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The choir piled back onto the stage, and this time Sophie wasn’t able to disappear within the crowd. Instead, her position was forward and centre. The second half of the concert started with one ensemble song, followed by Sophie’s solo.
Nigel returned to the stage to rapturous applause and signalled for them to begin their singing. Sophie was vaguely aware of her harmonies and the glorious noise that the choir was making around her, but the fact that the solo was imminent left her distracted and startled at the stage lights shining in her eyes.
The song ended as she knew it must and the audience applauded until the cheers died down in anticipation of the next song – Sophie’s song.
Nigel shuffled the sheet music on the piano stand. Was he going to play? Nigel normally only conducted, but Sophie supposed someone would have to play the music. She wished Liam was there to play for her. He was the only one who knew how she truly felt about singing and the only one she really trusted to make everything OK.
Nigel began the introduction. Sophie swallowed again and again as he played the first few bars, but her mouth went dry, her throat constricted and she felt sick. She couldn’t do this. Her ears were ringing, and she was only vaguely aware of the room around her; her head a little fuzzy. The music paused before Nigel moved into the main accompaniment. It was fight or flight. Sophie froze, her mouth open, but no sound came out. Nigel looked up at her, confusion across his face. He raised his eyebrows and nodded, as if to signal she should sing.
Sophie saw a flash of leopard print as someone shuffled in their seat on the front row and wondered for a moment whether it was Lulu. Had she made it? Did she even want Lulu there to watch her take her beloved solo? She squinted into the audience and made out Lulu’s wizened face and beehive. She held up two enthusiastic thumbs. She could do this. Everyone was there to support her and, besides, she’d promised a Christmas concert and she needed to give them one. She’d come this far …
She glanced nervously back at Nigel, swallowed and nodded, inviting him to play the introduction again. As he paused in the same place, Sophie sucked in a huge breath of air and opened her mouth to sing.
‘Wait!’ There was a commotion at the back of the hall. Whoever had shouted had also knocked over a display board and run into the back row of seats. They raced forward, but Sophie couldn’t make out who it was – the stage lights were in her eyes. It was only when the suited figure jumped up onto the stage, she realised it was Liam.
He turned to the audience. ‘Sorry, everyone.’ He was breathing heavily, like he’d run to get there. ‘I just needed to … I had to … Look, it’s not my big moment, it’s Sophie’s. Let’s begin the song again.’ He walked over to the piano. ‘Sorry,’ he said again before turning to sit on the piano stool Nigel had just vacated.
Liam scanned the stage for Sophie and smiled at her. It was a smile of regret. In his suit, he was as beautiful as she’d imagined. It was black and tailored in all the right places. He’d done something to his hair, but it had slipped back into its unruly ways in his rush to get there. He made himself comfortable and then looked up again at Sophie. She smiled at him, trying to convey just how grateful she felt that he’d come to play for her solo. Perhaps everything would be OK.
He lifted his arms and started to play. It sounded different somehow when he turned his hands to the keys. It felt like home. She began to sing. And despite the fear and the tightness in her throat, and the fact that one of her knees refused to stop wobbling for the entire performance, it was the best she had ever sung it. She hit every note and every nuance that she had gone over with Liam in their rehearsals. It was perfect. And when she reached the huge note at the end to finish and left the auditorium silent when it ended, the audience burst into applause, and so did Liam.
Sophie bowed and scurried back to her place in the middle of the choir to pats on the back and congratulations from her fellow singers.
‘What’s he doing here?’ Kate asked as Sophie returned to her spot. They watched as Liam stood, gave way to Nigel again, and hovered in the shadows of the wings.
‘I’ve no idea. I’m just glad he showed up,’ Sophie said.
‘You were ridiculously good.’ Kate squeezed her hand.
‘Thanks. I’m just glad I can relax and enjoy the rest of the concert now.’ Which she did.
When it came to ‘White Christmas’ at the end, she knew she could do it and it was received wonderfully by the audience, who joined in enthusiastically for the last verse. And to her surprise, when the lighting changed during the final applause, she could see her parents – front row and centre. They’d come to see her. David and June stood to clap, beaming smiles across their faces.
‘That was great!’ Greg said as Sophie helped him off the stage and into the dressing room.
‘It really was fun, and very Christmassy!’ Albert said.
‘Sophie, honey!’ Lulu’s familiar voice echoed through the crowd.
Sophie turned around. ‘Lulu!’ She was pleased to see her. And while it wasn’t fancy dress, Lulu had chosen to wear a flapper dress, complete with a long leopard-print coat and a feather in her hair. The overall look was eccentric, 1920s Hollywood glamour merged with her signature 60s beehive. Sophie expected nothing less from Lulu, who was making her way comfortably across the hall. Sophie met her halfway and went in for an embrace. Cuddles from Lulu, especially when she was wearing so many layers, were particularly delicious.
‘You look …’ Sophie grasped for the right word. ‘Recovered.’ She narrowed her eyes.
‘Oh, it was just a little fall, kid. You were wonderful.’ She stood back to take a look at Sophie. ‘Really wonderful.’
‘I hope so,’ Sophie said. ‘Yours were pretty big shoes to fill.’
‘But you did it so beautifully. Maybe it was a good thing that I took a fall after all, eh?’ she said, winking conspiratorially. ‘And it got you spending so much more time with that lovely Liam. I couldn’t have planned it better myself!’
Sophie found herself once again wondering how likely it was that the fall had been a fabrication to get Sophie singing … or dating?
‘Anyway, now that everything’s sorted and I’m back to my old self, I’m raring to return to choir practice so we can get ready for our next concert. Maybe Liam will let us do a duet?’ she said, clasping her hands together excitedly.
‘I’m not sure that Liam will be sticking around.’
‘Oh? Why not?’
Sophie didn’t get a chance to reply as a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She turned as Lulu found someone else to hug.
