Authors: Laura Dower
Madison was about to check the link Bigwheels had sent when she received a message.
JeffFinn>: What do snowmen call their kids?
Madison laughed. Dad was sending her a
joke
? She responded anyway and they started to chat.
< JeffFinn>: I love you, M
Madison wanted to believe Dad. But he was always saying things would get better, even when it didn’t feel like they were.
It was fun to joke back and forth, too, but Madison knew that if she could have asked Santa Claus for one thing, she would have made a wish for peace of a different kind—the kind that involved both of her parents.
After disconnecting from the Internet, Madison rummaged through her closet, reviewing the next day’s events in her mind. Since tomorrow was the concert at The Estates, she needed a super-cute outfit to wear. Madison considered wearing her long black pants and yellow sweater, but decided that made her look too much like a bumblebee. She thought about her dark blue velvet dress, but that made her look like a prairie girl. Finally, she pulled out her beet-red angora sweater with the cool boa neckline, a dark green corduroy skirt, and mini-boots. (She picked out boots just in case it decided to snow.)
This was the ideal outfit.
She could color-coordinate with her BFFs in the morning.
From: Gogramma
To: MadFinn
Subject: THE CONCERT
Date: Tues 18 Dec 5:44 AM
Maddie, I’m up at the crack of dawn, as usual. I have been thinking about you all weekend long. Are you nervous about singing in the concert today? Don’t be! You will be a star, I know. Here is a little poem a friend gave me once. I want to share it with you.
I give you all good wishes, because you are so dear And pray they will come true, with happiness so near.
Like a special angel,
you do such caring things,
That you deserve your own
pair of angel wings!
Send me an e-mail message and let me know how the concert goes. I am sure your Adopt-a-Grandmother will be as proud of you as I am.
Love, Gramma
Madison reread Gramma Helen’s e-mail again. She had printed it out and stuffed it into her skirt pocket that morning so she could have it with her all day long. Reading the e-mail while sitting on the bus headed for The Estates was like having Gramma right there.
No one else was paying much attention to Madison anyway, so she could read all she wanted. Half of the seventh grade was stuffed into the bus. Everyone was shouting and gossiping and complaining about the fact that it still hadn’t snowed outside. The ride to The Estates went by faster than fast—or at least faster than usual. Madison’s skin broke out into goose pimples.
Nerves.
Hart Jones, whose nose was still a little red from sneezing and suffering through the flu, ended up sitting across the aisle from Madison. She tried to turn casually and look at his face, but it was hard to shift in the seats without looking too obvious.
Madison did
not
want to look obvious.
“Hey, Finnster,” Hart whispered across the bus aisle. “This volunteering gig has been a good time, right?” he said.
Madison smiled. “Right,” she said.
“Last week I wasn’t so sure. I mean, my guy, Mr. Koppell, wouldn’t talk to me for, like, ten minutes. I was so freaked out,” Hart explained.
“What happened?” Madison asked, mouth agape.
“Nurse Ana told me he has forgetting spells and then he gets embarrassed,” Hart said.
“No way!” Madison shrieked. “That sounds just like Mrs. Romano. She called me by someone else’s name.”
“Hey, Hart,” Ivy said, slinking up the aisle, still within earshot of her trusty drones.
“Hey, Ivy,” Hart replied. Madison didn’t think he seemed interested, but he still responded nicely.
“What are you two talking about?” Ivy asked.
“YOU!” Egg blurted. He’d been listening.
From across the aisle, Fiona giggled at Egg’s remark.
“Well, excuse me,” Ivy said. “I was just trying to be nice.”
“You were nice,” Hart said, recovering. “Egg didn’t mean it.”
Madison wanted to hit Hart in the head for saying that. After everything he’d heard and seen, how could he
still
be sweet on Ivy? Maybe he prescribed to the same philosophy as Fiona—you get what you give?
Madison looked over at Ivy. “We were really just talking about volunteering, you know,” she said.
Ivy smiled. “Oh,” she said, heading back to the drones. “Later, then.”
The bus pulled into The Estates about ten minutes after that, passing the same rows of drooping winter plants on the way into the entryway cul-de-sac. From inside the bus, Madison shivered.
More nerves.
“I love, love, love that skirt, Maddie,” Aimee said as they got up to exit the bus. “I was going to wear one just like it, but it looks so much better on you.”
“Nice color,” Hart said.
Madison raised her eyebrows. “Really?” she said, starting to laugh. Hart had noticed her skirt?
“WATCH IT!” Egg squealed in her ear. He pushed Madison’s back. “Would you move, please?”
“Walter!” Señora Diaz said. “That’s quite enough. Get off the bus in an orderly fashion or not at all.”
Egg’s shoulders drooped as he walked off, leaving his friends giggling behind him. Once again, his mother had embarrassed him. And once again he had to take it.
An enormous crowd of Far Hills seventh graders invaded The Estates. Residents who had been milling about in the lobby stopped to stare at the young busload of kids.
“Welcome, everyone!
Buenos dias!”
Nurse Ana said, waving her hands in the air.
Mrs. Montefiore threw her arms around Nurse Ana and smiled. “We’re so happy to be here. Is the piano all set?”
The kids divided into groups with the different teachers. Slowly, the groups moved inside the door to avoid standing out in the cold.
“Please stay together,” Señora Diaz said.
“No monkey business!” bellowed Mrs. Montefiore, taking herself too seriously, as always. She grabbed two kids who were chewing gum.
“Follow me to the auditorium,” Mr. Lynch said with a grin. He was wearing a reindeer tie.
Madison, Aimee, and Fiona linked arms and shuffled along behind the boys.
