BETTY SINGS 3 HOLY NIGHTS

I. Twelve

Betty was 12. She cared what everybody else thought of her, especially Jane Van

Calden and Katie Mae and Ralph, who liked her maybe. Jane Van Calden was popular.

Betty liked to sing along with the radio. Her mother said: “Why don’t you sing like that

in school? Why don’t you try out for the solo?” They argued. Betty wouldn’t tell her

mother why she wouldn’t try out for the solo. (Because Jane Van Calden was in

Betty’s eighth period Chorus class!) But when Mr. Stone had auditions, Betty tried out.

She had to sing two scales and a song that went like this... And she was afraid. But

she got the solo! On December 17th she sang “O Holy Night! It is the night of the

dear Savior’s birth. A thrill of hope. Hear the angel’s voices.” Betty didn’t think what

the words meant when she sang, but she had a funny feeling like the start of a dream.

Mr. Stone made her not sing the extra high “O night divine” but “O night divine”

instead. And she was afraid, but she still sounded good. Jane Van Calden told her

afterwards that she thought she sounded good. Betty’s mother wrote about the solo in

all the Christmas cards that year, but Ralph moved away in the Spring.

III. At least forty-five

Betty was at least 45. It was 3 days after Christmas. Betty’s friend, Olga, had a

catered dinner at the church for her parents’ anniversary. Betty was the entertainment.

She brought two of her Casios. Everybody there had gray hair. Betty sang some

carols, then a medley of Broadway hits by a very popular composer, then a comedy

number with Olga’s Dad (he was terminally ill), and then a bittersweet ballad that Betty

had written for her recent marriage to Bill, who wasn’t a musician. Before the cake

was served, Betty sang Oh Holy Night, all 3 verses. Betty wasn’t the least bit afraid.

Hope! She had been reading the Bible lately. In all our trials born to be our friend. He

knows our need, our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King! It was quiet. A man

who you wouldn’t expect to was crying. A poster on the wall had a picture of a boy in

the street, and it said “JESUS CHRIST SLEPT HERE.” There was something about

this dinner: the people there, old and imperfect. There was something about the

song... something. Our weakness is no stranger. Everybody there belonged there that

evening, even Betty.

II. Twenty-seven

Betty was 27. She majored in voice at the state college and did graduate work at

Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Rose Bampton. Betty had the

role of the Soothsayer in Perino’s one-act opera Queen of Tangiers. Newsday said

her performance was “forceful”. “Forceful”, that always tantalized Betty. On

December 9th Betty was to be the soloist with the Symphonic Ensemble of Westchester.

The concert was entitled “A CELEBRATION OF CAROLS: Seasonal Melodies of

Yesteryear and Now”. (Her photo was put on the flyer.) There was just one rehearsal.

The conductor had a fever of 104, and the last-minute replacement could not convince

the string players that he might know as much as they did. Betty’s rendition of Cantique

de Noel wound up with less than 10 minutes of rehearsal time. Peu plea ge noux! And

it snowed 1 to 3 inches the night of the concert. Attends ta delivrance! Noel! Noel!

(And the critic didn’t show up.) Voici le Redempteur. She sang the high-C: Noel!

Noel! voici... Betty was still afraid. After the concert, Betty and her husband, Roland,

argued about their careers until 2 A.M. after getting a table at J.D.’s Grub ‘n Groghaus.