A Meeting in the Parkinglot

She felt like a kid at Christmas. With company still sleeping in her room and too tired to drive to her sister's empty house, Lindsey chatted with Val while blowing up the air matteress in the laundry room. She'd slept in many odd places in her life but this would be her first time in a laundry room. Laying beside the blue lights of the washer, she rolled from side to side. If some of the men from Willy Wonka did come out, who could they play? She arranged people in her head, plugging in people here and there.

When she woke and shifted, the thoughts were back.

How much rewriting would the script require? What if she couldn't get enough boys or young people? What if too many of one type of people came out and she had to tell some no - even while having to work to replace others.

Just when she'd dropped off into a rare moment, her dream involved a burgle. She jolted awake as the laundry room door shut again. Someone was bumping around in the kitchen. The door opened again and the visitor grabbed a few trash bags. Lindsey got up, walking into the kitchen to find her brother.

"I wasn't expecting you up," She said.

"They just left." Ryan explained. "I'm going back to bed."

It was 5:30 and Lindsey went back to bed too - but only until voices came from the kitchen. She turned on the fan to cover- but then found herself too cold to go back to sleep. Getting up she found it to be around 8:30. It was the sleepy sort of excitement that kept her from being able to either fall asleep or do anything terribly productive. She went to her computer, listening to some of the songs for the show. Checking the backtracks. Should she find a slower backtrack? Was there even a backtrack to this song? And without a little boy, should she replace the duet?

Then it was off to church where she asked a few aquaintances if they acted or knew any actors. No one did.

But as the service started, the preacher announced there was a ford, oldsmobile, four-door, red with the license plate number - as though the parkinglot was full of 87's oldsmobile. Lindsey slipped outside, before she thought too much about it to get embarrassed.

Outside she saw Paster Jermiah heading her way.

"Oh, is it yours?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's mine."

"We were just afraid it was sticking out too far and would get hit. It looks fine now."

Lindsey explained she'd arrived during the first service when the parkinglot had been full. The parking attendant had her move it to the new line of cars.

She eyed him. Dark hair with grey emerging, a well-kept beard.

Ask him if he acts.

He looked like a good potential for a Titanic character and Lindsey opened the door again, sliding out.

"Are you an actor?"

A pleased, confused smile broke out on his face. "Yes, I am. How did you know?"

Lindsey grinned. "I think God put my car in the wrong spot."

She explained about the Titanic production and the man seemed interested. He had a marathon this weekend but if that was not a conflict...

Lindsey gave him the time and place of auditions, then returned to the building grinning.

She still needed a lot of younger guys but she thought this man was meant to be in the show.

During the service she found herself thinking about Palacios and what it would be like to move back to a town with no theater.

But she could do theater. She could write a play. Perform it somewhere outside for the public for free. Use it to show people how real people could be freed and used by God. Perhaps it would be about characters becoming free from addiction. Finding salvation. She didn't know. But just because a town had no stage or theater, didn't mean they couldn't use drama to touch lives.

At home, Kayla left a voice mail that several of her high school and recently graduated friends were coming to auditions. It would be crazy holding auditions, then trying to fit people into roles (she hoped just enough people showed up to be used so she didn't have to turn anyone down.)

She'd have to cast before she could tweak the script, before she could make a final call list for rehearsals. So that left an afternoon free. It had been a long time since she'd had time to take off from the Titanic and she went on a long walk, listening to old Irish music that had inspired her book series. She had written a script in less than two weeks. Things were falling into place. If she could do this - she could get her books out. It had been a long hard uphill climb learning everything it took to produce a book.

But her spirits were high as she took some time to edit a few of the neglected pages to the second book in her series.