Page 42 of The Christmas Keepsake
Esther’s mouth gaped open.
“I’ll answer that question. It’s because you’re a hypocrite,” Hollis said, focusing on Esther. “And one thing Nan always despised was a person who would say one thing and do another.”
“Who are you to talk?” Esther said, wagging that finger of hers again.
“At least I don’t pretend to be perfect and judge others for being human.” He looked around at everyone except Mallory because hewas worried she might be upset with him right now. “So? Who’s staying? This is the point-of-no-return moment. You’re either in or out, but decide now, because we have a play that the entire town is depending on.”
Esther shook her head with disgust. “I’m out. This is a disgrace.” She looked at the others. “Who’s with me?”
The members of the cast looked at each other, no one moving or speaking. There was a long silence finally punctuated by Esther’s exasperated sigh.
“Whatever.” She threw her arms up in the air and then grabbed her coat to storm out.
Hollis lowered his voice as he sidled up beside Mallory. “Sorry if I overstepped.”
She looked up at him, the shine still in her eyes. “No, you’re not.”
He grimaced because she was right. “Well, I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t.” She didn’t look exactly happy though. Raising her voice, she addressed the group. “Does the fact that the rest of you are still here mean you’re in this for the long haul?”
The cast members nodded.
“We know you’re doing your absolute best and your best is no less than your grandmother’s. We’re not just here to support Nan. We support you too,” Marvin Long, the town’s former mayor, said.
“Thank you.” Mallory took a deep breath and then clapped her hands together. “Well, then let’s do this. Let’s run the play from beginning to end without our scripts. We better start now or we’ll be here all night.”
Hollis admired the way Mallory stayed strong when he knew she probably felt like crumbling. He’d come to see that most people were doing the same. Barely convincing the world around them that they had their act together. Maybe that’s why Esther had just behaved so rudely.
They ran through the script, and when Esther’s lines came up,Hollis took the initiative to say them. They rolled through the motions without skipping a beat. When the curtain closed, everyone talked among themselves as they collected their belongings and said good-bye to one another. Hollis stayed, like he’d been doing since the first night of rehearsals.
Mallory finally looked at him. “Thank you for tonight. Now I just need to find a real actress to fill Esther’s role. With three weeks until opening night.”
Hollis held out his arms. “No, you don’t. I’ll do it.” When Mallory gave him a strange look, he held out a palm. “Granted, it’s a female role. Just change the part of the mother to a father and I’m your guy.”
Mallory gave him a strange look. “You’re already playing Santa.”
“In a costume, covered from head to toe. None of the Santa scenes are shared with Esther’s part. I’ll be Father Christmas and the part of Little Ella’s Father. No problem.”
Mallory’s eyes searched his, as if she didn’t believe he was being serious at first. “I’ve lost count of how many favors you’ve given me in the last month.”
“I just want you to be happy.” Truly, regardless of his promise to Nan. That was why he was here. And why he’d showed up to this very theater every day after school as a kid.
Mallory released a soft laugh.
“Why is that funny?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Happiness feels like such a childish concept. Is there any such thing as real happiness or is it some make-believe thing. Like Santa Claus.” She gestured to the Santa hat on his head.
“Wait. You’re telling me Santa isn’t real?” He didn’t take her smile at face value because she’d just told him that she didn’t believe in true happiness anymore.
“Are you sure you can handle taking on a whole other role? This one has a lot of lines to learn.”
Apparently, she hadn’t realized that he’d been reading his lines tonight without a script. He puffed up his chest and began to recite the new lines, one by one, as Mallory’s lips parted and her eyes subtly widened.
“How did you do that?”
“I know all the lines. I’ve been attending this play every year since I was a kid. If every single cast member decides to quit, I’ve got you covered. I’ll be like Tyler Perry in all those Madea movies. Or Eddie Murphy inThe Nutty Professor.”
