Sing a Song of Sixpence.

The week passed with no incident, unless you count the feeling of thousands of butterflies in your lungs and stomach no incident.  Chrissy had managed to get away with little work at both jobs and little homework. She only had one day scheduled at the Piano Gallery. Thankfully, for Chrissy's sake, Connie wasn't working that day. Just getting ready for her advanced student recital gave her stress.

"You know, Chrissy," Connie said, as she passed by the customer service desk, "when you're done singing in the recital, if you want to join me at the Riverwoods, we'll sing some crazy mad duets. If you want." She waggled her eyebrows and made it sound like a question, instead of a statement.

But Chrissy knew Connie's big heart went along with the giant voice, and she gave her a nervous smile. "I'd like that, Connie. It sounds like fun."  Chrissy's nerves were obvious to everyone.

"You know, Chrissy," Connie continued, "if you keep thinking about it and worrying about it, Mozart may not turn out the way you want it. In fact, he may come back from the dead to haunt you." She laughed at the thought of some powdered-wigged man running amok in the streets. Her levity helped break the tension Chrissy felt. She was standing directly in front of her student now.

"I know," Chrissy sighed. It was a good thing neither one of them was busy at the moment. Connie was getting the stores small auditorium ready for the recital tomorrow and Chrissy was trying her hardest to work. "It's just that I have "The Flower Duet" completely perfect. It's my favorite! There's nothing to worry about in French." Chrissy cracked a half smile. Connie knew if she could get her talking about her music, Chrissy would relax. And, 'Meine Lippe, Sie kussen so So Heiss' is just so fun, that I forget about everything else." She managed to smile a real smile this time, but she could still feel the incredible stress clear down to her shoes.

"...But?" Connie said. "I can hear a huge amount of stress behind those words."  She raised her eyebrows and leaned her forehead towards her student in the 'what aren't you telling me' manner. "What else is it, Chrissy?"

"Are you sure it's okay for me to sing two German songs?" She thought about 'Queen of the Night' from Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute. Chrissy felt a little awkward singing in German since thee was a high probability Everett would be there. In fact, he told her there would have to be a near-death-experience for him not to come. She didn't tell Connie, though. She was just making excuses.


"Why not." Connie said, as she smiled her warm, friendly smile. At this time, she was taking the role of friend, instead of teacher. That was one of the things Chrissy liked best about Connie. She was able to balance human characteristics so well. It translated into one of the nicest women Chrissy had ever met. "You've worked hard on all of these pieces. Stop making excuses. I don't see any reason for you to not sing them. All of them." Connie stated this matter-of-factually as she place a hand on Chrissy's shoulder in an attempt to help her relax. "Listen," She continued, "you float your notes just fine."

"I don't want 'just fine', though," Chrissy scrunched her nose. "I want amazing!"

It only took two seconds for Connie to change her face to serious and she confided in her friend, "You will be amazing."

Chrissy smiled, well, she half-smiled. "That's a start," Connie told her. "How about you go get a massage in the morning. It may not take your mind off things, but it will make your muscles feel delicious," she grinned and thought about getting herself a massage too.

Chrissy smiled back because pampering was one of the non-singing related items they both loved to talk about and occasionally indulge in. "Thanks. That's a really good idea." She said it with confidence. "I feel better already.

"You sure?"
Chrissy breathed in a deep cleansing breath and let it out. "I really do." She put a smile on her face, and this time, it reached her eyes. "I think I will get a massage.

                              *           *             *            *            *             *

"Chrissy!" Shouted Kathryn MacDallan from the Kitchen. "You're going to be late!: She stood at the garage door, waiting for her daughter.

"I'm almost ready, Mom!" Chrissy called back.  She was putting her final touches on her make-up and hair. She decided to make-up a little more dramatic because she was going to be on stage. Not a whole lot, just some lip stick and darker brown eye shadow with a little liner. Her hair had been artfully done in a Jane Austen inspired up-do and her curls set if off perfectly. The dress she wore was a little bit long, dusting the floor, but since she wasn't comfortable wearing her high heals, for fear of falling on her face or breaking a bone or something else equally as dramatic, she decided to wear her shiny, silver kitten heals. After looking herself approvingly in the mirror once more, she picked up her purse and water bottle and left her room.

