Zac woke up and he was instantly panicked because he felt like he was stuck to the bed. He tried to turn over but painfully realized that his scrapes had started to scab over and the skin had tightened. He couldn’t move.

"Ike! Tay!" he bellowed in a panic.

"What?" Taylor opened the door and burst into his room followed quickly by Ike with the same question. "What?"

"Help me! I can’t move!

Ike pulled the covers off and surveyed his brother. "Tay, get on the other side and we’ll partially lift him out of bed." They got into position and tried to lift their brother to his feet but Zac howled and his eyes filled with tears.

‘What is going on in here?" Diana demanded from the doorway.

"We’re just trying to get him on his feet," Ike explained.

"Oh, honey," Diana exclaimed, and by this time Walker was hovering by her shoulder.

"Maybe if we put him in a warm shower, he’d loosen up," Walker suggested.

"Somebody figure out something quick!" Zac yelled. "I gotta go."

"My department," Walker said stepping forward. "You boys can go back to bed," at Ike’s frown at his choice of words he amended his statement. "You guys, can go back to bed, I’ll help Scrape Boy here."

"Dad!" Zac wailed.

"Well, Zac," Walker exclaimed as he helped his son to his feet, ignoring his wails and complaints. "This is what’s called paying the piper. You did the deed, now you pay the price for it."

* * * *

"Dad, why? We’ll be out there in about eight days. Why wreak what’s left of our time at home? Taylor demanded.

"Because you called them," Walker said patiently. "We had until the first of the year to make a decision, but you jumped the gun and called them. Now they want to talk to you."

"Can’t you put them off?"

"Either you’re going to commit to this or not. Make up your mind, son," Walker said sternly.

"I’ve agreed to do it. I just don’t want it to wreak our vacation." Taylor said slightly defensive at his fathers sharp tone.

"If you had talked to me before you called this could have been avoided. As it is, it will only take two days. We’ll fly out in the late afternoon, get a good night’s sleep and then you’ll be able to spent the next day at the studio with their people. Then we’ll fly back that evening," Walker planned.

"Okay, if we have to go, we go," Taylor said with resignation. Taylor left his fathers office and stormed downstairs. He picked up Zac’s drumsticks and beat away at the drums for a few minutes before expending all his anger.

"What’s your problem?" Ike asked looking up from his guitar.

"Nothing..." Taylor grumbled shaking his head.

Ike turned back to his guitar.

"Only..." Taylor said causing Ike to look up again and then he shut up again. Ike looked down and strummed a note.

"It’s just..."

Ike rolled his eyes upward. "Either spit it out or shut up, Tay!"

"Excuse me!" Taylor snapped. He flopped down on the couch beside his brother and then leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. Then he raked his fingers through his hair and leaned back against the cushions. "Dad told me last night that he wasn’t mad at me for calling the producer. He said it was my decision to make. Only..."

"Only?" Ike prompted.

"Only he’s got attitude, man! Major attitude," Taylor complained.

"Well what do you expect?" Ike asked. "You’ve been saying for weeks that you didn’t want any part of it and all of sudden you change your mind. You didn’t talk to him or Mom or any of us. You just decided to do it, and everyone is supposed to go along with it."

"Well it was my decision and I just changed my mind. What’s wrong with that?"

"Just the little fact of how it’s going to affect the whole family. Dad has to worry about contracts and schedules and deadlines and a million details so that we don’t have too. I think you’re being a little selfish."

"You told me to do it!" Taylor protested.

"And, I think you should do it," Ike reiterated. "I just think you went about it the wrong way. Tay, we’re supposed to be working as a team. What one of us does affects everyone else and in the process that affects the family. We’ve been over this crap a zillion times."

"Well stand me up against the wall and shoot me!" Taylor snapped.

