by Tepe, Mandie
“Meg, honey . . . I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think you have a right to know. Claire Morgan called me this morning. She wanted to know if we had made our airline and hotel reservations yet . . . you know, for when we come out for the showcase. She was hoping to get reservations for her and Michael at the same hotel. Anyway . . . I told her I was a little surprised that they still planned on coming out and . . . Long story short—Sean hadn’t told them anything. They didn’t know about the breakup or the revised contract and showcase changes.”
Meg was rubbing her forehead as Trace came around the corner and walked back into the living room. “Oh, wow . . . that’s not good.”
“Claire said she hadn’t talked to Sean in a few weeks. He hasn’t been returning her calls. She just assumed he was so busy with the show he hadn’t had the time to call.”
“Well . . . I wonder what I should do. Should I call them?” Meg asked. She looked up at Trace who was watching her with concern.
Sheila said, “I think it’s between them and Sean. You shouldn’t feel obligated to fill them in.”
“Yeah, but do they blame me? Are they upset with me?”
Trace looked at her questioningly and mouthed “What?” She shook her head at him.
“Sweetie, just forget about it. Go enjoy your date with Trace. Maybe talk it over with him. It’s his family and maybe he’ll know better how to handle it. But you didn’t do this. Sean did.”
They finished their conversation and disconnected.
“What’s going on?” Trace asked.
“Apparently your parents didn’t know anything about this partnership dissolution. Your mom called mine and it came out this morning.” Meg sighed.
“Well, that explains why Mom didn’t mention it when I talked to her after I got back. I should probably expect a phone call in the not-too-distant future.”
Meg shrugged, “I guess Sean has been avoiding their calls. They haven’t heard from him in weeks.” She looked up at Trace. “Should we be worried? Maybe we should check on him. I haven’t been returning his calls either.”
“No,” Trace said sharply. “You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to. I’ll try to reach him tomorrow just to make sure he’s okay. I’ll check with Mom too, if she doesn’t call me first.” He shook his head. “What a mess.”
She stood up and looked at her watch. “It’s only four-thirtyish . . . but what do you say we go ahead and find some pizza?” She was determined that this news would not ruin their evening.
“Yeah, let’s do that. I’m starving . . . kicking butt on the football field takes a lot out of a guy.”
As they headed out the door, Meg asked, “You were winning, then?”
Trace laughed. “No, not at all.”
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
They didn’t have to drive far to get to Trace’s favorite pizza parlor, Antonio’s. It was before five o’clock so the dining room was empty when they got there. They sat down side by side in a corner booth.
Meg asked, “Do you think if I ordered wine it would get here close enough to five so that the kitchen staff won’t talk?”
“Go for it,” Trace laughed. “I’ll order some too.”
After the waitress had taken their drink order, they set about debating pizza toppings. “Okay,” Meg said, as she looked at him soberly. “I can’t tell you how important this is. Ordering pizza for the first time together can tell us a lot about each other. This could make or break the relationship.”
“Are you serious?”
“Kind of,” she said. Then she leaned closer and whispered, “Not really.”
He smiled. “Whew! Okay . . . what’s on your perfect pizza?”
“Definitely sausage and mushroom. Then I can go from there. How about you?”
“Sausage is good . . . mushrooms are good . . .”
“Oh, good. I was afraid the mushrooms might put you off. A lot of people don’t like them.”
“Love the mushrooms. How ‘bout we add some Canadian bacon and scallions?”
“Perfect. Anything else?” she asked.
“No, that’s enough for me.”
The waitress came back with their red wine and Trace ordered the pizza and salads. Just as she walked away his cell phone rang. He glanced down at the screen, looked up at Meg and raised his eyebrows. “It’s my mom.”
“Go ahead and answer it. I can go look at the jukebox to give you some privacy, if you want.”
He put his hand on her thigh. “No stay,” he said as he pushed the connect button. “Hi, Mom! How are you?” He said cheerily.
“Hi, Trace, honey. I’m okay. How about you?” Claire answered. “Am I catching you at a bad time?”
“No. Meg and I just ordered our pizza and we’re sitting here waiting for it.”
“Oh . . . Is Meg there? How is she?”
“Well, Mom, she’s doing okay . . . considering.”
Claire sounded subdued. “I just talked to her mother this morning and she said that Meg and Sean had dissolved the partnership. Do you know what’s going on? I’ve been trying to reach Sean, but haven’t been able to.”
Trace sighed, “Mom, here’s the truth . . . Sean walked into the SDDI and tried to throw Meg under the bus. He intended to dump her and replace her with his new girlfriend. I have no idea what’s going on in his mind.”
“I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe he would betray her that way.”
“Well, he did and it backfired on him.” Trace said in a hard voice. “I talked to him yesterday morning and . . . I don’t know what to tell you, Mom . . . I’m sure it’s this girl.”
“Have you met her?”
“Barely. I didn’t get a good feeling, I’ll tell you that. I think he’s letting her ruin his life,” he added.
