“We’ll need a new stage manager. How do you feel about giving Trip a shot as PSM?” Trip had been a faithful assistant stage manager for over two years now and, in Lauren’s opinion, was the perfect one for the job. Not only had he earned it, but he was already familiar with the show and its specific needs.

“I’m glad we agree. I have an appointment with him next to make it official.” Lauren closed her eyes, knowing how thrilled he was going to be. “I’ll see if we can get Janie to ASM.”

Lauren nodded. “Great. I know she’s off this slot and was worried about employment.”

He picked up his phone. “We’re about to make her day.” He glanced at his watch. “Rehearsal in an hour. You better grab a coffee and learn your lines.”

“Oh. I need to get over there and set up.”

“Not anymore you don’t,” Wilks said sternly. “You’re an actress only now. Make your call time, and be ready to work. That’s all you have to worry about. Trip will do the rest.”

The concept left her dumbfounded, almost like she’d left home without money, keys, or her phone. Just show up and be prepared to delve into Mandy? The concept seemed so foreign to her when she was used to managing so many details.

The smile was small when she left Wilks’s office, but as she walked the long hallway, passing one historic McAllister moment after another, it steadily blossomed. Her body hummed with a slow-growing excitement that started somewhere in her midsection and radiated out.

An adventure was about to begin, and this time, she wasn’t Lauren Prescott, standing with her clipboard on the sidelines. She was part of it. As she reached the end of the hallway, she had to steady herself. The smile reached its full bloom as she allowed the understanding to settle.

A dream was about to come true. She was an actress again.

* * *

When Carly’s alarm went off at seven thirty, she wanted more than anything to hurl it across the room and put out a hit on the clock and all its distant relatives. Instead, she remembered the new leaf she’d decided upon. “One foot on the floor,” she mumbled, and slowly made the request a reality. Now, as she lay there, half off the bed with the bottom of one foot touching the floor, she had to figure out how to get the other one there, too. “Not just yet,” she said to her ceiling and let her eyes slowly close again. “Just three minutes. I just need three.”