But when Ryan did speak, it wasn't to berate her or to mock her. He simply took both of her hands in his, very gently, and brought them up to his lips. He gave her fingers a sweet, gentle kiss before lowering them back down to the table. Looking straight into her eyes, without a hint of guile, he said, “You can add one more person to the small list of people that you can trust. I know we haven’t known each other that long but I would never hurt you, Karina. Not only because of how I feel about you, but also because that's just not the kind of man that I am.”
Karina shook her head as one more tear slipped from her eye.
“Why do I believe you?” she asked wonderingly, “When so many people have told me that I could trust them only to immediately turn around and stab me in the back...when I never believe ANYONE who says that they are trustworthy...why on God's green earth do I believe you right now?”
He smiled sweetly as he reached over and brushed away her tear with his thumb.
“I think,” he said lightly, “It's because somewhere deep inside of you, you have a primal instinct that protects you. In that deep place, you have the ability to recognize the truth when you hear it, however rare that might be. So, darlin', the reason you believe me when I tell you, you can trust me is, simply...because you can.”
Chapter 8
Karina stood onstage in the Hope Falls High School auditorium, the only venue in town big enough to host an event like the Town Follies, and addressed the crowd of Hope Falls residents who were gathered in the seats before her.
“Thank you all so much for your time, and interest in coming to audition for the show today,” she began sincerely, “Believe me, if anyone knows what a difficult thing it is to put yourself out there in front of an audience, it's me. For that reason, performing is one of the most difficult tasks that a person can undertake, in some ways. It's like putting your soul on display, and asking people to like it.
“But, if performing is difficult for that reason, then auditioning is even harder. Believe me, I've been on many auditions. Some of them turned out well, and some of them were disasters. But every single one of them was an act of courage. They all had that in common.
“So, I applaud each and every one of you for having the courage to stand up here and try out.”
Karina took a breath, and looked down at her notes. She then continued, “Most of you know who I am. I'm Karina Blackstone, I grew up here in Hope Falls, and I'm a professional entertainer.”
At this, the crowd broke into thunderous applause. “Oh, stop, stop,” she said, laughing self-consciously, “Now I'd like to introduce you to my co-chair of the Town Follies. Ryan Perkins.”
With that, to her surprise, the decibel level and intensity of their applause only increased, as Ryan walked onstage to join her. She leaned over and yelled into his ear, “You have a few fans. Mainly of the female variety.”
He grinned and called back to her over the cacophony, “But I only have eyes for one of them, and she ain't out there.”
As they quieted down, she laughed, “I guess no introduction is necessary. Ryan and I are going to be watching your auditions today, and then putting together a lineup for the show. Please, although I know it's obviously difficult not to think of an audition as a pass-or-fail proposition, I really urge you not to take the result of whether you are included or not in the final line-up as any kind of indication of your overall talent."
“Ryan and I have a lot of factors that we have to take into consideration when deciding on the ultimate line-up. For instance, one of those things is variety. We can't have a whole show that consists entirely of jugglers, or of magicians, or comics, or dancers, or musical acts. We need to make sure that a wide variety of the types of talents that Hope Falls has to offer is on display that night."
“Therefore, it stands to reason that some categories are going to be quite a bit more competitive than other categories are,” she said reasonably.
She and Ryan smiled at each other, and Ryan said, “OK, now onto my part of this little spiel. Let me explain a little bit about how the logistics of the day are going to work. Most of you also know Amanda Jacobs,” he gestured at Amanda, who waved from her position by the side door at the edge of the stage.
“She is going to be taking you to a waiting area backstage. My grandmother Sue Ann, who again, the majority of you know...” at this Sue Ann half stood from her seat in the front row and turned to wave at the crowd, “...has been kind enough to provide coffee and refreshments.”
“NOT 'to-go' sandwiches!” Sue Ann piped up.
Ryan, embarrassed, said, “Um, right, not to be confused with 'to-go' sandwiches. At any rate, Amanda will be calling you out one act at a time. Please bring anything you need for your performance to the stage with you. You'll be limited to three minutes for your audition, and that includes any necessary set-up. We'd really like to get through everyone today, if possible. There are a lot of people trying out, and we really need to move through at a good pace.
We'll be posting the final call list by this Monday at the latest. The show is next Saturday at 7:30. All of the chosen participants must meet here at 2 pm, with your costumes, for a final tech run through. Any questions?”
Ryan looked around at the excited faces, filled with anticipation, and could see that they really just wanted to get started. He said, “OK, then, let's get going! Go ahead and follow Amanda.”
Karina looked at Amanda and said, “OK, Mand, and then when they're all settled back there, go ahead and bring the first act out.”
There were cheers and whistles as the hopefuls filed out of the auditorium. They were a true cross-section of Hope Falls. Their ages ranged from 3 to 83, they were men and women, boys and girls, tall and short, slim and stout. Every kind of Hope Falls resident you could imagine was there in force.
In spite of herself, Karina found that she was actually excited to see what kind of talent the town had to offer. She turned to Ryan, “Are you ready for this?”
He shook his head, “Is there a way to be ready for this?”
