Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Idon’t know my lines,” Maryellen said as tears started to fill her eyes.
Roland looked at her. She wasn’t going to cry, was she?
He would rather be handling the boys, but Nelly had been working on getting them to stand in the exact arrangement she wanted, and he didn’t exactly know what that was.
So he was going over lines with the other kids.
However, Maryellen, who was playing Mary in the play, looked like she was about to cry, because apparently she didn’t know hers.
The wind howled outside as the first real storm of the season blew in.
They had wanted to get practice over quickly so they could hopefully send the kids home, but they needed at least an hour. They’d had fifteen minutes.
“That’s not a big deal. We’ll just work on them a little. You only have a few, and you’re gonna be fine.”
“But I’m scared. What if I mess them up?”
“So if your mom was in a play, and she messed up her lines, would that bother you?”
Maryellen looked at him and seemed confused before she slowly shook her head.
“That’s what I thought. You’re very forgiving. You just want to see your mom up there, enjoying herself and doing a good job, but also having fun. Right?”
“I guess,” Maryellen said softly.
“That’s what everybody wants for you. There is no one who is going to be angry or upset if you don’t remember your lines.”
Roland wasn’t entirely sure that her family wouldn’t be angry if she didn’t remember her lines. But her mom seemed like a reasonable person, and he was casual friends with her dad, who was pretty easygoing.
Maybe they were harsh behind closed doors, but…without specific knowledge, he couldn’t say. He was just trying to ease her mind.
“I guess you’re right,” she said, thinking about it.
He was relieved when she apparently decided he was right.
Just then, a particularly fierce gust of wind shook the church building, and the lights flickered.
If the lights went out, it was going to get interesting.
He told Maryellen her lines, and as she repeated them back to him, he lifted his eyes and met Nelly’s gaze across the room, where she gently moved a boy about six inches to get him into position before kneeling down and putting a piece of tape on the floor where he should stand.
Her expression said that she too was concerned that they wouldn’t get their full practice in, and maybe they should send the kids home.
But that would involve calling all their parents, and by the time they got that done, it would be time for the kids to leave anyway.
He had worked for another five minutes with Maryellen and had pulled Joseph aside to check on his lines when the building shook from the howling wind, and the lights flickered again and then went out.
Some of the children immediately screamed, and others started to cry.
“Hey, guys, hey,” he said, waiting until everyone was listening. “It’s okay. We’re good. If you notice, there’s still enough light that we can see each other, because it’s not quite dark out yet.”
It was getting dark earlier and earlier, but since practice was directly after school, there was still some dusky light coming in through the clouds and the snow.
“I love candles. They’re my favorite thing ever. Sometimes when I have a particularly hard day,” Nelly said as she moved around, grabbing some things from under the pew before she stood, “I light candles to relax. Don’t you guys like candles?”
“Sometimes we eat dinner by candlelight. Mom says it’s romantic!” Maryellen said.
That made Roland smile. Only a woman would think candlelight was romantic. Or a bad cook. He supposed it would be harder to see the food if the lights were dim.
His mom had wanted him to date Maryellen’s mother. Perhaps that comment hinted that he’d dodged a bullet.
“Exactly. Candlelight is romantic. And it makes a common, ordinary dinner super special.”
That was Nelly, and he bit his lip. She thought candlelight was romantic?
She had just said that she enjoyed candles.
And then he realized that what she had grabbed from under the pew was a box of candles, and now she began setting them around and lighting them.
“And candles can make Christmas pageant practice fun and special too,” she said cheerfully.
He thought that her words had effectively banished any lingering fear or concern the children had. And now, they watched with smiles as she walked around the sanctuary, setting candles down in strategic spots and lighting them all while explaining about fire safety.
He was impressed that she had been able to turn the atmosphere of the entire room so quickly from fear to eager anticipation.
He walked over, grabbing some candles out of the box and picking up the other lighter. He noted the pattern she was using to set the candles down on the windows along the other side, and he began setting them on the opposite side, lighting them as he went.
“It will probably be dark the day that we do the play, so this is actually really good practice for us. I’m so glad this happened.”
“But I don’t like the dark,” one of the littlest girls said, sounding perilously close to tears.
“I love the dark. It gives you a special, secret place all to yourself for you to snuggle down under your blankets and be completely alone and invisible to anyone else.” Nelly smiled. “But we’re not completely in the dark, are we? Look how pretty the candles are.”
“They are kind of pretty,” the girl said tentatively.
Nelly continued to encourage her, and he finished placing the candles around while Nelly stood in front of the children and explained what they were going to be doing next.
He and Nelly had gotten into a rhythm, and it was almost like they could read each other’s minds. They worked so well together it was uncanny.
Maybe he had just grown up, since he had the same ability to work with his Secret Saint partner too. He’d never felt anything like it in his life before, and now he had two women that he worked so well with.
His eyes went to Nelly as she was animated and engaged with the children.
She was so good with them. She was born to be a teacher for sure, but there was also a womanly grace about her that pulled him in a way that he wanted to resist.
It was the same way his Secret Saint partner pulled him. Odd that it was happening at the same time in the same way, and he looked back over his life to think about what was different.
His mom for one. Maybe Isadora coming back with her children.
But maybe he was just maturing.
He thought about his sister Terry saying that she had examined their mom and sent her for tests. They wouldn’t know the results of the tests for a bit, and she wouldn’t be able to diagnose anything in particular until she did.
