Page 40 of The Silent Appeal

Promise that’s not the only reason I’m writing. Want to move on and for that I need at least one Bridgetown relationship to end in closure, not carnage. Just need to know if you’d back me up. If only I’d gone with you to Jakarta, none of this would’ve happened.

Back in Lockwood with Mum, where my high-achieving sister and her perfect family remind me every day of the road not traveled. Nix x

Message exchange between Kevin and Sarah-Jane MacDonald on January 10, 2025:

5:01 p.m. Kevin wrote:

RIP Kevin MacDonald. Survived fifty long years, then cruelly felled by a crate of “Bliss Bubbles” left EXACTLY where he would trip over them.

5:02 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

For rehearsal on Monday. Left where you could load them straight in the car.

5:03 p.m. Kevin wrote:

Energy drinks at rehearsals? Good idea.

5:04 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

KEVIN! Bliss Bubbles is NOT an energy drink. It is a minimally carbonated well-being WATER packaged in go-size flaskets.

5:04 p.m. Kevin wrote:

Fizzy water in tiny plastic bottles. Have you even got the account yet?

5:05 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

Not quite. The CEO sent a crate to inspire my pitch. Fairways can have them.

5:06 p.m. Kevin wrote:

The Fairway Players don’t need “calming botanical extracts.” They need ENERGY.

5:08 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

They need to stay hydrated and give me feedback on product performance so I can include positive qualitative data in my pitch.

5:08 p.m. Kevin wrote:

Don’t worry. I’ll get myself up off the floor.

5:10 p.m. Sarah-Jane wrote:

Are the Bliss Bubbles ok?

To: The Fairway Players mailing list

From: Kevin MacDonald

Date: January 13, 2025

Subject: Damn and damn and damn!

Dear Fairway Players,

Do not be alarmed. I’m not cursing the play (not yet, anyway). The subject line of this email is the first line of the first scene of the first act of The Hollow and tonight was the first rehearsal… and a “damn” fine rehearsal it was.

The subject of backstage roles raises its many heads. Yes, even this early in the schedule. So far, I can confirm the following: