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down. Your v oice saved Calvin’s life. D on’t worry about it. Join u s at the service tomorrow night; the kids will be thrilled just to have you there. Let them sing for you. Ok?”
    It didn’t really feel ok to Ellie but she wasn’t sure exactly how to explain it to him. She nodded and felt a hot tear drop on her cheek. He reached out and gently touched it. “Did anyone ever tell you how adorable you are when you cry? Usually crying is pretty unflatterin g, I mean, usually faces get red and puffy and everything. But not you. Everything you do is adorable , Ellie .”
    She wrote another message and then held up the notebook.
    “You are just saying that to make me feel good.” Luke laughed. “Is it working?”
    They sat there awhile longer while Ellie finished her tea. Luke to ld her some stories about his Broadway days. He made her laugh, even if it hurt a little bit and by the time they left she was feeling better. He walked her to her car and before she got in, he stopped her, turning her around to face him.
    He lifted her chin in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. She hadn’t been expecting it and was ta ken off guard at first, but soon it felt like the most natural thing in the world, like they’d kissed each other a hundred times before. Their lips fit together perfectly. She didn’t want the kiss to end.
    But finally, he pulled away and looked at her. “I’m so glad I ran into you again and that we’ve gotten to know each other better. It’s going to be hard to see you leave again after break is over.”
    She just shook her head no and put her finger on his lips. And then she kissed him again.
    ***
     
    The following night, Christmas Eve, Ellie’s voice had showed no improvement. It was sore even when she wasn’t trying to speak. She left a few minutes early to the St. Andrew’s Christmas Eve s ervice to make sure that she could find a good seat. She brought her paren ts along, too. After hearing the stories she’d been sharing with them about all the kids , they were excited to hear the choir sing.
    S he saw Luke waiting for the children in the front of the ch urch and looked at her . She felt her body getting warm as she remembered their kiss the night before, under the winter ’s night stars.
    “Is that Luke?” her mother asked, as if reading her mind, startling her. Ellie nodded and her mother waved at Luke. “Oh, Eleanore , he is a very attractive young man.”
    The old church was beautiful all lit up for the service. On the altar were tall Christmas trees decorated with handmade ornaments and little gold crosses. The scent of pine and incense lingered in the air, filling the church.
    More people began to arrive and Ellie watched as one by one the choir kids made their way to the front row to sit next to Luke. They were dressed up compared to how she’d usually see them, and even though they may have been wearing hand me downs, they looked so proud and glowing with Christmas spirit, it filled Ellie’s heart with joy to look at them.
    The service got underway with a prayer. Then the kids took to the risers and sang their first song, Away in a Manger. They did a great job and Ellie caught the eyes of a few of them. She hoped that they knew how proud she was. Her mom leaned over and pointed to a little boy on the end of a row .
    “That must be Calvin?” she whispered to Ellie, who nodded in response.
    The service was wonderful and the kids did a great job with each of their songs. The solo parts sung by Jasmine and Cori were breathtaking. Even though she couldn’t speak, Ellie made sure that she clapped the loudest.
    Just when she thought it was the end of the service, she was surprised to see Luke walk up to a microphone set up in front of the altar. Ellie thought that maybe he was going to say a few words and thank the choir kids, their families and the St. Andrew’s congregation and he did just that, but she got the feeling that something was up, something she wasn’t quite sure