Chrissy and her parents loaded into their car at her parents house and drove the next ten minutes to the Piano Gallery in silence. Well, Chrissy rode in silence, with her eyes shut. Her parents talked excitedly about hearing her senior recital-albeit  it was shared with two others. It was really late in the afternoon, so Connie would have time to go and sing at the Riverwoods afterward. She usually sang there around 7pm on Saturday nights.

"...Chrissy." Kathryn  said as she jolted back to reality. "Chrissy."

"Earth to Chrissy." Her dad, Ian MacDallan, teased.

"Oh, sorry. What?"

"I said we're here now." Her dad looked back at her. "Let's get you inside."

"Sorry. I must have zoned out." It was a trick she had learned when she was about fourteen years old to focus on what she had to be doing. This time, she was working to calm herself before her biggest moment yet.

"I'd like to hear your secrets," said her mom. It sounds like a mini-vacation in your head."

"Kind of. Wait! No." Her response got her to laugh and lighten the mood, which she really needed. She had hardly eaten anything that day, or the day before, and now she thought she could be really hungry. Chrissy gathered up the shiny burgundy fabric of her dress so it wouldn't drag on the ground, but really, she was wondering which of her friends would show up. After Angela and Suzie, and Hillman of course, and through deduction, she knew Mozart was one of Everett's favorites. They'd all be there, if they got back from their hike soon enough. Chrissy was fortunate to have such great friends, and she was thankful for them every day.

As Chrissy walked into the Piano Gallery, she saw quite a few of her other coworkers. Some form the bank: Donald, her boss, and his wife. Nikkie, another teller. Sanjay and Rebecca, a loan officer and new accounts manager respectively. The bank was one little happy family. If you worked there, you were considered family. They were ready and waiting  to hear her, or rather share the stage with 2 of her other fellow students, whom she had already spotted, chatting up with their own crowds.

They all greeted Chrissy and gave her their luck. Some of them chatted with her parents and with the other friends and families of her voice friends.

Chrissy walked over to her parents who cleverly found Connie. She was usually setting last-second details, and probably shouldn't have been out on the sales floor at the moment.

"Chrissy, you look great! Did you go get that massage?" she asked with the most excited face she ever saw. "Do you think you're ready?" was the very next thing out of her mouth, not giving Chrissy the chance to answer one at a time.

"Yeah" Chrissy fussed with a strand of her hair that had fallen down. "I feel really good." And it was true. All the knots had been removed form her back and shoulders. "You were right yesterday. I needed to relax, on more than one level."

"Well, I'm going to go to the auditorium now. I need to warm up." She craned her neck as if she were looking for someone. "Will you tell Quinn to meet me there when you see him?"

"Sure will," her mother answered. "We'll see you in a bit."

They all had wondered where Quinn Thomas, her pianist, was. Quinn was never late. She heard the bell on the front door right at that moment and saw him walk inside.

"Quinn," She waved at him to the back of the store. He acknowledged that he saw her and made his way to the back quickly.

"I'm ready, are you?" He asked, nearly out of breath.He flashed her his most playful smile and they turned through the door to the auditorium.

"Glad you could make it, Quinn." Connie slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Let's." Chrissy and Quinn said together. Chrissy decided she'd have to wait til after the recital to meet her friends, which was just as well. She didn't need any distractions right now.

Robert and Teresa, the other singers, were already warming up with their accompanists.

"Nice of you to join us." Robert said. They both showed as much nerve as Chrissy was feeling the day before, and had both dressed as sharply as Chrissy had tried.With music by Puccini, Wagner and Verdi, there ought to be a big ball of anxiety. They were all three anxious to be able to properly relax and have no worries.

"Is that sarcasm, Robert?" They chuckled together.

"Let's get rolling," Connie said after a fifteen minute warm up. They started noticing the audience filling in.

"Let's do this." Teresa said, as she looked out at her friends.

"Let's roll." Robert replied.

They all took seats on the front row with their pianists, and in earnest trust, she told Quinn, "nudge me when it's my turn. I'm going into my zone." Chrissy turned to the front and shut her eyes.

"Ooohh," Quinn said, waving his hands all hokey-like. "The zone!" He smiled at his friend, who managed to know it and smiled back at him with closed eyes. "Sure thing, boss," he said.

