Tales from Grace Chapel Inn

by Sunni Jeffers

  “I believe Samuel is working on that.”

  “Neat-o. But Mrs. Simpson thinks I shouldn't be the angel. She thinks I'll ruin the nativity.”

  Father frowned. “Don't be concerned about what Mrs. Simpson said, Jane. Sometimes she voices her thoughts out loud. That doesn't mean she is right. I believe you are the perfect person to play the angel. You have enthusiasm and a pure heart. Imagine how excited the angels must have been to announce the news that God's Son was coming to mankind to be born as a human. I can't see anyone else playing that part. Have you learned your lines?”

  “Most of them.”

  “We'll work on them next week after school,” Louise said. “I'll have plenty of time to help you.”

  “That'd be great,” Jane said. Although she wasn't too keen on memorizing lines, she knew she had to learn them. She wanted to prove that Mrs. Simpson and the other ladies were wrong about her, and she wanted to make her father and sisters, and Samuel and Rose, truly proud.

  “Yoo-hoo! Anybody here?” Aunt Ethel entered the kitchen the next day after church. Her husband Bob was right behind her carrying a box.

  “Aunt Ethel!” Jane rushed forward ahead of Louise and hugged their aunt around her middle, nearly knocking her backward into Uncle Bob.

  “Whoa. Hello, Jane.” She hugged her young niece back.

  “Where's Francie?”

  “Francine had a birthday party to attend and the boys are visiting friends. We dropped them off and thought we'd stop by to see Louise and Eliot.”

  “Oh.” Jane looked disappointed. She let go of their aunt and stepped back. Her cousin Francine was her age, the youngest of Aunt Ethel and Uncle Bob's children. Ethel was their father's half-sister. Ethel and Bob lived on a farm outside Acorn Hill. They often stopped to visit when they were in town. Louise and her sisters had spent many wonderful afternoons at the Buckley farm.

  “Aunt Ethel. Uncle Bob. So nice to see you,” Louise said, hugging each of them. “We're just about ready for Sunday dinner. Won't you join us?”

  “We don't want to put you to any trouble,” Ethel said. “We just wanted to say hi.” She took off her gloves and set her purse on the counter.

  “We have plenty of food.”

  Ethel looked at Bob. He just smiled. “Sure, we'll be happy to join you,” she said, removing her coat. She was wearing a stylish red and blue paisley, long-sleeved A-line dress, which set off her bouffant carrot-red hair and blue clip-on earrings and matching necklace.

  “Eliot and Father are in the living room, if you'd like to join them, Uncle Bob. Dinner won't be ready for a few minutes.”

  Bob took Ethel's coat and hung it with his on a hook by the door. Then he left the ladies to go join the men.

  Ethel took a seat at the kitchen table, crossed her legs, and straightened her skirt, then looked up at Louise. “So tell me how you've been. You are looking fine. I was surprised when Alice said you were coming this weekend. I didn't expect you for at least another week. Are you staying through Christmas and New Year's?” Ethel finally ran out of questions and stopped, looking at Louise expectantly.

  “We're doing fine. I came early to help get ready for Christmas. Eliot has to return to the city this afternoon, but he'll be back when classes let out.”

  Alice came into the kitchen from the dining room. “Hello, Aunt Ethel. I heard you were here, so I set places for you at the table. How have you been?”

  “Oh, you know. Busy as usual,” she said, waving one hand dismissively. “I was in charge of the Christmas bake sale and Santa's visit at the Grange Hall yesterday. It turned out to be the best Christmas event in many years. They've already asked me to head the event again next year.” She held up her hand as if examining her shiny red fingernails.

  “That's wonderful. You're so good at organizing things. And I always loved your Christmas cookies,” Louise said.

  “I'll be sure to bake an extra batch to bring for all of you to share. I know it's difficult without your dear mother here to make Christmas special.”

  “Yes, it is. That's one reason I wanted to come early. Alice is so busy working, she doesn't have much time. I can help decorate and bake and make sure we celebrate with some of Mother's favorite traditions to make the holidays more memorable.

