It didn’t take much to convince him, and now I could feel his gaze on me as I scraped dishes. I avoided his stare, focusing too intently on the sink and trying not to look flustered. Ella was finishing up the last song on the CD, and I could sense the unavoidable silence creeping up on us. I couldn’t think with him watching me like that, and I really needed to think. What was going to come next? What were we moving toward? Why couldn’t he just give in and get God so we could get on with it? And why was I having such a hard time doing what I knew I needed to do?

The last song was beginning to fade, and not able to bear the thought of silence, I glanced over at the stack of CDs on the counter. “Come pick another disc; that was the last song.”

He slowly got up and ambled over to the counter, looking each one over carefully and then loading a soundtrack. I finished up the last of the dishes and dried my hands before collapsing into an armchair next to the couch. Desperate to start a safe conversation, I finally asked what form his next project was taking.

“Action,” he responded. “And shooting in Ireland for part of it.”

“Oh, how lucky. Ever been there?”

“Nope. You?”

“No. That would be incredible. How long would you go for?”

“Don’t know for sure; probably a couple months or so. Maybe less; depends on how fast we work and if the weather cooperates.”

“Send me a postcard.”

“How about coming with me?”

I blinked. He was serious; I could tell.

“Jack, I can’t just up and—”

“We’re going in July; you wouldn’t be back in school by then, and you wouldn’t even have to stay the whole time.”

My head swam. This was too much. I groped for excuses. “You’d be rehearsing and filming the whole time; I’d be bored out of my mind.”

“You could film too; you could be an extra. And you could go sightseeing; you wouldn’t have to sit around the set all day. I’ll figure out a way to get a day off, and we can hang out. It would be perfect.”

This wasn’t a spontaneous idea; I could tell he’d been working on it for a while. I stared back at him, knowing in my heart that I couldn’t say yes. This was it, the moment of truth. The can of worms was in my hand, and I found myself pulling back the lid.

“Asking a girl to accompany you to overseas filming isn’t something you do lightly, Jack, at least not in my world.”

“I’m not doing it lightly, Grace, I mean it. I’ve given it a lot of thought.”