Page 30 of Something New

Caroline narrowed her gaze and studied Anna. “Well, that depends on you. What do you want to do? Do you intend to apologize and go about your merry way after this week?”

Anna hugged herself, guilt riding her hard. Karen had been an amazing mentor for her, supporting her and providing contacts when Anna was getting started. And how had Anna repaid her? “I can’t offer more, not right now. I’m under contract and have to be really careful. I don’t want to bring any bad publicity to her program.”

Caroline relaxed and sat on the lounge chair, hugging Anna. “You did nothing wrong. You were a victim of rumors and an overzealous press. She’ll understand. She wouldn’t have asked if she didn’t want you.”

Anna sniffled, hope blooming. “You think?”

Caroline nodded, smiling. “Of course. Besides, you owe her. And this might be her last year at the Playhouse.”

Anna’s head lifted, alarm bells going off. “What do you mean, Caroline?”

Caroline shook her head. “I’m not at liberty to discuss it. You should talk to Karen. For now, get inside and wash your face. Wyatt will drive you to the theater. I’ll talk with him.”

Anna shook her head. “No, I’ll talk to him. Thanks.”

Somehow, she had to face her own issues, head-on. Caroline was right. She had been hiding from her past, her present, and maybe even her future. It was time to take control of her life.

Chapter Thirteen

Wyatt dropped Anna off at the Playhouse saying nothing beyond when he’d pick her up. She didn’t know what he was going to be doing, but she was glad he wouldn’t be be hanging around to witness her interactions with the kids. She didn’t know how it was going to go. Maybe the kids would be excited to meet her, or maybe they would revel in her troubles.

When she walked into the auditorium, the kids had already gathered in the first couple of rows, chattering excitedly and with a comfortable familiarity that came from growing up in a small town. Anna smoothed her black capris and her white tank top, even though they weren’t wrinkled, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The door to the auditorium opened behind her, and a teenaged girl rushed through it, the door banging against the wall, then back into the frame with a slam. All conversation stopped and everyone turned to look, seeing her and the girl standing there.

So much for not making a grand entrance. Or a quiet escape.

Anna pasted on her media-friendly smile and walked down the aisle, the young girl rushing in front of her to slide into a seat with the other kids. Karen met Anna halfway and opened her arms, enveloping Anna in a warm hug, a welcome so pure and comforting that Anna wanted to sink into it forever. But she wasn’t a child any longer, so she pulled away and studied her former mentor, noting the lines of age that hadn’t been there five years ago, the exhaustion that had bitten deep grooves into her face, and the additional gray hairs that had sprouted.

“Sorry I’m late. Caroline had a list of tasks for us. As usual, she didn’t hire anyone to help, so we’re her free labor,” Anna said.

“Well, she is an event planner and a fundraiser. People would wonder why she couldn’t plan her own wedding,” Karen pointed out.

“Maybe. But she could have hired an assistant or three.”

“She did. They’re called bridesmaids,” Karen said blandly. “I’m so glad you could make it today. We have a great group of kids working with our fall production this year, and a few considering a career in acting. I was hoping you could give them some pointers, talk about your experiences and maybe watch us run some lines in practice. How does that sound?”

Anna drew the older woman to the side. “Honestly, I’m not sure I’m the best person to talk about how great Hollywood is. Things are a bit difficult right now.”

Karen nodded, a knowing glint in her eye. “I know. We can talk about that later. For now, I’m not asking you to lie, but tell them the truth. They need to hear it. Let’s start with some practice. As you saw from the sign out front, we’re doingBye, Bye Birdie. You’ll be perfect.”

Karen walked to the front of the small crowd and Anna followed reluctantly, standing to the side while Karen spoke to her students. “Anna Costado is on the island on vacation. She’s played both leads—the young teenage girl and the secretary—both here and at her high school, so she’s well acquainted with the production. She’ll be able to give you some excellent pointers as we work through a few of these scenes.”

She clapped her hands and got the kids up and practicing. After several sideways glances and nervousness, they all settled and began running the lines. The young woman who had been late was playing the teenage lead, and she had talent, a great vocal range, and the attitude to go with it.

Anna leaned over to Karen and murmured, “Was I ever like her?”

“Like Taylor? Yes, you were, maybe a little worse, but just as talented.” Karen gave Anna a quick hug as if that took the sting out of the words.

“She’s taking over every scene, not working with her fellow actors, as if she has to be center stage. And she’s making the character into a total bitch.”

“Don’t tell me. Tell her. I have to work with the boys.” Karen walked away with a gesture to the girls.

Anna headed up to the stage, and the girls gathered around her. Taylor, the girl playing the lead, was around sixteen and stood apart from the rest of the girls, as if she knew she was the star and everyone else were satellites to her. Judging by the sideways glances and the way most of the other girls ignored her, they weren’t too thrilled either, which could explain some of the lack of chemistry on stage.

The other girls bombarded her with questions about Hollywood, her career, her role inBlazing Passions—nothing about the negative publicity. A couple of them asked for some advice about their roles and acting, but it was clear most of them were doing the play just for high school and not out of any career aspirations. Taylor, however, held herself aloof, but was listening with half an ear when she thought no one noticed. Anna smothered a smile. Yes, she had some things in common with the teen, remembering back to when she thought she knew everything, too. How wrong she’d been.

Finally, Taylor sidled close enough to ask a question. “You may not know the answer to this, but why is this scene not working? Can you somehow fix our choreography? We’ve been working on it for weeks, and they’re not getting it.”

Anna studied her for a long moment, picking through various responses, debating whether to be nice, politic, or blunt. Blunt won. “Because you’re blaming everyone else instead of working together. This is an ensemble number with no clear leader, even though you’re technically a lead in the show. When you do this number, you need to work together and feed off each other’s energy.” She pulled a young blonde woman out of the group. “For example, this girl is supposed to be your closest friend yet, when you do the number, you both seem like you can’t stand each other. I don’t care if you do each other’s hair and have sleepovers outside of the show, but on the stage, you’re best buds. That’s all that matters.”

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