"There was another girl who was pretty good," she admitted. "But she did that Shatner thing, you know? I mean, she had all the lines, but she paused after each phrase in this weird way, like she thought she was doing Shakespeare or something."
"So which version did you go with?" Trent asked. "Carroll, Disney, or Burton?"
She shook her head from side to side. "More like my own interpretation of how Lewis Carroll would've wanted Burton to produce it."
"That's my girl," Trent told her.
But she hadn't mentioned her friend. "How'd Samantha do?" I asked.
"She stumbled a little on the scene selected for the tryout. I mean, she was still good, but when we left, she was kinda bummed. She did good on the Queen of Hearts, though. Better than me!" While she talked, Gabby reached out to grab a tortilla, exposing a bandage on her arm.
"What did you do?" I asked.
She lifted her hand, exposing the gauze taped down the middle of her forearm. "It's nothing. I was hurrying backstage and cut the corner too fast, and hit one of the props. Scraped it just enough to bleed, and you know how schools are." She waved in the air, mocking panic. "Next thing I know, there's a first aid kit being broken open, and the super-strength tape slapped down on my arm. So not looking forward to pulling that off."
"But you're ok?" I insisted.
"Mom!" she groaned. "It's like that long, and barely even bled." She held up her fingers about an inch apart.
"Ok," I told her. "I just worry about you."
"I'm fine." Then she looked over at Trent. "Since they're not posting our results until Wednesday, I should try for all the minor parts, right?"
"The ones you're willing to perform," he agreed.
She nodded like that was exactly what she wanted to hear. "You want me to text you tomorrow when I'm done, then? Might not be until six or so."
"That's me," Pax told her. "And I don't mind waiting. Would mind even less if I could sneak in and watch."
She shook her head. "Auditorium's closed, except for the person trying out and the teachers. Mr. Bell said he didn't want anyone feeling like they'd be bullied because of their performance, which is stupid, because the first thing we all do when we're done is tell the others how we did!" Then her eyes brightened as if she'd just had an idea. "But you can hang out in the green room with me. Lots of teen girls just waiting to flirt."
"Yeah," Pax told her. "I like my women a little older. You know, like, within ten years of my age. Plus or minus."
I laughed, but thankfully, so did everyone else. As the food began to vanish, my daughter's excitement finally mellowed. Somewhere along the way, she realized she hadn't told Roman yet, and that was it. In a flash, she was hurrying upstairs to call him. Her door barely closed before the guys immediately picked right back up.
"Plus or minus?" Trent asked. "No, not blatant. Not at all."
"I could be talking twenty-three," Pax countered.
Ian chuckled once. "You weren't."
"Nope."
Seth just gestured to the table. "Everyone done? And who's helping me with dishes?"
"Guys," I told them. "Leave it. I'll put it away later."
Lane was already moving. "Nope," he told me. "You cooked for all of us, so we all clean for you. It's called fair."
"Hey," I said, catching his arm to make him pause. "Thanks, Lane."
He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Gotta spoil my girl a little," he said softly by my ear.
"Guys?" Seth teased. "The giant's being cute. Did hell just freeze over or something?"
"Nah," Ian assured him. "He just has good taste." Then he pointed at the plates. "Someone needs to put the leftovers in the fridge. There's a teenager in the house."
"And she," I assured them, "doesn't eat like a boy. I'm just glad she hasn't brought up diets yet."
The guys groaned at that thought, mostly because they knew I was right. For the next few years, my life was going to be nothing but chasing around my daughter, trying to keep her from making one stupid decision after another. I just hoped they'd be willing to stick through it.
"What's that look?" Ian asked, coming over to offer me a hand up.
I hadn't realized there was a look, but I knew what I'd been thinking. I just wasn't sure I wanted to admit all of it yet, so I decided to hedge my bets. "I was just