And now, as she gazed into her husband’s loving eyes, Tangie had to admit the truth. She knew exactly how this story would end. The singing rabbit and the dancing chicken. . .well, they would live happily ever after. Of course.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading Sweet Harmony. I hope you enjoyed Gregg and Tangie’s story. I wrote it after visiting the Atlantic City boardwalk area in 2007. If you liked this book, please consider reading the others in the Boardwalk Brides series. Salt Water Taffie is sister Taffie’s story. Cotton Candy Clouds is sister Candy’s story. These three New Jersey-based tales were a blast to write, and I hope you enjoy them, as well as my other love stories.
Now enjoy another theatrical love story, A Chorus of One.
A Chorus of One
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7
DEDICATION
This melodic tale is dedicated to my four very “vocal” daughters - Randi, Courtney Rae, Megan and Courtney Elizabeth. (Yes, I really have two daughters named Courtney!) The Lord has truly gifted each of you for His purpose and I’m thrilled to watch you step into the roles to which you have been called. Recognizing and developing your God-given artistic gifts has only been half of the challenge, as I’m sure you have discovered. Now that you have found your positions of “use-ability” within the body of Christ, you can truly begin to see the beauty in the other half of the journey. I am blessed and overwhelmed to watch you grow into such beautiful young women of God and can hardly wait to see what the future holds for each one of you. Remember - as long as you continue to keep your hand in His, you will never be “A Chorus of One.”
Table of Contents
A Chorus of One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
ONE
“That’s it! That’s the one.” Jessica Chapman let out a squeal of triumph as her gaze fell on the most beautiful wedding invitation imaginable.
Her fiancé looked up from the book of samples, clearly stunned. “The beige one?”
“It’s not beige, Nathan. See?” She pointed. “It’s cream linen. Jessica spoke with dramatic flair then leaned down for a closer look. “Besides, there’s a lot of color in this exquisite lettering. Don’t you just love all of the detail?”
“I guess.” He shrugged.
“But you know what I love most about it?” She reached down to run her finger across the embossed print. “The European design reminds me of La Boheme.”
“Let me guess - an opera, right?”
“Not just an opera.” Jessica’s voice swelled with excitement. “It’s an amazing love story about a young woman who dies in the arms of the man she loves. Tragic, really.” Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly brushed them away so that Nathan wouldn’t poke fun at her.
“Good grief. Here we go again.”
Jessica pulled her hands to her chest and sighed deeply. Could she help it if she loved the theatrical?
“The way things are going, we might as well sing this whole wedding.” Nathan looked up with a playful smile. “That’s what I’d call tragic.”
“Very funny.” She jabbed him in the ribs and he doubled over, pretending to be in pain. Nathan had often accused her of turning this wedding into a production, but that’s what the most special day of your life should be, after all. Surely he would grow to understand her sense of style, even appreciate it.
“Problem is,” he continued, “I’m tone deaf, as you well know. So singing our vows is out of the question. Unless you give me a few voice lessons between now and then.”
“I’m not sure lessons would do much good, all things considered.”
“Oh, you’re a laugh a minute.”
“But really.” She turned back to the book. “What do you think of this invitation? I just love the fancy print.” She ran her finger across the raised letters with their curly edges. “It looks so elegant. And see how reasonably priced they are? They’re definitely within our budget.”
“If that’s what you want, I’m fine with it.” He turned another page. “But before we make a final decision, what about this one? I really like it.” He pointed to a stark white invitation with crisp, gold lettering.
Nathan clearly didn’t relate to her overall plan for a muted Mediterranean theme. Otherwise, he would never have given this one a glance. “It’s okay. Not really what I had in mind, but if you like it.”
“We both need to like it.” He sighed. “I just wonder if we’re ever going to agree on anything.”
He gazed into her eyes with a woeful expression and Jessica’s heart melted immediately. “We both agree that we’re in love.” She reached up to plant tiny kisses on his cheek. “And we agree that it’s the happily ever after kind. True?”
He slipped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a tight squeeze. “True. But if we can’t even pick out a simple wedding invitation, I hate to think of the trouble we’ll have naming our children someday.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem.” She chuckled. “If we ever have a son, we’ll call him Jim-Bo or Billy-Bob.”
“Naturally.”
“And if we’re blessed with a daughter, we’ll name her-”
“Carmen Aida Don Giovanni,” he said with a wicked grin. “That’s a musical name, right?”
“Bravo!” Jess stuck out her hand for a high-five. “See? We agreed on something. And you obviously know more about opera than you’ve been letting on.”
He shrugged. “Another thing I think we would agree on is that our daughter had better have your looks and not mine.”
“Don’t be silly. If she looks like you she’ll be –”
“Tall? Skinny?” He lifted his hands in mock despair.
