“Thank you,” Carly said, feeling all aflutter. She’d received tons of compliments on her work in the past, but this one carried a lot of weight. Karen said it with such unbridled, warm sincerity. Plus, she was an extension of Lauren, so her opinion was weighted heavily in Carly’s book. “I was lucky enough to share the stage with an amazing co-star.”

“I can’t imagine who that could be,” Karen said, in an overexaggerated tone that was so hokey, it looped back around to cute. “Oh, wait. That’s you!” She released Carly and slid an arm around her daughter, who grinned, bashful at too much attention, as always. Lauren was the opposite of an attention hog, Carly realized, which was rare in an actress. Perhaps it was that selfless quality that held her back from success in her earlier acting days. Show business was cutthroat, and Lauren was a giver, not a taker. In Carly’s mind, it was a compliment.

“Listen,” Carly explained to Karen and John, “the minute Lauren stepped into the role, everything about my performance changed. Suddenly, I understood Ashley and what her journey had to be. Without Lauren, I’m not sure it ever would have clicked into place.”

She and Lauren exchanged a private glance.

They’d been through a lot together. She almost couldn’t remember what life was like without Lauren in it. In fact, everything before seemed unimportant, superficial, and so very far away. Her feet felt more firmly planted on the ground now, her self-awareness, though not always easy to swallow, was fully in effect, and she wanted things for herself that she’d never wanted before. Who was she exactly?

Karen latched on to Carly’s wrist. “Seeing little Lauren, our Boop, up there reminded me of when she’d stand on top of her toy box and sing songs from Annie to her stuffed animals. She would even act out the group orphan scenes, playing all the parts.”

Carly raised an eyebrow and faced Lauren. “Well, who knew?”

Lauren covered her face. “No more little Lauren stories, okay? Can I get you guys a drink?”

“No, no,” John said, taking Karen’s hand. “We’re getting out of your hair. Let the show people celebrate without the parents. So proud of you, Laur.”

Karen beamed. “Just wanted to stop by and tell you what a star you were tonight, my tiny baby Boop.”

Lauren laughed. “Mother, you cannot call me that right now.” She softened. “But thank you. Means the world that you were here tonight.”

Carly’s heart squeezed, and she felt like she’d wandered onto the set of a Hallmark movie where the parents were amazing and later, they’d light a Christmas tree in the town square. “Fantastic meeting you.”