Page 56 of Every Star that Shines

I look forward to hearing back from you soonest.

Sincerely,

Tessa Montague

Balcony Pictures

P. S. I admire how you handled the recent furor over your Nathan Tait videos. This industry needs more people with that kind of backbone. Stand up and be seen, I say. Bravo.

P. P. S. I noticed your campaign to raise funds for a new sound system at your local theatre. My donation will be forthcoming promptly, and I shall be sure to tell my friends.

P. P. P. S. I am sorry for the loss of your grandmother.

Delanie breathed deeply a few times to calm her racing heart and took a sip of water. She could hardly wait to tell Caleb about this.

Quickly backing out of Tessa’s email, she clicked on the email notification that had come in right after from her fundraising platform and gawked at the number. Not only would they now be able to afford a new sound board, but for that amount, plus the funds that had been steadily coming in since Desmond posted her latest video, she could talk to Murray about finally replacing the medieval wiring that caused so many problems with feedback and hum during performances. Clicking back into Tessa’s email, she hit Reply and added her agent, Sandra Sanderson, on the carbon copy line.

Dear Ms. Montague,

Thank you so much for your generous contribution to my fundraiser. It will go a long way to improving the facility in my hometown of Peace Crossing. I would be thrilled to discuss your idea with you. I have long been an admirer of your work, and would welcome a collaboration, especially for a cause so close to my heart. I have looped my agent into this thread, and she can arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.

She stopped and chewed her nail, trying to think if there was more to say. After a sentence explaining that she was still in Peace Crossing so the meeting would have to be done online, she signed her name, then added a post script of her own.

P. S. Thank you for your condolences, and for your encouraging words. I know you understand how risky creating art based on controversial opinions can be, so it means a lot coming from you. And please call me Delanie.

She read it over again. Then, holding her breath, she clicked Send. Bursting with excited energy, she texted Marie and Desmond the good news in their group chat.

The return text from Marie was almost immediate. Oh my gosh! I knew she’d come through. That’s amazing!

Delanie had just typed her thanks followed by a few starry-eyed emojis when Desmond texted, Good job. Another steak and champagne night soon?

Delanie laughed and shook her head. Trust Desmond’s brain to go straight to the celebration party.

We should have something concrete to celebrate first. Will keep u posted.

Desmond sent a thumbs-up, and Marie sent a GIF of a baby dancing.

Her phone blared the opening bars of “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, and she blinked at the name Sandra Sanderson in surprise. It seemed a little late for her agent to be at work. Then again, it was an hour earlier on the coast where Sandra was, and Sandra did seem to be a bit of a night owl. Maybe she had something to say about the offer.

“Hello?” Delanie said.

“Well, that’s an interesting proposition,” Sandra said without preamble. “Came at an interesting time too. I was about to call you even before I got the email notification.”

“You were? Why?”

“All kinds of interesting things have happened today. I got a call from Joshua Rosenburg that he’s been trying to get a hold of you, but you haven’t been returning his calls? Not that I blame you, mind you. But it turns out, he did have something to say besides making excuses for himself.”

Delanie leaned back in her chair, her gut tensing. “And what was that?”

“Turns out the folks at Trueheart want you back. According to Rosenburg, they have reviewed the situation, and they admit to being too hasty in their judgement. Which is a first for me. What did you say to him anyway?”

Delanie’s head started spinning. She could have her role as Maryanne back? What was happening?

“I, uh, didn’t say much. Mostly, I broke up with him and have been ignoring him ever since.”

Except that one time a couple weeks ago when she had accidentally answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. After getting frustrated when Josh kept trying to convince her they could work it out between them—he had even claimed that Kaitlyn Williams meant nothing to him—she had told him she was dating someone else. Could he have been so determined to get her back that he’d actually gotten her job back for her?

She frowned. “Haven’t they started filming Trueheart already?”

---