Jess stood back and gave him a careful look. Nathan was tall, nearly six foot, and a little on the thin side. Years of study had kept him off the basketball court and in the classroom, but she felt no need to complain. He might not have an athletic build, but he looked just right to her, and she wouldn’t argue a bit if their children shared his looks. His sandy, lopsided curls always kept her entertained, especially when he attempted to force them into place. As if that were possible.
Nathan brushed his lips against her cheek. “No, she’d better look like you. Those freckles, that red hair.”
“Auburn, thank you.” Jess groaned. If anything, she felt plain, ordinary – and the hair color didn’t help anything. She had always longed for rich, dark hair or even a shocking blonde, but she’d been stuck with a lackluster shade of red-orange instead.
“Auburn.” He echoed, and then turned his attentions to the book of samples once again. “Now, if we can just get these invitations ordered, we’ll be one step closer to the big day.”
The big day.
Jess and Nathan’s wedding wouldn’t take place until mid-May, eight long months from now, but his classes at the University would begin next Monday. Finishing up his Master’s Degree in Financial Management would take his undivided attention and wedding plans would have to take a backseat. That’s why getting the details ironed out now seemed critical.
Jess leaned her head against his shoulder and they continued to look through the samples together. She had adored Nath
an Fisher for as long as she could remember. Everyone in high school had known they would someday be married. They were meant for each other. Over the years, her schoolgirl crush had developed into full-blown love. And Nathan had proven his commitment to her over the past few years, walking her through some of the darkest moments of her life.
Jessica paused to think about all she had been through. She still marveled at how the Lord had turned the bad situations in her life around for the better. When her father passed away her junior year in high school, she never dreamed she would experience joy – real joy – again. But so much had come into her life that she scarcely knew where to begin thanking God for everything.
Through it all, her mother had proven to be the best example of godliness and strength a daughter could have asked for. Despite her pain, Mom had done a fine job of caring for Jess and her brother Kent. This had always made Jess so proud. Her mother was such a woman of God – one that she could only aspire to be like. And the Lord had blessed her mother’s dedication, meeting every need above and beyond all expectations.
Jess smiled as she remembered the giddy excitement her mother had experienced two years ago, when the Lord brought a new man, Professor Andrew Dougherty, into her life. He could never replace her wonderful father, of course, but he had been good and kind to everyone in the family and had proven to have a wonderful sense of humor. How amazing to think her mother had found love twice in one lifetime. Was such a thing really possible?
A popular love song drifted out of the store’s sound system. Nathan looked up and pointed to the speaker in the ceiling. “Now here’s a song I really like. I definitely think we should have it at our wedding. Or at least the reception. What do you think?”
Jess wrinkled her nose.
“Don’t you like it?”
“Well, yes, but -” How could she explain that the music she had always dreamed of for her wedding would probably be in Italian? Country music would definitely not be an option. “It’s nice,” she said. There will be plenty of time to discuss this later. One challenge at a time.
“I never knew putting together a wedding would be so much work,” Nathan rubbed his brow.
“Me either,” Jessica added. “But I don’t suppose we have to make a decision about the invitations today. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“True.”
“Besides, we really can’t order them until we know how many people we’ll be inviting and we’re nowhere near finished with the list.” Far from it, in fact. To date, her mother had given her over one hundred names, and Nathan’s mother, well, that was another story altogether.
“I know my mom’s not going to be done with her list for awhile.” He closed the book.
Jessica sighed.
“You okay?” He reached to brush a loose hair out of her eyes.
“Yeah.” She lost herself in her thoughts for a moment. Nathan’s mother had great suggestions for the wedding, no doubt. All of her ideas were wonderful, but a little costly. Of course, Jess would never dream of arguing with her, but wondered if the words ‘wedding on a budget’ would ever be fully understood by all involved.
She appreciated all that her own mother had done so far, and Andrew, in his fatherly way, had surprised her by offering to help, as well. But Jessica felt very strongly about the fact that she should contribute as much as possible, in part to pay her mother back for all of the years of sacrifice. Unfortunately, Jess’s part-time job at the church barely covered her car payment and insurance, let alone a wedding dress and invitations. But she would manage. Somehow.
“Jess?” Nathan’s words brought her back to the present.
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go get some dinner, okay?” he said. “I’m famished.”
“It can’t be dinner-time already. We haven’t even been here an hour, right?”
“Try two and a half hours.” He yawned.
Jessica’s heart lurched. She looked down at her watch in horror. “5:45? I’m supposed to be at the Wortham for a vocal audition at 6:15.”
“What? Tonight?”
Her gaze remained fixed on the watch. 5:46. “Yes. The Houston Grand Opera is holding auditions for Rigoletto.”
“Did you forget?” he asked.
“No. I brought my music with me. I just lost track of the time.” Jessica had waited for this day for weeks. She felt privileged to be recommended by her former college professor at the prestigious Moore’s School of Music at the University of Houston. If all went well in tonight’s audition, she might find her place alongside other mezzo sopranos in the chorus of one of her favorite operas.