"Oh, stuff it!" Ike exclaimed. "If you’re going to make grown-up decisions you’d better start growing up. Have you given any thought at all about what this will do to our schedule for the new album? They want to start filming in the middle of January. We will barely be started with the preliminaries of the album. Just working on the album alone is a twelve to fourteen hour day. How are you supposed to fit making a movie into that schedule without it affecting us. Our first commitment has to be to the record label."

"Then how come everyone wanted me to do it? When I was saying no, everyone was acting like I was retarded or something. Now that I’ve decided to do it, suddenly everyone is against it!"

"We’re not against it, Tay," Ike exclaimed. "There are just a ton of details that have to be worked out. You should have talked to us first."

"Can’t a guy do something once in a while without a whole family caucus? What happened to spontaneity?" Taylor demanded.

Ike looked over at his brother and raised an eyebrow. "Spontaneity doesn’t exist when you become a business."

"Terrific! That sucks!" Taylor grumbled. "You know I’m going to do something spontaneous right now! I’m going back to bed!" And with that statement he bounded to his feet and left the room in a huff.

Ike watched his brother leave and just shook his head. His brother was his best friend but Tay was moody and sometimes he just didn’t understand him at all.

"Don’t be mad at Tay," Jessie said sitting up from the floor where she had been lying on the carpet drawing pictures on a tablet. She scooted back until she was leaning up against her brother legs.

"I’m not mad at him," Ike said.

"He’s just sad right now and he doesn’t want anyone to know it," Jessie explained.

"Sad?" Ike questioned surprised at his sisters’ insight.

"Uh huh," Jessie nodded. "That’s why he’s so grumpy. Maybe if we had gone out to the movies like we planned last night he’d be in a better mood."

"You guys didn’t want to go without Zac. That’s why we didn’t go," Ike reminded his sister.

"I know," Jessie said. "But, we couldn’t leave Zac behind when he was feeling so bad, but that was last night."

"So... you suggesting that we do something together today?" Ike concluded.

"Uh huh," Jessie nodded. "Something that will take Tay’s mind off of his friend. Maybe a basketball or soccer game or hiking or something."

"You know, Jes," Ike said giving his little sister a hug. "You are a great sister. A long, hard hike is exactly what Tay needs. I think I’ll take him up to the Rose Rock Cavern."

"Can I go too?"

"Jes, that’s almost a seven mile hike. Do you think you can do it?"

"Yes. Please? It was my idea," Jessie claimed.

"Okay, go get dressed and dress warm, long johns, mittens and all," Ike suggested.

Ike went into the kitchen to find his mother. "Mom, I want to take Tay and Jessie for a hike up to the Rose Rock Cavern. Can you fix us some sandwiches?"

"I think that’s a great idea," Diana agreed. "Your father and Tay do seem to be getting on each others nerves today. Are you sure about taking Jessica? She’s kind of little for that long hike."

"It was her idea and we’ll take it easy," Ike said grinning. "The most important thing is to get Tay out of the house and thinking about something besides Arleen dying and Dad being mad at him."

"Your father is not angry," Diana denied. "He’s just a little overwhelmed with details at the moment. Has Tay agreed to go?"

"He doesn’t know yet, but he’s going." Ike promised. 

Ike went upstairs, straight into his brothers’ bedroom. Tay wasn’t in bed, but on the computer. Zac was square in the center of Taylor’s bed taking advantage of the full sized bed, since his own was a twin. 

"Tay, get dressed. We’re going for a hike up to Rose Rock Cavern."

"No, I’m not," Taylor growled.

"Aww... why do you have to go today?" Zac complained. "I want to go."

"You can barely walk," Ike said. "Tay, get dressed. Jessie wants to go for a hike and we’re taking her."

"You take her," Taylor said not even looking up from the computer.

"You’re going," Ike ordered. "Jessie has gone along with us for the past three years, regardless of what she’s had to give up. Dress warm or sulk and go as you are and freeze, but you’re going." With the last warning, Ike turned on his heel and went into his own room to change clothes.

