Sunrise

by Karen Kingsbury

  But now he looked as innocent as Ricky. “No girls. Not while I’m figuring out how to stay clean, how to be closer to God. You know?” He lifted his hand off her shoulders and leaned into the sofa arm.

  She nodded and fiddled with her fingers.

  “Plus, I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone until after I’ve put in a year of service.”

  Bailey was impressed. She sat a little straighter. “You still reading your Bible every day?” It was part of his alcohol program. But she wasn’t sure if Scripture was still part of the solution.

  “Actually—” he stood and snapped his fingers—“I’ll be right back. I wanna show you something.”

  She leaned into the thick cushion and waited. Cody was more like her friend than he’d ever been before. Which could only mean that of course he was still reading his Bible. God was changing him, and maybe tonight—seeing her reaction to Bryan—was part of God’s plan. A way for Cody to see how some girls might’ve felt about him after a date.

  Cody’s footsteps sounded in the hall, and he jogged back in, holding his Bible—the one her parents had given him. He sat down and smiled at her. “I read this today. I think maybe it fits you, Bailey.”

  Cody opened his Bible. He was still catching his breath from the run down the stairs and back. The pages stuck together, and it took him a few seconds of flipping through them. “Listen to this.” He found his place. “It’s from Isaiah 43. ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.’” He paused just long enough so their eyes could meet. “‘See, I am doing a new thing!’”

  Bailey let the words soak in like water to her soul. After what happened tonight they were as powerful as if God Himself had walked up and given her a hug. “I haven’t read that before.” She tried to remember. “At least, I don’t think so.”

  “It hit me pretty hard.” Cody shut the Bible and set it on the floor next to the sofa. “I have a lot behind me I wanna forget.”

  Bailey realized something. Tonight she had lost a friend who had turned out to not be a friend at all. But she’d gained one in Cody. She leaned over and hugged him. “Thanks, Cody,” she whispered near his neck. “I’m glad you followed me.”

  She was just pulling back, just easing out of the hug, when her mother walked into view and stood in her doorway. She stared at them, her expression blank. “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing.” Cody was on his feet almost before she finished her question. He looked at Bailey and nodded. “See you downstairs.”

  “Wait. . . .” Bailey stood and reached for him, but he was already halfway to the door.

  Cody turned around and gave her a quick shake of his head, and then he was gone.

  Bailey looked at her mom. “Why’d you say that?”

  Her mom looked on the edge of anger. “Watch your tone.” She came a few steps closer to Bailey.

  “I will, but, Mom, that was so embarrassing!” She put her hand on her hip. Her heart was skittering around inside her. Was it that obvious that she’d done something wrong? that she was no longer Bailey Flanigan waiting for her first kiss? that in one awful moment she’d let herself be played, and she’d fallen victim to the smooth-talking ways of a guy who was apparently really good at getting what he wanted?

  Her mom exhaled hard. “What do you want me to say? We’ve been looking for you since eleven. Midnight comes and goes and no one can find you.” She waved her hand toward the sofa. Her suspicions were loud and clear. “So I walk up, and here you are hugging Cody Coleman? What am I supposed to think?”

  “We were just talking.” Bailey couldn’t stop her tears from springing up again. “I promise, Mom. I mean, how can you even think that? Cody and I are friends.”

  “Right.” Her mom lowered her voice. “And it’s my job to help you stay that way.” The noise from downstairs was still loud enough to fill the house. “Come on.” She put her hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you were doing anything wrong. It’s just . . . it’s not smart to be alone in your room with a guy like Cody.”

  Bailey opened her mouth to tell her that Cody had changed, that he wasn’t the guy who got around to all the girls the way he had before his alcohol poisoning. But before she could speak, her mother started again.

  “And what happened to Bryan?” A bit of accusation was still in her voice. “He leaves, and you’re up here with Cody.”

