“It’s going all right,” he answers, flashing his bright smile at me. “Ready to go in?”

As Kimmie and I follow Darryl into the theater, she gives me a knowing look. Even though her pregnancy scare already feels like a million years ago to me, it must still be fresh in her mind. I give her a small smile just to remind her that her secret is safe with me.

The theater is not nearly as glamorous as I thought it would be. To be honest, it’s a bit run-down, but I’m still a little awestruck. The lights are bright and the people well dressed, and there are posters on the walls with Adam’s name on them: WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE—A PLAY STARRING LINDSAY COLLINS AND ADAM CARUSO.

As we make our way toward our seats, I wonder how Adam’s feeling right now. Is he nervous? Is he excited? Is he ready? It isn’t until the lights go out and he comes onstage that I get the answers to my questions.

Focused. That’s the only word that comes to my mind when I try to decide how he’s feeling. He’s in the zone, and everything about his performance—his voice, his dancing, his expressions—is just perfect. The same can’t really be said for the rest of the cast, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Whenever Adam is onstage, the spotlight seems to be shining on him and only him.

About halfway into the first act, we get to the scene that I had to practice for the audition. As Adam speaks the words I memorized, the ones I stammered in front of the casting director, I have no doubt in my mind that he was the right actor for the part. No one else could deliver that dialogue as passionately as Adam does.

“But how could I do that?” he says, and his voice quivers in a way that brings a knot to my throat. “I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if that guy hadn’t been standing in line in front of us on the day of the audition, if he hadn’t said what he said. Would I have gotten a callback, like Adam did? Maybe not. What surprises me is that, for the first time ever, that thought doesn’t bother me. Maybe this was never meant for me. Maybe, despite all the days and nights I spent rehearsing, this was Adam’s dream all along, and not mine. It can’t be mine. I used to think that it was—that all of Ma and Pa’s hard work had been for this, so that I could run off and make it big on Broadway, but now I finally see things clearly.