Forgiven (3 page)

Katy touched his elbow. “Thanks for helping out.”

“Of course.” He shifted his weight. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Heath.” She took a step closer to the table.

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He picked up on the hint. “See ya.” He waved and moved off toward the sound booth.

The moment he was gone, Nancy and Al Helmes arrived at the table. They looked happy and upbeat.

“Here we go—” Al winked—”ready or not.”

The Helmeses had agreed to be the musical directors for the show, the way they had been several times in the past. The retired couple played the piano and had a knack for bringing together a chorus of kids so that it rang sweet and true as one voice. Annie would be challenging for many reasons, including the fact that the music called for three-part harmony in the song “Easy Street,” with Miss Hannigan, Rooster, and his girlfriend.

“Where’s your coffee, Nancy?” Katy leaned against the table. “Don’t tell me you’re sitting through three hours of auditions without coffee.”

Nancy’s eyes danced, and she pointed to a thermos near the piano bench. “I’m all stocked up.”

“Good.” Katy motioned to her list of names. “With this many kids, I might need some too.” She picked up her iced tea. “It’s half sugar today. That ought to get me through!”

Nancy took a step closer. “Alice Stryker’s in the lobby telling a few of the moms that Sarah Jo’s a shoo-in for Annie.”

“Oh no.” Knots formed in Katy’s stomach. Alice Stryker was the worst stage mom she’d seen in all her years with CKT. Her daughter was a sweet, quiet girl, plain and unassuming until she took the stage and began to sing. No one in CKT

could sing like Sarah Jo, at least not so far. Her voice had won her the part of Becky Thatcher in the recent summer showing of Tom Sawyer.

But Katy could barely stand working with Sarah Jo’s mother. The woman was convinced that her daughter was the next Broadway sensation, prodding and pushing Sarah Jo until the girl nearly lost all sense of enjoyment from being onstage.

Katy gripped the edge of the table. “Tell me she didn’t dress Sarah Jo in a curly red wig.”

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Nancy laughed. “No, but you know how the woman is about cost’ames.”

“Oh, boy.” Katy shaded her eyes, massaging her temples with her thumb and forefinger. “Let me guess. She made an Annie dress for Sarah Jo.”

“Something like that. Mrs. Stryker was talking about it, and then she saw Sarah Jo laughing with a few of the kids, and my gracious—” Nancy held her hand in the stop position—”you’d have thought Sarah Jo stole something. Alice ran over, snatched her by the arm, and accused her of being too silly, not serious enough.

The lecture lasted three minutes, and everyone in the lobby heard.”

Katy moaned. “That’s so sad. The woman’s out of control.” “It’s not fair to Sarah Jo.”

“Not at all.” Katy’s peaceful feeling from a few minutes ago was gone. She folded her arms and pressed them into her midsection. “I might need that coffee sooner than later.”

“The good news is—” Nancy gave her a sympathetic smile— “Alice Stryker is the exception.”

“True.” Katy managed a weak Laugh. “We can all be glad for that.”

“I better get ready.” Nancy waved and caught up with Al near the piano. Katy loved the older couple. They were the official CKT grandparents and a beacon of spiritual strength and experience. CKT needed them, and Katy did too. But Alice Stryker being around for another show could be a problem.

She was about to check her list of kids when she heard a familiar voice and turned to see Rhonda hurrying down the aisle next to a tall guy, who seemed to be working hard to keep up. The guy wasn’t bad looking, but the minute Katy’s eyes met Rhonda’s, she knew that whoever he was, Rhonda wasn’t interested.

“Sorry I’m late.” Rhonda was breathless. She set her things down, hugged Katy, and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Wait till you get a load of this one.”

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As she pulled back, Katy looked at the guy. He was in his late twenties, dressed in tight jeans and a close-fitting muscle Tshirt. His hair was spiked, and despite his goofy clothes, his eyes looked friendly. She held out her hand. “I’m Katy Hart.”

“Katy, ah yes.” He took her hand, and his smile revealed a mouthful of bad teeth. “You’re just the one I wanted to meet.”

Rhonda was standing behind him now, and she leaned to the side enough to roll her eyes in Katy’s direction. Then she mouthed the words good luck and headed off to the piano to join Al and Nancy.

“Are you.., a friend of Rhonda’s?” Katy had only a few minutes, but she didn’t want to be rude. Besides, she had to know what the guy’s deal was, why Rhonda hadn’t even stayed around for introductions. She kept her eyes on him, giving him her complete attention.