  Bailey wanted to scream at her mom, and she wasn’t even sure why. Before, in this situation she would’ve sat her mother down and explained the entire story. She didn’t know what had happened tonight, and how could she? But thinking about that only made Bailey angrier. Because if her mother hadn’t been so busy with Cody and Christmas, maybe she would’ve known to ask if Bryan had done something to upset her.

  Bailey lifted her chin and looked straight at her mother. “He went home. He felt sick.” The lie felt good. Her mom had no time for the truth anyway.

  “Hmmm. I’m sorry.” Her mom leaned close and kissed Bailey’s cheek. She was much calmer now. But as she left Bailey’s room, she glanced back and raised her brow. “Cody, though . . .” She wagged her finger, as if she was trying to be more upbeat. “That’s one you should stay away from. No matter how well he’s doing.”

  Again Bailey’s mouth hung open. Her mother was so out of touch that she had everything completely wrong. She brought her lips together and returned to her sofa. “I’ll be down later.”

  “The party’s almost over.” Her mother sounded like she was pleading with her. “Your friends are asking about you.”

  “I said I’ll be down.” She was careful to keep her tone polite, but there was an edge to her voice all the same. “Five minutes, okay?”

  Her mom hesitated. “I want to talk later. I feel like there’s space between us.”

  “Me too.” Bailey stared at her hands. Had she really given Bryan the impression that it was okay to force a kiss on her? She shuddered. “I’ll come down, Mom. I promise.”

  When her mom was gone, she covered her face with her hands. It didn’t matter if her mother was busy. Bailey didn’t want to talk anyway. Not now. Not when she was sick about how the night had gone. She’d dreamed of her first kiss for years, and she’d always known she would share every detail with her mom. Because she and her mom were best friends—closer than any mothers and daughters she knew.

  But she’d never pictured the details being what they were tonight.

  She dried her tears and spent a half hour downstairs with her friends and family. Cody seemed to make a point of staying far from her. If she was sitting around the coffee table or watching a pool game, he was in the office with the boys. And when she went into the office to see what they were doing, Cody left for the kitchen.

  Whatever. Now that her mom had made things uncomfortable, the friendship she and Cody had started would probably never have the chance to grow.

  But that night when Bailey washed her face before bed, she was struck by a thought that shone a light of hope on her heart. Even if she and Cody never had another talk like the one they’d shared tonight, she would always remember sitting next to him on the sofa in her room, removed from the party and the memory of earlier tonight, and hearing him read a Bible verse she’d never heard before.

  She let the verse run through her mind again. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”

  The words made her believe with all her heart that God had forgiven her and that with His help, she had permission to move on—away from the idea of a boyfriend or kissing or any of it.

  And definitely away from sweet-talking Bryan Smythe.

  Auditions for Oliver! were set to begin at the Bloomington Community Church in half an hour, and Katy was organizing her notes on the judges table. Five minutes until the door opened, so for now chaos reigned in the lobby—the sort of chaos Katy loved. Kids warming up their voices, parents filling out audition forms, volunteers taking Polaroid snapshots of the kids, and half a dozen measuring tapes bein
g passed around so that costume information could be collected.

  Judging today would be by Katy and Rhonda and the music directors, Al and Nancy Helmes. Dayne and Ashley would help with the rehearsal process, and they’d make an appearance today, but they hadn’t been involved long enough to help decide the cast.

  One of the parent volunteers brought Katy the paperwork on the first ten kids ready to audition. She was looking it over, making sure the forms were filled out completely, when Al Helmes walked up and smiled. “Take a big breath.”

  “Are they ready?”

  “For the last ten minutes. People are lined up outside the doors and all the way down the hall to the parking lot.”

  Katy grinned. “Good. I want this to be the best show we’ve done.” She pushed back the thoughts that had blindsided her at random moments for the past few weeks—the possibility that this could be her last show with the CKT kids or that the theater could be sold out from underneath them by summer. Instead she nodded. “I’m ready.”

  Al saluted her and took long strides to the doors. When he opened them, a rush of people hurried down the aisle and into the pews.

