Tallie stood in the middle aisle of the church sanctuary, studying the front. Last night it had been a barn filled with kids dressed as shepherds and angels.

This morning the barn was gone, but every surface was covered in evergreen and candles. Red berry's peeked out of their hiding spots among the green leaves. It was peaceful now, but that would only be true for the next few minutes before the band kids started showing up and begin to set up their instruments.

The Christmas Pageant the night before had gone smoother than Tallie had predicted. No baby doll Jesus was lost, the kids remember most of their lines, and bringing out the little kids for the final song went off without a hitch.

Even Lucas, who could never sit still, had caught the Christmas spirit and sang with more gusto than any of the other kids, determinedly clasping his hands in front of him. Tallie had been just as surprised as everyone else that there was no major mishap that would define this year's Christmas Pageant.

After the pageant was over, everyone had praised her work with the kids but it hadn't felt deserved, especially since the day before Lucas had decided his legs no longer worked halfway through the song and had flopped onto the floor to finish. Tallie had turned all the praise to God, knowing that Lucas's change of attitude was a true Christmas miracle. But it wasn't the Christmas miracle the whole town was waiting on. Christmas Eve was almost over and there was still no snow.

On her way out of the house that morning, Tallie's dad had given her the rundown of the ten weather reports he had watched. Supposedly, there was some storm brewing north of Holly Oaks, but the weatherman hadn't been able to specify if it would be rain or snow.

Everyone Tallie had passed on her way to Grace Church hadn't even bothered with greetings and jumped straight to the latest weather forecast they had seen. Everyone tried to sound hopeful while casting doubtful glances at the bright blue sky.

Whether it snowed or not was not top of Tallie's worry list as she prepared for the Christmas Eve service. She had been working with the kids for the whole month of December, and all their hard work came down to this one night. She knew they were ready, she just hoped they felt the same way.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to find Ben walking down the aisle towards her.

"Hey Ben, do you know if Jesse is here yet?" she asked. Jesse ran all the sound for Grace Church and would be helping set up all the amps and mics for the night's performance.

"I just saw him pull into the parking lot," Ben said.

"Great."

"I didn't get a chance to tell you last night, but the Christmas pageant was wonderful," he said.

"Thanks, Ben."

"And I am sure tonight will be just as wonderful," he said. "If you need anything while setting up, I'll just be in the back room setting up tables."

"Thanks."

As Ben headed back out of the sanctuary, Jesse entered, cables and cords hooked over his shoulder, and two kids followed him. Jesse waved to Tallie as he headed for the sound booth in the back and the kids headed towards the front.

Like she had predicted, the peaceful atmosphere disappeared as the kids arrived and instruments were tuned and Jesse tested amp and mic volumes.

Tallie could sense a nervous energy in the kids as they stood on stage and took in the rows of seats that would be filled with an audience in only a few hours. But once Jesse was done and she had them run through songs, she could see the nervousness turn into excitement.

They knew the songs backwards and forwards. They had worked hard for this night and unlike the night before, she was confident the performance would go off without a hitch.

They were taking a short rehearsal break when Henry tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey Henry," she said.

"Miss Tallie..." he said hesitantly. She smiled reassuringly, bracing herself for what he was about to say. "I know it's last minute but would it be okay if Mr. Case played with me?"

"Oh," she said, surprised by the question. She was relieved there wasn't a problem she had to deal with, but she wasn't sure how to answer.

"Umm...well...first I think we would have to ask Mr. Case if he wants to."

"I do," Case said. Tallie turned and found Case standing behind her with his guitar case on his back and a hopeful smile.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he grinned back. "What do you say, director? Can I join the band?"

"It's fun when we play together," Henry added. "And we already worked out how to share the parts."

"I mean..." She looked between Henry and Case, who shared the same excited look. "Of course."

"Yes!" Henry cheered, giving Case a high-five. "I'm already setup. Come on." Henry waved Case to where his guitar was resting.

But before Case could leave, Tallie grabbed his arm. "Is this okay?" she asked with a worried frown. He thought her concern was sincere until she added, "I mean since you don't play guitar anymore."

"Ha!" he said flatly, roughly pulling his arm free and joining Henry. One of the kids called for Tallie's help and she wasn't able to enjoy her joke longer, but she smiled as she watched as Henry talked animatedly as Case pulled out his guitar.

