Pip sat down on a bench, head in her hands. What was she going to do now?
She was almost too upset to be angry with Frankie – that’s if it had even been Frankie who’d stolen her money. All sorts of possibilities flew through her mind. Perhaps Frankie had woken up to find someone taking Pip’s wallet and she’d chased after them and…
But then why hadn’t Frankie come back?
Pip had no answers, but there was no use crying over spilt milk, as Sully would have said (although he had always added that beer was an entirely different matter).
After retracing their steps to the station to check the time of the next train north, which was not for another hour and a half, Pip and Houdini walked to the town square. It was market day, with dozens of stalls lined up, selling everything from fruit and veggies to jewellery to computer games to handmade cards. There was even one selling everything for pets, including dog biscuits. Houdini looked hopefully from the stall to Pip.
‘Maybe later, if we can get some money,’ she told him as her eyes alighted on the next stall and a germ of an idea planted in her brain.
The stall glimmered and glittered with lights, tinsel, baubles and everything you needed to get ready for Christmas. A sign above depicted a toothy, goofy reindeer (RUDOLPH) next to a naked Santa’s helper (RUDE ELF).
‘Got everything you need for Christmas,’ said a large lady with a double chin, holding up a red nose. ‘Need a nose? I’ll throw in one free for your dog.’
‘I’m sorry, I don’t have any—’ Pip fished around in her pocket and found a dollar wedged right at the very bottom. ‘Is this enough?’
The lady sighed but handed over the noses. Pip hoped they wouldn’t be a complete waste of the very last coin she had in the world.
No one took any notice of them as Pip walked to the centre of the square in front of the market, dug her cap out of her pack and placed it upside down on the ground. Houdini sniffed at it, confused.
‘This could be a very bad idea,’ she muttered to him, attaching her own nose. ‘But it’s the only one I’ve got, so it will have to do.’ As an afterthought, as she fixed the red nose she’d bought from the stall to the end of his natural one, she told him, ‘Don’t fart.’
A few people were starting to look towards her curiously, wondering what to expect. It was now or never. Pip took a deep breath and began to sing the only song she could remember some of the words to.
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw him
You might even say it blows
All of the other reindeers
Called poor Rudolph naughty names
And he was so embarrassed
He really could have died of shame
People stopped to stare and whisper. ‘That’s not right,’ said one little boy to his mother. ‘That’s wrong, Mummy.’
Pip tried harder.
Then one soggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to pray
Rudolph with your nose so bright
Won’t you slay my elves tonight?
A crowd had formed and people started laughing out loud. Someone threw a coin in the cap. Two dollars! Amazed, Pip sang louder.
All of the other reindeers
Shouted out and scratched their fleas
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
You’ll go down—
At that point, deciding she needed some help, Houdini began to sing along enthusiastically. Woowoo! Woowoo! Everyone clapped their hands over their ears, grinning, except for the little boy who started to scream. Others were laughing uncontrollably, and more coins poured into Pip’s cap.
You’ll go down in history!
Pip couldn’t remember any more verses. In fact, she was glad she’d struggled through as far as she had. But she couldn’t afford to walk away while the money flowed.
She tried to sing the first verse again, but her voice dried up. Houdini, though, was just getting going. Woowoo. Woowoo. Woowoo-woo!
Someone else called out, ‘It’s the best version I ever heard.’
‘You two should be on a talent show!’ yelled another.
The crowd began to laugh even louder, and then suddenly there was the strumming of a guitar, and another voice – powerful and melodic – joined Houdini’s.
As though she was royalty, the crowd parted for Frankie as she strolled to Pip and Houdini’s side, singing a song about Christmas that Pip had never heard. It wasn’t about reindeers, snow and elves, though. It was about a family gathering under a Christmas tree after an argument.
The crowd was silent now; even Houdini had quietened. Everyone was listening to Frankie singing her song that was sad and happy at the same time.
At the end, no one threw more coins in the cap; they threw notes – fives, tens, even a twenty. Pip noticed, but Frankie didn’t seem aware. She launched into the Jingle Bells song. People began to clap in time, and tap their feet.
Pip joined in when Frankie sang the chorus for the second time, and everyone in the crowd followed.
As Frankie started another song, Pip heard someone whisper to someone else, ‘I thought I recognised her! It’s the girl from that TV show – Star Seeker!’
‘Frankie someone, I remember!’ another in the audience said, loudly and excitedly. ‘Except she used to be blonde, remember? Everyone thought she was going to win, but she didn’t. After she lost, she went a bit wild and blew it all. It was a big story for a while.’
‘That’s right, Frankie J. She was offered a recording contract and everything, but it was torn up before she made a single record! I always wondered what happened to her.’
As the comments grew louder, Pip glanced up anxiously but Frankie’s eyes were closed and she smiled as she sang on, something that Pip had never heard before. Other people had, and they were swaying in time and singing along.
Christmas light, Christmas bright…
‘She looks like a down-and-out!’
‘But she’s still got that voice. Listen!’
The talk petered out as everyone seemed to realise that they were witness to a very special performance. The crowd had grown and grown, and some people were filming on their phones, wanting to catch every moment.
The implication of this hit home and Pip began to panic. People had recognised Frankie within minutes even without the wig; what if they figured out who Pip was?
It was time to leave.
‘I have to go,’ she whispered under her breath when Frankie finished her next song. ‘But I’m glad I heard you sing, and so is everyone else. Listen to them.’
‘More! More! More!’ The crowd yelled their encouragement to Frankie.
Holding on to Houdini’s lead, Pip tugged off her nose and his, and began to push through the crowd. Frankie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. ‘Here. This is for you.’ She stuffed the cap with the money into Pip’s hand.
Pip shook her head. ‘No, I was terrible. It’s for you.’
‘Take it! You deserve it. And this is yours.’ She handed the Barbie wallet back to Pip. ‘I shouldn’t have taken it. I’m sorry. I just needed money to call my family and you were still asleep. I went back to find you but you’d gone.’
Pip was too stunned even to say goodbye and a moment later, the crowd had reformed a circle around Frankie, swallowing her up in their eagerness for the show to continue. Pip found herself on the outer.
After buying some dog biscuits for Houdini at the market, she hurried towards the station. It wasn’t a moment too soon, either. As she emerged from the market crowd, a couple of police officers were making their way across the square towards the source of the music to see what all the fuss was about.
Pip broke into a run, Houdini trotting beside her, feeling sad that they were going their separate way from Frankie but happy beyond words that Frankie had rediscovered her voice.