Take Two (11 page)

Bailey seemed to sense Andi had made up her mind, but she said nothing about it. Instead she took hold of Andi’s hands and
began talking to God in a way that was familiar and comforting. She prayed about their opening night, that they would remember
the words, and that the audience would be packed with people. “Let them see the meaning in the story, Lord,” she added. “The
message of regret for people who don’t make the most of every day they’ve been given.”

Her prayer moved on then to the movie offer from Taz. “The world will always have what looks like a better offer.” Her voice
was kinder still, without a drop of accusation. “Help us see life through Your eyes, Father. So that we know when the world
is trying to mislead us. We need Your help, or we’ll be … Well, we’ll be like people without faith. And that would be a very
sad loss, Lord. Thank You for listening. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Andi appreciated the prayer and the way moments like this made her and Bailey closer. But she still wondered if Taz was serious,
if he and his roommates were really going to be at the show tonight. And if they were, she wondered if they would wait for
her afterward. If so, then maybe she could ask him her questions in person. At least then she’d have all the information.

They both turned their attention to getting ready. Their characters needed long, curled hair — so they stood in front of the
small mirror and shared Bailey’s curling iron, passing it back and forth and spritzing hairspray as they went. They were just
putting on their coats and gloves again when Andi got a text. Her first thought was Taz. Maybe he’d gotten her number and
now he was texting her, looking for her answer. But as she reached for her phone, she saw she was wrong. The text was from
Cody.

HEY, ANDI. WANTED YOU TO KNOW I’LL BE THERE TONIGHT. I’M TAKING MY MOM. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT. BREAK A LEG!

She grinned at the phone and her heart soared. She hurried with her response.

YAY! I’M GLAD YOU’RE GOING, BUT DON’T LOOK AT ME DURING MY SONG. LOL. I MIGHT FORGET THE WORDS AND RUN DOWN TO JOIN YOU IN
THE AUDIENCE.

Andi couldn’t figure out Cody Coleman. Times like this she was almost certain he had feelings for her, which would be amazing.
There was no one she’d rather date than Cody. He was the hottest guy she knew, but more than that he had a wisdom, a faith
that was borne of real-life experience and a genuine need for God. The kind of faith Andi wished she had.

“Who’re you texting?” Bailey wrapped her thick wool scarf around her neck and chin. The air temperature outside was already
in the low teens.

“Cody.” Andi tried not to feel guilty, but she did. Whenever she and Cody texted, things felt a little awkward with Bailey.
“He’ll be at the show.”

Bailey’s eyes flickered, proof that the news clearly registered somewhere inside her. But nothing in her expression told whether
she felt grateful or upset by the fact. Bailey grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Did he say anything else?”

“Yeah. He’s coming with his mom.”

For a second, Bailey stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You know Cody’s mom?”

“No.” Andi wrinkled her nose, confused by the question. “Why would I know her?”

Bailey shrugged. “Just seemed like he wouldn’t tell you that unless you knew her.”

“I know she’s had a rough life. Been in prison, drugs, that sort of thing. Cody says he’s trying to build a new relationship
with her.”

This time there was no mistaking the hurt in Bailey’s eyes. “Great.” She checked her watch. “We better go.”

They decided to drive because the theater was on the other side of campus and even a five-minute walk wouldn’t be easy in
the freezing-cold snow and wind. On the way to the car, and then to the theater, Bailey talked about her costume and Tim’s
nervousness about playing Scrooge. She touched on how she might take a break from theater after this quarter and the struggle
she was having in her harder classes. But Cody’s name didn’t come up again.

Andi tried to assess Bailey’s response to Cody, her seeming lack of interest. All along she had told herself that Cody had
feelings for Bailey, that the two of them were only kidding each other by keeping their distance and maintaining that they’d
never seen each other as more than friends. Anyone around the two of them could feel the chemistry there. But watching her
now, Andi wondered if she might have read Bailey wrong. Maybe Bailey really didn’t have feelings for Cody. She was still dating
Tim, after all.

