“They’ve never done that before!”
“I know. It’s always been a regular curtain call when the whole cast comes out, people applaud, and the curtain goes down again. This time I thought we should make it special. And if you and Mrs. Bascomb announce the names of the players, it would be just wonderful! I’ll be happy to prepare a script with all the character names and the names of the people who play them. And then, if you’ll agree to do it, you could give a short speech about what a wonderful actress and director your sister was and how proud she’d be that the Lake Eden Players are dedicating their performance that night to her.”
“That’s very nice!” Mayor Bascomb looked impressed. “Do you think that KCOW Television will be there for the curtain call, too?”
“Absolutely. I’ve already talked to them about that. Everyone loves to see you on television, Mayor Bascomb. And Mrs. Bascomb is a celebrity, too.”
Michelle had said the perfect thing and Hannah came very close to losing it. Mayor Bascomb was a media hound. It was like Ross had told her. Whenever there was a camera, you could count on Mayor Bascomb to give a sound bite.
“You can count me in, Michelle. And I’m sure Stephanie will agree to stand at the podium with me. After all, we’ve always been patrons of the arts. And not only that, it’ll give me a chance to practice the speech I’ll be giving when I accept the award honoring Tori at the Stage and Theater Actors Guild the following week in New York.”
“That’s wonderful, Mayor Bascomb. Please be sure to mention that on the night of the play. I’m sure everyone in Lake Eden will watch you accept your sister’s award.”
“I’m sure they will.”
Hannah bit the inside of her cheek again to keep from laughing. Their mayor was definitely not humble.
“I think this will be an excellent fundraiser for the Lake Eden Players,” Mayor Bascomb continued. “Stephanie and I will be delighted to help in any way we can.”
“Thank you, Mayor Bascomb!” Michelle looked properly grateful. “This is so kind of you. I’m going to rush right out and tell everyone how wonderfully supportive you’ve been.”
*
“Good heavens!” Hannah said on their way out the front door of city hall.
“Good heavens what?”
“Just good heavens! Your performance in the mayor’s office deserved an Academy Award. Are you sure you don’t want to be an actress instead of a director?”
Michelle turned to look at Hannah in surprise. “I don’t want to be a director, or a producer, or an actress. I want to own and manage a theater. That’s why I’ve been taking business classes in addition to my drama major.”
“But why? I saw you in there and you’re very good. That tear was amazing.”
Michelle shrugged, but Hannah could tell she was proud of herself. “It amazed me, too. I wasn’t sure I could do that on command. But think about it, Hannah. Everyone wants to be a performer. And everyone wants to be a director or a producer. Unless you’re really good and you happen to hit it at just the right time, you can’t earn a decent living that way. I’d rather do something more business oriented. It might be a dinner theater, or a cabaret, or some kind of niche thing that attracts a lot of customers. And if that doesn’t fly, I can always make a living with my business degree.”
“I understand,” Hannah said. “That’s very level-headed of you, Michelle.”
“Thank you. I’m a dreamer, Hannah. If something big came my way, I’d take it. But I’m also a realist.”
“Yes you are,” Hannah said. And then she realized that she no longer had to worry about Michelle’s future. Her baby sister had her head on straight. “By the way, Michelle . . . were you just hoping when you told Mayor Bascomb that the pie eating contest and the curtain call would be televised? Or did you actually call KCOW and get them to agree?”
“I went straight to the top. I called P.K. in New York and asked him to ask Ross and let me know. I figured Ross would be the one to make that decision because he’s the head of special programming.”
“So you already talked to Ross about it?”
“No, just P.K. He got back to me during rehearsal and told me it was a go.”
“Do you know if Ross got a chance to visit the business management firm that Tori used?”
Michelle shook her head. “Sorry, Hannah. I didn’t even think to ask him that. Ross will call you, won’t he?”
“I’m sure he will.” Hannah approached her cookie truck and hesitated. “Are we going back to The Cookie Jar now?”
“I guess so. Since Marge and Aunt Nancy are there, I’ll stay with you in the kitchen and help you bake.”
“Sounds good to me.” Hannah smiled at her. “How do you feel about trying something new?”
“New is good. What did you have in mind?”
“I’ve got an idea for a cookie using Cheerios. There’s no reason they wouldn’t work. Cheerios are made with oats and we use oatmeal in some of our cookies. I thought I might use Cheerios with cherries and call them Cheery Cherry Cookies.”
“Catchy.” Michelle began to smile. “I like it.”
“Great. You can help me in the kitchen today and then, tomorrow, we’ll bake a bunch of cookies for your bake sale and you can help me make the Banana Cream Pies for the pie eating contest. I have no idea how to do it. Most of those pies I’ve seen on televised contests don’t seem to have crusts.”
“That’s right. Why don’t we just put the filling in a disposable pie pan and cover it with your caramel whipped cream. Then the contestants can eat it with a spoon.”
Hannah considered it for a minute. “Good idea. That’ll be really easy to make and to transport to the school. How long shall we give them to eat it?”