Page 86 of The Best Christmas Choir Ever

Diane sent back a question mark.

I want to have a say in who gets hired as the new activities director.

If by some miracle they managed to win this competition today and take home twenty thousand dollars, he wanted to make sure whoever took over his role was prepared to keep the choir going.

Deal. Consider it your Christmas gift. Now break legs and all that.

I think it’s just one leg.

Julian grinned, stuffed his phone away and hurried through his usual morning routine—a shower, breakfast and then he was out the door with a thermos of coffee.

Much like his neighbor, he trudged through the snow to clear off his car, grumbling as his fingers froze around the snowbrush. The second the windows were clear, he hopped in the car and made his way to Glendale. He glanced at the sky, a mess of gray clouds, and hoped the weather cooperated long enough to get the residents to the competition.

A flutter of nerves surged through him as he pulled into the parking lot. He didn’t know why he was nervous. He wasn’t the one singing in front of half the town today.

Julian parked and headed inside.

Maggie pounced on him before he’d even cleared the lobby. “Good morning. You look refreshed.”

Julian snorted. “I’m cold and was woken up by a car alarm.”

“Okay, well, I’ll just start with the first problem of the day.”

“First?” Julian checked his phone. It was barely nine. This didn’t bode well. “How many do you expect there to be?”

“At least three. That’s how these things happen. In threes.”

That was not what he wanted to hear. “Right. Hit me.”

“The body glitter and antler headbands have arrived,” she said. “Just in time, mind you.”

“Body glitter?” His eyes widened.

“For our cheeks,” Maggie confirmed. “You know, to give us that youthful, elf-like glow. Don’t worry. We’re not going to glitter up anything inappropriate.”

Julian slurped his coffee. That was a relief. The antler headbands on the other hand had been his idea. He thought they’d add a nice touch to the “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” segment. “I’m not really hearing a problem.”

“It’s in regard to our matching T-shirts. I just realized that we forgot to include Frank in the count. He wasn’t here the day we sorted the numbers.”

“That’s fine,” Julian said. “He can wear mine.”

“You’re not going to be onstage with us?”

“You’ve got Doris leading on piano,” Julian said. “I can’t direct you anyway. Not like Charlie could. I’ll just stick out like a sore thumb. But I will be waiting in the wings, cheering you on.”

“I suppose that works,” Maggie said. “Problem solved.”

“Great.” Julian stopped at the stairwell. “I’m going to swing up to my office and make sure the bus is sorted.” He paused. “Should we gather the choir up in the music room? Get one last rehearsal in?”

“Oh, Doris is already on that,” Maggie assured him. “Everyone’s just finishing up their breakfast, then heading down.”

“Perfect,” Julian said. “I’ll meet you there in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, remember when I told you these things happen in threes?” Maggie said, her lips flattening into a thin line.

Julian crouched down next to the bus where Walt was examining the rear tire.

“I just don’t see how we’ll get it changed in time,” Walt said.