TO THE STARS
Chapter Five

Because Rose Calvert was an actress and even her husband had a theatrical flair at times, it was only fitting that their eldest daughter receive the role of Mary in the Cedar Rapids Presbyterian Church’s annual Christmas Eve pageant.

Izzy was quite pleased with herself; she walked about the house, reciting her lines dramatically and singing Christmas carols with her clear, ringing alto voice. Her costume was a robe of blue that had actually come from the old drapes in Tommy’s room, but you would never know it from the way she was twirled around in them. She tried on her costume every evening and insisted on acting out her favorite scenes with her family. Izzy took to spontaneously quoting the Bible and to wearing a small silver cross necklace that Josie had given her for her birthday one year; she wanted to play the part of the Virgin Mary perfectly.

Josie was not as gifted in her role, but she was still pleased that she was an angel. The ten-year-old wore one of her mother’s old petticoats for a costume, cleverly altered into looking like an angel’s robe. An obviously false halo stood above her head, held up by wire, and carefully-constructed wings flounced on her back. Because of her vibrant red hair, she was much more noticeable than the other girls and so she would have to stand in the middle and sing a solo; it was only fair. Clara Claypool, who did not take to her role as the star angel being demoted, huffed loudly and ruined several rehearsals with her sour mood. But Josie didn’t care, because she was the lead angel and she got to open Silent Night all by herself and she was dressed up like the prettiest angel ever, and what could be better than that?

Not to be outdone, little Tommy Calvert also received a role, one that outshined both of his sisters--he was to play baby Jesus. The one-year-old was extremely well-behaved during rehearsals, and so the choir director, Mrs. Canfield, agreed that he would serve as a better Jesus than a doll, as long as he lay perfectly still in the manger. Tommy had no idea that he was the star of the show; he only knew that he was put in a tiny cradle and that his sisters were smiling at him and singing, which was his favorite thing, and that contented him perfectly.

Jack and Rose, for their parts, were thrilled that their children all had such prominent roles in the Cedar Rapids Presbyterian Church’s annual Christmas Eve pageant. Rose made their costumes and helped them with their lines and took them to and from rehearsals proudly. Jack was more than happy to sit down while dinner was being made and watch his children perform the little play. They, as many parents, believed that their children were exceptional, and we must conceded that the Calvert children were indeed talented in the theatrical arts. But we must disagree with their opinion that their children’s play was as esteemed, if not more, than anything performed on Drury Lane.

Christmas Eve dawned bright and early one snowy day. Jack and Rose closed up their gallery attached to the house and spent the day sledding and playing in the snow with their children. It was Tommy’s first Christmas and the first time he could play in the snow, so he had more fun than anyone. He was even more delighted to discover that he could eat the snow, and for once, he wasn’t being scolded for it!

At six o’clock, the family had roast beef for dinner and then they dressed for the Cedar Rapids Presbyterian Church’s annual Christmas Eve pageant. Jack wore his nice khakis and a nice sweater and Rose wore her nice red dress and the rose earrings Izzy had given her for Christmas years ago and Izzy wore her costume fashioned from Tommy’s old drapes and Josie wore her mother’s old petticoats and her other decorations and Tommy was wrapped up in a white blanket and the family set off for the church together in their nice coats and less-nice boots.

The pageant started out nicely. Because none of the boys would play angels, Josie had been assigned the role of Gabriel. She walked onstage, trying to look as heavenly as possible, while Izzy was on the ground, pretending to pray. Izzy acted surprised while Josie raised up her arms and proclaimed, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Izzy made a great show of being shocked. "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

Josie said, arms still raised, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God."

"Let it be according to your word," Izzy said with passion.

Josie waved her hand over Izzy’s bowed head and flounced away. Danny Kenton, who played Joseph, appeared and Izzy sat down on a sawhorse that would serve as the donkey. After a few moments of pretending to walk, Danny stopped, pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose and said, "Look, Mary, it is the town of Bethlehem! Let us stop and rest."

All of the children, angels and shepherds and sheep and Magi alike, came out to sing O Little Town of Bethlehem. The parents all clapped enthusiastically after the song had been finished, for they were immensely proud. Jack beamed and Rose noted that the lump in Izzy’s costume that was the unborn Savior looked very realistic. The children changed the scene into a stable as quickly as possible--which was around ten minutes. They disappeared, leaving Izzy on the sawhorse and Danny knocking on thin air and asking various children dressed as shepherds, "Is there any room here?"

"No, there is no room," they would tell him.

Finally Danny walked center stage and held up his hands in what was supposed to be frustration but looked nothing of the sort. "What are we to do, for there is no place for my wife and I to stay. Will God not provide for His son? What can we do?"

One of the little boys toddled forward, tugging at his underwear through the costume. He fought hard to remember his line. "There is no room at my…inn. But you and your wife can, can stay in the…the…uh…the stable." Looking pleased with himself, the little boy scampered off to join his friends, where he promptly began picking his nose.

That’s where things went bad. Izzy pressed a hand to her stomach as Danny approached her. "Oh, Joseph, the child is coming!"

