a dream that you wish | kasey winslow |

Chapter 44

Kasey was running extremely late for her date with Jace. Gary had kept everyone at least twenty minutes late to have a 'cast meeting', during which he scolded them for their performance. She left the theatre at the time where she promised Jace she'd meet up with him. Since she walked everywhere, she was at least a half-hour late to Central Park. 

"I'm so, so sorry," she apologized to Jace once she found him. "Gary kept us for rehearsals."

Jace straightened up from where he'd been lounging on the grass. "It's fine," he said. Kasey thought she heard a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "I just wish you would have texted me."

"I really didn't have time, and I wasn't sure how long Gary would keep us. I'm here now," Kasey told him. "When do you need to leave?"

"I don't need to leave at all," Jace said. "Whenever you need to go, I'll go, too."

"Alright. Well, I have a show at seven, so I should probably be out of here by 4:45 or so, to make sure that I have time."

"4:45 it is, then," Jace said. "I brought lunch. Chinese food is good, right?"

"Thanks," Kasey said gratefully. "And Chinese food is great."

They stayed there as long as they could. For a while, they talked about the Moana and some of the Disney conspiracies, just for fun. After they exhausted those topics, Jace told Kasey all about his rehearsals with Spongebob. 

"The cast is great, and I'm really excited about it," Jace said. "I think that we have a really good chance of Tony nominations this year, and I'm pretty sure we'll win Best Musical."

"When are you opening?" 

"We go into previews on November 6."

"So you're eligible for the Tonys this year?" Kasey asked.

"Yeah, we are."

"That'll be cool. Hopefully we'll both be there," Kasey said. Jace grinned.

"Yeah, I hope so. I really want to be Best Leading Actor, and I think I have a pretty good chance. Of course, I want you to be Best Leading Actress. That would be cool," Jace admitted.

Kasey wasn't quite sure how she felt about what Jace was saying. It was hard just knowing that both of their shows were up for nominations. Either way, she knew that Jace would be hurt if someone from Frozen won Best Leading Actor, and that she wouldn't really like it if Spongebob won Best Musical. There wasn't a good way for this to end. It would be even worse if one of the shows didn't even get nominated for certain categories. 

"How's the show going?" Jace asked Kasey.

"It's pretty good, our preview last night wasn't great, though," Kasey said. "It didn't help that our director was backstage yelling at people the entire time. It's frustrating."

"That stinks," Jace said. "I'm sure it was fine. Sometimes directors are just looking for ways to improve, and they don't realize that what's already there is just as good."

"Exactly, but Gary's not my favorite director in the world," Kasey admitted.

"Maybe it'll get better once you open. He's probably in a time crunch to get everything sorted out the way he wants it. Once you open, you don't have as many chances to tweak the show. It's more just do it and go."

"That's probably true," Kasey said reluctantly. "I'm glad it's going well for you."

"Have you ever thought about what you want to do after Frozen?" Jace asked. 

"No, not really. We haven't even started- I can't imagine doing anything else for a while. Maybe in a year or two, then I'll move on," Kasey answered. "What about you, after Spongebob?"

"This may sound crazy, but I might want to audition for Hamilton," Jace told her. Kasey brightened.

"That would be amazing. You'd love it, I'm sure," she said enthusiastically. "Ensemble, or leading actor?"

"I want to be Laurens/Philip, but I don't know yet. Spongebob hasn't opened, either, so I'm keeping my options open. But yeah, I feel like I'd have to do Hamilton sometime in my life."

Kasey reached over for a fortune cookie. "It really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." 

"When's your opening night, again?"

"September 12," Kasey said. "It's still a long ways away, but I'm excited. I think it's going to do well, and hopefully not flop."

"I hope it doesn't flop, either," Jace said. 

Kasey cracked open her fortune cookie and pulled the slip of paper out. 

"People are naturally attracted to you," she read out loud. "Why are fortunes so strange?"

"I don't know, honestly," Jace laughed. He quickly unfolded his own paper. "Sometimes, not everything will go the way you think it will."

"Again, why are fortunes so strange?" Kasey asked.

"America," Jace said simply. Kasey laughed.

She checked her phone. "I probably should go. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"For sure," Jace said, kissing her on the cheek. "Have a great show." 

"Have a good night, Jace," Kasey said. She quickly gathered her stuff together, picked up her bag, and walked away, giving Jace one last wave before he disappeared out of sight.