Kate's Song (16 page)

“What is it?”

“I am singing in a concert in Madison tomorrow for the academy. Do you want to take back your apology?”

His eyes lost their sparkle for a split-second but then he smiled. “I told you I would learn to be patient. This is my first test.”

Kate stepped off the bus onto an unfamiliar street corner in Madison. Dr. Sumsion embraced her almost before her feet hit the ground. “Kate, you made it! I was beginning to think we’d have to cut all your songs.”

“Sorry,” Kate said. “The bus service from Apple Lake is not always reliable.”

“Today of all days, I wish Amish people drove cars.” Dr. Sumsion, a short, plump woman with salt-and-pepper hair and a no-nonsense smile, handed Kate a suit bag. “Go and change. Chelsea and the new student, Shannon, are in there already. And find a place to warm up. The concert starts in a half hour.”

The hot summer sun reflected off the black pavement, and sweat trickled down Kate’s neck before she even set off for the hill. She trudged up the slope hoping the borrowed formal would be sufficiently modest. She’d been very explicit in her last letter to Dr. Sumsion:
The dress must have sleeves
.

Dr. Sumsion called her back. “Kate, I added the Mozart back into the program. Ryan’s ready to do it.”

Dr. Sumsion had asked her to join a group of students from the academy for an outdoor concert at one of Madison’s parks smack in the middle of her Amish summer. It was a long way to travel to perform five or six songs, but the wages paid for the trip and Kate sought as many experiences as possible in which she might be able to hear God’s voice and understand His will. Faith without works was dead. Would He speak to her heart today? Kate smiled plaintively. The only person who seemed to speak to her heart was Nathaniel.

She glanced around as she made her way to the large white building at the corner of the park. Her heart pounded when she spied two young men standing directly in her path. Surprised at her own reaction, she still made a wide circle to avoid them. The encounter in La Crosse so many weeks ago had left her skittish. For a moment, she longed for the comfort of her own cozy home tucked among the apple trees.

After slipping through the side door, Kate let her eyes adjust to the dimness. Hearing voices, she walked to a lighted room at the end of the hall and stuck her head through the doorway.

Chelsea Webster sat in an overstuffed lounge chair drinking designer water while another girl paced around the room doing lip bubbles at increasingly high frequencies. Catching sight of Kate, the new girl almost choked. Then she tried to talk through her coughing spell.

“What…are you…wearing? Are you…a nun…a singing nun?”

“Shannon!” Chelsea said. She jumped up and pounded Shannon on the back with the heel of her hand.

“Chelsea…stop…you’re making it worse,” Shannon stammered.

A short dishwater blond, Chelsea was a year ahead of Kate in school and quite protective of her seniority. She’d made no secret of her displeasure when Kate won the role of Angelica last year and displaced Chelsea as Dr. Sumsion’s favorite.

Chelsea handed Shannon a bottle of water and left her to wheeze on her own. She brought another bottle to Kate. “We thought you wouldn’t make it. Shannon was going to attempt
La Traviata
. But right now she’s in no condition to sing anything. I’ll be your understudy, Shannon. Can I have ‘O Luce’?”

Shannon took a swig of water. “No, thank you. I’ll be fine.”

Thin and tall, almost as tall as Elmer, and with a full head of thick auburn hair, Shannon wore a cobalt-blue knee-length formal that made the irises of her eyes striking.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Your clothes took me by surprise.” Shannon tilted her head to one side. “What are you? I mean, is that a rude question? I don’t want to be rude.”

Kate shook her head. “I’m Amish.”

“Wait a minute,” Shannon said. “Harrison Ford was in that Amish movie.”

“That movie is the only thing people know about us.”

“Are Amish allowed to see movies?” Shannon said.

“We do a lot of things before baptism.”

“Like go to the music arts academy?”

“Jah.”

“But after baptism, the academy is forbidden, right?” Chelsea said.

“We give up the things of the world at baptism.”

“Wow,” Shannon said. “How long before you have to get baptized?”

“I do not have to be baptized. If I don’t join the Church, then I will pursue a career in opera.”

“But if you get baptized?”

“I will give up the singing,” Kate said.

Chelsea and Shannon looked at each other.

“What will you choose?” Shannon said.

“I don’t know. I am waiting for God.”

They stood in silence until Shannon said, “You better get into your dress, Kate, or Dr. Sumsion will have a panic attack.”

