a dream that you wish | kasey winslow |

Chapter 58

Kasey's eye was still sore, but she was finally cleared by her doctor to perform the week before Christmas. 

She officially 'moved in' with Jace, too. She still visited Carleigh at least once a week, but now she went to Jace's apartment after shows instead of the loft.

She could do most of the show without even remembering that she'd hurt her eye, but when the lights were at their brightest, she sometimes saw spots. It wasn't a huge deal, because Frozen was more of a lowkey show, light-wise. If Kasey had gotten hurt like that in Hamilton, she would have stayed home for at least another week. 

Quentin seemed extra careful when they did the Arendelle Waltz now, so Kasey wasn't even paranoid about being hit again.

After one of the last couple shows before the Christmas break, Jace took Kasey Christmas shopping. 

"I'm looking for gifts for my brother's family and my parents," Jace told Kasey as they walked down the street. "What do you think Ally would like?"

"You're asking me?" Kasey laughed. "I don't know her that well. You tell me what she's obsessed with, and then I'll try and help."

"She's actually really obsessed with you right now," Jace admitted. "Well, Hamilton, and Frozen, and you're her favorite in both."

"That's actually adorable."

"I know she would really love it if you came to our family's Christmas celebration," Jace said seriously. "And I know I would, too."

Kasey paused. "But your father..."

"I don't care what my dad thinks," Jace said, turning to face her. "If he can't deal with the fact that I've found an amazing girl, then he doesn't deserve to be listened to you. He has no right to judge who I love and who I don't. My mom loved you, and that's all that matters to me, and Jordan, too."

"I would hate to get in the way of your family. That's what's most important. I would give anything to have mine back- you can't just throw that kind of thing away for me," Kasey protested.

"Kasey, you're family to me, too. Come on, spend Christmas with me. We don't have to stay too long. You can meet my mom, maybe have dinner, and then we can go, okay? No staying the night if you don't want to."

"Ask your mum first, and then we can talk about it," Kasey relented. "I don't want to intrude, really."

"You wouldn't be, she's been bothering me for months to have you come over," Jace said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, they ended up finding gifts for most of the people that they wanted. At one point, they separated to find each other's gifts.

Kasey ended up finding a new backpack for Jace. She planned to put books and smaller gifts inside of it, including some Tangled and Harry Potter themed ones.

For Carleigh, she'd bought a white knit scarf and a beanie to go with it. She'd also ordered a necklace with 'the sky's the limit' on it, from one of the Hamilton fan accounts.

There wasn't a lot of other people Kasey needed to buy gifts for. This was the part of Christmas that Kasey hated. Looking for presents always reminded Kasey of the people that weren't alive anymore- her parents, her brother, Wendy and Paul... it felt like she'd lost more people than she'd found.

For the Frozen cast, she just got a little snowflake themed item for each cast member.

She bought Alaina a set of new paints. Alaina's talent at art surpassed what little drawing and painting classes that Kasey had taken in college. All she could do was encourage Alaina to keep going.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After they went shopping, Kasey had to return to the theatre for the second show of the day. She quickly put her hair up and put her wig on. She still had about an hour before places, so she decided to just wander around the theatre and talk to people.

"Hey, Kasey!" Jackson exclaimed. "Glad to see you're feeling better. How's that eye?"

"It's getting there, still not 100%, but it should be by January," Kasey told him. "How's it going on the relationship front?"

"I haven't worked up the courage to talk to her yet," Jackson admitted. "I'm scared that I'll ruin our friendship. What if she's into someone else?"

"She probably isn't, and there's no point in waiting for forever. That never did anyone any good. Ask her friends, or something, to make sure she's not in a relationship, and then just go for it. Or you could just be her friend," Kasey suggested. "That's how Jace and I started. As friends."

Jackson smiled. "Thanks, Kasey, I'll keep that in mind."

After speaking with Jackson, Kasey visited the ensemble girls. Jess was out this week. The entire month of December, at least one principal cast member was out every show, which was kind of annoying. Kasey couldn't really complain, though, because she was one of the ones who stepped out. 

Elizabeth Gray was on as Elsa, which Kasey was happy about, though. Elizabeth was an amazing singer, and her dancing was phenomenal. Kasey had heard that Elizabeth would have been cast as Elsa if Jess hadn't auditioned. Sometimes, the Broadway world was tough, but at least she was put into ensemble. Once Jess left, maybe Elizabeth would become the principal Elsa.

"How do you feel about tonight?" Kasey asked the ensemble girls. Some of them were putting on makeup, others were doing their hair. The room was dimly lit, which was nice for Kasey's eye. Someone was playing an orchestral version of the Tangled soundtrack from a speaker.

"I think it'll go really well," Allison Trudell said. "We're on top of it, and the pit is nailing the shows. Not that they don't usually, but it really hit me this afternoon of just how good they are. They're fantastic."

"True," Nicole Handel agreed. "I think it'll go well. It's nice to have you back, even though Jess isn't here now."

"Thanks," Kasey laughed. "You guys are amazing, you know that."

"Oh, we know," Kate Drescher, a swing and dance captain, joked, flipping her hair. "Just kidding, we love you, Kasey."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your half-hour call."

"Well, I better go," Kasey said. "Break a leg, girls."

"You too!" they all chorused. 

Kasey left the ensemble dressing room and quickly changed into her costume before refilling her water bottle and heading to the stage.