It was a chilly day, with masses of gusting wind blowing rapidly; the clouds were balling up, hiding away the sun. For the south, it was unusually colder than normal.
“You’re lucky Justin, Santa is getting you Mr. Potato Head,” Trace said, his head hidden away as he dug through Justin’s toy chest.
Justin looked to his friend from his seat near the window. “At least you have your family,” he mumbled.
Trace lifted himself up; noticing the way Justin limped sadly against the window pain. He understood what he was going through; his own parents divorced when he was younger but his mother had remarried. But Trace could hardly even remember his own father.
“C’mon,” he said, “lighten up. It’s the holidays. You love Christmas.”
Justin just breathed heavily against the cold glass, lazily drawing a circle.
“I don’t know,” he said, wiping his runny nose, “we’ll have to see.” Before Trace could mention it anymore, he quickly changed the subject, “Tomorrow’s Cassidy’s night.”
“The talent show?”
“Yup. Now maybe once and for all that Mandy will leave her alone,” Justin said, his voice with just a hint of anger.
“There you go again,” Trace shook his head.
“Huh?”
“See, there you go again, sticking up for her.”
“So?”
“So-” he began, but stopped himself, knowing they’d just be going in circles. “Forget it. How about we head over there right now? Maybe then you’d stop acting so blue.”
They hustled down the steps; the thuds caused by their little feet made Lynn lift her head from her seat on the couch.
“Boys, where are ya‘ll going?” she asked, gluing together little holiday candy cane reindeers for the ladies at church.
“Cassidy’s,” Justin said, throwing his coat on.
“I don’t think so. You guys will catch a cold, you know. Things are getting spread around this town, and I ain’t just talking about gossip,” she shook her head, “maybe it’d be better for you two to stay home today.” Lynn looked up to see no one there, just an empty open door way.
The two walked quickly down the familiar street of the Sullivan residence, hoping Cassidy would be back from the rehearsal. Justin observed his surroundings; the brown rotten leaves scattered about, the dark grey sky above, the small houses adorning various holiday decorations. It reminded him all of the way his life felt at that moment, bittersweet.
As the wind frosted the tip of his nose, he buried his left hand into his pocket, where he had been hiding a special surprise for Cassidy. It was something he wanted to give to her later for not only helping him, but for being everything he needed in a friend and more. He had originally planned to give it to her on Christmas Day, but figured she could use it as some sort of good luck charm, or so he hoped.
“Almost there,” Trace said, rubbing the sides of his arms.
Hurriedly racing up the steps, their tiny fingers pressed the doorbell simultaneously.
“Is it me, or every time you boys come here it sounds like you two are using my doorbell to play the National Anthem?” Jim said, welcoming them in.
“Sorry Mr. Sullivan,” Trace said, “is Cassidy home?”
“Just got in. I swear it’s like ya’ll know when the other is about to walk right in the door,” he laughed, retreating to the garage.
“You two can head up to Cassidy’s room. I’ll call you down when it’s done.”
Within a few seconds, they had rushed up the steps to Cassidy’s bedroom.
“You guys ever heard of knocking?” She asked as they barged in.
“So how was it?” Trace asked, tossing his old red cap on the floor.
“How was what?”
“The rehearsal, duh,” Justin threw his hands up, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Good.”
The boys looked at each other in confusion.
“Good? That’s it?”
She stared at them blankly for a few seconds, before springing up to her feet. “It was so great! Everyone was nicer to me than I thought they would be, well except for Mandy of course but they helped me get over my stage freight. And the stage was so pretty and there were so many seats and I just can’t wait for the show.”
She collapsed back down on her bed with a wide grin, her arms spread out.
“Yeah, we’re gonna beat that Mandy. You’ll see,” Justin lifted a finger into the air.
“Well… I think she’s kind of pretty,” Trace admitted, earning himself a hard glare from Cassidy. “Oh, but you are too. Sure. I guess.”
“So why’d you guys come over?”
“We wanted to see-”
“Justin has a present for you!” Trace beamed, now receiving a death look from Justin. “Okay, I’m leaving now.”
Justin tried to leave with Trace, but Cassidy blocked his way out the door.
“You have something for me?”
“I-I… I… sorta…”
“Justin, you didn’t have to get me anything. Trust me, I made sure Santa wouldn’t forget my Christmas Barbie this year,” she said, pulling him back into the room. “What’d you get me?”
“Well… it’s nothing really. It… it’s not important,” his voice shaking from nervousness.
