Mommy answered. “All of their belongings will be coming on a moving truck later. The bike might take a while, so you girls will have to share some of your things with Val. You’ll have to—”
“—make it work!” both Mommy and Melody said at the same time. Melody sounded exactly like Mommy, which made everyone laugh as they pulled up in front of New Hope Baptist Church.
When Melody got out of the car, she heard the voices of the adult choir floating out of the open doors. She ran up the steps into the church and sat on the first pew inside the door. She closed her eyes and soaked in the sounds.
“This is my story, this is my song.” A single soprano voice hit the notes and sang the words beautifully, clearly. The music echoed inside Melody’s body. She opened her eyes and looked at the tall stained-glass windows. On Sunday mornings, they sparkled like jewels when the sunshine poured in.
Melody’s sisters soon slid onto the bench, one on either side, and she was squeezed between them just like when she was small and Yvonne snuck her lemon drops to keep her from wiggling during the service. Melody smiled to herself at the memory. Now that she was older, she didn’t wiggle during church. She listened to the pastor and to the music. She loved the Sundays when the children’s choir sang and she stood in front, looking out at her family. Melody also loved the Sundays when she sat in the pews with her whole family. It was one of the few times they were all together. And soon Val will be here, too! she thought.
Melody listened to the soloist sing the last lines of the hymn.
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
That’s how Melody felt in church. There was goodness all around. When the song ended, it seemed that her heart beat a little bit differently.
Melody was still swaying to the tune inside her head when Miss Dorothy walked past them, shuffling her sheet music.
“Hey, there’s Miss Dorothy. Let’s go.” Lila pulled Melody up. The adults filed out of the choir stand, some going home after their long workday. Some, who were the parents of the children, went to sit in the back of the church to watch and wait.
Kids started filling in the choir stand. Melody saw Sharon run in, and she watched Diane take her seat in the front row.
As everyone gathered, Miss Dorothy started playing the piano softly. She knew everything about music. Like Big Momma, Miss Dorothy knew just how to talk to a singer to help make her voice better. And like Big Momma, Miss Dorothy could read and play from sheet music, or she could hear a tune and then play it herself without any music at all.
Melody thought Miss Dorothy was pretty amazing. She wished she could have heard her and Big Momma sing together back in the day. That would have been amazing, too.
When all the children were in place, Miss Dorothy walked in front of the choir and stood with her hands clasped behind her back. That was the sign for everyone to stop talking.
“All right, choir,” she said. “On Sunday we’ll be honoring all the New Hope mothers. We want to do our very best, don’t we?”
“Yes, Miss Dorothy!”
“Remember that this will be our last choir rehearsal for this school year,” Miss Dorothy went on. “I know all of you will spend some time singing over the summer. When school begins in September, we’ll begin practicing for Youth Day. Melody, our soloist—I want you to find a song to sing. Your grandmother and I will start working on it with you over the summer if you’d like.”
“Yes, Miss Dorothy,” Melody said happily.
Diane leaned over to the girl next to her and loudly whispered, “If I were doing a solo, I wouldn’t need the whole summer to practice.”
Melody felt her face burn with hot embarrassment. Yvonne, who was sitting in the back of the church, stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. Melody was afraid she might say something, but then Miss Dorothy cleared her throat. Yvonne sat down again.
“Remember, even when one of us does a solo, we all work together,” Miss Dorothy said sternly. “We all support one another. That’s very important in a choir. The chorus helps the soloist. The soloist helps the chorus. Let’s all remember that.” She clicked her baton on the edge of the piano. “Now, choir, rise!”
Everyone stood. After Miss Dorothy led the group in vocal warm-ups, she repositioned the microphone in front of Diane, who was doing a solo for Mother’s Day.
Diane stood straight and tall. She didn’t blink. She didn’t seem nervous at all. Melody had to admit that when she thought of her own faraway solo, she thought about what could go wrong. When Diane sang by herself, she acted as if she expected that everything would go right. She had what Dwayne called “stage presence.”
Miss Dorothy stood at her piano and began playing. She played and directed and sang, all at the same time. Melody had always found it fascinating that she could do everything at once.
Diane sang the first line of the song. “Be not dismayed whate’er betide…”
The other children hummed in the background while Miss Dorothy played the chords. Diane sang the rest of the verse, and then the chorus came in with the refrain.
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
Miss Dorothy stopped playing. “Sopranos, I can’t really hear you. Let’s try that again,” she called out.
Melody looked at Yvonne, who was watching her. Yvonne cupped her hand behind her ear and grinned. She was telling Melody to sing out. When the choir began again, Melody heard Lila clearly in the row behind her, and Sharon beside her. Encouraged by their voices and by Yvonne’s smile, Melody sang louder. Miss Dorothy nodded her approval.
“Well done,” Miss Dorothy said. “Let’s go on to ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow.’”
Miss Dorothy played the first chords. Diane began to sing again, and she did sound wonderful. Melody looked out and saw Mommy come in to sit down beside Yvonne. When it was time for the chorus, Melody sang out with all her heart.
I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free.
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Melody felt the entire choir’s sound swell around her, and she was filled with a peaceful calm that made her feel happy and free.
After school the next day, Melody was sprawled on Big Momma’s living room rug watching an old movie on TV. In it, a lady was coming home after a long trip and her friends gave her a “Welcome Back” party. Melody sat up, hugging her knees. It would be a great idea to have a party for Val! They could have cookies and punch, and she could make a big sign that said “Welcome.” She could pick some flowers from her garden—pink
