a sound she hadn't heard before

eighteen.

"Mommy, mommy," Ayla says when she comes running out of school to meet up with her mom, "Jane and Claudia want me to go to gymnastics with them tomorrow. Can I go Mommy?"

Taylor laughs. She is happy to see her little girl so excited about something, and doesn't think that she can really say no too easily. "We will have to talk to Dani and see if she can take you, alright?"

Taylor makes a mental note to text Holly and get the details of Jane's class to see what her little girl is actually getting into before giving Ayla permission as well.

"Is Dani coming over today?"

"Of course she is, silly. She comes every day."

"Can we ask her as soon as she comes?"

"Ayla," Taylor says, "I'll deal with it, alright? I need to find out some more information before I talk with Dani."

"Fine," Ayla sighs.

"I pinky promsie, I'll look into it." Taylor is telling the truth. Her little girl is clever and won't forget about something if she just brushes it aside, no matter how much Taylor would like to shelter Ayla. Taylor also knows that it is very unfair to her daughter to shelter her in that sort of manner. She didn't ask to be born into this life, and Taylor does want to give her as normal of a childhood as possible- even when both she and Ayla know that their lives are anything but normal.

"Can I come to New York with you again sometime, Mommy? I miss my friends."

Taylor can't help but smile. Ayla has taken to referring to all of the adults who she met when she was coming to rehearsals as her friends. However, it's heartbreaking to hear her say that, considering that she can't come into New York for rehearsals. Taylor just doesn't feel comfortable with it- even if it has been a long time since the pair was photographed by paparazzi.

"Sweetie, I don't think that I'm ready for you to come back yet," Taylor says. "We are going to be workshopping the show in a few weeks, and maybe you can come to watch that. Sound good?"

"I guess so," Ayla replies.

It has been quite a while since Taylor's first date with Joe, and they went out one other time since then. Now, though, with only two more weeks to make sure that the show is perfect, they've made the decision to put their personal lives on hold for a bit, to ensure that they're getting all of the rest that they need to put on a great performance when the time comes around. Free time is spent going over lines, drinking herbal tea, and perfecting any bits of choreography for the cast, and making all of the necessary final adjustments for the creatives. Taylor can't believe that everything came together as quickly as it did, but apparently, Ben was working on the book for two years before he felt confident enough to pitch it to a director and actually get the show on its feet.

It's so weird to think that it has just been a few months since she got that phone call. Everything is so different now. It has been one of the coolest experiences of her life to work on this show- there's no doubt about that. Of course, she has been incredibly fortunate to have some of the most wonderful experiences throughout the course of her career, but there's something special to Taylor about returning to her roots. As a child, she really did think that she wanted to be on Broadway. She remembers every few months, driving up to the city with her mom to audition for Annie or Little Cosette in Les Miserables. It wasn't until she was twelve that she picked up and became infatuated with songwriting. This opportunity is the perfect mix of the two.

As Taylor drives back into New York with those thoughts on her mind, she can't help but smile to herself. She really has achieved every single dream that she could even fathom when she was a child and the world was still a place full of endless possibilities. When she was a wide-eyed dreamer with nothing but blind ambition. She hopes that someday, Ayla will be able to say the same thing. It's really just the best feeling.