Wish on a Star Read online

  Wish on a Star

  Laura DeLuca

  Contents

  Dark Musicals Mysteries by Laura DeLuca

  Young Adult Novels by Laura Deluca

  Adult Novels by Laura DeLuca

  Short Stories by Laura DeLuca

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright ©2020, Laura DeLuca

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN: 9798543178836

  Edited by Anne Hoelz

  Typeset by Beth Hale

  Cover design by Anne Hoelz

  Cover Image: iStockPhoto by LightFieldStudios

  Dark Musicals Mysteries by Laura DeLuca

  Phantom

  Demon

  Hyde

  Scrooged

  Illusion

  Reanimated

  Horrified

  Haunted

  Coming Fall 2021 – Forgotten

  Coming 2022 - Blackmailed

  Coming 2023 - Unmasked

  Young Adult Novels by Laura Deluca

  Morrigan

  The Forgotten Pharaoh

  Destiny

  Destiny Unveiled

  Player

  Adult Novels by Laura DeLuca

  Falling Star

  In Perfect Harmony

  Brushed by Fate

  Waiting to Fly

  Wish on A Star

  Short Stories by Laura DeLuca

  Nine Lives

  Stag Hunt

  Jessica

  Brigid’s Flame

  Thunderstruck

  This novel is dedicated to my

  awesome co-workers Diane Montevidoni-Lowe,

  Karen Benz, and Donna Condran who helped

  inspire this story.

  Special thanks to Nick Hoelz whose challenge

  to include a certain phrase in a book led to a

  cross-over spanning four novels (so far).

  And with eternal gratitude to my amazing

  editor/cover artist

  Anne Hoelz who spends almost

  as much time on my books as I do!

  Prologue

  “Hurry up, Mom! I’ve been waiting all day for you to get home from work so we could watch this together!”

  “Coming, Izzy,” Danielle shouted from the kitchen. “I’ve got the soda. Karen, can you grab the popcorn?”

  “Girl, I’m grabbing the popcorn, the pretzels, three kinds of chips, and the gummy bears.” Karen’s hands were overflowing, forcing her to shove one of the bags under her chin. “You can’t watch retro television without gummy bears. And put down those sodas because I brought us the best boxed wine money can buy.”

  Danielle Hoelz struggled to maneuver around the paisley couch with three glasses in her hands, each slippery with condensation. She set them down in a neat circle while Karen tossed the snacks haphazardly, nearly tipping one of the drinks over in the process. As she organized, she shivered, noticing a chill in the air. It was important her daughter didn’t get caught in a draft, so she closed the windows of their tiny bungalow before joining her companions on the couch. Their home was nestled in a small town called the Villas, which sat on the fringes of Cape May County in South Jersey. It was set three blocks from the bay and although it was warm in September, once the sun went down, the temperature plummeted. As the two women worked to create the perfect at-home theater, Isabelle ripped the plastic wrap off a brand-new boxset of DVDs. The little girl gave them a conspirative grin as she slipped the first disc into the player.

  “The box set of Sing!.” Karen leaned over to inspect the cover. “Best birthday gift ever! You know your mom pretty well, kid.”

  “Uncle Nick ordered it online,” Isabelle admitted. “But I picked it out. After all, it’s been Mom’s favorite show ever since she was a teenager.”

  “No secret there.” Karen plopped down onto the sofa. “I’m surprised she hasn’t plastered the walls in here with posters of Reed Overture. Back in high school, every inch of her room was covered with his face.”

  Danielle chuckled at the memory of her first celebrity crush, and how she and Karen spent their sleepovers daydreaming about joining the cast. She’d met Karen Benz in grade school, and their mutual obsession with Sing! solidified their bond during later years. In the iconic television show, a group of misfit teens band together to become an award-winning chorus line. The series follows the students through Broadway-worthy musical theater productions no high school could afford, concert-style performances at every assembly, and annual journeys to a national show choir championship where they always won, even though they often arrived at competitions unrehearsed. Amidst the numerous dance numbers, there were soap opera storylines, satire humor, and a mishmash of love affairs between castmates. Despite the corny one-liners and writers trying too hard to tackle serious issues and usually failing, the music and camaraderie won her devotion. Danielle had been the star of the drama club and the church choir in her glory days, and while her tiny Catholic school never entered competitions, she’d spent her teenage years daydreaming she was singing beside Reed Overture, the actor who played the lovable jock Steve Ewing. Breaking into show business was her lifelong goal, but an unplanned pregnancy her sophomore year of college put an end to that unrealistic fantasy.

  Being Isabelle’s mom is far more rewarding than Broadway or Hollywood would be anyway.

