In front of the theater, Charo was surrounded by the crowd.
Mr. Gesner Bernhardt had just arrived, and came to see what the commotion was all about. With him was Ken Matsumoto, who was to star in Bernhardt's next musical.
He was invited to the premiere of The Red Star as a special guest.
"Gesner, look... a cute little dog. He has a red star on his collar. What is this? Some sort of a promotion?"
"Well, if it is, it's pretty original.... Hmm, I wonder what that envelope is."
Charo noticed that this man was called Gesner, Gesner Bernhardt was the name Tomoko had repeated again and again.
Charo went up to him and dropped the envelope.
"Arf arf! This is from Tomoko. Please take it."
"What? For me? Cute little dog. Let's see.... Oh, this is the script for One Last Ticket! Surprise, surprise!"
"What is it?"
Ken picked up Charo and stroked him gently on the head.
"It's actually for you, too. The script for our next show. It's very good. Especially the main character, your part. The playwright did a wonderful job."
"Wow. I've never heard you praise anyone like that."
"You wait and see. By the way, she is Japanese."
"Japanese?"
"That's what I heard."
Just then, a taxi stopped in front of the theater.
Tomoko stepped out together with Jane and Louis.
She was dragging her foot but she seemed all right.
"There she is! Tomoko! Hurry! Hurry!"
"Mr. Bernhardt, I'm sorry to be late. I'm Tomoko Hashimoto."
"Well, well, well. So you are Ms. Hashimoto. Very glad to meet you. Ken, let me introduce you to our new playwright, this is..."
"I know who she is."
Ken and Tomoko looked at each other.
Tomoko's eyes were already filled with tears.
"Of course she can write my part well. She knows me better than anyone else."
"Dad!"
With that, Tomoko ran into Ken's arms. Ken gently hugged Tomoko and Charo.
"Um, Ken, sorry to interrupt, but what's going on?"
"Oh, sorry. Gesner, let me introduce you to my daughter, Tomoko Hashimoto."
"Your daughter? First a dog who flies to us and delivers a script, then the daughter of a star actor? Life is surely full of surprises."
Ken wiped away Tomoko's tears.
The cameras flashed.
"Tomoko, I'm so happy for you. Your dream is really coming true."
The reporters and camera crews gathered around Ken Matsumoto and his talented daughter.
"Mr. Matsumoto, a good smile for us, please."
"Okay. But not without this little dog here. He's the one who brought us all together."
Ken held Charo in front of himself with Tomoko close beside him.
"ん？えー！"
At that moment, one of the cameramen stopped shooting, put down his camera and silently walked up to the three.
"チャ、チャロか？"
"Um... yes. This is Charo. And you are..."
"まちがいない！チャロだ！チャロじゃないか！"
"Arf! パパだ...。 ショウタのパパだ！"
It was a miraculous moment.
Charo jumped into Shota's father's arms.
"チャロ！ホントにチャロだよ！こんな所で会えるなんて！"
"Sir... do you know him?"
"Oh, yes! Excuse me. This Charo here, he's our dog, my son's best friend."
"Then, you are Shota's father?"
"Yes! But how do you know my son's name?"
Without answering, Tomoko just hugged and kissed Charo.
"Isn't this wonderful? Both our dreams are coming true, on the very same day!"
It was a very heartwarming sight and the people around them started to clap without even knowing what it really happened.
Enjoying the happy atmosphere, Charo was thinking of Candy.
"Candy, the story of the red star, it was true. My dream is coming true. And the red star really helped me."
"I know you can get back to Japan. I believe in you."
"Thank you, Candy. Thank you... very much."
The New York sky was crystal clear.
The red star caught the pale autumn sunlight and gleamed.
- 【ラジオ版】リトル・チャロ シーズン1 Episode-48 The Decision
- 【ラジオ版】リトル・チャロ シーズン1 Episode-50 Far Away Yet Close Enough