“Oh, c’mon. I promise I won’t laugh, really. Is it in your pockets?” she tried to pull on his jacket, but he pulled away.
“No! Really, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing,” he said, trying escape her grasp.
“Don’t make me tickle you,” she threatened.
He hated being tickled. “Can’t we just go down and help your grandma out with the gingerbread house? That sounds like fun right?” He turned around, racing to the door.
“Uh uh. Come on Justin, just show me,” she told him, her hands clutching to his arms. When he squirmed from her hold, she began to count down. “Five, four, three, two…”
“Here!” he said, with tightly shut eyes, his palm open. For a while he didn’t hear anything, as he fought with the urge to see her reaction. As soon as he open his right eye, she gasped.
Happily, she picked up the small silver object, dangling it delicately in her hands. It was a necklace, with a simple silver chain holding a pendent in place. A beautiful angel pendant.
Justin opened his eyes slowly, watching her study the jewelry with an intense concentration. Finally, she looked up at him.
“How did you get this?” she asked, noticing it looked very expensive.
He looked to his feet, moving from side to side. “Julie Maloon said her mom bought her a new necklace from Christmas she hasn’t worn yet. We traded stuff and she gave it to me.”
“What did you give her for it?”
He took a few seconds to answer. “We made a deal. I have to make her my peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwich everyday until the end of the year.”
Cassidy laughed sincerely, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he smiled.
“Well,” she tilted her head, “aren’t you going to put it on me?”
Justin felt his cheeks get hot as she handed him the necklace and turned around. She lifted up her hair, his hands touching her own as he fastened it on.
“How does it look?”
“Nice,” he nodded. Cassidy walked over to the mirror, staring at herself.
“Why’d you give it to me tonight? Why didn’t you wait until Christmas?” she peered at his reflection behind her.
“I wanted you to wear it for… you know, tomorrow. For good luck.”
She faced him again, feeling so lucky to have such a caring friend. “Thank you…” she hugged him tightly. Letting go, she asked, “But what do you want for Christmas? Mr. Potato Head, right?”
“It’s alright,” he told her, “I think the big guy’s got it covered.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The night had finally arrived. So many long hours put into perfecting every move, every note, so much lying on the line. It would all come undone tonight. The winner would be claimed.
Cassidy fixed her bangs, fluffing them higher on her forehead. She looked down at her red velvety dress, which was so poofy she couldn’t even see her feet.
“There she is,” Joyce said, walking into the room with a video camera. “How are you feeling, honey?”
“Hi mom,” she said waving, “I’m okay.”
“Well you look lovely. Twirl around.”
Cassidy twirled around, the dress rising and falling.
“So what are we going to do tonight?” Joyce asked, “Give it 150%, win, and…”
“Have fun.” Cassidy nodded, as Joyce placed a finger on her nose.
“That’s right,” she smiled, turning off the camera. “Ready to go? Everyone’s getting into the van now.” Joyce held her hand out.
Cassidy took hold of it, turning back quickly. “Whoops.” Grabbing the necklace off her dresser she looked up to her mother, “Now I’m ready.”
Justin waited impatiently in the auditorium for Cassidy’s arrival. It was about twenty five minutes until show time and all the acts were there, except her. He searched the large audience for any sign of her parents, but didn’t see them. Getting up from his seat, he walked through a side door, sneaking behind a painted cardboard background.
Tip toeing down the hallway, he entered a room labeled with the sign: Performers: M-P. Without looking, Justin bumped into a large bald man, carrying three cans of hair spray.
“Be careful Marco, there are people walking around here too,” Mandy said from her chair. Turning towards the door, her eyes landed on Justin. “Nevermind. Hi Joseph, in case you’re looking for her, you’re little friend isn’t here yet. Cold feet, maybe? Understandable. I’d hate to embarrass her in front of everyone,” she batted her eyelashes, “no, I take that back.”
“Um, Ms. Portneil, which eye shadow do you want to use?” A short woman asked standing in front of a whole table covered with every color of make-up imaginable.
“Neon purple,” Mandy replied, “it’s totally in this season.”
The lady nodded in agreement and began to smear the bright powder all over Mandy’s eyelids. Justin took a seat on an old couch against the wall, watching Mandy’s “people” tend to her, making sure every inch of her body was perfect. She even had someone count the number of hairs on each eyebrow to make sure they were even.
The tap of someone’s shoes made Justin turn his attention to the door. With a sigh of relief, Cassidy walked in, dumping her things onto a nearby counter.
