Chapter Seven
Seven
Julian
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Charlie called, shaking her hands from the front of the music room to get the group’s attention. The choir broke off mid rockin’. They didn’t even get around the Christmas tree. “Let’s pause there for a second. This isn’t working.”
Julian sighed and stopped the recording on his phone.
He glanced up, watching the choir exchange confused looks.
This was the third time Charlie had interrupted the filming since they’d started rehearsal this morning.
At this rate, they weren’t going to have time to get something filmed before the competition application was due.
Julian deleted the draft, sending it off with all the others he’d trashed in the past hour. “What’s the problem now?”
“Maggie needs to switch places with one of the other sopranos.” Charlie gestured for the residents to change positions. “Her voice is coming through too heavily. She’s all I can hear during the chorus.”
Julian pursed his lips. Really? “Things sounded fine to me.”
Charlie shot him a daggered look that told him he should probably stop talking. She’d been doing that all morning, too. “Well, if all you want is fine—”
“Look,” Julian said, taking a step closer to her and lowering his voice. “That’s not what I meant. But don’t you think you’re being a little too—”
“Too what?” she demanded loudly, crossing her arms.
Julian’s eyes flickered to the residents and back.
He could tell he’d waded into dangerous territory.
He’d forgotten how fiery Charlie could be when she was passionate about something.
He remembered the harmless arguments she used to have with her brother on Doris’s porch.
Julian would sit there, amused as they debated the minutiae of theatrical performances long into the night.
But this wasn’t some good-natured debating, and he hated that they were arguing in front of the residents.
It didn’t really instill a whole lot of confidence as codirectors.
“Look, I’m just saying…”
Her hazel eyes seemed to blaze with heat, daring him to keep going. He lost himself momentarily in their depth, in the rosy color of her lips, in the soft blush on her cheeks.
What was he trying to say?
“Weren’t you the one who said that I should handle the music and you should handle the logistics?”
“Yes,” Julian said. “But I think in this case—”
“Then let me worry about the music.”
“I would argue there’s an element of logistics here. You know…” he tapped his phone “…like getting this little performance on film.”
“Maybe if you weren’t hovering so much,” Charlie said.
“I don’t think me hovering is the problem,” he replied.
Charlie crossed her arms, her nostrils flaring, and he found himself drawn to her intensity, leaning in, thinking about—
“Why don’t we take five?” Doris said, stepping forward. She eyed them both with a raised brow. “Give everyone a chance to hydrate?”
“Sure,” Julian said. “Good idea.”
The moment the group dispersed, Charlie swept him off to the side of the room.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Too what?” she said, ignoring the question.
“Huh?”
“Before. You said, ‘Don’t you think you’re being a little too…’” Charlie said. “What were you going to say?”
Julian lifted his shoulder. “I don’t know. It just feels like you’re being a little critical of the choir. I think they’re doing really well considering all we had last week was a name.”
“I’m giving them notes,” Charlie said. “That’s how they’re going to improve.”
“Yes. Notes are good. But I think we should remember that most of them are in their seventies and hard of hearing. You could dial it back a little. That’s all.”
“Dial it back?” Charlie looked at him like he’d sprouted a third eye. “Do you want to make it into this competition or not?”
“Of course I do.” He let out a heavy breath. “They’re doing the best they can. And for like a week of rehearsals, I think they’re sounding pretty good.”
“Pretty good does not win you twenty thousand dollars.” Charlie prodded him in the chest with her finger. “That’s what we’re doing here, aren’t we?”
Julian batted her finger away before he could do something ridiculous, like take her hand. “Ideally—”
“Then let’s take it from the top!” Charlie called, stomping back over to the front of the room.
“Okay then,” Julian muttered under his breath. “Good conversation.” Apparently they weren’t really taking five.
The residents scrambled back to their places, exchanging looks of uncertainty. Doris’s lips were pulled into a tight line as she settled back on the piano bench.
Julian opened his camera app on his phone again.
None of this was going the way he’d expected or hoped.
He couldn’t put a pin in why Charlie was so out of sorts today, but it almost felt like she was deliberately trying to make this process more difficult.
All they needed to do was film a nice little video so the Elm Springs Arts Council could decide whether they would be performing on Christmas Eve.
