Adopting Janie

"God you are talking like my successor already," Elizabeth laughed. "Good night Professor Martin."

"Thank you and good night Professor Hampton."

Chase raced in the kitchen where Tony grabbed her and waltzed her round the floor and congratulating her.

Claire was on the house phone and cupping the mouthpiece called, "Go and get ready darling. Six people are already on the way and I have two more couples to call. Tonight we party. You call Shane."

Chase called Shane and had one of the best conversations she'd ever had with a man. He accepted her invitation to stay the night with her.

CHAPTER 4

The next day Chase told Jill Heinz, the director of the Founders Theater, that she would be resigning as from December 30.

Jill said, kissing her, "Congratulations. That tells me you won the job at Arden."

"Yes and thank you."

"Well you shall be in charge of our winter production. What do you suggest?"

"What about a pantomime?"

"Some years ago we dropped pantomimes because some theater supporters disliked them while even more didn't like the Christian bias by the theater."

"Oh."

"Come on Chase, this is you chance to say goodbye with a flourish. Think."

"I already have it in my head, something I've long thought I'd like to direct."

"Oooh, this sounds promising."

"Oliver Twist with an all female cast."

"Omigod. The question is will out community cope with that bias and tinkering?"

"We are theater Jill."

"Yes," Jill sighed, "but with my role goes politics."

"Then call a combined meeting of the management board and the board of trustees, briefing both chairmen."

"Good idea. You'll have to be there to justify you rather radical change in casting."

"No problem."

The meeting was held on Sunday afternoon and Jill was given approval to proceed and ended up with a generous budget. Chase had been convincing saying their theater had a tradition of doing things by the book but was that really encapsulating the true spirit of theater. Noting that two-thirds of people at the meeting were women she smiled and said, "And isn't is about time we showed this community the astonishing versatility of women in theater?"

The woman applauded, giving the guys no chance of muttering about demonstrating the versatility of male actors.

The following Saturday morning Celeste Talbot, the niece of the president of Arden College, arrived with her sister Brooke and a woman on the right side of forty.

"Hi Miss Martin. I suppose you won't remember me."

"No I'm sorry I have no idea who you are Celeste."

The two girls laughed and their stepmom frowned.

"This is Brooke whom you know and this is our stepmom Tracy.

"Hi Brooke and hi Tracy, welcome to the Founders Theater. I'll show you around. Oh Celeste it's no business of mine and you might want to tell me that but I'm an educator and that's what I do. Have you thought of calling Tracy your mother when introducing her like you just did? She hasn't committed a crime and it won't devalue the standing your mother has for you two girls. It's just a thought."

Celeste flushed and Tracy looked rather shocked, and watching Celeste Chase thought oh no she's going to hammer me verbally. But it was fine.

"I hear what you say Miss Martin or should I say Professor Martin. I shall think about it."

"Yes and I will too, Brooke said. "I accept your point that our stepmom has committed no crime in marrying daddy. We all have been rather tip-toeing in respects of this relationship."

"Where do you hail from Tracy?" said Chase, taking Brooke's arm and leading her into the theater.

"I was raised in Hawaii and have lived here three years. I'm director of the Professional and Business Association and that's how I met Brooke's and Celeste's father who was immediate-past president when I gained that position."

"So I know where to come when I require a tutor for hula-hula dancing?"

They all laughed and Tracy said she would be hopeless in that role. "But I've worked in stage-management and theater logistics."

Apparently that was a big surprise to her stepdaughters and they both said yes when Chase said the theater probably could make use of Tracy's experience in a voluntary capacity.

She then said, "Celeste and Brooke, go on stage and present a few lines and notice how superior are the acoustics of this theater compared with Arden's main theater."

Tracy followed Chase to the center of the eighth row from the front where the casting team usually sat.

Celeste stood still and delivered, saying this was one of her favorite quotes because it was unbelievable that it came in the time of William Shakespeare and in fact was attributed to him: "The fashion wears out more apparel than the man."

"Oh my voice had attained a veneer of richness I've never heard before Miss Martin."

"Thus spake the voice of a thespian gaining raw theater experience," Chase said, waving to Celeste.

Brooke was straight into it and was also quite comical in her expressions and gestures: "Bugs Bunny - the perfect employee. Never absent. Never late. Never changes the script. Doesn't have an agent. Never asks for a percent of the profit. Doesn't ask to have his relatives on the payroll."

"Oh I wouldn't require a microphone if I were acting in this theater."

Chase was half-stunned. She called, "Don't forget the audience as a body absorbs some sound waves from the stage Brooke."

"Brooke is very good don't you think?"

"Yes Tracy and with a lively mind, judging by the piece she chose to quote and quoted it perfectly I believe."

Chase didn't think it was the right time to say that in Brooke she believed she'd just found her Olivia Twist.

But two days later came a bombshell. Graham's Supermarket that traditionally sponsored the end-of-year production objected to the all-female theme and applied pressure and a second combined meeting was called.

Jill told Chase she believed the meeting would rescind its decision to approve the all-female play.