“Sorry I took so long to get here,” she apologized.
“At least you made it,” Justin said, “I was getting worried you wouldn’t come.”
“Aww, isn’t this cute?” Mandy clasped her hands together, sarcastically. “I’m so glad you could make it, Cassidy. And it’s such a shame you got all dressed up tonight… I don’t think there’s going to be any big occasion for you, if you catch my drift.”
Cassidy watched with irritation as Mandy puckered her lips, turning her head from side to side. “What? Don’t you guys have something else to do other than just stare at me? Like, go help Santa or something? Get lost.”
Before she could do something she’d regret (or not), Cassidy turned to Justin. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”
“Wait, where are you going?” he asked, trying to catch up as she ran down the hallway.
“I don’t know, just wait!” she called back, running out the back door.
She shuddered, the cold night air touching her face. As she walked along the perimeter of the unfamiliar building, tears began to form in her eyes. If this is what was going to happen every time she wanted to perform, then it was worth it she decided. Stopping underneath a streetlight, she leaned against the poll, wondering whether or not to continue on with her dream. The dream she had been so committed to, only to be let down time after time.
Of all people, Justin had been there to keep her on her feet. But she knew he wouldn’t be able to for much longer, not right now at least. She blamed herself sometimes, for not being as comforting the way he had been to her. He had dreams too, and she was going to make sure every single one was going to come true, no matter how bizarre they were.
“If a reindeer can have a red nose, and snowmen could talk… then this should be a piece of Granny Sadie’s peach cobbler,” she said to herself. From inside the school, she could hear the announcement from the host: five minutes until show time.
But as soon as she put her right foot forward, a figure stepped before her, towering over her small frame.
Cassidy let out a shriek, only to have her mouth covered by a cold hand. The stranger tried to keep muffling her cries, struggling to hold the small girl in place.
“Wait, wait. Shh… it’s okay,” the person said as Cassidy let out another howl. Finally, she opened her eyes. “I’ll let go of you, just don’t scream.”
Slowly, the hand uncovered her mouth, her body shaking with fear. The stranger turned out to be a woman dressed in a thin purple sweater, with dirty tattered jeans. She had a messy flock of red curls and appeared to be very thin.
“I promise I’m not here to hurt you,” the woman said, “My name is Donna. What’s yours?”
Cassidy took two steps back. She was told to never talk to strangers, and she didn’t know what intention this woman had with her.
“Come on… it’s okay. I just asked you a question.”
She looked to her left, wondering how long it would take to run back into the auditorium.
“You’re all dressed up. You’re performing for that talent show, aren’t you?” Donna asked, stepping closer.
Cassidy nodded, silently praying someone would come to her rescue.
“That’s nice. I like Christmas carols, but of course I only know a few. Would you sing me a song?” Donna asked, placing a hand on Cassidy’s shoulder.
She trembled under the woman’s touch, knowing if she denied her request, well… it wouldn’t be good.
With a shaky voice, she began to sing softly, “Silent n-night… h-h-holy night…” Donna began to sway back and forth, “All… i-is calm. A-all is bright…”
To her surprise, the woman began to sing along, clasping her hands together, like an angel before God. When it was over, Donna smiled faintly.
“That was lovely. Thank you,” she said. “I never get to really celebrate this time of the year, although it’s my favorite. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you. You can go off now. Good luck tonight.”
Cassidy watched Donna turn around, slumping down to take a seat on the side walk. Again she heard the announcer: one minute. She was ready to run back as fast as she could, but something made her stay.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” she called.
The lady turned around, surprised to still find her standing there.
“You look awfully cold. You can have my coat,” she said, pulling it off.
Donna held her hands up in resistance. “No, no, no. I couldn’t do that.”
“It’s okay, really.” Cassidy said, wrapping her coat around the woman’s shoulders.
“Thank you very much,” she smiled, appreciatively. “But shouldn’t you be in there?”
She bit her lip, knowing she should really be back inside.
“I’m Cassidy-Rae,” she said, kneeling on the sidewalk. “But everyone just calls me Cassidy.”
“Nice to meet you, Cassidy,” Donna nodded.
“Do you really spend the Christmas time alone?”
“Yup. It’s hard to live without a real home, but what can I do? You know, sometimes we take so much for granted. But you, you’re a very sweet girl. Shouldn’t you be inside? I’m sure your family is wondering where you are.”
Cassidy picked up a pebble, rolling it between her fingers. “Yeah but… well see, there’s this one girl, Mandy. I met her in dance class and I guess… she’s not the nicest person I’ve met.”
