An Angel's Fix Pt. 06

"Come on Kim," Ashley fumed as she hit the unlock button on her key fob. Once they were both in the truck, she scratched the tires while pulling out of the parking lot. "I swear to God, Kim! I'm gonna just walk out when my time is up next time. Ugh!"

Kim let her concentrate while she navigated the lunchtime traffic. And when they finally wriggled free of the 285, Kim got pushed back in her seat as Ashley gunned her truck down the 85 ramp toward Montgomery.

"We're not taking 75 to 10?" she asked, cringing in fear that the rage monster might get freed.

"No, 85 to 65 is quicker." Ashley's answer was surprisingly flat-line factual.

Kim took the time to really look at Ashley for the first time since the shoot. Ashley had grown her hair longer recently, and the stylist used a flatiron on a portion that was pulled over her right shoulder, partially covering her eye.

"I meant what I said in the dressing room," she said. "That look is totally kick-ass on you. Your hair, your makeup..." Kim paused when Ashley peaked around her hair at her, but then continued. "Joe and Jasmine are gonna fight over who gets you first."

Ashley gave a grin that said thank you. "Well, they're gonna have to wait 'til after Mass..." She jerked the wheel to pull around yet another old lady doing 10 below the speed limit. "Don't you have baking to do at home?! It's Christmas Eve for crying out loud!" she screamed toward the slow moving car.

"Think we'll make it to the Mass on-time?" Kim chided, a little fearful of Ashley's current driving habit.

"We'll make it," Ashley replied as she set her jaw and gripped the wheel a bit tighter. "I just hope it isn't raining."

Ashley took a corner on nearly two wheels near the cathedral and glanced at the dashboard clock. A little more than two hours before the scheduled start, and cars were already parked along the street five blocks away. Kim was fretting walking that distance in her heels, but Ashley kept moving past the families hiking toward the church. Lo and behold, there was an open spot on the side of the church, and Ashley's comment about rain finally made sense to Kim. Written with chalk, Ashley's beautifully ornate script was emblazoned on the asphalt of the space. "Reserved for Ashley," it read, along with the date.

Kim gave a chuckle. "God, I hope she doesn't ever get mad at you and forge your signature."

Ashley threw the truck in park. "Yeah, Jasmine's getting pretty good, isn't she?"

Kim had already changed while in the passenger seat on the way, but Ashley didn't even stop at a rest area to get a chance to change herself. She grabbed her gown off the hanger behind her seat, and standing next to her open door, tossed it on over her head. Before zipping it, Ashley removed her jeans, t-shirt, and bra without revealing so much as a peak at her sensitive parts. Kim stood guard nearby, chattering her teeth in the chilling breeze. Ashley looked at her and mentioned a coat, but Kim shook her head in an attempt to be as stoic as her friend.

"You don't have the benefit of early menopause," Ashley laughed in referring to her emergency hysterectomy. "This feels good to me."

Once zipped, Ashley pulled her hair out of the back of her gown and flipped it over the material. She grabbed her violin and guitar cases, and handing the violin to Kim, they set off for the community hall on the opposite side of the church. When they came through the doors, they were greeted by a scrambled chorus of young voices screaming their names. They enjoyed the mob of hugs, but the sweetest for Ashley was getting long embraces from Joe and Jasmine. The four female friends took a moment to compliment each other on their dresses and hair, and then it was down to business.

"You want me to run the solos? Or herd the cats...er, kids?" Ashley purposely fumbled the phrase.

Joe wanted to run through some of the rougher patches with the whole choir, so he sent Ashley over to the church and kept Kim to help with crowd control. Ashley took her violin case from Kim, said farewell to the youth and headed over to the church.

The pews were already nearly at capacity, and Ashley couldn't remember when the cathedral looked so stunning. Fresh-cut evergreen wreaths lined the nave walls, matching garland draped across the high trusses of the roof, large trees decorated simply with white lights stood guard behind the marble altar, gold bows were attached at the ends of each pew, and candles wrapped with red ribbons were lighted everywhere you looked. A sizable nativity scene was arranged at the head of the main aisle just before the altar steps, minus the baby Jesus figurine. The only blights were the two sets of risers and chairs placed at the top of the marble altar steps for this Mass, but those would soon be covered by the festive children. Ashley was hiding her cases under one of the risers when movement out of the corner of her eye made her stop. The bishop in his black robe had taken his seat behind the altar. She went up to him and asked in a whisper if there was some procedure she missed.

He laughed and spoke casually as if they had happened across each other at the mall. "No, do what you were going to do. This was my idea, so you didn't think I'd miss it, did you?"

