Chapter 13

Breaking of Dawn

The next morning, Thomas woke with fresh rays of sunlight streaming through his windows onto his face. In the events of the previous day and night, he had forgotten to close his curtains which were normally used to fend off the sun, a frequent, over enthusiastic morning intruder. He had gotten so used to waking in the dark that he initially thought a flashlight was being shown on his eyes as if he were being interrogated for his admission that he wanted to leave the brotherhood. He sat for a moment, realizing the source of the light and began to bask in the warmth of the sun’s rays as if God was christening him and his decision. A big part of him assumed that he would awaken with immediate regret for talking to Brother John and that his day in the park was just a blip - a stumble off the path of God’s highway, like there was a deep pothole that he had fallen into that just needed to be patched. But, no. If anything, he felt more resolve on this day than yesterday, confident that he was making the right decision, the logistics and consequences of which he had yet to fully consider.

Around the same time, Rebecca woke with vigor to map out her path to success. Hopping out of bed, she made a cup of tea and studied her work obligations for the rest of the week and searched online for a reputable photographer in town. She would schedule an appointment to get her headshots taken as soon as her schedule allowed.

What was going to be challenging was that two nights every week and most of her weekends until Christmas were taken up with prepping for the Christmas program, but that was ok. She reasoned that all of the holiday Broadway shows had already been cast and were in rehearsals so she would simply concentrate on her job at the church for the next few months, get her headshots and be ready to start auditioning after the new year. It was only a few short months away.

She decided to throw herself into her work, remembering that every opportunity to perform, no matter the venue, would offer exposure to potential talent scouts or Broadway producers or someone from the city who would realize that they had found their next star right here at a random church service. Her first solo opportunity was scheduled for an upcoming funeral service. Her throat warmed from the tea, Rebecca began running scales loosening up her vocal cords while she got dressed and headed out to meet with the organist for her first practice session.