“One more day, Riverside,” Ms. Clarkson said over the PA. “I want all the competitors and their managers to meet in the multipurpose room at 12:15. I have a few announcements from the organizers.”
By the time Murphy and Molly arrived, the room was almost full.
Nell shouted, “Over here!” Nell and Danny had saved some seats up front. Paige, Fi and Dede were seated a few rows behind them.
There were so many people in the room, it was hard to tell who were competitors and who were supporters.
When Veronica came in, Murphy squeezed over to make room.
“Thanks, Murphy,” she said.
“Hello, hello,” Ms. Clarkson said too loudly. She needed Murphy’s help with the microphone. “Attention, everyone.”
The audience quieted.
“Congratulations. You’ve all put a ton of work into this. Now, I want all the contestants up on the stage to introduce yourselves. Not just your names. Tomorrow you’ll be asked to say a few words about yourselves.”
Slowly the contestants lined up beside the principal. Veronica and Molly were the last ones onto the stage.
One by one the competitors introduced themselves.
Paige was fifth in line. She walked up to the microphone with a swagger, flipped her ponytail and said, “My name is Paige Nelson. I’m in grade seven. I go to Riverside, but of course all you guys know that already.” She giggled. “Why did I say that? Oh, and I’m going to perform a jazz dance called Dancing in the Streets.”
Paige was right—she needed Murphy to manage her. No one had taught her about stage presence.
By Molly’s count there were three singers, three singers with guitars, seven dancers and one pianist. When it was Molly’s turn, she took the microphone out of its cradle and said, “My name is Molly Jacobs. I am in grade seven at Riverside. I am really excited to get to sing Billie Holiday’s version of ‘Summertime’ at this talent competition. Thank you all for coming.”
Ms. Clarkson ushered the competitors off the stage after their introductions. “What a good showing, Riverside students!”
While Ms. Clarkson read the rules for the competition and Murphy wrote in his notepad, Molly gazed at the stage and thought about how wonderful it had felt to hear her voice echo through the room.
Murphy elbowed Molly. “You better listen to this stuff. Twenty-three kids from the valley have entered.” For the first time, Murphy sounded nervous.
“Finally,” Ms. Clarkson said, “we’ve just learned that not only will the winner receive a cash prize and a trip to Winnipeg, but Channel 2, which broadcasts across the entire province, is going to be at the competition tomorrow. The top three contestants will be filmed for thousands of people to watch.”
Murphy jumped out of his seat. “Moll, did you hear that? You might be on TV!”
Molly froze. She thought about her promise. If she was in the top three, her mom might hear her on TV. If that happened, her mom wouldn’t have to come home to hear her sing. Molly felt numb. Why hadn’t she been told this before? If she had known, she would never have entered the competition.
Finally Molly understood why her promise was so important. She wanted there to be a reason for her mom to come home. Without that, she might never return.
Molly’s eyes welled up with tears.
Nell sat down beside her. “Moll, what’s the matter?”
“Nell, my mom,” Molly said between sobs, wiping her face with her sleeve. “She might hear me on TV.”
“That would be so cool,” Nell said.
“No, Nell,” Molly said. “She can’t hear me that way. I promised. I want her to come home to hear me.”
Murphy sat down on the other side of Molly.
“A promise? What’s she talking about?” Nell asked Murphy.
“It’ll be okay, Molly,” he said.
“No, Murphy, no. My mom can’t hear me on TV. She’ll have no reason to come home if she does.” Molly got to her feet and ran out of the room.
Murphy and Nell followed her into the hall. She slid down the wall until she was sitting on her heels. She buried her face in her arms and cried. Murphy and Nell kneeled beside her. Soon the boys, Veronica and Clarissa were gathered there too.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” everyone asked at once.
“I can’t sing in the competition,” Molly said, sobbing.
“What are you talking about?” Danny said. “You’re going to win.”
Murphy told them about Molly’s mom and frowned. “I don’t really get it either.”
After school, Molly and Nell waited for the bus with the boys.
“You quit just like that, Moll?” Murphy said. “Come to my place and talk to my mom. Maybe she can help.”
“Okay, but I can’t do it. I just can’t do it,” she said.
Molly felt like she was in a blender. Her words and feelings whirled around and turned into a thick, soupy clamor. She was dizzy and a little sick to her stomach.
When the bus stopped, Murphy jumped off and ran into his house. Nell and Molly waited outside. A few minutes later, he came out with his mom.
“Come on, girls,” she said, opening the door of her car. “Get in. We’re going to Molly’s. I’m going to have a talk with Trev.”
When they got there, Celia handed Murphy a twenty-dollar bill and said, “Take the girls for something to eat at the market.”
“What did you say to her?” Molly asked as she followed Murphy and Nell down the path to the store.
“I told her about your promise, about the TV, about you crying, and I said you weren’t going to sing. She went into one of her rages and said she was going to talk to your dad.”
“I’m so sorry about all this,” Molly said. “I’ll try and sing. But I can’t get in the top three. I just can’t.”
“I don’t get it,” Nell said.
“The problem is, Molly made a promise to herself a long time ago,” Murphy said. “That’s why she never let anyone hear her sing until now. She was saving her voice for her mom, so she would have something to come home to.”
Nell still looked confused.
Murphy shrugged. “It makes sense to Molly.”
“Doesn’t someone know where her mom is?” Nell asked.
“I don’t think so,” Murphy said.
“That’s crazy,” Nell said, putting her arm around Molly. “I’m so sorry, Molly.”