“Actually—” he pointed a few rows over—”my sister’s trying out.” He gave a confident nod. “I talked her into it. We’re a family of high achievers.”

“Is that right?” Katy crossed her arms. “You’re an actor, then?” “No, no.” He made a sound that suggested theater would be beneath him. “Stanley Gaelic. I’m an RPSer. Hitting the big time next month.” He thrust his chest out. “Probably one of the best in the world.”

Katy blinked. “An RPSer?”

“Oh, right.” He touched Katy’s arm. “I always forget. Not everyone’s up to speed on their RPS knowledge.” He held his left hand out, palm up, and pounded it firmly with his right fist. “You know, rock-paper-scissors.”

From twenty feet away, Rhonda grinned at her and made the cuckoo sign.

“Really?” Katy shifted back to Stanley. “So you mean—” she put her hand out this time and hit it with her fist—”they have competitions for rock-paper-scissors?”

“Competitions?” Stanley rolled his eyes as if Katy might be 15

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the least informed person on the planet. “We’re talking huge here, Katy. ESPN

covered our last contest and, well…” He brought his knuckles to his lips and blew hard. “Let’s just say among RPSers, you’re talking to someone, you know, pretty famous.”

Katy could feel herself starting to laugh. “But, Stanley—” she bit the inside of her lip—”isn’t it just luck?” She pounded her open hand three times and made the scissors symbol. “It’s not like there’s strategy, right?”

“Luck?” Stanley’s face fell. He took a half step back. “It’s the ultimate athletic competition. It’s all strategy. Luck has nothing to do with it.” He stuck out his chest again. “It’s about timing and rhythm and the ability to read a person’s mind.” He moved closer, his eyes locked on hers. “I’m very good at that. In fact, my mother always said I had the lion’s share of talent in the family.” He plucked at his shirt in a mock show of humility. “Not to brag or anything. We RPSers are a special group, you know?” He raised his brow a few times. “And from what I hear, you’re a special girl.”

“Right.” She managed a weak chuckle. What was it about her and guys? Was this what she had to choose from? Katy caught a glimpse of Rhonda and Nancy, their heads together, giggling. She shot Rhonda a look that said she’d pay her back for this one.

Stanley was going on, something about the judges being partial to guys with nice hair.

Katy held up her hand. “Uh…” She looked at her watch. The kids were getting antsy, the excitement at a fever pitch. She raised her voice so he could hear her. “I’d love to hear more about it, Stan, but I need to get auditions under way here.”

“Never Stan, Katy.” He took firm hold of her shoulder and leaned closer. “For us RPSers there’s only one Stan. Stan the Man Scissors Hand, we call him.” He did an awkward bow, one that looked difficult to do in his tight jeans. “I’m Stanley. Manly Stanley, actually.” He straightened. “Did I mention that I’m the 16

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Indiana state RPS champion?” He cocked his head. “You know what they say about RPS champions, don’t you?”

Katy wasn’t waiting to find out. “Later, Stanley.” She clenched her teeth so she wouldn’t fall to the floor laughing. “I need to get going.”

“Right.” He pointed both his index fingers at her and shot a kiss in her direction. “We’ll be talking afterwards then. I’m on a tight schedule, getting ready for the national meet, you know.” He held out his palm and hit it three times, ending with his hand flat. “But you’re in luck. I’m off tonight.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rhonda drop to the near est seat. She was bent over laughing.

Katy’s mouth hung open. “Well… uh, maybe not tonight.” She took three steps backward. “But sometime, okay?”

“Oh.” Stanley’s hands fell slowly to his side, and his shoulders slumped forward a little. “My practice schedule’s tight this week, but yeah, we could work something out.”

“Sure.” She waved her fingers at him, turned her attention back to the kids, and said in a raised voice, “Okay, everyone, I need you all quiet. The first ten get in a line here in front of the room. Let’s get started.”

Rhonda was already seated at the table. She was still snicker ing. “Sorry.” She moved closer to Katy, her voice low. “About Stanley, I mean.”

“Not Stanley,” Katy whispered. “Manly Stanley.” She kicked Rhonda under the table. “I’ll pay you back. There’s a neighbor of the Flanigans looking for a nice girl for their son. He’s out of jail now, but at least he’s driving again.

Bicycles, that is.”

