Page 116 of The Hockey Grump Saves Christmas

I cough to try to get my voice back. “And, honestly, the kids might all quit. Then there’d be no program at all. And that would be a massive loss for the children and future children of Warm Springs. Some of these kids have a shitty time at home and a shitty time at school, and for them thedrama program is the only joy in their week.” Okay, maybe I might cry in front of them. “Please don’t take away their only joy.”

I might be fighting back tears, but I’m fucking proud of myself for standing up for what’s right. For not caring what they think of me for speaking up.

Sure, maybe the only reason I don’t care is because I’m hardly ever going to see them again. But still, the me of ten days ago would have silently raged with fury and said nothing. At least something good has come from the whole Gabe situation.

He would be proud of me. I know he would.

But the most important thing right now is that I’m proud of me.

“Natalie.” Victor leans forward. “Would you take a seat for a moment?”

I search my pockets and come up with one old crumpled tissue and blow my nose on it. “I’m fine standing, thanks.”

“The whole reason we’re having this meeting is to discuss that exact thing.”

“Yes,” Dorothy says. “My grandson came home in tears yesterday. Told me Divina had changed his role from Second Fisherman to Arranger of the Train of Her Cloak after she’s positioned herself for her song.”

A flash of outrage sets off my heart again. “She did that to Jacob? He’d worked so hard on casting his line into the pretend fishing hole. What is she think?—”

“As I was saying,” Victor interrupts to prevent my rant from resuming, “we are aware of the situation. The number of complaints we’ve had in the last three days is many, many times the number of complaints we’ve had in thelast six years.”

“So that means you’ve had complaints aboutme?” This is the first I’ve heard about it.

“That’s not what I’d want you to take from that sentence,” Uzma says. “I think the only call under your watch was about four years ago from a parent who was upset her son wasn’t selected to sing the lead in the summer musical.”

“What?” Then it dawns on me. “Ah. Barnaby Ruck. Beyond tone deaf. Like a serious fingers-in-ears job. His parents tried to bribe me to give him the part. They showed up one day with an actual brown envelope stuffed with cash. It was like something out of a spy movie.”

“If the spies’ kids couldn’t sing,” Uzma says with a smile, clearly trying to lighten the proceedings.

“Well,” Gavin says. “The important thing is your record is unblemished.”

“And Divina has managed to smear hers with multiple blemishes in seventy-two hours,” Dorothy says, rolling her eyes over her teacup.

“Anyway.” Victor sighs. “The long and the short of it is that we can admit when we’ve made a mistake.”

“Whenwhohas made a mistake?” Uzma presses her palms together in her lap.

“Okay, okay.” Victor stands up and pushes his hands into his pants pockets as he walks around his chair. “I admit she was mainly my idea.”

Gavin reaches for a cookie. “Mainlyis a bit of an understatement,” he mutters.

Dorothy and Uzma shoot each other looks and tiny smirks.

“Maybe if you had a really big talk with her,” I suggest, “you might be able to get her to understand.”

Victor takes hold of the back of his chair and leans forward on it. “That’s very generous of you, Natalie.”

“Always so good-hearted like that,” Dorothy adds.

That’s a compliment I am happy to accept.

“But,” Victor continues, “I think Divina is possibly beyond repair when it comes to trying to make her the right person for this job.”

“Yup.” Uzma meets my gaze, a smile in her eyes. “We’ve made him see the light.”

“I think it was the complaint about her insisting the sequins be removed from the icicle costumes because they clash with her hat that was the final straw,” Gavin says.

Oh my God. They really are going to get rid of her. My body and brain struggle to cope with this roller coaster of emotions. I’m so awash with relief that I have to clasp my hands to stop them from trembling. And I now wish I had sat down because my knees are a bit wobbly too.

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