Page 76 of The Hookup Situation

I love that I can give these kids something to do to keep them from being lonely like I was, keep their minds engaged and growing, knowing they have somewhere they belong, and feel wanted and welcome, discovering talents and abilities they maybe didn’t even know they had, making friends along the way. And they get to turn their hard work into an amazing show for their friends and families.

“Five minutes till showtime,” I tell them, then yelp when something pokes me in the back. I turn to see Preston grinning at me.

“Don’t worry, it was my finger,” he says, and I cover his mouth. He laughs as I tell him there are young ears around.

“They won’t know what I meant,” he assures me. “Now give me a kiss so I can go join my family.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, and he just chuckles and presses his lips to mine. “Love you, Tinkerbell,” he says, then makes his way out of the side door and back to his seat.

I love that his whole family is here, and that they’ve been at every single one of my community plays, whether I was directing, acting, or anything else.

My little thespians do amazing, and they get a standing ovation from their audience as I stand behind the curtain, proud as I could possibly be.

Preston comes back to congratulate me when the show is over, along with Pam and Phil and Paris.

I can’t believe that this is my life now, that these amazing people are my family. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This is my happily ever after.

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