Take Two (25 page)

She was right. Tim had known them all this time and never acted so impressed by their means. This was no time to start behaving
different because of it. Money was a tool, but Bailey’s family didn’t need trips like this to have a good time. They had as
much fun playing Apples to Apples around the game table on a Saturday night.

Bailey looked over the itinerary, and Tim peered over her shoulder. They were spending all of spring break week there, and
in all they would see six Broadway shows.

“This is unbelievable.” Tim put his hand on Bailey’s mother’s shoulder. “This must’ve cost a fortune.”

Bailey’s mom looked back and smiled at Tim. “God has provided us with some wonderful times together.” She exchanged a quick
look with Bailey, a look that said her mom, too, had registered his comment. “I’m sure this’ll be one of them.” Not only that,
but her dad had contacted someone from the Giants, who was friends with a Broadway casting director. “They’re auditioning
for a number of ensembles this summer. Dad thinks the two of you might get a look.”

Bailey forgot her concerns about Tim and squealed at the news. Her mother hadn’t said a word about this until now. “Are you
serious?”

“Yes. I wanted to wait until it was for sure, and it is. We’ll definitely be meeting the guy after the show on Thursday night.”

Behind them a taxi driver laid on his horn, and still there was no light at the end of the tunnel. But none of that mattered.
They were going to meet a real-life Broadway casting director. Nothing could be better than that.

When the traffic let up enough so that they got through the tunnel, the driver took them on a series of shortcuts through
lower Manhattan until finally they were at Broadway and 42
^nd
Avenue at the DoubleTree — the hotel where Bailey and her mom and brother always stayed when they came to New York City.
Her mom paid the driver, and in no time they were shooting up the elevator with their luggage, headed for adjoining suites
on the twenty-second floor. Both rooms had views of Times Square, and again Tim was beside himself.

“From the first time I took the stage, I’ve dreamed about this, about standing here over Times Square and seeing real live
Broadway theater.” He turned to Bailey and took her hand. Connor and their mom were still unpacking, so the two of them were
alone in the living room that adjoined the two bedrooms. “Standing here, it’s like I can feel our dreams coming true.”

Bailey smiled, but even here on the brink of an amazing week in New York City his words fell a little flat, and she wasn’t
sure why. This was her dream, right? To sing and dance in a Broadway show, and to live in New York with Tim somewhere nearby.
That was the dream, wasn’t it? She imagined the two of them heading off for call time each night, working hard for the director
and bringing audiences to their feet every performance. Of course it was the dream. There was nothing she wanted to do more
than be here, performing in front of a live audience nine times a week.

Her mom and Connor finally finished getting ready, and the four of them headed down to the street level and grabbed a quick
salad across the street. Afterwards, they walked a few blocks to the New Amsterdam Theater, where
Mary Poppins
had been playing for more than a year. Bailey and her mom and brother had seen it already and been blown away. She could
hardly wait for Tim’s reaction.

They filed into the theater, and when the lights went down and the stage came to life, she could feel Tim hanging on every
word, moving forward in his seat as if he wanted to be closer to the action so he wouldn’t miss a single line. Bailey smiled
to herself. How great that Tim understood her passion for theater. It was something they would always share, something she
couldn’t share with her dad or a guy like Cody. She redirected her thoughts and leaned in close to Tim. “What do you think?”

“I’m blown away.” Tim reached for her hand, but he didn’t work his fingers between hers. Rather he held it sort of loosely,
the way her dad might.

The sentiment was something he shared again and again that week, even while Bailey continued to feel a strange disconnect.
The show performances were still unbelievable, but the rest of New York City had somehow lost a little luster since the last
time they were here. She caught herself noticing the dank smell of urine and trash that lingered around the city streets,
and the constant stream of honking cabs and aggressive drivers made her long for Bloomington. Even the towering buildings
didn’t seem as awe inspiring, but rather like walls keeping out the sky, closing in on her.

Bailey didn’t tell anyone about her feelings.
This is crazy, God. I’m grateful to be here.
But in lieu of a response she only noticed other details that chipped away at her longtime belief — that this was where she
wanted to live.

