I had been out of the hospital for a day in a half or so and I recieved a phone call from James.
"Hey.. Um, this is um.. I need your help with something.." He said.
"Is everything okay?" I asked getting a little worried.
"Just come over." He said before hanging up. I decided not to question anymore and just drove to his house.
When I walked up to the door and I heard crying. It wasn't James crying though it did sound quite similar. It was a baby's cry. I knocked on the door and when it opened I was met with a very tired James. I looked at him confused for the crying could still be heard from inside the house.
"You hear the crying too, right?" I asked.
"....Yes, Alice. I hear the crying and I've BEEN HEARING THE CRYING SINCE FIVE AM." He said. I took a step back and laughed a little.
"Can I come in?" I asked.
"Please do." He said. I walked in and saw a crying baby laying on the floor.
"Oh my gosh, James," I said as I walked over to the child and picked it up. "Whose is it?" I asked, rocking the baby back and forth.
"She's mine.." He said. I looked at him in shock and disbelief.
"When did you ev- Who did you-" I couldn't even get a full sentence out.
"Well, not mine. She's Tai's." He explain.
"How did you end up with her?" I asked. He handed me a note that said:
James,
I made a mistake and I can't even begin to handle this. She's yours.
-Tai
"He didn't give you a location of where he is? Or who her mother is?" I asked. He shook his head and looked at me nervously.
"I can't do this by myself, Alice.." He said.
"I'm here for you. I'm always here for you." I assured him.
"Thank you." He said. I smiled at him and looked back at his daughter.
"What's her name?" I asked.
"I don't know.. It doesn't say anything on the note Tai left." He said.
"Hm. Well, she needs a name." I said looking down at her beautiful face. She stopped crying a few seconds into our conversation and was now asleep.
"Teresa." James said after a moment of silence. I looked up at him.
"For your mom?" I smiled.
"Yeah.. She should be named after a strong woman cause lord knows she'll need strength in this terrible world." He said. I nodded and handed Teresa to him carefully so we didn't wake her.
"We can do this." I said. We sat on the couch and eventually fell asleep with Teresa.
~Two weeks later~
I had moved in with James to help him with Teresa. We had gotten everything we needed in order to take care of her and so far it's been going pretty well.
Today was the day of auditions for 'Kiss Me Kate'. We decided on this show because it's Greg's favorite. We have to bring Teresa with us because we couldn't find a babysitter.
We walked into the theatre and waited for people to arrive. Teresa was asleep which was good but I could tell James was stressed beyond belief.
"Hey, " I said grabbing his hand. " we got this." He smiled and nodded.
Slowly but surely, people came into the theatre. Most of them were usuals but we had some new people. Natalie was last to walk in. She glared at me and sat down. James stood up and introduced us. The auditions seems to go by pretty quickly.
"Thank you everyone, cast list will be posted tomorrow." He said with a smile. Everyone left and we were left alone in an empty theatre. Teresa started to cry so James gave her a bottle.
We spent the next 5 hours deciding parts. When we finally had our cast list made, we went out to get something to eat.
"You okay? " I asked as I gave Teresa another bottle.
"I guess. I'm just trying to get through this show." He said. I agreed and ordered food. This was going to be hard to do because of what's on the line. This would be the last show Greg would ever see, it has to be perfect.
~3 months later~
We still have a couple weeks before the show but we still have so much to do. The entire cast loves Teresa which made James happy. She was growing so quickly, it's hard to keep up. I had just laid her down for a nap when I got a phone call.
"Yes, this is she." I said. I dropped my phone, picked up Teresa and ran through the theatre.
"We have to go." I said pointing to James. I tried to keep tears from rolling down my cheeks. We rushed to the car and James asked what was wrong.
"Greg, he.. He isn't doing well.. They don't think he will make it through the day." I said as we drove to the hospital.
We ran through the doors and checked in at the desk. When we walked into the room we saw Greg laying on the bed. He looked pale and tired. We hadn't seen him since I was in the hospital because we were too busy with the show.
"Hey.." I said, walking over to his side.
"Who's this?" Greg asked with a smile and held out his arms to Teresa.
"This is Teresa, my daughter." James said, handing her to Greg.
"Your what?" He asked.
"Not biological, my roommate bailed on her." James explained. Greg nodded and looked down at Teresa.
"Greg.. I thought we had more time." I said. He looked at me and handed Teresa back to James.
"I know, I thought so too." He said. I grabbed his hand. He smiled at me.
"You kids are so special to me and this little girl is so lucky to have you two in her life." He said. I let the tears fall down my face.
"You can fight this Greg." I said holding his hand tighter.
"No kiddo. This is a fight I cannot win," He said. I closed my eyes, trying to wake up from this nightmare. "I'm letting go. I love you kids so much." He continued.
"We love you too." James and I said.
"The show must go on." Greg said. I felt his grip on my hand loosen.
"No. No, come back. Come back! I still need you.." I cried.
"Alice, he's gone.." James said as he cried. We got a doctor to come into the room and they pronounced him dead. His last words were circling in my head.
The show must go on.