  When Jane arrived home from school Monday afternoon, she found Louise and Father in the living room. Father was on a stepladder, holding a tree, while Louise stood back to make sure it was straight. A long string of Christmas lights was draped over the couch and chairs and across the floor. She had to step over them. There were boxes all over the floor.

  “You got a Christmas tree!”

  “Yes. Father and I went out to Bellwood Farm and they let us cut one in their woods.”

  The tree nearly reached the tall ceiling in the corner of the living room. Their mother's rocking chair had been moved closer to the fireplace to make room for the tree.

  “That looks straight. Hold it while I tighten the base,” Louise said. She got down on her hands and knees and reached under the tree. “We'll have to snip off some of these low branches to make room for gifts,” she said. She backed out and stood. “There. Let go and let's see if it holds.”

  Father released his grip, but stayed on the ladder to make sure the tree wouldn't tilt or fall. It held in place. “Hand me a string of lights, Louise.”

  Louise unplugged one strand from the next and handed it up to her father. He wound it around the tree, looping it over and under branches.

  Louise handed a strand to Jane.

  “Here, Father. Here's the next one,” Jane said, holding it high.

  It took five strands to wrap the entire tree, with its full, thick branches. Father plugged the final strand into the wall socket and the tree burst into color and light.

  “It's beautiful!” Jane said, clapping her hands together.

  “All right, girls. The rest is up to you.” He put his glasses in his pocket and headed toward the kitchen for his usual cup of tea. Father always had a cup of tea in the late afternoon.

  “Oh, good. We get to decorate the tree. Alice and I put out a few decorations, but she's so busy with work, we never finished.” Jane opened a box of shiny red and silver balls.

  “Tinsel first,” Louise said, opening a package of the long silver strands. “And spread it evenly. Don't dump it on in clumps.” She draped a bunch of tinsel over Jane's hand.

  “Shall I get the top of the tree?” Jane asked.

  “If you're careful, so you don't knock the tree over.”

  Jane climbed to the third step of the step stool. “I'll be careful,” she said, reaching up to drape several strands over the top branches. She had to stretch to reach around the other side of the tree. She felt a little wobbly, so she straightened to get her balance. “There.” She got down and went to get some more tinsel.

  “Yes, that looks nice,” Louise said.

  Jane beamed. In past years, she'd tossed the tinsel and, according to Louise, made it messy. It was a pretty mess, though. Alice said so. But Alice wasn't as particular as Louise.

  Jane and Louise had just finished putting on the shiny Christmas balls when Alice came in.

  “How lovely,” Alice said. “I could see the lights from the street as I drove up. Now the house looks like Christmas.”

  “But we have a lot more decorations to put up, don't we Louie.”

  “Louise,” her oldest sister corrected. “Yes, Sprout, we do.”

  Jane giggled at the nickname Louise had given her. She knew her sister didn't like being called Louie, but she tolerated it from Jane. Jane said it to tease, but she meant it with great affection.

  “Come on, Alice. Help us finish.”

  “I will. As soon as I put my things away.”

  An hour later, Louise arranged the antique papier-mâché nativity set that had come from their mother's side of the family on the fireplace mantel. The figures were beautifully detailed and were painted bright colors, from the Magi to the camels and sheep to
the stable. All the figures were there except the baby Jesus in the manger. But Jane knew he wouldn't appear until one of them placed him in the manger Christmas morning. After all, that was the day they would celebrate his birth. “Can I put Jesus in the manger this year?” she asked.

  Louise turned to Alice.

  “Yes, that would be splendid,” Alice said.

  Jane clapped her hands with delight. She loved Christmas more than any other time of year. Maybe even better than her birthday. Maybe.

  “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold…”

  Louise held up her hand. “Stop there. You have the words memorized, but you need voice inflection. Like when I play a piece on the piano. Some passages are soft and others are loud. Some are fast and some are slow. I interpret the music to make it more dramatic, more intense. You need to do that with your voice. Try it again.”

  “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold…” She enunciated each word louder than the one before.