“I’m the one who should be sorry for getting everyone into this,” Molly said. “I just wanted a reason for my mom to come home. If she hears me on TV, I won’t have that anymore. It might sound crazy, but it’s what I believe.”
“I think I understand,” Nell said.
“I don’t think anyone really understands,” Molly said.
They all stopped and looked back as they heard the front door slamming. Molly’s dad had bolted from the house and jumped into his truck. Celia appeared in the doorway. “If you don’t tell her, I will,” she shouted after him.
The tires squealed as the truck took off and disappeared around the corner.
The kids hurried back and joined Celia on the front steps.
“What’s going on?” Molly demanded. “What is it you’re not telling me?”
“Your dad has to tell you the story, Moll,” Celia said.
“Oh man. We have one day—not even that,” Murphy groaned. “We could have won tomorrow.”
“This is not about winning tomorrow, Murphy,” Celia said. “It’s about Molly singing. And singing, for Molly, is about her mom.”
“I need her,” Molly sobbed. “My voice is a gift for my mom. I’ve known it since I first listened to music and sang in my head.”
“No, honey,” Celia said. “Your voice is your mom’s gift to you.”
“What do you mean?” Molly asked.
“Like I said, your dad has to tell you the whole story,” Celia said. “But I will say that your mom is the most incredible singer I have ever heard. Well, let me correct myself. Your mom was the most incredible singer I had ever heard until I heard you sing. You are even better than her. Way better. But you sound exactly like her. You even sing the songs she liked. That’s why your dad can’t stand to hear music. Your house was full of music when he lived with your mom.”
And all of a sudden, things lined up in Molly’s head. She had heard her mom’s voice before. Of course she had. When she was a baby, she would have heard her mom singing.
“Where is my mom?” Molly asked quietly.
Before Celia could answer, the truck pulled back into the driveway, and Molly’s dad got out. He joined them on the front steps.
“I was wrong, honey,” he said, sitting down next to Molly. “Really wrong. I wanted to protect you, so I didn’t tell you anything. It turns out you would have been better off if I had told you everything. Maybe I was trying to protect myself.”
He looked at Murphy and Nell, then continued. “Molly could sing before she could talk. She’d follow her mom around. Oh my, Molly’s mom could sing. And she was pretty—just like Molly. She was kind and gentle and strong—just like Molly too.”
Molly didn’t move. She had waited all her life for these words.
“But Angela had some real serious problems. She got into trouble with addictions—drugs. Before Molly was a year old, her mom was hanging out with bad people. I’m not going to go into the whole story, but when Angela went to jail, I promised myself I wouldn’t tell Molly about her. I thought the best thing to do was pretend her mom took off.”
My mom is a drug addict and is in jail? thought Molly. That couldn’t be. She must have heard her dad wrong.
“I made a mistake.” Her dad’s face was pale. His arms were slumped at his side. “Angela’s cleaned herself up, and she wants to talk to Molly more than anything in the world. I said no, not until she gets out of jail. I didn’t want my girl to have to tell her friends that her mother’s in jail.”
He gave Molly a long hug. “Your voice is both a gift from your mom and a gift for your mom,” he said. “I called her the other night and told her you were singing. She begged me to let her talk to you.”
Molly asked, “Where is she?”
“She’s on the mainland.”
Murphy said, “Wow, Moll.”
Molly’s dad said, “I don’t know how you can sing for her like you promised. We don’t have time to get you there and back before the competition.”
“How about on the phone?” Murphy asked. “Your dad could set it up. It could be like a preview.”
“Murphy,” Celia said, “stay out of this.”
“It’s okay,” her dad said. “That’s a good idea. What do you say, Moll?”
A million thoughts ran through Molly’s head. She had imagined this moment a million times, but she hadn’t pictured it like this. Molly tried to remember every word her dad had just said. “Did you say Mom wants to hear me sing?” she asked.
“More than anything.”
“Can you phone her?”
“Sure. If you want me to.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Are you sure you’re all right with this, Moll?”
Celia asked.
“Yeah,” Molly said. “I think I’m sure.”
Ten minutes later, her dad called from inside the house, “Molly, come here.”
Molly walked down the front hall and into the kitchen. She stared at the phone and thought about how many times she had wished her mom would call.
“It’s your mom.”
Molly took the phone in her hand and put it up to her ear as her dad left the room.
“Molly? Are you there?” The voice was familiar.
“Mom?”
“I hear you are going to sing for me, honey,” her mom said. “I have waited a long, long time for this.” Her mom’s voice was low, and as steady as Billie Holiday’s.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m going to sing for you,” Molly said. She waited a few moments, until she heard the music in her head. “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high…”
When Molly finished, her mom began to sing. “I go out walking after midnight, out in the moonlight…”
“Wow, Mom, that’s my number-two favorite song. ‘Summertime’ is my number-one favorite.”
“Me too,” she said.
It was quiet on both ends of the line. Then her mom said, “Just sing, Molly. Sing. I’ll watch for you on the news. Honey, I am so proud.” She paused. “And Molly”—her voice was interrupted by sobs— “I’ll be out of here in less than a year.” Molly heard her suck up a deep breath. “But Trev says we can get together sometime before that.” She paused again. “If you want.”
A wave of anger rushed over Molly. Her dad had kept her away from her mom. This was all his fault.
As if reading her mind, and before Molly had a chance to speak, her mom said, “It’s not Trev’s fault, Molly. He was trying to do what was best for you.”
Molly looked out at the porch, where her dad sat with Celia. Her mom was probably right. Either way, the waiting was over, and now Molly was ready to sing.