Chapter 3
Samantha took a deep breath before entering the building. It looked like a warehouse on the outside, but once she opened the heavy steel door, she was pleasantly surprised. The brightly lit lobby opened to an elevator and a stairwell. In front of the elevator stood a sign stating auditions were being held on the third floor.
She took the stairs to give herself a few extra minutes to reign her nerves. Her flats barely made a sound in the empty stairwell. The stairs exited into a short hallway with one door on each end. She walked to the one labeled for auditions and slowly opened the door. Directly in front of her, she saw a long table covered by a black tablecloth. The woman seated at the table waved her over with a smile.
“Hi!” she greeted. “Please sign in on the sheet and take a form to fill out. When you’re finished with the form, bring it back to me and I’ll get it to the director. We’ll call you one at a time. The actual auditions will take place down the hall so feel free to find a space to stretch, warm up, meditate, or whatever else you do to prepare. Good luck.”
Samantha wrote her name on the sign-in sheet and picked up a form. She found an empty space along the wall and took a seat on the floor to begin filling everything out. The form was basically a job application. They wanted to know what role she was interested in, what range she sang in, theatrical experience, possible schedule conflicts, and availability.
After turning in the paperwork, she made her way back to her space and began stretching while quietly practicing her song. The room was filled with other hopefuls, many doing something similar to what she was doing.
“First audition?” a young brunette asked.
“No. But it has been a while,” Samantha admitted with a smile. “How about you?”
“Yes. I’m so nervous I could throw up. I’m Brittney.”
“Hi, Brittney. Samantha,” she said reaching out a hand. “You’ll be hooked. There’s nothing like it. Even if you don’t get called back, every audition gives you experience.”
“Everyone seems super nice. That makes me feel better.”
Samantha changed from her street shoes into her jazz shoes. “That’s the best part. You’ll meet so many amazing people.”
“Samantha Tate?” a voice interrupted their conversation.
Samantha picked up her bag and shoved her shoes inside. “Right here!”
“Right this way. We’re ready for you,” a young man said from just in front of the table.
“Break a leg!” Brittney called after her as she made her way over to the young man.
She followed him down the hallway and to the door on the other end of the floor. As soon as the door opened, she took a look inside. A long table, also covered by a black tablecloth, sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Four people sat at the table and watched her expectantly. They were difficult to see clearly due to the bright sunlight shining through the windows and the bright light aimed in her direction. Next to the area that she assumed would serve as the stage, a young man sat at a keyboard. She walked over and handed him her sheet music.
“Mrs. Tate?” A faceless man at the table called to her.
“Yes sir.”
He flipped through some papers. “What are you going to sing for us?”
“Stars and the Moon,” she answered confidently.
“Excellent choice. Whenever you’re ready,” the faceless man encouraged.
The keyboardist began playing at her prompt. Samantha closed her eyes and let herself feel the music coming from the keyboard. The sounds filled the large space and her voice joined in. She opened her eyes and began to move around the space as she sang. She looked at each person seated at the table even though she couldn’t see much of their faces and finished the last words of the song with her hands crossed over her chest.
“Thank you,” a voice said from the table.
Samantha tried to read into his tone, but it was pointless. She had no idea how well she had done. Following the man back out to the other room, she anxiously scanned the area for a place to wait. Doing some more stretches gave her something to do with her body besides pacing back and forth.
She had no idea how much time had passed when she finally heard her name called again. It could have been three hours or thirty minutes. There was no clock on any of the walls and her phone was on silent in her bag, as it usually was during auditions. It was best to avoid any outside distractions, and her phone would make it too easy to get lost scrolling.
“Yes, I’m here,” she answered, trying to put a face with the voice.
The young man from before stood in the same spot by the doorway holding a clipboard. She stood and followed him back down the hallway. When the doors opened this time, she was met with a group of ten people. Another young man introduced himself as the choreographer and requested their attention. He demonstrated a few moves which he asked the group to follow. After following that pattern a few times, they performed the dance to the table. Once finished, they were separated into smaller groups before performing the dance again.
When all the groups had finished, Samantha made her way back to the other room and waited. It had gotten dark outside by the time she entered the audition room again. Bright lights replaced the natural light from the windows.
“Do you have another song prepared that you can sing?” someone from the long table asked.
