“Of course he does . . . right now. But just wait. Another one will come along. And then another. And then another. And each time he’ll promise, and each time he may very well mean it. But . . . listen to me carefully, dear.”
Hannah watched as the older woman she didn’t recognize stepped closer to Tricia. In the bright lights from the stage, she could see the tears glistening in the older woman’s eyes.
“I love you, dear. And I’d never lie to you. He can promise and promise, but that won’t stop it from happening again. Once they cheat, they’ll cheat again.”
“But, Mother. I love him. What can I do?”
The older woman stepped away and sighed deeply. “Nothing, dear. You can do nothing. But I can. There’s only one thing that’ll stop him. And I’ll take care of that for you!”
As the curtain closed on the scene, Hannah felt a chill run down her spine. Even though the words were never actually spoken, she knew exactly what the older woman was going to do in the next act of the play.
“Good!” Michelle said, standing up and motioning for the house lights to go on. “That was much better, Tricia. And Vivian? I really didn’t think there was any way you could improve on your performance yesterday, but today was even better. You really ought to be on the stage.”
“Thank you,” the older actress responded.
“Act Three tomorrow,” Michelle told the cast that was now sitting on the apron of the stage. “If everyone comes on time, we can get through act three and even have time to break for lunch.”
“When will we rehearse all three acts together?” Tricia asked Michelle.
“That’ll be next week on Monday. Or perhaps on Sunday if Act Three goes well tomorrow.” Michelle glanced down at her notebook. “I need everyone here at noon Saturday with everything they’re bringing for the bake sale. I have the list, and when you get here, we’ll price everything and set it out. The bake sale will take place right after the pie eating contest.”
“And the pie eating contest begins at one?” Trudi Schumann asked.
“That’s right. I talked to Rod Metcalf this morning. He’s going to run a feature article on the contest and the bake sale in tomorrow’s paper. And he also agreed to sell tickets to the contest for us at the newspaper office.”
“Who are the contestants?” Becky Summers asked her.
“One is Rose McDermott. She said she loves Hannah’s Banana Cream Pie. Not only that, Rose and Hal are going to sell contest tickets at the café.”
“Too bad you couldn’t talk your mother into being a contestant,” Tricia said. “Everyone in town would have turned up for that!”
Michelle laughed right along with everyone else. “You’re right, Tricia. I’m a fast talker and I’m pretty convincing, but I’m not that convincing! I don’t think anyone could talk my mother into getting pie on her face in public.”
“Who else are you planning to ask?” Trudi wanted to know.
“I’m talking to Mayor Bascomb about it this afternoon.”
“Good luck!” Trudi looked amused. “Our mayor thinks of himself as dignified. I don’t think he’d want to be seen with pie on his face either.”
“I’ll try to convince Mayor Bascomb,” Michelle promised. “Do any of you have suggestions for the other contestant?”
“How about Al Percy?” Loretta Richardson suggested. “Everyone in town knows Al. He’s president of the Lions Club, he supports all the athletics at Jordan High, and he was the Grand Marshall of the Fourth of July parade last year.”
“That’s a good idea!” Trudi said. “Al would be perfect. And he prints his own flyers down at the real estate office. I bet he’d do some for us for the play.”
“Thanks, Loretta!” Michelle said. “Since Andrea works there, I’ll drop by and ask her to ask Al.”
“Perfect!” Trudi said with a smile. “Andrea can talk anybody into anything.”
“I have a favor to ask of you, Trudi,” Michelle said. “Do you think you could get Cliff to sell tickets to the pie eating contest at the hardware store?”
“I’ll do that and I know he will. I’ll run over there this afternoon and ask him.”
“Thanks, Trudi.” Michelle gave her a smile, and then she turned to the rest of the group. “Thanks, everyone. That was a really good rehearsal and this is going to be a great play. I want all of you to pick up tickets on the way out. They’re on a table in the lobby in packs of twenties. Take as many as you think you can sell and get out there tomorrow and sell them. And don’t forget to tell everyone that there’ll be a bake sale after the contest and we’ll have a drawing for one of Hannah’s pies.”
“I wish we knew if the mayor was going to be a contestant,” Loretta said. “That would make it a lot easier to sell tickets.”
“You’re right. I’ll call Trudi if I’m successful at getting the mayor to agree, and she’ll pass the word to all of you. And I’ll check with Andrea about Al.” Michelle picked up her things and smiled. “Okay. That’s it for today. I’ll see you all here tomorrow for Act Three.”
Michelle glanced around and caught sight of Hannah standing at the back of the auditorium. She gave a little wave, and hurried to join her older sister. “Hi, Hannah,” she said when she arrived at her side. “I didn’t see you come in.”
“I’ve been here for a few minutes.” Hannah moved a bit closer so she wouldn’t be overheard by the Lake Eden Players who were leaving. “Vivian is a really good actress.”
“I know. And Tricia told me that Tori never complimented her on her performance. She also said that Tori never complimented anyone else, either. They all mentioned that Tori was a good director, but I don’t think anyone liked her very much.”
Hannah’s mind snapped into high gear. “Did any one of the Lake Eden Players really dislike Tori?”
“Not really. And believe me, I asked that question!” Michelle gave a little laugh. “I’m learning how your mind works, Hannah. I knew you’d ask me that.”
“Just checking,” Hannah said. “For a minute there, I thought I’d have another suspect.”