Santa's Secret

“Ms. Du Luca, there are so many people out there; what if I forget my lines?”

“You won’t, Betsy. You’ve been practicing every day for weeks and you haven’t forgotten a single line or cue. You’ve got this.” I set my arms around Betsy and pull her away from the curtain. The butterflies in my stomach are going crazy. I don’t remember a time when I’ve been so nervous before, but I am. I want this play to go off without a hitch and I’m afraid something will go wrong.

The younger kids file in and take their places on the risers. When I see Holly, I wave and she beckons me over.

“My daddy wants to talk to you.” She points behind me. I turn to find Aiden at the bottom of the stairs, fidgeting. Quickly, I look at Holly.

“Oh? About what?”

r /> She shrugs. “He asked me to come get you.”

“Okay,” I tell her. “Go take your spot.”

I stand tall and take each step confidently toward Aiden. I’m a trained actress and it’s not going to matter what he tells me, I’ll stay strong and stoic. Nothing emotional. I’ll save the tears for later.

“Holly said you needed to speak with me.”

Aiden nods and picks at his lower lip. I want to push his hand away, but instead clasp mine together.

“Aiden?”

“Right. Um… the rumors you hear; nothing’s true. Shelby and I, we’re not dating or anything. Our girls play together and she invites us over for dinner.”

“Okay.” Honestly, this is a relief, but why is he telling me now?

“And I wanted you to know… I mean ask you if you think I, I mean we, Holly and I fit into your life?”

I swallow hard and feel my eyes bug out. Aiden steps closer. “What I’m saying, Laney, is the Fishers would like a chance to be in your life.”

My head begins to spin and my palms start to sweat. Behind me my name is called and Aiden is looking at me, waiting for an answer… an answer to whether he and Holly fit into my life. I smile, from ear to ear, and nod.

“Delaney, we need to start now,” Mrs. Winters scolds.

“Can we talk about this after the show?”

Aiden nods. “My parents are taking Holly to their house. Do you want to come over?”

I do. So much. “I’ll be there.” I’m tempted to kiss him, but not here. This makeshift backstage doesn’t provide for much privacy and I don’t know what he’s said to Holly about me… us.

I rush back up the stairs with a whole new outlook on tonight. This show is going to be amazing. My lead actor and actress come forward, prepped and ready to go. “This is it; all the hard work comes down to this moment. If you mess up, keep going. This is a live production and we can’t stop. Okay?” They both nod, but look completely scared. “I’ll be right over there if you need me, but I’m confident you won’t.”

“Thank you, Ms. Du Luca,” Betsy says. She takes a deep breath, but her co-star doesn’t. He stares off into space, either thinking he’s the best or fighting the nerves rolling in his stomach.

As soon as I step off to the side, the curtain goes up and the spotlight hits center stage. Mrs. Winters directs the choir to start their song while the older kids get into place. As soon as Betsy says her first line, the anxiety I’ve felt all day lifts. It could be because Aiden is sitting in the front row, beaming at his daughter.

Twenty-Eight

Aiden

I have an immense amount of pride after watching Holly sing her heart out. I may be biased, but she was the best one out of her class. The play wasn’t half bad either, from what I caught of it. I focused solely on Holly to actually watch the performance. However, by the way everyone is clapping around me, I can easily say the festival play is a success.

Mrs. Winters and Delaney take center stage after the actors take their curtain call. I can’t take my eyes off Delaney, knowing I have so much to tell her. If it weren’t for Dominic, I don’t think I’d be ready to lay my heart on the line.

“Hey, man, thanks for your help tonight. The proposal couldn’t have gone any better.” Eileen gives me a hug after Dominic pats me on the shoulder. I want to ask him where his sister went, but know I need to tell him how I feel so he doesn’t butt in like he did last time.

“You’re welcome. Listen, I need to talk to you, Dom.”

“Sounds serious.”