“Tomorrow after school.”
“Alright, I’ll come and get you and take you. I can’t wait. I gotta go, I’ll see you tomorrow okay?”
“Thank you so much Aunt Renee! Okay, I gotta go tell Dallas. Bye.” She hung up and I explained to the guys what the phone call was about. They were a few cans into a case of beer and didn’t take their eyes off their video game. I sighed and decided to take the dogs and relax in my room for the rest of the night.
The next day Mark called and made us an appointment with the fertility specialist. Cleo would have to do a check up and they still need to take my eggs and Mark’s sperm. I was still in shock at how quickly she agreed to do it.The doctor made it sound like as long as everything was fine with Cleo, everything would go fairly quick.
In the afternoon I stopped over to grab the twins for their audition. I stopped by the Andrews’ home studio slash rehearsal room. They took a small smoke break. Mark wiped the sweat off his brow and tried to wipe it on me.
“Gross! Where’s your shirt?” I pulled away from his hug. He laughed and grabbed his t-shirt to wipe himself off.
“Sorry babe. You here to grab the twins?” I nodded and, before I could add more, they came running in, backpacks still on.They stared up at me with their bright electric blue eyes and then realization hit them. They started jumping up and down excitedly. Jimmy grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the room.
“Bye mom. Bye everyone. We’re going to go audition for Peter Pan,” she called. They wished them good luck. I think I even heard Adrian shout for them to break a leg.
“What parts are you interested in?” I asked them as I drove.
“I liked being a fish last time,” Dallas commented.
“Me too, and painting. That was fun.” Jimmy added. I laughed. It was good that they liked small roles. You had to start from the bottom. I had to. I remembered my first role. I was a pilgrim at a thanksgiving play. I was in the sixth grade. It was small, but it sparked a fire in me. I loved the theatre. I smiled, realizing that our child would have art in their bones. He or she would be born with a love for the stage.
When we got to the theater, memories of the last show I performed in swept quickly over me. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was so much fun being back with some of my old cast mates. I was surprised when they came back into town and had decided to set up a semi permanent residence here. They offered me a spot in their first show without hesitation. I always had a home with these people.
Oddly enough we were greeted by the very person who had greeted me way back when. Janice Richards. She was an older woman, even older now. She was just as I had remembered, short, giant glasses, and fire red hair. Only now, there were quite a few grays mixed in.
“Renee! It’s been too long! Come in, come in,” she ushered us inside. She directed the twins towards all the other excited, giggling children. I stayed back to chat with my old friend.
“How have you been Janice?” She smiled wide and hugged me.
“I’ve been good, joints are a little stiffer than they used to be, but it’s nice to be staying in one place now.”
“I know, I was surprised when I heard the news. I never thought any of you would grow roots.”
She shrugged.
“Well, when it’s time it’s time. Plus, when Penny passed away, she left all of her money to the group. We voted and decided to buy a home base. We got one hell of a deal on this place,” she explained. I frowned. Penny was the oldest member of our troupe, even ten years ago. She had retired, her husband was gone and the kids were out of the house, so she joined the theatre and spent the rest of her life traveling the country.
“That was so sweet of her. Well, I'm glad you settled in L.A. Are you helping with the show? My niece and nephew are so excited to audition.”
“I’m directing this show.” She was grinning ear to ear.
“Oh? I hadn’t realized you started directing.”
“I started a few years back. This will be my eighth production as director,” she turned towards the children, nodding at the two I brought with me.
“How old are they?” She asked.
“Seven,” I told her. She raised an eyebrow.
“Both of them? Twins?” I nodded.
“Well, I think we’ve found their roles.”
Sure enough, the twins called me right after school on Friday to shout at me that they had been chosen to play the twins in Peter’s lost boys tribe.
“That is awesome guys! You want to go get some ice cream?” Their shouts turned into screams and I had to pull the phone away from my face. Cleo’s voice came through the phone.
“Hey Cleo, I’m gonna swing over and take the kids out for ice cream,” I told her.