They ran into the theater, using their backpacks to shield their curly hair from the snow, and Andi was suddenly overcome
with a rush of joy and exhilaration. Life was actually going right for her. She was truly living — living in a way that she
wished her friend Rachel Baugher might’ve lived. Rachel, who died in a car accident without ever realizing her dreams. That
wouldn’t be Andi. She was going to live here and now, without reservations.

She ran through the list of all that was right in her life. She was about to star in her first musical, and she was being
asked to star in her first movie — and it was a movie. Short film or not. On top of all that, maybe Cody did like her after
all. The possibility seemed so real she could almost see the two of them together, holding hands and laughing. Bailey wouldn’t
care. At least it seemed that way.

And for the first time every dream she’d ever had seemed within reach.

She could hardly wait for the curtain to go up.

B
AILEY COULDN’T EXPLAIN THE HURT CONSUMING
her heart. This was opening night, and she wanted everything about it to be a celebration. She was sharing the stage with
Tim, a guy she admired and respected. In the audience would be her parents and brothers, along with some of their friends.
Katy and Dayne had bought a block of tickets in the center orchestra section, so they’d be there, along with Ashley and Landon
and the boys and a few of the other Baxter sisters and their families. Everyone Bailey loved.

Even Cody Coleman.

She and Andi helped each other into their costumes and then moved into the greenroom where all cast members did their own
stage makeup. They sat next to each other at a long row of tables. Each spot had a stand-up mirror, and as Bailey began applying
her makeup, she was struck again by the sadness consuming her. Or was it jealousy?

This is all because of Cody
, she told herself.
Dear God, I know he’s not interested in me as anything more than friend. Help me stop thinking about him
. But the moment the quick prayer was over, his face was back in her mind again. Smiling at her, haunting her.

“You okay?” Andi dabbed white powder over her foundation. For the part of Isabelle, she needed to look paler than usual.

“Sure.” She gave Andi an instant smile, almost too instant. “Just thinking about my lines.”

“Oh.” Andi resumed her dabbing. “Okay. You seem kinda quiet.”

“Sorry. I’m like this before the first show.” She smiled again at her friend. “I’m fine. Really.”

Her hurt was something she would only share with God, at least until she had some alone time with her mom. Figuring out her
feelings for Cody was hard enough without involving her roommate.

She took a cotton pad and lightly applied thick foundation across her cheeks. Why didn’t he at least ask about her? Cody knew
she was in the show, so he could have dropped her a quick text as easily as he’d texted Andi. The occasional random text,
like on Thanksgiving, wasn’t enough. Or was he really avoiding her because of Tim?

She began moving too fast, and her foundation streaked.
Slow down
, she told herself. So what if Cody’s here tonight. The way he’d treated her lately, he was just another guy on a campus of
tens of thousands of guys. But even so, she couldn’t shake his image.

She applied another layer of makeup. She needed paler skin for the show. The Ghost of Christmas Past was supposed to have
an otherworldly, ethereal look. When she finished, she stepped back. “Definitely ghostlike,” she muttered.

“You look great.” Andi put the finishing touches on her eye shadow. She was pale, but striking. The way Isabelle was supposed
to look.

Bailey hadn’t been jealous of her friend’s part since the cast list went up, but here, knowing Cody would be in the audience
… For a brief moment she wished she could take the stage in the dress Andi was wearing instead of the velvet cloak assigned
to the Ghost of Christmas Past.

They were both studying themselves when she saw Tim enter the room. At least she assumed the guy was Tim. The transformation
was that dramatic. He had reported to the theater half an hour earlier to meet with a professional makeup artist, and now
he looked sixty years old. His hair was streaked mostly gray and his face looked haggard and wrinkled.

She turned to face him. “That’s amazing. You look totally different.”

“I even talk different.” A few of the other cast members stared at him as he crossed the greenroom. “They put some kind of
tightening gel near my mouth so that I’ll sound like an old man.”

“It’s working.” Bailey took a step closer and studied his face. “Seriously, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“I hope not.” He tried to laugh, but it sounded strained with his tight mouth. “This isn’t really the look I’m going for offstage.”

