“Oh, that’s right, you were going to talk to Mrs. Gentry’s students. How’d that go?”
“About like you’d expect. Lots of questions about which celebrities I’ve met through the years, a few about how hard the work is and a handful of really insightful questions about the business from two or three kids who seemed seriously interested.”
“And those two or three caught your attention,” Gabi guessed.
Samantha nodded, thinking particularly of Cass, who’d been both eager and knowledgeable. “I didn’t get to see any of them perform, so I don’t have a clue if they’re truly talented, but what if someone with experience coached them? I know Mrs. Gentry has a great reputation as a drama teacher, but she’s teaching in a high school where most of the kids are more interested in having fun than in serious acting.”
Gabi’s eyes lit up. “You want to open an acting school? Here?” she asked excitedly. “Oh, do it, Samantha! I’d love it if you were living here. That would make life just about perfect. I think even Emily will cave eventually and she and Boone will settle here, at least part-time. Can you imagine all of us living in this fantastic place, raising our families together, sitting at Grandmother’s while all the cousins run around the yard? What could be more idyllic?”
Samantha gave her a wry look. “Since you’re the only one with a child and Emily’s the only one so far who’s got a date set for her wedding, I’d say you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. Let’s stick to my career move for the moment. What do you think?”
To her dismay, Gabi didn’t jump all over the idea with enthusiasm. She sat back, clearly weighing it, letting her businesswoman’s mind sort through the pros and cons. Since Samantha had come to her precisely for her business acumen, she waited patiently for the verdict.
“I think with your résumé, you could open an acting school anywhere and draw students,” Gabi said slowly. “The right PR could ensure that.”
“So you think it’s a good idea,” Samantha said, relieved.
“Hold on. It’s not a bad idea,” Gabi contradicted, then grinned. “I just think it could be better.”
“How?”
“Open a playhouse. Do a few productions every year, especially in summer, maybe one during the holidays geared more toward the locals. Use your contacts to bring in an artist-in-residence every so often to teach and star in the next production. Let the kids learn not just from you, but from the best. You’ll be buried under applications from all over the state. And with tourism booming, your theater will be packed every night.”
Samantha regarded her sister with awe. “You came up with that whole concept in five minutes? You’re amazing. I’ve been thinking about this since I left the school and only came up with the idea to teach a couple of acting classes.”
“You were thinking too small. I say if you’re going to do it, make it big. Just like this place. I could have opened a small gallery, brought in an artist now and then for a show, but by turning it into a working studio with several artists actually working on-site, it’s become a real tourist draw.”
She beamed at Samantha. “And you know what? It’s working. We’ve been getting a lot of press regionally, and people are making this one of the places they want to see when they come to the North Carolina coast. I have a waiting list of interested artists who’d like to rent one of the studio spaces. And art collectors and gallery owners from major cities are popping in to see whose works are being displayed, looking for the next big talent.”
“It’s fantastic that it’s working so well,” Samantha said. “But could I really do anything on such a large scale? It’s not as if I have piles of savings to invest the way you did.”
Gabi waved off the problem as if it were of no consequence. “Get a few investors. Use the school auditorium for productions, if you have to at first. Then build your playhouse a couple of years down the road when you’ve become a huge success. Or buy a fixer-upper now and let Wade and the guys he and Boone know convert it into a showplace for you. You know they’ll do it for a good price, the same way they did this gallery for me. This building was a shambles till they got started on it. Look at it now.”
“It’s beautiful,” Samantha agreed, infected by her sister’s enthusiasm. “It would be amazing to create a playhouse from scratch, even perform from time to time.” Then her excitement was overrun by worry. “What if I’m no good at any of this? I’ve never taught. I’ve never run a business.”
“Take on one or two students for a few weeks and see how it feels,” Gabi advised. “As for the business stuff, you have me, you have Emily and you have Grandmother, who’s no slouch when it comes to making a success of a business in this community. She, by the way, will be absolutely over-the-moon about this idea.”
“Don’t say anything yet, okay?” Samantha cautioned. “I need to think some more. Maybe find a couple of interested kids and test the idea with them.”
“Do whatever you have to do to be comfortable with this whole thing,” Gabi said. “But I know it’s going to work. I can feel it in my bones.”
Suddenly Samantha was every bit as excited as her sister was. She just wished she shared Gabi’s unbridled confidence.
* * *
Ethan was finishing up making patient notes for the day when Cass came barreling into his office, a beaming smile on her face. The smile was so rare, he didn’t have the heart to remind her that she was supposed to have permission before coming into the back part of the clinic.
“Before you yell at me for busting in here, Debra said it was okay and to tell you she was leaving.”
So, it was the receptionist who
