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sign.
    48
    FORGIVEN
    Katy twisted her expression, doing her best to look like she was concentrating, studying his every move. “I think I get it.”
    “It’s like this.” Rhonda looked at her. No question she was playing the moment.
    That much was obvious. She imitated Stan ley’s moves, but she ended with a flat hand—the paper symbol.
    “Yeah.” Katy gave a thoughtful nod. “I’m seeing it better.” She shifted her attention to Stanley. “Let’s play.”
    A gleam shone in Stanley’s eyes. “I’m ready when you are.” They both held their hands out, palms up. Stanley’s mouth was open a little, his eyes intense.
    “Ready… set.., go.” As he said “go” they both hit their hands three times with their fists,
    and when they finished Katy made the scissors sign.
    Stanley made paper.
    Rhonda let out a victory shout and raised her hands in the air. “Katy’s the winner!”
    For an instant Stanley’s face fell, and his body slumped for ward. But he recovered quickly. “You might be good at this, Katy.”
    She patted the audition papers in front of her. “I might be, but Rhonda and I need to get back to the calls.”
    “Just one more?”
    “No more.” Katy shook her head. “Goodbye, Stanley.” He held his hand out again.
    “Not one more? Serious?” “Serious.” Rhonda wiggled her finger in his direction.
    “Bye.” He sighed. “Maybe next time, then.” He pointed straight at Katy. “You’ve got a future. I mean that.” Then he raised his fist in the air. “RPSers!”
    Katy and Rhonda watched him go, and not until he was out the door did Rhonda collapse on the table and burst out laugh ing. “RPSers? Is he kidding?”
    “No!” Katy buried her face in the crook of her arm. Rhonda’s laughter was contagious. “That’s how he acted when you left me with him at auditions.” She rolled her eyes. “What a friend.”
    “Auditions!” Rhonda stopped laughing, her eyes wide. She 49
    KAREN KINGSBURY
    stood and slid around to the other side of the booth, her face serious. “We have to finish callbacks.”
    “I’ve been trying to say that.” Katy gave her cell phone to Rhonda and studied the next audition sheet. “Mary Reed, she gets a callback.”
    “We’ve already called Tim.” Rhonda had caught her breath, and now she looked worried. “They won’t mind two calls, will they?”
    “Some shows we’re not as organized as others. Anyway, a callback’s a callback.”
    “Right.” Rhonda checked the list and tapped out the number on the cell phone. In a minute she’d informed the Reed family that Mary also was being called back for a second round of auditions.
    The callbacks continued until eleven thirty. Only a few of the kids hadn’t been home, including Sarah Jo Stryker. Katy was surprised. After the auditions for Tom Sawyer, Alice Stryker had answered the phone on the first ring, as if she’d been sitting next to it waiting for the call. Either way, they’d left a message.
    Sarah Jo would definitely be at auditions in the morning.
    Katy stretched her legs out in front of her. “I can’t believe we finished before midnight. Must be some kind of record.”
    “We need to be at the church in eight hours.” Rhonda downed the last of her espresso. “If I can sleep at all after this.”
    Katy was about to say something about the callbacks or Stanley, but Rhonda’s cell rang before she could say anything.
    “Who’d be calling this late?” Rhonda frowned and flipped open the phone.
    “Hello?”
    Almost immediately the expression on Rhonda’s face changed. Her smile faded and her eyes grew wide, her expression stricken.
    “What is it?” Katy leaned in, her voice a whisper. “What happened?”
    50
    FORGIVEN
    Rhonda shook her head, the color draining from her cheeks. “How… how’d it happen?”
    “What?” Katy stared at her friend.
    Rhonda held up her finger. There was another stretch of silence, while her expression grew from stricken to horrified. “No.” The