Take One

by Karen Kingsbury

  “We aren’t sure she’s being completely honest with us.” Lisa linked arms with Keith and leaned in closer so John could hear her. “It’s the first time we’ve gone through anything like this.”

  “I’ve been there.” His eyes held a wisdom that was priceless, one that must’ve taken a number of trials to develop. He nodded at Luke sitting near Chase at the next table. “Luke went wild in college. There was a time when I honestly wasn’t sure we’d get him back.”

  Keith was stunned at the admission. In the time they’d spent with Luke, he’d shown nothing but the strongest Christian character. In negotiations he’d been kind and patient, honest and forthright. To think of Luke as a rebellious college kid was not only shocking, it was comforting.

  “They come around,” John’s smile brought with it a much-needed hope. “Train a child in the way he should go …” his eyes held a look forged in pain. “They come around.”

  When the meal was over, and the dishes done, after dessert and coffee and after Ashley had shown Lisa several of her paintings, Keith looked at his watch and announced that the three of them needed to go. “We have a full day ahead of us.”

  “As long as we’re all together,” John motioned for the others to come closer. “Let’s pray for our new friends.”

  The group was making its way into a circle, lifting kids onto their hips and giving the shush sign to the ones still in the family room. During the slight chaos, Dayne came up to Keith. “Still no investor?”

  “No.” Keith could feel the desperation in his smile. “We’ll be out of money Tuesday. Just enough left to send everyone home.”

  Dayne grimaced. “That’s just plain wrong. Someone out there has to be in the position to help.” He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “We need to really pray. Not just tonight, but the way Cole likes to pray. Until something happens.”

  “We will. God’s going to answer us one way or another. The fact that you’re behind us means a lot. I wanted to tell you that.” Keith gave Dayne a half hug. “And if He lets us keep making movies, I hope you’ll consider coming out of retirement for one of our films.”

  Dayne’s laugh was quick and easy. He shook Keith’s hand and finally gave a slow nod. “I’ll consider it. I can promise you that.”

  Everyone was finally in the circle, and hands were held all around. John led the prayer, his voice clear and strong. “Father, we come to You asking that You hear the needs of our new friends and the trials they’re facing with their movie project. We don’t know all the details, but You do, and so we pray that You’ll go before Keith and Chase and let nothing—absolutely nothing—stand in the way of their decision to make films for You. The world of entertainment is an enormous mission field, Lord … these two are willing to be workers there. So please … be with them as they finish making their picture. Help them finish strong, in a way that brings You glory.”

  John paused, and in the silence a small voice popped up. “Please, Papa … can I say a prayer?”

  Keith opened his eyes and looked at the pixie blonde standing near Brooke and Peter. Keith remembered her because there was something special about her, an angelic innocence that made her somehow different.

  “Yes, Hayley, you can pray.” John smiled and nodded at his granddaughter.

  “Dear Jesus,” she paused a long while, maybe shy or maybe struggling for the right words. “Thank You for miracles.”

  The entire room fell silent, and after a few seconds, John allowed a kind-hearted chuckle. “Not much we can add to that. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

  CHASE WAS TOUCHED DEEPLY BY THE Baxter family, their warm acceptance of virtual strangers in their midst, and their devotion to God and each other. Someday he would love nothing more than to share a night like this with Kelly and their grown family, the two girls they had now, and the children who might still be part of their family in years to come.

  As the circle came apart, goodbyes and hugs were exchanged, and Keith, Lisa, and Chase headed out to their rental car and shut the front door behind them. Chase was just about to start his way down the front porch steps when his phone in his pocket rang. He pulled it out and smiled. It was Kelly. She’d gone home the day after her visit, and he missed her more than ever. He slid his finger across the lower screen and then pressed the phone to his ear. “Hey, baby.”

  “Chase! You were wonderful. You missed your calling, honey!” Her voice was shrill with excitement.

  “Wait … Kelly, slow down.” His tone must’ve caught the attention of Keith and Lisa, because they stopped and turned toward him. “What do you mean, I was wonderful.”

  “On the interview!” She let out a joyful scream. “You missed your calling, babe. You should’ve been an actor.”

  “Wait.” He leaned against the porch post and tried to make sense of what she was saying. “You’re talking about my Entertainment Tonight interview?”

  “Of course.” She was so happy she was breathless. “You mean you didn’t watch it?”

  “They told me it wasn’t going to air until next month.”

  “Well … they were wrong. It just ended. I thought it was perfect.”

  “So it really ran?”

  Keith came up to him and mouthed, “ET?”

  Chase nodded, his world suddenly light with possibility. “I hope someone taped it.”

  “My parents did. They gave a preview, so I knew it was coming.”

  “I can’t believe it. That means …”

  “It means there’s still a chance.” Kelly brought her voice down considerably and her love for him was something he could feel over the phone lines. “I know you’re busy, but I had to tell you. I really believe God’s up to something big here.”

  The call ended and Chase and his friends celebrated the news, amazed at the turn of events. “We really shouldn’t be surprised. The little Baxter girl had the faith we all should have.”