"Then I'll underwrite the production myself. I have plenty of money."

Jill said she was sorry but that would risk putting the theater in conflict with strong community feeling. "This is something I have mentioned to be before. It's politics."

Chase spent hours reading the database of contemporary plays and finally chose one by a part-time playwright Phyllis Good and negotiated to stage the play.

The meeting rescinded it's earlier decision by a narrow majority and Jill said Chase had come up with an alternative production and Chase read the résumé and everyone agreed it was a safe play and would interest many people.

"I want the current budget for the end-of-year production to stand unchanged," Jill said. The meeting approved that without discussion.

The next day Chase called the playwright, a company accountant, and arranged to see her next afternoon at 4:00 for however long the meeting would take. Chase caught an early morning flight next day for the 800-mile journey and booked into a hotel. The meeting with the excited playwright, the play having only been played once before, was long but Mrs Good approved of almost everything Chase the director had put to her.

"You are very good Chase," Phyllis said. "I feel you have enhanced my work with your condensations and interpretations. I agree it flows better and that a two-hour play of this nature would have the audience becoming restless."

"Thanks for allowing me to place slightly more pivotal emphasis on Julia," Chase smiled over their late dinner. "She's the only one of these very emotional female seniors who actually sees light at the end of the tunnel. We will be promoting this production to schools and colleges and I believe that will ensure we have a sell-out season. I'll send you opening night ticks for you and your family Phyllis. "

Chase of course had earlier picked Celeste at her choice to play Julia and wanted the part to be a good fit for the beautiful young woman. Although the character Fleur was the leader of the group her shallowness would be allowed to show, making Julia's intelligence paramount in helping the group to graduate with emotions in reasonable control and all of them rising above post-graduation depression for the feel good ending audiences expect. She was unhappy at been thwarted to present an all-female version of 'Oliver Twist' but decided she'd try to interest Arden College into staging it next year.

Chase had discussed her contract with the college authorities the day after her appointment and had signed it. She returned home to find her letter of appointment and next day caught a flight to visit Peter to talk to him about Janie. She'd decided against making this approach accompanied by an attorney because that would probably antagonize Peter. She booked in at a hotel, not advising Jennifer she was in town.

Peter answered the door that evening reasonable civilly, inviting her in and saying she must have got that job otherwise she'd have no reason for visiting.

He'd put on weight, was clean-shaven and looked much healthier than when Chase had last seen him.

A woman sprawled on the sofa in the living room looked quite at home.

"Rachel this is Chase, the woman I told you about who wants Janie."

Peter didn't say who Rachel was but she elaborated. "I'm Peter's fiancée and I teach grade 3. Peter has sold this place and we are moving to an apartment that is unsuitable for children."

"That sounds very nice," Chase said, not knowing what else to say.

"It seems rather odd to me if you are living alone that you want to adopt Janie."

"Well Janie developed quite an attachment for me when I lived on this street and made a supermarket ad based around her to sell meat. It was hard work but she committed and we produced an excellent result."

"I agree. Peter has a recording of the ad. I'd actually call it brilliant. You appear very talented but that doesn't guarantee that you'd be a good care-giver with a child."

"Yes quite right Rachel. All I can say is I'm committed to make the effort, I have a guy I date who knows about Janie and Janie knows about him and I live with an older professional couple who already are prepared to act like foster grandparents to Janie but I would expect to buy a house in a suitable area near a desirable school."

"So you have sufficient money to do that?"

"Yes more than sufficient."

"Well that's me done. Peter I'm confident about this woman. I have the impression she is more than capable of doing anything she sets out to do."

"Right then that's it," Peter said.

Chase was beginning to shake and couldn't stop it.

"You get your attorney to contact my attorney. Here's her card," Peter said handing it across. "I'll call her early in the morning to expect a call on this matter. I will do all that is required but expect you to pay all costs."

"I'm prepared to do that but is that fair?"

"If you want Janie you'll think it's fair," Peter said frowning.

"Yes all right. I agree to pay all reasonable legal costs involved in this process."

"That's still haggling."

"I have no way of controlling your costs. I want them to be reasonable and if there is a dispute we can go to arbitration."

Peter looked at Rachel and she nodded.

"I agree," he said. "Now unless there is something else you can leave."

Both remained seated when Chase stood and said good evening. She was left to let herself out.

She walked a short distance and stopped and called a cab. She then called Jennifer.

"Hi I'm on my way over if that's convenient. Don't wake Janie. Peter has said yes, to get our attorneys talking."

"Omigod, I'm so happy for you. Hurry on over and have some drinks with us."

Chase called Shane and he sounded quite shocked saying no when Chase teasingly asked was he with another woman.

"I've had a meeting with Janie's father. He's agreed to an adoption and left it to me to activate the attorneys. The process could take time, perhaps a year, even longer."

"That is wonderful news Chase. How about this: would if help the cause if we moved in together?"

Chase didn't know what to say. She wasn't even sure she could talk at that moment.

THE END