by Di Jones
She had a light breakfast of Cornflakes and a slice of whole wheat toast, then showered and dressed. Her phone rang and she picked it up, wondering if by some stroke of good fortune Emery had come down with flu.
“I’m just phoning to tell you to have a fun time today,” Gladys told her.
“I’m not doing this for fun, mom,” she said. Surely mom doesn’t think I want to spend time with Emery? And has she forgiven him for what he did to me, just because he’s come back to do the concert?
Harmony toyed with the idea of driving into town, which she did when she had class but today there wasn’t such a rush. She picked her way along the frosty sidewalk, her feet crunching on the hard surface as she counted breaths of the cool, clear air, trying to calm her nerves. The thought of telling Emery that it wasn’t going to be possible to get a good team of volunteers unsettled her and all she could do was hope a few people would turn up after seeing the posters she’d put into the diner, the bookstore and the library. It was unlikely anyone would come and she knew that Emery would think she was a total loser. He was probably right.
As she turned the corner into the town square she saw a surprising sight. Crowds of people were surrounding the Town Hall where the auditions would be held. What was going on? Was there a fire alarm? Hopefully it wasn’t a real fire because she didn’t need a disaster of that magnitude.
Picking up her pace as she neared the crowd, she could see that people weren’t leaving the building, but rather a line had formed around the Town Hall. On closer inspection, it appeared the line wrapped around the building twice.
“What’s going on?” she asked a girl she didn’t recognize. Harmony wondered if the girl was from out of town but thought that was unlikely. “Surely all these people haven’t come to audition?”
“I’m volunteering,” the girl replied. “Who wouldn’t with Emery Dante being here?”
There was a murmur of assent from the throng around Harmony and within minutes she’d ascertained that this year young people, old people, and everyone in between had come out to audition and to volunteer. Not only that, but people had come from miles around. And everyone was here for the same reason. Each one of them had come for a chance to hang out or sing with the superstar that was her ex-boyfriend.
Five
Harmony
The last few years when Harmony had been organizing the concert, the auditions would be all done and dusted by lunchtime at the latest. And apparently it had been the same the last few years when Trisha had overseen the show. But this year—thanks to Emery’s presence—there were so many people outside the Town Hall that Emery and Harmony knew they’d have to spend the entire day hosting the auditions and also taking names for the volunteer list.
Arnold and one of the young police officers had set up a long table, positioning it right under the stage. They’d also set up rows of chairs for the other hopefuls to sit at and watch the auditions, as well as the numerous family members and friends that wanted to support them and gawp at Emery at the same time.
First up that morning was eighty-six-year-old Mr. Brown from the largest of the local dairy farms. He was dressed in his usual uniform of baggy jeans and checked shirt four sizes too large for him, everything held together by red suspenders. He had a few wisps of hair covering his otherwise bald pate and a mouthful of gums, which affected his singing. When he started, Harmony glanced at his audition sheet, thankful for it. She would have had no idea what song he’d chosen if it wasn’t written down because he was performing a song that was popular almost a century ago, and the lack of teeth did nothing for his enunciation. As Mr. Brown sang earnestly, she clutched her sides, trying hard not to laugh but at the same time admiring the old man’s confidence. Halfway through the audition Emery nudged her in the side and when she stole a glance at him she could see he was feeling exactly the same way. After the old gentleman finished though, they both thanked him, and he left the stage looking as if he’d won the lottery.
After Mr. Brown was five-year-old Eliza-May Smith, one of the cutest kids in town, and Harmony’s favorite student. Blessed with the face of an angel, long blonde ringlets, and massive blue eyes, she had a singing voice to match her cherubic appearance. Hers was an easy audition, and Harmony was sure that Emery would vote the same way she did, to give the little girl had a key spot in the production.
The day’s auditions were back-to-back performances of only three minutes each, and at the end of a performer’s allotted time, most of them would either try to ignore the call to finish or engage Emery in conversation.
“This is hard,” he whispered to her after the sixth audition, when Miss Pring, a middle-aged teacher with little presence and a poor voice spent another three minutes fawning over her erstwhile student. “How can I rush someone off when I know them? I’m ignoring the fact that Miss Pring never liked me when I was a child and always told me that I’d never amount to anything.”
Harmony knew, because she’d read it in magazines, that Emery never refused a fan an autograph and always tried to carve out time to speak with his public. He was known as the nice guy of the rock world, the boy next door who’d made it big. She cradled her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the long wooden table, thinking about the person Emery used to be, and the person he was now. She liked that he had retained some of the qualities that she’d known from years ago, and felt herself warming to him, something she hadn’t expected.
“You’re looking very thoughtful.” For a moment they stared into each other’s eyes. The buzz in the hall receded and it was only the two of them.
“This is hard, isn’t it?”
“The auditions?” Emery asked. “Or…something else?”
“What else could be hard?” she asked him, her heart pounding. Can he tell how I’m feeling about being with him again?
