Katy’s head was spinning. The man sounded serious, but how could he be? “Are you sure you have the right Katy Hart?”
“Very sure.” He chuckled. “It would make a big difference to the casting of this film if you’d come, Miss Hart.”
She pinched her temples with her thumb and forefinger. “How’d you find out about me?”
“Well . . . I don’t have access to that information, honestly. I can only tell you we’re holding up decisions on this film until we have your answer.”
The entire conversation didn’t make sense. If the details weren’t so specific she would’ve sworn it was one of the CKT kids playing a trick. But the man was too serious to be joking. Katy’s mind raced. How had they heard of her, and how had they known where to find her? And who in Hollywood was even aware she existed?
“So what can I tell the producer, Miss Hart? Can we make flight arrangements for you? I assume you’d be flying out of Indianapolis.”
Katy felt light-headed. She gripped the phone more tightly. “Can I . . . can I call you back in a few hours and let you know? I’m right in the middle of something.”
“Definitely.” He kept his tone upbeat, warm. “You’ve got my cell number. I’ll wait to hear from you one way or another, okay?”
“Yes. Thank you, Mister—” She thought of something. “Who’s producing the film?”
“DreamFilms.”
DreamFilms? The major motion picture studio, the birthplace of dozens of box-office hits? The moment seemed even more surreal than before. “Okay.” She gulped and looked down. Her knees were trembling. “Very good. I’ll call in a few hours.”
She hung up and tried to move, but the room swayed and she leaned against the wall. Nothing made sense. By the time she found her balance, returned to the sanctuary, and pulled the rehearsal back together, she doubted everything about the phone call.
But just in case it was real, after the rehearsal was over and all the kids’ questions were answered, after every one of them had gone home, and even Al and Nancy had left for the night, she turned to Rhonda Sanders and let her mouth hang open for a moment. “You won’t believe this.”
“What?” Rhonda was single, twenty-eight, and the person Katy could most relate to in the entire CKT organization. Their friendship had come fast and strong when Katy moved to Bloomington, and the two often talked about life and how it didn’t always work out the way it was supposed to.
Like Katy, Rhonda had been raised in a Christian home, believing that God had a special person picked out for her, a man with a strong faith and an ability to lead her in the lifelong journey of following Christ. All of that was supposed to happen by her twenty-fifth birthday—at least in the plan. Kids would come along shortly after that.
Instead here they were in their late twenties, wondering if life had passed them by.
Rhonda pulled up a chair and searched Katy’s face. “What won’t I believe? You met Prince Charming?”
“No.” Katy pulled her cell phone from her purse and held it out. “I got the strangest message yesterday, to call this casting director in Los Angeles.” She lifted one shoulder. “Naturally I thought it had something to do with Sarah Jo Stryker.”
“Naturally.”
Katy felt her eyes grow wide. “But it wasn’t about her. Get this.” She bit her lower lip and stared at her phone. Her eyes met Rhonda’s again. “I called the guy and he tells me . . .” A nervous bit of laughter made it hard for her to finish her sentence. She breathed in slowly through her nose. “He tells me DreamFilms Studio wants to fly me to Los Angeles Sunday for a Monday morning audition.” She hesitated, holding her breath. “An audition for the lead in an upcoming romantic comedy called Dream On. I told him I had to think about it for a few hours and call him back.”
“What?” Rhonda jumped to her feet. She held her hands out toward Katy and let out a scream. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” Katy squealed. Of all the people she knew in Bloomington, only Rhonda had any idea about her short-term career in film or how badly she’d wanted that break back then. Of course, there were some things even Rhonda didn’t know, things Katy had never told anyone.
“So call him back and tell him yes!” Rhonda stood and did a little dance. “I can’t believe it, Katy. . . . Things like this don’t just happen to people in Bloomington, Indiana.” She stopped moving for a moment. “Well, what’re you waiting for?”
“What if it isn’t real?” Katy paced a few feet in either direction. “Somehow it feels like a practical joke—you know, something thrown together by the Reed family or the Zarellis.”