  Rhonda was among them, and her eyes met Katy’s and held. When she reached the table, she touched Katy’s elbow, never once blinking. “I owe you an apology.” Her eyes were shiny. “I’ve felt . . .” She looked around, probably searching for the right words. “I don’t know, left out I guess.” She looked at Katy again. “But that’s no reason to take my frustrations out on you.”

  Katy had prayed for this, asked God that by the time they reached audition day her friendship with Rhonda might be what it was before. She leaned closer and hugged her. “Change is hard,” she whispered near Rhonda’s ear. “But I need my friend on my side.”

  “And I’m still here.” She pulled back and searched Katy’s face. “I guess I couldn’t believe it. You marrying Dayne Matthews, and me . . . it’s just hard.”

  This wasn’t the time to tell Rhonda that God had a plan or that someday the pieces of her life would fall into place too. Katy gave Rhonda’s hand a squeeze. “Thanks for being honest.”

  Nancy came up and asked about the music. Rhonda explained the setup for the day, and Katy listened too. The distraction gave Katy time to study her friend and silently pray for her. God did have a plan for Rhonda, no question. But things were definitely different between them. Not long ago they were both single, both wondering when God was going to bring the guys they’d been praying about since high school into their lives. CKT looked like it would go on forever, and change of any kind seemed years away. Now none of that was the same.

  Katy sat down at the table, and Rhonda took the seat next to her. “More than a hundred kids.”

  “Al told me.” Rhonda reached for four yellow notepads on the table and passed one to Katy. Next to her, Al took one for himself and one for Nancy. The buzz around the room was at a fever pitch.

  Katy grabbed the stack of the first group’s audition forms and set it at the top of the table. “Well, here we go.” She stood and clapped, the same clap she’d always used with the CKT kids, a clap that they repeated as a hush fell over the room. “Welcome to our auditions for Oliver!” She looked around the room, making eye contact with the people who had become like family to her—Jenny Flanigan sitting next to Bailey and Connor, Tim Reed’s mother, the Shaffers, the Picks, and the Fitzpatricks. The room was full, with everyone watching her.

  She instructed the first ten to take seats at the front of the room. Bailey and Connor were among those, along with a few kids she didn’t recognize.

  At the same time, she saw Dayne enter through a side door near the back of the room. He wore jeans and a thin, dark gray T-shirt, the kind that clung to him enough so she could see the muscles in his arms and sides, the way his upper body tapered down to his narrow waist. He’d worked hard to get past his injuries, and in the process he’d come out fitter than before, leaner and more toned. He slipped in and took a seat near the back. As he did, their eyes met and he smiled. This was his first audition to watch, and he’d told Katy that he’d been looking forward to it since Christmas, but he didn’t want to be a distraction.

  She gave him a look that said they’d talk later.

  Bailey was the first to take the stage. She wanted the part of Nancy, the beaten girlfriend of Bill Sikes who delivered the most emotional impact next to Oliver. As Bailey took the stage, Katy was struck with how she was growing up. She was losing the young teenage girl look and becoming a beautiful young woman—willowy with the dancer’s body she had earned with daily lessons or practices.

  “Hi, I’m Bailey Flanigan.” She took her time and made eye contact with the judges. “I’ll be singing ‘I’m Not That Girl’ from the musical Wicked.”

  Nancy Helmes peered at Katy, her brow lowered. “Wicked?” she mouthed.

  Laughter stuck in Katy’s throat. “It’s a retelling of The Wizard of Oz,” she whispered. Wicked was the favorite musical of the day for theater kids, but the name often concerned people in CKT circles until they understood the premise. Jenny Flanigan had talked to Katy last week about putting together a CKT trip to New York City this June to see several Broadway favorites. Wicked would certainly be among them.

  Bailey’s song rose and grew, and she pulled off the one-minute performance flawlessly. Katy was mesmerized not so much by Bailey’s voice—though she carried the song with a strong sound that was right on key—as by her acting. The song was about a girl who knew that the guy she loved was in love with someone else. It was deep and emotional and filled with a gripping resignation. Bailey conveyed the message in a way that was so convincing it left goose bumps on Katy’s arms.