  Chase kept hold of that thought all the way back to the hotel and as he was getting ready for bed. As he laid down for the night, he took stock of their situation. They had put everything they had into making this movie, but right now they stood on the brink of losing everything. The cast and crew would be furious and the news would hold them up as examples of radical Christians with no place in the entertainment industry. Yet even with all that, as he fell asleep he did what he knew God was calling him to do, the same thing he’d seen little Hayley do earlier that night.

  He thanked God for miracles.

  Twenty-Six

  TUESDAY MORNING ARRIVED WITH NO SIGN of the miracle they needed, and in just a few hours the game would be up. Chase tried everything in his power and God’s to focus only on the scene being shot, to believe that even still something could happen, a call could come through and they’d be in the black again. But once they broke for lunch, they would no longer have enough money to do anything but send the cast and crew home.

  Other breakthroughs had come since their prayer time with the Baxters. Andi had stopped by the set Monday, apparently intent on talking to Jake Olson. But instead she’d caught him kissing Rita Reynolds. And while Chase still hated the idea that his two lead actors were having an affair, the news sent Andi running to the production trailer. Keith and Lisa spent two hours talking to her last night after the filming wrapped for the day, and Keith told him this morning that they’d reached an understanding.

  “She told us she drank, and that she made some bad choices. She knows she’s been rebellious and she’s sorry.” He looked sad, but genuinely relieved, as if the financial crisis hanging over them wasn’t on his mind whatsoever. “She tells us Bailey helped her work through her mistakes and that her roommate is going to help her stay on track. For now, I feel like that’s the answer we asked for. She’s worried about the way her classmates are talking about her, but that’s to be expected. She’s making steps in the right direction.”

  That news had come over breakfast, and again Chase marveled that Keith and Lisa were able to eat. Especially
Keith. He had volunteered to tell the cast and crew over lunch, and Chase only knew if he were in his friend’s shoes, he would be somewhere quiet praying for strength.

  He talked to Kelly at the mid-morning break, and even now—with their defeat hours away—she refused to give in to discouragement. “I believe in you,” she told him. “And God loves you more than I ever could. So everything’ll be fine one way or another.”

  She had promised to spend the day praying, and Lisa was meeting with several of her friends, doing the same thing. Every fifteen minutes or so, Chase would look up at the blue sky and try to see all the way to heaven. Do you hear us God? We’re almost out of time. But the only answer was the ticking of the clock. The final two hours passed quickly, with Chase determined to finish well, to make certain that they captured the best acting, the highest quality lighting. So that what parts of the movie they did have were all equally brilliant. They hadn’t compromised yet, and this was no time to start.

  As noon drew near, the muscles in Chase’s stomach tightened, until he wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk upright to base camp. In less than an hour, they’d be humiliated, devastated in front of the entire cast and crew. Everyone was going to be upset, and some of them would be downright angry. They would demand to know why they weren’t told sooner, and Chase wasn’t sure what Keith would say.

  They were hoping for a miracle from God, but He didn’t come through. They didn’t want to worry anyone, when they believed completely that God would save the film. What a terrible reflection of the Christian faith that would be. Chase was still trying to imagine the outcome of the rest of the day, when it reached lunchtime. He put his megaphone down on his director’s chair and fought the heartache inside him. His eyes were damp as he turned away from the set one last time and walked over to Keith. “It’s time.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t understand it.”

  “Me either.” Keith stood tall and looked beyond Chase to the majestic trees, the fall leaves fluttering in the unusually warm breeze. “We want to do something good here.” He turned his eyes back to Chase. “But God won’t let us.” A sad laugh came from him. “I know He has a reason. But really … I don’t get it.”

  “Maybe it’s because no one would’ve listened anyway.” It was a possibility Chase had tossed around since the dinner with the Baxters. God could be saving us from a greater failure down the road. God did that sometimes, didn’t He? Then again, maybe they’d never know the reason.

  Chase checked his phone and saw that he had one message—from their team back in San Jose. He knew what it was, and he could listen to it later. He’d called their San Jose point person earlier in the morning and asked him to fax over the most recent bank account records. The call was probably just someone from the office letting him know the fax had been sent. It would be in the production trailer.

  “You coming?” Keith swung his arm easily around Chase’s shoulder as they headed toward the tent at base camp.

  “I need to stop in at the production trailer. Grab the fax with the financials.”

  “All right, then.” His look said he was at peace with where God had brought them. If the movie wasn’t going to happen, it wasn’t for a lack of prayer or because God wasn’t good and right. It was only because this was God’s will. And His will was perfect.

  No matter how much heartache the next hour held.

  BY THE TIME LUNCH WAS ALMOST over, a buzz was making its way through the men and women gathered beneath the food tent. Keith had a feeling some of them had figured out what was happening, why he had gone from table to table asking them to stay when they were done eating. Of course they were in some kind of trouble. Why else would a producer who had been pushing to use every minute of set time suddenly ask his entire cast and crew to stay after lunch for a meeting?

  Keith pulled Lisa out back behind the tent, near the place where the food service guys hung out. Never mind if the food staff thought it strange, Keith needed a place to pray and he couldn’t go far. His announcement would take place in just a few minutes.