“Not sure,” she replied, gesturing up the aisle, “Let's find out.”
They walked up to Row J, 10 rows back, traditionally dubbed “King's Row” in the theater because it offered the absolute best perspective when viewing the stage, and settled themselves in the middle, clipboards in hand, ready to watch each of the auditions and take notes.
Mere moments later, Amanda walked back onstage. Trailing behind her was the first auditioner.
“Oh, of course it's Kelly,” said Karina sarcastically under her breath. Kelly had been a couple of years ahead of Karina in high school, and had always treated her poorly. She was now a waitress at Sue Ann's.
“What do you mean? She's nice,” Ryan said.
Karina snorted, “Yeah, she's nice, except for she hates my guts.”
“I'm sure that's not true,” Ryan defended.
Kelly stepped up to the front of the stage confidently and said, “My name is Kelly King.”
She then held up the paper which had her number emblazoned on it and said, in a flirting tone, “I'm number 1,” taking the time to turn and wiggle her fingers at Ryan in a playful wave, “and I'm going to be singing Orange Colored Sky by Natalie King Cole.”
“Nat King Cole,” Karina corrected automatically, before she could stop herself.
Kelly scowled at her and snapped, “What?”
“It's Nat King Cole. Natalie was his daughter...you know what? Nevermind. We're wasting time.”
“Yeah, you are,” Kelly replied in a snotty tone, rolling her eyes.
Ryan leaned over to Karina and whispered, “Maybe I was wrong, she seems like she really does hate you.”
“Oh, she does,” Karina whispered back, “It's longstanding.”
“Is it mutual?” he teased.
“Absolutely,” Karina smiled back.
“Um, Kelly, that's quite a dress you're wearing,” Ryan said, returning his attention to the stage.
Kelly turne
d to him, all sunshine and rainbows, “Thanks, Ryan!” she said, her voice dripping honey.
She turned back and forth to show the gown from all possible angles.
“It's my lucky dress. I wore it to prom and I won Prom Queen. I wore it in the Miss Hope Falls pageant and I won that. I wore it to Christopher Evers and Darlene Marshall's wedding, and they were divorced by the next year,” she finished with a self-satisfied flourish.
“Um, wouldn't that last point sort of ruin the lucky streak?” Ryan asked, bemused.
Kelly scoffed, “No, of course not. I wanted to date Christopher, and after they got divorced, I did! So, see? Lucky dress!”
“Can we please just hear the song?” Karina interjected, and was met with a death glare from Kelly.
“I think that's a good idea,” Ryan agreed, and Kelly brightened considerably.
“It's the best idea ever!” Kelly twittered, and turned to the accompanist and said, “Hit it!”
What followed was one of the most torturous performances of Orange Colored Sky that Karina had ever heard. And when she had first been trying to make it as an entertainer, her first stop had been New York, so she had not only been on plenty of musical theater auditions but had also spent more than her fair share of nights in smoky piano bars where they took requests and the patrons sang, usually standards.
Between those two experiences, she had heard more renditions of Orange Colored Sky than she cared to remember, varying widely in quality, but none of them held a candle to the monstrosity that was Kelly King's unique interpretation.
Putting aside immediately the fact that her singing alternated painfully between being sharp and flat, as Karina would not have expected her to be a skilled vocalist, what put the cherry on top of this horror show was the choreography.
First of all, it was completely literal and on the nose to the lyrics. For instance, when the song said, “I was walkin' along,” Kelly strode purposefully across the stage, swinging her arms like a power walker from the 1980s.
And when the lyrics followed that up with, “Mindin' my business,” Kelly made an exaggerated show of looking at the ceiling and to the sides of the stage – everywhere but forward – and twiddling her fingers as if to convey her utter disinterest in the goings on in front of her.
The next lyrics were, “When out of an orange colored sky,” Kelly bent her knees crouching to the floor, and then burst into a standing position, executing an exaggerated, full, rainbow-esque arc with her arms extended and fingertips stretched all the way into the air to signify the concept of the sky.
Topping all of these moves, Karina's absolute favorite bit of the choreography – which was to say, the most ridiculous – was when the song said, “Flash! Bam!” and Kelly jumped sideways, and back, and all around the stage, pantomiming explosions taking place in front of her. And then during the next line, “Alakazam!” she stuck her boobs out in front of her and shimmied her shoulders with all of her might, so that her breasts bounced up and down and backward and forward, looking as if they were entities unto themselves. It was honestly all Karina could do to keep a straight face.
When Kelly finished her number with a huge flourish, she raised her arms triumphantly in the air, her chest heaving as if she had just run a marathon.
Ryan, his eyes twinkling as if he couldn't help himself, stood and started a slow clap. Karina turned in her seat and looked up at him disbelievingly.
She turned forward again and addressed Kelly dryly, “Um, thanks, we'll be in touch.” She was utilizing the entertainment industry euphemism for 'not in a million years, jackass.' But Kelly took the phrase literally, and even though it was Karina who had uttered it, Kelly replied to Ryan.
“Oh, Ryan, yes, definitely get in touch,” she giggled, “Call me any time, you know my number.” With that, she winked and flounced offstage.
