Early the next morning,
Hannah showed up for work far earlier than necessary.
“Hannah, you don’t have to come in so early.
Just arrive around eight and help me look up things like the financial condition and credit ratings of the companies I ask about.
Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No.
I was so excited about coming to work that I rushed out the door without eating.”
“Then have breakfast with me.
Scrambled eggs, crispy toast, ketchup, and strawberry jam.
That sounds good, right?”
“Huh?
How did you know that,
Mr.
Luke?”
For a moment,
I panicked.
“Just a feeling.
My own special intuition.”
It wasn’t intuition.
Back in the Room of Choices, whenever Hannah came to my house, that was always the breakfast she liked— scrambled eggs, toast, ketchup, and strawberry jam.
and prepared the breakfast Hannah loved:
toast cooked until crisp, scrambled eggs that were just a little on the salty side, and a bottle of tomato ketchup.
As for me,
I fried bacon until it was crispy, sprinkled lightly with black pepper, and made a sunny-side-up egg with just a little salt.
Then I ate it with toast.
Hannah seemed genuinely delighted with the breakfast I served.
“Can I come every day and eat breakfast here?
You can deduct ten dollars from my pay for it.”
“There’s no need for that.
Let’s just eat together every morning.
I eat alone every day anyway, and it gets boring.
You can stay for lunch too, then head home after work.”
“Then I’d love to.
Thank you, boss!”
Boss?
Hardly.
At least Hannah’s living expenses seemed like they’d be taken care of for now.
But how exactly was I supposed to make her a star?
What was the Room of Choices planning?
“Hannah, what do you do after work these days?”
“Recently,
“Oh?
An acting academy?”
“Yes.”
“Have you heard anything about upcoming auditions there?”
“Huh?
How did you know that?
There’s an audition scheduled for next week.
I’m still not very confident, but I want to give it a try for the experience.”
“What role is it for?”
“It’s a small role.
A maid.
Maid Number Two.”
“There’s no such thing as a role being too small or too big.
If you have a chance to get cast, you should go for it.
Bring the script with you tomorrow.
I’d like to see what kind of role it is.”
“Okay.
I will.”
From what I’d experienced with the Room of Choices, I had a feeling this audition would be a major turning point in Hannah’s life.
Then the question became:
How could I turn this into the opportunity that would make Hannah a star?
Once she brought the script tomorrow,
I’d read it and think it through.