anything about Ryan Taylor and the possible promotion he might be getting. But when Jim said nothing, Jenny kept quiet too. The Colts were looking to bring in a new coach. Ryan was a former NFL player, with state play-off success at the high school coaching level. He was definitely being considered for the position. Something even Ryan didn’t know.
Like always, the kids made short order of dinner, and the cleanup began with all the Flanigan boys working together. As they did, Jim and Cody headed to the game table in the family room. Jenny couldn’t hear everything they said after that, but Jim pulled out paper and pencils and for an hour the two of them talked intently — taking turns drawing up what must’ve been plays and drills, ways Cody’s summer camp could be productive and effective.
Jenny took a spot at the kitchen bar where she could keep them in view. How would Bailey feel about how easily Cody had fit back into their lives? If only for a day? Once he was gone Jenny planned to call her. She would be on stage still at this point, but later they could get on Skype … talk face to face.
As Jim and Cody finished their talk, as they laughed together and put their heads together, and dreamed about football side by side, Jenny prayed for Cody. That God would continue to bring him back, and that Cody would work things out with Bailey. So that at the very least they might be friends. Because of all the things Jenny could imagine about the future, there was one thing she couldn’t think about.
The idea of never seeing Cody Coleman again.
Thirteen
BAILEY WAS DANCING SO HARD SHE COULD FEEL THE SWEAT ON her back. It was the last number of the show, the last performance of June, and as she finished the final lines of the song, she felt a sense of elation well up within her. She was doing this! Finally … after two months she was keeping up.
The number ended and the cast took their bows. Bailey tried to sense whether any of her castmates noticed the difference. Two guys who took curtain call with her smiled in her direction, a little bigger than usual. Or maybe it was her imagination. As they stepped off stage, one of them, Gerald Gear, touched her elbow.
“Ella, … great work tonight.” Gerald’s expression held the familiar arrogance despite his smile. “You looked like … like you belonged.”
Ella. Her character name in the movie Unlocked. The compliment went down like dry bread, but Bailey smiled in return. Gerald’s buddy Stefano was watching, and she didn’t want to give either of them a reason to see her as easily offended. “Thanks.” She couldn’t let the hurt show, not now.
Gerald and Stefano walked off together without another backward glance at Bailey. A sigh rattled from her and took with it all the good she’d been feeling about her performance. What would she have to do to be accepted by the cast, to make them see she wasn’t here only because of her movie credit? She grabbed a towel from her bag and wiped her neck. She was about to change out of her costume when she heard someone come up behind her.
“Bailey.”
The voice belonged to Francesca. Bailey turned in a hurry, surprised. The director rarely sought them out after a show. “Yes?”
“Get dressed and then find me in my office.” Her smile was flat. “We need to talk.”
Bailey’s throat went dry, and her heart flipped into an unfamiliar rhythm. “Yes, ma’am.” She turned back to her bag but she couldn’t help but wonder. How many of the girls in the dressing room had heard Francesca’s request? They had to be thinking the same thing she was: That somehow — even on a night when she thought she’d nailed it — she’d done something wrong. Her performance hadn’t measured up to the others.
She dressed and put her costume on the appropriate hanger. As she did, the dressing room fell quiet. The girls didn’t talk to her or to each other, which left an awkward silence thick over the room. Bailey tried to stay brave. Dear Lord, I don’t know what I did wrong, but there must be something. Help me … give me courage to hear whatever Francesca has to tell me. Please, God.
Bailey gathered her things, left the dressing room, and headed for Francesca’s office. Along the way she thought about taking a minute to