just wanted to get you to leave town so she would get the part. Well, jokes on her. The play isn‘t for two more weeks, which gives us plenty of time to get back home.”

Lily shook her head. “Oh no. I’m not going back home with my tail tucked between my legs.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

“Well, first we have to find jobs. The fifty dollars we have between us isn‘t going to get us far. Then I’m going to find someone with connections. I’m going to meet Lucy and get that audition at Desilu, just watch. Eat your heart out Nanette Beardsley.”