Danny was not a very strong fellow; he was wiry and spent too much time indoors. So when he had to pick up Izzy and carry her into the stable, he struggled and dropped her a few times. Some of the less polite audience members snickered. Jack and Rose gripped hands. Izzy salvaged the situation as best she could, and kept one foot on the ground with which to propel herself while really looking as if Danny was carrying her. She hurried to lie down on the stage, and the lights went down. When they came back up, Tommy was lying in the manger and Danny and Izzy were kneeling on either side of the manger, their hands clasped reverently.

Josie led the angels to where the shepherds were kneeling with their sheep. She held her arms aloft as the other angels clasped their hands as if in prayer and made soft ooh noises. With a carrying voice, she proclaimed, "Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy. To you this day is born in the city of David a Savior, the Messiah. You will find the child swapped in waddling clothes. I mean, wrapped in swaddling clothes," she corrected hastily, flushing.

The children all proceeded to sing Angels We Have Heard on High. When they finished, the angels rushed to the stand in the choir loft above the manger scene. Little Bobby Fisher held up a fishing pole with a gaudy fake star attached to it; it swung over the manger scene. The shepherds stumbled over their lines, creating dead air, but they finally led the toddlers dressed as sheep to the manger and crowded around Tommy, Izzy, and Danny. Izzy and Danny had remained perfectly still--except for when Danny was sniffing his continually runny nose, much to Izzy’s dismay--but Tommy was starting to get fussy. He whined a few times, causing Izzy to lightly shush him.

Three older boys came into the sanctuary from the back of the church then, holding brightly-wrapped boxes and wearing fake beards and imitation velvet clothing. They sang We Three Kings as they proceeded slowly and solemnly down the aisle. The mustache of one boy was starting to peel off, no matter how many times he tried to mash it against his upper lip, and one boy tripped on his robe, and another’s voice went a little too high and cracked during the song, but overall, their part went well. They presented their gifts triumphantly of gold, frankincense, and myrrh before they joined the admiring throng around Tommy.

Tommy was starting to get upset at this point. Not only was the last song slow, but it hadn’t been sung by his sisters, and he didn’t like that. Josie was too far away and Izzy wasn’t moving. He whined and even shrieked a few times. He quieted for the first half of Silent Night, but he quickly lost interest and wailed over the voices. Izzy, improvising, snatched him out of the manger and jiggled him as the congregation was invited to join the children in singing Joy to the World.

But it wasn’t over yet. Because Izzy and Danny had to stand during the last song, Tommy was lifted up and in reach of the dangling star that Bobby Fisher wasn’t paying too much attention to. He grabbed at it and knocked off Izzy’s carefully-placed turban in the process. Josie waved at him and tried to stop him, but this only caused Tommy to coo and shout loudly at her. Josie waved frantically, trying to shush him, and the audience laughed to see the little girl waving so fiercely she almost toppled from the choir loft. Izzy kept hissing, "Shh!" out of the corners of her mouth, but it would not silence Tommy.

Tommy finally caught hold of the star and gave it a great pull. Bobby Fisher yelped and seized the pole, his torso hanging over the edge of the balcony. Josie and several other angels pulled him back in, much to the amusement of the audience. Tommy pulled at the star again and finally ripped it free of the string. It tumbled down and knocked off Danny’s glasses. Two little sheep began tossing it to one another, ignoring the frantic Mrs. Canfield happily. The three Magi sniggered to see such goings-on and were no help in the slightest.

By the time the children and the audience members who were still participating ended with, "And wonders, wonders, of His love," the scene was a complete disaster. Most of the spectators were howling with laughter as their children stood around, looking confused. Bobby Fisher cried over losing the star while some of the angels snapped at one another over ruined wings. One of the Magi had grabbed up the now battered star and was holding it up, making the whining sheep jump up and down in the hopes of grabbing it. Tommy was grabbing fistfuls of Izzy’s hair and shrieking happily while Danny sneezed ferociously; he was allergic to the hay they had spread all over the stage. The shepherds were trying to herd their sheep siblings off the stage, but they were not entirely successful.

The audience only laughed harder when Josie burst into tears and wailed, "My evening has been ruined!" Hearing their laughter, she fled down the stairs that led up to the choir loft and ran out the door to who knew where. Izzy seemed shell-shocked; she could only stand there, frozen, while Tommy demolished her hair and slobbered all over her. The Magi and angels and shepherds and sheep and Danny and Bobby all eventually made it off the stage, shedding their costumes in favor of warm clothes while parents chatted. By the time the stage had been emptied, only Izzy remained, still holding a delighted Tommy. Jack and Rose walked down the aisle, concerned.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

Tommy slithered down from Izzy’s arms and ran into those of his father.

"I…don’t…know," Izzy murmured, still looking stunned. "It’s all…ruined."

"Oh, sweetie, you did fine!" Rose assured her.

"Yeah. You were the best one up there," Jack agreed.

Izzy looked as if she had come to her senses. She glared at her parents huffily. "You have to say that; you’re my parents! I finally get the lead role, and everything goes horribly! My Christmas Eve is ruined!" And with that, she ran off the stage, sobbing.

"Well," said Jack after a moment of stunned silence, "at least she’s back to normal." He looked down at his young son. "How d’you like your first Christmas so far, Tommy?"

Tommy gurgled.

"At least one kid isn’t crying; that’s pretty darn good for us," Jack noted to Rose.

She rolled her eyes and went to comfort her daughters.

The End.

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