had been a poor choice, and she regretted it. Running was no longer the answer.
Time to grow up. Time to do hard things.
She stood on the box Marisol had just vacated and scanned the crowd until she found Jolie. She’d expected the girl to be angry with her, but she met Emily’s eyes with a smile.
Kids were so forgiving. Was it too much to hope they all felt that way? Was it too much to hope that Hollis did too?
“I want to start by telling you all how sorry I am I wasn’t here for dress rehearsal,” she said. “I had some things come up and I had to leave.” She glanced at Jolie, who gave her a soft nod. “But I knew I couldn’t miss tonight. Your opening night.” She paused, eyes moving from child to child. In their faces she saw a mix of emotions—nervousness and excitement and a little bit of admiration, which she definitely didn’t deserve.
“I wanted to let you all know how proud I am of you. Getting up onstage is hard. It takes so much courage. Sometimes we can get so nervous or worried about something because it isn’t easy, and that can make us miss out on the good stuff. You have to go through the hard stuff to get to the good stuff.”
She smiled. “Right now, you might be feeling nervous, and that’s hard . . . but tonight, when the show is over, you’re going to have a healthy dose of good stuff. Because you conquered your fears. Because you did hard things. Because you worked for something and it was worth it. So go out there and do your very best, and above all—” she paused, making sure she had everyone’s attention—“have fun!”
The kids cheered and the excited chatter she’d interrupted when she walked in picked up again.
“Places!” Marisol called out. “Places for the top of the show!”
The kids raced by, some stopping to give Emily a quick hug, bouncing around like pinballs in a machine.
She stepped off of the wooden box and found Jolie standing in front of her.
“I’m sorry I left, JoJo,” Emily said. “It was a mistake.”
Jolie smiled. “I forgive you. And I’m super glad you came back. I’m gonna knock your socks off.”
Emily pulled the girl into a hug. “I know you are. Now, go get in your spot for the top of the show.”
She ran off, leaving Emily standing in the scene shop alone but feeling anything but lonely.
CHAPTER 48
EMILY STOOD BACKSTAGE, watching her kids perform the scenes they’d worked so hard to perfect. As was typical with live theatre, not everything went as they’d planned. The Mad Hatter lost his microphone halfway through the show, and the girl playing Small Alice forgot some of her lines. But none of that mattered. These were her kids, and they were doing what she’d taught them to do.
The sense of pride she felt the moment the final curtain went down wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before. The applause wasn’t for her, and she preferred it that way. The audience cheered for children she’d grown to love. She’d gotten to be at the helm of this ship, and in the process, she’d discovered something that mattered more than herself.
She watched as the kids stepped forward for their bows, and she stood in the wings, applauding. The only thing that would’ve made it better would’ve been standing down in the front, directly in front of the cast, so they could see how proud she was of what they’d done.
As the song ended and the crowd died down, Marisol stepped out onstage with a microphone. She stood in front of the rows of kids, center stage, and waited until the audience was quiet. They’d taken their seats again and now gave Emily’s young assistant their full attention.
“As most of you know, this show wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of one very special person,” Marisol said.
Emily’s stomach churned. No, no, no. She didn’t want them to pull her out on the stage. She took a step back as Marisol turned toward her.
“She doesn’t want us to fuss over her, but I’m fussing anyway because she deserves it. Emily Ackerman, can you come out here so we can thank you properly?”
Emily shook her head.
“Come on, Emily!” Marisol raised her eyebrows expectantly as she gestured for Emily to join her on the stage. The cast began applauding and cheering, coaxing her from her spot in the shadows.
Slowly, unsteadily, she began