“Oh.” The excitement on Rhonda’s face faded. “I didn’t think about that.”
“Okay, so say it isn’t a practical joke.” Katy plopped down on the edge of a table. “Say a casting director working for DreamFilms really found out about me and wants to fly me in for an audition.” She giggled at the thought. “Then right now he’s waiting for me to call him back, this Mitch Henry, whoever he is. So what do I tell him?”
“If it’s the real deal?” Rhonda screamed again. “Are you kidding? You jump on that plane, Katy Lynn Hart, and you give the audition of a lifetime!”
Katy was on her feet again, pacing once more. She stopped and tossed her hands in the air. “What about Tom Sawyer?”
“He’s a made-up person. He can’t read for the part.”
Katy laughed. “You know what I mean. My obligation is here in Bloomington.”
“The guy wants you Sunday and Monday. The next CKT class isn’t until Thursday.” Rhonda raised one hand and lowered the other, weighing the possibility. “Doesn’t sound like a conflict to me.”
“All right.” Katy found her chair and sat down hard. She exhaled and studied the cell phone in her hand. “I’m going to do it.” She raised her eyes to Rhonda’s. “If it’s a practical joke, I’m getting payback before the week’s up.”
“Just dial it, Katy.” Rhonda fell to the floor in a cross-legged heap. “I’m dying here.”
Katy pushed a series of buttons, held the phone to her ear, and waited.
“Mitch Henry here. Is this Miss Hart?”
“It is.” Katy closed her eyes. “I thought about it, sir, and I’d like to come. What should I do next?”
“Good. I don’t think you’ll be sorry. It isn’t often we do this with someone, well . . . someone unknown like yourself and—”
“Exactly,” Katy cut in. “But you’re sure they want me to read for the part?” She opened her eyes and looked at Rhonda. “They asked for Katy Hart of Bloomington?”
Mitch Henry laughed. “You’re the one. Can you fly out around noon on Sunday?”
“Yes, I guess so.” Katy nodded at Rhonda and mouthed the words It’s for real. Her heart was racing in a rhythm she didn’t recognize. What would she wear? What part was it exactly, anyway? And how in the world had DreamFilms found her?
Mitch Henry was talking about having someone make the arrangements. “I’ll call you at your home number to give you the itinerary.”
Katy thought about the Flanigans getting a call from Mr. Henry again. If she was going to fly to LA and read for a movie role, she didn’t want anyone but Rhonda knowing about it. Otherwise all the kids in CKT would find out, and when she came home without the part she’d never hear the end of it. Better to take the trip quietly. That way when she never heard from the casting director again she’d have less explaining to do.
“Actually, try my cell phone.” She gave him the number. “When should I expect your call?”
“Sometime after one o’clock tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She was shaking again. “Thanks, Mr. Henry. I still can’t make sense of this, but I’ll come. If it’s the real deal, I’ll be there.”
“Oh yes, Miss Hart.” Again he laughed. “It’s the real deal. No question about that.”
Katy ended the phone call and stared at Rhonda. “It’s not a joke.” Her voice was flat, shocked. Then she jumped to her feet and ran
in circles, letting out short screams. “I’m really flying to LA on Sunday!”
Rhonda held out her arms and gave Katy a huge hug. “You’re going to be famous, Katy. I just know it. I always thought you had too much talent to stay in Bloomington.” She took a quick breath. “Let’s go to Branches and get a latte to celebrate!”
“Okay.” She stepped back and searched Rhonda’s eyes. “But let’s do something else first.”
“What?” Rhonda’s smile took up most of her face.
Katy reached out and took Rhonda’s hands. “Let’s pray.”
Then, with her whole heart turned toward heaven, Katy grew more serious than she’d been in days. She thanked God for the strange and sudden opportunity and asked for His wisdom and guidance and protection on the trip. Then she uttered the rhyming prayer that her parents had prayed over her since she was a little girl, the one that in light of the recent turn of events seemed particularly meaningful.
“God, please now my future see; make it clear where I should be. Open windows, close the doors; not my will, my God, but Yours.”
