Summer Stage by Meg Mitchell Moore

Author:Meg Mitchell Moore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

Amy has to admit, albeit reluctantly, that Jane Wyndham is a good stage manager. In a concession to summer on an island, she has exchanged her long-sleeved black tops for black tank tops, which show off great arm muscles. The muscles aren’t what make her a good stage manager though. She’s got a good rapport with the actors, she’s always at the right part in the script, she’s always right next to Timothy when he needs her. This morning they’re rehearsing act 3, scene 1, in Leonato’s garden, when Hero, Margaret, and Ursula plot to convince Beatrice of Benedick’s love for her.

At one point Amy finds herself getting distracted by what’s happening on the stage, so she puts in the AirPods Henry gave her for Mother’s Day—she thought she’d feel silly with them, but in fact she loves them—and plays music on her phone while she works. When she removes the AirPods she hears a familiar voice. She cocks her head toward the stage. It’s Sam! She’s deep in conversation with Timothy. When they’re done talking, and Timothy calls for a break and picks up his phone, Amy moves closer to the stage, taps Sam on the shoulder, and says, “Hi! I thought Dad was picking you up.”

To Amy’s surprise and very great delight, Sam hugs her, and Amy breathes in the smell of her shampoo, and the scent of the perfume that Amy has noticed is new since New York—something darker and more mysterious than the one she used to wear.

“I got a ride in with Gertie. On her new moped! She’s not called today but she said she wanted to go zipping around. I asked Dad to get you and me at the same time. I wanted to watch part of the rehearsal.”

Timothy looks up from his phone and says, “She had a note!”

“For you?” Amy asks.

“No, silly. Of course not. For Amelia. Sam was spot-on. Something wasn’t flowing in the beginning of the scene.”

“What was the note?”

“Oh, nothing,” says Sam, looking modestly at her flip-flops.

“The lady doth protest too much!” says Timothy (Amy rolls her eyes and is gratified that Sam rolls hers back). “It wasn’t nothing! It definitely wasn’t nothing. It was the line ‘Make proud by princes, that advance their pride/Against the power that bred it.’”

Sam shrugs. “I just said I thought she was pausing too long between pride and against. You know, because there’s a line break in the script, but there shouldn’t be one when she says it. Which obviously happens all the time in Shakespeare. But something about that one line, she’s not turning the corner the way she should.”

“Turning the corner!” says Amy admiringly. “You’re making your English teacher mother very proud. How’d you know that term?”

Sam ducks her head. “I know things.”

“She sure does,” says Timothy. “The other day she pointed out that Don John was dropping the ball in his scene with Borachio. She’s got a knack for the theater, this one. Although it’s not like we didn’t know that already.

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