Claire asked in a small voice, “How is Meg holding up? Is she upset?”
“I think so. But she’s working her butt off, trying to make sure she fulfills the contract.” He squeezed Meg’s hand. “I’m proud of her.”
“You two are getting close, huh? Is it serious, Trace?”
He looked into Meg’s eyes. “I can tell you I seriously like her. And I really don’t like the idea of her going away.”
Meg’s heart melted and she could hear Claire say over the phone, “Oh, Trace! I didn’t think I’d ever hear you talk about any girl that way. And the fact that it’s Meg . . . well, I just love her.”
The waitress came over with the salads and Meg quietly thanked her and asked for two glasses of water as well.
Claire said, “Your food is there. I’m going to let you go.”
“Okay, Mom. If I’m able to reach Sean I’ll let you know.”
“I feel bad . . . I spent our whole call talking about Sean . . . I really do want to catch up with you. I need to make sure you’re okay after this last deployment.”
“I’m fine, but we do need to catch up. I think Meg is working tomorrow afternoon so I’ll call you and we’ll have a nice long talk. Okay?”
“Okay, Trace . . . love you! Give Meg a hug for me.”
“I will. Love you too, Mom.” He disconnected the call.
Trace put his arm around Meg’s shoulders and squeezed her close. “That’s from my mom.”
Meg laughed. “Thanks for sticking up for me, Trace.”
He shook his head. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“She seemed upset. Sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear her side of the conversation too.”
“Yeah, she is upset. I didn’t really know what to say to her.”
“You did fine.”
“Okay . . . enough of this. Let’s not talk about this anymore. This is movie night! Let’s eat, then we’ll go get our candy and head back to my house and get cozy. Okay?”
“Sounds great to me!” Meg said as she dug into her salad.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The following week passed quickly. Meg and her showcase
team worked long hours so that everyone would be ready for the big show on Friday night. She was pleased with how things were working out. Monte and Tatiana had driven down on Sunday. Monte, of course, had rehearsals, but both were pitching in, in whatever capacity they were needed. Everyone at the Institute was excited about the final performance.
Meg was so busy she didn’t see Trace as much as she would have liked. A couple of the nights she had worked late, he met her over at Tobi’s place to hang out for a little while, and one night he had met her out for a quick dinner. They talked quite often on the phone during breaks. During the few quiet times during the week, she tried not to panic about her time running out. She had no clue what she would be doing after the SDDI gig was over, and no time to be planning for anything, either.
At least she had a nice financial cushion in her savings account. Her gypsy lifestyle had meant she didn’t have a lot of living expenses. There were no rent or mortgage payments since she had no permanent residence. Her accommodations on the road were usually written into her performance contracts, so she didn’t have to worry about those, either. Consequently, a lot of the money she had earned over the last several years she had been able to save. She found she didn’t accumulate much because it was so much easier to travel light. Now she was grateful she had that cushion to fall back on, because she didn’t know how long it would take her to get her new career on track . . . or even what that new career would look like.
It was Wednesday morning and she had just pulled into the SDDI parking lot when her phone rang. She parked and flipped it open as she stepped out of the car. “Morning, Trace!”
“Hey! Are you working yet?”
“No, I just got here. I’m walking across the parking lot right now. How ‘bout you?”
“Me too. I won’t keep you, but I have something I want to run by you. I know you were going to talk to the owner of the Hideaway about the wrap party on Saturday night, but I have a better idea. Why don’t you do it at my house? We can build a bonfire on the beach and grill burgers and hotdogs. I could even run out to the Hideaway and get some steamed crabs. We’ll ice down some beer and soda in tubs. It could be fun. What do you think?”
“Wow, Trace. That sounds great, but it’s a lot of work. I’ll be busy up through Friday night. Do you think I could pull everything off on Saturday?”
“Don’t worry about it. I can arrange for the food and drinks and everything. All we’ll have to do on Saturday is set it up, and that shouldn’t be too hard to do. I’m sure Sonny and Charley would be willing to come over and help out.”
“It’s asking too much of you. I don’t think . . .”
“Meg, come on! This’ll be fun. I’ve done this before with the guys and their families. We can do this. I really want you to let me help with this.” He paused. “I understand, though, if you’d rather find somewhere else.”
She laughed, “I love your beach! If you’re sure you don’t mind all the work, I think it’s perfect. I hate to put you out, though. I’m just so busy I’m afraid you’d be doing most of the prep work.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’d run everything by you before I do anything.”
“It’s not that. I trust you . . . I just don’t want to be a deadbeat.”
“Stop it. This is going to be great. The guys’ll give me a hand.”
Meg perked up. “Hey, let’s invite your teammates too—and their wives or dates. If we’re going to do it we should do it up big.”
“Will the SDDI people mind?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. You’ve met some of them already. The more the merrier.” Meg had reached her studio and was trying to unlock the door while juggling her phone, coffee cup and several bags. Of course, she dropped the phone. After she set everything else down and scooped up the phone she said sheepishly, “Trace? Are you still there?”
