Chapter 30: Chapter 30
The message at church was another one about the significance of Christmas, and while Melody knew there were lots of people in the congregation who wanted and needed to hear about how important Jesus’ birth was to the fate of the world, Melody was ready for the Christmas season to be over. Had she been sitting in this very pew listening to a similar sermon two years ago, not realizing her life was about to change forever? Likely so. Once Christmas was over, things would begin to get back to normal, and she wouldn’t spend so much of her time trying to remember what life must have been like before her dad passed away.
She’d seen Michael briefly before Sunday school and for a few moments before the service began. He had gotten up and left with the other children to attend children’s church when Pastor Kyle began his sermon. Now that the final invocation was over, most of the members would head over to another part of the building where they would have a luncheon and fellowship before practice for the festival began. She had brought a salad and dropped it off earlier, but she would not be staying. It seemed odd to leave; she’d attended the luncheon and practice for several Sundays leading up to the festival every year that she could remember except for last year. Now, with Michael there, with her mom staying behind, it seemed strange to just walk out the door, but there was really no reason for her to linger. She definitely wouldn’t be singing in the festival this year, or ever again for that matter.
Melody gathered up her coat and glanced around one more time. Her mother had already told her she’d see her later, and she saw her visiting with some friends as they made their way to the other part of the building. While it would be easy to just slip out the door, she knew Michael would keep looking for her if she didn’t go and tell him goodbye, so with a determination to only stay a few moments, she followed the crowd into the large open space near the kitchen where lots of tables had been set up and some of the older ladies were bustling about transferring the food from the kitchen to the serving tables
Michael was sitting between the little girl with the pigtails and Mrs. Gregory. Mr. Gregory was also there, as were the little girl’s parents, and whatever Michael was talking about, everyone was listening intently. As soon as he saw her, he paused, and a large smile transformed his face. “Hi, Miss Melody!”
“Hi, Michael.” She said hello to everyone else quickly before she returned her attention back to the little boy. “I just came to say I hope you have fun at rehearsal, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You’re not staying?” he asked, and the smile crumbled into a frown. “I thought you’d want to watch me sing.”
Melody felt her heart melt. “I’m sorry, sweetie. It’s just… I have lots of work to do.”
“Oh,” he said, and Melody thought she saw a tear forming in his eye. “I guess that’s more important.”
“Michael, it’ll be fine,” Mrs. Gregory attempted to console him. “I’m sure Miss Melody would stay if she could.”
Melody thought that last comment was likely an intentional push from Mrs. Gregory, trying to persuade her to attend the rehearsal—though she was pretty sure that Mrs. Gregory’s reasoning to keep her there had more to do with the singing than the child.
“Could you at least have lunch with us?” Michael asked. “Everybody has to eat, you know.”
Looking from Michael’s face to Mrs. Gregory’s, and then to the others, Melody saw nothing but welcoming smiles. He was right—she would need to eat anyway, and she really didn’t have so much work to do that she couldn’t put it off until later in the afternoon. Managing a meager smile, Melody said, “You’re right, Michael. I would have to eat lunch before I began working anyway.” There was one empty chair at the table, and Melody dropped her coat on the back of it, causing the little boy to break into a cheer.
***
Lunch was full of polite conversation. Mrs. Gregory asked if she had enjoyed her time at the Christmas tree farm, and Michael had told them all about the snowball fight, the caramel apples, and how Miss Melody had picked out a tiny tree for her big house, which kept everyone laughing, especially his friend, Hailey. Melody tried to focus on her lunch and stay attentive to what Michael was saying since he was the only reason she was still there. It was difficult to keep her mind from wandering. She should be sitting with her parents, not these people. Most of them were hardly even acquaintances, though she had known Mrs. Gregory her entire life.
Sarah was sitting at a table on the other side of the room with some friends from her Bible study group. Melody knew most of the women’s names, but she didn’t know the two gentlemen, though she thought one of them was the husband of Sarah’s friend, Ann. The man sitting right next to her mother had a kind smile, and Melody thought she’d seen him at church several times before, but his name escaped her. When her mother saw that she had decided to stay, she smiled and waved, but she didn’t come over. It was almost as if her mother was now the independent teenager who just wanted to hang out with her friends and not have to be forced to spend time with her family.
Once dessert was over, Mrs. Gregory glanced at her watch and said, “I suppose I should head on in and make sure the stage is all set.” She looked over her shoulder and added, “It looks like Mrs. Watson is just about finished as well.”
Next to her, Mr. Allen Gregory let out a terrible sounding cough, and Melody slid back in her chair a bit, hoping not to catch any of his germs. He’d been coughing off and on throughout lunch, but this was the worst by far. “Pardon me,” he said. “I guess I should go on to choir practice.”
“Are you going to be able to sing today?” his concerned wife asked. “They might hear that cough of yours and send you right home.”
“I’m fine,” he assured her, but as he rose to throw his plate away, Melody wondered just how sick the man might really be.
“I’ve heard of man flu,” Mrs. Gregory began, mostly addressing the other married woman at the table, “and when that man gets sick, it is the exact opposite. I swear he could have pneumonia and still report to work like it’s nothing.”
“I hope he gets better,” Hailey’s mother—whom Melody had found out was named Angela—offered.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Gregory replied, her eyes still following her husband out of the room. “Well, Michael, are you ready to go sing a few songs?”
“Yes!” he exclaimed.
“I guess that means I need to tell you goodbye for real this time,” Melody said, standing.
“Awww,” he moped, standing and pushing in his chair, his head downcast and his arms straight to his sides. “Can’t you stay, Miss Melody? You’ve already stayed this long. Can’t you listen to me sing?”
“There are only a few rehearsals left before the festival,” Mrs. Gregory reminded her, and Melody wondered why that might be an incentive to stay. Didn’t that mean she’d be seeing the real performance soon enough?
Michael wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head against her leg. “I’ll miss you so much, Miss Melody.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Melody exclaimed. “Fine. I’ll stay.”
“Yay!” Michael hollered, squeezing her even harder than he had been before. “You’re the bestest, Miss Melody!”
Mrs. Gregory gave her a wink and then began to herd the children back into the sanctuary. Melody followed and dutifully took a seat in the pew where she’d sat last time. Hailey’s parents walked their daughter in but then left to go join the adult choir practice, and once again Melody was virtually alone in a big room full of laughing children, two sweet older women who were doing their best to teach the children the love of music, and a thousand thoughts of all the reasons why she would rather be just about anywhere else in the world.