  Thanks to her parents and her older brother Nick babysitting, Danielle managed to finish college after Isabelle was born, but she switched from the New York School of Performing Arts to a campus within driving distance and changed her major from musical theater to business. As much as she missed performing, she never regretted her decision. It helped her land her position as a supervisor in the financial counseling department of their local hospital, Court House Medical Center. Helping seniors manage their medical bills wasn’t as glamorous as performing show tunes on the Broadway stage, but at least she was helping people. More importantly, being a hospital employee provided great healthcare benefits without any copays or deductibles, an indispensable perk since her daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was two years old. Not only were her outrageous medical bills covered, Danielle could visit her daughter without missing work whenever she was admitted.

  “Hold up a minute, Iz,” Karen instructed, bringing Danielle back to the present. “Let’s start off with season two. I like the first year, but this is your mom’s birthday party and her main man didn’t join the cast until the second season.”

  “Everyone knows the second season was the best anyway.
” Isabelle grinned as she switched discs and snuggled under a blanket next to Danielle. “They do that awesome zombie dance on Halloween, and the Christmas episode where they go sing for the homeless kids is one of my favorites.”

  “Yeah, but the best part is when Renee and Brent finally get together.” Karen let out a whimsical sigh as she tossed a gummy bear into her mouth. “Sorry, Dani, but Brent was waaay hotter than Steve – taller, more muscles, better hair.”

  Danielle glanced at the screen where Brent was trying to convince transfer student Steve to join the school musical while they were showering in the locker room. “Yeah, but Steve was much nicer. He stuck up for his gay friend when he was being bullied, and he was the only guy on the show who never cheated on his girlfriends.”

  “That’s because he never kept any of his girlfriends,” Karen reminded her, using her snarkiest tone. “Abigail dumped him three times, and he’s the only one that doesn’t get an end-game relationship in the finale.”

  “Spoilers!” Izzy shouted. “Don’t give away the ending!”

  “Oh, please.” Karen tossed a piece of popcorn at her. “As if you haven’t seen this show from beginning to end a dozen times.”

  Isabelle giggled when the kernel bounced off her nose. “Probably more. Mom and I have been watching reruns together all my life, and I totally agree with her. Steve is the best character. He’s cute and funny, and I love his big smile even though everybody always makes fun of his giant mouth.”

  “The better to—”

  “Sing!” Danielle interrupted, smacking her friend’s arm before the conversation got too adult for little ears. “The bigger the mouth, the more air he can take into his lungs to hit all those high notes.”

  Isabelle raised an eyebrow. “Those big soft lips are probably nice to kiss, too, don’t you think?”

  “Nope.” Karen shook her head. “Deadbeat actors who’re all washed up are not my type. At least the guy who played Brent – Kevin something or other – is still working. He won an Emmy last year for his role in the medical drama series Urgent Care. Reed Overture has only been in two movies since the series ended almost a decade ago, one of which was an indie film. The other was a failed romantic comedy ranked less than one star on every entertainment website.”

  Danielle felt the ridiculous need to come to his defense. “Reed is concentrating on his music career.”

  “Pfft.” Karen rolled her eyes. “His voice is mediocre and he only got a label because his father was a huge country star back in the Stone Age. He was just bragging online about how his new single was number sixty-five in Brazil or some other third world country. Please. My sales at the real estate office are more impressive, and I probably bring in a bigger commission.”

  “I appreciate his music.” Danielle shrugged. “The lyrics are always deep and meaningful, especially his single Holding On. It shows he can be a serious artist. Besides, I noticed you’re still impressed enough to follow his social media.”

  “I’ve been following the whole cast of Sing! for over a decade. Unfollowing him would take more effort than he’s worth. But if you want to talk about a singer with star quality, Goldie Speck who played Abigail performed her new single at the Grammys and she brought down the house. She proved a woman can be a bass and still have the best moves.” Karen gestured to her own full figure. “Being a buxom beauty myself, I appreciate her talent and her ability to overcome the stigmas of being plus-size. A hot African-American woman like Goldie is a true diva worthy of my superior playlist, and the only woman who ever made me question my sexuality. A washed up skinny white boy with lips three sizes too big for his face who fails at singing country – which, by the way, is a genre of music that is a fail in and of itself – is just, well…unfortunate. You need to find a new star to crush on because Reed Overture fizzled into a black hole a long time ago.”

