I didn't talk about Jason with my parents. They were busy managing their schedules along with shuttling Molly to her rehearsals (I started taking the local bus to mine). They couldn't be bothered with something even I knew was foolish and immature. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about him. Eventually, I called Andrew (like I did every week back then) and asked about Jason.

"He's fine," Andrew said dismissively.

"Is he in a show right now?" I asked him.

I heard Andrew sigh through the receiver, "You like him, don't you?"

Before I could respond, he continued, "Listen, June. If you knew Jason the way I do, you wouldn't want to be with him."

"But you liked him enough to invite him over after Oliver," I said, "with your entire family, too."

"That was two months ago. He's not who he appears to be." I heard Andrew move the phone to his other ear. "You have to trust me. He's definitely not boyfriend material for a girl like you."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, "'a girl like me?'"

"I mean an ambitious, loving, self-respecting girl."

I smiled. "I love you, Andrew."

"I love you too," he responded," and you should only be with someone who will love you as much as I do."

After we said our goodbyes, I couldn't help wondering what made Andrew change his mind about Jason. My infatuation with the boy was replaced with skeptical curiosity.

I didn't have much time to reflect on it, though. Pippin was just around the corner and Papa, for the first time, asked me to assist him in casting our Pippins. I didn't have to do much, just pass out contracts for the Pippins to sign, assuring that our magic trick would remain a secret to the public.

I never learned how we got the word out to all those young men. The Internet was still relatively new, so people must have heard about it through mail and word of mouth. It amazes me that Pippin survived for as long as it did. Hell, it must have been the best kept secret in the country.

On our property outside of Philadelphia, we had a tiny house built specifically for auditions. It was only two rooms, one for waiting and one for auditioning (the latter also served as Papa's office during casting season). I had only been in there once before, when it was first built.

When Papa took me to the "audition house" that day, Benjamin had already been there for an hour letting people in, so the waiting room was already half full. As Papa headed to the audition room to talk to Benjamin, I began passing out the contracts. Everything was fine until I looked to my right and spotted a familiar face.

I gasped and dropped the contracts. When Jason glanced up and saw me, he immediately got up from his chair and placed his hands on my shoulders. "June, it's okay." Tears welled up in my eyes. "Don't cry, June. It's all gonna be okay."

"Hey!" Papa ran over and pulled Jason's arm, "What do you think you're doing? Don't touch..." He recognized Andrew's friend. Papa's face turned bright red with rage and he dragged Jason into the audition room.

As I picked up the contracts off the floor, I heard Papa yelling. Before that day, I had never heard Papa raise his voice at anyone.

I continued to cry as I passed out the contracts. The men didn't make eye contact with me, not that I expected them to. One, however, pulled a small package of tissues out of his coat pocket and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I said between sobs, pulling a tissue from the plastic wrapper.

He looked up at me. "No," he said, holding up his contract, "thank you."

The man saw how confused I was and continued, "Pippin is going to save my life." He pointed to the door to the audition room, "Those guys are giving me something that I can't get anywhere else in the world."

"What's that?" I asked.

He took a pen out of his pocket and signed the contract, "A dignified end. A finale."

Just then, Benjamin opened the door. "June, we have Andrew on the phone. He wants to talk to you." I handed the tissues back to the man and stepped into the audition room.

Everyone was tense. Jason was facing the wall; Papa stood behind him, in case he moved. He still looked furious. Benjamin closed the door and pointed to the phone resting on the table. I cautiously picked it up.

"Andrew?" I said into the receiver.

"I'm so sorry, June," Andrew said, his voice quivering, "I didn't want you to know he was suicidal. I swear I didn't tell him about the audition. I didn't even know he knew about it. I mean, he knew about Pippin, but I didn't think he really knew..."

"It's alright," I said gently.

"What?" he asked.

I leaned against the wall, "He will play Pippin, and we'll all be better off."

Now Andrew was crying, "I know he wants to die. I've tried to change his mind, but I couldn't. I don't know how...I just want to keep him here."

"Andrew," I said, "listen to me. Pippin will save him. If he wants a finale, he should get one."

Andrew was silent for a moment. I didn't think I'd convinced him. Finally he said, "As long as Papa and Benjamin are okay with it, fine. Just... tell Papa I can't perform whatever night he's performing."

I glanced up at Papa, who looked more than surprised. "Got it," I said.

When I hung up the phone, I turned to Benjamin and Papa. "Andrew can't perform the night Jason plays Pippin. If he plays Pippin."

Both men slowly nodded their heads. Papa said that Jason could perform in our second show.

A dignified end. A finale. Those actors trusted us to take their fates and change them. About three minutes before our opening performance, I was standing next to our first Pippin of the year, the man who had given me the tissues. He said to me, "The Holy books tell us that fire brings destruction. I was destroyed years ago; fire is my salvation."

When he jumped into the flames, I smiled and waved goodbye.