Taylor shut down his computer. It was very seldom that Ike pulled older brother rank on him, but this was one of those times and he knew by the tone of Ike’s voice that he would lose the argument. And, it was true. They owed their whole family for going along with them for the last several years. He dove into his closet to find the appropriate clothing to wear on a winter hike. 

"I don’t know why you guys can postpone the hike until I can go?" Zac complained.

"You can go in my place," Taylor suggested snidely although he knew fully well that that choice was not a possibility.

"Well I would, if I could," Zac moaned.

"Zac, why don’t you go back to your own room," Taylor suggested not wanting to deal with his younger brother.

"Awe... Tay. You know Mackie and Avie are in there most of time. I don’t get any peace and besides, we don’t have a VCR in my room."

Taylor looked over his shoulder at his brother who seemed to have taken permanent residence in his bed. "Okay, you can stay, but don’t eat in my bed!"

Zac looked pleased, and he knew he was going to ignore the second request. After all, he was confined to bed, so where else was he supposed to eat.

* * * *

The hike up to the Rose Rock Cavern wasn’t particularly difficult. The cavern was located in a state park about thirty miles outside of the city limits. From where they parked the car, it was a three-mile hike to the cavern. Considering that they were in Oklahoma, there were no steep mountains to climb, only rolling foothills. It didn’t take very long for Taylor to lose his mood on the hike. Even though the temperatures were just above freezing, the sun was shining and their physical activity kept them warm. Ike and Taylor had smiled indulgently when Jessie had produced a huge set of bright red earmuffs to cover her ears. Thirty minutes into their hike, they were offering her bribes to share them with her. Their mother, knowing her sons well, had already thought ahead and hidden two sets of black earmuffs in the back pack. An hour into the hike, when they dove into the back pack looking for water and candy bars, they found the earmuffs and put them on gladly. 

The three-mile trek to the cavern took them over two hours because they took their time. It was a nice leisurely hike through the foot-hills and because it was winter they had the trail to themselves. When they finally got to the cavern they dug out their flashlights and entered the caverns to view the rose rock formations. Unique to the Oklahoma and Texas, rose rock was a soft sandstone like rock that was rose colored in hue and rose-like with its petal-like formations. Often sold at tourist shops it was a beautiful natural formation that was used to make paperweights and earrings and such. The Hanson family liked to see the formations in their natural state and they had found the Rose Rock Cavern years before. They had made the hike as a family several times before but always in the summer. When they had their fill of searching the caverns for the elusive rose rocks they returned outside to sit in the warm sun. 

"I’m hungry," Taylor exclaimed.

"Me too," Jessie exclaimed.

"Time for lunch then," Ike agreed and he unpacked the sandwiches and chips and fruit that their mother had packed for them.

After lunch Taylor and Jessie were lying back against a rock, literally basting in the sun.

"You know, Ike, I’m glad you made me come along on this hike. I think I needed to clear my brain and this hike has helped." Taylor said suddenly.

"Thank Jessie. It was her idea," Ike suggested.

Taylor turned over, grabbed his sister and got her in a huge bear hug that had her squealing and yelling in laughter. 

Ike smiled at the antics of his siblings as he packed up their trash. Taylor’s bad humor had totally disappeared. He did seem to have returned to his normal good-natured self, but that was Tay; he did bounce back quickly. 

"Hey guys, we need to start back," he suggested as he adjusted his earmuffs back over his ears and pulled his knit hat down over them. "I think it’s getting colder."

Halfway down the trail the sun disappeared behind a cloud in a sky that was becoming increasingly cloudy.

Squinting up at the sky, Taylor looked over his shoulder. "Ike, you didn’t happen to listen to the weather report before we left did you?"

"Actually, I did," Ike admitted. "Increased cloudiness and a chance of snow by nightfall. We’ll be home long before that starts, besides more than likely it will be rain anyway."

