holy night, Oh, night when stars are shining." I stared, as did all of us, at the girl we thought
we knew so well. It wasn't an easy song to sing, but
she did it so well, with so much emotion even Bart
stopped pacing the floor to turn and stare at her in
amazement.
Tears were in my eyes. Oh, Cindy, how could
you keep that voice a secret for so long? Her piano playing was only adequate, but that voice, the feeling she put into her phrasing. All the musicians then joined in to drown out her piano playing, if not her
voice.
I sat, stunned, hardly believing that my Cindy
could sing so beautifully. When she'd finished, we all
applauded enthusiastically. As Jory called out,
"Sensational! Fantastic! Absolutely wonderful, Cindy!
You sneak--you never told us you continued with
your voice lessons."
"I haven't. It's just me expressing the way I
feel." She cast her eyes down, then took a sly, hooded
look at Bart's astonished expression, which showed
not only his surprise but some pleasure as well. For
the first time he had found something to admire about
Cindy. Her small smile of satisfaction fleeted quickly
by, kind of a sad smile, as if she wished Bart could
like her for other reasons as well.
"I love Christmas carols and religious songs,
they do something for me. Once in school I sang
'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,' and the teacher said I
had the kind of emotional feeling to make a great
singer. But I still want most to be an actress." Laughing and happy again, she asked us to join
in and we'd make this a real party, even if no one showed up. She began to bang out a tune resembling
"Joy to the World." Then "Jingle Bells."
This time Bart was not moved.