The Christmas Singer

by Cheryl Wright

Joe sat there, watching Derek, and grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

  “What?” Derek asked, puzzled.

  Joe chuckled. “You obviously don’t know our Felicity as well as you think. She won’t agree to that, I’m certain.”

  Derek opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I totally agree with that idea. But I know Felicity won’t.”

  Derek sat back into his chair, feeling more than a little frustrated. Sometimes Felicity was too stubborn for her own good.

  Chapter Six

  It had been a long week of rehearsals. As much as she’d tried to keep things normal, Felicity found herself glancing toward the uncovered windows all the time, making sure no one was out there.

  She was becoming paranoid, but that’s what happens when someone was invading your entire life.

  There had been no phone calls for a few days. It was almost like they knew she had a trace on her phone.

  And all had been quiet on the home front. No more items in the wrong places, no more noises or phone calls in the quiet of the night.

  Meow was not so skittish, which also indicated things were back to normal. Felicity hoped whoever had been bothering her had finally given up after all this time.

  It was almost as though it had never happened. Almost.

  Felicity had even gotten over her phobia about sleeping in the apartment. At one point she was afraid to go to sleep. In her own apartment no less.

  But she’d slept last night. It was now the weekend, and she had slept in. And no rehearsals today.

  Felicity slowly opened her eyes to the light surrounding her.

  She snuggled under the covers, and didn’t want to get out of bed. Meow jumped on the bed as if saying “Good morning!” It was probably more like “Feed me!” Felicity decided.

  “I suppose I have to get up now,” she told her beautiful, but impatient cat. But instead snuggled further under the covers and closed her eyes again.

  This time Meow jumped on top of Felicity and put her face down close, rubbing her cheek against her owner’s face.

  “Okay, I’ll get up this time.” Felicity put one foot out of the covers, then reluctantly slid around and out of bed.

  * * *

  When Joe arrived at Felicity’s apartment he found the front door wide open. That was definitely not like Felicity. And even more unlikely with all this stalker stuff going on.

  “Felicity! Sweets!” he called at the top of his voice. “We need to talk.”

  He stood at the door listening for any movement or sounds of occupation.

  Nothing.

  If she was home he’d expect something. Anything. A slight shuffle here and there. Not this emptiness. This nothingness.

  “Meow,” he called out, knowing the dear cat would come running to him if she was around. Again, nothing.

  It scared him. Terrified him.

  Felicity would never leave the front door wide open like this. She just wouldn’t.

  He had a momentary thought that Felicity had run away from her problems. Her stalker. But she wouldn’t abscond. That just wasn’t Felicity. And anyway, if she did that, she certainly wouldn’t leave her apartment open for all and sundry to gain entrance.

  He shook himself. This was not his Felicity. She faced things head-on. There was no way she’d run. She wanted this. Wanted it so badly. She was working ten or twelve hours a day most of the time, working toward her goal. Her end plan.

  A shiver shot down his spine.

  Where the heck was she? “Felicity.” He called gingerly as he tapped lightly on the door. He knew in his heart she wasn’t there and began to walk away.

  Her car. Felicity always parked her car in the underground parking reserved for tenants. Slowly, fearfully, he made his way to the underground car park.

  Joe hadn’t realised he was holding his breath until it all came out in a whoosh when he saw the car, right where it was meant to be. She was home, she just didn’t hear him, no need to panic.

  Making his way back to her apartment, his fears were renewed. Was she ill? Otherwise she would have heard him knock and call out, surely.

  Again he tried to rouse her, to no avail.

  He resolved to go inside. What else could he do? Felicity may have collapsed and there was no one to help her.

  Joe went from room to room, checking out the entire apartment.

  “Oh my!” Now Joe was panicking. There was no one home, and no sign of Meow. His concern made his face ache. Made his head hurt and his heart split in two.

  His heart was pounding; something was very wrong. He would stake his life on it.

  He paced out the front of her unit. He shoved his hands into his pockets, then pulled them out again.

  He didn’t know what to do. Didn’t want to worry anyone, but knew he needed to tell someone. Anyone.

  He stood motionless momentarily, considering his options as his heart felt like it was trying to push its way out of his chest. But it was past time for action.

  Joe whipped out his phone and called the police. Then he called Derek.

  * * *

  After the police had been around the other night, Felicity had felt safer. Much safer. She was sure her stalker would give up after that, knowing she was more than willing to call in the police.

  But apparently not.

  Because here she was, running for her life, clutching poor Meow who was scared to bits. Her darling kitty couldn’t understand why she was holding her tightly and running for dear life.

  All the buildings were a blur; she ran so fast. Someone was in her apartment.

  Again.

  And while she was there, no less.

  She stifled a sob. That would not help. Not at all.

  Felicity didn’t have a plan of where to go. She just grabbed Meow and ran, hanging on for all she was worth.

  She refused to go through the back streets this time. Although it was daylight, she wasn’t going to risk being in that dingy alleyway, where anything could happen, and no one would be there to help.

