Completing The List
Page 19
Lizzy looked down at the list, and while the task itself seemed easy it never really was that way. First of all she had to figure out what play Hayden was referring to, which wasn’t always the most obvious. Lizzy first had to determine whether or not it was a play she already seen and wanted to take him out to experience for the first time or did she rave about a show that she hadn’t attended and he noted it down to make it a surprise for her. The best way to figure it out would be to look around for hints. If he took a note of it, there is a chance it could still be in the apartment. She started to look through books on the shelves, into and date planners to see if there was anything written in them for going out. There was nothing.
Whatever Hayden wanted to do, he was keeping it pretty close to his chest. She was about to give up all hope when David was the one to give her advice that solved the problem. He explained to her that theatre tickets are purchased sometimes up to a year in advance and that the tickets are likely in the house. If she could find them, he recommended that she look through his credit card bills and bank records to see if he made any purchases. She went through his credit card bills, but there was nothing there bought through any of the local theatre houses. When Lizzy checked his bank accounts, that’s when she hit pay dirt. About several months before he passed away, Hayden made a purchase from one of the better theatres in town, for over two hundred dollars. Gale told her that it was pretty normal for tickets close to the front row to sell for a little over a hundred each. Hayden must have gone all out to get her those tickets. Lizzy really wasn’t frazzled by the price itself since the tickets she bought for Hayden’s Mom where much, much more expensive. It was the fact that he made the effort to get them for her that warmed her heart so much. She decided to speak with the manager at the local theatre to get more details. She couldn’t find the stubs anywhere in the house, so she wanted to find out what purchase he made and the house themselves should have a record of what was bought and more importantly what show it they were for. Lizzy and Gale took a cab down to the theatre and it looked amazing from the front and even better once in the main foyer. They met up with the manager who was waiting for them because they had set an appointment.
“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.” Lizzy said as she shook the manager’s hand.
“I wish it was under better circumstances.” She replied as she took a piece of paper out of a file. “We found the tickets your husband had purchased.”
“You did?” Lizzy asked. “What was it?”
“Turns out they were for one of our best shows.” She handed the receipt over to Lizzy and Gale. Lizzy took a close look and realized that it was a play that she had been raving about, but had yet to see herself. A show she had been dying to see, and it turns out that Hayden had been listening a lot more than she gave him credit for.
Hayden sat in his green chair, reading an issue of sports illustrated while pretending to listen to her. “What the hell is the name of that freak show again?”
Lizzy came out from the kitchen and waved a dirty spoon at him. “You know what the name of the damn show is. I’ve been talking about it forever.”
"I know you’re kidding but it really does seem like forever.” Hayden chipped back as she walked back into the kitchen. “What the hell is it about anyway?”
“It’s got all the themes that anyone wants to see when they go to the theatre; love, overcoming challenges and finding inner peace with that love.” Lizzy seemed to gush but it was all flying over Hayden’s simple head.
“In other words, it’s a complete snooze fest.”
“Not exactly.”
“Are there any shoot outs?”
“No.”
“Make out scenes?”
“No.”
“Duels to the death?”
“No.”
“Snooze fest.” Hayden concluded as he turned the page and kept reading.
“Not everything has to be like a Chuck Norris film.” Lizzy called out.
“Hey, you can’t ask everything to be perfect.” Hayden called back. But little did she know, Hayden had a special bookmark in his magazine. A cut out from the newspaper with information on where the show was taking place and how he could go about purchasing some tickets for her. She’d never see it coming, he thought to himself, the perfect birthday gift.
Lizzy came out from the kitchen, waving around the same spoon she was using to bake the cookies. “So are we going to see this show or not? It’s been touring across the country since its long run on Broadway. Please? Before it leaves town?”
“Just not my thing,” Hayden said with a smile. “I’d rather die first.”
Hayden had played the role if ignorant husband so well, taken notice of it and bought the tickets to surprise her on her birthday. She looked back at Gale when she realized the date, “The tickets were for a show that was three months ago.”
“Yes, I’m very sorry about that.” The manager confirmed, “Since you were unaware of the tickets existence, we would be happy to offer you a full refund.”
“Can I just get new tickets to see the show later on?” Lizzy asked.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that.” She answered, “The show ended its run here only a short time ago. We’ve already started a new show. I’m so very sorry about that.”
Lizzy and Gale thanked the manager and then left the theatre. They decided to walk back some of the way since the weather was nice. Lizzy also needed some air after experiencing a few setbacks to completing this part of her list. With the show out of town, it would be difficult to see the show in the place that he wanted take her to. She was so distraught by what had happened, Lizzy decided to get a drink. They walked into a local bar and ordered a few glasses of wine, just to ease her nerves. As they were sitting and mingling to themselves, there was a heated conversation at the bar between two patrons. When it looked like they were going to slug it out, the bartender came back in and gave them some stern warnings and that seemed to settle them right down. As one of them left, the other showed his frustration by slapping his hand on the bar. Lizzy seemed curious so she left her table as Gale was also answering nature’s call and sat down on the stool beside him. “Excuse me…” she softly started, “Are you all right?”
The man grinned, “Sorry lady, I’m a married man and…”
“No, I’m not hitting on you.” Lizzy answered with a blush, “I’m just curious to what was upsetting you. It seems to be bugging you a great deal.”
“If you must know.” The man replied after downing what was left of his scotch, “I’m a little pissed off at the government for making some very bad policy decisions regarding our children and their education.”
“I don’t get it. Haven’t they increased the funding lately?” she asked him.