  Louise shook her head. “That's not quite what I meant. Think about a song you sing in Sunday School, like ‘Only A Boy Named David.' When you get to the part about the stone in the sling, you almost act it out. When you sing ‘Round and round, and round, and round,' you are whirling your hand above your head like you're winding up a slingshot. Then you let go of the imaginary rock. And when you sing, ‘and the giant came tumbling down,' you do motions like you're falling, and you make your voice louder. You tell the story with your voice and motions. When the angel announced Jesus' birth, it was a world-changing, life-stopping moment. For the shepherds and the wise men and everyone who heard about it, life would never be the same. So imagine how the angel announced it and see if you can convey that with your words.”

  “And the angel said unto them…” Jane stood very straight. At that point she threw her arms open wide. “Fear not: for, behold…”

  Louise clapped. “Yes, that's much better. Pause for a moment after ‘Fear not.' The sudden appearance of an angel would frighten them. They might even try to run away. Then make your joyous announcement.”

  Jane recited the rest of her lines. She only stumbled a couple of times. They were down to three days before the living Nativity, so she had to polish her part. “Can I go play now?”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I told Carlene Moss and Fred Humbert I'd meet them at the top of our hill to go sledding.” Carlene and Fred were in her class at school. They all played together a lot when they were younger, though now that they were old, sometimes Fred ignored them at school. But when he was away from his friends, he was still fun to play with. “There's just enough snow.”

  “All right, but only for an hour. Alice will be home by then and dinner will be ready.”

  “Okay.”

  Jane dashed out of the parlor, but heard Louise yell, “Bundle up. It's freezing outside.”

  As Jane put on her boots by the back door, she heard the sounds of the piano and stopped to listen. Louise was playing classical Christmas music. Jane was pretty sure it was Handel's Messiah. It was one of Jane's favorites, though she loved the Christmas carols too. But this was so beautiful and dramatic it made her heart ache inside. She remembered Louise playing it at church the year before. At the “Hallelujah Chorus,” the choir sang along with her and everyone had stood until it was finished. Hallelujah! That's how the shepherds and wise men must have felt when they heard the angel announcing Jesus was born. That's how Jane wanted everyone to feel when she played the angel and made the announcement. As Louise said, she needed to be more dramatic. Jane wished she could fly, like an angel. That would be spectacular.

  The night of the nativity was cold, but clear. Standing in the farmyard, Jane looked up and saw the Milky Way so bright that the whole sky sparkled like a million crystals. She half expected to see one of the stars turn into an angel.

  She and her sisters had arrived early. There were only two other cars parked near the house. Oscar Horn and Lloyd Tynan were inside discussing the garlands that stretched across the downtown streets. Lloyd's father was the mayor and Lloyd volunteered to help with town projects. Oscar said the one in front of City Hall was coming down. Lloyd promised to fix it.

  Alice and Louise got busy helping with costumes. They laid out a stack of robes.

  “Oscar, Lloyd, here are your costumes,” Louise said.

  The men came over and put the long, loose robes that tied at the waist over their clothes. Oscar's was a plain brown. Lloyd's was bright red, with gold stripes. He was one of the three kings. Alice helped tie a white cloth on Oscar's head and wrap a red turban around Lloyd's head.

  Rose and Samuel came downstairs in their costumes. As Mary and Joseph, they were dressed in simple long robes and head coverings. Caleb had on a warm, one-piece pajama set that covered his hands and feet. Caleb was going to play Jesus.

  Rose laid Caleb in his cradle. “Jane, let's get you dressed in your costume. I have it here. It will fit right over your clothes.”

  “Okay.”

  “First your wings. The straps go across your chest and waist, then you slip your arms through these holes and I'll tie them in the back.” Rose held up the large butterflylike wings. They were covered in a shiny gossamer white fabric and trimmed in fuzzy white fake fur.

  “Wow, those are beautiful!” She slipped her arms through the holes and Rose tied the back.

  “Jump up and down and see if the wings are secure,” she said.

  Jane spread her arms and bounced up and down and ran around the room like she was flying. The wings bobbled, but stayed in place.