"Quinn, you are funy." She smiled, patting his knee and waited for Connie to get things started.

"Ange, SSHH! Be quiet!" She thought she heard Suzie's voice somewhere behind her and it made her relax just a little more.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming today," Connie said. "We're happy to have you here, sharing these great talents." Connie went on to start the program. Start it with Chrissy and Teresas "Flower Duet." From Lakme. If there was one thing Chrissy was really good at, it was knowing the character of the song, not just the character singing. She had a great gift of knowing what was just right for everything she sang. When they finished, the whole place erupted in applause. It was indeed, beautiful.

Robert followed with Puccini's  Nessun Dorma. Chrissy thought he had a great voice, but she didn't hear him this time. She had gone back inside her head. Teresa followed. But Chrissy never heard.

Again, it was Chrissy's turn. "Meine Lippen, Sie Kussen so Heiss." This was, by far, her favorite. She tried to sing it straight in her lessons, with all her rhythm and other technical aspects so perfect, but gave up when Connie got upset. "Knock it off!" She'd say. "You know this. It's fun. Sing it FUN!" She demanded, and from that time on, she did. Chrissy owned the fun of this song. She gave herself a technical foul and played fun. It was amazing how she got into the character of the moment of the song and nailed everything else, she even caught herself twirling. Something she could have sworn she wasn't supposed to do. She heard her friends calling her name when she finished, but still refused herself to look directly at the audience. If she broke the fourth wall now, she'd never get back to her place in music. There was one more left for her: Queen of the Night. So when she and Quinn took their places once more on the front, she  sat back to listen to her friends. They each had solos and then a duet from La Boheme by Puccini. Ohh, she thought they were magnificent.

After the cheers and applause died down, Connie stood in front of the audience once more. "You folks are in for a real treat," She said as she looked around. This got Chrissy's attention and she and Quinn readied themselves to take their places once more. "In the opera, "The Magic Flute," by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, lies the most challenging soprano Aria. Many women beat themselves up trying to sing what you are about to hear. Chrissy MacDallan has worked herself to exhaustion to bring you all a little piece of heaven." Connie couldn't have shown more teeth if she wanted to at that moment, as she gestured her hand towards Chrissy and Quinn who took their places once more.

Quinn was ready. Mozart is easy to play on the piano, and he was very ready and very artful about it. Chrissy looked down as he played the first chord and then, with all the power in her, she began Mozarts words. The massage she had that morning must have worked on her brain too, because she looked so relaxed. She had her characher down and when she reached the notes she'd worried about and beat herself up over time and time again, she realized something she'd been hiding from. IN her mind, Chrissy heard Connie tell her "Just go for it! I know you can do this. You're ready and you own it!" Before she knew it, Chrissy felt herself floating over the notes that owned her so many times before.

Then, as quickly as it started, there were cheers and applause and even whistles, she gathered, from her roommates, and or Hillman.

Chrissy stood by herself, breathing heavily and just starred. Quickly, she gathered her wits and motioned to Quinn, who also stood, and together, they bowed, as is traditional for a musical recital. Now, she allowed herself to enjoy the stage.It was finished. She could really relax. Since she wasn't registered as a music major, Chrissy didn't have to sing in juries at the end of the semester and she could take a break if she wanted to . Oh, she wanted to. And Connie would hold her place for a week or two.

Chrissy was enjoying the moment so well, she didn't hear Connie invite Robert and Teresa and their accompanists to the stage or thanked everyone for coming.

She finally came out of her trance and realized that probably one-third of the cheers and applause were coming from her nearest and dearest. Donald, her boss at the bank, and Sanjay and Rebecca came up to congratulate her. Suzy and Angela came up with flowers, all the time talking about how amazing she was and how cool those high notes were. "Awesome" said Angie and "Totally amazing" said Suzy. Her parents came next full of hugs and accolades. Hillman came up to give her a giant hug and even Brad was there, which surprised her because she couldn't remember telling him about it. Maybe he heard through Angela or Suzy. He gave her a small, wrapped bouquet of daisies and a hug, then quickly left.

Chrissy noticed that her parents hung back in the crowd and other people rushed the stage for the other singers. Quinn handled things like a pro. Left to his own devices as the pianist, Chrissy hastily waked to him and threw her empty arm around him in a big hug. "Thank you so much," she said "I really appreciate this." She cried the last part in his ear.