True to Ike’s word, they made it to the car just as the first drops of rain began to fall. They piled into the car. They put Jessie in the front passenger seat because she was shivering and they wanted her to be closest to the heater. Within a few minutes, as soon as she was warm, she fell asleep.

They pulled into the garage and as the door came down, Taylor jumped out of the backseat and opened the front passenger door. He lifted his sister out of the car and she didn’t stir out of her sleep. He carried her upstairs as Ike opened the doors for them and put her down gently in her bed. 

"That hike was a little too much for her," Ike said as he unzipped his sisters coat and pulled it off her. 

Taylor untied her shoes and pulled them off as Ike pulled her blankets over her. 

"I know you said the hike was Jes’s idea but I’m glad you made me go," Taylor whispered. "I guess I was out of line making that call without talking to Dad first."

"Why did you do it then?"

"I was afraid I’d lose my nerve or chicken out again," Taylor admitted. "I think I’d better apologize to Dad, too."

"That would probably be a good idea," Ike agreed. 

"And, Mom," Taylor added.

"Yup," Ike agreed nodding his head.

"Do you think I should include Zac in this frenzy of apologies, I’ve been snapping his head off too," Taylor asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"Naw," Ike disagreed with a grin. "Never, ever let Zac think he has the advantage. That’s could be dangerous. 

"I didn’t think so," Taylor agreed. "Bad idea."

"Speaking of ideas. Do you have any idea what you’ve let yourself in for by agreeing to do this movie?" Ike asked

Taylor shook his head. "No, but I’m going to find out soon enough." 

* * * *

When Ike walked into the house he was met with an almost eerie silence. Taylor and Jessica were sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs. His brothers’ small carry-on bag was lying on the floor. Both his brother and sister looked at him expectantly, as if he had answers for questions that hadn’t yet been asked.

"What’s up?"

"Dad’s got the flu," Jessica explained.

"Everything was all set and just about the time we were ready to leave, Dad started hurling," Taylor elaborated, not too delicately. "Mom’s worried about him. He’s worrying that we’re going to miss our flight, which we are. He tried to get in contact with Christopher but so far all he gotten has been his message surface. Dad wants Christopher to catch the concord and meet me in California. He says it’s too dangerous for me to go alone. Is that bunch of crap or what?"

"Call the airport and see if you can get a later flight," Ike suggested. "I’ll go talk to Dad."

Ike disappeared down the hall and Jessica opened a cabinet and pulled out a set of yellow pages.

They looked up the number for the airline and found out that there was another flight going out of Tulsa three hours later. Taylor changed the reservations.

Ike came back down the hallway. "Stay away from Dad. You don’t want to catch what he’s got!"

"What are we going to do?" Taylor asked.

"Go to Los Angeles," Ike said over his shoulder as he took the stairs two at a time. "I’m going with you. Can we get a later flight?"

"Already done," Taylor confirmed following on his brothers’ heels. "Dad’s going to let you go instead?"

"I am an adult, remember?" Ike exclaimed with a grin and at his brothers’ laugh, he made a face. "I had to remind him too! You got a problem with me going?"

"No, I think it’s cool," Taylor admitted with a gleam in his eye.

"Don’t even think of it," Ike warned with a threatening growl.

"Think what?"

"I don’t know yet," Ike speculated. "But you’re not screwing up on my shift. I’m responsible for getting you out there and back with no hitches and I’m serious."

"Okay, I hear ya," Taylor said rolling his eyes at his sooooo grown up sounding brother.

* * * *

"Do you see a dark cloud following me today?" Taylor asked as he shifted in the lounge chair and turned to look again at the screen that listed the flight departures times. He and Ike had arrived exactly one hour early for their flight, as suggested by the airport in order abide by their rules for early check-in and security. After waiting an hour and ten minutes, their flight had been cancelled. They had rebooked on the next flight but that was going to cause them another four-hour delay, and the airline wasn’t guaranteeing that there would be enough seats.

