Holiday in Holly Oaks

Chapter 8

The next day Tallie wasn't surprised when Case walked into the music store. He set a fresh cup of coffee on the counter for her and mumbled some comment about a guitar tool before he disappeared to the back wall. She happily accepted the hot coffee and continued working, until he called to her, "can I play the red electric?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, joining him at the back wall. She pulled out the amp and cord for him. She stayed at the back wall with him, calling out songs for him to play and seeing if he could remember them until her next music student showed up.

The rest of the day continued in that fashion. Tallie taught and Case played the guitars in the back. In between lessons, she would join him in the back. Sometimes she would pick up her guitar to play along, sometimes she only sang along and sometimes she just listened.

When it was time for lunch, Tallie put up the "back in 30" sign on the door and they made a loop of the main square. They knew all the restaurant menus by heart but it still felt necessary to weigh all their options. In the end, they decided on the sandwich deli.

The small, tiled store was busy. There was a line at the counter and almost all the small red tables were filled. They joined the line and chatted with Charlotte, the barista from Oaks Coffee. When Charlotte mentioned snow, suddenly everyone in the deli was a part of the conversation.

Someone checked the news channels from the north, hoping if anything was building up there, it would make it's way to Holly Oaks. Someone else said they were tracking all the weather on the east coast.

Case mentioned a radar app that showed the different weather happening all across America and in no time, half of the patrons in the deli were crowded around him, watching intently as he showed them how it worked.

The whole town was focused on only two things: snow and the Christmas pageant, so when they hit their limit of weather talk, everyone turned their focus on Tallie. Being the director, everyone was curious how it was coming along and she barely got to eat as she answered questions.

The Christmas Pageant had a habit of hitting snags, mistakes, or complete failures that ended up defining that year's pageant. Like when one of the kids peed his pants during the final song peed. Or the year Mary lost baby Jesus. Or the year someone had the grand idea of bringing in real animals from a local farm and the sheep got lose and everyone ended up chasing it around the sanctuary.

Everyone wanted to know what would be this year's defining moment. Knowing Lucas, Tallie was sure they would get something, she just wasn't sure what it would be.

After lunch, Case said he better get home and spend time with his mother, or else his niece would completely erase him from the family tree. He didn't mention anything about band practice when he went, but Tallie wasn't surprised when she found him already in the back room when she entered after the Christmas pageant rehearsal. Like the days before, he helped when he could, and at one point he was so carried away jamming with Henry, Tallie had to call his name loudly to get him and Henry to pay attention.

As they were cleaning up after the practice was over when Case cleared his throat. Tallie looked up expectantly, some old memory in her mind telling reminding her he tended to clear his throat before he asked a question he was uncertain of.

It took him a moment to work up the nerves to ask the question and he started when he realized she was already waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I was wondering," he started slowly. She nodded encouragingly. "Would it be possible to say hi to your parents tonight? I could walk home with you and it doesn't have to be long. I just..." He broke off, uncertain.

A wave of mixed emotions splashed over Tallie. She could hear how badly he wanted to see her parents and she was reminded how new his sadness was, and she was grateful he also understood that visiting her dad wasn't a simple thing like it would be for anyone else.