Emma Emmerich was only ten years old when she committed the first in a long series of stupid ideas and decided to act onstage.

Hal had done his best to talk her out of it but Emma, as usual, would not be stopped. That was several months ago. Now, he was the sole member of his family to sit in the audience, the only one with the guts to witness what they all knew would be Emma's humiliating failure. Nervously, he pushed his glasses up his nose; he just hoped, for her sake, that it would be over quickly.

The lights dimmed, the principal walked onstage, and the audience fell silent. "And now," she proclaimed, "May I introduce our grade 5 class in its production of Hamlet!"

Hal waited through the first act, feeling tortured. Where was Ophelia? He wanted to get this over with.

Finally, Emma stepped onstage. She looked amazing, he couldn't help noticing. Not like mousey little Emma at all. Oh, well, at least the pictures would be all right-

And then she opened her mouth, and launched into soliloquy, and Hal's jaw dropped, and time seemed to stop, and- wow.

OOO

Later, driving her home, as she took off her stage makeup in the backseat. "That was GREAT, E.E. I mean- really great."

"Thanks!" she beamed, rubbing at a particularly stubborn bit of blush with a cotton ball.

"I mean... no offense, but I was expecting a complete disaster."

"Yeah," Emma said, unoffended. "I know you were."

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, I mean... How?..."

"I pretended it was you."

"What?" Hal has unpleasant visions of himself feeding his uncle Bob poison. He liked his uncle and felt immediately guilty.

"I pretended my brother was really you," Emma said. "It made it... realer. I really felt it."

"Oh, E.E.," Hal said, finding his heart- suddenly- peculiarly heavy. "I don't know what to say. That was... just..."

"Do you have to go to Alaska?" she demanded suddenly, and her voice was choked and halting.

He sighed. "Yes, E.E., I do. We've been through this already."

"Why?"

"My country needs me. They asked for me."

"It's not fair," she whispered, wiping her nose. "When are you gonna be able to come back?"

He sighed. "I don't know yet."

"What if it's not for ages? For years?"

"Then sometime," he replied, "I'll turn on the TV and watch masterpiece theatre and suddenly see that the screen credit for Catherine is Emma Emmerich."

"I'm not going to be an actress," she announced. "I'm going to be a scientist, like you."

"Too bad," he replied. "You have a gift for it. But after seeing that show tonight, Emma... believe me, I have no doubt that you'll do whatever you set your mind to."

"And someday," she said, "I'll do something like Ophelia did. To prove how much I love you."

That was moderately alarming. "You really don't have to drown yourself, E.E.. That's ok."

"No, I didn't mean that. But I'll find something. Someday I'll help you when you're really in trouble and you'll wonder how you got along without me. Just wait and see!"

He laughed. "I will, E.E. But you already have. I didn't believe an Emmerich could be a performer and you quite clearly are."

"Take the pictures with you to Alaska," she ordered.

"I will. But I won't need them. After tonight, I'll never be able to forget."