He shook his head, and relief flooded through her. He wasn’t going to push her to answer his question. Then a moment later he said, “Tonight we’ll have to narrow down the selection and next week we’ll announce the finalists, straight after Thanksgiving. So we’ve got to be decisive.”
They turned their attention back to the hopefuls and while some turns seemed to take forever, some were too short. After a few more auditions Harmony began to see how many talented people there were in their small community and she didn’t know how they were going to narrow the selection down in the end.
Before she knew it, the morning was nearly over. Anita, one of the volunteers, approached her. “Can you believe it? The line is still stretching around the building. There are hundreds of people out there.”
“It’s lunchtime,” Emery said and she regarded him with disdain. Was his stomach so important that he’d make people wait while he ate? She guessed he was so self-absorbed because everyone in Hollywood pandered to his every whim. “Do you want to have a break, Harmony?” he continued. “Because if you don’t need one, I’d prefer to keep going. Everyone must be cold outside, and I’d rather get this done so that they can do their auditions and get home before dark.”
Her heart warmed a little at this glimmer of the Emery from years gone by. One of the things she’d always loved about him was his consideration for other people. As a kid he’d been kind to animals and to children younger than himself, and at school he stood up for kids being bullied. He’d always made sure no one was left out, and was the first person to put his hand up to help.
“I’m happy to keep going.” She gave him a full wattage smile, and as he returned it her heart melted a little. She could see him as the high-school sweetheart he once was.
They carried on and during the afternoon all the excitement and passion that she used to feel for Lewiston’s Christmas production returned in full force. Why had she stopped doing this? Had the last few years been as hard as she’d imagined? Or had she just needed a break, and now she was refreshed and ready to take on her mantle each and every year going forward?
Harmony wondered if she could do what she hadn’t done for
years: get up on the stage and perform. Everyone said she had a great voice including the reporter for the local paper. Harmony is on point note-wise, clear, and has a husky quality that belies her natural sweetness. She’ll go a long way, this writer predicts. She’d always enjoyed performing, so much so that at one time she’d dreamed of moving to Nashville and chasing a recording contract. But that dream had died when Emery had moved away and hit the big time himself. She didn’t know why but his success had sapped her confidence, as if she was no good without him. She knew that belief was illogical but she couldn’t shake it.
She stopped her thoughts from moving down that track. It was too painful for so many reasons. Was she jealous of Emory’s success? No. He deserved it, as he’d always had talent, magnetism, and worked hard. She acknowledged though that she would have liked to have tested her own talent too. They could have gone to LA together, but he’d chosen to go without her, breaking her heart and making her wonder if he’d ever really loved her at all. Now he’d come back—
“Emery, oh my God, it’s been ages!”
Harmony’s reverie was shattered as Trisha Bell’s strident voice preceded her entry into the auditorium. Dressed in a low-cut lurex top, tight white pants and high strappy shoes, Trisha’s clothes were not only unsuitable for the cooling weather but gave her the appearance of a hopeful herself, auditioning for Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent.
“Trisha, nice to see you.” Emery stood up as Trisha hurried over to him. He air-kissed her on each cheek, and before she could pull him in for a proper kiss he sat down.
“I’ve so missed you, Emery. Tell me everything about your life in Los Angeles. And you’ve come back here to do the Christmas production… that’s so clever of Arnold to have brought you here. They must’ve made it worth your while.”
He ignored her comment. “I’m doing this to help Lewiston and I thought it would be a good excuse to catch up with old friends.” He glanced at Harmony, but it was lost on Trisha, who smoothed back her shoulder-length auburn hair and pushed out her big boobs. “You must come over for dinner sometime.” She pulled out a chair and tucked herself between Emery and Harmony. “For the moment though I’m sure you could do with some help. I’ve done the show for the past few years, you know. I’m not quite sure why you’ve gotten involved again, Harmony.” She didn’t wait for a reply, instead turning her back and focusing on Emery again, gushing and hanging on to his every word.
For the entire afternoon each time a new act came on Trisha discussed it with Emery, ignoring Harmony. Harmony boiled with anger but tried not to be rude, because she knew that Trisha had been pushed out and excluded from the show. She imagined how hurt she’d feel in that situation, yet despite her empathy she seethed each time Trisha fawned over Emery.
At the end of the afternoon Trisha was still chatting up Emery. “What are you doing tonight?” she asked him, flicking her hair back. “Maybe you’d like to come over to my place for dinner.”
Emery didn’t answer, instead looking to Harmony as if he expected her to save him from this awful situation. She wanted to help him, or did she? Maybe she’d let him sit there for a while longer, something she couldn’t do for fear her anger and jealousy would bubble over. She bit her tongue, not wanting to say something uncharitable, but her temper wasn’t under control and she knew it. She stood up abruptly, wound her scarf around her neck and put her hat on before donning her coat.
“That was a good day’s auditions. I’m going home now. Have fun tonight.” She clenched her teeth in case she said anything else, and stalked outside, ready for the walk home.
She’d only gone a couple of hundred yards when she heard Emery’s voice behind her.
“Slow down, Harmony. Wait for me.” She turned to see him hurrying after her, still pulling on his jacket. She knew she should wait for him, but instead she kept walking.