“How so, dear?”
“She always makes fun of me and tries to put me down. Sometimes it really hurts my feelings because I’ve always tried to be nice to her.”
“Ah,” Donna whispered, “competition fueled by jealousy is never a good situation to be in. All you can do is just be the better person and hope that someday she’ll see that you are a great friend and everything will be alright. After all, Rudolph was the odd-reindeer-out, but he ended up saving Christmas for everyone, right?”
Cassidy giggled, understanding perfectly.
“My, that is a pretty pretty necklace you have there.”
She touched the pendant, smiling. “My best friend, Justin gave it to me. I was supposed to wear it for good luck tonight.”
“Your best friend is a boy, hey?” Donna questioned and Cassidy frowned. “That is very cool. Tell me about him.”
“He has the nicest eyes, and a big smile. His cheeks are chubby and he had a whole jungle of blonde curls. People make fun of it and he gets sad but I stick up for him, the same way he sticks up for me,” she said, “and he likes to sing and dance. He likes to play a lot and laugh; he’s very silly, but when he gets embarrassed he looks at the floor. When he’s sad he cries, but only in front of me.”
“He sounds like a nice boy. Are you two alike?”
She nodded. “Yup. A lot.”
“Not to sound foul but… aren’t you afraid he’ll be a little upset when he finds out that you didn’t perform because you were out here talking to me? Especially since he wanted you to wear that necklace?” Dawn asked, pointing at it.
Cassidy smiled faintly, and shook her head. “Neh, somehow he always understands.”
Justin watched in disgust as Mandy danced her way across the stage, trying to appeal to the crowd. Cassidy, the last act of the night, was supposed to go up next. He had been sent back to his seat before he had the chance to go out and look for her.
“Cassidy is on next, right?” Lynn whispered and Justin nodded.
He gulped hard, feeling his body tense up because for one, Cassidy’s whereabouts were unknown and secondly, if Mandy had anything to do about… there’d be nothing left of her but a puddle of make-up.
The audience roared and whistled as Mandy stroke a pose, blowing kisses to them before the curtain closed.
“Alright! Give it up for Brinesdale’s own, Mandy Portneil everybody! A very pleasant holiday medley,” the announcer said. “Let’s see if our next performer will give her a run for her money. Please put your hands together for the talented Cassidy-Rae Sullivan.”
The curtain drew back again, a spotlight focused on the microphone in the center stage. No Cassidy. The crowd began to mumble to each other, as the announcer appeared again.
“Uh, um… it seems that Miss Sullivan is running a little late so if you all bear with us for just a moment,” he said uneasily, “Hello? Cassidy? Cassidy Sullivan, you’re up.”
“Justin,” Jim called, tapping his shoulder, “Where is she?”
Justin shrugged, his eyes widening.
“If there is no Cassidy within the next ten seconds, I’m afraid we’ll have to go on with the program,” the announcer told them. “Ten… nine… eight…”
Justin stood, searching frantically for her with his eyes. “C’mon, Cass,” he said, “Where are you?”
“Five… four…”
“You should really head back in,” Donna said.
“Three… two…”
“One,” Cassidy said, closing her eyes. “It’s alright. There’s other things more important than proving to someone something you already know. Want some gingerbread? It’s in my coat pocket.”
Donna smiled, pulling out the little bag of cookies, handing one to Cassidy.
“No thanks,” she said, “you can have them all.”
“These are delicious. Did you make them?”
“I helped my grandma make ‘em.”
Donna chewed, savoring her first meal in the last couple of days.
“Can I ask you something, Miss Donna?”
“Sure thing, hun.”
Cassidy dipped her head, feeling a little embarrassed. “How come… well, how come you don’t have a home?”
Donna took a bite off the cookie’s arm before answering. “I made some bad choices in my life, believed people that I thought I could trust. Eventually, I found myself caught up in all this debt I couldn’t pay off, my fiancé at the time left me and I tried to make it on my own. I was alright for the first week or two, until I was forced to sell my car, my belongings, and finally my house to pay it all off.”
“Can’t you just go to a shelter?” she asked. She had heard about homeless shelters from her mother, who had once done volunteer work there.
The woman shook her head. “There’s not enough room for all of us, especially around the holidays. That’s why I told you not to take anything for granted. I wouldn’t want you to end up like this,” she said, pointing to herself. “Sometimes though, even when you lose all your material things… you could always count on the important things to be there, like your family, your dreams, your heart.”
