Excerpt: Drama!

"All I want for Christmas is you," I sang and let the last notes hang in the air. Applause erupted from the crowd. It was pure magic.

As the curtains closed I went back stage to be greeted by Audry who was silently clapping for me. She gave me two thumbs up and mouthed "great job!" I smiled at her and tried to show her how happy I was that my solo went well.

After a sketch the next song was "I'll be Home for Christmas." That was supposed to be John's song. I still hadn't found out who was going to be taking his place. As I finished changing for my next scene I heard a familiar voice singing the classic lyrics. "I'll be home for Christmas; you can plan on me. . . “It was a beautiful velvety amazing familiar voice that I heard.

No. It couldn't be. That would be too incredibly perfect.

I pressed my way through other cast members who were backstage waiting for their next scene.

It was true. It was James. He was sitting on a stool on the stage with his guitar and a microphone to his mouth.

"Please have snow and mistletoe and presents under the tree . . ."

But, how? When? What was going on? Why hadn't I heard? From what I knew that morning we hadn't gotten a replacement for John yet. I looked over at Leslie and tried to silently ask for an explanation. She simply shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know either. But there he was. James was back.

"I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams."

Was it the most corny and cliché moment that had ever happened in my entire life? Of course. I had just sung "All I Want for Christmas is You" wishing James was home and here he was singing "I'll be Home for Christmas." Did I love it? Yes.
Applause erupted again as he finished the classic song. It was perfect. He was a phenomenal singer and guitar player and I was so happy he was finally able to share that with the people at CAPA. When he came offstage his eyes met mine and he smiled the biggest happiest smile I had ever seen on his face. He met me backstage and when he did he gave me the biggest hug I had ever received in my life. I held onto his torso and let me cheek rest against his chest. It was perfect. It was not some stupid mushy moment, no tears, no earth shattering words or realizations. It was simply me and James, the way it always was and always had been. It felt as though nothing had changed between us.

Part of me died when we had to break away from our hug. I looked up at him and noticed that he was growing some facial hair on his chin. It was cute. "How?" I whispered.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I'll explain after the show. Great solo by the way."

"You too," I whispered.

My head was spinning. James was home. He was there, he was back. I could not believe I got through the rest of the show without messing up. My mind was clouded by thoughts of James and trying to understand what was going on. In between scenes that I was in I tried to seek him out but when I did I found him stretched out on a couch that had been pulled out of one of the prop rooms taking a nap. Had he just gotten off the plane?

Before curtain call Diann told me to go and wake him up and I did. I knelt down next to the couch and nudged him awake. He rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses and looked at me. "Hey," he said groggily.

"It's time for curtain call," I told him.

He nodded slowly and followed me to the stage. Diann showed him where to stand.
I couldn't have been happier that night, and I think everyone could tell. By the time we had greeted all of our families and friends after the show James was fully awake and we all decided to go to our favorite pub and treat him for a welcome home party. James and I were the first people to get there and we immediately saved our favorite corner for the rest of our friends. The moment we sat down I started to drill him with questions.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked. "I thought you weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow!"

"Well, that was when I was going to come see the show," he told me. "My flight got in today, but I wanted to surprise everyone by coming to opening night. When I came in Diann saw me and I found out that John couldn't sing his solo . . . so I did. I barely got time to get make up and costumes and everything, which is why I didn't see you. I wanted to see the rest of the show. . . “He tried to stifle a yawn but he failed.”Sorry, I'm really tired."

"It's OK; you just flew in from Europe. I think you have every right to be tired. I just can't believe you're here," I said.

He smiled at me again. There was something different about him. He seemed more mature after coming back from Europe. It wasn't just the goatee that had formed on his chin, it was something else too. I knew he had grown and learned a lot while he was gone. Those first few weeks were very hard on him and he missed home. From what I could tell as the semester went on things had gotten better, but it was still difficult.

"It's good to be back," he said.

"It's good to have you back. We've missed you."

"You have no idea," he told me.

"You've missed Chicago haven't you?" I asked.

"YES. Chicago and America in general is good."

When everyone met us at the pub it was like everything was back to how things should have been. James was able to meet Eli and they seemed to bond right away. I felt like life was back to normal. I couldn't stop staring at James in disbelief. I had seen him through video chat on the computer and everything, but that was nothing to being back with him in person. Yet it felt like he had never left. We were all together and laughing and acting as though we had been together at CAPA all semester long. I was so happy, life was good again. I may not have "had" James or anything, we were still where we were at since we first met, but I was OK with that for the time being. At least I had part of my Christmas wish, the most important part. James was home safe and sound and he was back with his friends and family. That was what really mattered.

I whispered a small prayer of thanks. "Thank you God, thank you that's he's home."