Page 103 of A Game as Old as Time

“For the longest time, I never understood how a football coach like my dad could end up with a Broadway performer like my mom.” Hailey paused, the lights in the auditorium dimming as she dipped low by herself. “I thought they had very little in common, Broadway and football.”

She slowed down, visualizing her steps as the crowd watched.

Go slow, stay in rhythm.

Next, she pushed up like a ballerina and landed on her toes, moving up onto the dining room table prop where Andy and Emilio had been sitting.

“But I guess I finally realized…” She took a deep breath, feeling the lights warm her as she brought her hands back to her chest. “I guess I finally realized they have a lot more in common than I thought.”

“How so?” asked JT. He took a seat at the table Hailey was standing on.

“Well, my mom used to tell me that she never cared what anyone wrote or said about her performance. She only cared what her family andcastmates thought.” She jumped down, the light following as her feet echoed against the wooden stage. “No matter what the outcome of the performance, good or bad, she just wanted them to know that she performed like it was the last time she was ever going to be onstage.”

Her mother’s voice was soft in her ear as she peered out into the dark of the auditorium.

“And I think…I think that’s how you guys feel about football, too.”

The room was hanging on her every word. The feeling of bringing a large group into the moment, the intoxication of making them all come together as one, was more fun than she remembered.

“You work hard on the field, just like we do on the stage. You have to trust each other, or the play doesn’t work. My mother said that everyone plays a role, from the lead to the extras to the stagehands. That every one of those roles is just as important as the next.” She turned and found Gunner, who had moved to stand near the table. “Just like a football team.”

He nodded at her last comment, his grin much wider than before.

“Well,” JT said as he leaned back in the chair. “Your mother sounds like a very smart woman.”

She was.

Hailey lowered her head and nodded.

“Hey, JT---” Gunner said as Hailey started to step across on the stage, the light still following her.

“It’s OK, Gunner,” she said as she passed by him, spinning and throwing her hands out. “I never told everyone what happened to me in California. About the last time I performed or---” She cleared her throat. “The time I quit.”

Gunner tilted his head when she stopped, but she gave him a reassuringnod.

I got this.

“Two months after my last performance, during my sophomore year, my mother passed away.” JT shifted his eyes from hers. “I was so upset. I had worked my whole life to perform in front of my mother, to show her that I could be the lead. So, I decided that would be my last performance. I quit. I told myself I had no reason to ever step foot on a stage again.”

She closed her eyes and pushed into the lights. Her shoulders felt completely relaxed, her legs strong beneath her. The warm rays of light were directing her around the stage and melting her into the moment.

“And then I met all of you.” She walked toward the table where JT still sat. “I know I probably sound crazy, some new girl dancing around onstage by herself telling you her story, but---” she jumped back on the table, “meeting all of you showed me that my mother was right.”

Gunner pulled out a chair and joined her, extending his hand.

“Performing wasn’t about showing my mom that I could be a star. It wasn’t about how well I did or if everyone liked it.” She grabbed his hand, and he twirled her.

Perfect.

“It’s about the people you do it with, the friends you make. It’s about all the support you get from family and the community, about putting on a show for them.” She flicked her wrist out and moved back toward him as she continued. “Just like a football game.”

The entire cast had crowded around the table.

“Friday night, the whole town will be supporting you guys, including us.”

She pushed away from Gunner and jumped down, waving her armsaround the room.

“I know what it is like to be scared. To think it might be the last time you could be doing something you love.” She moved to the front of the stage as the lights came back on. Everyone in the auditorium was looking at her. “But we got your back.” She put her arms around Juliana and Bridgette. “Just like you have ours.”

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