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about to get up and check on him when the curtain went up. The opening scene was an Amish farm. I thought the life-sizedwooden cow was a nice touch. Eve Shetler glided across the stage with her arms held wide as she breathed in the farm air. Since the theater was an old barn, that was very close to the true scent in the air. Her twirling movement was very Julie Andrews, and I wondered if she had seen
The Sound of Music
recently.
    Eve was beautiful, thin, and lithe; she seemed to float across the stage. When she sang, her voice came out as a perfect soprano.
    The scene changed to the inside of an Amish kitchen. Eve was cleaning and suddenly broke into song and dance. I had to cover my mouth to stifle a giggle. I think it was more the thought of an Amish woman tap-dancing in her kitchen that tickled my funny bone than anything else.
    â€œWhat am I to do? Do I stay with my family, or do I follow my heart?”
she sang.
    Okay, the cheese-o-meter was officially off the charts. I watched the members of the audience. They were wrapped up in Eve’s performance. I didn’t know much about acting, but even I could tell that Eve was a special talent and one that was wasted here in Holmes County. I hoped that this play would catapult her career. Wade had been right. She was a star.
    At the beginning of the second act, Eve’s young English beau, played by the handsome actor with a British accent, was alone onstage, singing about his love for the pretty Amish girl. One of his lines was “Could I give up my cell phone for her?” His native accent was gone onstage, replaced by a flat and spot-on midwestern twang.
    I nearly choked. Although Eve had owned the stage,this young actor struggled and would pause as he tried to remember his lines. For the first time, I wished I had sat beside my mother during the play just so I could see her reaction to his performance. I was sure I would hear about it later.
    Eve was lowered on a swing made to look like a tree limb while her beloved looked on. The ropes and pulleys groaned as they lowered her. All the while, Eve sang about the choice she must make. She sang with such passion that I couldn’t help but think she poured some of her own anguish about leaving her community into the song.
    As the number ended, Eve climbed back onto the swing and was lifted up into the air. We could just see her feet below the top curtain. She was nearly at the very top when a scream reverberated through the barn, and Eve’s tiny body smacked onto the stage with such force that a table overturned on the set. The unlit lantern sitting on top of it also fell and shattered into a thousand pieces across the stage.
    That was when I realized I’d lied to my mother. There was no way tomorrow would be calmer.

Chapter Five
    S creams filled the barn. Some of them might have been my own. The members of the audience were out of their seats as they all seemed to want a better look at the stage.
    â€œEveryone stay where you are!” Mitchell’s commanding voice broke into the sound of screams and gasps.
    Without thinking, I dropped the stack of programs I had been holding onto the ground in front of the hay bale and rushed toward the fallen actress. I ran up the side aisle and stopped just short of the stage.
    I prayed Eve was all right. She fell at least twenty feet to the hard stage floor, but there was a chance she could be fine. Through the crowd, I couldn’t see if she was moving.
    My Frenchie bolted from backstage and ran straight to me. He catapulted his black-and-white body into my arms. I caught him with an “Oof!”
    â€œIt’s okay, Ollie,” I murmured to the little dog and rested my cheek on top of his solid head. I tucked Oliverunder my left arm and approached the side of the stage where Eve lay. My steps were tentative. A part of me didn’t want to confirm whether she was okay, because I felt like I already knew the answer from the murmurs and whimpers