It had been no small challenge, shepherding the three girls into the theater that afternoon, amongst the crowd. Selene O'Malley had come along for the sixth and final ticket, partly because she loved dance and the theater, but also to help with kiddle-wrangling.
They finally got themselves arranged so: Tabitha first (baby Keith was being watched for the afternoon by Aunt Wyh and Uncle Roran), then little Selene, then Reinette, Toby, Maurin and finally Selene O'Malley.
The seating arrangements were not arrived at casually either - Maurin and Reinette often had to be kept separate to avoid either riling each other (bad enough at a stage production) or egging each other on (worse!). This way, Daddy was in between the two.
There was little to worry about though; as the curtain went up and the lights went down, the girls were fascinated by the stage concept, and of course by their school friend Maggie playing the lead, and Doran (another school friend) playing the maid's younger brother. By the end of the production, both Maurin and Reinette were adamant that they were going to be just like Maggie. Indeed, it was impossible to stop them both loudly cheering and whooping for her once the lights came up - to the point that Tabitha had to finally give them the Mom Look.