She guessed not, and the chuckles over the conversation made her turn around. Ashley was getting used to crowds, and having been in choirs, even church crowds. But, the bishop sitting in his ornate seat without his vestments, and the hundreds of faces staring expectantly at her two hours before Mass started threw her a bit off-guard. Not knowing a graceful way to move from this point to her guitar, Ashley stood next to the young bishop and gave an impromptu welcome speech on behalf of Joe. Unaided by a microphone, her clear as a bell voice carried even to the deepest corners of the long nave. She thanked the bishop for setting up this Mass, thanked the crowd for their patience in waiting, promised that the first solos would be along shortly, and congratulated the parents on having such fine children. She briefly explained that the bulk of the work in preparing the choir was done by her husband Joe, and that he "volun-told" her to prepare the solos. That statement was rewarded by a robust chuckle. Ashley went on to explain that she only got to work with the soloists for a total of two days, so their performances was more of a credit to their talent than her coaching.

The bishop added his thanks to those who made the trips from Tallahassee, and that he instructed Joe that this Mass could be a bit informal. He told the congregation that while the ceremonial form of the Mass would be as prescribed, it was a Mass for children and youth. Therefore, some leeway was allowed as far as overt instructions to the kids and the like.

"In other words," he said, "if you're a stick-in-the-mud old and crotchety person, may I suggest either the midnight Mass, or the 11 o'clock Mass tomorrow?"

As the crowd was chuckling, the first of the solos made her way down the aisle. The teen looked shocked when she saw the amount of people staring at her, and she hesitated when she stepped around the music stand that was set up in the center.

Ashley picked up her guitar from it's stand on the side, and slung the strap over her neck. "Nervous?" she asked. The girl nodded, and was met with a few chuckles. Ashley smiled at her. Saying a little louder so the crowd to hear, "You know what helps? Most people say to picture the crowd in their underwear. But as for me, I look at it like this: I am in my room with a sea of bobble-head dolls before me."

The girl laughed. "They do look kinda like bobble-heads!"

Ashley grinned and nodded while those in the front pews laughed. "Ready?" she asked. The girl seemed much more at ease and nodded. Ashley plucked the melody to "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the entertainment planned to keep people occupied while waiting for the start of the Mass began.

When each song finished, the singer would take their place on the risers. Jill and Kim would usher the next over from the community center building next door, and let them know when to start up the aisle. Joe arranged the order to start with the high school seniors and move down in age, as the older ones could handle staying put longer. Ashley accompanied each soloist with either guitar or violin, depending on the song. Selections included both religious, and secular Christmas songs. All did very well and received applause when done.

The last to go was the youngest member of the choir, a second grader, and the darling of Ashley. Ashley smiled wide as little Sharon was speed walking up the aisle, and met Ashley with a big hug. The bishop stopped things and explained that he had asked Jasmine to document the choir, and he planned to use the video to show off the new projectors he had installed at the cathedral. The planned video would be shown at the end of the Mass, but he said Jasmine showed him another part of her edit in dealing with the solos, and he thought it was appropriate to show that now. He nodded to Jasmine who now was stationed in the new media control booth constructed underneath the choir loft. Two small projectors lowered from behind some rafters and lit up the marble walls behind the altar. The lights dimmed, and the video began.

It began with Joe introducing Ashley to the kids, and showed the query and answer for solo volunteers. The video moved on to the separate room where Ashley asked each individual what they wanted to sing and showed clips of her coaching each singer one-on-one. Interspersed were clips of Ashley walking in front of the whole choir, listening while they sang. At one point, she stopped Joe and the choir and approached little Sharon, asking if she wanted to do a solo. Sharon agreed, and her session clips were added to the others. The video showed the rough early stages of getting the singers to performance level. Sharon was featured prominently, with a thin and quiet voice. The video wound down with clips of the finished products of each singer, and Ashley received hugs and thank yous from each. However, the clips of Sharon finishing up were missing.

The video ended, and the soloists on the risers stood and said in one strong voice, "Thank you Ashley!" The bishop joined in standing and applauding Ashley, and the congregation followed. Ashley smiled, turned toward the soloists, and blew them kisses. Turning back to the applause, she smiled wide and nodded her appreciation. Finally, she announced that they had one more solo, and people took their cue from the bishop and sat back down.

Ashley asked Sharon if she wanted her to play or sing with her. Sharon's answer was sing, so Ashley returned the violin to its stand. She hummed the first note to give Sharon a reference, then Ashley matched her volume to Sharon's and they began to sing "O Holy Night." The first verse was sweet and quiet, barely above a whisper. Just before the refrain, Ashley tapped Sharon's tummy as a reminder, and suddenly the girl came to life. Her voice was strong, on-pitch, and sounded smooth as silk. She began to move her hands and arms naturally to the emotion of the piece, and Ashley backed off, allowing Sharon to showcase herself. Sharon sang one more verse and refrain by herself, unaided by any music accompaniment and when she finished, the entire church stood as one and clapped for many seconds. Sharon turned to Ashley to give her a hug.