“Yes. I do,” she answered as she pulled another page of sheet music out of her bag and handed it to the person at the keyboard. She wasted no time getting started, once again allowing herself to be transported by the music. The song was slower in tempo, and she kept her eyes closed the entire time she sang.
“Okay thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
She had been dismissed. The adrenaline crash hit her before she made it to the elevator. It seemed to have gone well, but there was no way to tell. If they hated her, she wouldn’t have hung around for the choreography or sang a second song. When she stepped off the elevator and made her way out of the building, she took her phone from her bag to check the time, surprised to see several missed calls.
Bryce Tate was working late, once again. The basement of the community center could wait until he had more free time. Or, he could farm out some of the work to the specific trades. But that’s not what Bryce did. If the job was important to him, he preferred to do things himself, even if it meant late nights.
Volunteering at the community center as a teenager had kept him out of trouble, and he was determined to give back. He had purposely bid low to get the job renovating the basement of the center for expansion of the afterschool program. To stay under budget, he had to do some of the work himself. As a general contractor, he delegated a lot of things, but it still made for a long day when he started on the community center job after hours.
His phone had been ringing for the past ten minutes, but he had to wait until he was at a stopping point to pull it out of his front pocket to answer. He didn’t recognize the number, but he figured it was important if they called more than once.
“Hello?” he barked.
“Bryce Tate?” the woman on the other end of the line asked.
“Yeah? Who’s calling?” he asked with his New Jersey accent becoming slightly more pronounced.
“This is Stephanie calling from University Hospital in Brooklyn. We have Brandon Tate here, and his medical records have you listed as an emergency contact.”
Bryce froze in his tracks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard from his brother and was shocked to be listed as an emergency contact. “I am? What about his wife?”
“We’re having trouble reaching her. There’s been an accident. It’s really important that you come down here as soon as you can. Do you know where we are located?” Stephanie asked.
“Yeah. I’m on my way.” Bryce picked up his keys and headed for the stairs. “Is my brother okay?”
Stephanie hesitated for a brief moment before responding. “The doctor will speak to you once you get here. Do you have a way to contact Mrs. Tate?”
“No. I’ve never even met her,” he answered. He opened the door to his truck and threw his tool belt onto the passenger seat before climbing in.
“Okay. When you get to the emergency room ask for Stephanie. I’ll see you soon,” she said and hung up.
Bryce sat in the driver’s seat for a moment before starting his truck. He hadn’t seen his brother in over ten years. He only knew Brandon was married because a friend of his told him about the wedding. If the hospital was calling him, it couldn’t be good. He took a deep breath, started his truck, and headed for the Garden State Parkway North, toward New York.
Traffic was light, so he was able to make it to the hospital and park within half an hour. Showing up as next of kin made him extremely uncomfortable. Only a loved one should be making important medical decisions. Cursing under his breath, he made his way across the parking garage toward the hospital entrance. It seemed harsh that he didn’t consider himself a loved one to his only living relative, but it was his reality.
Brightly lit signs pointed the way to the emergency department. His careful steps down the cool white corridor eventually brought him to the entrance to the emergency room. Rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the tension, he pushed the metal button to open the door.
Approaching what appeared to be a receptionist, he asked for Stephanie. The woman gave a tight smile before picking up the phone and dialing a few numbers. She spoke quietly into the phone and then informed him that Stephanie would be with him shortly. Instead of sitting in one of the chairs offered, he paced in front of the desk while he waited. He knew in his heart his brother was gone.
“Mr. Tate?”
He looked up to find a petite redhead wearing black scrubs. She reached out a hand once he met her gaze.
“Stephanie Miller. Please come with me,” she said before turning on a heel and heading down a hallway.
Bryce didn’t bother to ask her any questions. He knew someone would tell him everything soon enough. He silently followed as she turned down a few different hallways until she stopped at a room labeled “Family Room.” Another bad sign.
“Please have a seat, and the doctor will be in to speak with you shortly. I’ll go let him know you’re here,” Stephanie said with a gesture toward a section of chairs.
“Wait,” Bryce said and waited for her to turn around. “Did you get in contact with his wife?”
“No, we’re still trying. We couldn’t leave a voice mail because her mailbox is full, but I’ll keep trying. There’s a patrol car outside of her building in case she makes it home before we reach her by phone.”
“Wow. Okay. That’s not a good sign,” he said mostly to himself.
“The doctor will be out to speak to you,” she replied before rushing from the room.
