Page 41 of Wild Love

Eli: You're welcome. Good luck today!

How did he know that I was so nervous? I couldn't even think about preparing food. I had to remember that Eli took care of people. I wasn't special.

I remembered there was a card on the flowers. I pulled it from the holder. It looked like it was handwritten. Had he done this himself? I had a feeling he did. He might have people that did things for him, but he understood the importance of a personal touch.

I pulled out the card.Break a leg, gorgeous.

I laughed. It was something we said in the theater. It was part superstition and part routine at this point. We couldn'tnotsay it. I held the card to my chest. Eli was the nicest man. I couldn't believe a woman hadn't already caught his eye.

I was just his friend's sister. Someone he'd promised to look out for. He wasn't attracted to me. He was just being nice. It was who he was. I repeated that mantra to myself as I finished eating, then went over my notes again.

These kids were going to eat me alive.

I drove to the library, wondering if I should just keep on driving and find a new place to live. But I couldn't do that to Marigold or my family. I never left without saying goodbye. And I didn't feel ready to go.

I wasn’t sure that teaching was in my wheelhouse. I hoped I could pull this off.

In the library, Marigold took me by the elbow. "You're here."

"You were worried I wouldn't show up?"

Marigold winced. "I'm sorry." Then she patted my arm. "You're here now. That's all that matters."

"There's still time to call this off," I said, feeling panicked when I saw the kids waiting for me.

She stopped in front of the crowd of kids and parents. "I think it's too late for that."

I bit my lip so I wouldn't swear in front of the kids. The room was too full, the lights too bright. I turned to talk to Marigold. "There're a lot of people."

"They're all very excited about you being here. A real live actress to teach them." Marigold's enthusiasm was infectious.

Then Marigold clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. She was like a teacher. People listened to her. "Everyone, we're so very excited to welcome our very own Scarlett St. Claire."

There was clapping and cheering. The excitement was palpable. The pressure almost unbearable. When had anyone ever looked to me for advice?

I helped the kids in my productions, but that was one-on-one. This was too much. Too many onlookers. Too many people who could judge me and find me lacking.

I waved awkwardly. "Hi."

Marigold gave me an encouraging smile, and I wished that I would have kept driving this morning.

I tucked my notebook against my chest. "I wasn't sure what everyone wanted to learn this morning. I took notes, made lesson plans, but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to take this to the stage. We could start with acting out a play, and I could give a few pointers as we go."

The kids cheered with excitement.

"Can we move the kids to the stage area?" I asked Marigold.

Marigold nodded. "Absolutely."

She ushered the kids to the stage area while I handed out the scripts to each child. It was a short play, something to get thekids started. I wasn't sure what they expected from the event. But I decided that acting would be fun, and the kids would enjoy it. That's all that mattered.

If the parents expected some kind of PowerPoint presentation, they wouldn't get one from me.

"We're going to go through the lines, and I'll give you pointers as we go. Remember to speak with feeling. Your passion for the character will come through."

I directed the two children who'd volunteered to be the main characters to the stage. Becky barreled through her lines, not giving her costar any room to say his.

"That's great, Becky. Now let your costar say his lines this time. Give him a minute to respond. Then you can do your next line. As we go, you can look away from your page and act."

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