one last time.
***
With autumn firmly upon them, the skies began to darken by the early evening. At the Oasis, they had shows four nights a week on average, which had made scheduling a meeting with the lawyer somewhat difficult. The upcoming holiday season was particularly tricky, especially with the Halloween special they hosted each year.
Once back in his apartment, Teddy poured himself a glass of white wine from one of the mini bottles in the fridge. He picked it up, along with the letter, and made his way to the living room, where he settled into his recliner. After taking a sip, he set the glass down on the side table and looked at the letter in his hands. He ran his thumb over the writing.
Teddy Carbone.
Teddy took a fortifying breath before turning the envelope over and sliding his finger beneath the flap. The plain white paper inside was folded in thirds. Pressing his lips together, Teddy smoothed it out and began to read.
Dear Teddy,
If you’re reading this, I guess I’m not around anymore, and you’ve already heard the news. I’ll make this short and sweet because I’d rather not dwell on that fact, to be quite frank. The Oasis is all I have, and I’m leaving half of it to you. You’ve helped it flourish these last few years, and I trust you to keep its legacy in this community alive. My nephew Carter once was a part of the Oasis family. Even though he’s gone off and made his fortune, I’ve left the other half to him in the hopes he’ll rediscover such roots—and find there’s more out there to life than just the bottom line.
Thank you, Teddy, for all you’ve done over the years. Thank you for loving the Oasis like your own. Thank you for being my friend.
Richard
Through misty eyes, Teddy stared at the scrawled signature for a moment. He’d seen that name every two weeks on his paychecks, but today it held so much more significance.
Richard trusted him.
Teddy already loved the Oasis and what it meant for Heartsville, but now? Now it was his to nourish. His to groom. His to own.
He was going to do right by the Oasis.
Heartsville could count on it.
***
Teddy hadn’t grown up wanting to be a theater manager. He doubted many people did. His dream, circa eleven years old and a school trip to see the local high school’s production of Hello, Dolly! , was to be an actor. A star of the stage, treading the boards and making the audience laugh and cry, night after night. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t meant to be.
Teddy couldn’t act if his life depended on it. He simply didn’t have it in him to manufacture the artifice.
He’d had to readjust his dreams early on, which led to assisting with the production of several shows while he was still in high school. Theater management became the new dream, and finally— finally —he was good at it. He could still bring magic and awe to the world; he could still revel in the audience’s gasps and sighs.
He simply did it from behind the scenes.
Richard had hired him his senior year of college, and they’d seen the theater for what it was: not just a theater, but a place of community and camaraderie. A place where magic could happen onstage and folks could forget about their lives for a little while. A place for happiness and heartache and all the wonder of make-believe.
It was good for him.
The Oasis was good for him.
***
A couple of days after the meeting with Ruth, Teddy was going over some numbers at his desk in the marigold-colored office when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the display, he saw a local area code, but he didn’t recognize the number. After sliding his thumb across the screen, he lifted the phone to his ear.
“Hello?” he said cautiously.
“Mr. Teodoro Carbone?” the woman on the other end asked. Her voice was clear and her pronunciation of his decidedly Italian-infused name was remarkably accurate.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Mr. Carbone, I’m calling from Carter Monroe’s
***
With autumn firmly upon them, the skies began to darken by the early evening. At the Oasis, they had shows four nights a week on average, which had made scheduling a meeting with the lawyer somewhat difficult. The upcoming holiday season was particularly tricky, especially with the Halloween special they hosted each year.
Once back in his apartment, Teddy poured himself a glass of white wine from one of the mini bottles in the fridge. He picked it up, along with the letter, and made his way to the living room, where he settled into his recliner. After taking a sip, he set the glass down on the side table and looked at the letter in his hands. He ran his thumb over the writing.
Teddy Carbone.
Teddy took a fortifying breath before turning the envelope over and sliding his finger beneath the flap. The plain white paper inside was folded in thirds. Pressing his lips together, Teddy smoothed it out and began to read.
Dear Teddy,
If you’re reading this, I guess I’m not around anymore, and you’ve already heard the news. I’ll make this short and sweet because I’d rather not dwell on that fact, to be quite frank. The Oasis is all I have, and I’m leaving half of it to you. You’ve helped it flourish these last few years, and I trust you to keep its legacy in this community alive. My nephew Carter once was a part of the Oasis family. Even though he’s gone off and made his fortune, I’ve left the other half to him in the hopes he’ll rediscover such roots—and find there’s more out there to life than just the bottom line.
Thank you, Teddy, for all you’ve done over the years. Thank you for loving the Oasis like your own. Thank you for being my friend.
Richard
Through misty eyes, Teddy stared at the scrawled signature for a moment. He’d seen that name every two weeks on his paychecks, but today it held so much more significance.
Richard trusted him.
Teddy already loved the Oasis and what it meant for Heartsville, but now? Now it was his to nourish. His to groom. His to own.
He was going to do right by the Oasis.
Heartsville could count on it.
***
Teddy hadn’t grown up wanting to be a theater manager. He doubted many people did. His dream, circa eleven years old and a school trip to see the local high school’s production of Hello, Dolly! , was to be an actor. A star of the stage, treading the boards and making the audience laugh and cry, night after night. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t meant to be.
Teddy couldn’t act if his life depended on it. He simply didn’t have it in him to manufacture the artifice.
He’d had to readjust his dreams early on, which led to assisting with the production of several shows while he was still in high school. Theater management became the new dream, and finally— finally —he was good at it. He could still bring magic and awe to the world; he could still revel in the audience’s gasps and sighs.
He simply did it from behind the scenes.
Richard had hired him his senior year of college, and they’d seen the theater for what it was: not just a theater, but a place of community and camaraderie. A place where magic could happen onstage and folks could forget about their lives for a little while. A place for happiness and heartache and all the wonder of make-believe.
It was good for him.
The Oasis was good for him.
***
A couple of days after the meeting with Ruth, Teddy was going over some numbers at his desk in the marigold-colored office when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the display, he saw a local area code, but he didn’t recognize the number. After sliding his thumb across the screen, he lifted the phone to his ear.
“Hello?” he said cautiously.
“Mr. Teodoro Carbone?” the woman on the other end asked. Her voice was clear and her pronunciation of his decidedly Italian-infused name was remarkably accurate.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Mr. Carbone, I’m calling from Carter Monroe’s
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