“Please don’t,” Samantha begged. “He’ll pack up and move to Alaska or something.”
“Where you could hunt him down and make love in front of a roaring fire,” Emily said dreamily.
Samantha rolled her eyes. “I thought I was the one who’d made a career out of make-believe.”
“Fairy-tale endings aren’t make-believe,” Emily protested. “I have mine, Gabi has hers and yours is just around the corner.”
Samantha laughed. Nothing like a healthy dose of pie-eyed optimism to get the morning off to a good start.
* * *
When Samantha dropped into the high school office, she was greeted by a wide-eyed girl who looked vaguely familiar.
“Hi, I’m Sue Ellen,” the teen said. “And you’re Samantha Castle. I can’t tell you how inspired I was by your talk after rehearsal the other day. It just made me want to work all the harder to become a huge star.”
Samantha smiled, remembering now that this was the play’s lead, the girl with the almost terminal case of stage fright. “You’re serious about acting?” she asked carefully.
“Sure,” Sue Ellen said, then flushed. “I mean I know I suck in front of an audience. All those people scare me to death, but I can act. And movies and TV aren’t as hard, right? Just learn a few lines at a time, then play to the camera.”
“It’s not quite that simple,” Samantha told her, but Sue Ellen didn’t seem to be swayed by her gentle wake-up call. “I came to see Mrs. Gentry. Is she available?”
“She has study hall right now, but I’ll bet she wouldn’t mind if you stopped by.” She wrote down the room number and drew a map of the hallways. “Just go on in. You’re supposed to have an official pass, but nobody’s going to care.”
Clearly Sue Ellen was a rule-breaker, Samantha thought, hiding a smile. Maybe that would be enough to give her an edge in Hollywood.
A few minutes later, she found the room, tapped on the door, then poked her head in. Mrs. Gentry’s eyes lit up. She hurried over to the door.
“Samantha, what brings you by? Isn’t the wedding tomorrow? I thought you’d be swamped with last-minute details.”
“Cora Jane’s had everything under control for a month,” Samantha said. “She swears all we need to do is to show up for tonight’s rehearsal dinner and the ceremony tomorrow.”
“Lucky you. I remember how chaotic it was when my daughter got married, but then I don’t have your grandmother’s organizational skills.”
“Few of us do,” Samantha agreed.
“So, what can I do for you? Can I persuade you to stop by another rehearsal next week? Maybe give the students some pointers?”
“I’d be happy to do that, but I’m sure they don’t need my suggestions,” Samantha said. “You’ve always been an excellent director. I remember how much I enjoyed working with you. I learned a lot that summer.”
“A good student takes something away from every experience,” Mrs. Gentry said. “I’d love it if you came by Monday afternoon.”
“Then I’ll do that,” Samantha promised. “In the meantime, I wanted to run an idea by you.”
“Oh?”
“I’m thinking of staying here in Sand Castle Bay and offering a few acting classes,” she told the teacher. “Maybe starting a school and, down the line, even a playhouse. If I do all that, I’d love it if you’d get involved with me. What do you think?”
The teacher hesitated for a long time before replying. “If I’m being totally honest, I have mixed feelings,” she said. “And I hope you won’t take this the wrong way. It’s absolutely not because I’m jealous or afraid that you’ll steal my most promising students. As I said just a moment ago, I think the most dedicated students could learn a tremendous amount from you.”
“But you’re not enthusiastic,” Samantha concluded, her spirits sinking. “Why?”
“Some people in this community are fairly conservative,” Mrs. Gentry explained. “They think of the acting profession the way they think of Hollywood, as if it’s a bunch of wildly liberal people who aren’t in touch with reality. While they’d never say such a thing to Cora Jane, there are some who’d be suspicious of anyone in that field. You’d have to be completely above reproach for them to entrust their children to you.”
Samantha wavered between indignation and the realization that Regina Gentry could well be right, that her background, rather than being an asset, could be a liability in some circles.
“I haven’t exactly lived a life in the tabloid headlines,” she responded. “And Cora Jane is a respected member of this community. So are you, which is one reason your participation could be so beneficial.”
“Those things are definitely a plus,” the teacher agreed. “But there wouldn’t be a lot of room for missteps.”
“If you feel this way, why would you have invited me to speak to your students?”
“A guest lecturer with your credentials is one thing,” she replied easily. “Letting a child attend classes with you on a regular basis, where you could influence him or her in unwanted ways...” She shrugged. “That’s something else.”
Samantha fought to cover her shock at the unexpected reaction. “Thank you for being candid with me,” she said, keeping her tone neutral. “I’ll have to give this some more thought.”
She was about to walk away when the teacher stopped her with a touch. Her expression sympathetic, she said, “If you do decide to stay, I just wanted you to know what you might be up against, Samantha. That said, I hope you stay. In my opinion, anything that encourages these children to follow a dream and gives them additional resources to do it is a good thing. And I would be happy to get involved, if you still want me after this.”
“I’ll be in touch,” Samantha said, unwilling to commit to anything more.
Samantha tried not to feel discouraged as she left the high school. Despite her final words, it was clear that Regina Gentry wouldn’t be offering a rousing endorsement. She might not even