“Yeah. What was that? It sounded like an explosion.”
“Sorry. I dropped you. Trying to do too much at once . . . that’s a metaphor for my week,” she laughed.
He laughed along with her and said, “I’m going to let you go. Don’t worry about the wrap party. I’ll text as things progress and keep you in the loop. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of things I’ll need your input for, but don’t worry. Have a great day!”
“You too . . . and thanks so much. This is load off my mind. I appreciate it. Bye!”
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The next day Meg jumped up from her seat in the front row of SDDI’s theatre and clapped wildly. “That was awesome! You guys really rocked that out!”
The four couples on stage stood in various stages of exhaustion, some bent over at the waist, all trying to catch their breath. She motioned one of the younger students over to bring water and towels to them. The underclassmen were acting as stage crew for the showcase and dreaming of their chances to perform under the lights.
Meg turned to several of the Institute faculty. “What do you all think of moving this jive number to right after the jazz piece? I like the idea of spacing the Latin routines apart a little more and this ‘honky tonk’ scenery really lends itself to both the jive and the jazz. Is it too late to move this around a little?”
Estelle looked over the schedule. “I think that works fine. Takes a little of the strain off the stage crew too.”
The other faculty members nodded. “Do you think we’re good with the rest of the schedule? We don’t want to throw too many changes at the kids this late in the game,” Anthony said.
“Yeah. Unless any of you have suggestions I’m pleased with the schedule. We’ll get all the kids out here and give them the final line up. This afternoon they can finalize their costume fittings. We’ll run through the whole show start to finish in the morning. Then . . . curtain up at seven-thirty tomorrow night,” Meg finished.
After the cast meeting, Meg dismissed the group for lunch and asked the kids to be back for final costume fittings by one thirty. As she left the auditorium she checked her cell for messages. She’d been at it since six o’clock that morning and was exhausted. She smiled as she saw Trace’s text message: “Party plans are coming along. Don’t worry and don’t work too hard. Call when you get home no matter how late. If you don’t I’ll worry.”
She finally dragged her aching body through Tobi’s front door at midnight after a long day of dancing, planning and coaching the student performers. She dialed Trace’s number as she slumped onto the couch, craving a shower.
“Hey. It’s me.”
“Whoa. You sound like the walking dead. Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah. Just tired. It’s all going to be worth it. The show’s looking great. How was your day?”
“Cold and wet. We spent most of the day in the surf . . . PT. I don’t think I was even able to get all the sand off. At least I’m starting to warm up, though,” he laughed.
Meg winced. “Oh, babe! Wish I was there to fix you some soup or something.”
“I’m fine. I think you worked harder than I did.”
“I doubt that. Anyway, I just wanted to remind you that the guys could pick their tickets up at the box office when they get there tomorrow night. I reserved a whole block. Is everyone still coming?”
“Yeah. I think they’re all looking forward to it. Actually Gomez went down and picked them all up after work yesterday. We got them handed out to everyone so they could take them home tonight and impress the girls by how on the ball we are. Thanks, Meg. This means a lot to them, especially since we just got back from deployment. It’ll be a special night out for them.”
“Well, it means a lot to me that you all want to be there. Tatiana will be sitting in your section too.” She paused to yawn. “I’m going to jump in the shower and hit the sack. I’m exhausted.”
“Okay, honey. Wish I was there to take care of you tonight like you always take care of me.”
“That’s okay. With luck I’ll be sound asleep in twenty minutes. Good night
.”
“Break a leg!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Friday, like all show days, was even more frenetic than the previous few days. Excitement buzzed through the air like an electrical current. All classes had been suspended for the day as everyone prepared for the show. Most of the underclassmen undertook the grunt work with a minimum of grumbling. They knew their day under the spotlights would come and they had to pay their dues first. Meg walked through the backstage area and saw that performers were busy getting into costume and working on their makeup. Most of them were applying their own makeup, but there were a few of the more skilled theatrical students offering help wherever needed.
Tobi rushed up to Meg, “We’ve got it under control, hon. You need to get ready for your first number.” She grabbed Meg’s arm and led her to the dressing area where her costumes were hanging on a rack. She pulled out a flirty outfit covered in flapper-type fringe and thrust it at Meg. “Come on. Get in your west coast swing state-of-mind and stop worrying about anything else. We’re on it!” She walked back around the corner leaving the dressing area clapping her hands as she called out, “Okay, everyone! We’re thirty minutes ‘til show time!”
Meg turned toward the mirror and held the dress up in front of her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said a little prayer. Then she started getting dressed, knowing that they had done everything they could do to prepare and if anything were to go wrong at this point, there was nothing that could be done except to just go with the flow.
Twenty-five minutes later everyone was gathered just off stage. Anthony walked up behind Meg and hugged her from behind. “Full house! We almost sold out.”
She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Are they all settled in?”
“Getting there. They will be once Marcy goes out to open the show. Are you ready?”
“Yep. All warmed up and stretched out.”