One morning, Charo found Louis grooming himself busily in front of the mirror.
"Good morning, Louis. What are you doing?"
"Hello, my good friend. Today I am auditioning for one of the biggest roles in my life."
"Auditioning?"
It was obvious that Charo did not know what it meant.
Louis seemed a bit disappointed.
At that moment, Jane called out.
"Louis! We're going. Get in the basket."
"Okay, Charo, you're coming with us. You live in New York and don't even seem to know what Broadway is all about. That's what I call a tragedy."
With that, Louis started to tug at Charo's collar.
"Hey, you guys, there's no time to be fooling around. We've got work to do. What? You want Charo to come too? Well, okay. Why not?"
Charo was put into a basket with Louis and off they went to the theater district of Broadway.
It was new territory for him.
"Many people! Many signs!"
"You bet! This is Broadway! Isn't it exciting? And someday, we'll be seeing Tomoko's name up there."
"Tomoko's?"
"Yup! She's got talent. I can tell. And speak of the devil!"
Across the street, there was Tomoko.
She was talking to somebody.
"I know this is outrageous, but please. If this doesn't work out, I'll never be bothering you again. Please, sir."
"All right, all right, you win. Send your script to our agent or to the theater by Tuesday."
"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it."
The man grabbed a cab and left.
Jane ran over to Tomoko who was still standing there.
"Tomoko! That was intense. Who was that?"
"Jane! Um, he's the manager of Mr. Gesner Bernhardt, my favorite stage director. His play is starting next month and they've flown in from Germany to check things out. You know, The Red Star."
"Sure."
"I found out that Mr. Bernhardt is looking for a new script for his next play, so..."
"Wow! So this might be the chance of your life."
"I don't know, but... Hey, Charo! What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Louis seemed to want him around, so I decided to let him see Broadway, but.... Whoops, we're late! Tomoko, do you mind taking him with you?"
"Of course not.
Handing Charo over to Tomoko, Jane left with Louis for the audition.
"Gee! I never knew that I would have the nerve to pull off something like that. I mean, my knees are still shaking. But I really feel good about myself. Thank you, Charo. You're the one who made me step forward."
"Hey, do you want to see my favorite theater? It's where The Red Star will be performed. I have a janitor friend who'll get me in.
They walked a few more blocks and got to an old but magnificent theater.
After talking to an old man, Tomoko and Charo entered the theater and went into the still-empty audience hall.
"This is where I saw my very first show with mom and dad. It was fabulous. We laughed, be cried. I never knew there could be anything so special. But... that was the first and the last show that I ever saw with my dad."
"そうだったんだ。"
"And that was when I decided to become a playwright."
"You can do it, Tomoko. Arf! I know you can! Arf!"
"Did you just say that I can do it?"
"Arf arf!"
"Thank you, Charo. I really need that kind of support. And remember, if I can do it, you can do it. Right?"
"Arf arf!"
It was good to see Tomoko in high spirits again.
Charo wished he could do something, anything to help make her dream come true.
After all, she was the one who saved his life.