The highlight was a stop at Ground Zero where the Twin Towers once stood. They visited St. Paul’s Chapel, and Bailey explained
to Tim that Ashley’s husband, Landon, had been one of the firefighters who sifted rubble and remains after the collapse of
the towers. Landon still had a strange cough because of his time at Ground Zero.

“It’s still hard to believe.” Their mom pulled Bailey and Connor close as they studied a timeline of photos tacked to a chain-link
fence surrounding the site. “I mean, no one dreamed anything like that would ever happen.”

Bailey suddenly remembered a long-ago conversation she’d had with Cody about the terrorist attacks.
“If I have anything to do with it, that’ll never happen again. Not ever.”

Cody had made good on his word, a fact that made Bailey proud of him still.

On another day, the group of them walked to Central Park, but again the reality fell short of Bailey’s recent memories. Instead
of seeing the park as living and vibrant, an oasis in the middle of the city, she noticed the vacant-eyed faces of the people
on the park benches and the dirty, stagnant look of the lake.

“This lake is so famous! It’s been in more movies than most actors.” Tim was constantly thrilled wherever they went.

Finally it was Thursday and they attended the evening performance of
West Side Story
. The singing and dancing were enough to take Bailey’s breath, and she could tell that beside her Tim felt the same way. That
and the fact that they could hardly wait for the show to be over because this was where they would meet the casting director.

“Come on.” Their mom led the way when the show ended. “This way to the stage door. Our names will be on a list.”

A young woman at the door checked off their names and led them down a hallway to an elevator. “One floor up takes you to the
wings.”

Bailey could hardly contain herself. The wings? Of an actual Broadway theater.

But when they stepped off the elevator Bailey was surprised. The area was smaller than she imagined. Still, the buzz of people
around them was both familiar and exhilarating. Actors turned in costumes and props, while others took off makeup in front
of a long row of mirrors, or yelled out good-byes as they headed out.

A thin man with a beret and an unforgettable smile approached them, his brow raised. “Flanigans?”

“Yes.” Bailey’s mom stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Jenny.” She turned and pointed to the rest of them. “These
are my kids, Bailey and Connor, and our friend, Tim Reed. Bailey and Tim are in theater at Indiana University.”

“Very nice. I’m Sebastian.” The man nodded, politely sizing up Bailey and then Tim. “I hear good things about their musical
theater department.”

“We were also part of Christian Kids Theater in Bloomington. We’ve been doing musicals for years.” Bailey held out her hand
and shook Sebastian’s, and Tim did the same. “Our CKT is run by Katy Hart Matthews; you might have heard about it.”

The man angled his head and gave an impressive nod. “I have indeed. She’s the actress who married Dayne Matthews. I read a
write-up on your theater group in
People
once.”

“That’s us.” Tim grinned.

“Tell you what.” Sebastian gestured to the stage wings. “Let’s give you a tour.”

Sebastian clearly loved his job. He was greeted by various cast members as they moved their way along the narrow passage behind
the stage toward the sets area and the different dressing rooms.

Tim whispered as they walked, “Weird how the props bring a scene to life from the stage, but back here …”

“Plain and ordinary.”

“Definitely,” Connor chimed in. “Also, the wings are smaller than the Bloomington Community Theater.”

“Definitely smaller.” Bailey whispered. She felt like Dorothy, seeing the Wizard for what he really was. Almost like it would’ve
been better to skip the backstage and keep the magic.

Sebastian was going on about the stage being slightly slanted forward so that the audience could see everyone in the back
row. “Come out and stand on it.” He moved onto the wooden stage, and the rest of them followed.

“Wow.” Connor bent his knees a little and found his balance. “It’s more slanted than I thought.”

“The cast gets used to it.” Sebastian laughed. “But it takes awhile.”

Bailey tried to imagine dancing in character shoes on the angled floor. No question it would be harder than it looked from
the audience. Tim stood a little ahead of her, his eyes shining with excitement. He looked so caught up in the thrill of standing
here that he’d forgotten she was a few feet away.

