Dec. 25, 2007
After the combination of her winning the lotto and my miraculous “diagnosis” of her cancer, Mom apparently found Jesus. She invited me to attend a Christmas-morning service with her and planned to cook a big meal that day.
I was happy to go to church with her, for her surgery had gone well, and she was feeling better after the recovery. Her chemo wouldn’t start until the next week. Once chemotherapy began, she would feel like crap and not be up to entertaining guests or doing much of anything, according to her.
“Honey, you’re looking so handsome.” She greeted me with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Mom had never been a large woman, and the stress of the cancer diagnosis and surgery had melted some of the flesh off her frame. She already felt frail, and I feared the effect the chemotherapy would have on her.
“Mom, are you eating enough?” I asked. “You need to keep your strength up for the chemo.”
“I’m trying, Jason. It’s just stressful, and I’m dreading those damn poisons they’ll be giving me.”
“Yeah, I know. But we’ll get through it.” I squeezed her hand.
She hugged me again. “Don’t make me cry and mess up my makeup before church,” she scolded gently.
The Christmas service was the first time I’d set foot in a house of worship since Mike’s funeral. When Mom passed, a pastor had just performed a little service at the funeral home. The church was already packed when we arrived even though we got there fifteen minutes early. We found a place to sit near the very back, in the center of a pew. Mom chatted with a few people she knew while I nodded greetings and shook hands when prompted as she proudly showed me off.
As we waited for the service to start, I perused the bulletin the usher had handed me. I was surprised to see a familiar name listed in the service: “O Holy Night” performed by Nell McClain.
I craned my head but couldn’t see Nell anywhere in the crowd though I assumed she was sitting somewhere near the front. I hadn’t known she attended my mom’s church. Then again, Mom had only started attending a week prior, while I’d never even set foot in the building before.
We sang a few Christmas carols and listened as the elders read some scripture. When the appointed time came, Nell got up from one of the front rows and sat at the piano. She proceeded to both play the piano and sing “O Holy Night.” Her performance blew me away—her voice was operatic quality. I knew she had a pleasant voice but had no clue she had such a set of lungs on her. Wow! Her pure soprano filled the church like an angel’s singing.
Her song was over much too quickly, and everyone applauded enthusiastically, including me. I was just disappointed I couldn’t watch her performance very well from way in the back.
After the service ended, Mom was in a hurry to get back home to get the ham out of the oven and prepare the rest of the food. She led the way out the back doors, toward the parking lot. I paused on the sidewalk, knowing I’d kick myself later if I didn’t take this opportunity.
“Give me a minute, Mom,” I said.
“Where are you going?” she asked as I headed back toward the church.
“Going to say hi to someone.”
I waited a few minutes as people filed out. I recognized a few familiar faces from around town, but nobody seemed to recognize me or was inclined to strike up a conversation.
Toward the end of the rush, Nell’s family finally exited. She was with her parents and a teenage brother. She wore a pretty light-green dress and silver earrings. A few people complimented her on her performance, and she thanked them with her ready smile.
“Nell,” I called when she drew near.
She turned and smiled. “Hi. Jason, right?”
I nodded, happy she remembered me after my botched introduction. “I just wanted to say I loved your performance. That was awesome! Your singing was beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Her smile brightened even more.
I noticed for the first time a light smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. With the morning sun shining in her hair and limpid eyes sparkling, she looked more than simply cute—she looked quite beautiful.
“Uh, well, it’s nice to see you again,” I added after a too-long pause during which we regarded each other.
“Yeah, nice seeing you too. Didn’t know anyone from the store attended our church.”
“Well, this was kind of a special occasion, being Christmas and all.”
She nodded and laughed. “Yeah, the turnout is, like, five times what it normally is.”
“C’mon, Nell,” her brother called. “I’m hungry.”
“Well, I’d better let you go.” I shuffled my feet, suddenly feeling nervous though I wasn’t sure exactly why. Nell and I had talked plenty of times in my past timeline. “Good to see you again.” Hadn’t I already said that? Idiot.
Nell shot her brother an annoyed glance and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you too, Jason. See you on Sunday?”
I walked with Nell as she trailed her family to their car. “Probably not. I need to be getting back… I, uh, came to visit my mom and help her out with something.” I winced inwardly the moment the words were out of my mouth and hoped she didn’t notice my flub. What I’d said didn’t make much sense since Pinehaven was such a small town. It wasn’t like I’d driven up from Denver or something. But I couldn’t exactly tell her I’d time traveled back from nine months in the future.
If she noticed, she didn’t mention it. “Oh, that’s too bad. Maybe at work, then? Oh, but you’re on the night crew.” She gave a cute little frown. “I’ll be headed back to school in a couple weeks once winter break is over.”
I generally didn’t see the daytime workers at the store, which was usually a good thing. I’d been delayed the morning I met Nell a few days earlier and had to make up an extra hour.
“I might run into you in the morning, depending on your hours. If not, will you be working again in the summer?” I asked.
“That would be cool. Yeah, hopefully, I’ll be able to pick up some hours in the summer.” Knowing her as I did, she seemed sincere. And her smile was radiant.
“Cool. Okay, I’ll see you around!”
Nell waved. “See ya!”
I returned to the car to find my mother wearing an amused look. When I climbed in, I realized my heart was beating rapidly.
“You know that pretty girl?” Mom asked. “What a beautiful voice she has!”
“Yeah, we’ve run into each other a few times. I just wanted to compliment her on her performance.”
“Well, I wish you’d find a nice girl like that for a girlfriend.”
Yeah, you and me both, Mom.