Read Online A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman - Free Book Online Page B

nodded at Marcy and stepped away, hands clasped while her pointer rested on her formidable stomach.
    Marcy cleared her throat. “I’d like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to be here tonight. If you filled out a form, you should have a number that will be called when it’s your turn to audition. Those applying for volunteer positions will be asked to meet with Father Fitzgibbons in the rectory for a brief interview, and those wishing to audition for a part in the play or choir will remain in the auditorium. As you can see from the overview sheet you received at the door, we have roles for seven adults and eight children in the actual play itself, but we’ll need at least twenty people for the adult choir and twenty for the children’s choir, so please specify your preferences on the sheet.”
    Marcy pointed to the right of the stage. “When your number is called, you will bring your completed sheet to Sister Francine and myself in the first row, then enter the stage from the steps on the left. Please advise Miss O’Rourke at the piano if you wish to audition for the choir, the play, or both, and she will provide you with the music and/or a script. You will have approximately twenty seconds to sing or read, and when the whistle sounds, we ask that you exit the stage on the right and quietly return to your seat.” She smiled at the crowd with a lift of brows. “Any questions?” A hand waved in the air from the second row, and Marcy nodded. “Yes?”
    “When will we find out if we made it?” a young girl asked.
    Marcy’s smile was warm. “Callbacks will be announced at the end of this evening, and those selected will return for a second audition next week. Final cast, choir, and crew will be chosen then and given a rehearsal packet with everything they need to know. Anything else?” She glanced to and fro throughout the auditorium, ignoring Sam and Patrick who grinned at her from where they stood in the back, slanted to the wall with arms folded. “Then, let’s begin.”
    Two hours later, Marcy had a headache from off-key singing, slaughtered diction, and Sister’s Francine’s whistle, giving her pause as to her sanity in agreeing to the job as fundraiser chair. Kneading her temple, she glanced up to see a young boy who had auditioned for the cast pushing a small girl in a wheelchair to the front of the stage.
    With a scrub of shaggy brown hair, he approached with a solemn smile and a nod of respect. “Sister, Miss Murphy, my name is Nate Phillips, and this here is my sister Holly.” He took another step forward, cap in hand and voice fading to a whisper. “She’s only seven, but Ma asked me to bring her ‘cause, well you see, Holly doesn’t get to do too much on account of she’s crippled, you know, so Ma thought …” His Adam’s apple wobbled several times. “Well, she hoped you’d consider letting Holly audition because of her name and all, seeing it has to do with Christmas and that’s her birthday too.” He leaned in, a glimmer of moisture in his eyes as he twisted his hat with his fingers, voice lowering all the more. “You don’t have to pick her, understand, just let her read and sing ‘cause she’s real good at both, you know, and Ma just thought that alone would be enough to make her happy.”
    Marcy blinked, the boy’s face watering into a blur. She swallowed hard to fight a heave, but it was no use, it broke from her lips in a shuddering rasp.
    Sister Francine patted her arm and spoke to the boy with a firm lift of her chin. “If your sister took the time to come and audition tonight, young man, then audition she will.” She glanced up at Julie. “Miss O’Rourke, will you please hand this young man both a script and music for his sister, please.”
    The young boy, all of twelve, looked as if he might break down and cry himself, jaw aquiver while tears welled in his eyes. “Thank you, Sister,” he whispered, then grabbed Marcy’s hand, shaking it as if