“Hey, wait up,” he said from behind her. His breath was ragged and his tone annoyed. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Good. What a great day, starting with Mr. Brown’s audition. I thought I was going to die laughing. Hey, why don’t you come out to dinner with me tonight? We can talk about the auditions and decide about the finalists.”
But she didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say.
“So you want to meet me later? Maybe at The Butcher Block at eight?”
His confidence gnawed at Harmony and she wished she could think of a witty retort, but all that came out was, “I wouldn’t want you to regret spending time with me.”
Hell, why did I say that? The last thing I want is Emery knowing just how much he hurt me and thinking that I’ve been stewing over his words for years.
She could tell from the expression on his face that he was puzzled by her accusation. Didn’t he remember that awful thing he’d said to her right before he left? It added a layer of insult to injury because she had brooded over those words since the day he’d said them.
Six
Emery
“I wouldn’t want you to regret spending time with me.”
Emery kept thinking back at those words Harmony had thrown at him, wondering if he’d heard them correctly. What on the earth was she talking about? Her words had been vitriolic, spat out with such venom that he wondered what he’d done to earn them. He’d tossed and turned half the night, going over it in his mind. As he finally fell into an uneasy slumber in the early hours of the morning he still had no clue what she was talking about. One thing he knew for sure though, he needed to ask her.
Until he could speak with her, his mind shifted gears, thinking back over the auditions the day before. He’d chosen his twelve finalists and he hoped Harmony would come to the same conclusions. Hopefully she’d arrive at the Town Hall early this morning, the same way he was planning to do.
He strode into town at a brisk pace, the usual fifteen-minute walk taking him only ten minutes. As he passed the stores the aromatic smell of freshly roasted beans assailed his senses so he stopped and bought two coffees, one for himself and one for Harmony. After all these years he still remembered exactly how she took her morning brew.
When he arrived at the Town Hall, Harmony wasn’t there, and thankfully neither was Trisha. He took a seat at the long table and savored his hot beverage, his foot tapping on the hard wood floor. The old clock on the wall told him there was another twenty minutes to go before everyone would start filing in. He glanced at the clock repeatedly, wondering when Harmony would arrive.
His eyes snapped toward the door as he heard her voice outside, talking with Anita.
“How’s Aiden?” he heard her ask.
“He’s as naughty as ever,” Anita answered. “It’s hard being a single mom, but I wouldn’t change things for the world. I might have to bring him along the night of the show, because everyone who’d usually babysit for me will be here.”
“He’s very welcome,” Harmony told her, and Emery could hear the warmth in her tone. “I’ll be able to help keep an eye on him too.” The two women continued chatting as they came into the hall, but Harmony abruptly stopped talking when she saw him. “Emery, you’re here early.” She looked flustered, her eyes darting this way and that as if she was looking for an escape.
“I brought you a coffee. Sorry, Anita, I didn’t expect you so early, otherwise I would have got you one too.”
"That’s okay, usually I wouldn’t be, but I managed to get my son Aiden fed and dressed faster than usual this morning.”
He murmured a reply and as Anita hurried off, he held the still warm cup toward Harmony. “Two sugars and soy milk, just how you like it.”
Sliding into the seat beside him, she took the coffee gratefully and took a long sip before speaking. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I know you’re trying to help my dad and the town and I have no right to bring the past into this situation.”
What does she mean by bring the past into this situation? He thought
about it for a moment, but still couldn’t fathom it and finally he had nothing to do except ask her. “What did you mean when you inferred I regretted spending time with you?”
She took another sip of coffee and then regarded him through lowered eyelashes. “You don’t remember, do you?”
“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her voice was low and husky and she didn’t meet his eyes. “That’s one of the last things you said to me.” Tears sprang to her eyes and Emery wanted to hug her, but mostly he wished he could go back in time and unsay the words, but that was impossible.
“I’m sorry. I genuinely can’t remember. I’m sure that’s not what I meant. I was probably scared because I knew I was hurting you and I didn’t want to. I don’t handle emotional things well.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Anita come back into the hall, followed by Trisha. He had more to say and he needed to say it now, so the words came out in a rush. “I came back to Lewiston for you. Not for your father, and not for the town.”
Harmony’s skin flushed a pretty shade of rose pink, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Emery couldn’t tell whether she was shocked or pleased, but he was happy to have finally told her his reason for coming back.
Before she could reply, Trisha pulled a chair over and sat down next to them. “Have you discussed the finalists?”
“We were just about to do that,” Harmony said in a brusque voice, without a hint of a smile, and he wondered why she disliked Trisha so much. “Weren’t we, Emery?”
“Yes. We were. Why don’t you leave us alone for a few moments, Trisha, and then I’ll bring the list out to you.” She looked as if she was about to argue but he knew how Trisha’s mind worked—she liked to feel important. “Then you can announce it to everyone.”
She preened and sauntered out self-importantly, giving him and Harmony a few more minutes to sort things out, and then decide who the finalists were.