  When she finished, the kids in the audience erupted into applause. They loved Bailey, and Katy was impressed. She always had to be careful when it came to Bailey and Connor—careful that she gave them the same consideration she gave the other kids. Early on she sometimes went a little too hard on the Flanigan kids so no one would accuse her of favoritism. But even if this had been the first time she’d ever seen Bailey, Katy would have thought the same thing.

  They just might’ve found their Nancy.

  One after another the kids took the stage and presented their songs, and between groups, Katy would share a look or a smile with Dayne. A few of the kids had noticed him, but so far no one had approached him. The kids at CKT were getting used to Dayne Matthews. Besides, he’d be around often. They knew that. And today they were far too concerned with their auditions to worry about a movie star in the back row of the church.

  Sometime around eight o’clock, the last student sang her audition, and Katy and the rest of the creative team moved to the coffee shop to talk about callbacks. At first Connor Flanigan seemed a possibility for Oliver, but a new boy had auditioned, a kid named Jacob with curly blond hair and the voice of an angel. He was fourteen, but he didn’t look a day over eleven. With his soulful eyes and clear voice, Katy was pretty sure the boy would be given the lead part.

  All that evening and into the next day the process continued, and by Saturday night the cast list was announced. Jacob was Oliver, Bailey was Nancy, and Connor—in his first big role since Tom Sawyer—was the Artful Dodger. Tim Reed convincingly won the part of Bill Sikes, showing more emotion than ever before. Katy could hardly wait to see the audience tremble when he learned his part.

  Saturday night, Katy and Dayne went to dinner, and when they came home, the Flanigans were celebrating.

  Ricky met them at the door. “Bailey and Connor both got good parts!” He did a victory spin and ran back toward the kitchen. “Yay for Bailey and Connor!”

  Even before Katy could think it, she saw Jenny put her hand on Ricky’s shoulder and still him. “They’re all good parts.” She looked down the hall at Katy and grinned. Like many CKT moms, Jenny had learned this lesson the hard way. The experience, the group camaraderie, the feeling of being part of something bigger than any of them could’ve done on their own—that was the beauty
of being in a CKT production, not the number of lines a person had.

  Katy smiled at Jenny, then turned back to Dayne. “Let’s watch a movie in the rec room tonight.” She looked over her shoulder at Jenny. “The Flanigans need their space.”

  “We better keep the door open.” Dayne was teasing her, but he touched his lips lightly to hers. “I can’t wait to marry you. Have I said that lately?”

  “Not in the last hour.” She lowered her chin. She could feel her eyes dancing, the way they so often did when she was face-to-face with the man she loved.

  Katy tried to keep some distance between herself and the Flanigans that night and later after Dayne went home. This weekend she was the director, after all. But silently she celebrated.

  “It’s fitting,” she told Dayne when she walked him to his 4Runner that night. “All these years Bailey and Connor have worked so hard and played a lot of smaller parts. But now . . . when it might be my last show for a while, they get the leads. I’m happy for them.”

  He brushed his thumb along her cheek. “It’s a strong cast.”

  “It is. I have a feeling the next ten weeks are going to go way too fast.”

  Dayne looked deep into her eyes. The cold night air was only tolerable because of his nearness. “Or not fast enough.” He kissed her, and the sensation warmed her to the center of her being. “I’m counting down the hours till the wedding.”

  She rubbed her nose against his and closed her eyes, lost in the feel of his closeness. “Which means being busy with Oliver! is a good thing.”

  “Very good.” He kissed her again. “But for now the best thing you can do is go back inside.”

  Rehearsals were under way for Oliver! and Katy’s days were as full as her nights. She’d found a wedding dress in Indianapolis, a beautiful, fitted, white satin gown with a simple, elegant train. Jenny Flanigan had been with her when she picked it out.