The Things We Choose to See(Marla) Ms. Blakely hung up the phone and put her head in her hands. Carrie Shepherd, who had the leading role, had badly sprained her ankle. Now her understudy, Gemma Parks, was also sick. The show was only two days away!

Her phone rang again. Nora Shepherd’s name showed on the screen. Nora was Carrie’s mother.

“Hello, Nora,” Ms. Blakely answered.

“Hi, Ms. Blakely. We just heard about Gemma. What is going to happen now?”

“I will figure it out,” Ms. Blakely struggled to keep the irritation she felt out of her voice. She had wanted a perfect show, and now it was going to be very difficult.

“Well, we might be able to help. Carrie’s sister, Charlotte, is only a year younger than Carrie. She could play the part. She knows all the lines, because she helped Carrie practice.”

“Has she ever been on stage?” Ms. Blakely asked.

“Well, only once, at our church play.”

“All right. Can you bring her to the practice building at 4:00 today? We’ll see if this will work.”

“Yes, see you at 4:00.”

Nora disconnected the call and turned to Charlotte. “Well, we can see Ms. Blakely today.”

Charlotte grinned with happy excitement and Carrie said, “Go for it, Charlotte. Maybe you’ll find out that you like being in plays, and next time we can be stars together!”

……

Ms. Blakely and her assistant, Ms. Watkins, watched as Charlotte delivered the lines. Her voice was clear, and she had stage presence that was nearly as good as her sister’s. Perhaps the show could go on after all. They ran through only one act and Ms. Blakely called Charlotte to her. “Let’s try a quick dress rehearsal. The dresses are quite heavy. We need to see how you do. Ms. Watkins, please take Charlotte to try on a costume. And put her hair up so we can see the whole effect.”

Several minutes later, Ms. Blakely watched as Charlotte returned to the stage. “Okay, let’s try just part of Act Two.” Charlotte took her place. When she stepped forward and turned, pretending to speak to another cast member, Ms. Blakely noticed that Charlotte’s right ear was deformed. She didn’t even listen to the rest of Charlotte’s lines. She could concentrate only on that ear.

“Well?” asked Nora as she placed her hands on Charlotte’s shoulder when the practice was over. She knew that Charlotte had done well.

“I’m sorry, but no.” answered Ms. Blakely in her habitual dismissive way.

“No?” asked Nora in surprise.

“Thank you for your offer to help, but Charlotte isn’t right for the part. Please leave the dress in the dressing room."

The mother and daughter walked away wordlessly.

“I don’t understand,” said Ms. Watkins. “Why did you say no?”

At first Ms. Blakely ignored her. Ms. Blakely spoke again. "Ms. Blakely?"

Ms. Blakely gave Ms. Watkins a stern look. “Did you not notice the ear? I can’t have that in any play that I direct.”

Neither noticed that Charlotte had returned to grab the jacket that she'd left on a chair and that she heard the hurtful words.

The show did go on. Ms. Blakely played the part herself, and the newspaper gave her praise for making the show a success despite not having the original star. She was touted as devoted and determined. Ms. Watkins read the paper with disgust. After that day with Charlotte, she had spent some time thinking. And she’d remembered other unkind things that Ms. Blakely had said and done. For the sake of the kids in the play, she’d stayed to help, but now she was officially done working with Ms. Blakely.

Later that year, Nora and her husband and their two girls moved. Both girls became involved in the local theater in their new city. Both did exceptionally well. A decade passed.

One night Ms. Blakely was attending a Broadway show. She recognized two of the names Carrie and Charlotte, on the playbill. She watched in awe as the show progressed, and afterwards, she made her way backstage. She saw Carrie first. “Carrie Shepherd!” she cried out.

Carrie had been a pretty child, but now she was stunningly beautiful. Gracefully and slowly, she turned to see who had called her name. She looked confused, so Ms. Blakely said, “Surely you remember me! Ms. Blakely! Community theater!”

“Oh, yes of course. Hello. Did you enjoy the show?”

“I did! Where’s Charlotte? She did a tremendous job. I’d like to congratulate her.”

Carrie smiled gently. “And is that all you’d like to say?” she asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

Carrie remained patient. “I mean,” she said evenly, “Is there anything else at all that you would like to say to Charlotte?”

Ms. Blakely looked taken aback for a moment. Then, recovering, she said lightly, “Oh, because I didn't have her in that play? But it was so long ago. Surely, she’s not still upset about that.”

"She heard what you said about her that day." Said Carrie, looking directly into Ms. Blakely's eyes.

Ms. Blakely said, "Oh, that thing with the ear? I'm sure I didn't say anything terrible."

“That thing with the ear?” repeated Carrie quietly. “Ms. Blakely, to answer your question, no, she is not still upset. She cried that night, as anyone with a heart can understand. But she’s moved on.”

“I’m sorry that she cried. But I had to make the decision. What if I had let her on the stage and people had made fun of her? And anyway, what does it matter now? She is successful! When did she get the ear fixed?”

Carrie didn’t know if she could smack this woman or laugh. “The professionals that we work with don’t seem to mind that Charlotte’s ear is slightly different. I have to go. Have a good evening.” Carrie walked away and didn’t turn back. She found her sister but didn’t bother telling her about the encounter. Instead, she plucked a flower out of one of the many bouquets in the dressing room and tucked it behind Charlotte's ear. “Great job, tonight, sis," she whispered as she gave her a hug.

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