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The Tessarae Inn |
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Dreams In Amber Refrains
CHAPTER 21 Starr watched Claire out of the corner of her eye. She was laughing with Margie and Connie about something probably stupid. She hadn’t talked to Claire since rehearsal yesterday. She hadn’t called last night and Mrs. Briscoe hadn’t invited her to dinner either. Claire swore she wasn’t mad about the Cinderella thing but she sure acted like she was mad. “Starr. You are doing a honeysweet job,” said Mrs. Briscoe. “Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Okay. This was better. “Sure.” Claire walked over. “Hey, Mom. Hey, Starr.” “Sweetie, I invited Starr to dinner so we’ll go check with her Aunt Sheri then you can both come with me to the grocery store.” “Okay.” Starr narrowed her eyes and looked at Claire. Okay? Where was Coolness or even Cool? Claire wasn’t even really smiling. Lance strolled toward them followed by Tay, who looked as unkempt and rough as ever. Lance was smiling at her but Tay seemed to be watching something off in the distance. “My mother would like you to come over to dinner tonight, Starr,” said Lance. “We can rehearse an hour more while she’s cooking then after dinner she’ll take you home.” Mrs. Briscoe bit her lower lip and then looked at her. She looked worried and Starr didn’t like seeing that. “I’ve been invited to Claire’s,” said Starr. She hoped that would settle the issue and Mrs. Briscoe could relax again. “I’m sure she’ll understand,” said Lance. “Won’t you, Claire?” “I understand but it’s up to Starr,” said Claire in a gruff tone Starr never heard her use before. Mrs. Briscoe tapped her foot lightly. “Is your mother here, Lance?” Lance pointed toward the corner where Mrs. Thorpe stood talking to Belle Hastings. For a second, Starr could have sworn she saw anger flicker across Mrs. Briscoe’s face but it was gone as quickly as it surfaced. Mrs. Thorpe waved then rushed toward them. She was a beautiful woman. All the kids agreed that Lance had the prettiest mother in town and Starr had the prettiest mother in all the towns. Mrs. Thorpe stood next to Lance and tousled his hair then said, “Can you come to dinner, Starr?” “I was already going to Claire’s.” “I see. Well, you know this is more than dinner. I really want you and Lance to be perfect in the play. We were so fortunate to find a suitable replacement after poor Kathy was forced to leave town.” Mrs. Briscoe narrowed her eyes then took a step back. She looked angry. Starr had never seen Mrs. Briscoe get angry about anything before. Mrs. Thorpe flipped her hair then said, “Mrs. Hastings agrees that a little extra rehearsal time could only help. You agree don’t you, Angela? Lance and Starr have a chance to be great. You don’t want to interfere with this, too, do you?” Mrs. Brisco expelled a short burst of air. “Starr, do you want to have dinner with the Lance and his family? You can have dinner with us another night soon.” Starr glanced at Claire who was seemingly studying her shoes. She waited for a long time for Claire to look up but she didn’t. Okay. If that’s the way she wanted it. “Sure. That would be nice.” “Well, I guess we need to coordinate things a little differently. I was going to drive Starr by her aunt’s house to clear things with her. Do you have time to do that, Jessica?” “I suppose I could.” “Well, fine then. I guess that’s all set. Would you like to have dinner with us, Taylor, since our star is busy?” “Me?” “Yes. We would love to have you. And I apologize for not asking you sooner.” Tay looked at Lance then at Claire who was staring at her mother with a wide-eyed expression that was either awe or horror. “Okay,” said Tay. “Fine. I’ll call your mother to clear things with her and if it’s okay you can come grocery shopping with us and help plan dinner.” “She won’t mind.” “I’ll call just to be sure. And, Jessica, why don’t I call Sheri while I’m at it. It will save you a trip.” “That would be just so lovely of you.” “I’ll be right back.” “We usually have spaghetti on Thursdays,” said Claire. “I like that fine,” said Tay. Well, Starr didn’t like it fine. She loved Mrs. Briscoe’s spaghetti. Claire told her in secret that her mother put “the fruit of the grape” in it, which just had to be the neatest secret she’d ever heard. Mrs. Thorpe touched her on the shoulder. “Lance has such nice things to say about you, Starr. I am so glad to get the opportunity to spend some time with you. You are going to be the most lovely Cinderella.” Starr glanced at Claire, who was still working on her diploma in shoe studies, then looked up at Mrs. Thorpe. “Thank you,” she said softly. If Claire was going be stubborn then there was no reason to remind Mrs. Thorpe what a great understudy Claire was for Cinderella or how no one was better at playing the part than Claire. Mrs. Briscoe reappeared. “Everything is a go, Jessica. I called Tay’s mother and she agreed to let Tay come home with us. And Sheri is fine with Starr having dinner with you but she’d like her to call as soon as she gets to your house and before she leaves.” “How lovely. Come along, Starr. I want you and Lance to have as much time as you can to work on your scenes.” Starr nodded and then glanced at Claire, who gave her a half smile. Tay scowled at her but Mrs. Briscoe hugged her. She sighed then followed Mrs. Thorpe and Lance out of the theatre. The Thorpes lived in a big house just outside of town. She and Lance were told to rehearse in the playroom, which turned out to be a huge room loaded with sports equipment, toys, and arcade games. “Wow!” Starr whirled around the room. “You have great stuff.” “My dad works for a company that makes the arcade games. It’s all pretty neat.” “I bet you and Tay really have fun in here.” Lance frowned. “I don’t have Tay over here. He wouldn’t fit in. You know who his mother and father are don’t you? His mother is not a nice woman and his father is a drunk. My dad says Tay will probably be in jail by the time he’s fifteen” “But he’s your friend.” “I let him hang out with me around school is all. Kind of like you let Claire hang around with you sometimes