"Tay, would you relax and read or something. You’re always claiming you never have enough time to read. Take advantage of the delay," Ike suggested looking up from a notebook in which he was writing.

"Ike, how can they just cancel a flight like that? It isn’t right!" Taylor blustered.

"Do I look like an airline executive?" Ike demanded. "Read, write or draw. I don’t care, but quit whining!"

Taylor pulled the movie script out of his bag and started to reread it again from the beginning. They were sitting in a secluded area in the waiting area, and if they were spotted no one bothered them. Finally, after five hours of waiting and as many phone calls home to keep their parents informed, they boarded the plane with their carry-on bags. Ike leaned back in his seat to nap. Taylor simply started at the beginning of the script again for the fourth or fifth time; he couldn’t remember which, because he’d lost count.

It was only an hour and half flight, but with all the delays it was after midnight before they checked into their hotel. The desk clerk handed them their keys and handed Ike an envelope. 

Taylor opened the suite door and carried his bag inside. He opened the bedroom door to find two queen sized beds in one room. He threw his bag down on one of the beds and headed back into the living room space to raid the refrigerator. 

Ike was standing in the living room reading the letter from the envelope. 

"Tay, don’t eat or drink anything that’s going to put you on a sugar high," Ike warned looking up.

"Ugh?" was the unintelligible answer he received as Taylor popped his head out of the refrigerator his mouth stuffed with a candy bar.

"You have a 8:00 am studio call tomorrow morning," Ike explained. "There will be a limousine here at 7:00. That means we’d better hit the sack."

"You slept on the plane!" Taylor exclaimed laughing. "Ike you’re taking this ‘catching up on your sleep’ way to seriously."

"I storing it up," Ike said laughing. "But, I’m also serious, Tay. We’re going to have to get up at 6:00 am, so hit the sack!"

"My one chance with the Playboy station, and you want me to go to bed," Taylor complained but he was just teasing as he shoved what was left of the candy bar into his mouth.

The persistent ringing of the telephone penetrated through Ike’s sleep and he picked up the receiver on automatic pilot.

After speaking to the clerk he dropped the phone quickly. "Tay! Roll out. We overslept and limousine is waiting!"

"Jeez, I hate jet lag," Taylor grumbled as he crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, although the short flight really didn’t qualify him for that complaint. Twenty minutes later he and Ike stepped out of the elevator. They found their limousine, which wasn’t really a limousine but a van, and they climbed in the back as Ike apologized to the driver for holding him up.

"Don’t worry about it, believe me I’m used to waiting," the driver who identified himself as Doug explained.

"I hate being late for our appointment," Ike worried.

Doug laughed. "Don’t worry about, I’ve worked for the studio for eight years and no is ever on time unless they’re filming. More than likely by the time we get there, you’ll still have to wait."

"If that’s true, would you drive through the next McDonalds you see. I’m starving!" Taylor exclaimed.

Doug looked back over the seat. "Are you serious?"

"Serious about McDonalds or serious about starving?" Taylor asked. "Yes to both."

"What if the studio provides you with breakfast?" Doug asked looking at them through the rear view mirror.

Ike laughed. "Do we look like we need to pass up an extra meal? If they serve it, we’ll eat it."

They arrived at studio almost forty-five minutes late but their hunger had been satisfied. Doug dumped the fast food containers into a trashcan and led them to into an office building. 

The secretary looked up when they entered her office. "Buzz Mr. Grant and tell him at the Hanson brothers are here for their appointment," Doug informed her.

"Mr. Grant is running late. He should be here any minute," the secretary apologized.

Doug nodded at Ike and he and Taylor grinned. "Maybe I’ll see you later."

"Thanks," Ike and Taylor said in unison.

A dark headed man in his early to mid-twenties burst into office. He went directly to the desk and the secretary handed him a half a dozen telephone message slips. He gave them a cursory look and slipped them into his jacket pocket. He turned towards his guests and held out his hand. 