  “Cool! Can I have these when we're done?”

  “I think we're keeping all the costumes so we can do it again next year.”

  “Oh. Oh well. It'll be fun to wear them tonight.”

  “First step into the skirt part, then hold out your arms.”

  Jane did as requested, and Rose pulled the robe up and slipped the full sleeves over Jane's arms, then pulled the robe to the back to fasten. Long panels of sheer material had been sewn to the top of the robe and hung down like shiny scarves to give the costume an ethereal appearance.

  “We had to slit the back so it would go over the wings.” Rose buttoned the back together. The costume covered her from her neck to her feet, so her sweater and the warm white tights that Louise had bought for her wouldn't show.

  “Almost finished.” Rose held up a white fuzzy ring about the size of a pie pan. It had two stiff wires that were attached to a smaller wire ring. “This is your halo. I have to bobby pin it to your head, so sit on a chair so I can reach.”

  Jane sat on a kitchen chair. Rose fastened it securely to Jane's head with half a dozen bobby pins.

  “There. Now shake your head.”

  Jane held her head erect and didn't move. “I don't want to knock it off.”

  “If it's going to come off, we need to find out now, so we can fix it.”

  “Okay.” Jane moved her head from side to side.

  “Shake it harder.”

  Jane shook her head hard. It wobbled and felt like it was coming off, but it held.

  “Good. I'll put in a couple more pins to make sure,” Rose said as she stuck another bobby pin on each side. “You're ready. If you want to see your costume, go upstairs to the bathroom. There's a mirror on the back of the door.

  “I will. Thanks, Rose.” Jane hiked up the skirt and dashed upstairs. She went into the bathroom and shut the door, then stared, wide-eyed, at the apparition before her. The robes shimmered from the gossamer overskirt. The wings and halo were glorious. No one would doubt she was an angel tonight.

  The living room and kitchen were filled with people in costumes when Jane went downstairs. There were shepherds and wise men and other people in long robes and head coverings. She hardly recognized the men in their fake brown and black and gray beards.

  “Look,” Samuel said. “We have a real live angel among us.” He winked at Jane.

  “A lovely
angel,” Louise said. “I wish I had a camera.”

  “I have one,” Lloyd said. He held up a camera and told Jane to smile. She turned sideways so he could see the wings. A bright flash went off, blinding her for a few seconds.

  Lloyd took several pictures of the entire group in their costumes. “I wish I could take pictures of the nativity, but I can't carry the camera and the box of gold.”

  “Harold Moss said he'd come out and take pictures for the next edition of the Acorn Nutshell,” Samuel said. “And now, friends, it's time to get to our places. People will start arriving soon.”

  “Great,” Lloyd said. “Let's go break a leg.”

  Jane laughed, but it was more nerves than anything. All of a sudden she had the jitters. She tried to think of her lines, but her mind was blank. She knew her costume looked great, but how would she appear if she stammered or worse? She hoped she would be able to deliver a great performance. She followed the others as everyone trooped outside and across the farmyard to the big red barn.

  Jane looked up at the sky and gasped. “Look!” She pointed at a shooting star streaking across the sky over the barn. It only lasted a second, but she heard a couple of “Oohs,” so others saw it too. Maybe it was a sign that everything would go well. She hoped so.

  Rose and Samuel had transformed the barn doorway into the city gates of Bethlehem. Jane knew the large rock wall around the doorway was made of burlap stretched over chicken wire, then painted to look like quarried stones, but she couldn't resist touching it. It felt scratchy and gave beneath her touch, but it looked real. The big door was open just wide enough to let people go inside. A few strategically placed heat lamps hanging overhead dimly lighted the barn interior.

  “Young lady, you must sign in here and state your name and birth date,” a man said as Jane walked in. Jane knew he was supposed to be a census taker, but a scruffy brown beard hid the gatekeeper's face, so Jane couldn't tell if she knew him.

  “But I'm not a young lady. I'm an angel. See my wings?” Jane turned around so he could see her set of wings in their full splendor.