Page 29 of Mr. Merry Ex-Mas
“Actually,” I say, stepping closer and remaining calm, “it’s theperfecttime.”
She continues the glare and asks, “What did you do?”
“Just flipped a breaker,” I tell her. “Calm down. It’s safe.”
Her voice lifts, tight with anger. “You sabotaged my rehearsal?”
I shrug. “You needed to prove to yourself you could run it without a script.”
“I didn’t need–”
But then she stops and realizes that in this moment, in the dark, with no checklist, clipboard, or perfect plan, she’s the only one who can hold this room together. And she knows it.
“Alright,” she calls out while still holding my eyes, her voice is sharp as she says, “No lights? We adapt. Positions. Speak loud, sing louder. If you’ve got a phone, pull it out and light the place up!”
She claps twice, and the kids respond. They move slowly at first, but then the excitement of a show in the dark takes over, and they stand together, arms linked, and begin to sing with certainty. She moves among them like she’s breathing life back into the whole room. No clipboard or plans. Just her.
And for ten full minutes, Sadie Johnson isalive.
And me?
I stand just beside the curtains, watching her take on the world, proud of the fire that erupts from her and knowing damn well she’s loving every minute of it. When the lights finally click back on, she doesn’t even flinch, and neither do the kids. They continue with the show. The pep in everyone’s step is obvious. Two of the girls finish their song, and when they step out to hug Sadie, she cuddles them both close. She doesn’t tell them to get back in line; she celebrates the moment with them.
She’s flushed and smiling from ear to ear. She’s the Sadie I get in the dark, when we’re alone. That Sadie is incredible, and the rest of the world needs to see her, too.
And then she turns and catches me watching. I don’t look away, and neither does she. Instead, I get a smile with a quick flip of her middle finger. I bark a laugh and fall even deeper in love right then.
20
SADIE
The auditorium is quiet.
Well, not completely. The exit sign hums, and I can hear the heat begin to come on as the pipes click. But compared to the chaos of the last few weeks, this feels peaceful.
I sit on the edge of the stage, legs dangling, the clipboard for once resting beside me instead of clutched in a death grip. The stage is pretty sturdy, so I do need to acknowledge he did a good job building it.
Danny walks in from the back hallway with two coffees. I can smell the caramel as he hands me a cup. “Extra whipped.”
“Thanks,” I say as I take a careful sip, and he sits beside me, shoulder barely brushing mine.
“I have something for you.”
I turn my head to him. “If this is a joke about sucking your di–”
“Sadie Johnson!” he exclaims, and it makes me laugh. “You are acting downright filthy, and we are inschool!” he whispers the last word, and it makes me laugh harder.
Today has been quite a day. I was tested, and although I want to be mad, I know why he did it. I have to appreciate it because he helped me see something I didn’t want to.
I can do anything I want to, whether it’s planned or not.
He opens his backpack, which has been lying on the stage, and pulls out a wrapped gift. It looks like a book, and I eye him before taking it. “Is this a Dr. Seuss book?”
“Oh, the Places You’ll Blow Meis a classic. We should write our own.”
I shake my head at his nonsense and tear off the wrapping paper. It looks like a plain binder, but when I open the front cover, I see it’s a planner. There are colored tabs with stickers for dates, events, and everything right down to times. It’s sweet and so me.
“I want to go on record and say I bought this prior to today's episode. But I was still proud to see you go off-script.” He taps it. “It’s a planner for all the events you’re going to be scheduling once everyone sees how amazing this gala is going to be.”
