A Mother's Gift
That was okay, though. Holly was willing to share, especially with Tyler. Her mom had an amazing way of connecting with people, and her upbeat attitude was contagious. Every time Holly though of what had happened to Tyler's mom, she said a little prayer of thanks to God for her own. And for Tyler. Holly wasn't sure she knew what love was, but she sure liked him a lot.
A whole lot. He knew her and she knew him and that was all that mattered.
That was what made being his girlfriend a pain in the butt sometimes. Because he knew her too well. Once he got something into his head, he wouldn't let up.
"You know, 'stead of spending all your time renting movies and chasing after Bel's little sister, you should put this summer to good use," Tyler said, his expression serious.
"I should, should I?" Holly leaned against the elm, the bark scratching her back. She wasn't sure she liked where this was going. "Think they'd hire me at Norwood's Auto Body? I'm a whiz at emission repairs."
Tyler touched her face, his fingers sandpaper rough. "I'm serious, Holly Faye. You've got to do something with your talent. You can sing better than anybody I know."
"You're a pretty keep-to-yourself kind of guy," Holly teased. "You don't know that many people."
He let out a groan. "Come on, Hol. Everyone here in Biscay knows what a great voice you have, but no one else does because you aren't doing anything with it."
Holly was surprised at the emotion that filled his voice. "What am I supposed to do? Panhandle on the street corner?" she asked a little snappishly.
"Apply to Haverty."
She was annoyed at the way he said it, as if it was such a no-brainer. Didn't he realize how pointless it was? "Did my mom put you up to this?" she asked wearily.
He held up his hands. "Not guilty."
She exhaled slowly. "You two spend so much time talking to each other that you're starting to sound alike. It's scary."
Tyler hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of Holly's jean shorts. "Dreaming doesn't get you squat, Holly. It's chasing them that does. I care about you, you know? I - I want what's best for you."
"I know that. Thanks." It was no secret to Holly that Tyler wanted to see the world. Travel to faraway places like Africa and China. Go on safaris. Visit the Great Wall. Ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Eat pizza in Rome. Race on the Autobahn in Germany. She hadn't liked that last one much.
"Now, how are you going to go to those places?" Holly had asked him one night last spring as they were sitting out on her porch swing, their stomachs full of her mother's fried chicken and hush puppies. "Do y'all have a secret money tree growing in your yard instead of moss and kudzu?" she'd teased, curling up in his arms. "Can I be a part of your dream too? Give me a first-class ticket to Vienna, Austria." Austria was where her favorite movie of all time, The Sound of Music, took place. She knew all the songs by heart. In her dreams she was Maria, waltzing on the Alps, singing like a bird.
She'd thought Tyler had been building castles in the air, fantasizing about what could never be, the way she did with her music. Dreams were that - just dreams. But he had pulled away and had stared deep into her eyes, a stare that had made Holly's toes shiver in her sandals.
"I'm serious, Holly," he'd told her, his emerald-green eyes shining. "Right now I'm here helping my daddy and learning how to run this business. But one day I am going to go to those places. I am."
And although Tyler and his daddy hadn't a dime to their name, Holly had believed him. Because she believed in him.
So why was it so hard for her to accept that someone could believe in her?
"I could write to Haverty and see if they could send you an application…"Tyler began hopefully, as he had several times before.
Holly shook her head so hard that her hair stung her face. Applications alone cost money, and tuition cost money, and room and board cost money, and … everything about Haverty cost money.
Granted, she had wonderful, fantastic musical dreams.
But she couldn't afford them. Zip. She put them on the back shelf of her mind and closed the door.
"Can we stop talking about Haverty?" she asked, burying her head in Tyler's T-shirt. Besides, even if she could afford it, it wasn't like they were going to accept her, little Holly Faye Lovell from Biscay, Mississippi, wearing a handmade dress and getting her hair cut at Juanita's Shear Magic Salon - was it? Uh, no.
"I smell like a grease monkey," Tyler said apologetically, lightly wrapping his arms around her.
"I know," she mumbled through a mouthful of cloth, loving the safe, familiar scent. "That's my favorite animal."
*******
Holly's voice was rocking through "Working on the Building," an old spiritual. Her church choir had a new director, and they'd been learning a lot of wonderful songs lately. She liked mixing up traditional hymns with spirituals and more modern tunes.
She and her mom usually came to the first service on Sundays. It was a contemporary service, which basically meant that they weren't sticklers for any one kind of music. It was always changing.
The church wasn't big, but there were plenty of brilliant musicians in the congregation. They had a terrific pianist, as well as some great guitar and harmonica players and some wonderful singers. Holly was always flattered to be picked to sing solos among such incredible vocalists.
The congregation began to clap in rhythm to the song, and Holly's voice rose even higher, pushed by her excitement, as she sang with the choir. She took one syllable and bent it into four. When she finished, she felt flushed and proud. She smoothed her choir robe underneath her and took her seat along with the others. For a second, her gaze fell on Tyler. He gave her a wink.
Later she had a solo. "'Just a closer walk with thee,'" she sang, her voice clear as a nightingale's. "'Grant it, Jesus, is my plea. Daily walking close to thee, let it be, dear Lord, let it be.'"
"Holly, you rock!" said a little boy in a front pew.
Holly fought back a giggle as her solo came to an end.
Since Juanita and Ruby didn't have families of their own, it was typical for them to come over after church on Sunday for dinner. Today, for some reason, they were a little late. "Maybe they stopped at the fruit market to pick up some strawberries," Holly told her mom. "They know how you love them."
Sure enough, the two friends had stopped to pick something up…but it wasn't a strawberry.
"What in the world?" Wanda exclaimed as a tiny bundle of fur came tumbling through the back door.
"Ruff!" A peach-colored canine moppet looked up at Holly - and promptly rolled over on its back, it's little legs kicking. Juanita and Ruby popped in next, sheepish smiles on their faces.
"You brought one of Fifi's puppies to visit!" Holly exclaimed, picking the puppy up and nuzzling it. The puppy's fur was so soft!
Wanda raided an eyebrow. "Are you sure a visit's all you had in mind, Juanita?"
Juanita avoided Wanda's inquiring eyes. "Well, now, I just had one puppy left, and I know that Holly Faye's always loved my Fifi, and I thought maybe that - "
Holly cast a hopeful glance at her mom. "Oh, could we, Mom?" Other than a guinea pig that had died when she was seven, she'd never had a pet. Her mom always said -
"They're a load of work." Wanda shook her head as if she was convincing herself. "We don't need a puppy. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd take in that dog for you."
Juanita pursed her lipsticked lips. "Now, I knew you'd say that, Wanda Jo. But just because my Fifi is clipped like a little princess and eats off my china doesn't mean this puppy would have to be as well." She cocked a thin eyebrow. "Why don't you just see how this little puppy acts here today? If she passes the test, you get to keep her!"
"Look!" Holly giggled. The puppy had found its way into Wanda's scrap basket. A little piece of muslin perched on his fuzzy head. "Doesn't he look cute?" she said as he scampered over to sit atop their Sunday newspaper.
"Uh-oh," Juanita said, hustling over. "When puppies see newspapers they think of only one thing!"
"And that's exactly why we can't keep her," Wanda said firmly.
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