by Krista McGee
“But what if I don’t?”
“Then you wouldn’t be asking these questions.” Flora handed a slice to Kara.
“You’re not really a housemother, are you?”
“I am for the next month.” Flora stood to throw her orange peel away. “I need to get dinner together. You go have your talk with Devlin.”
Kara watched Flora open the stove and check on a casserole inside. Ask God, huh? Maybe I should. Just to see. Not that I think he’ll answer. But if he doesn’t—when he doesn’t—at least I can go back to Flora and tell her she’s mistaken.
“You don’t want to swim?” Devlin asked Kara when she walked out the sliding glass door in her shorts and T-shirt.
“Not right now.” Kara sat in a lounge chair. “I just want to rest.”
“I guess it is tiring,” Devlin said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s just second nature. I did my first commercial when I was six months old.”
“Really?” He doesn’t even remember having this conversation with me at lunch.
“Yes.” Devlin sat next to Kara. “From there, I was on TV shows, a few movies, some music videos. I did anything and everything. I was even in a band for a little while.”
“Really? Do you know Chad Beacon?”
“Sure I do,” Devlin said. “We go way back. We used to go to acting school together.”
Kara sat up. “Chad’s homeschooled.”
“Yes, but this was outside of school.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes,” he said. “My parents and his are good friends. His little sister and mine really hit it off. They have play dates all the time.”
“Are we talking about the same guy?” Kara looked at Devlin. “Chad is an only child.”
“What, are you some stalker of his or something? ” Devlin’s eyes hardened.
“No, I was just confused.”
“I’m just trying to make small talk, all right?”
“Sure. Fine.” Kara forced herself to smile. “So tell me a little about yourself.”
Devlin’s face brightened. He launched into a Devlin Tyne autobiography, and Kara sat back, pretending to be interested in his accomplishments, his fans, his future plans.
“. . . And this fall, I start shooting my first film.” Devlin smiled. “It’s going to be a trilogy. I’m the star.”
“That’s wonderful,” Kara said, meaning it. “Really, really wonderful.”
Especially since that means you can’t possibly be the star of this show.
Chapter 19
Oh, Addy.” Kara hugged her friend as soon as she stepped out of her car. “I’m so glad you came.”
Addy returned the hug. “Of course I came. I can’t wait to explore Orlando with you.”
“Let me just tell Flora I’m going.” Kara walked into the house and called for Flora. That woman, sporting pink hair and a full-length purple plaid shirtdress, came out of her room. “My friend Addy is here. She’s going to take me out for the day.”
“Kara speaks very highly of you.” Flora shook Addy’s hand. “Very nice to meet you, my dear. Enjoy your day off.”
“Do you want me to pick anything up for you?” Kara asked Flora.
“No, thank you.”
“Are you sure you want to stay here all by yourself? ”
“Oh, Kara.” Flora patted her arm. “I love solitude. I have my books and my organic green tea with pomegranate. And silence. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
“What are you reading now?”
“C. S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces.” Flora’s face brightened. “It’s based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche, written by Psyche’s sister, Orual. Orual hates the gods for all the horrible things she believes they have done. But at the end, she finally recognizes they are real and powerful and she submits to their authority.”
“Interesting,” Kara said.
“It’s a parallel, written about Lewis’s own conversion from atheism to Christianity.”
“Well, enjoy then.” Kara waved good-bye to Flora and walked out to Addy’s car.
Kara heard the front door open and shut behind her. Turning around, she saw Anna Grace walking toward them.
“Tweedledee and Tweedledum.” The blonde shook her short hair and laughed. “I guess you don’t need to go to Disney, do you? You have your own little freak show all the time.”
“You seriously came all the way out here to say that? ” Kara turned around and started walking back to the car.
“No, I was checking to see if our ride was here.” Anna Grace huffed. “But seeing you two, I just couldn’t help myself.”
“Ah, self-control,” Kara said. “Another defect to add to the list.” She slammed the car door before Anna Grace could retort.
“Is that what they’re like all the time?” Addy asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
“Anna Grace is definitely the worst. Some of the other girls have moments when they’re nice. But then they remember this is a competition, and they get all nasty again.”
Addy laughed. “No kindred spirits?”
“Not really.” Kara looked out the window as Addy merged onto I-4. “This girl Jillian is all right. I don’t think we’ll be best buds or anything, but she doesn’t call me names or lock me out of my bathroom.”
“Your roommate?”
“Haley.” Kara sighed. “I swear, that girl spends so long in the shower she should have shriveled up like a prune. I wish she would.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” Kara pointed to the Mickey Mouse–shaped electric poles that lined the interstate. “I love this city.”
“It is fun. And I have all day to show you around.”
The girls spent the morning wandering around Downtown Disney, a tourist trap that housed dozens of shops. Kara loved seeing the larger-than-life characters inside and outside the stores. She was especially excited to see Cinderella walking around. Kara posed next to the princess, immediately making that her Facebook timeline picture.
The pair looked at prints of Disney cartoons, listened to music, even rode in a simulated roller coaster. For lunch, they ate at Planet Hollywood.
