Page 85 of The Best Christmas Choir Ever

She didn’t want to run from her grief anymore. She wanted to let the feelings out of the box. All of them. Even the ones that scared her. Because she wanted to build something new with the residents at Glendale and with Julian, and she needed all of herself to do that.

“I’m happy for you,” Alicia said. “Truly. And Tom would understand. In fact, I think he’d probably ask what the hell are you still doing here?” Alicia climbed to her feet, reaching for Charlie’s hand. “Don’t you have a Christmas choir to direct?”

Charlie let Alicia pull her up, choking on a sob. It was time to let go of Tom’s dream and the stage and this guilt she felt. She was allowed to want something new.

She was allowed to keep living.

Alicia hugged her again. “You want me to make your excuses?”

“No,” Charlie said. “I signed that contract. I should tell Damien.”

“Okay. But call me and let me know how the performance goes tomorrow. And how other things go.”

“I will,” Charlie promised. If she could make it back before the performance between the bouts of snow. If Julian even wanted her back. She gave Alicia one more quick squeeze, then hurried out stage left.

She made her way down the hall to Damien’s office.

He waved her in. “All good?” he asked.

She sucked in a breath. Held it. Let it out. “Actually, no.”

He looked startled. “Oh?”

“I’m really sorry to do this, Damien, and let me say again that I truly appreciate the opportunity. Really I do. But I can’t do this performance. There’s somewhere else I need to be.”

“Your choir?” he asked.

She nodded. “I know it’s last minute. It might be hard to fill the slot.”

He waved her off. “We’ll pull your song if we have to. Or maybe we’ll get Annette and Eleanor to do a duet.”

“The crowd will eat that up,” Charlie said, smiling at the idea. “Thank you, Damien. I know you probably don’t understand, but this experience today has meant a lot to me.”

He laughed a little uncertainly. “I guess I’m glad for that. And hey, maybe we’ll get the chance to work together again someday.”

“Maybe.” Charlie turned to go, but something held her back: an idea, flickering at the back of her mind. “Actually,” she said, “if you really mean that, I have something I’d love to pitch.”

Nineteen

Julian

Julian bolted out of bed to the sound of a car alarm, his heart hammering in his chest. He padded across his room and peeled back the curtains, staring down at the street where the neighbor was cursing, trying to unstick his windshield wipers while silencing the alarm. Clearly the temperatures had dropped enough last night to create a nice layer of ice under all the snow. Even now, more snow fell, which felt fitting. He’d always been a fan of a white Christmas—or Christmas Eve.

Julian yawned and scrubbed a hand over his face. The choir competition started at 2:00 p.m., so that gave him about six hours to pull himself and the residents together before they had to leave for the community center. Based on yesterday’s call sheet, the Glendale Shakers performed right after the Rockin’ Six, a group of middle-aged dads, and before the Nightingales, a group of healthcare workers from the local hospital.

His thoughts drifted to Charlie, wondering if the Lincoln Center rehearsals were turning out to be everything she’d dreamed. Julian knew he’d been hard on her that morning in the kitchen and that he’d said all the wrong things before storming out. He’d been so desperate for her to stay that he’d tried to tell her how to live her life, and he’d been wrong. He should have been more supportive when she told him about the offer. Instead, he’d hurt her. Charlie didn’t need anymore of that in her life.

He’d been online last night trying to buy tickets for her New Year’s performance, but according to the Lincoln Center website, everything was sold out.

Perhaps that was for the best, though. After everything, a clean break was probably what she wanted and what he needed. The best thing to do was move on.

He picked up his phone, finding Diane’s number. Merry Christmas Eve.

Do you have good news for me?

He laughed. Of course she was right down to business.

I’ll take the job on one condition.