He wasn’t asking for perfection, just for Charlie to let the choir actually get through the song.
“Gentlemen in the back!” Charlie snapped. “Straighten up, please. Eyes forward.”
Julian got into position, just off to the side of Charlie. He lifted his phone. “Are we ready?”
“Yes,” Charlie said. “Here we go. And one…and two…and…”
Julian hit Record, zooming in, taking in the residents and their smiles. There were fewer of them now.
“Stop! Stop!” Charlie called.
Julian deleted the recording and whirled around. “Now what?”
“The altos came in too late.”
She couldn’t be serious. “Who could even tell?”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Oh sorry, do you have a master’s degree in music?”
“No, and neither does most of the Arts Council, I bet.”
Julian watched Charlie’s whole face shift from frustration to anger, her brows knitting together. Okay, maybe he shouldn’t be antagonizing the one person who might actually be able to help him pull this off, but honestly this was getting out of hand.
Charlie needed to relax and deal with whatever was really bothering her, because how could she be this impatient with a bunch of seventysomethings trying their best?
He was starting to feel a little irritated with her himself, remembering how hard he’d tried to get her to open up before she ghosted him eight years ago.
He’d realized she was pulling away, but despite how often he asked her if something was wrong, she denied it, and then it was just over.
And here he was again, asking if she was okay while she avoided his question.
Doris turned around on the piano bench, her hands pressed against her knees as she regarded Charlie. “Now we really do need to take five,” she said, fiddling with her watch. “I’m starting a timer.”
“Fine,” Charlie huffed.
“Fine,” Julian said. What was another five minutes?
Charlie stormed away to the table where she kept a book full of notes and started writing furiously. Julian went to brood on the other side of the room just as Diane popped her head in.
“Hey! How’s everything going?”
“Oh,” he said, caught off guard by her appearance.
“Er…good. Great!” He looked around at the choir, mingling in tiny groups, throwing nervous glances in Charlie’s direction.
“They’ve been working really hard this morning, so we’re taking a bit of a break.
We’re trying to get our audition video recorded. ”
“Yes, right. I remember you telling me that. Well, they’re sounding better and better every time I pass by the room.”
“You think?” Julian glanced over his shoulder to see if Charlie was listening. See, he wanted to say to her, but that probably wouldn’t help his case.
“Absolutely. I’ve heard nothing but good things from the staff for days. Everyone’s really excited about Glendale possibly performing on Christmas Eve. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for you. I just wanted to tell you that I’m really impressed with your out-of-the-box thinking here.”
“Thanks,” Julian said. “I appreciate that.” It was a long shot, perhaps, but it was better than sitting around for the rest of the year, wishing for money to appear. “I figured this beat writing up another proposal that’ll probably end up in some shredder.”
Diane nodded. “I have a positive feeling about this.”
Julian grinned. “You sure that isn’t all the candy canes and caffeine?”
“Might be.” She laughed. “Either way I just wanted you to know that all your hard work isn’t going unnoticed. And if I had the budget, it’d be yours.”
“I know,” Julian said. He knew that if Diane could offer the support, she would.
But he also understood that other things took priority, and she had to make tough decisions every day.
Sort of the way he was going to have to make the tough decision to poke the grumpy Charlie-bear and attempt to film this video again.
“I’ll let you get back to it,” Diane said. “But can I throw my hat in the ring for ‘Deck the Halls’ for the final performance? Feels like all those fa-la-la-la-las would be a crowd-pleaser.”
“I’ll have the board take it under advisement,” he joked.
When she was gone, Julian turned around, bracing himself for round three…
four? He’d lost count. All he could do was hope his out-of-the-box idea didn’t crash and burn with the making of this video.
He walked over to Charlie. “I think the choir’s ready to give this another shot. ”
Charlie looked up at him from beneath her fluttery lashes. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but boy, could he still sense the frustration that burned between them in her stiff posture and in the tight set of her mouth. Not that he was looking at it.
He cleared his throat. “If you’re ready, that is.”
“I’m ready.” She breezed past him and called the choir back to their positions. Doris nodded from the piano. “Here we go,” Charlie said. “And one…and two…and…”