The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection by Patricia Kiyono Page A

“Remember what happened last
time, when she was here? Remember what she said after
practice?”
    Jordan reconsidered. Apparently, the
possibility of his grandmother coming to discipline him again was
enough of a threat, because he sat where Sophie put him.
    “ Let’s review the Three
Wisemen Song,” she told the group.
    Things went fairly well for about ten
minutes. Sophie started to relax as the kids sang a rollicking song
about riding a camel across the desert. She taught them to bend
their knees and then straighten up on alternate beats of the song,
illustrating a rough ride. But the cooperation was short-lived.
    “ I don’t wanna sing that
song. It’s stupid.” Jordan got up and headed to the door. “I’m
gonna call Mom. I wanna go home.” He pulled open the door and ran
smack into a pair of khaki covered legs. He looked up and grinned.
“Uncle Nolan! Can you take me home?”
    Nolan DeSmit, dressed in his police uniform,
was a formidable figure. He knelt down so he was face to face with
his nephew. “Sorry, buddy. I can’t do that. You need to stay here
and do what Miss Sophie says without running around. Unless she
says to run around.” He looked up at Sophie. “Did you tell Jordan
to run around, Miss Sophie?”
    Sophie shook her head.
    “ Then I guess we’d better
sit quietly like the rest of the kids here.” He stood, took
Jordan’s hand, and led him back to the chairs. “Why don’t you show
me where you’re supposed to sit? I’ll watch. I’ll bet you’re the
best singer in the bunch. But if you want people to listen, you’ve
gotta be doing what you’re asked to do. And afterwards, if you
behave yourself, then I’ll take you home, if you want.”
    “ I wanna sit by Uncle
Nolan, too,” Josh cried, leaping up out of his chair.
    “ Josh, Miss Sophie probably
had you sitting over there because you were getting into trouble
with your brother. If you want to move, you’d better clear it with
her. Otherwise you need to stay where you're supposed to
sit.”
    Josh turned pleading eyes toward Sophie, and
she managed to keep a serious face as she nodded her consent.
    Sophie mouthed a thank-you to her high
school friend. Running into him after church, she’d been eager to
ask for assistance from both sides of the twins’ family. Though
having their grandmother there the previous week had been helpful,
she couldn’t ask the lady to sit through all the rehearsals. Not
surprisingly, only a few of their other relatives had been willing
to help. Fortunately, Nolan had agreed, and having a big policeman
there encouraged the rest of the children to behave.
    Seeing the twins settled, she proceeded with
the rehearsal.
    “ I am going to play some
Christmas songs you might know, and I want you to sing along,”
Sophie said. “While you’re singing, I want you to use your best
voices, because I’m going to come around and listen. You don’t have
to sing louder when I’m nearby, because that just makes your voice
sound bad. But while I’m listening, I’m going to find out who has
the best voices for singing, and who has good voices for speaking.”
She started up her mp3 player, which she had plugged into a
portable speaker. Strains of familiar Christmas songs began, and
some of the kids sang along. A lot of them were monotone, and
Sophie made mental notes to give those kids speaking parts. But one
voice soared with clarity. Josh Longton. Jordan wasn’t bad either,
but not quite as good as his brother. She’d have to speak to him
later about singing a special song for the program. Again, she
wrote frantically on her notebook.
    The song ended, and another one started.
This one was a bit cheerier. She started a simple dance step, side
to side, encouraging the kids to join her. Most obliged her, though
several stopped singing when their feet started to move. Again, she
made mental notes about the kids who caught on quickly, and who
needed more direction. She added a hand jive, and again the