Holiday in Holly Oaks

Chapter 3

"Stacy, hands at your side. Noah, hands out of your mouth," Tallie said, trying her best to wrangle the group of four and five-year-old kids into the semblance of two lines.

"Lucas, face me, everyone will want to see your beautiful face." Tallie gently grabbed the shoulders of the little blonde boy in front of her and turned him around to face the back of the church. "Don't move." She knew it was an empty request but she hoped for the best as she moved to the next kid.

Five minutes later and miracles of miracles, she had all fifteen kids facing her, their hands clasped in front, and half were smiling. "Alright Ben, we'll start from the beginning."

She stepped back up the aisle while sending up a silent prayer for patience with the little ones, and a prayer of gratitude for the older kids. The older kids had already spent almost an hour and a half at the church rehearsing the Christmas pageant and they were managing to be patient while she got the little kids in line.

The intro music for Silent Night played over the church speakers and Tallie motioned for everyone to stand tall then held her hands high and signaled for the kids to start singing. She knew she only had the little kid's attention and patience for max twenty minutes.

After singing the first verse and chorus five times, Tallie deemed the practice a success. Enough kids were singing together and the kids were so adorable she knew no one would be paying attention to the song.

"Excellent!" Tallie cheered as the kids finished the chorus for the last time. "That was fantastic everyone! We'll stop there for today."

With that, the sanctuary turned into chaos and noise. The little kids ran from their spots to their waiting parents in the pews, while some of the older kids in the pageant sought Tallie out to ask questions.

It took another half an hour to answer all questions and get all the kids to parents. Tallie kept a smile on her face until she waved goodbye to the final kid then glanced at the clock. She had ten minutes before the next round of kids would be arriving for band practice.

She collected all her things from the front and headed towards the back of the sanctuary when she noticed someone was sitting in the back row. She smiled when she realized it was Case, and her smile grew even bigger when she saw the top of a guitar case next to him.

"Hey," she called out as she walked down the center aisle towards him.

He stood and began to clap. "Well done!" he said, "You get the reward of re-positioning the same kids the most times while keeping a smile on your face."

She laughed. "You got to witness a part of that glorious proceeding?"

"That Lucas was giving you a run for your money."

"He was. Good thing I'm loaded."

He joined in with her laughter. "I don't remember pageant rehearsal being so chaotic. Or so much work." They both turned to the front of the church.

"Probably because the last time we did it, we were the big kids in the back goofing off while some other sad soul was trying to wrangle the little kids into order," she said.

"And now you get to be that sad soul," he said, resting a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's a real honor," she joked. "It's actually really fun, despite all the chaos," she added in a whisper. "You lucked out being here today. That was our best rehearsal." He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but she gave him a warning look. "If you knew where we started, you would be impressed."

"Then I'm bummed I wasn't here to see the start."

She laughed, having accepted that there was a large part of the final song of the pageant that was out of her control.

"We both know that the more chaotic the little kids are, the more everyone enjoys the song," Case added.

"Why do you think we put them at the very end? Even if there are a million mistakes in the pageant, the little kids singing one song will be the only thing anyone remembers. And speaking of songs," she glanced at the clock again, "we should get going."

Case grabbed his guitar and followed her out of the sanctuary and down a flight of stairs. Tallie couldn't help smiling as she looked back and the sight of Case carrying his guitar flashed her back to high school. She noticed he had lost the posh workout clothes and was wearing a big woolly sweater she was pretty sure she recognized from high school. But she kept the thoughts to herself, aware of how much he had resisted coming.

She knew the memories must also be front and center for Case as well as they reached the familiar back room they had spent so many hours rehearsing in. He automatically moved towards the row of chairs and laid his guitar case down. He snapped the buckles open and pulled out his guitar. He sat and gave the strings a hesitant strum. The discordant sound they made snapped Tallie out of the past as they both laughed at the awful noise.

"That might need a tune," she said sarcastically.

"You think?" He pulled the tuner out of the case and began to pluck the strings.

Tallie knew she could happily watch him tune his guitar and sink into comforting memories but she forced herself to rearrange the chairs. She kept herself busy setting up to keep herself from paying Case too much attention, but she allowed a small smile to slip onto her face when she heard him play the first faint chord.

The notes barely reached her across the room and she could hear his hesitation in the strum. She kept moving, banging chairs together as she stacked them like she couldn't hear a thing. Playing guitar was like riding a bike: you never forgot, but that didn't mean you wanted anyone around to watch you ride a bike for the first time in years.

"I need to go wait for the kids upstairs. Do you need anything?" she asked casually. She could tell by the faraway look he gave her that he had already slipped under the hypnosis of the guitar. She knew that look meant he was only hearing about forty percent of what she said.

"Never mind," she smiled. "I'll be back." A few more hesitant chords played her out of the room, and by the time she came back with the kids in the band, a full song greeted them.

Case's playing stopped as the rush of kids entered the room and the racket of unpacking instruments and tuning them ensued. Tallie gave Case the sheet music for the five songs the band was playing then left him to help the kids set up.

By the time all the instruments were tuned and sheet music was on the music stands, Case had played through all the songs. Tallie watched him from across the room and could see everything he had known had come right back, just like she had predicted.

"Alright everyone," she said above all the voices, calling attention to her. "We will start with Holy Night."

There was a flutter of pages as the kids found the correct sheet music and she walked over to Case. "Were you able to figure out the songs?" she asked.

He smiled begrudgingly. "I think I can handle it."

"Good." She paused for a moment, thinking about making a joke, but he gave her a warning look about saying anything else and she kept her mouth shut and moved to the center of the room to direct.

"Listen..." Any stray notes from instruments stopped as all the kids quieted. "Henry is late today so my friend Case is filling in on the guitar."

All the kids looked curious at Case as he waved a hello. "Remember, follow his tempo. It is not a race and we need to keep the same time." The kids nodded.

"Alright, instruments ready. Anthony, remember to wait for the second beat when you come in the chorus, and Annie, remember to hold your notes. Ready?" She nodded to Case and he played the first chord.

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Hello friends!

What are we thinking about this chapter?

We are now 3 chapters in. What do we think about Case?

That he looks adorable is anything?That's what I was thinking too!!!!

Second fun fact:
I am a nanny (I take care of babies and kids) Have been most of my life so I have felt the same way Tallie did in the beginning. Kids are fun and good at driving you crazy!