  So she took the main route. It meant passing through the tiny shopping strip where there was usually a lot of people around. The bakery was there, as well as the pharmacy.

  Perhaps she should just go into one of them? But no, they didn’t know her and would probably look at her like she was a mad person when she told her story.

  As she raced past the bakery, the aroma of freshly baked bread almost lulled her into a false sense of security. She decided to go in there and ask for help, but saw it was empty of customers. The intruder could easily snatch her if the staff were out the back.

  Instead she continued onto her chosen path. She headed for the deli.

  George would know what to do. He was a wise man, and her friend. He’d helped her before, and he’d help her again, she was certain.

  The deli was close now, just around the corner. It was so close she was sure she could smell the wonderful aromas that always came from George’s Deli, no matter the time of day.

  Help was within reach; she was almost there. Felicity stiffened. She could hear someone running behind her. Getting closer and closer. She held her breath but didn’t dare glance back; she just kept running as fast as she could.

  Felicity screamed long and loud as someone touched her shoulder.

  “Sorry lady,” the young man said as he continued jogging along the lonely street. The look he gave her was priceless. Little did he know what he’d done to her with that one tiny accidental action.

  Felicity’s heart was racing, her muscles tensed. She was breathing rapidly, gasping for air she knew she didn’t need, and her whole body was shaking.

  Her lungs burned, and it felt like she would never breathe properly again.

  Most of all, she felt faint. She must be hyperventilating. She was nearly there, she couldn’t succumb when the end play was so close at hand.

  Through all this, she held on tight to Meow.

  She staggered the rest of the w
ay to the deli, and when she finally arrived, was on the verge of passing out.

  “Felicity!” George was with her in a flash and grabbed her quickly. He stared into her face momentarily. No doubt he could see her trembling chin. She could feel it trembling, but darned if she could stop it.

  Tears streamed down her face involuntarily.

  “Here! Sit!” he demanded, pulling out a chair for her.

  “I, I, I…” She couldn’t get any words out.

  “It’s okay,” George said. “Just sit and calm down and we’ll work it out.” She felt like her legs were crumbling below her, and she thanked her lucky stars for the chair that now held her up. His kindly eyes made her feel at least a little better, and her breath came out in a whoosh.

  “Coffee, I think,” he said, busying himself at the coffee machine.

  Felicity sat back, still clutching Meow who was now purring to his heart’s content. She tried to get her breathing under control, but it was taking so long.

  Breathe in, 1,2,3. Breathe out, 1,2,3.

  She was getting there, slowly but surely.

  She wiped her clammy hands on her clothes and began to relax - just a little. It wasn’t over, was far from over.

  What George was thinking, she had no idea, but the truth would have to come out sooner or later.

  George bought two coffees over to her table and sat himself opposite Felicity and Meow. He let her drink her coffee in silence, watching and waiting. Her hands were shaking, and he was watching them closely.

  When her breathing was back to normal he patted her hand. “Feeling better?” he asked, a frown on his face.

  “Yes, thank you,” she said timidly.

  George sat patiently waiting, didn’t try to force anything from her. Good old George.

  “I, um,” How did you say something like this? “Someone broke into my apartment and was trying to hurt me.”

  George sat upright. “Oh my goodness!” he almost shouted. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” He was now holding her hand tightly. “Who was it?” he demanded.

  She swallowed. Hard. “I don’t know. He’s been stalking me,” she whispered, afraid to say it out loud.

  George looked shocked, and Felicity watched as his colour faded.

  He sat there stony faced for what seemed like forever but would have only been minutes. After an eternity, he gulped down his coffee then stood. He opened his mouth as if to speak but didn’t. It was as if he was having second thoughts.

  “George?” Felicity said, waiting expectantly.

  “We need to call the police,” he said blandly.

  Felicity felt the blood drain from her face but nodded her agreement.

  She knew it was the right thing to do. Someone, her stalker, had gotten into her apartment. Again. She’d grabbed Meow and ran for dear life.

  She didn’t even stop to lock the door, fearing he would still be there when she got home.

  But now, George was using the common sense she wasn’t currently capable of using.

  She continued to sip her coffee as George made the phone call.

  “Yes, she’s safe now. She’s here at the deli with me.”

  He hung up the phone and went back to Felicity. “The police will be here soon,” he said.

  Felicity let out a sigh.

  “They’re are at your apartment too,” he added. “Your friend Joe called them when he found it abandoned.”

  Felicity sat dumbfounded, not sure what to say. So much trouble over some random lunatic who was stalking her for what reason, she didn’t know.

  She was still lost in her thoughts when two officers walked into the deli. To her amazement it was the same two officers who came to her apartment a few days ago.

  “We meet again,” Officer Pete said to her.

  “So he’s still bothering you,” the other officer said matter of factly. “Any ideas about who it might be?”

  Felicity shook her head. “None whatsoever.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. “I saw him this time, if that’s any help,” she said. “So now I know he’s not a figment of my imagination.” She put on a quivering smile.

  “He was never a figment of your imagination,” Pete said, trying to reassure her.