"Oh, it was nothing," he said as they drew apart. "You were amazing!"

"But you helped. Thank you." As they separated, and Quin left, Ian and Kathryn MacDallan were right close again. Chrissy realized she hadn't seen Everett yet and began looking around.

"Who are you looking for?" Her mother asked.

"I haven't seen Everett yet. Angie?"

"Yeah?" she answered breaking away from Hillman and Suzy's conversation.

"Have you seen Everett? I mean since you all went rock climbing?" She couldn't quite make out all the faces in the auditorium from where she stood on the stage.

"Nope. I didn't see him." Angie liked to pop the p's at the ends of her words. It was annoying at the best of times. Chrissy suspected she did it just to annoy people. Not too many people didn't notice that Angela was only noticing Hillman, and Hillman was only noticing Angela. Chrissy noticed, Suzy noticed. This made everyone who did notice really happy.

"So, Everett hasn't shown up?" Chrissy's mom asked.

"That's really too bad," said her father. "You'd think a seasoned--."

"DAD-- !" Chrissy stopped him just before he could blow Everetts cover.

"Oh." Was all he could manage, careful not to draw attention to himself, or the man wielding a rather large bunch of flowers sitting in the back corner of the auditorium. "I'll tell you what, though, he missed a really good show. That's all." Ian MacDallan nodded calmly to his wife at the man no one noticed in the back. and she moved again to hug her daughter so she could get a better look. Chrissy and her friends were too busy talking about their plans for the evening which included mini-golf and arcade games. Angie and Hillman wanted to get out of there quickly and Suzy was going to tag along.

As the friends were leaving and the other crowds were exiting, Andie bounced up the aisle with Hillmans hand in hers. "Everett!" She said loudly. "Oh wow! Those are pretty! Chrissy was just wondering if we had seen you." She turned towards the stage, "Chrissy, I found Everett," and no sooner had she said that, she and Hillman and Suzy were gone.

Chrissy snapped her head around at the sound of Angies voice, just in time to see Everett stand up and walk dow the aisle towards her. Her mother whispered, "so, this is 'The Hawkeye' you've followed on the internet for three years, is it?" She smiled as she waggled an eyebrow at her daughter.

Chrissy smiled back at her mom. "Yeah," she blushed, setting off her red hair very nicely. "He's really nice."

"And thoughful," her dad said. "I'm pretty sure those flowers aren't' for your mother."

"Everett!" I'm glad you could make it." Chrissy said as he became nearer to the stage, where Chrissy stood with her parents.She reached out to give him a friendly hug and he eagerly leaned into it, as her parents watched.  "This is my mom, Kathryn and my dad, Ian." She nodded in their direction in turn, for her arms were still full of flowers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Everett said. Chrissy wasn't sure, but she thought he sounded nervous. Almost as nervous as she had been two hours ago.

"The pleasure is all ours, Everett." Ian said, warmly to the man standing so near his daughter."

"Sir, you are mistaken." Everett said to Ian, as he reached out to shake is hand.

"How's that?"

"I have excellent hearing."

Chrissy wrinkled her nose. She knew her mothers whispering was barely audible, but her father? Well, he was usually a little lout in the best of circumstances.

"These flowers are for your lovely wife."

"You're welcome. It's easy to see where Chrissy gets her looks from." He passed over nearly half of the flowers in his hands to Kathryn, who smiled her thanks.


"You are so thoughtful, thank you," Kathryn blushed. "They are lovely." She said as she graciously accepted the flowers from Everett.

"And these," he said, handing a hand-picked bouquet to Chrissy, "are for the most amazing soprano I've ever heard."

Chrissy took the flowers and stood frozen to the spot she was standing in, smiling like a dummy. No one had ever paid her mother a compliment like that before, not that she knew of, and both women were stunned.

Ian put his arm around Everetts shoulder and shook his hand again. "I think you are wrong there, Everett," he said, as Everett cocked his head and furrowed his brow in misunderstanding, "the pleasure is all ours to meet you!" He finished his sentence in gentle, kind way. It was obvious that he had left quite a great impression on the MacDallans. They liked him immediately. Chrissy smiled to herself, still having not said much.