Right Where I Belong (23 page)
The audience stood and cheered.
Morgan’s Road
was the most popular teen drama on television.
“Addy.” Lexi eyed her friend, who stood and smiled as everyone around her clapped and whistled. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew
Morgan’s Road
was going to be on and you didn’t tell me.”
Addy nodded. “I promised Kara I’d keep it a secret.”
Lexi pulled out her phone. “Kids, this is the night Mommy is going to meet her future husband, your father. Zach Stone.”
Zach Stone was the teen heartthrob who starred in
Morgan’s Road
. Lexi pointed her camera to the stage. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”
A large, angry security guard cleared his throat and glared at Lexi.
Sighing, Lexi pointed the camera toward herself before handing it over. “And this is Mommy getting caught for breaking the rules. Bye, kids.”
The director calmed everyone down and continued his speech. “This is a live show, so please, do not distract the actors or yell out. What happens here”—he pointed to the stage—“goes right out there.” He motioned to the cameras.
When the last of the instructions were given, the now-familiar theme song for
O-Town Live
began to play. Lights dimmed, and Chad and Kara stepped onstage. The entire audience erupted, with the loudest noise coming from a large group in the front row.
“Kara’s family.” Addy returned the wave of a large man who, Natalia assumed, was Kara’s father.
The show, amazingly, lived up to all its hype. The skits were hysterical, and Natalia was impressed at how versatile the
Morgan’s Road
actors were. In the middle Chad sang his
signature song, “Freedom,” and right after that, he sang a spoof of it in a skit where he played a guy playing Chad Beacon. Kara was his “biggest fan.”
“This is great,” Natalia whispered to Addy.
Addy nodded her agreement.
Too soon the theme song was playing once again and the entire cast was onstage, dancing and waving good-bye to the cameras and to the studio audience.
Lexi reached into Addy’s purse and pulled out Addy’s phone. Lexi pointed it toward herself. “Hey, kids. Mom’s getting ready to go to a real live after party with my famous friends. And your dad. Don’t wait up.”
I
t’s definitely hard work. But I love it.” Kara had pulled Addy, Lexi, and Natalia aside at the after party. Fans and executives had surrounded the young starlet for over an hour. The three friends mingled with the other guests. Lexi had even gotten an autograph, and a covert video, from Zach Stone. But they were all excited to hear how Kara was enjoying her new “job.”
“So is Zach as wonderful as he seems?” Lexi looked over to see that young man flirting with one of the VIP guests.
Kara shrugged. “I didn’t really spend a lot of time with him. Paige Hanson and I had gotten to know each other a little during auditions, so I spent most of my free time with her.”
Natalia remembered seeing the audition episode where Kara and the other girls played guest parts on
Morgan’s Road
. Addy told Natalia that Kara was sure that audition was her worst. Natalia wasn’t much of a judge of acting, but Kara seemed very natural in all the roles she played.
“And with Chad.” Lexi winked.
“Yes, with Chad.” Kara’s eyes darted to her handsome costar.
“So how is it, working with the man you love every day?” Lexi leaned forward and batted her eyes.
Kara blushed. “His parents don’t want us to get too serious yet. So the
L
word definitely isn’t in play. But it’s great. We have a Bible study every morning. My parents are even coming to that.”
“That’s great.” Addy smiled.
“I know. And they love the Beacons. The four of them will go out to lunch while we’re filming or hang out and just talk. My dad is the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time.”
“Kara’s dad had a heart attack a few months ago,” Addy said. “The doctor recommended he retire and move down here so he could fully recover.”
“He goes to physical therapy three times a week,” Kara said. “And he’s even starting to eat better. Dr. Kara is helping him out there.”
“But back to Chad.” Lexi raised her eyebrows.
“Chad is great.” Kara bit her lip. “I’ve never known anyone so caring. And fun. To get to work with him every day, doing something I love so much . . . it’s amazing.”
“God loves to give good gifts to his children.” Addy smiled.
“Yes, he does.”
“Well, I’d like the good gift of Zach Stone.” Lexi watched as he made his way to yet another young woman.
A network executive walked up to the foursome, accompanied by a distinguished-looking man in a suit and his
equally distinguished-looking college-age son. “Kara, I’d like to introduce our senator, Gerald Perkins.”
“You’re from Tampa, aren’t you?” Lexi looked down at the man—a good two inches shorter than herself.
“I am.” The senator shook hands with all the girls. “And this is my son, James.”
James smiled. “We enjoyed the show, Kara.”
“Thank you. We enjoyed making it.”
Natalia knew Kara meant that. What would it be like to get to do what she loved every day?
But what do I love?
The image of helping in the ESL program popped into her head.
Right, like I could do that for a living. Mamà and Papa would yell at me for even suggesting it.
“Where do you guys go to school?” James asked.
“It’s a small Christian school,” Addy answered. “You’ve probably never heard of it.”
“Actually I worked with a guy from a small Christian school this summer. Tampa Christian, I think.”
“That’s our school!” Lexi grabbed James by the shoulders and shook him. “Who’d you work with?”
“Brian Younger.”
Natalia felt her face heat up. Even in Orlando, she couldn’t escape him.
“He’s our pastor’s son.” Addy pulled Lexi off the senator’s son.
“Great guy. We worked demolition together.” James snapped his fingers. “Actually, we worked for the Adams’s family. Their son goes to Tampa Christian too, I think.”
“Spencer.” Lexi sighed.
James grimaced. “Brian is by far the better man.”
Addy and Lexi both looked at Natalia.
James looked at Natalia. “Are you two . . . ?”