As the afternoon wore on, Tallie could feel the energy in the kids rising and they started playing the songs just a little faster. Over and over again, she reminded them to slow it down and was grateful for Case's participation. He helped remind Henry to set the pace slow and the rest of the kids followed.

Forty-five minutes before seven, Tallie ushered all the kids into the back room where the long wait began. To keep nerves from running high, Case and her started a game of cards and kept the kids distracted until Pastor Daniel arrived at the room and gave the five-minute warning.

As she gathered the kids by the door, she reminded them one more time to take the songs slowly, to listen to Henry's lead, and most importantly have fun. She smiled encouragingly before she led the way out onto the candle-lit stage. She took her spot at the piano, made a sweep of the kids to make sure everyone was ready before she looked across to where Henry and Case were waiting, their guitars slung over their shoulders. She raised her hand and motioned out four silent beats before they began to play.

The music flowed perfectly and Tallie found herself getting lost in it. In rehearsal, she was always focused on making sure Anthony was keeping the time on drums or Rachel wasn't going sharp on the violin. But now she knew she had done all she could do to prepare the kids and all she could do was play along, listen to her own advice and have fun.

As Tallie relaxed into playing she was reminded how much she loved the Christmas Eve service. She loved all the Christmas events in Holly Oaks and the community coming together, but she always found it fitting that the final event brought everyone's focus back to the real reason for the season, Jesus Christ.

When the music was done, she led the kids and Case to the front row of seats that had been reserved for them as Pastor Daniel stood up. He read the Christmas story from the book of Luke, and Tallie was filled with a deep sense of peace.

In the end, it wasn't important if the Christmas pageant went smoothly or if the kids messed up parts of the songs. It wasn't important if they had a Christmas tree in the main square or even if it snowed. The most important part of Christmas was that God sent his son Jesus to be the Savior of the world.
Her eyes got glassy with tears of joy as she listened to the message the angels brought the shepherds in the fields.

"Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Pastor Daniel read the rest of the story, reminding everyone of the beautiful hope the birth of Jesus brought. Tallie's family had been struggling for a while and she knew they weren't the only ones facing hardships, but they weren't alone in their struggles. They had a Savior who was with them always, to help in the hard times and the good times. That was what Christmas was about.

As the band was called back on stage to perform the final song, the audience joined in, filling the sanctuary with joyous voices as they sang out the poignant words to Joy To The World. Tallie felt her own heart fill with hope as she looked at the faces around her and saw her joy reflected back to her.

The whole crowd was invited to hot chocolate and cookies in the social hall after the Christmas Eve service, and before the band kids could run off to find parents and friends, Tallie pulled them into a huddle to tell them how proud she was. The kids called out 'thanks' as they ran off.

Tallie looked back at the stage and all the instruments that needed to be put away and the amps and mics that had to get reset, but before she could start, Case took her arm and directed her to the social hall.

"Let's get some hot chocolate," he said, making it clear she had no say in the decision.

But she never made it to the hot chocolate table as parents and church members gathered around her to thank her for the beautiful music and her work with the kids. Tallie was talking with Henry's parents and was scanning the room for him when she saw her parents sitting together against one of the walls, cups of hot chocolate in their hands.

"I'm sorry, will you excuse me?" Tallie said, trying to not be rude as she walked quickly away from Henry's parents. She didn't take her eyes off of her parents as she quickly crossed the room, nervous that if she took her eyes off of them they would disappear.

"Mom!? Dad!?"

"Sweetie!" Her mom beamed at her as she stood and pulled Tallie into a hug. She pulled back but held onto Tallie as she looked at Tallie. "I am so so very proud of you. You did a marvelous job with the kids. The music was terrific!"

Tallie could feel her eyes starting to water as a mix of emotions overwhelmed her. Her mother had helped direct the Christmas Eve service for so many years, her approval was immense, but even more importantly, her parents were there. They had seen the performance. Her father hadn't been to any social event since he had started chemo.

She hugged her mom again, burying her face in her mom's shoulder to dry her eyes. She took a deep breath to steady herself, so when she pulled back and looked at her dad, there was only happiness on her face.

"It was wonderful Natalie," her father said as she leaned down to hug him.

"Thanks, dad."