“Someday my red-carpet gown will be hanging here.” Kara pointed to a glass case housing a decades-old gown belonging to Marilyn Monroe.
Addy took Kara to Old Town next. Designed to resemble Main Street USA circa 1950, Old Town had a Ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, and an Old General Store. Kara loved seeing the I Love Lucy memorabilia and bought a huge poster of her favorite actress to go on the wall in her room.
“I’ve got to liven that place up a little.” Kara picked up an I Love Lucy pillow as well.
“You’ll have to show me your room when we get back.”
“It’s not too exciting.” Kara walked past a life-size poster of Elvis. “But I’ve added some McKormick touches.”
“Such as?”
“A Hollywood Star with my name on it—Sam made that for me. Painted gold and everything.” Kara picked up a snow globe with the Three Stooges inside. “Of course, the other girls love to make fun of it.”
“Really?”
“You have no idea, Addy. People in your world are so nice.”
“What did they say?”
“Trash talk.” Kara walked out of the store into the warm Florida evening. “Telling me that’s the only star I’ll ever get, making fun of it because it’s homemade—Anna Grace supposedly has one made out of real gold.”
“Right.”
“She says all kinds of stuff.” Kara held her stomach. “Being a tourist really works up an appetite. Ready to grab some dinner?”
“You really need to warn me when you change subjects.” Addy laughed.
“It was a natural progression.” Kara wrapped her arm through Addy’s. “Hollywood Stars made me think of Anna Grace who makes me sick to my stomach. My stomach needs to be filled with food, therefore—dinnertime.”
“Of course.” Addy walked with Kara to the parking
lot. “Makes perfect sense.”
Addy knew a Bahamian restaurant just miles from Old Town.
“Island food?” Kara licked her lips. “Sounds great. Lead on, mon.”
Because it was a weeknight, the wait was short, and the girls were sitting down to eat in half an hour. Kara enjoyed her mahimahi and steamed vegetables. Addy, not a fan of seafood, ate chicken with fries.
“You really need to branch out more.” Kara looked at Addy’s plate. “You can get that at McDonald’s.”
“Hey, I don’t make fun of your fish.” Addy popped a fry in her mouth. “Don’t mock my meals.”
“You sound like Pop. I can’t make him eat healthy for anything.”
“How are your parents doing?”
Kara shrugged. “As well as can be expected, considering the light of their lives is a thousand miles away.”
“But the grandkids are there.” Addy winked.
“They’re cute.” Kara smirked. “But the house just isn’t the same without me.”
Kara’s phone rang. She picked it up to see Flora’s name on her screen. Kara answered. “Time to go home already? . . . But I’m having so much fun, Mom.”
“Actually, this is Flora. But it is time to return. You have a busy day tomorrow, and I want you to be well rested.”
“All right. We’re just finishing up dinner.” Kara took a sip of her water. “You sure I can’t bring you anything? ”
“No, dear. But I do appreciate you asking. And I appreciate you not complaining about the curfew.”
Kara thought of the other girls. “Have you gotten a lot of complaints?”
“Not all the girls are as respectful as you are.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no,” Flora said. “Such is the nature of teenage girls today. I’ve read all about it. Although I must admit, viewing the reality is much more disturbing than reading about the proclivity.”
“Thanks for calling, Flora.” Kara smiled, not really sure what Flora had just said. “I’ll be home soon.”
Kara ended the call. “Sorry, fairy godmother, but my carriage is about to turn into a pumpkin.”
“Oh yes.” Addy laughed as she finished off her chicken. “You have definitely had too much Orlando today.”
“Is it possible to have too much Orlando?”
“You really like it here.”
“You have no idea.” Kara waved the waitress over and the girls put their money in the black folder she provided. “Everything about this is so fun. The auditions, the cameras, memorizing lines. I love it.”
“You weren’t even this excited about Tennessee.” Addy walked with Kara out to her car.
“That was a dating show. It was exciting to be on TV. But the best part, for me, was the first week when we got to perform on that stage.”
“I hated that week.” Addy groaned.
“Not me.” Kara climbed into the passenger seat of Addy’s small car. “The end of The Book of Love was just a date. The end of this is a real show. I want to do this forever, Addy.”
“I hate having cameras all around. It makes me so nervous.”
“When I’m really into a scene, I forget they’re even there.”
“That’s a gift, Kara.” Addy turned onto the interstate. “I could never get used to that.”
Kara looked at her phone. “We’re not too far away, are we? I don’t want to come in past curfew. Flora has enough problems. I don’t want to be one of them.”
“Just a couple more minutes. Flora seems very nice.”
Kara smiled. “I love that lady. She knows who she is and doesn’t care what anyone says about her.”
“Sounds like somebody else I know.”
“Except she’s a Christian.”
“I thought so.” Addy turned off on the exit back to Kara’s neighborhood. “Especially when she got so excited about that C. S. Lewis book she was reading.”
“You know what she told me when I asked her about God?”
“What?”
“She told me if I wanted to know something about him, I should ask him.”
Addy looked at Kara. “And what did you say?”
“Nothing. But when I got back to my room, I tried to pray.”
Addy turned in her seat. “You prayed?”
