Stagestruck Showstopper Monday afternoon at the coffee shop to plan I got there first toting my laptop I bought lemonade and a swirly iced cupcake and picked a table Three minutes later the bell on the door jangled and Austin walked in Thanks to our day at the pool his nose and cheeks were a little bit sunburned I was surprised at how good Austin looked with that sunny glow For some reason my heart sped up a bit He waved and went to the counter for an iced tea and a giant macadamia nut cookie When he sat down we got right to work First things first I said Finances Austin bit into the cookie and nodded I opened my laptop and showed him the document my sister had titled RF Financial So according to Susan we made a pretty decent profit I pointed to the number at the bottom of the screen Not bad right We’ll be able to cover our piano-tuning debt and still have plenty left over Excellent said Austin Add that to the next session’s dues and potential ticket sales revenue following the second show and we’re definitely in good shape Yes we are I said Moving on Membership I clicked a few times and showed him the two e-mails I’d received that 2
Chapter One morning Unfortunately Sam isn’t going to be able to be in the second show He’s got a lot of baseball stuff going on for the next few weeks His team is heading for the pennant race or something like that Austin frowned That’s kind of a bummer Sam’s a great kid And a good actor I know I was pretty sad when I got the e-mail But I understand baseball means a lot to him too Then I indicated the last line of the e-mail I’ll def be back for the third show Austin read aloud This resulted in a shiver of excitement along my spine Third show I repeated Sam’s counting on there being a third show That’s encouraging Austin beamed Yeah it is My excitement subsided as I clicked on the second e-mail Unfortunately Sam’s not the only one who’s bowing out Please say Sophia’s decided to quit We should be so lucky I rolled my eyes But no as far as I know Sophia the Diva will be back for the second show It’s Mia and Eddie who won’t be able to do it Family vacation They’ll be gone for two weeks That’s a serious bummer grumbled Austin A double whammy What are we gonna do without Mia’s vocal talent and Eddie’s comedic timing 3
