Page 84 of To the Moon and Back

Carly didn’t hesitate. “I might have the bug.” She smiled.“Honestly, Alika, nothing was more satisfying than the run ofStarry Nights. I feellike I’m a better actor for it and want to do more.”

“Fair enough, Little Miss Stubborn. I’m on it.”

“Thank you.”

Carly turned back to her salad, her afternoon, and her newunderstanding of the things that made her happy. Green eyes were never far fromher mind.

Chapter Twenty

The elevator ride to the twelfth floor wasn’t a glamorous one. Thenarrow office building on Fourteenth Street between a deli and a dry cleaner’swas home to the team of producers mounting Heather Kim’s two-hour production ofHome Fires,in which a daughterdiscovers that she and her siblings were kidnapped as young children by theparents they grew up loving. The script came with a surprising amount oflighthearted humor, given the heavy premise. Carly enjoyed everything about thedialogue and narrative when she read it and hoped the meeting would prove to bea valuable one.

She exited the stale smelling elevator and made her way down anondescript hallway, which all served as a reminder that she was not in Hollywoodanymore. The frills were gone, which, honestly, she didn’t mind. The play wasnot a big budget outing and would instead play a ten-week limited run in athree hundred seat theater about a mile south of Broadway, which to Carlysounded perfect in every way.

An hour and a half later, and she, the producers, the director,and Heather Kim herself were seated around a table, discussing the piece ingreat collaboration.

“I think the scene that resonates with me most would have to bethe moment Reagan brings her findings to the siblings,” Carly said.

“It’s definitely the scene that took me the longest to write.There are so many layers there that I wanted to be sure came through.”

Carly nodded. “The brother’s reaction, especially, is chilling.”She’d read the script in its entirety four times now, but she’d read that scenemore than ten. She loved everything about the play and thought Heather Kimdeserved the Pulitzer.

The lively discussion went on like that for another forty-fiveminutes, until Kevin Jacobs, the lead producer, turned to her. “Listen, are youinterested? Because I can safely say we are.” Everyone around the table nodded.

Carly didn’t hesitate. She raised her shoulders. “When do westart?”

Jeanine, the director, clapped her hands. “Quickly. We have twomore roles to cast, and fast.”

“Can I ask which two?”

Jeanine listed them on her fingers. “The detective at the policedepartment, which as you know is fairly significant in this journey, and willtake the right actress, and a young actor to play Reagan’s son.”

Carly smiled at her. “You said you saw me inStarry Nights?”

“I did. It’s why I wanted to work with you.”

“Can I make a suggestion on who you might look into for thatdetective role? There’s just someone I couldn’t get out of my head when I readthat character.”

Jeanine leaned in with a smile. “I think I know where you’re goingwith this, and I’ll be honest, it had occurred to me.”

Carly grinned. “Just a thought. Totally up to you.”

Later that night, alone her hotel room in the theater district,Carly sent Lauren one of her routine texts. She rarely heard back but thatwasn’t the point of them.It’sme, game show queen, saying hello.

This time, she got a response.Hey,there, GSQ. How are you?

She fell back against the pillow in delight. Every part of herwent warm. She sat up again, invigorated. Lay back again and sat back up, readyto type.Good. I feellike I hit a reset button on some big items in my life. I moved.Shehit send, feeling nervous and energetic about the fact that she was conversingwith Lauren, who she missed so very much. To her amazement, the phone in herhand buzzed, signaling not just a text, but an incoming call from Lauren.

She didn’t hesitate and slid onto the call. “Hi.”

“Hey, you.” God, that voice. “Tell me about these changes.”

Carly did. She told Lauren about the new home, the unexpected funshe was having on the celebrity game show circuit, and how she saw a new pathfor herself that surprisingly made her much happier than the old one. “I wouldnever have guessed that I’d be happier once I focused less on status, but I am.I’m choosing things for myself that make me smile.”

“What’s one of them?”

God, it felt good to talk about daily life things with Laurenagain, like the most cleansing of breaths. “There’s an adorable café near mynew house that I’d love to take you to one day. I eat lunch there twice a weekand either take a book or a play to read, or just people watch.”

Lauren was quiet for a minute. “That makes me really happy. All ofit. You have no idea.” There was a wistful quality in the way she said it thathad Carly unnerved.

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