“Oooh, the anger.” Rhonda giggled. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” The first child was taking the stage, a darling boy with a baby face and big blue eyes. A hush fell across the room, and the boy came to the end of the platform. “Hi.” He flashed a gap-toothed smile at Katy. “My name’s Kyle Lanham. I’m eight years old, and I’ll be singing ‘I’m Flying’ from Peter Pan.”

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Katy positioned her yellow notepad in front of her and nodded at Kyle. One of the mothers was set up at the back of the stage. She clicked a series of buttons on the CD player, and the music started. Kids younger than eight years old couldn’t audition for CKT performances, so Katy rarely expected anything spectacular from the younger set. It was enough that they were willing to get in front of an audience and sing. Rarely did one of them stand out.

But Kyle was the exception.

His voice was sweet and clear, his eyes big and full of expression. When he reached the part where he sang, “I can fly, I can fly, I can fly!” an appreciative chuckle passed over the audience behind Katy. The kid had that certain intangible—a stage presence that couldn’t be manufactured.

The orphans in Annie were usually cast as a group of little girls. But this boy definitely deserved a callback. When he finished singing, Katy smiled at him and then on her pad scribbled, Kyle Lanham, crowd-pleaser. Definite callback.

Sarah Jo Stryker was in the first ten and was—as always— flawless. She sang an upbeat song, “The Wizard and I,” a fun tune from the new Broadway musical Wicked. The entire time she sang, Katy kept asking herself the obvious question: How can a twelve-year-old sing like that?

Still, Sarah Jo had shot up recently and unless Katy and Rhonda and the Helmeses rethought their casting plan, SarahJo was too tall to play Annie. Katy could only imagine the verbal tirade that would come from Alice Stryker once that fact was revealed. Either way Sarah Jo definitely earned a callback, and Katy wrote as much on her notepad.

In the next group of ten, two girls sang “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. Katy was pretty sure this last girl in the group was also going to sing the same song. She stood and took small steps toward the stage. She was wearing a skintight, ankle

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length spandex skirt covered in scalelike sequins. She looked more like a mermaid than Ariel ever did.

The girl was tall and gangly with a mouthful of braces. As she made her way up onto the platform, the skirt kept her from taking the last step. Unable to get her foot all the way up, she toppled like a felled tree and landed on her elbows, sprawled on the stage.

A gasp came from the crowd, and Katy was on her feet, sprinting to the girl.

Because of the skirt, there was no way the poor thing could get up gracefully.

She could barely manage to get herself halfway into a sitting position.

“Oh, boy,” Katy muttered under her breath. She was too short to help the girl, so she motioned for one of the dads sitting a few rows back. The man ran up, but still there seemed no easy way to get the girl on her feet.

“I can’t believe this.” Tears splashed onto the girl’s cheeks. “I told my mother this would happen.” Her voice was low, mortified. She closed her eyes as if maybe she would open them and the whole thing would be a bad dream.

“Honey, how about if you ease your legs behind you.” Katy tried to push the girl’s feet back, but because of the slippery spandex, the move sent her sprawling onto her stomach. She landed with a splat. “Oooh, sorry.” Katy held her hands out and gave a wide-eyed look to the father. “I’m not sure how…”

Meanwhile nearly everyone in the room was silent, shocked in a way that made the drama onstage that much more horrible. Only a few kids in the back of the room were stifling a low round of giggles.

“Let’s see.” The dad scratched his head. “She needs her feet in front of her.

Let’s roll her over.” He helped move her feet back around so they were now sticking straight out. This allowed her to sit up partway, though she kept sliding forward. “How ‘bout I lift her.” He stuck his hands beneath her arms and nodded at Katy. “Don’t let her feet slide forward.”

Katy acted as a brace for the girl’s feet, and in a move not un 19

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like the raising of a barn wall, he pushed her up and onto her feet. Once she was standing, Katy thanked the father, who hurried back to his seat. The audience was still silent.

“I’m going home.” The girl’s voice was pinched, her cheeks still wet.

“Now wait.” Katy put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “You worked hard on your song, didn’t you?”

The girl dragged the backs of her hands across her cheeks. “Yes. I… I wanted to look the part, but I told my mother the skirt was too tight.”

“Okay, now listen.” Katy kept her voice low. “I say you leave everyone with a different memory than the one they just watched.” She forced herself to sound calm. ‘I’ll go back to the table, and you give me the best song you’ve ever sung.”