Kate went into the bathroom and took the dress from the suit bag. It was a beautiful, glossy, lime-green fabric with a fitted bodice and V-shaped waistline. It also had sleeves and a high neckline.
Thank you, Dr. Sumsion
.

After pulling the dress over her head, Kate looked in the mirror. Dressing up was one thing she loved about performing. She never felt as beautiful as when she floated onstage in a stunning formal. Gross vanity, as Ada and Nathaniel’s mamm would both remind her.

Kate started her lip trills before she even walked out of the bathroom. She only had a few minutes to warm up.

“Did you know that Amish people don’t use electricity or drive cars?” Shannon was saying as Kate returned through the door. “They only have to go to school until the eighth grade. And they don’t worship in church buildings. They meet in everybody’s houses.” Shannon’s eyes were fixed on her phone as she punched the screen rapidly.

Kate looked at Shannon in amusement. “Jah, I knew all that.”

“Not you, Kate,” Shannon said. “I’m trying to educate Chelsea.”

Chelsea sat in the same lounge chair, applying another coat of black mascara. “Ten minutes ago you knew less about the Amish than I did.”

Shannon pried her eyes from her phone long enough to glance at Kate. “Holy cow! Your hair is so long and pretty down like that. Chelsea, did you know that Amish women don’t cut their hair?”

“Yes, Shannon, I know. I’ve been with Kate at school for two years. You’ve never even met her until this afternoon.”

They heard the
clip
of Dr. Sumsion’s heels down the hall before they ever saw her. She entered the room like a tornado and handed each of them a slip of paper. “Here is the order of the program. Get up and down as quickly as possible. Ryan and Brandon are waiting outside. Oh, Kate. That dress looks nice.”

Dr. Sumsion took a deep breath as she pressed the top of her pen up and down, up and down. “Everything must be perfect today, girls. Singing outdoors is challenging because you tend to want to fill the space. Remember, you have microphones, so don’t over-sing.” She gave them a wan smile. “But knock ’em dead.”

Kate took a sip of water as the butterflies began their frenzied flight in her stomach. She had never been able to decide whether she loved or hated that nervous feeling right before she stepped onto a stage.

The girls tried to keep pace with the professor as she led them down the hall to the outside door. “My water!” Chelsea squeaked. She ran back to the room and reemerged carrying two full bottles.

“Chelsea, you’re going to have to run off the stage in the middle of your aria to go to the bathroom,” Shannon said.

“Do you think they’ll be able to hear me sing from the stalls? I could open a window.”

The concert consisted of several well-known numbers from popular operas. Spectators sat on lawn chairs or blankets, and Kate and her fellow students took turns performing while accompanied by a piano, two violins, and a cello.

The final number, “Un Bel Di” from
Madame Butterfly
, was Kate’s. As she always did when she performed, she pictured herself as Cio-Cio San, the ill-fated woman in the opera. The lyrics were in Italian, but she understood the meaning of every word. She envisioned the pitiful woman waiting patiently for a lover to return from the sea—a lover who ultimately forsakes her.

“I stay upon the edge of the hill and wait for a long time, but I do not grow weary of the long wait.”

Instead of a handsome naval officer, Kate saw Nathaniel’s face in her mind’s eye. She pictured him sitting in solitude, crafting his wood with those sinewy arms and gentle hands. He raised his head, and she imagined the look of longing she had seen so many times before.

“I promise you this. Hold back your fears—I will wait with unshakable faith. I will wait.”

Wait for what?

For me to rip his heart to shreds
.

As the last strains of the violin faded mournfully, she put her hand to her wet cheek. She felt a suffocating ache for her family and home, for Nathaniel’s arms and his heart.
I cannot bear to hurt you
.

After one breathless pause, the crowd erupted into applause and cheering. Had she ever experienced the profound emotion of that song before? Perhaps for the first time she knew what it meant to love someone so deeply that she wept for the possibilities—the bittersweet choices and the yearning for God.

Kate took her bow then left the stage. Ryan and Shannon pushed her back up the narrow steps for a second call. She bowed again, overwhelmed at the audience response and again as her feelings for Nathaniel saturated her senses like a cool summer cloudburst.

After another modest curtsy, Kate jumped down the steps and pulled Ryan, Shannon, and the others on stage with her. The five held hands and bowed together, and then each bowed again separately. Before the applause finally subsided, Chelsea bolted off the stage and made a beeline for the bathroom. Shannon laughed and winked at Kate.

