Let Me Call You Sweetheart Chapter 4, Page 35
Sunday was a very busy time over at Billees. Rosemary, Elizabeth, and Dee were there early with Pastor Joseph. Laura offered to take care of LJ and bring him to the service later and Lee planned to have a 'man-to-man' morning with Paul.
The ladies made sure the stable was on the stage with the star, the manger, and hay. The little children were dressed as sheep or angels. Older children were shepherds, the three wise men, and Mary and Joseph. John already had Cooper all ready as the drummer boy. Thankfully, Rosemary's list was completed, so all she had to do was make sure the costumes stayed on properly.
Elizabeth was welcoming all the children and making sure the ones who had speaking parts remembered their lines. The sheep were very good at saying, "bah-bah" and she had picked Opal to be the narrator and went over her lines.
Dee checked with the angels who were practicing singing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" wearing their shining halos. Both the children and adult choirs were together also practicing their songs with Angela on the piano. Everything was in order and ready as far as the ladies were concerned.
Sam and Rick were busy moving the tables out of the way and setting up the chairs. They had the buffet table decorated with red and green linens and white candles. Beautiful Christmas colors were throughout the room. Ivy was wrapped around the stair banisters. Red holly berries were gathered and placed in vases. Candles were lit and the Christmas tree by the stairs finished off the holiday atmosphere.
As the people were coming in the gaiety was contagious. With Angela playing the piano and the choirs singing "O Come All Ye Faithful", the townsfolk were finding their seats. Pastor Joseph welcomed them all in. As he looked around he noticed a new face and smiled broadly. Sitting together near the back were Rick with his mother, Mary O'Neill. She had come in with Rick and helped set the buffet table with the Christmas cookies, and the extra sweet breads that Emily just had to bake. The stollen looked so good and it was hard not to touch until after the service. She kept care that the children didn't sneak a taste. She had the cups and plates out and the water ready to make coffee or hot cocoa.
"Good morning everyone! It's so good to see you all here on this cold winter day!" Pastor Joseph's voice boomed through the room. "Today we will enjoy our Christmas pageant that you all have worked so hard on. I want to thank Rosemary Coulter, Elizabeth Thornton, and Dee Gleixner for overseeing this program, our choirs, our actors, and everyone who is participating in this joyous event. It has been a labor of love! Please Opal, step up here to the podium and we can begin."
Following the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph were up on the stage inside the stable. Opal was doing such a remarkable job with hardly any cues from Elizabeth. The choir sang "Away in a Manger" which Karen was a cute soloist. A few of the angels were nudging eachother, causing their halos to tile, which caught Rosemary's eye, so they behaved after she gave them the look. After the shepherds arrived, the sheep came in baaing to Paul's delight. He was snickering in-between the baas up on stage, and Lee had to hold back his laughter and give Paul the 'shh' sign. The whole ensemble sang "Silent Night" all together and finally when Opal finished the reading from the Gospel of Luke everyone joined in and sang "Joy to the World" and was applauding as the program concluded.
Pastor then called Dee up to the stage. As she stepped up, Nathan couldn't help but admire his fiance, she was just stunning. Pastor asked Angela if she was ready. Then Dee sang "O Holy Night". Her voice was clear and crisp with exquisite tones leaving everyone mesmerized. Emily had tears in her eyes as she watched and listened. Nathan was breathless taking in her lovely voice and her beautiful persona. He felt like he was in a dream until the applause startled him out of it.
With the conclusion, it was time to enjoy the goodies. Mrs. O'Neil had the coffee and hot chocolate made.
Sam went over to Elizabeth and congratulated her for the play. "Elizabeth, you sure gave Opal a great narration of the Gospel to say." Elizabeth in turn was praising Opal for being such a great narrator. "Opal did it herself. She practiced and got very good at it. She deserves the praise."
Rosemary was helping all the children out of their costumes and giving hem hugs. Lee came over with Paul and started to 'baa' at the sheep who were stepping out of their costumes. Angels and shepherds were also getting out of their costumes and couldn't wait to get some goodies!
Archie was talking with Allie and Emily. It was a polite conversation on Emily and Archie's part, but Allie was proud of her guitar playing for the pageant and was happy it all worked out so nicely.
It was such a fun time going on that just when they thought it couldn't get any better the door opened and in walked Dr. Carson! Faith ran over to him and gave him a huge hug, then pulled away and asked, "Why didn't you call me and tell me you were coming?"
"I wanted to surprise you, the look on your face made it all worth it." Carson looked into Faith's eyes and with a tender caress pulled her close in and kissed her tenderly." Carson and Faith felt eyes staring at them, and blushing, pulled away. The adults laughed and the young children said "eww"! Soon everyone was welcoming Carson back to town.