Even though she no longer worked there, Ashley stopped in once every month or so to visit her friends at Sunset Hills Adult Care Home. This Saturday morning Landon and Cole had plans to clean the backyard and pull weeds from around the swing set. Ashley had to run a few errands, so she stopped at Sunset Hills on the way home.
Jenny Flanigan had called and asked her to check on availability. Apparently on Friday her mother was diagnosed with dementia, and her doctor thought it better to move her into assisted living now, rather than wait until her condition worsened.
The sun shone through the trees that took up the front yard. Sunset Hills was really a converted family home, and as such it blended in with the other houses in the neighborhood. Ashley stopped and studied the roses that ran beneath the front window. The place harbored so many memories. She breathed in the sweet summer air and smiled. God had used Sunset Hills and its elderly people to restore her ability to love. Everything about her life was different because of the lessons she’d learned here.
She walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
After a few moments, Roberta answered. She was a lovely young Mexican woman with a Spanish lilt and a heart for family and faith. She was the perfect one to replace Ashley when she left a year ago. “Ashley! Como estás?” She held the door open and ushered Ashley inside.
“Bien.” Ashley gave the woman a hug and grinned at her. “See? I haven’t forgotten the Spanish you taught me.”
“Sí, muy bien.” Roberta laughed. “Come in, friend. Things are good here at Sunset Hills.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “The old people miss you. They still talk about you like you’re here.”
Ashley allowed a smile. “They still talk about 1975 like it’s here too.”
Roberta cocked her head. “True.” She led the way into the foyer and motioned to the row of recliners. “Morning nap is almost over.”
Ashley studied the faces in the chairs. Edith was at the far end, dear, sweet Edith. The former beauty queen had been afraid of her own reflection until Ashley removed the mirrors in her bathroom. Ashley looked at Roberta. “How’s she doing?”
“Well . . .” Roberta walked to Edith and patted her hand. Edith snored in return, and Roberta kept her voice low. “Her doctor says it won’t be long. She’s at the end stage of heart failure.”
“I remember.” Ashley turned and saw Helen in the recliner next to Edith. “And what about Helen? Still violent when the eggs aren’t hot?”
“Still talking about her daughter, Sue.” Roberta’s eyes danced. “They visit all the time, and once in a while it happens again, that magical thing that happened when you were here. Helen remembers her, and she and her daughter have a day stolen from yesterday.”
Ashley nodded, ignoring the lump in her throat. “I’m glad. She loves Sue very much.”
“Sí, mucho.” Roberta looked at a third woman, sleeping in the recliner at the far end. “Betty is new to us, and Frank . . . you remember Frank?”
“Yes. He took the spot when Laura Jo died.”
“Well—” Roberta looked down for a moment—“Frank passed on last week. Doctors think it was a stroke.” She glanced down the hall. “He was a very nice man. Big family. They were here all the time.” Her eyes grew misty. “I miss him.”
Ashley slipped her arm around Roberta’s shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. That was the hard part about working with older people. She remembered Irvel, the woman she’d been closest to at Sunset Hills. Irvel had taught her that the love between a husband and a wife was stronger than time or illness or even death.
“The friendships formed here are often short-lived, Roberta.” Ashley stepped aside and set her purse down on an end table. “But they are deep and colorful, and that makes up for it.” She looked down the hallway. “Bert’s doing well?”
“Still shining his saddle.” Roberta led the way into the kitchen. “A man’s got to have a saddle to shine; that’s what he tells me every day.”
Ashley chuckled. The old saddle maker had been unable to speak until a saddle was brought into his room. Having a saddle—a purpose—had changed everything for Bert. Ashley was glad to hear he was doing well.
Eventually she got around to the real reason she’d come. She explained about Jenny Flanigan’s mother and asked about the openings.
“We have a room available.” Roberta poured water into the teakettle and set it on the stove. “Frank’s death was sudden. The owner’s taking applications for the space now.”