Karina turned to Ryan, “Were you being serious when you clapped for her?”
He shook his head in awe, “It definitely wasn't GOOD, but it was amazing. You gotta give her that.”
She started laughing, “One thing I will admit is that it made me nostalgic for prom, although I never got to go. But the idea I have of it in my mind fits that dress perfectly.”
“You never went to prom?” Ryan asked.
“No, no,” Karina said, “I mean, I was raised by my grandmother, in the very tightly knit tribe community. In the life of the tribe, we just didn't do things like that. I don't know how to explain it. I mean, it wasn't expressly forbidden or anything...it was just...I don't know...that sort of thing was sort of looked on as, like, foolishness. Or silliness. Undignified.”
She sighed, “I'm not explaining this very well.”
“No, I think I get it,” Ryan said, “It's not like my family was exactly the same, but enough so that I think I understand what you're getting at. Our whole life was running the ranch, there was no world other than that. No vacations, no dreams of college, no date night, nothing but the ranch and the work. Anything that wasn't about furthering the work of the ranch was considered frivolous. Amusements that we couldn't afford, and I don't mean financially. They were a waste of time, time that should be devoted to work.”
“You're right,” Karina said, “it was something similar to that.”
Karina never talked about her upbringing, in fact, she had never even made too much of an effort to understand it herself.
It felt really good – safe and comforting – to try to put into words the experience of her childhood, and to be understood by the person that she was taking the time and effort to express it to.
She smiled softly at him and put her hand over his on the seat's arm that separated their two theater seats. As they looked into each other's eyes, she felt the bond between them growing like a physical thing, and had to tear her gaze away as she felt the heat rising from her belly and her cheeks starting to flush.
“Next!" she called loudly.
--- ~ ---
The rest of the day was long and frenetic, and filled with acts more wide and varied than Karina ever could have imagined. There were plenty of musical numbers, sure, but there were a lot of people there exhibiting talents that Karina never would have imagined.
There was one gentleman who had trained his three dogs to do tricks and routines in synchronized formation. There was a plate spinner, a stilts walker, and a rhythmic gymnast.
By the end of the day, her head was pounding and without even realizing it, she had unconsciously started rubbing her temples.
“Are you good for one more?” Ryan asked with concern, “I'm pretty sure we're down to the last person.”
She rallied gamely, “For sure. I wanna get this finished up. I can do it. Bring it on!”
Ryan smiled and called, “OK, Amanda, we're ready, bring out the last act!”
Amanda walked out on the stage, holding the hand of one of the cutest little guys that Ryan had ever seen. He looked to be about 8 years old, and the expression on his face was one of nervousness, yes – but there was also a very endearing courageous quality shining through. It was clear that he was going to make himself do this audition no matter how scared he felt.
“Hi, Noah!” exclaimed Karina. She turned to Ryan and explained, “Noah is Justin's little brother.”
“Oh!” said Ryan, “It's a pleasure to meet you. I met your brother the other day.”
Noah lit up, all traces of nerves leaving his face completely. He said, “My brother's the MAN!”
Ryan laughed, “I agree! I liked him very much. So, what are you going to be doing for us today, Noah?”
“I'm saying my poem that I learned for school,” he said, “It's named Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout and it's got a moral.”
“I love that poem,” said Karina and Ryan in unison, and laughed.
“There you go, Noah,” said Amanda encouragingly, “You've got an interested audience.”
“Yes, let's hear it, Noah!” said Karina.
“Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout,” he began, “w
ould not take the garbage out...”
He then proceeded to recite the rhyming story of how the garbage that she refused to take out spread throughout her home and then her neighborhood and beyond, and eventually the entire nation, detailing every disgusting piece of refuse that she declined to get rid of.
As he proceeded through the poem, his voice grew in confidence and expressiveness, until he at last reached the final phrases, which he imbued with a grave seriousness.
“And there in the garbage she did hate, poor Sarah met an awful fate, that I cannot right now relate, because the hour is much too late. But children, remember Sarah Stout, and always take the garbage out.”
Ryan and Karina both began to clap, whistle, whoop, and holler.
“Great job!” Karina called out enthusiastically.
When they were done clapping, Noah looked at them solemnly. “The moral of it is always take the garbage out,” he informed them.
“That's a good moral,” said Karina.
Amanda walked up to the front of the stage to join Noah, looking at her clipboard, and said, “Well, it looks like Noah was the last audition. So, unless you need me for anything else, I'm gonna go ahead and take this little guy home.”
“No, we're good,” Karina said as she and Ryan joined them on the stage, “Thank you so much for all your help, Mand. We couldn't have done it without you, seriously. I can't imagine how the day would have gone without you keeping everything organized and on schedule.”
“My pleasure,” Amanda replied, and then snapped her fingers, “Oh! Ryan, I almost forgot. Noah had something that he wanted to ask you.”
Ryan looked down at Noah's small, upturned face, “Really? What's that, Noah?”
Karina noticed this, and liked it. It always annoyed her when people acted as if children were not quite capable of carrying on their own conversations, or as if they weren't even in the room – when they addressed the adults on behalf of the children, or used an excessively babyish voice to talk to kids.
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