"Hi Zac," Tom replied. "When was it we last met?"
Zac and Hope were at the studio where Avie worked.
"The premiere of my movie," Zac grinned. "Those were good days. I had fun."
"You always have fun," Avie pointed out.
"So, Tom, what brings you here?"
"I'm the director."
"Oh," then Zac laughed at his mistake. "Duh. I've only seen your name on the Rocky Road credits a million times."
"It's ok, man."
"So, what's this Avie tells me about a role for Hope on the show?"
"Straight to business I see. As usual. The character Hope would be playing is a neighbour, Isabel Robertson. Semi-regular, at least in the beginning, so she won't be needed every episode."
"Oh," Hope complained.
Zac grinned.
"I think semi-regular is a good start for you. After all, it's going to be very different from the movie," then Zac turned back to Tom. "Well, if Hope wants to do it -"
"I do! I do! I do! I do!"
"- then I see no reason why not," Zac went on as if he hadn't been interrupted.
A month or so before, when Avie had invited Hope and Sarah to the studio, Tom, having co-directed Zac's movie, recognised Hope. After taking a few minutes to talk to her, he found out that she was still interested in acting.
Tom, remembering that Hope had shown some potential during the making of the movie, had approached the producers to see if there was a possibility they could get Hope a role. Avie invited Hope back to the studio a second time, where she did a brief audition, all behind Zac's back.
When the audition had gone so well, Avie and Hope finally informed Zac of what they had done. At first Zac hadn't really been impressed with them not telling him, but he was always a sucker for Hope's smile.
Zac had agreed to meet Tom and the producers to talk about it. Having now finished talking to Tom, he moved onto the Producer's office while Avie joined the rest of the cast for a script reading. Hope was allowed to watch.
After a lengthy discussion, Zac pulled Hope aside and talked to her about the job and what would be involved. Hope, naturally, was perfectly happy with the arrangement, and before the day was over a contract was signed.
The second they walked through the door when they got home, Kelsey was greeted with:
"Kel Kel! Guess what!"
Kelsey grinned at Hope.
"What?"
"I'm gonna be in Rocky Road!"
"That's fantastic, Hope," and her smiled lingered on Hope for a few moments before landing on Zac, who smiled back. "Here, you can hold Kitty."
Zac eagerly reached out for his little girl.