"Eddie Grant," the man introduced himself. "You’re Taylor, I recognize you from your picture. And, you’re one of the brothers,"

"Ike," Ike introduced himself.

"Wasn’t your father supposed to come?" Eddie asked.

"Our Dad came down with the flu at the last minute," Ike explained.

"So, you have power of attorney?" Eddie asked.

"This trip is for ‘show and tell’ only." Ike injected firmly having been briefed by his father. "Contracts have to go through our Dad and our agent who also happens to be an attorney. If you want to release the first offers, we’ll be glad take them back with us."

"Okay," Eddie Grant nodded. He turned and went back to his secretary’s desk and she handed him a clipboard. "Miss Harris would you call the boss and tell him that Taylor Hanson has arrived at the studio." He looked down at the agenda on the clipboard. "We have a full schedule today. The plan is to show you around the set, explain the setup and get measurements for fittings and get a screen test today. Are you up for it?"

"That’s what I’m here for," Taylor agreed.

"Exactly how much do you know movie making?" Eddie asked as he led the brothers out of the office. 

"Music video’s," Taylor answered.

Eddie nodded his head as he led them to a golf cart parked outside his office building. "We use these to run around the studio lot. They take up a lot less space and it keeps everyone from speeding around the lot. You’ll find movies are a whole different animal than videos. Videos are one or two days, hurried and hectic. Time tables for movies are anywhere from six weeks to the extreme of three or four years, and that’s just the pre-production. Post-production is another six months to a year or more."

Taylor looked over his shoulder at Ike who was sitting in the backseat. Eddie was rattling off and he seemed to be pretty much directing his comments at Taylor, somewhat excluding Ike. Somewhere in his one sided conversation Eddie admitted that he was the first assistant director. It was his job to show and explain the film business in four short hours. Next on the agenda, he would introduce them to director of the film, Phil Rosemont and then Taylor would do his fittings and screen test in the afternoon.

Eddie acted as host, taking them to the three sets that were still in progress of being built. He carefully explained the movie making process step-by-step to them taking them onto another set where a movie was actually being filmed. Some of the information they already knew having been around cameras and crews for their videos. Some of the information was new to them and Taylor and Ike showed a great deal of interest in anything that was new to them. They attracted very little attention on the studio lot. Occasionally, they would recognize an actor or actress and occasionally someone would give a wave of recognition in their direction. 

They had lunch in the commissary and after lunch Eddie took them back to the office building and introduced them to Phil Rosemont. Once the director joined them, they seemed to pair off. Taylor walked and talked with Phil while Ike paired off with Eddie. 

Phil Rosemont was a tall man in his early thirties with a full head of long black hair and striking features. With four successful films under his belt he was a top director for the Amblin Productions. He led them back over to a small studio that was set up for screen tests. Once inside that studio, both Taylor and Ike were stunned when Mr. Spielberg himself walked out of an office and shook their hands.

"This screen test is just to see what you look like on camera," Mr. Spielberg explained. "You can do a script read. This is more for the camera than for the acting."

"What does that mean. Script read, I mean," Taylor asked.

"You can have the script open and you can read from it," the famous director explained. 

"Oh, well I pretty much know it," Taylor admitted.

"Except for the swear words," Mr. Spielberg said with a smile. "I’ve already heard that your father has a problem with the swearing in the script."

Taylor grinned. "Well, I know those too, but I really wouldn’t feel comfortable saying them. I don’t know any kid that talks like that in real life."

"That’s an easy fix," Mr. Spielberg said. "I wish all our production problems were that simple. Eddie, take Ike into the control room. I want to talk to Taylor for a minute." 

After the two young men left the studio, the director put his arm around Taylor’s shoulder and led him towards a darkened set. "Why did you change your mind about doing the film?"

