Page 16 of Every Star that Shines

Delanie glanced uncertainly at Amber, her brow furrowing. “However, Amber,” she added, and when Amber glanced up at her, she continued, “since this role is a big responsibility that could easily be divided, I was wondering if you would be willing to assist. Your varied experience with the play would be a helpful asset to our team.”

Amber straightened, raising her head as though she were considering the offer. Finally, she nodded stiffly. “Very well. I don’t want Celeste’s experience ruined by an inexperienced production team. What would my title be?”

Caleb resisted the urge to roll his eyes and quip that she would be the Assistant Assistant Producer, obviously, just to see the look on her face—but he successfully bit his tongue.

Instead, Delanie said, “Assistant Director. I would value your expertise and help with the decisions I’ll be making during the production.”

Amber gave a surprised smile, then nodded, obviously mollified.

Well done, Delanie. Caleb smiled. Delanie had always been good at handling prickly people. Amber would likely see Assistant Director as at least equal to Assistant Producer, if not better. It was the perfect solution. As for Caleb, he could care less about titles. He would help Delanie out in whatever way she needed. He ignored the quiet voice in the back of his head that asked if he would have done the same for anyone else in the role, focusing on what Delanie was saying to him and Amber.

“If you two would stay after the meeting, we can make arrangements for our first planning session.”

“Sure.” Caleb stepped back to his place near the wall.

Amber nodded earnestly. Her earlier outrage seemed to have evaporated.

Delanie and Violet went through the rest of the orientation, laying out the volunteer needs and pointing parents in either Caleb’s or Amber’s direction several times to connect about certain jobs. When Caleb saw Amber start taking notes on her phone, he did the same, begrudgingly admitting to himself that it was a good idea. He wished he had a notepad and pen—he hated swiping around on his screen. He would be more prepared in the future.

After the meeting dispersed, Caleb met up with Delanie, Violet, and Amber at the front of the room. Violet gave him a knowing smile, and he wondered what she was thinking.

“Thanks, again, you two,” Delanie said, glancing quickly past him to Amber. “I know it’s a lot all at once. Would you be available to meet at Cool Beans to discuss everything before Wednesday night rehearsal? I think Violet and I can handle the principal and supporting cast rehearsal tomorrow night by ourselves, but if you could make that too, that would be helpful.”

“I’ll already be here for rehearsal because of Celeste,” said Amber. She swiped around on her phone. “Would Tuesday afternoon at two-thirty work for the meeting?”

“Works for me.” Delanie looked at Violet and Caleb for confirmation.

“I’d have to leave at three so I could teach music lessons,” said Violet, “but you and I could meet earlier to go through our part and you could pass it on to the others.”

“Sure. Unless everyone could meet earlier. Caleb? Do you have to work?”

She finally met his gaze, her big brown eyes soft and unguarded for once.

He cleared his throat to banish the sudden tightness and looked at his phone as if that held the answer she sought. He definitely wasn’t looking at it because he was afraid of what she would see looking back at her.

“Yes, but I’ll take a few hours off. I have extra time accrued, so it shouldn’t be a problem. And I’ll already be here tomorrow night, too—I was planning to work on sets with Noel. I’ll come out to observe for a few minutes if I can.”

“No need to do that,” Delanie said. “Thanks for making accommodations for everyone. How does two sound instead?”

After a round of agreement, Delanie beamed. “Great. Guess it’s a date for Tuesday. I’ll see you all then . . . and tomorrow night. Now, the kids should be finishing up, so we better go wrap things up upstairs. If you could go ahead, I’ll be just a minute.”

Amber and Violet headed toward the door as Delanie turned to gather her binders, but Caleb hung back. Delanie saw him standing there and busied herself with arranging her binders on top of each other on the table. He wondered if she were avoiding his gaze. Maybe he should just go.

But no. He wanted to know where they stood. Despite his misgivings, he stepped toward her.

“Hey, Delanie, are you sure this is alright with you? It won’t be too weird, will it?”

She straightened, flashing him a sunny smile. “Weird? Why would it be weird?”

“Well, you know . . . Things seemed a little awkward between us the last couple days. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Delanie’s expression hardened, and she stepped toward him, staring into his face. “Nothing you could ever do would make me uncomfortable, Caleb Joseph Toews. I stopped giving you that privilege a long time ago. We’re professionals. So let’s act professional and do what we have to do to make this a great production for the kids. Agreed?”

He should have stuck to his instincts and kept quiet. “Agreed.”

With that, she whirled and stomped away across the tile floor. Using my full name and stomping angrily away—very professional.

He snorted. Despite what she had said, his suspicions were confirmed—she must still hold a grudge because of what had happened a decade ago. He sighed. It was nothing less than he deserved, he supposed. Still, didn’t he have a right to be hurt, too? She had broken up with him, not the other way around.

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