If she made it to the audition.
“Can you get me there in a hurry?” She shot a glance at her watch one again.
“In less time than you can sing an aria.”
Jess took his hand, and gave it a tight squeeze. “Thank you.”
“Come on, Madame Butterfly.” He clenched her hand in response. “Let’s fly this coop.”
Together they sprinted toward the car.
TWO
Jess leaped from the car and ran across the large veranda of the Wortham Theater. Nathan gave the car horn a couple of quick beeps and she turned to wave as he pulled the vehicle away from the curb. He would be waiting at Hard Rock Café across the street when she finished.
She pulled open one of the large front doors of the theater and found herself in the spacious lobby. Grand escalators stood in front of her. Jessica glanced at the note in her hand. “Main stage.” She glanced up nervously.
“Can I help you?” A security guard stopped her in her tracks.
“Um, yes.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “My name is Jessica Chapman. I’m here -”
“For the auditions.” He finished the sentence for her. “Your name is right here on the list. I was starting to think you were going to be no-show.”
“Am I late?” She glanced at her watch. No, thankfully. One minute to spare.
“Just on time, if you hurry.” His smile gave her hope. “Do you know how to get to the main stage?”
“Yes. I’m just a little flustered.”
He patted her on the shoulder. “You’ll done fine, I’m sure. Just head up the escalator, straight across the lobby and into the theater. The man you’re looking for is a Mr. Gabriel. He’s the one with the silver hair.”
“Thanks so much. I owe you.” Jess sprinted to the escalator and bounded up the stairs, two at a time, not waiting for the slow moving ride to the top.
She entered the auditorium at 6:00 straight up and was met by a stern-looking older woman almost immediately. “Jessica Chapman?”
“Yes. I’m Jessica.”
“I’m Madeline Caswell. Let me introduce you to rest of the panel. Then you can give your music to Karyn, our pianist.” Jess allowed her gaze to follow the woman’s extended finger to the massive stage where a thin young woman sat at a massive grand piano. She drew in a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. I can’t believe I’m actually going to sing on that stage. Finally.
Madeline took off toward the front of the theater and Jessica followed in her shadow. By the time they reached the front row, she found herself completely out of breath.
“Jessica Chapman,” Ms. Caswell nodded in her direction. “Meet your judging panel - Mr. Gabriel of the Houston Grand Opera, Ms. Venton of the New York Metropolitan Opera, and Mr. Colin Phillips of the Dallas Metropolitan Opera.”
“Nice to meet you.” She nodded in their direction. Mr. Gabriel never looked up. Ms. Venton briefly glanced up over narrow bifocals, but Mr. Phillips from Dallas extended his hand.
“Just relax, Ms. Chapman.” He stood and led the way toward the stage as Madeline disappeared toward the back of the auditorium once again.
Jessica nodded and followed him up the side stairs to the grand stage. From here, she could see the entire theater, in all of its beauty. Many times she had seen productions from the opposite point of view, but longed to see the audience from this angle. “
I could get used to this,” she whispered.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I just said I could get used to this.” She gave him a girlish grin.
He winked at her. “Then sing your heart out.”
She pulled the sheet music for When I Have Sung my Songs from her portfolio and handed it to the pianist, who briefly scanned it, then sat at the piano.
Jess instantly realized she had forgotten to give them her resume. She pressed it into Mr. Phillip’s hand. He took it with an encouraging smile.
“Thanks. Go ahead and warm up a little. Oh, and Jessica -?” He turned as he headed down the stairs.
“Yes Sir?”
“Break a leg.”
She felt his calm reassurance and nodded in appreciation. The pianist played a broken chord and Jessica quickly began to vocalize. Her voice trembled. Lord, help me. Please. As she finished the warm up, she drew in a deep breath and felt her nerves calm a little.
“Any time you’re ready, Jessica.” Mr. Gabriel called out.
She stepped to center stage and took one last sweeping glance across the theater before nodding to Karyn. As the music began, she prepared herself, both physically and emotionally. I’ve waited for this moment all of my life.
The first few words seemed to stick in the back of her throat, but by the time she reached the chorus, Jessica seemed to feel a little more secure. She looked down at the panel members, who rarely even glanced her way. Only Mr. Phillips looked up occasionally with a warm smile. As she started the second verse, Jessica found herself lost in the emotion of the familiar lyrics. She had specifically chosen this song because it impacted her on many levels, emotionally and spiritually. Her voice, strangely unfamiliar, seemed to leap and dance across the amazing auditorium. By the time the song ended, Jessica felt confident and bold. Almost daring.
“That was beautiful, Ms. Chapman.” Ms. Venton looked up over the bifocals to speak the words.
“Thank you for auditioning,” Mr. Gabriel added. “Results will be posted next Monday on the backstage door.”
Love at Center Stage: Three Theatrical Love Stories Page 17