Page 29 of Sing with Me

She added them to her ever-growing prayer list.

Chapter Eight

Skye, Avery, and Diehl arrived at church an hour early for soundcheck in the main sanctuary. It wasn’t the biggest church that Diehl had been in, but he usually sat in the pews. Tonight, he was playing accompaniment at the piano in front of everyone—for the first time in his life.

“Don’t be nervous.” Skye was adjusting her guitar strap. “The evening service has fewer people attending. You’re playing to extended family. Think casual.”

“That’s comforting.” Diehl wiped his palms on his jeans before he adjusted the piano bench height.

The grand piano was a Yamaha, not a Steinway. They both played differently. He sat down and warmed up with scales.

He could hear Skye playing the guitar and talking to Avery at the same time. How did she do that?

Avery suddenly laughed out loud. “Look at us. Skye, Avery, and Diehl. Our new band is SAD.”

Diehl chuckled. Never had he imagined that he’d be taking a sabbatical from work and taking up piano again after decades of not playing it.

That was why he felt inadequate.

He was outside his corporate comfort zone where he had a solution for every problem. Seriously.

Now he was at the mercy of things that could go out of control. He could miss notes again. Truth be told, the music was elementary to him. Mostly single notes. Mostly harmony. The ladies would sing the melody, and Skye’s guitar would fill in the rest of the music bars.

Also, he had practiced all afternoon for hours and hours. Well, three hours. Non-stop. It felt like forever. It was a good thing that Mom and Dad decided to stay another day in Hawaii. Otherwise, he would have to go over to their house to see his children.

Not that he hadn’t missed his kids, but he felt an obligation to follow through with this project to which he had agreed. If he made a promise, he would keep it.

There were only two hymns. How hard could it be?

In fact, having an ability to memorize helped tremendously.

Diehl was glad that the sheet music was in front of him. He had gone to the Scrolls bookstore in downtown St. Simon’s Island to print the two hymns on thicker paper so that they didn’t fall off the music rack and he didn’t have to turn the pages.

Additionally, having printed music sheets meant he could make annotations on them, which he couldn’t do when the music was on his iPad.

Details mattered.

“Ready?” Skye asked, a guitar pick in her hand.

They sang through “His Robes For Mine” twice. And then “I Run to Christ” three times because Diehl asked for it.

The modern hymn reminded him of something he was missing in his life. Something lost.

When they finished, someone clapped.

Pastor Gonzalez.

Diehl collected his music sheets as the pastor talked to the ladies. They had a guest speaker this morning for their summer sermon series, so Diehl didn’t get to hear the pastor preach.

Right after church, Diehl and Ivan had picked up some takeout barbecue from Southern Soul, and then went straight to Ivan’s house to devour pork and beef brisket and what seemed like jugs of iced tea.

Then Diehl went home to practice his piano.

He forgot all about his tiff with Pastor Gonzalez until now.

The pastor walked toward him, his arm extended. “Diehl Brooks. So glad to see you today.”

They shook hands. “Thank you, Pastor.”

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