Cassidy allowed her new friend’s words sink in. How could a woman with so little be able to give off so much?
“You really should be going now,” Donna said, “I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, with Christmas coming around so soon.”
She nodded, standing to her feet. “Thank you.”
“No,” Donna smiled, “thank you. You make sure to always hold on to the important things, you understand me?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Run along now, child. I hope to see you again,” Donna said waving. “Take care of yourself.”
Cassidy walked backward, making sure the woman would be alright all alone. “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, you too,” Donna chuckled, “Merry Christmas, Cassidy. Merry Christmas.”
Cassidy hurriedly ran into the darkness, fighting the want to stay. Pulling the back door open again, the heat spread over her body, as if hot cocoa were running through her veins.
Peering behind the curtain from side stage, she could see her family and Justin sitting in the front row, watching all the performers line up on stage. On the left side, across from the piano was the judges’ table.
“… everyone for participating. But here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We have our winners,” the host began, reading off a small index card, “Our second runner-up… Jonathan Viller, with his trumpet performance of ‘Santa Clause is Coming to Town’!”
Jonathan ran to the front of the stage, happily accepting his trophy.
“Our second runner-up… Melissa Akurcine’s ‘Deck the Halls’ piece, played on the piano WHILE balancing a nutcracker on her head. Round of applause!”
Cassidy giggled as the girl hopped right up, her smile showing off her bright green braces.
“And lastly, drum roll please,” he said, as the room got quiet. Then, as if in shock, “Of course! Ladies and gentlemen your 1988 Brindesdale Talent Show Winner is the lovely Mandy Portneil!”
“OH my God!” Mandy cried, jumping from foot to foot, “I can’t believe I won! I never expected this!”
A small bit of sadness washed over Cassidy as she looked on, Mandy being crowned and applauded at, the mascara running down her face. She could see the disappointment and worry on Justin’s face, and when she couldn’t stand to her anymore of the commotion, she headed off backstage alone.
Within a few minutes, a string of people began filling up the dressing room. It wasn’t long until Simone spotted her sitting in the corner of the room.
“Cassidy! Thank goodness you are okay. Where were you?” she asked, hugging her tightly.
“I got lost,” she shrugged. “I know I was disqualified Gramma. It’s okay.”
“Aw, poor baby,” Simone ran a hand down her cheek, “I’m sorry. Is there anyway I can help?”
“I’ll be fine,” she smirked.
“Okay, then. Just get your stuff ready and then we’ll go home. I’ll go tell your parents that you’re alright,” she said, and walked off.
Suddenly, flashes started going off as people were pushed around.
“Everyone back up! Move!” she heard, until she had seen what, or who the riot was about.
“Okay! Stop with the pictures, I can’t see!” Mandy said, flipping her hair.
Cassidy walked up to her, Donna’s words running through her head.
“Mandy?”
Mandy lowered her eyes, a wide grin grazing her face. “Well look who it is! You know-”
“Look. I just wanted to say congratulations.”
Her perfectly even eyebrows furrowed. “You want to congratulate me?”
“Yeah, I do. And that’s all. I don’t want to go on with this dumb fight anymore. You can be number one all you want.”
For a second, her facial expression softened. “Nice try. But tonight just proves to you even more that I will ALWAYS be better than you. You can try and give me your stupid fake apologies but I won this fair and square. Your problem is that you can’t accept you’re never going to be like me, you’re never going to look like me and that’s that.”
“Then you know what?” Cassidy said, stepping up to her, “I guess I’m never going to worry about breaking any mirrors anytime soon! Ugh!”
She huffed, storming out of the room to lean against the cold cement wall.
“There you are!” Justin yelled, running up to her. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Where were you? How come you’re in here? Did you know Mandy won?”
Cassidy looked blankly at him, not bothering to answer his questions.
“Is something the matter? Did something happen to you?” he asked, “Cass… tell me.”
She let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry for not being out there tonight. I know you really wanted to see me perform but I couldn't.”
“Why not?” he asked in confusion.
“I met this woman outside, Donna. She doesn’t have a home, not family… nothing. So I kept her company, instead of being in the show,” she told him, “And we talked about things. We were really enjoying each other… you’re not mad, are you?”
“You were out with a stranger?”
She nodded.
“And you gave up the chance to totally embarrass Mandy because there was a lady out on the street who doesn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with or anyplace to stay or anything to eat?” he questioned.
Again, she nodded. “What do you think?”
“I think,” he laughed, his hand taking hers, “that Santa really owes you big time.”
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