Holly
The theater is chaos. Kids everywhere in practice clothes, parents trying to wrangle them, Mrs. Kowalski's voice rising above it all. Rehearsal starts in ten minutes.
Emma and Tom are standing with us near the wings, watching it unfold.
“So,” Tom says, turning to Evan. “How'd you get roped into all this?”
Evan doesn't miss a beat. “Holly needed help. I was happy to volunteer.”
“That's it?” Emma's grinning. “Just happy to help?”
“Well.” Evan glances at me. “I love seeing Holly in her element. She's incredible at what she does. Anything to make her smile—” He shrugs like it's obvious. “I'm in.”
I stare at him. Is he performing right now? Because he sounds genuine.
Emma catches my eye and gives me a massive thumbs up.
I wave her off, trying not to laugh.
Then Tom does it too.
All three of us are barely holding it together, while Evan pretends he hasn't noticed.
“Aunt Holly!”
Marie comes running up in her leotard and tights, hair in a bun, looking exactly like I did at her age. Same energy, same excitement barely contained.
I catch her before she barrels into me. “Hey, you. Ready for tech?”
“I think so? What if I forget the steps?”
“You won't. We've practiced them together so many times, remember?” I smooth down some whisps of hair. “But if you do forget, you make something up. That's what Clara would do.”
“Make something up?”
“Clara's brave. She figures it out.” I squeeze her shoulders. “Just like you.”
She's smiling now, some of the worry fading. Then she notices Evan.
“Who's that?”
“This is my friend Evan. He's going to be one of the party scene parents this weekend.”
“Hi,” Marie says with a little wave. “Do you like The Nutcracker?”
“I do,” Evan says, crouching down to her level. “Did you know that in some productions of The Nutcracker, Clara is actually named Marie?”
Marie's eyes go huge. “What? Really?”
“Really. The original story calls her Marie. Some ballet companies use Clara, some use Marie. But you?” He leans in conspiratorially. “You get to be both.”
“That's SO COOL!” Marie's practically bouncing now. “How do you?—”
“Party scene parents!” Mrs. Kowalski's voice cuts through the chatter. “Are my party scene parents ready? We're starting in five minutes!”
I exchange a look with Evan. Here we go.
“That's us,” I tell him. “Ready for your Nutcracker debut?”