Bailey giggled as Andi faced Tim too. “Definitely Scrooge.” She put her hands on her hips and did a slow twirl. Her dress
was pale blue with small white lines of satin. It clung to her upper body, while below her waist it billowed out in soft folds
of blue that gracefully hit just below her ankles. With her blonde hair hanging down her back in curls, she was stunning.
Any of them could’ve seen that. She grinned at Tim. “What do you think?”

Tim watched her. “Wow.” His stage makeup couldn’t hide the appreciation in his eyes. “Scrooge would’ve been a fool to walk
away from you.”

The compliment made Andi blush even through her pale powder. “Why, thank you, Ebenezer.”

Bailey pulled her red velvet cloak around her shoulders and tried not to be bothered by the exchange. She couldn’t blame Tim.
His character was motivated largely by the regret he felt in walking away from the woman he’d loved as a young man. Scrooge
needed an attraction to Isabelle for the audience to believe the story.

Still, the comment made her feel thick and unattractive. Her cloak came in tight around the neck, but otherwise she would
remain shapeless on stage. The only thing that would make her performance stand out was the slight bit of sarcastic humor
written into the script. Their director had told her to milk it for all it was worth.

But nothing about the role made her feel pretty.

Tim seemed to realize he hadn’t shown her the same attention he’d shown Andi. He came to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“I like your hair that way, curled.” He touched his fingers to the side of her face. “You’re beautiful, Bailey. A vision.”

“In a red velvet cloak?” She made a silly face. “That’s okay. Thanks about my hair though. I like it this way too.”

He gave her a side hug just as the director bounded into the room. “Okay, people. We’ve got a full house.” He chuckled. “Oh,
and Dayne Matthews is in the fourth row. This will be a first for my career directing plays at Indiana U.” He made eye contact
with Tim and a handful of the other leads. “Let’s give it our best tonight.”

They circled up and he gave them a few reminders. “All right.” He sounded as nervous as any of them. “Everyone take their
places.”

Only Tim and the kid playing Bob Cratchet were needed for the first scene, but before he walked onto the stage, Tim looked
into her eyes. “All day I kept thinking about you, how this was like CKT and … I guess just how special it is that you’re
here.” He kept his voice to a whisper. “That we’re in this together.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought about that.” For the first time since she’d met Andi for lunch, Bailey felt her mood lighten. She’d
been consumed with Andi and the shady film offer, confused by how a girl raised by missionary parents could actually consider
starring in a movie with nudity. Then there’d been the lack of texts from Cody. And the way her costume hung like heavy drapes.

But now, with Tim gazing at her — even though his eyes sagged with artificial wrinkles — she suddenly felt like a princess.
A montage of memories from a dozen CKT shows played in her mind. From days when she had dreamed of dating Tim Reed. And now
here she was, Tim’s girlfriend, the two of them about to take the stage at Indiana University for the first time. “You’ll
be amazing … just like always.”

“You too.” He looked like he wanted to kiss her, but it wasn’t the time or place. Instead he gave her hand a quick squeeze
and walked onstage. The orchestra was silent, ready for the cue from the conductor. He gave it and the music began in a beautiful
rush of strings and horns, and like that, the air was filled with Christmas.

The opening scene was flawless. Tim was so believable that Bailey and the others couldn’t help but watch from the wings. Bailey
had to keep reminding herself that the guy in the counting shop on stage was her nineteen-year-old boyfriend and not the crotchety
mean old man he pretended to be. He was that convincing. Tim seemed to pick up steam, getting better still as he was warned
by his dead business partner that he would be visited by three additional ghosts.

Bailey and Andi stood in the wings and squeezed hands. “You’ll be great,” Bailey whispered.

“I think I’m sick.” Andi’s eyes were wide.

“You’re not.” Bailey heard her cue but suddenly all she could think about was Cody — where he was sitting and what he was
thinking. Whether she would be able to see him from the stage. She pushed his image from her mind. “Gotta go.”

She adjusted her cloak and walked on stage with a sort of floating, waltz-like step. Tim was on his knees looking under the
bed for any sign of a ghost, grumbling about the warning being a bunch of nonsense. Before he could stand, Bailey tapped him
on the shoulder.