The waiting was going to be excruciating.
Terry had assured him that she didn’t think it was anything serious, but legally she wouldn’t have said that to anyone outside the family because she didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and be sued for misstating.
He heard Nelly’s voice calling his name, and he came out of his fog of thoughts to join in with the program practice again.
It went better than one could expect for a candlelight practice, and he had to admit he was almost disappointed when it was over.
He wasn’t sure whether it was the candles, or whether it was just the attitude of the children caused by doing something a little bit different, but the whole practice seemed to take on a fun, Christmasy glow.
Pastor Connelly came in as the last children left. He was a little disappointed because he was hoping to be able to talk to Nelly by herself. He didn’t know exactly what he wanted to say… Maybe an apology?
He just knew he didn’t want to walk away from her.
“Unfortunately, someone’s been stealing money from the donation box again,” Pastor Connelly said gravely as the door closed behind the last student, and Nelly stood on one side of the sanctuary, folding up costumes and placing them on the front pew for easy access for the next practice while he walked around and started blowing out and collecting candles.
“Well, then you should know that it’s not Roland, at least,” Nelly said, and she barely looked up from where she was folding the costumes.
“Actually, again, he’s the only one on the video between yesterday morning and this afternoon when I counted the money just before the children arrived.”
Nelly looked stricken, and Roland almost smiled. After all, she had so much belief in him that the idea that he would be on the camera again was absolutely shocking to her, obviously.
“I had to come in. I brought the box of costumes in from the storage shed where we keep them. I said I would do that, and I did.”
“And you helped yourself to another hundred dollars while you were at it,” Pastor Connelly said.
“No. I didn’t,” Roland said, keeping his voice calm.
It made him a little bit angry that the pastor immediately jumped to that conclusion, but he understood why the pastor might.
It was hard—he was on the video both times the money had been stolen, but he also knew for a fact that it hadn’t been him, so there was no point in getting upset.
Although it did not feel good, at all, to be falsely accused.
“Roland had to bring the costumes in. We had asked him to do that, and he did. So obviously of course he was going to be on the video.”
“But there was no one else there. I went through the entire thing.”
“Well, then something else is going on, because Roland said he didn’t do it, and we all know that he’s not a thief.”
It surprised him that she was still defending him, even with what amounted to more “evidence” against him.
“Do you have the camera pointing at the actual container?” Nelly asked, as though she had just considered that he was only accusing Roland of coming in, not saying that he actually saw him take it.
“No. I really should get a camera that is pointed there. When we had our security system installed, it was installed to police the front of the building. We don’t have cameras in the back, and we don’t have cameras inside.”
“Well, why don’t you get an inexpensive camera just for this purpose and put it there for this week?”
Pastor Connelly flattened his lips. “I’m going to go to the police with this. I just wanted you guys to know. But your idea of a camera is a good one, and I’ll have to take it before the board, since I can’t really do anything by myself.”
Nelly didn’t say anything, but her lips pressed down, and he knew she wasn’t happy.
It was really sweet of her to be so passionate in defending him.
It confused him a bit, though, considering that the two of them had never been great friends.
Sure, he thought they were getting along pretty well now, but…
after their history, he would have thought that Nelly would have at least been suspicious.
Pastor Connelly left and went down the hall to his office, closing the door behind him.
He finished blowing out the candles on his side, carefully carrying them so the wax didn’t drip on the floor as he walked around the back and started up the other side.
He met Nelly halfway down as they blew out the last candle together.
It was rather dark in the church after that, but he held the last three candles in his hands while the wax firmed up and pulled his phone out with his other hand, turning the flashlight on.
“That was a great idea about the candles.”
She laughed. “The kids loved it too. And I don’t know that it was ever my dream exactly to have the Christmas program practice by candlelight, but I’ve always loved candles, and there’s just something about lighting a candle that somehow makes the room feel more cozy.”
“I’ve never noticed, but…it was a fun practice.”
“Yeah, it really made a difference in the whole atmosphere. Funny how just something little can do that.”
“Yeah.” He was quiet for a moment, and she kind of stood there. Whether she was waiting for him to say something, or whether she had something of her own to say, he wasn’t sure. But he was kind of scrambling for words. Finally, he said, “I just wanted to thank you.”
“For the Christmas program practice? If I wasn’t doing it, somebody else would.”
“No. For defending me. I… I know that we haven’t exactly been friends over the years, and it surprises me that you are so adamant about my character.”
“I know we didn’t get along for a really long time, and as I look back, I can see that it was because of my misconceptions.
My hurt colored how I felt, and I never allowed myself to get over it.
But if I’m being honest, you’re really a nice person.
I was the one who refused to see.” She lifted her shoulder and shook her head.
“You have impeccable character. You’ve never been dishonest or stolen anything, and everyone who knows you believes the best about you.
I’m not sure I understand why Pastor Connelly is so down on you. ”
“I think he just feels like he has the evidence in front of him and there’s no other conclusion to come to, you know?”
“I thought of that. Also, he’s probably really upset that someone would dare take money from the church, and he just wants it solved, you know?”
“Doesn’t want to dig too hard, because where else can he dig?”
“Exactly.”
“Anyway, thanks. I appreciate it.”
Nelly nodded her head. “Anytime.”
As they walked out, Roland thought of something that he could do for Nelly—it was just a little thing, to kind of say thank you for the way she was defending him. He was determined to do it soon.