by Lisa Page
Ellie’s Song:
A Christmas Story
Lisa Page
Copyright © 2012 Lisa Page.
All rights reserved.
[email protected]
Ellie Morgan tucked a strand of pale blond hair behind her ear as she blew on her chamomile tea. She was sitting at a little table in the corner of the Sit-n-Sip coffee shop watching people come in from the snowy street for a warm beverage to ward off winter’s chill.
It was nice to be back in her hometown of Danning to see her family again and she did love Christmas, though the length of her holiday break from college was just about how long she could stand it there. She’d always thought of herself as a city girl. She loved the action that big cities were immersed in. Being in Chicago showed her just how much she had been missing in this boring town. All the shopping on Michigan Avenue, the fun night life and the many opportunities for a vocal performance major were not to be found in dreary Danning, Indiana.
As she sipped her tea, her eyes caught a glimpse of a man outside on the sidewalk. A man walking with a spring in his step, who made her take a second look. Even underneath his winter jacket, she could tell he was broad-shouldered and muscular. He had dark hair, cut short, but she could tell that it held a natural wave. She was hoping he’d turn off the sidewalk and into the coffee shop so she could get a better look. And she smiled to herself when he did just that. Life in Danning was looking up.
He walked in the door and rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them as he made his way to the front of the line. He gave the barista a friendly greeting and then his order. There was something about his voice sounded vaguely familiar to her.
After getting his large cup of coffee to go, he looked around the shop as he turned to walk out. His eyes stopped to rest on Ellie and he gave her a warm, friendly smile. Suddenly there was a spark of recognition in his eyes. “Ellie?”
She blinked and set down her tea. Luke? She wondered how she didn’t recognize him before then. This handsome stranger was someone she knew!
“Luke Williams! It’s been a long time!” She smiled back at him as he walked over to her table. Luke was a couple years older than her. They had met while performing in the high school musical together. She remembered what an amazing voice he had and how cute he had been, too, even back then. He was an inspiration to her when he left to study in New York on a vocal talent scholarship and then when he really made it big by landing a role in a Broadway show. He was probably one of the last people she’d expected to see back in town. He was even better looking than she remembered; time had been kind to him.
She watched as he looked her over and wondered if he was surprised at how much she had changed since they’d last seen each other. She was still short and petite, that much hadn’t changed, but the last time he’d seen her she had been a ponytailed 15 year old with braces. Definitely not her most attractive phase, but three years of braces had been worth it for the smile that it gave her. She was often told that it was her best feature.
“Wow, look at you, you’re all grown up!” he said as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. He smelled of cold winter air and spicy men’s cologne.
“Hey now, you’re not that much older than me, you know.”
She saw his mouth curve up into a smile that made her heart beat a little faster.
“Well I think you’ve changed a lot more than I have. What have you been up to? Do you live in town?”
“In Danning? Are you kidding me,” she laughed. “No way! I’m only back for Christmas break. It’s my last year at Northwestern. And what are you doing back here? I thought you were a big Broadway star now. Are you visiting family?”
He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “Nah, it was a fun time but my Broadway days are behind me. I moved back here this year to take a job as a music teacher at the high school.”
Now it was Ellie’s turn to feel a bit sheepish and she wondered if her comment had seemed too condescending. She was shocked to find out that he had moved back. “Wow! You gave up fame and fortune for dealing with bratty high school kids every day?”
“Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s a cutthroat world out there, very competitive and it just wasn’t ….rewarding, I guess. I had dreamed of making it big all my life but when it finally happened, it was like… something was still missing.”
Ellie just stared at him as if he were talking another language. Making it big had been her dream, too, ever since she was a little girl. Singing to sold out performance halls, touring the globe, living the lifestyle of the rich and famous and becoming a household name-these were the things that were important to her.
“What do you mean, what was missing?”
“Well, I wasn’t even sure myself at first. But I started volunteering with a program that mentors to high risk kids and it was an eye-opening experience. I worked with kids who had nothing, just living on the streets. They were truly lost souls, and using music to connect to them and give them something positive in their lives was the best thing I’d done in my life.”
He stopped for a minute to sip his coffee and she could tell by the look on his face that he was remembering back to that experience. It had obviously been a moving one.
“Teaching music gave me the chance to really make a difference in people’s lives. It was incredibly rewarding and I knew that it was how I wanted to spend my life. I already had a music degree so I just took night classes to get my teaching certificate.”
“I know I would have loved to have had you as a teacher,” Ellie said with a twinkle in her blue eyes. “I bet that all your female students have crushes on you.”
He laughed and she thought it looked like he was blushing, but she couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know about that, but I have to tell you, running the school musical is a lot harder than we ever realized when we were kids.”
“Well, I for one, hope to never find out,” Ellie said. “I plan to always be on the stage and not behind it. I think I was born with stars in my eyes. Besides, I know I’d never have the patience to be a teacher. Kids annoy me.”