Seeing tears on Ashley's cheek, she asked, "Why are you crying Miss Ashley?"

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You're amazing!" was Ashley's reply.

The bishop took his leave to get ready, Joe strode up the side aisle to head for the organ in the choir loft, and Ashley could see the remaining six high school students ready for the procession to the front. Ashley played "O Come All Ye Faithful" on her violin, and the six older students solemnly sang and walked up the aisle, ceremoniously taking their places on the risers as the song ended. Joe had the organ in piano mode and played "Linus and Lucy (Theme From Peanuts), and Jill and Kim released the children. Some raced to the front from all three aisles, some walked, and others were in between, making for a rather comical entrance. Where they ended up on the risers seemed like a jumbled mess with no rhyme or reason.

Joe called down from the balcony on the side of the altar, "Jasmine, can you fix them?!"

Jasmine stepped to the center and called out, "Kids! You know better!"

On that cue, the older students who were already in their correct places counted slowly down from ten. At the same time, the younger ones moved around in organized chaos, so that when the count reached one, all were in their place. The difference was amazing, boys on one riser, girls on the other, arranged on row and step by height. As one, they all turned diagonally toward the choir loft, tapped a foot once, and called, "present and in place, Joe!"

The crowd applauded the precise choreography, and the children returned to facing the congregation. Ashley saw the procession lined up at the back of the church, moved between the nativity scene and the choir, and waved her hand in a rhythmic pattern to give Joe and the choir a reference of the tempo. The hymn was sang beautifully by the choir, sweet and mellow. Ashley modulated the different vocal parts with various gestures of her arms and hands. Occasionally a voice would edge toward yelling rather than singing, Ashley would hear it, point to them and pat the air down, and the offender obeyed. The result was a full-bodied and almost angelic sound. Many would later comment that the talent rivaled professional stage choruses.

After communion, two children who were not in the choir brought forth the baby Jesus figurine, and placed it in the manger. The choir sang "Happy Birthday" a cappella, and the bishop loved it, as that was the first time he'd seen a choir acknowledge Christmas as a celebration of a birthday. After noting this, he asked Jasmine to play the other video she had produced.

The video had a humorous side, starting out with the theme of Mission Impossible playing in the background while phrases in white script faded in and out against the black screen. "105 youth; Spread across 200 miles; 14 songs and hymns; 6 days of practice." Then played various clips, starting with the disorganized beginning, complete with grumpy looks on many faces who were volunteered by their parents. There was a clip of the choir screaming out a jarring portion of a song, and Joe resting his head against the piano in frustration. Some scenes were of Jill and Kim attempting to keep the kids together in a group during a bathroom break, and of Jasmine arranging the seating, sometimes by gently physically moving the child into place. The music stopped and the words "One Choir" appeared. There was a pause, then a wide shot of the choir beautifully singing "Hark the Herald" with multiple parts harmonizing perfectly. A guitar played "Faith of the Heart," while a montage of smiling faces singing songs flashed by. This transitioned to a still shot of the choir with cartoon bubbles stating the name of each child. Following was a slide show of stills. First was Joe speaking to the choir with the caption "Joe, Director." Next was Jill speaking sternly to a small group and it read "Jill, Disciplinarian." Then Jasmine standing before the choir, scratching her head. "Jasmine, Choreography." After was Ashley instructing one of the teens. "Ashley, Vocals Coach." Last was Kim who was taking notes from Joe, and the caption read "Kim, Logistics." Then was a picture of her on the gym floor with a number of children piled on top of her. "(Child Herder)" faded in at the bottom.

Finally was a clip of Sharon who had just finished the final practice of her solo.

From off camera, Jasmine's voice: "Wow, Sharon! That was incredible!"

Sharon, with hip cocked in confidence: "Yeah, I sound like Miley Spears...er...I mean Britney Cyrus!"

The video faded to black, but then Sharon's voice was heard as a final thought. "Ugh, you know what I mean!"

Laughter and hearty applause erupted, which the bishop renewed by looking up to the loft and thanked Joe. Joe deflected this by thanking the parents, and congratulating the youth on such a fine performance. The bishop closed out the Mass, and Joe started playing on his violin. "It's been a long road, getting from there to here," Ashley started singing, with the choir joining in on the refrain of "Faith of the Heart." It was a fitting song, matching the efforts of the choir, the story of the Holy Family's travels on that night, and what that night meant to humanity.

Sorry it has taken so long to get this part going. (Insert excuses you don't want to hear). Anyway, I missed these characters and intend to keep working on it until done with the ending that will hopefully wow you. PLEASE remember to vote '5' if you feel it worthy. Thanks.