When they were finished with the tour, Sebastian took down names and contact information for Bailey and Tim, and gave Jenny
his number. “We’ll have open auditions in late June,” he smiled. “Contact me before that and I’ll get you in. You won’t have
to wait in line with the rest of the cattle.” He laughed at his own joke. “The line can wrap around the block before ten in
the morning.”

Bailey felt her head spin as she tried to picture the audition. A line of actors wrapping around the building? “How many spots
will you fill?”

“Two, maybe three.” Sebastian made a face. “It’s tough competition. We’ll see a thousand dancers looking for one of those
spots.”

Dancers. He’d called them dancers because ensemble actors danced and provided a visual and vocal backdrop. Nothing more. Even
still, the audition would be the chance of a lifetime. Especially now, before either of them actually graduated.

Jenny asked about the contract length for those who were chosen from the audition.

“Six months to a year. Depends on the dancer’s schedule, and how much we like them.”

Bailey knew what her mom was thinking. If they auditioned that summer, and if by some act of God they were chosen for the
cast, they’d miss at least the first quarter of the next school year. Her mom looked concerned about the possibility.

When the meeting with Sebastian was over, they walked to Ellen’s Stardust Diner at 51st and Broadway, in the heart of Times
Square. The place was a fifties-style hamburger joint with homemade malts and the smell of fresh french fries cooking in the
back. The best part was how the wait staff sang while they worked. The music to one favorite hit song after another filled
the place as the waiters took turns belting out the lyrics.

They found a table near the middle of the room and were just opening their menus when one of the waiters walked by singing
“Love Me Tender.” The guy had dark hair and striking looks, and his voice was incredibly trained. Tim leaned in toward the
others. “What’s he doing here? He should be down the street at one of the theaters.”

Jenny nodded. “He was. He played Danny’s understudy in
Grease
last year when we were here. This is where a lot of them work between shows.”

“Except him.” Connor pointed to a tall, curly-haired guy flirting with a table of teenage girls. “He can sing like crazy,
but he’s been here every time we’ve come.”

Bailey watched the guy and wondered about him. They’d talked to him last time they were here. He explained that he made pretty
good money, enough to survive. “And I’m doing what I love. Singing on Broadway.”

The thought made Bailey shudder then and now. It was one thing to perform on a stage at a famous theater in town, but to perform
while serving burgers and fries? There had to be another way to stay involved with theater — teaching with Katy at CKT back
home, maybe. She would never want to live here that badly.

“You know?” Tim grinned at them. “This is the first place I’ll apply when I move here. If I never get a part, this would be
great.”

Bailey glanced at him and then lowered her gaze to her menu. Tim’s comment confused her. Her main attraction to him had always
been the number of views they’d shared in common. But now … Was this really how he saw his future? Here in New York City no
matter what? Even if it meant waiting tables for years after he got a degree? Bailey couldn’t imagine living here more than
a few years. After that she’d want a place like Bloomington, where she could marry and raise a family.

They were halfway back to the hotel when her phone vibrated in her coat pocket. She checked it and her heart skipped a beat.
It was a text from Cody.

JUST THINKING ABOUT YOU. YOU STILL IN NEW YORK?

His message lifted her spirits more than anything all night. She thought about not texting him back, especially because she
was with Tim. Or was she? She looked at him, again walking a little ahead of her, taking in the barrage of sights and sounds
and barely aware of her. He wouldn’t notice if she turned and walked the other way, let alone if she texted Cody back. She
kept up with her mom and Connor and turned her attention to her phone.

YES. BUT IT’S NOT LIKE I REMEMBER IT. I’D RATHER BE THERE WITH YOU.

She sent the text and then felt her cheeks grow hot. There were a couple of ways he could take her message. She meant she’d
rather not be in New York City at the moment. Not that she’d literally rather be with Cody. Right? She pushed back her guilt
and lowered her phone to her side just as another text came in.

LET’S HANG OUT WHEN YOU GET BACK. I MISS YOU. I STILL WANT TO TALK.