  Danielle flinched, but couldn’t come up with any witty comebacks. Karen was never one to mince words and she had no qualms about stating her strong opinions in vicious monologues. Although she was very soft spoken with a refined voice the queen herself would envy, she had a short fuse and spewed the most cutting insults with minimal provocation. The combination often left people confused about whether they’d even been criticized. She reveled in her heartless reputation, and often joked she was the inspiration behind the Karen memes on social media. Yet, despite being somewhat brusque and assertive, she was a loyal friend who loved fiercely and had been an unfailing support system throughout Isabelle’s constant health struggles.

  “Wow.” The little girl’s eyes widened to saucers at the end of the rant. “You’re a harsh critic.”

  “It’s called honesty, kid.” She shrugged and swiped her short brown bob touched with red highlights to the side. “I can’t control it. Truth rolls off my tongue like a dung beetle rolls shit. It’s what makes me such a great salesperson. When people realize how much they suck, they want to buy a second home at the Jersey Shore just to make themselves feel less worthless.”

  Isabelle laughed out loud, the exertion causing her to cough which quickly escalated to a wheeze. Casually, she reached for the oxygen tank beside the end table, the same way other kids might reach for their cell phone. There was a time when she only needed occasional breathing treatments. Now, she never lasted more than a few hours and struggled to pull in each breath even when the prongs were in her nose. The older she got, the more severe the symptoms became. Her system was resistant to treatments, and her lungs had degenerated so much, a transplant was her only chance of surviving to adulthood. She was on the waiting list, but it was a long list and children with CF generally weren’t considered for adult lungs because there wasn’t a high success rate. Danielle often cursed her former lover for passing along the gene for cystic fibrosis. It was the only thing Isabelle’s father ever gave her.

  Damn Jeremy Lucas and his sexy British accent.

  Like Danielle, Jeremy was a music major at the New York School of Performing Arts. She was instantly infatuated with his divine singing voice, but their duet didn’t last long. When she told Jeremy she was pregnant, he’d fled back to his native island long before her due date, leaving no forwarding address. He didn’t even know the name or gender of his child, let alone the seriousness of her condition. Since he was from another country, she couldn’t even track him down for child support. It was just the two of them since day one. After endless hospital stays and long nights of labored breathing, they’d become far more than mother and daughter. They were best friends as well as mirror images. Isabelle inherited her father’s blood type, but her long brown curls and huge green eyes were one hundred percent Danielle. The only difference was she lacked the healthy glow to her cheeks.

  Don’t think about it, Danielle warned. This is supposed to be a fun night. Take things one day at a time the same way you have since she was born.

  Determined to focus on her blessings, Danielle settled in to enjoy a Sing! marathon with her two favorite girls. It was easy to get lost in her favorite character’s big blue eyes and his sweet flawless baritone. Staring at the screen, she fantasized about being young again, about a time before her world revolved around medications and breathing treatments. She envisioned herself taking the place of the snooty blonde cheerleader, duetting Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon with Steve under the Styrofoam solar system in the science lab. As they alternated lines about dancing among the stars and staying true, he twirled her around the room while the brass band, who magically appeared whenever they were needed, blew into their saxes and clarinets in the background. By the time they finished the first disc, Danielle was feeling a slight heat pooling between her thighs, but Isabelle was starting to yawn. It was only nine, but she got worn out quickly even when they were relaxing on the sofa.

  “It’s about time we call it a night,” Danielle announced, forcing a yawn so Isabelle wouldn’t think she was the reason they were cutting the birthday celebration short. “We have a big day tomorrow.”

  “
Oh, yeah.” Karen, who was half-dozing already, perked up. “The lady from the Wish Come True Foundation is coming tomorrow, isn’t she? Did you decide what you’re gonna wish for?”

  Isabelle gave her a mysterious smile. “I wanna go to Disneyland.”

  Karen twisted her lips. “That’s incredibly boring and unoriginal, Iz. I expected more from a kid with such an active imagination. Like being air lifted to the top of the empire state building by an air force general or guest judging on one of those reality shows you enjoy so much.”

  “I was only kidding.” Isabelle snickered. “I actually haven’t made my final decision yet, but I have a few ideas circulating, none of which involve giant mice.”

  “She’s being very secretive.” Suspicious, Danielle gave her daughter the side-eye. “She won’t even give me a hint about what she’s planning.”

  The little girl crossed her arms. “Hey, it’s my wish, and part of the fun is keeping it a secret so it’ll be a surprise.”

  “Oh, man.” Karen tousled her hair. “You’re gonna give this lady a run for her money tomorrow. I wish her luck.”

  “It’ll certainly be an adventure, but right now, we need to get ready for bed.” Danielle tugged Isabelle up from the couch and patted her back. “Go change into your pajamas and brush your teeth while I see our guest out.”