There was more she wanted to say but she didn't get the chance as people noticed her parents presence. But she didn't mind getting pushed aside. She was happy to stand back and watched as the community that had supported her family got the chance to say hi to her parents and tell them how much they missed them, and how good it was to see them.

More people did express their gratitude for Tallie's work on the Christmas Eve service but she didn't care about the compliments. She was happy to sit quietly and let her parents have all the attention.

But as happy as her dad was to be a part of Christmas Eve, it wasn't long before Tallie could see his energy disappearing. She was about to say something when her mom said it for her.

Tallie watched as her mom graciously thanked the couple they were talking to but began to gather their things. Tallie took her dad's arm, intending to walk them to the car when one of the band kids ran up. "Miss Tallie, we wanted to play Jingle Bells, but we need you on the piano."

Tallie was about to say she couldn't when Case appeared on the other side of her dad. "I'll help your dad to the car," he said. He nodded towards the sanctuary and the waiting kids. "Go!"

She hesitated and looked at her mom, but her mom shooed Tallie away. "Go," her mom repeated. "Have fun. We'll see you at home."

"Go!" Case insisted before Tallie could hesitant anymore.

"Fine," she laughed, heading towards the sanctuary.

She found all the kids already on stage, trying to play Jingle Bells. They were close to figuring it out. She corrected a few things and led the song on the piano and it all came together. The cheery music pulled a small crowd away from the hot chocolate and a Christmas song sing-along started.

All the kids gathered around Tallie at the piano to read the music over her shoulder, and Anthony was quick at picking up the beat on the drums. A few songs in, Tallie became aware of Case's deep voice singing behind her and she glanced back to see him and Henry playing their guitars together.

They made it through all the Christmas favorites before the band kid's parents started showing up in the sanctuary, ready to take the kids home.

By the time Tallie helped the last kid pack up their instrument and said 'Merry Christmas' as she waved goodbye, she realized the rest of the church was quiet.

"What time is it?" she asked, looking around for a clock.

"It's almost eleven," Case said. He was on the other side of the stage, beginning to wind the amp cords.

"Is everyone gone?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. When you were helping Anthony with the drums, Ben came by. He said he was waiting for us to finish up cleaning up the instruments so he could lock up the church, but I told him we could take care of that."

"Good. I wouldn't want him waiting around for us."

"That's what I thought too."

Tallie started disconnecting mics and winding cords. They worked in peaceful silence, this job as familiar as practicing in the back room of the church.

Once they had everything packed up, they started taking trips to the backroom to put everything away. They did one final sweep of the sanctuary to make sure they hadn't missed anything and put on their coats as they headed for the exit.

Tallie paused as she went to turn off the light. The sanctuary looked like it had that afternoon and made the night feel like it could have just been a dream. But she could still feel the warmth of hope and joy the night had given her and knew it hadn't been a dream, just a really great night.

She turned off the lights as Case pushed opened the door and they both stopped at the sight of snow drifting down from the sky, a thin layer already settled on the ground.

"Case," she breathed out in disbelief.

It looked like someone had dusted the main square with powdered sugar. The benches, the awnings of the stores, the flower boxes. The tree lights twinkled extra bright through the snowy air.

A smile spread across her face as they stepped out and felt the magic crunch of snow beneath their feet. The door shut behind them and once it clicked into place the world fell into the deep silence that only comes with snow.

"This is amazing," she whispered. She turned to find Case focused on his watch. She started to ask what he was doing when he looked up with a big smile.

"It's Christmas!" As the words left his mouth, the bells in the church tower began to chime. They didn't move as they listened to the bells toll the hour and watched the snow float down from the sky.

When the final bell rang out, the world once again returned to silence. She held out her hand watching in awe as tiny snowflakes gathered on her glove.

She laughed in delight and turned to find Case looking at her. "Can you believe this?" she laughed.

"No," he said.

And she agreed. It felt like they were in a dream as they watched the long-awaited snow finally fall. She looked back at Case and was overcome with happiness that he was there to share the moment with her.

He caught her looking at him and smiled as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into for a hug. "Merry Christmas Tallie," he said.

She smiled. "Merry Christmas Case."

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SNOW! ❄️
CHURCH BELLS! 🛎
CHRISTMAS! 🎄

How can they not fall in love!!!

Do you think they'll be married by New Years?!?