“Tell her I have the perfect person. Her name’s Lindsay Bueller and her family’s right here in town.” Ashley started unloading the dishwasher. “Her family’s been praying for a place like this.”
From the front room, they heard Helen call out.
Roberta dried her hands on a towel. “I’ll be right back. Helen needs help getting out of the chair these days.”
Ashley nodded. She took three teacups from the dishwasher and lined them up on the counter. Next she pulled the tray of tea bags closer and chose peppermint for each of them. Irvel had loved peppermint tea, and even with her gone more than a year, the people at Sunset Hills continued her tradition of a hot cup of tea at lunchtime.
Roberta came back into view, leading Helen toward her place at the dining room table. Helen shot a suspicious look at Ashley and motioned to her. “Has she been checked?” Before Roberta could say yes, Helen continued. “This place is falling apart, I tell you.” Helen held on to Roberta’s arm as she lowered herself into her chair. “Nobody gets checked anymore.”
Ashley smiled. Some things never changed. The kettle was boiling, so she poured the tea and took a cup to Helen and another to Roberta. Before the hour was up, they were joined by Bert and Edith. The conversation was disjointed and humorous, but it made Ashley miss working here.
When they were finished with tea and lunch, Ashley said her good-byes. As much as she enjoyed the company of her friends at Sunset Hills, she enjoyed being with Landon and Cole more. She was halfway home when she decided to swing by her parents’ house and check on her father.
He’d been quieter than usual lately. Probably thinking the same thing all the Baxters were thinking—that it had been almost a year since their mother died.
She pulled into the driveway and saw Kari’s car. Of the five adult Baxter siblings, only she and Kari and their oldest sister, Brooke, lived in Bloomington. Luke and his wife and baby lived in New York, and Erin, the youngest Baxter daughter, lived with her husband and four adopted daughters in Texas.
Physical distance didn’t matter. The Baxters were closer now than they’d been growing up, especially in the year since the death of their mother.
Once inside, Ashley found Kari and their father in the family room. In her father’s arms was Kari’s youngest, seven-month-old Ryan Junior, and next to him on the couch, peering in and patting the baby on the head, was Kari’s daughter, three-year-old Jessie.
“I wish I had a camera.” Ashley set her purse down and went to her father, kissing him on the cheek. “Or maybe an easel.”
“Hi, honey.” Her father smiled, and for the first time in a while, it went all the way to his eyes. The baby cooed. Her father crooked his finger and ran it beneath the baby’s chin. “Little Ryan’s the happiest baby.”
Kari pulled a bottle of milk from a nearby diaper bag and handed it to their father. “He won’t be happy for long without this.” She gave Ashley a side hug. “I was just inviting Dad for dinner. You and Landon and Cole wanna come too?”
“I’d love to, but we’ve got sets tonight.”
“Sets?” Her father looked up. “Theater sets?”
“Yep,” Kari answered for her. “Sets for Tom Sawyer, CKT’s upcoming musical.” She sat down next to Jessie and pulled the little girl onto her lap. “You must’ve met with the Flanigans.”
“Yes, they’re wonderful. I love their family.” Ashley smiled at her father. “They remind me of us a long time ago.”
Her father’s expression softened. “I’d like to meet them sometime.” He raised an eyebrow at Ashley. “What made you want to get involved in theater sets?” He chuckled. “Don’t tell me it was Landon’s idea.”
“Actually . . .” Ashley’s tone was thoughtful. “It was something I thought Mom would’ve done. You know, help out with local theater.”
“Yes.” Her father held little Ryan’s bottle for him. “Especially a Christian kids theater. She loved live stage productions.”
Ashley took the chair across from the others. “It was something Landon and I could do together, something that helps me know that Mom’s smiling down on us, still somehow a part of what we’re doing.”
Silence settled over them for a moment.
Jessie was squirming, so Kari let her down. “Can I get a book, Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetie. Then come right back.” Kari watched her daughter scamper off; then she turned to Ashley. “Jessie’s already forgetting.” Sadness darkened her expression. “I showed her Mom’s picture the other day, and she held up her hands and asked me who it was.”
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