“Thank you, Johnny.”
“I’m the best at wrapping it, you know.”
“Yes, Johnny, you definitely are.”
They sat at the end of one of the dining room tables, Loretta said grace (Thank you, precious Jesus!), and Johnny told them all about a restaurant he’d visited when he was sixteen, and how the napkins were folded like pyramids. Eric made comments at the right places, but Casey could see he wasn’t entirely with them.
He finally set down his silverware on his empty plate. “Well, Loretta and Johnny, do you mind cleaning up? Casey and I have a rehearsal to get to.” He smiled at Casey, almost erasing the worry from his face.
“Is it that time already?” Casey glanced at the clock. The day kept flying by. And she wasn’t exactly looking forward to another meeting with Thomas, or coming face-to-face with this Holly person, who obviously didn’t want her around.
Eric stood and took Casey’s plate, along with his. “We can clean up before dinner tomorrow. If Loretta doesn’t mind wiping down the tables, at least?”
Loretta clucked her tongue. “Of course I’m happy to do that, baby. Jesus wasn’t afraid to work, thank the Lord! ”
“I appreciate it. See you tomorrow, Johnny?”
Johnny jumped up from his chair to hug Eric, and spun toward Casey. She was ready this time, and folded her arms protectively in front of her chest to receive Johnny’s embrace.
“See you tomorrow, Johnny.”
“See you, nice lady.”
Eric walked her to the front door, so he could lock it behind her. He smiled as she passed. “Wanna race again?”
She made a face. “On a full stomach? I don’t think so. Besides, I don’t want to make you look silly in front of the cast.”
“I’ve still got the car.”
“Yeah, but I’m getting a head start, and it’s not that far.”
He grinned. “What if I told you I’m walking?”
She waved at her bike. “You can have a ride on my handlebars.”
He eyed the old Schwinn. “I think I’ll pass, thanks.”
“How ‘bout I just wait for you to lock up, so we can arrive together?”
He leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed. “Scared?”
“Not for me. But I think Thomas is going to be gunning for you tonight, after your show of…whatever it was last night.”
He pushed off from the jamb. “Nah. He’s too wimpy, when it comes right down to it. And he really has no say in the matter.”
“I wanted to ask you about that—”
“So we’d better get going. Just a sec.” He trotted back into the building and came out with his bag, Loretta following. “She’ll lock up. Shall we?”
Casey walked beside her bike, with Eric on the other side.
“It’ll be interesting tonight,” Eric said.
“Why’s that?”
“Whole cast will be there. You only met some of them last night.”
“Aaron and Jack, right? And Becca?”
“Yup. And there’ll be a few more. Todd, who does some of the older male roles, and Leila. She fills in wherever needed—acting, props, whatever.”
“And will I like Holly?”
Eric froze.
Casey stopped a few feet down the sidewalk and looked back at him.
His mouth was a tight line. “How do you know about Holly?”
Casey shrugged. “That was the detour I talked about. Why you beat me to Home Sweet Home.” She explained the churchyard conversation.
He put his hands on his hips and looked at the sidewalk. “No wonder.”
“No wonder what?”
“You’re curious about Thomas and me.”
“Yeah, well, I was curious before that. Last night’s rehearsal wasn’t exactly drama-free.”
He gave a quick smile. “I guess not.” He began walking again, and she kept pace with the bike.
“So are you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Why Thomas hates you? And why you can tell him what to do? Which might be exactly why he hates you?”
“We don’t have time to go into it all right now. Let’s just say his family and mine go a long way back.”
“And it reaches into today.”
He barked a laugh. “More than that. It reaches in, grabs, and strangles until we can hardly gasp another breath.”
Casey blinked. “Wow. Sounds…”
“Awful? Yes, it is.”
“And theatrical.”
“Well…” He held out his hands. “How can I help it?”
“Yes.” She glanced at him sideways. “That was another thing I wanted to ask you about. Your acting skills are—”
“Don’t say it. Please. I hear it enough from Thomas.”
“But you’re so good!”
He winced. “I asked you not to say it.”
“But… I thought Thomas would only tell you you were bad.”
He looked away, then back to her. “Do you really think he could?”
Casey had to smile at his discomfort. “I know he certainly shouldn’t, but from the little I’ve seen of him, he’s not the kind to give out compliments.”
The theater came into view and Eric stopped, putting a hand on the bike’s handlebars. “It’s not that he gives out compliments. Believe me. It’s more like he uses it as a weapon. ‘Look, Eric.’” His voice was gruff as he thumped Casey’s shoulder with a pointed finger. “‘You have to carry this show. If it bombs it’s because you didn’t do what you could.’” He shrugged. “You know. Stuff like that.”
Casey sighed. “The rest of the actors aren’t that bad…”
Eric gave her a look.
“Okay. They aren’t great, but I’ve seen worse.”
Eric took his hand off the bike and they walked the remaining yards to the theater door. He leaned toward her as she set the bike on its kickstand. “Just wait till you see Holly act.”
“Is she—?”
“We’ll talk after rehearsal.” With a smirk he opened the door and gestured grandly for her to enter.
Chapter Twelve
Someone had been working on the poster of the headshots. Becca, Casey figured, in her new role as stage manager. Eric’s photo—a serious black-and-white portrait—was uppermost on the board, with a woman next to him. Holly, most likely, although it was hard for Casey to recognize her from that brief, obstructed glimpse through the church’s bushes.
“You ready?” Eric waited at the performance space’s double doors.
Casey took a deep breath and let it out. “I suppose. Unless it’s not too late to back out.”
“Oh, no, no, no. You said you’d do it. I’m going to keep you to your word.”
Groaning, Casey eased past Eric into the darkened theater.
“There she is! Our savior!” Holly—for there was no doubt who she was in person—swept down the aisle, her hands outstretched.
Casey backed up a step, bumping into Eric. He put his hands on her back, gently pushing her forward.
Holly grabbed Casey’s hands and squeezed them. “We’re so happy you’ve come to join us. It’s been such a hard time, with Ellen dying.” Her large brown eyes sparkled with tears, and she blinked, allowing one of them to make its way down her cheek.
Casey felt Eric stiffen behind her, and she pulled her hands from Holly’s. “I’m glad to help out how I can.” She looked beyond Holly to see Aaron and Jack—the two young actors—sitting on the edge of the stage, watching something across the aisle. Casey followed their gazes.
Thomas stood over a woman, apparently getting an earful. Her face spoke volumes of anger, but Casey could only hear the hiss of sotto voce conversation. Obviously not things the woman wanted everyone else to hear. Becca stood awkwardly behind Thomas, a notebook clasped to her chest. She watched Thomas and the woman with a somewhat panicked expression, her jaw clenched so tightly it bunched into knots.
“Oh, don’t worry about her,” Holly said with a dismissive wave. “She’s from Racine. They have a theater program there, too, and Thomas had called last week to see if she would come take Ellen’s part. She didn’t show up until today, and she’s not too happy about you.” Holly smiled, and a chill ran down Casey’s spine.
“Come on, Casey,” Eric said. “I’ll introduce you to Todd.”