“No.” Natalia wished she were anywhere but here.
“He’s a great kid,” James said. “Hard worker, fun, mature.”
“I don’t think this young woman wants you matchmaking, son,” the senator interrupted. Natalia closed her eyes in relief. “We just wanted to come by and let you know how proud we are of you guys. A show that’s funny
and
family friendly. That’s what I love to see. Keep up the good work.”
The rest of the evening was a blur of introductions, rich food, and loud music. At midnight, the girls hugged Kara good-bye and headed back to Tampa.
Natalia tried to stay awake for Addy, but her eyelids refused to obey. Thankfully, Lexi was in the front seat and was especially chatty. Natalia gave in to fatigue, her thoughts drifting back to James Perkins’s praise of Brian. Too tired to fight off the thoughts, Natalia allowed herself to agree with the senator’s son. Brian
was
great . . .
B
rian sat back as Natalia patiently explained the words on the handout. Tonight’s ESL class was focused on shopping vocabulary, and Brian had asked Natalia to lead, knowing she would be a much better teacher on that subject than he would.
“Many of these words are similar to our own.”
Brian resisted the urge to close his eyes and listen to Natalia speak. Her accent was intoxicating. Combined with her exotic good looks and incredible personality, she was irresistible.
But I have to resist.
The whole school had been in shock when word spread that Natalia Lopez had rejected Spencer Adams’s invitation to homecoming.
She’s made it clear dating is out. God, why can’t you make it clear to me too? Being around her all the time is harder than working demolition ever was.
Natalia flipped through a PowerPoint presentation she had put together. Photos of different stores, with a variety of items, filled each screen. Below each picture was the word
in English. She finished a tour of Target by walking through the toy aisle.
Smart thinking.
Several of the students had children. This particular vocabulary would be quite helpful.
Confirming that suspicion, hands went up.
“What is the word for
rompecabezas
?” Victor asked.
Natalia thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. Brian?”
“Rompa-what?” Brian snapped out of his daydreams.
“Rompecabezas. It’s like a picture that’s broken into pieces that you have to fit together.”
“Puzzle?”
Natalia’s eyes closed. “Yes, of course. Puzzle.”
The class tried to say that word—the overload of consonants difficult for Spanish speakers.
Several more hands went up, and Natalia easily identified the words for
skateboard
,
coloring book
, and
action figure
.
When class ended, several of the students thanked her for the lesson, feeling ready to begin early Christmas shopping now that they knew the words for the items on their children’s wish lists.
“You are a good teacher.” Brian shut the door as Victor, the last of the students, exited.
She turned off the computer. “I was lucky to have been educated in Spanish and English.”
“Yes, but knowing a subject doesn’t always mean someone can teach it. You, my friend, have a gift.”
Natalia looked at Brian, her green eyes dancing. “I do love this.”
“You’ll be a great teacher someday.”
Her eyes darkened. “My parents wouldn’t like that at all.”
“Why?” Brian straightened. “Teaching is a noble profession.”
“Yes, but my parents expect me to go into a lucrative profession.”
He laughed. “Teaching definitely doesn’t pay well.”
“Exactly.”
“But do you think God wants you to be a teacher?”
“I think God wants me to obey my parents and not waste the thousands of dollars they have invested in my education.”
The edge to Natalia’s voice silenced any further arguments Brian wanted to make.
“I’m sorry.” Natalia walked close to Brian, her vanilla-scented perfume enveloping him. “I have been thinking about this a lot. My parents expect me to go to an Ivy League school and become a successful businesswoman.”
“But that doesn’t appeal to you.” Brian was grateful for parents who always encouraged him to follow God’s path for his life. “Have you prayed about it?”
“I’ve prayed for peace to obey my parents.” Natalia stepped away, and Brian resisted the urge to pull her close to him.
“God has a plan for your life. If that plan is different from your parents’ plan, you need to follow God’s.”
Natalia smiled. Brian felt his heart lighten.
“Your mom said the same thing.”
Brian had forgotten about his mother’s earlier struggles. She made her choice to follow God long before Brian was born. “Her dad hated that she married my dad.”
“But it was obviously the right thing to do.”
“Obviously.”
Natalia sat in one of the green cloth chairs. “But they’d be so angry. And what about my testimony? Wouldn’t I lose my parents’ respect if I disobeyed them?”
Brian pulled up a chair to sit across from her. He could see the struggle on her face and prayed for wisdom to know how to help her. “It comes back to God. Are you more willing to refuse his plans for you or your parents’?”
Natalia closed her eyes. “Why do they have to be different? It isn’t fair.”
“If your parents gave you a green light to do anything you wanted, what would it be?”
She looked around the room. “This. I’d want to keep doing this. I’d love to go to a Bible college so I could learn more, to help people know him better.”
Brian watched Natalia’s eyes light up as she talked. Brian leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “There’s a verse in Psalms that says, ‘Delight yourself also in the L
ORD
, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.”
“So God will give me what I want?”
Brian shook his head. “Dad says that verse means that when we are really seeking God, he’ll put his desires in our hearts. He makes us want to do what he wants us to do.”
Natalia’s eyebrows furrowed. “But what I want to do is go to a Bible college.”
“And you’re seeking God, right?”
Natalia bit her lip. “I’m trying to.”
“So that desire is from God. So is the desire to teach. God put those desires in your heart.”
“But my parents . . .”
“Trust God with your parents. But obey his voice.”
Natalia put her head in her hands. “This is so hard.”
The door opened and Juanita, a beautiful Ecuadorian woman in her midthirties, stepped quietly into the room.