“Sometimes, I’m not sure where I find the patience,” he said, “but I enjoy it and I’m glad that I went for it, it was the best decision I’ve made. I know teaching’s not for everyone, but I bet even you would really enjoy being a mentor. You have so much drive and talent, you’d be an inspiration to kids. In fact…” The way he looked at her told her that an idea was forming in his mind. Please don’t let it be anything to do with kids, she thought to herself.
“…in fact, I have just the place in mind.”
“Place? In mind for what?”
“I run a children’s choir program at St. Andrew’s church over on the other side of town, next to the Lincoln Terrace development.”
Her blank stare told him she didn’t know what he was talking about.
“It’s a low-income housing area for families, full of kids who don’t have a lot of positive adult guidance in their lives. The program I run is a choir, but it’s really more than that. They know that I’m there for them, that I have their back. If they are struggling at school, with friends, with family issues, they know they can come to me. I help them with their homework, bring food for them to eat and then we sing. We usually meet twice a week and then sing at one church service a month. But because school is on winter break, we’re meeting every day this week to prepare for the Christmas Eve service.”
“And what exactly does this have to do with me?”
“I’m getting there, hold on. How about a friendly wager? You stop by our practice tomorrow and after one day with the kids. I’m betting it will change your mind about kids. I think you’ll have a blast.”
“Hmm…sounds intriguing. Just what are we wagering?�
��
“If you win, I’ll buy you a latte or whatever it is you’re drinking.”
“That would be chamomile tea with honey and lemon.” She touched her throat and added, “I have the most pampered vocal chords you’ll ever meet. I have to keep these babies in tip-top shape.”
“So do we have a deal?”
She shook his hand as she said, “Ok, we have a deal, I’ll go. I’m done with my Christmas shopping and have a free day tomorrow.”
“Great! St. Andrew’s church, be there at three. See you then.”
As she watched him walk out, she wondered what she was getting herself into. But knowing that she’d get to spend the afternoon with Luke, she didn’t really care.
***
The next afternoon, Ellie sat staring blankly into her large, walk-in closet, trying to decide what to wear. She was already running late and didn’t like the stress of having to choose something too quickly. This was a delicate situation that needed focused thoughts and planning. It wasn’t exactly going to be a date, but she had seen the way Luke was looking at her at the Sit-n-Sip and she wanted to wear something that would capture his attention but in a subtle way. Trying to look good without appearing that she was trying to look good. It was a fine line to walk and she wanted to be on the right side of that line.
She finally settled on a pair of skinny black jeans with a dark pink sweater. She’d wear her new wool coat with the pink cashmere scarf she bought in Chicago before she left and her new black boots. While she was getting ready her mother knocked softly on her door.
“Can I come in, darling?” she asked in a voice as soft as the knock. Ellie had missed that soft, sweet voice of her mother while she was at college. The one downside to wanting to live in big cities and travel the world is that she’d miss her parents. Growing up, she felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world. When, during her teenage years, friends would be complaining about their parents, doing anything to escape, Ellie would relish the family Thursday night pizza and game parties or Sunday dinners that also included her grandparents.
“My, don’t you look pretty, Eleanore!”
Ellie smiled to hear the formal version of her name. It was only ever used by her mother, so hearing it out loud made her feel at home.
“Thanks, Mother, I’m getting ready to meet a friend at St. Andrew’s church.”
“A friend?”
Ellie could tell that her mother’s interest was piqued.
“So, tell me, Eleanore, would this be a female friend or a male friend?”
Ellie smiled at her mom and rolled her eyes. “It’s a male friend, mom. An old friend that I ran into at the Sit-n-Sip. He was a couple of years ahead of me in school, though. Do you remember Luke Williams?”
“Luke? Of course I remember that boy, he was the start of all the high school musicals when he was here. I thought you said he working in a Broadway show or something?”
“He was, but not anymore.” Ellie didn’t want to explain any more than she had to, she still had trouble understanding the concept of leaving stardom to move back to Danning.
“I see. Well, please be careful, my dear, St. Andrew’s is not in a very good part of town. It’s dangerous so I want you to make sure you have your phone with you. And pay attention to your surroundings. Are you sure you wouldn’t like your dad to drive you there?”
Ellie laughed. “I’ll be fine, mother-I’m going to church. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home, ok? Now, I need to run, though, or I’ll be late.”
***
Driving across town from her neighborhood, one of Danning’s most affluent, to the older, run down area where St. Andrew’s was located was eye opening for Ellie. She never usually had a reason to drive through that area and remembering her mother’s words made her feel slightly uncomfortable, like she wanted to lock her doors even in the middle of the day. The crime rate wasn’t very high in Danning, but when it did happen, it was usually in this side of town. She found her way to St. Andrew’s, a beautiful old church with stained glass windows. It was a bit of beauty among the ugly tan buildings that made up the more recent housing developments and businesses that surrounded it.
She saw Luke coming down the church steps to meet her and her heart started fluttering in her chest. Or was it the butterflies in her stomach? She couldn’t be sure.