Taylor looked up sharply at the question. Although a lot of people, his family included, had talked to him about his change in plans, no one had asked him why. He hesitated and then answered. "A friend of mine advised me not to pass up opportunities. That sometimes you only get one chance and you’d better take advantage of it the first time around."

"I see. No burning desire to be a movie star?"

Taylor grinned. "Not yet. I kinda like the idea of acting but I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it."

Mr. Spielberg nodded his head. "That’s an honest answer. I have a feeling about you though, felt it the first time I saw you on video and I have very good instincts."

"And, if I blow it?" Taylor asked.

"It isn’t a matter of blowing it. We can get you help in learning to act. We can teach you the fundamental techniques. What grabs people in movies is emotion. Terror, love, pain, the whole human drama. It’s the human emotions that audiences react too. A movie without emotion is a documentary. The role of an actor is to portray publicly what the audience feels privately. If you don’t have the natural instincts to perform in front of a camera, well that can’t be taught. We’ll take it step-by-step. It might feel unnatural at first, but we’ll go over it together until you get the knack of it," Mr. Spielberg promised.

The director spoke gently. He pointed out the cameras and the angles and he explained the scene in detail. He was planning on filming two separate pieces of dialog. One was a scene where the character, Casey, Taylor’s part, discovers his best friend and surrogate brother in a closed garage with a running vehicle. The character Casey drags his friend out of the garage and tries to revive him. The short scene that Mr. Spielberg wanted to film was the few seconds of anguish and disbelief and pain as the young man realizes that his friend has tried to kill himself. The second scene he wanted was basically a loud, physical argument between Casey and his father when the young man doesn’t want to go in the same direction that his father wishes him to go. Both scenes were very emotional and Taylor was doing the scenes blind; meaning without props or other actors to feed him lines. The only other person in the room other than Taylor and the director was the cameraman. Before the first scene, Mr. Spielberg spoke quietly about pain of losing friends. He spoke of pulling up feelings of pain and frustration and Taylor was able to follow his directions easily. It took almost two hours for him to prep and finally film about three minutes of tape. When the cameraman shut the camera off and pulled the can out of the film box he pulled a strip of masking tape off a roll and with a black felt tip pen wrote across the tape. "Audition: T. Hanson".

Watching the cameraman hand the tape over to the director, Taylor had to ask. "Was I okay?"

The director looked over at the young man and smiled. "You don’t need to worry about blowing it anymore. You were excellent. I’ll expect a signed contract before the New Year. There is still a lot of work to be done before the filming begins. Hey, don’t look so scared."

"I guess I am scared. Wow! It feels surreal," Taylor admitted.

"Enjoy it," the director suggested gently. "Now the work starts."

"Tay, that was fabulous!" Ike exclaimed walking out of the control room with Phil Rosemont.

"You saw it?" 

"Yeah, there’s about twenty monitors in there. You were on every one of them."

"Very nice," Phil Rosemont added. "Welcome to the world of make believe."

"Thanks," Taylor exclaimed and then he could feel himself start to blush and he prayed that they wouldn’t notice.

It became apparent that Mr. Spielberg needed to leave for another appointment. He spoke privately with Phil Rosemont for a few minutes and then he said his farewells to Ike and Taylor. Eddie Grant rejoined them and handed his senior several urgent messages. They walked out of the building together. Mr. Rosemont was already resolving an issue on the phone. Mr. Rosemont shook their hands absentmindedly while he was still talking on the phone and then he interrupted himself.

"We’ll be contacting your people to finalize the contract. Mr. Spielberg was impressed. I was impressed. You’re a natural. I’ll see you in a couple weeks."

As Ike and Taylor walked to the limousine and Taylor whispered to Ike with a question. "We have people?"

"Sounds like it, although he might be surprised when he talks to just Chris and Dad," Ike quipped.

Taylor contained himself until he and Ike got inside the black limousine for the trip back to the hotel. Then he let go with excitement and jubilance. "Ike, I did it. I really did it!" he shouted.