Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
JULIET
J uliet jumped at Eliza Parker’s dramatic announcement. The spunky blonde baker sure knew how to make an entrance. As kids, Juliet appreciated and admired Eliza’s outgoing, over-the-top personality. She’d made her feel welcome the very first time she’d visited her aunt in Poppy Creek.
But today, she wished Eliza hadn’t come on so strong. Poor Nate looked ready to barrel onto the battlefield. His hands balled into fists, and his blue eyes darkened like the ocean at nightfall. She’d never felt safer or more protected, and yet she suspected Eliza’s so-called emergency wasn’t really an emergency at all.
“What’s wrong?” Cassie asked calmly, confirming her suspicions.
“My mom just called with the worst news,” Eliza lamented. “The costumes for the Christmas pageant arrived, and instead of Victorian England, they’re Elizabethan. Elizabethan, Cass. It’s a disaster!”
Nate’s gaze darted from Eliza to Cassie then back to Eliza again, clearly confused. His shoulders relaxed slightly, and his fists unclenched.
“The middle school is performing A Christmas Carol at the end of the month,” Cassie explained.
“The whole play is ruined!” Eliza threw up her hands.
This time, Nate glanced at Juliet with an expression that asked, Do you understand what’s happening?
She gave him a reassuring smile, bolstered by her familiarity with flamboyant personality types like Eliza’s. While her mother rarely showed emotion, her father—the more artistic soul—had quite the theatrical flair. He’d once wept actual tears when a butterfly landed on the tip of his pen during one of his poem-writing sessions. Apparently, the butterfly had given his poem its approval. On another occasion, he’d flown into a state of panic when he received the wrong Moleskine notebook in the mail. Something about the margin size. It had taken her mother twenty minutes to calm him down.
When faced with melodrama, she’d learned it was best to remain calm and offer solutions. “What if you did a reimagining?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” Eliza paused her frantic pacing, her curiosity piqued.
“You could do a mashup of Dickens and Shakespeare,” Juliet explained. “You could still perform A Christmas Carol , just set it during the sixteenth century.”
“Huh. Could we do that?” Eliza frowned, as if she wasn’t quite convinced the idea would work.
“Sure! You’d have to make some adjustments to the script to account for the language differences, but you could keep the storyline the same.”
“I love it!” Cassie beamed. “It’s a unique and fresh take on a classic. It sounds like the perfect solution, don’t you think, Eliza?”
Her eyebrows knit deep in thought, Eliza ruminated on the suggestion.
Juliet held her breath, surprisingly invested in the outcome of a children’s Christmas pageant she’d probably never even see. Most adaptations of Charles Dickens’s masterpiece tried to stick as close to the source material as possible. A Muppet Christmas Carol —her favorite film version of the story—had added a narrator, but that was the biggest departure she’d seen. A change in the time period could be interesting. But would Eliza go for it?
“I guess it could work,” Eliza said slowly. “But rewriting the script seems like a lot of time and effort. And that’s assuming we can find someone who knows how to do it.”
“It shouldn’t take too long. Maybe a day or two,” Juliet offered, then realized her mistake.
Cassie met her gaze, her eyes shimmering and hopeful. “You’re a writer, aren’t you?”
Uh-oh . Why had she opened her big mouth?
“Yes, but not a playwright. I’m a novelist.” Barely . Could she even claim that title if she didn’t finish her novel?
“Do you think you could make the necessary adjustments to the script for us?” Cassie asked.
“Well…” She hesitated. Yes, technically, she could. But did she have time? She glanced between Cassie and Eliza, who stared at her expectantly, as if the fate of the children’s pageant rested entirely on her shoulders. Could she let the kids down?
Suppressing a sigh, she offered them a smile. “Of course. I’d be happy to do it.” As she said the words, she realized tweaking the script did sound like a fun project. And much easier than penning her pièce de résistance.
While Cassie and Eliza effused their gratitude, she caught Nate watching her with a spark of curiosity. He looked surprised, but in a good way, as if he’d seen her in a new, positive light. Why did the possibility make her toes tingle?
“What about the sets?” Eliza asked suddenly. “They’re all Victorian England. They’ll have to be redone.” Worry crept into her voice, but Cassie continued to smile calmly.
“I’m sure we can make do with some minor modifications,” Cassie assured her. “Luke can get started on them tomorrow. I hate to impose during your visit,” she said, turning to Nate, “but if you’re free, I’m sure Luke would appreciate an extra set of hands.”
“I’d be happy to help,” Nate offered without hesitation. He really was an upstanding guy.
“Wonderful! Then we’ll see you both at the middle school tomorrow. Let’s say around 10 a.m.?”
“Both of us?” Juliet asked, unclear why her presence was needed.
“So you can look through the costumes in case you have to make additional character modifications,” Cassie explained, her eyes twinkling.
Juliet supposed that made sense. Maybe . She stole a glance at Nate.
He stared at the opposite wall, deeply engrossed in reading the chalkboard menu.
So, they’d be spending even more time together tomorrow. The dilemma should fill her with dread. After all, she had a deadline looming. And she very much doubted her editor would accept a Shakespearean rewrite of A Christmas Carol , even if it did have more literary clout than the mushy, feel-good stories Juliet devoured—and sometimes scribbled—in private.
Bottom line: she didn’t have time to go Christmas tree shopping or help with a middle school play. And she certainly didn’t have time to be distracted by a man like Nate.
And yet, the more time she spent with him, the more intrigued she became.