Even though they had been rehearsing for a couple of weeks, the class was still unsure in places about lyrics and tempo. They pushed together on makeshift risers placed on the center of a makeshift stage. When Mrs. Montefiore played a few notes on her pitch pipe and got everyone quieted down for warm-ups, Aimee and Fiona squeezed closer to Madison.
Do, re, mi, fa, sol…
Madison could hear all the people who had the best voices. Fiona and Ivy stood out the most. She could hear Hart singing, too. It was one thing he wasn’t so great at—but at least they had that in common. Maybe they could mouth all of the words to the songs
together
?
After a few vocal warm-ups, the kids were asked to sit down quietly on the risers while the residents of The Estates filed in. Madison was surprised to see a throng of older men and women vying for the front rows. Everyone was dressed up. She scanned the crowd for Mrs. Romano.
“There’s Smokey!” Egg said, waving his arms wildly. Smokey gave Egg the thumbs-up.
Mrs. Holly Wood was seated front row, dead center. Ivy shimmied over to the edge of the stage to say hello.
Other kids waved and hooted at the residents, too.
But Mrs. Romano wasn’t there yet.
Madison craned her neck for five minutes, bobbing and weaving among her fellow classmates for a glance at her new friend.
Where had she gone?
“May I have your attention, please?” Nurse Ana spoke up louder than loud. The microphone was broken. “Please give our school volunteers a warm welcome. These fine students have come all the way from Far Hills Junior High to share some of the holiday spirit with you.”
Most of the residents clapped politely. The students stood up tall and began to sing.
Ivy led off with a solo rendition of “Winter Wonderland” while the rest of the chorus hummed and cooed. Madison had to admit that Ivy’s voice sounded beautiful. Mrs. Holly Wood cheered when she was done.
Fiona sang a solo, too. She put on a “costume” for it. Mrs. Montefiore loaned her a red, rubber nose and furry brown antlers.
“‘Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,’” Fiona crooned, “‘had a very shiny nose…’”
Madison giggled as the chorus sang backup. Hart even had a guest vocal. He played the voice of Santa.
“‘Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight,’” Hart yelled. Everyone laughed.
In addition to other Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs, the seventh graders sang a Kwanza and New Year’s tune, too.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Smokey said, jumping up and stomping his feet when they sang their finale, “Sleigh Ride.” It was their best number. The whole room liked it so much, they sang along, too.
“Please everyone join us for some refreshments down in the dining area,” Mr. Lynch said after the applause died down. “Our resident chef has made us some sweet treats.”
Egg and Hart high-fived each other. “FOOD!” they cheered.
Madison turned to Aimee and Fiona. “That went surprisingly well. Your solo was awesome, Fiona.”
“Oh-em-gee, TOTALLY,” Aimee said. “I couldn’t stop listening.”
“Let’s go walk around,” Fiona suggested. “I really want to meet Mrs. Romanoff.”
“Her name is Romano,” Madison corrected her. “And I don’t think she’s even here. I didn’t see her in the audience.”
Madison was wondering, even if her new friend had seen the performance, did Mrs. Romano really know
who
was singing? Was it Madison … or Annette onstage?
“MADDIE!” a woman yelled from across the room. “MADDIE!”
Madison looked up to find Mrs. Romano rushing over without her walker. She had her arms outstretched for a hug.
And she had remembered Madison’s name.
“Mrs. Romano!” Madison said with a grin. “Did you see it?”
“See it? You children are such a talented bunch!” she proclaimed. “I was tickled. I started singing along with almost every tune, too. Thank you!”
Fiona and Aimee tugged on Madison’s shirt as if to say, “Um … hello … please introduce us?”
Madison presented her BFFs. Mrs. Romano gushed, telling them how beautiful and talented and smart they all were. Madison blushed. Aimee and Fiona basked in the attention.
“And who was that sweet girl who sang ‘Winter Wonderland’?” Mrs. Romano asked.
Aimee winced. “Sweet girl?” she said.
Fiona smiled. “You must mean Ivy,” she said.
“Ah! Well, she has a lovely voice, a lovely face, and a lovely name, too,” Mrs. Romano said.
Aimee snorted. “Lovely Poison Ivy,” she snickered under her breath.
Madison grabbed Mrs. Romano by the elbow. “Are you going for the refreshments?” she asked.
Mrs. Romano shook her head. “I was hoping maybe you could come and visit my room. I have some delicious gingersnaps that need eating,” she said, winking. “Can you leave your friends for a few minutes?”
Madison nodded. “Catch up with you guys later?” she said.
Aimee and Fiona said their polite good-byes and went off to the snack room. After getting Nurse Ana and Señora Diaz’s permission, Madison sneaked away with Mrs. Romano for fifteen minutes.
Since Madison had last visited, Mrs. Romano had decorated her small room for the holiday season.
She had a miniature Christmas tree placed atop a table, covered in tinsel and little white lights. On the branches of the tree, Madison counted twenty-three birds made from all sorts of materials, from paper and foil to straw and yarn.
“That’s beautiful!” Madison remarked. She carefully examined every bird.
“And this is for you,” Mrs. Romano said, handing Madison a small gift box. Inside was another bird ornament. This one had real yellow and green feathers on it. “Now you can be a bird lady, too,” she said.
“I can’t believe this,” Madison said. “It’s so special.”
“And that isn’t all,” Mrs. Romano said. She reached on her nightstand and revealed another small gift box.
“What’s this?” Madison asked.
She opened the package to reveal a snow globe—similar to the one Mrs. Romano had been given by her friend. This one had a snowman inside, too.
Madison wanted to cry, but she started to laugh instead. The concert was a success! She had her own snow globe to prove it.
Madison couldn’t wait to tell Gramma Helen that the angel wishes had been luckier than lucky.
A
T SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY,
everyone was buzzing about The Estates concert. The seventh graders had received a standing ovation. Mrs. Montefiore was being nice for the first time in weeks.