  The other cop rubbed his hands together. “Great. I’ll get a description from you and we’ll also get you to sit with our sketch artist.”

  Felicity nodded meekly. This was all just too overwhelming. It couldn’t be happening. Not to her.

  The officer took the description from her and closed his notebook. As he did the door suddenly opened and Joe burst in.

  “Sweets! Oh my,” he said dramatically but honestly. “I was so very worried.”

  Felicity saw the tears in his eyes moments before he grabbed her and held her tight.

  “Reow!” Poor Meow was in the middle of the hug and was complaining loudly.

  Derek arrived only moments later, looking decidedly worried.

  Joe grabbed Meow as Derek moved in for a comforting hug.

  * * *

  With everything else that had occurred recently, Felicity wasn’t in a festive mood. According to Joe, she needed to be.

  She pulled the artificial Christmas tree from the cupboard and set it up in the sitting room. Meow watched her every move.

  The last time she’d put the tree up, she’d found her kitty at the top of the tree just moments before it hit the floor.

  That was three years ago – hopefully he was old enough now to leave the decorations and the tree alone.

  She pulled tinsel out of the box of decorations. It looked a little tired. Perhaps she should have replaced it this year.

  Felicity shrugged her shoulders. What was the point? She rarely had visitors, so she was only person who would see it.

  She wouldn’t have even bothered except Joe kept asking when she was putting the darned thing up. Besides, she didn’t feel at all festive. Especially this year.

  She sighed. Joe pushed her to do things she wouldn’t normally do. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Reaching up to put the angel on top of the tree, Felicity knew he was right – she needed some normality in her life again.

  They would get her through this. Joe, Maurice, and Derek; they were her guardian angels.

  Draping tinsel around the room, she looked about. No one would have ever guessed she was being stalked, or that she’d been stalked and filmed inside her own apartment.

  The thought made her shiver.

  * * *

  Felicity insisted rehearsals and scheduled performances continued. Derek wasn’t thrilled, but finally agreed.

  Curtains had been added to all the windows, stalling any attempts for her to be watched from outside.

  At first it felt isolating, but Felicity gave herself a good talking to, and shook herself into acceptance. Really, it was no different to having your curtains closed at night. Right?

  Of course it was right.

  Life wasn’t meant to be easy – she’d been reminded of that old saying all through her life, and it was certainly relevant now.

  But the show must go on and go on it would.

  “And one, two, three, left.” Joe’s voice urged her to keep practicing the choreographed moves. “One, two, three, right.” He let go of her hand. “Now try it on your own.” He stepped aside and watched her practice, his hand on his chin in typical Joe style.

  Felicity straightened her back and squared her shoulders. She pretended to hold onto her beautiful gown, the one that wasn’t there, but would be wearing on performance night.

  “And again.” His frown told her that Joe wasn’t happy with the moves. He watched carefully, then rubbed his hand across his face. “Something isn’t right. We need changes, Sweets. Hang on.”

  Joe turned and walked toward the back of the room where he had a discussion with Maurice. He returned with a pair of stunning stilettos.

  Felicity gasped. “I’m wearing those?” She was used to wear high-heeled shoes, but these wer
e a little over the top. “I need to see the dress.” It wasn’t a demand, it wasn’t her being precious, she just needed to know for practicality purposes.

  Joe waved Maurice forward. He held a stunning organza dress in his hand. Felicity adored the salmon colour but wasn’t so sure about the chunky shoulder straps. And it was short. Very short.

  At least it wasn’t so long she would trip over the hem in her stilettos. “Okay, but what’s with the shoulder straps?” She laughed and lightened the mood.

  Maurice breathed a sigh of relief. Felicity wasn’t sure why, because she rarely vetoed Maurice’s clothing choices. He was good at what he did.

  “Let me practice with the shoes.” She sat on a nearby chair and put the stunning shoes on. She smiled at Maurice. “Perfect fit.” After all these years, Maurice knew her size perfectly.

  Felicity was wobbly on her feet, but persisted, and went for a stroll around the room. “Okay, let’s give this a whirl.”

  The music started, and she began the choreographed number, almost twisting her ankle in the process. She waved Joe away as he ran toward her.

  Again she persisted. She just needed to get the hang of this. She’d get there, she knew she would.

  Slow clapping came from the back of the room. It was Derek. Her heart skipped a beat, and her mood lifted. How long had he been watching her?

  She continued with her dance practice, while she belted out the song. As she bowed at the end of the performance, it occurred to her that Derek’s presence had lifted her mood. A lot.

  Derek strolled slowly toward her. Did he feel the same way?

  Of course he did. He’d proved it with his actions. She loved being wrapped in his arms, held tight, but not too tight. The warmth from his body enveloped her in love.

  She was confused. Not sure it was love, but perhaps just infatuation. That can happen when two people worked closely together like they’d done over these past months.

  Felicity felt his presence before she saw him standing next to her. She always had an awareness when he was close by.

  She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, not saying a word. She didn’t need to. He didn’t need to. They understood each other, supported in each. They loved each other.