Chapter 14
Debut
Rebecca’s church debut was expected to be a small service and she only had one song to sing which she practiced repeatedly with the organist, Benny. Benny, she found out, had been the main organist at the church for decades. He was in his mid 60s and lived with Margaret (Margie, for short) his wife of 40 years in this same town. His wife taught 2nd grade in the local elementary school and sung in the choir. They had three grown children who had spread out across various states in the country after college but they visited often. With the exception of the city being so close, this small town reminded Rebecca of her own home town with a few more amenities. A place without pretense, where family and community largely centered around the church and local clubs, like the Lion’s club and the church’s thrift store. An aging community, really, as most of the younger population set their sights on moving either to the city or to explore the rest of the country as soon as possible.
But, Benny had experience and possible connections and Rebecca knew that having a good relationship with an accompanist was crucial to a good performance. The organist could play too fast or too slow and really compromise the vocalist’s ability to hit their cues. Benny gave Rebecca some leeway, knowing she was probably suffering from a case of nerves but after a few hours, he called it. “Rebecca, I think we’ve got it. I really need to get home. Margie’s making my favorite meal tonight. Meatloaf! I just love Margie’s meatloaf! You did great today. You have a real nice voice. Just remember, this is a funeral, and we aren’t meant to entertain, just fill in the blanks of the service and provide some melodic relief. Maybe tone down the eagerness just a tad, yeah? See you on Saturday. Don’t worry. You’ve got this.” “Thanks, Benny. Rebecca replied. “Thanks for the extra time today. I just want to get this right as it’s my first solo. I guess I’m more nervous than I thought.”
Saturday morning welcomed Rebecca with gray skies and misty rain, the kind that would make her hair exceptionally frizzy no matter how many products she could throw at it. “Are you even kidding me right now?! Rebecca yelled out to the empty confines of her apartment. “Not on my first day!” Rebecca ultimately decided on a half up/half down style for her hair to conceal some of the frizz that would inevitably creep in during her short walk from her apartment to the church. She arrived at the church thirty minutes before the service was to start and made sure that Benny was ready as well. Five minutes before the service was to begin, she took her seat in the choir pews and impatiently waited while the mourners of the deceased filtered in and took their seats.
The service began and the priest and accompanying altar boys assembled at the back of the church and began their pilgrimage to the altar. Benny was on the organ in the balcony, also at the back of the church overlooking the parishioners. She had good sight on him so they could communicate with eye contact and discreet head nods if necessary. She had the funeral program in her hand and, as long as she followed along with the timeline, she wouldn’t miss her cue. The casket was rolled down the aisle and the service began.
Rebecca hadn’t paid too much attention to the priest, busying herself with studying the program as if the schedule had somehow changed since the last five times she checked it and it wasn’t until the priest began the service with a prayer that she bothered to look up and realize that the priest standing at the altar was the same man she literally ran into at the restaurant in town. The same man with the accent. The same man who sent her blood pressure haywire.
She started breathing heavily. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! What is he doing here?