“There you are. I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.” He looked her over from head to toe with a look that told her he was glad she didn’t. She hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
“Just a little fashionably late.” Literally, she added silently to herself. “But there are two things about me that you should know. One, I always keep my word and two, I’m also used to winning. So you’ve been warned, Luke Williams. I’m a tough nut to crack. Bring on the annoying kids!”
“Well, if you call them that, then, yeah, they might try to get on your nerves,” he laughed as he led her through the church and down the stairs to the basement. There was a big open area with some tables and an old piano that reminded her of the one her grandmother used to have. She had fond memories of singing Christmas songs with her family around that piano. This piano looked even older than her grandmother’s with more wear and tear. Ellie wondered how many songs it had played in its day.
The basement smelled musty as she would have imagined a hundred year old basement to smell like,but there was a lemon scent, too, and it was obvious that it had been scrubbed clean and was well taken care of. There was a large kitchen off the back and a few doors that led to other, smaller rooms.
Luke set a bag on the table and began taking out sub sandwiches and placing one at each spot.
“I learned quickly that hungry kids aren’t fun to work with. They’re crabby, unfocused and not much fun to be around. For some of them, this is the only dinner they’ll be getting.”
“You pay for their dinner with your own money?”
“Yeah, but believe me, it’s worth it. My friend Pete owns a sub shop and he gives me a deal on sandwiches, so we have that once a week and then I usually make something and bring it the other day. Nothing fancy, just trying to give them a healthy meal. No one’s complained about it or gotten sick, so I think it’s working out pretty well.”
She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling like Christmas lights. “I have to admit, I am just a little bit nervous. Maybe I get annoyed with kids because they can be intimidating to me. Have you seen how tall I am? Or should I say ‘how tall I’m not?’ Most kids are much bigger than me.” Her driver’s license stated that she was 5’1 and that was being about an inch too generous. It was probably the reason she was addicted to heels, even her winter boots had heels.
Now it was Luke’s turn to laugh. “These kids aren’t intimidating, I promise. I really appreciate you being here, today. I know it’s a fun bet between us, but for these kids, it’s serious. Any positive interaction with adults, any positive experience in their lives…it means more than you know. It’s heartbreaking to see the heavy burdens that a lot of these kids carry. Their home lives are rough, many come from broken homes… they’ve seen abuse, poverty, alcoholism, a lot of the dark side of life. So talk to them. Show them that they are important enough for you to get to know them.”
It was hard for Ellie to imagine a child having to go through anything like that. She had lived a privileged life, growing up in a family that was not only wealthy, but loving and supportive. She and her sister wanted for nothing and were doted on by their parents. Sometimes it was easy to take that for granted. The darkest side of life she’d seen was when her cat, Sparkles, died.
Luke saw the twinkle leave her eye as she became lost in her thoughts. He quickly added, “But they’re still kids, and this is a great place for them to be kids. It’s a safe place for them to hang out, and for the kids who live in Lincoln Terrace, those are hard to come by. We have a lot of fun together. We usually start with homework but because it’s Christmas break, they won’t have homework, so we’ll eat first and then work
on our music. There are only a few days until our big performance.”
As he was speaking, they could hear footsteps above them and then trampling down the stairs. Ellie gulped. She had been enjoying her time with Luke and secretly wished it could have been just the two of them the whole time. Brace yourself, Ellie, she told herself, there’s no turning back now.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs their chatter and laughing stopped when they saw Ellie. They hadn’t been expecting a guest visitor. They stared at her, wide-eyed.
“Who’s that?” asked a tall, smiling boy wearing a jacket about two sizes too small.
“Is that your girlfriend, Mr. Williams?” added a little girl with braided hair and a missing front tooth. That question was met with squeals of laughter from the other children. I wish, Ellie thought to herself.
“We have a special visitor to help us out today, kids. This is my friend, Ellie. She is a very talented singer and she is home from college for Christmas break. I want you all to show her the same respect that you show me because we’re very lucky to have her here to help us. She’s excited to spend time with you.”
Ellie thought the kids looked surprised to hear she went to college. She imagined they thought she might have been a new kid to the group. She stood up as straight as she could to make herself appear taller and smiled at the kids. Their friendly smiles made her feel welcome right away.
“I know you’re probably hungry, so before we sit down to eat, why don’t you line up so I can introduce you to Ellie. How about you stand in the order that you’ll be standing for our concert?”
They quickly started moving into formation and Ellie giggled to herself at how they followed orders from Luke as if he were an Army sergeant. She thought the authoritative vibe he gave off was very attractive.
Luke stood behind the kids, his hand hovering over each one as he introduced them. “Miss Ellie, I’d like to introduce you to Max, Tommy, Jasmine, Brandon, Alicia, Isaac, Annie, Nia, Cori and Calvin.”
Ellie smiled back at each of them and tried to keep track of their names. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to remember all of them.