  They faced each other, hands joined, a few yards from the portable grill, still hot from the burgers Paul had served for lunch. Lisa’s love and devotion shone from her eyes. “You okay?”

  “I am.” He shrugged with his whole body. “We did everything we could do. I have no regrets, nothing I would do over.”

  “This,” her lip quivered, but she maintained her smile, “this failure is not a reflection on the quality of producer you are. I want you to know that. The movie would’ve been unforgettable. The people here these past four weeks all know that much.”

  He pulled her slowly to himself and hugged her. “Thank you.” Then, one last time, he prayed about the movie and their ability to find their way from here. When he finished, he gave his wife a kiss. “We’ll get through this.”

  “We will.” She walked with him back into the tent, both of them ignoring the whispers between the food guys. Everyone would know soon enough.

  In the tent, most people were finished eating, and the laughter and loud conversation that usually accompanied mealtime were replaced with anxious faces and whispers. All eyes were on Keith.

  Lisa leaned in close to him. “Where’s Chase?”

  “I’m not sure. He went to the production trailer for a fax.” He scanned the area beyond the tent. “He should be here by now.”

  A restlessness was adding to the feeling coming from the crowd, and after another minute of checking his watch and putting off the inevitable, he took a slow breath. “I guess Chase’ll miss it.” He exchanged a somber smile with his wife and moved in front of the small crowd, to the same place he’d stood when he explained to them the reason for this movie, the power it could have for people everywhere. That day, the cast and crew had gotten fired up with him, joining him in the purpose and passion for the project.

  Today would be entirely different.

  “Thank you for being here.” Keith felt his emotions well inside him. He swallowed and stared at the ground for a few seconds, asking God for strength. When he could talk again, he looked up. “All of you know that The Last Letter is an independent film. That means Chase and I haven’t accepted any funding from a studio, because to do so would mean to hand over creative control.” He tried to smile, and wound up hoping his eyes would convey what his expression could not. Even now they would never consider letting a studio take over the project.

  The people seated on benches and tables around him listened intently, a few shifting closer, in what looked like an attempt to hear every word.

  “Creative control is very important to us. We believe this film has a message that could help people, bring them back to a relationship with God and their families. We aren’t willing to put in this kind of time and energy only to have a studio change everything.” He swallowed again. “So, we raised the money for the picture and we came here intent on sticking to that budget.”

  Again Keith quickly scanned the area outside the tent. Why wasn’t Chase here? The two of them should be standing here together, giving everyone a united front. He wanted to fall to his knees and cry out to God, begging for a reason why He would let this happen. But all he could do now was get to the point.

  “There have been long days and difficulties, and though each of you gave an effort beyond your best, we didn’t plan for the shoot to last this long. All of that to say—” Keith looked up in time to see Chase hurry in through the front of the tent. His eyes were lit up and he shook his head vehemently, all the while waving a piece of paper in front of him.

  The people had their backs to him, and they were too caught up in what Keith was saying to hear Chase’s quiet entrance.

  “What we’ve captured on film has been amazing.” He tried to make eye contact with members of the group, but even so he was distracted by Chase, waving at him to do something … but what? Stop talking? Bring him up? Get to the point? The document must’ve been the financials, but why would that be desperate
ly important now? Keith cleared his throat, flustered. “You … you are some of the most talented actors and crew I’ve ever known, by far the best I’ve worked with. So …” Keith stumbled over a few more sentences, repeating what he’d said earlier, all while trying to understand what Chase was saying, why he was so frantic.

  Finally Chase seemed to give up, as if he couldn’t stand being misunderstood another minute. He walked through an aisle in the crowd and held his hand up to Keith, stopping him mid-sentence. “Sorry.” His look said he would explain in a minute. “We’ll finish this talk later.” A smile started at the corners of his lips and grew until it filled his face. “Right now, since lunch is over, if you would all take your places. We’re on a tight schedule today, so you know where you need to be.” He raised his hand in a show of assurance that everything was okay. “Thank you.”

  For a few seconds the cast and crew looked at each other, confused by the sudden change in direction. But then Janetta Drake stood and motioned to the people around her. “Come on … you heard him.” She shot a pointed smile at Chase and Keith and then grinned at her cast mates. “Let’s get this movie finished.”

  Keith watched them go, his pulse racing. Lisa joined him and they turned to Chase. Keith felt faint as he looked at his coproducer. “You just sent them back to work.” He wasn’t sure if Chase was gambling or losing his mind.

  “I did.” Chase peered over his shoulder, clearly making sure they were alone. “Here,” he held the piece of paper to Chase. “Read this.”

  It was a fax but not from their team in San Jose. As Keith started reading, his legs began to shake. This wasn’t the financials. The letter was long and detailed from an attorney, and Keith waved it back at Chase. He couldn’t stand the suspense another moment. “Sum it up, will you? What happened?”

  Chase’s eyes glistened. “You … me. We did it! God did it! We got the money.” He looked straight up and let out a victory shout. “We got the money! We’re back in business!”