Chapter 17

There was an envelope on Betty's desk when she and Daniel returned from a meeting. She opened it and discovered four tickets and a note. "Wow!"

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"It's a thank you note from Rick Castle and tickets for me and my family to see Arsenic and Old Lace."

"It's a good show. Mom and I went to it on Tuesday. His mom's playing one of the aunts while the main actress is recovering from hip surgery," Daniel said. "Though I should warn you that Justin may spend the next few weeks racing up the staircase, yelling 'Charge!' then slamming his bedroom door."

ooOoo

"This is incredible!" Justin gushed holding a boutique of flowers as they entered the theater. He had been to plays before but never to one where he was three degrees of separation from one of the stars.

"Betty!" A voice called out. "Over here!"

She turned to find Rick Castle off to the side of the lobby. With him was a young redhead she assumed was his daughter, Alexis.

"Rick, hi!" Betty said as they walked over to the duo. She made the introductions.

"Thank you so much for the tickets," Hilda said shaking his hand.

"It's the first time all four of us were at the theater together," Ignacio added also shaking Castle's hand.

"It's my pleasure. When Betty told me about the Merman, I figured this would be the best thank you," Castle said then turned to Justin and the flowers. "And those are for?"

"Your mother," he replied shyly.

"She'll love them," Castle assured the young man. "Why don't I have them sent to her dressing room? That way you won't have to hold them throughout the performance."

As Castle took the flowers and went to find a crew member, Alexis said to Betty, "I really liked your article "How I Blew Ten Grand Without Actually Spending a Dime"."

"Thank you," she said. "Just promise me to be careful if you ever decide to try anything we did."

"I will," Alexis promised.

"Don't worry. She's the responsible one in the family," Castle said as he rejoined the group. "Speaking of family, my mother has invited us to meet her backstage after the show."

"This just keeps getting better and better!" Justin beamed.

ooOoo

After the show, Castle and Alexis led the Suarez family backstage to the dressing rooms. Justin's head was in constant motion as he tried to take in everything. By the time they reached her dressing room, Martha had already changed out of her costume and into an emerald green blouse, black pants and a funky necklace.

Once the introductions were made and Martha thanked them for the flowers, she turned her attention to Justin. "And you must be the young thespian. Tell me, if you could only perform in one type of medium, which would it be?"

"Well, I consider myself to be a triple threat: actor, singer, dancer, so I wouldn't want to restrict myself. But if I could only choose one, it'd be theater," he said with a firm nod. "Definitely theater."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"I think it's the performing in front of an audience and making that connection, you know?" he answered earnestly. "You have to live in the moment."

Martha regarded him for a few seconds then said, "Everyone come with me."

"Where are we going?" Betty whispered as they followed the actress out of her dressing room.

"I have no idea," Castle admitted.

Martha guided the group through the labyrinth in the back of the theater until they ended up on the wings of the stage. She went to the center and motioned for Justin to join her. After a gentle shove from his mother, he did. Betty didn't think his eyes could get any bigger.

"So what do you think?" Martha asked.

Justin's wide-eyed gaze went from the orchestra pit to the seats near the rafters. "I was born for this."

The absolute certainty in his voice made Martha smile. "Well, now's your chance."

"To do what?" he asked as she started walk away to join the others.

"To do whatever you want," she replied with a sweeping motion. "The stage is yours."

Justin turned back to the empty theater and with a huge grin began singing "If My Friends Could See Me Now" from Sweet Charity.

"You've made his year," a proud Ignacio told Martha.

"His decade," a teary-eyed Hilda corrected. "Thank you so much, Ms. Rodgers."

"Like I always say, 'You don't choose the Theater. The Theater chooses you'," Martha replied sagely. "It's my honor and duty to encourage the chosen few."

"Rick, I can't thank you enough," Betty said as they watched her nephew perform. "I can't remember the last time my family and I have had so much fun."

"It was the least I could do," he assured her.

"Not to get too personal, but have you been able to use anything from the tour?" she asked shyly.

"Well, I've figured out the direction I want to go in," Castle smiled mysteriously. "I don't want to give anything away, but it will be unlike any Derrick Storm novel I've ever written."

ooOoo

Author notes: The Castle episode referenced in this chapter is 1.6 "Always Buy Retail."