“Don’t get all excited.” Kara unbuckled. “Nothing happened.”
“But you tried.”
“You and Flora are making me think.” Kara shrugged.
Addy reached into her backseat and pulled out a leather-bound book. Her Bible. “Take this.”
Kara pushed it back. “No way. You read this all the time. I’m not that serious.”
“I have others,” Addy said. “Besides, if you want to know more about what we believe, you need to read it. Start with John.”
“John?”
Addy opened the Bible and laid a black ribbon between the thin pages. “Right there. Jonathon read that and he loved it.”
“Jonathon could read the back of a cereal box and love it if it came from you.” Kara laughed.
“Very funny.” Addy pointed to the dashboard clock. “You better go, Cinderella.”
Kara got out, leaving her sparkly flip-flop in the car.
“Kara,” Addy yelled out of the window. “Get your shoe.”
“Hang on to it,” Kara shouted back. “I’m going to need you to bring it the next time you save me from the ugly stepsisters!”
Chapter 20
I think we got it that time, Chad.” The producer’s voice blared through the speakers in the recording studio. Chad turned down the volume and spoke into the microphone.
“Great.” Chad peeled the headphones off and hung them on the rack to his left.
The door opened and Jim walked in, then pulled a stool up beside Chad. “I want to talk to you.”
“Okay.”
“We’ve been working together awhile, right?” Jim asked.
“Since I won America’s Next Star. Hard to believe it’s been two years.”
“Two great years.” Jim nodded. “And you’re just getting started. Each album gets better and better. This one is amazing. Your fans are going to go crazy. I’ve got some ideas for the tour I want to run past you.”
“I’m not touring with this one, Jim.” Chad sighed. They had already had this conversation. “I’m taking a break from music for a while.”
“You’re still planning that TV show?”
“Yes.” Chad looked at Jim. His thinning hair was plastered to his head, caked with sweat. Chad loved making music, but he didn’t love touring or having girls scream his name and cry when he came near.
“Look.” Jim rubbed his hands together. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I hoped this was just a phase. But, dude, going from pop star to hosting a TV show is a huge jump down. People will talk. This could kill your career. I mean, all of it—music, acting, you name it. You could be a laughingstock in the business, end up flipping burgers for the rest of your life.”
“I appreciate your concern. But I can’t live my life worrying about what people are going to think. If they laugh me out of the business, then so be it. I’ll run my family’s orange grove and take my guitar out to the streets on the weekends.”
“Sure, make jokes.” Jim stood. “But I’m telling you this for your own good. Drop this show.”
Chad didn’t like Jim’s tone. And he really didn’t like the fact that the man made sense. This thought was not a new one. He had considered it before. No pop star had ever done what he was considering. What if this is career suicide?
Jim slammed the door as he walked out. Chad looked past him to see his parents come into the small office. They were in their work clothes.
I know what that means.
“SOSYDGABH Day, son.” Mom handed Chad a canvas bag with jeans, a T-shirt, and some old sneakers.
SOSYDGABH was an acronym for “Serve Others So You Don’t Get A Big Head.” A tradition Chad’s parents started right after he had won the m
usic competition, these days were filled with helping people in need. The Beacons had served meals at homeless kitchens, cleaned out flooded houses, and cleared out gutters. They never let the press know what they were doing, wanting to serve others in secret.
“Today we’re helping a family from church,” Dad explained.
“The Millers’ house burned down last week.” Mom frowned. “Get changed now. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
Chad changed from his button-down shirt and khaki pants into his work clothes, wondering what project they would be doing for the Millers.
“The Millers are staying at a seedy little hotel in a bad part of town,” Mom said once the family was in their SUV. “Pastor Greg told us they didn’t have insurance, so they have literally lost everything.”
“That’s terrible,” Chad said. “Do they have kids?”
“Three little guys.” Dad shook his head. “They don’t need to spend another day in that awful place. We put a call in to Janet, and she said the apartment complex she manages has a three-bedroom that’s available.”
“Now, this stays between us, all right?” Mom said.
“Of course.” Chad nodded.
“We’ve paid for their first year’s rent, and we’ve furnished the apartment. But we’re not telling the Millers that. We don’t want them to feel obliged to us. Pastor Greg is calling them right now to tell them an anonymous giver has done that and that our family is coming to help them move in.”
“Here’s where you come in.” Mom smiled at Chad. “Once we get the Millers to their apartment, we want to take Mrs. Miller shopping for some household items.”
“I’m babysitting the boys,” Chad concluded.
“That’s right.”
“You always said you wanted a brother.” Dad smiled.
“All right,” Chad said. “I can handle that. I think.”
“Little boys have lots of energy,” Mom said. “But the complex has a pool and a playground, so you’ll have plenty to keep them busy.”
Mom wasn’t exaggerating about the hotel, Chad thought as they walked to the Millers’ door. Paint fell in sheets off the antiquated walls, and the metal door looked like it had been on the losing end of a schoolyard fight. After one knock, Mrs. Miller opened the door. Peering under the chain, she smiled as she saw Chad’s family. After quickly shutting the door to remove the lock, she opened the door wide.