but she’s not really your friend, is she?” Starr stared out of the large window that looked out on the backyard. “Is she, Starr?” “Not really. I just try to be nice, is all.” Mrs. Thorpe strolled into the room with a platter full of cut up vegetables—carrots, celery, and green peppers with a white dipping sauce. “You children need to get to work on your rehearsing. Your dad just came in, Lance, and he’ll be in to watch you in a minute. Dinner will be ready in an hour or so. That platter is for your father but you two can eat a few vegetables but don’t fill up on them.” Mr. Thorpe turned out to be a short man with a round stomach. He was bald on the top of his head but the hair along the sides and back was worn long and pulled into a ponytail. He smiled when he saw her. “I am so glad to finally get a chance to meet you, Starr. I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Mrs. Hastings and Lance. You certainly are as pretty as they said you were.” Starr found herself grinning despite herself. They all played a videogame for a twenty minutes then Mr. Thorpe told them they needed to rehearse before Mrs. Thorpe got mad at all of them. She and Lance ran through their lines and Mr. Thorpe directed. It was fun and he was a lot less dramatic than Mrs. Hastings. Lance kept stepping on her feet during the dance routine at the ball, so Mr. Thorpe took his place and whirled her around the room. He was a good dancer. They were all laughing merrily when Mrs. Thorpe came into the playroom to tell them that dinner was ready They had a big salad for dinner loaded with all sorts of stuff. It was okay but she couldn’t help thinking about what Claire and Tay were probably having for dinner. Mrs. Thorpe gave each of them a small scoop of something she called sorbet for dessert. Mrs. Briscoe probably made chocolate chip cookies and served them warm with cold milk. “Is your mother coming back soon, Starr? She is quite the local wonder girl around here.” “She’s in New York with Jake Travis.” Mr. Thorpe raised his eyebrows. “Why is she with him?” “She’s going to be on TV,” said Starr. “Singing.” “Oh, of course. I should have suspected that. She is quite good and also quite beautiful. A trait she passed on to you.” Starr grinned then glanced at Mrs. Thorpe who smiled then nodded at her. Lance really had neat parents. “I understand you mother has her own company and your father is a big newspaper publisher, Starr. We are so lucky they agreed to let you spend some time with us in Creedyville. I can’t imagine what we would have done if you weren’t here to take over for Kathy.” “I wanted to be the wicked stepmother first.” Mr. Thorpe laughed loudly. “I heard you suggested they have her keep spiders and lizards. The thing is Mrs. Hastings thought you were serious. I had to laugh at her. Sometimes I think she doesn’t get out enough. Lives in her own little world.” “You don’t like spiders?” “Don’t like lizards either. And they are certainly not the kind of things sweet little girls are interested in.” He looked at her directly. “You were joking weren’t you when you told Mrs. Hastings that?” “Yes. Just joking.” Mr. Thorpe leaned forward with his spoon raised. “I was concerned at first when I heard how close you seemed to be with Claire Briscoe but I’ve been pleasantly surprised this evening. You are a lovely young lady.” “Cecil, I don’t think we need to bring Claire into this.” Mr. Thorpe frowned. “Claire or the Briscoes in general? Or Mike…” “Stop this right now.” “Why don’t you like Claire?” Mr. Thorpe cleared his throat. “It’s not that I don’t like her,” he said softly, “it’s just that she’s not the kind of girl I want my son associated with. You, on the other hand, are quite the nice young lady. I told Mrs. Hastings that I couldn’t allow Lance to be in the production if a suitable candidate for the leading lady was not found.” “And that was me?” “Yes. You are a Cinderella—a princess to be. Claire Briscoe will be lucky to end up as a scullery maid with parents like that and…” “Cecil, stop this at once.” “There is nothing to be gained by trying to hide the truth from the children.” Mrs. Thorpe smacked the table lightly and glared at her husband. “This is not the time or the place.” Mr. Thorpe shrugged and took another bite of his sorbet. “Are you finished, Starr? I think it’s time to take you to your Aunt Sheri’s.” “Can I come too?” “No, dear. You stay with your father.” Starr looked around the table then nodded and stood up. She got her backpack from the hall and followed Mrs. Thorpe to the car. When she glanced back at the house Lance was standing in the front door with his father behind him. Lance waved at her but Mr. Thorpe just watched her with narrowed eyes like he was studying her or something. “Did you have a nice time at Lance’s?” “It was okay, but Mr. Thorpe doesn’t like Claire, Aunt Sheri. He said some mean things about her.” “What did you say?” “Nothing.” Sheri’s eyes got wide but she pulled her close. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You were in a tough situation.” “They were real nice to me. Why doesn’t Mr. Thorpe like Claire? Is something wrong with her?” “No. There is nothing wrong with Claire. And I don’t think what Mr. Thorpe said has anything to do with Claire.” “Then why say bad things about her?” “Some adults are nicer than others. Lance’s parents aren’t very nice to a lot of people.” “They were nice to me. Mr. Thorpe said I was lovely and will be a great Cinderella.” “It’s easy to like people who say nice things about you. Sometimes people say nice things just to get you to like them.” “But everything he said about me was true.” Sheri laughed softly. “Yes, I’m sure it was.” Her smile faded quickly though as she hugged her a little tighter. “Was what he said about Claire true, Starr?” “No.” “What does that tell you about Mr. Thorpe?” Starr just looked at Sheri. She wasn’t sure what to say. “Starr, it’s easy to think people are nice and believe they are telling you the truth when they tell you what you want to hear.” “But they may not be telling the truth?” “Maybe not. And that’s a hard lesson to learn.” Starr sighed. When had people in Creedyville gotten so hard to figure out? |