“Yes, but the wrong programs. No one gives a shit when the arts is given the royal shafting every year but heaven forbid the football team doesn’t have new helmets to crack their skulls with every season.” The man ordered another drink, “It really sucks that when it comes to budget cuts, the arts happens to be the first thing that gets picked on. My daughter loves the arts, but her favourite programs are being cut and there’s nothing I can do.”
“I’m very sorry to hear about it.” Lizzy said, sorry to hear how crushed he was about his kid’s activities. “Couldn’t you get together with other parents and make your voices heard by the board.”
“We tried, but they fell upon deaf ears. For the first time in almost three decades her school will not be having play for us to watch this year. And it’s a shame really, because she is an amazing actress and drama is her favourite.” He slapped his hand on the bar again. He got an ugly look from the bartender, but he seemed all right for now.
Lizzy paused for a moment and then an idea popped into her head. “Excuse me, can you tell me what school your daughter goes to?”
He looked confused. “Why should I tell you?”
It was a valid question, “Well I know som
eone who works with the school board. I’d like to do whatever I can to help out.”
The man smiled, “I appreciate that.” He went into his wallet and pulled out a card. “This is the drama teacher at her school, so he’s the guy that could point you in the right direction to what they need.”
Lizzy took the card and smiled, “Thanks. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you for hearing me out.” The man said as he raised a glass. “And good luck for whatever you can do to help. Both myself and my daughter appreciate it.”
Once she left the man to his drinks, Lizzy grabbed Gale by the arm and dragger her out of the bar. “I’ve come up with an idea. We need to get a cab.”
She explained everything to Gale on her way over and she seemed onboard with the idea. When the arrived to the high school, they immediately went to the office and checked themselves in as visitors. They then asked of the drama teacher was available and luckily he was on break and in the staff lounge. Lizzy and Gale walked over to the lounge and knocked on the door. “Excuse me I’m looking for Mr. Greene?” she called out.
One of the men raised his hand, “That’s me. Can I help you?”
“Can we have a moment of your time? We’d like to talk to you about the drama program.” Lizzy called back to him. Upon hearing that he stood up and left the lounge. People watched him go but once the door was closed they went back to whatever was distracting them before the two women had arrived.
“I’m afraid there isn’t much of a program this year.” Greene started.
“I am aware of that.” Lizzy said, “and that’s why we’re here.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“We are not happy about the idea that there isn’t going to be a school play this year.” Gale said, trying her best to show her disappointment.
“Yeah, but we can’t raise the funds to put anything on.” Greene confirmed.
“How much exactly would it cost to run a production for the kids this year?” Lizzy said as she pulled out her very flashy cheque book from her purse.
“It really depends on the play, really.” Greene replied, “You have to pay a ton for copyright and the ability to use the show with permission. Then you have props, costumes, and a whole whack of other stuff.”
Lizzy pulled out the receipt that had the name of the show Hayden purchased tickets for and handed it to him. “How much would it cost to do this musical?”
He looked at it, “This would be a huge production. It would be very expensive to take on a project this massive.”
“I don’t care,” Lizzy informed him, “How much?”
“We’re talking at least twenty to thirty thousand. That’s like double the budget we used to have before it was cut.”
“I’ll tell you what.” Lizzy said as she started to write up the cheque. “I’ll give you and your school a private donation of forty thousand, but only if you agree to do this play.” She signed the cheque and held it up. “Would that be a problem?”
“I can’t see why not.” Greene honestly answered. “It’s not controversial and it’s modern, which the parents will like instead of using old classics to lower costs. Are you really sure you want to do this? It’s a lot of money.”
“I’m sure.” Lizzy said as she gave him the cheque. “Just be sure to save two seats for us for opening night. If there is any money left over, save it for next year’s production.”
Greene nodded and took the hint, “Yes, thank you! This is awesome!” He gave her and Gale a huge hug and couldn’t believe what had just happened. He ran into the staff room and told the other people what had just happened. Days later it would be revealed that a private citizen make a huge donation to the drama club specifically to pay for that year’s production. To the kids it meant that their school play wasn’t being cancelled after all. Parents whose kids were active in the program were celebrating and excited about the show that Lizzy had requested. As the teacher had said it was still a very popular show and the kids were very excited about it as it wasn’t the norm to them as well. The cheque was more than enough to cover all costs and still have a lot more left for the next year’s play. It was several months later and much closer to the end of the school year when the production was finally ready. Lizzy could’ve bought tickets to see the show in another city just like she had done with Hayden’s Mom and the Paul McCartney concert, but funding to save a drama program to do the show seemed more satisfying and she thought Hayden would be proud of it was well. Not only did she drag Gale to see the show, but she bought tickets for Anna and Crispin who at that point were inseparable. She also got seats for Jared and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard and for David and his wife as well. Since it was on the list, no one was able to refuse and they all went down to the local school to show their support. While the kids were not exactly Broadway stars, their hard work and endless rehearsals paid off as they never missed a line, kept the songs in decent pitch and managed to wow the crowd with their performances.
When it was all said and done the entire gym stood up and gave the actors a standing ovation for a job well done. Lizzy couldn’t have picked a better way to fulfill this item from the list, and was happy to read weeks later that the citizens were so impressed by the shows that had run all week, that they pressured the school board and the local governments to fund the school’s drama programs more so they could see more wonderful shows like that. It was hard to argue against that and it was quickly approved. Lizzy cut out the article in the paper about it and made sure it found a place where she could cherish it for years to come. She hadn’t meant for this to happen, but was glad the list was helping more people than it was hurting. It was all the motivation she needed to keep working towards her eventual goal, which was to complete the list.