When they exited the stage, Dr. Sumsion grabbed Kate’s arm and pulled her aside. “A triumph, an absolute triumph,” she said, squeezing her hand. “You all did the academy proud.” She leaned closer to Kate’s ear. “There is someone here to see you.” She pulled Kate away from the gathering crowd of admirers toward a woman in her late thirties and an older man who stood apart from the throng and studied Kate.

Without even knowing who they were, Kate felt intimidated. The man wore a flawless gray suit and green silk tie with a matching handkerchief in his lapel pocket. The woman, in a peach jacket with a pencil skirt, dripped with importance—diamonds, her comfortably worn accessories.

“Kate, this is Jim Talbot, chairman of the academy foundation,” Dr. Sumsion said, pushing Kate forward to shake hands with the couple. “And this is Nannette Parrish. She’s new to the board and will be overseeing the production of
Romeo et Juliette
this fall.”

Jim Talbot flashed impeccably white teeth to go with his impeccably tailored suit. “We understand you auditioned for the opera before the end of spring term, Kate. Dr. Dibble is adamant that you are the only voice worthy of Juliette. We wanted to hear you sing before making any casting decisions.” He turned and nodded at Miss Parrish. “And I must say, we are impressed. This is a talented bunch of students, Dr. Sumsion.”

Miss Parrish turned up her nose ever so slightly and folded her arms. “You are quite young to have the biggest role in the student opera. Young singers are seldom ready for the demands of a full-scale production. But we have made our decision, and the role is yours.”

A pile of rocks settled in the pit of Kate’s stomach. “Oh, thank you,” she said, adding a lilt to her voice with some effort. “I am thrilled you think I am worthy of the role. This is a—a dream come true.”

Dr. Sumsion wrapped her arms around Kate. “Oh, my dear, this is wonderful. You will be fabulous. There could never be a more beautiful Juliette.”

Ryan and Shannon came up behind Mr. Talbot. He turned and greeted Ryan with a slug to the arm.

Ryan employed his best English accent. “Did you bring your smoked eel and caviar for a little soiree on the grass this evening, Miss Parrish?”

Miss Parrish eyed Ryan with studied apathy. “Lose some weight and you’ll be the perfect Romeo. Stay fat, and we’ll demote you to Friar Lawrence.”

Ryan laughed and took a step back. “Ouch, that hurts. I’m not even a bass.”

Mr. Talbot turned to leave. “We’ll see you all there in a few weeks for start of term. Miss Weaver, congratulations. Make the most of your summer. By the end of November you might wish you’d never heard of the Milwaukee Music Academy.”

Mr. Talbot walked away, and Miss Parrish fixed her eye on Ryan. “I’m not kidding, Mr. French. Lay off the cheeseburgers, or Miss Weaver will be singing ‘Ne Fuis Pas Encore’ with someone else.”

Dr. Sumsion ran after both of them for a parting word.

“Do you want me to drive the heel of my Jimmy Choo into her forehead?” Shannon said.

Ryan shrugged. “Nah, Nannette loves me. But Kate, did I hear right? Are they giving you Juliette?”

Kate managed a half smile and nodded. “I—I can’t believe it. It is an amazing opportunity.”

“That’s fantastic! And I get to kiss you.” Ryan pumped his fist in the air. “Provided I can lose enough weight to convince Nannette to cast me. Five pounds should do it.”

Shannon silently searched Kate’s face while the others gushed. Grabbing Kate’s arm, she said, “Hey, guys, Kate and I are going to change.”

She linked her arm with Kate’s and led her up the hill. “Juliette. The role of your young lifetime.” She stopped walking. “But you’re not happy about it.”

The rocks in Kate’s stomach grew heavier, and her voice cracked. “I have been over this in my head too many times to count.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Is God playing a game with me? Deliberately clouding the waters by enticing me with this role? I do not know what to think.”

“I’d never second-guess God,” Shannon said. “But maybe He is trying to help you by showing your choices so clearly. On one hand, your talent practically guarantees a fabulous singing career. On the other hand, you have your family, your faith, your way of life—”

“Nathaniel.”

Shannon’s jaw dropped. “Nathaniel? The plot thickens.” She considered this new information. “A boyfriend?”