Bryce didn’t consider himself a nervous person, but he couldn’t stop pacing once he arrived at the hospital. He was too wound up to sit down. Being at the hospital felt wrong. He didn’t belong there and felt like an imposter sitting in the room where so many people received devastating news about their loved ones; where families waited anxiously while doctors and nurses did everything they could to save a life.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. In walked two men wearing white coats over their blue scrubs. The first man was tall with salt and pepper hair and a kind smile. The other one was young and looked terrified. He figured him for a med student.
“Mr. Tate?” the older one greeted as he reached out a hand. “I’m Dr. Kimball. This is Dr. Carter.”
Bryce shook their hands. “I’m assuming my brother didn’t make it.”
“Your brother was involved in a very serious car accident. There was extensive damage to the vehicle, and he was unconscious when the paramedics arrived,” Dr. Kimball began.
“Wait,” Bryce interrupted. “His wife isn’t here. Maybe we should wait for her.”
“Are you two close?” the doctor asked.
“Actually, I’ve never met her. I just feel like I shouldn’t even be here. Isn’t she next of kin?”
Dr. Kimball sat down in a chair and motioned for Bryce to sit in one of the seats across from him. “If you want me to wait for her I can, but you are listed as his emergency contact along with his wife. You are both immediate family members, so you have every right to be here.”
“Okay,” Bryce said before he hesitated for several long moments. “You were saying? Bad accident?”
“Your brother was involved in a very serious car accident. He was found unconscious at the scene and was in critical condition when the paramedics brought him in. His injuries were catastrophic. We worked on him and exhausted all our resources but, despite our best efforts, your brother died. I’m very sorry,” Dr. Kimball explained while holding Bryce’s gaze.
Even though he had been expecting the news, Bryce’s heart dropped upon hearing the doctor’s words and everything around him seemed to slow down including the doctors’ movements and speech. His brother was dead. He hadn’t spoken to him in ten years, but death was final. His heart immediately broke for the wife he’d never met.
“Would you like to see him?” the doctor offered.
“No. Not before his wife sees him. Have you guys reached her yet? She needs to know.”
“She should be on her way. We finally got her on the phone a few minutes ago. Will you be waiting for her?” he asked.
Bryce knew he had no choice. He had never met the woman, but he couldn’t leave her to face the devastating news all alone. If she arrived with a friend, then he would slip away. He was certain the funeral arrangements would be in the newspaper and all over the television.
“Yes. I’ll be here,” Bryce finally answered.
The doctors gave a quick nod before walking out of the room. Bryce returned to his new hobby of pacing the floor as he began to wonder what his brother’s widow was like. He hoped his brother at least treated her better than he treated other people. Was she the whole package, or did she just look good on Brandon’s arm?
While he remained lost in his thoughts, an attractive woman walked in and took a seat on the far side of the room. She had rich brown skin and wore her hair in long box braids. She was a natural beauty. Clutching her bag close, she focused on a section of the floor just in front of her feet. The set of her shoulders radiated anxiety.
“Mrs. Tate?” he asked hesitantly when he couldn’t recall ever hearing her first name.
She looked up from the spot on the floor and met his gaze. Several emotions flickered across her face before she acknowledged that he had spoken to her. Her honey-brown gaze held his.
“I’m sorry, have we met?”
“No. I’m Bryce Tate. Brandon’s brother.”
Her gasp was loud enough for Bryce to hear from across the small room. “His what?” she demanded. “Brandon was an only child.”
He was stunned. He was prepared to have been made out to be the bad guy, always assuming he would be the villain of the story. What he wasn’t expecting was for his brother to pretend he never existed. That shock was harder to take than learning his brother had died.
“He told you that?” he asked quietly.
Her gaze traveled his face before she answered. “Yeah. He told me that. But you look just like him, only your hair is darker. And a little longer. Is he okay?”
Bryce couldn’t bring himself to answer that question. “I’m sure the doctors will be out here soon.”
“Okay,” she replied softly. “I’m Samantha, by the way.”
Bryce walked over to her and sat down two seats away. “I’m sorry we didn’t meet under better circumstances.”
“Me too,” she breathed.
Bryce struggled to think of something else to say. Before he could come up with anything, the door opened, and Dr. Kimball walked back in. He was alone. His gaze went back and forth between Bryce and Samantha.
“Mrs. Tate? I’m Doctor Kimball.”