Empowerment. Engagement. Authenticity.
Rangers Lodge Saga - Singoff Audition
They walked into the main kitchen just after
eight to drowsy grumbles, , not quite masked by the hip hop streaming
from an Ipod, from young uniformed staff. Now here was a space equipped
to cook for an army, Kristen thought. Walls of windows faced east and
west to let in as much light as possible, wide granite counters and
islands were done in buttery yellow and held racks of spices and
canisters of utensils. There were two long walls of ranges, ovens and
small appliances all in stainless steel.
Breakfast was being prepared in the main kitchen that day because Jake
and Adam would be overseeing the singoff auditions. Adam had expected
Kristen to head back to her cabin or to an empty room to practice and
had been absurdly pleased when she’d expressed interest in seeing the
kitchen.
“Sounds like your crew loves the early start,” Kristen joked.
Adam couldn’t stop his grin. “Thank goodness for Martha.” He indicated a
big-boned, brown-skinned woman in her sixties, corn rows tucked under a
colourful scarf, a white apron over a simple white blouse and black
pants. “She’s our lodge crew manager. Martha was currently hovering over
Miguel and his friend, Jesse, at an enormous food processor. When Adam
touched Martha’s shoulder, all three of them looked up and the younger
men immediately broke into grins.
“Buenos dias, senorita Kristen,” Miguel murmured, his dark eyes
twinkling. His dazzling smile and sharp cheekbones were emphasized today
by hair tied back at his nape.
“We would
hug you but Ma has us elbow deep in garlic and pepper.” Jesse was lanky,
his short black hair shaved at the sides, his skin the same toasted
brown as Martha’s. He wiggled his sticky fingers and Martha pulled his
ear sharply. “What?” he protested. “That’s what we did yesterday.” Adam
looked from Jesse and Miguel to Kristen with a curious lift of a brow.
“I’ve met these two. Dance class and woodwork,” Kristen supplied. With
his easygoing personality and Caribbean roots, Jesse had warmed to
Kristen quickly. Kristen had no doubt he was the reason she’d enjoyed an
hour of incessant hammering and sawing in the woodwork shop the day
before.
“Viene a clase este tarde?” Miguel asked.
“Quizas. Si mi novio lo quiere.” The thought of twisting Adrian’s arm
yet again to get him to do something she liked had tension tightening
her shoulders. She rolled them lightly, turned to smile at Martha and
missed Adam’s startled look at her switch between English and Spanish.
“Jesse tells me you’re from Trinidad. Me, too.”
“Eh heh?” Martha cocked a hip. “You doh sound it.” Miguel said something
under his breath to Jesse and Martha wagged her finger at him. “Ah doh
see any choppin’ goin’ on over there,” she scolded.
“Leave dem, nuh,” Kristen said, slipping into the Trinidadian dialect.
“Dem workin hard.”
Martha chuckled as Miguel and Jesse gave Kristen a thumbs up. “All yuh
children eh no match for me.” She nodded to the food processor. “Cyah
use rell peppa but it good to wake up dem Canadian taste buds.” She
tipped her head in Adam’s direction and eased up on the dialect. “The
young boss can take a good dose, though.”
Kristen arched a disbelieving brow at Adam. “Seriously?”
“I hold my own,” he grinned at her. To Martha, he added, “Kristen has an
audition for the singoff this morning otherwise she’d be begging for an
apron.”He leaned against the counter and did a casual survey of the
chopping and slicing going on at the islands and the sizzling and
flipping at the grills. They might make a fuss at being denied their
late start but his young crew worked hard.
“Come help tomorrow,” Martha offered. “We cooking up an Indian feast for
dinner.” She glanced at Adam for approval but Adam was helpless against
the delighted smile that had lit Kristen’s entire face.
“Go right ahead.” Adam felt the same surprising rush of relief he’d felt
when he’d handed her the tea and crossword at the quarry. She was back
to the lighthearted Kristen he’d lost track of time with on Monday.
“What you singing for the audition, Kristen?” Jesse asked. “And can we
get a preview since we can’t be there?”
“How do you know I’m any good?” she smiled, hoping he wouldn’t push.
“Annie – you met her yesterday – says you’re a great singer,” Jesse
said. He blushed a little. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“Sing, sing, sing,” Jesse and Miguel chanted and a few others joined in.
Kristen rolled her eyes but figured a warm up would clear the last
cobwebs of annoyance at Adrian from her brain. “Got any Taylor Swift?”
she asked, ignoring the groans from the guys. She grinned when one of
the girls flipped through the tracks to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With
Me” and gave in with a laugh.
“Here, give me that knife. I might as well make myself useful so I don’t
get too self-conscious.” She looked at Adam. “And the boss doesn’t get
too mad at me upsetting his kitchen.” She joined a trio of girls at a
counter and started chopping green peppers as she sang along with Taylor
Swift and tried not to think about how different she and Adrian were.
Adam stood off to the side with Martha, both smiling as Kristen nudged
the girls into singing along with her. Even the boys added their own ad
libs. Adam had to agree with his father’s words – Kristen definitely lit
up a room.
“Nice transition from hiker to songstress,” Adam said when Kristen
emerged from the ladies’ room near the kitchen an hour later. She had
traded her jeans and t-shirt for a pink and purple floral sundress and
finger combed her braid into ringlets.
“And I’m confused,” she retorted. “Your change of clothes says boss but
your words say flirt.” Kristen thought he looked great in a
short-sleeved, grey shirt worn untucked over casual dress pants.
Auditorium A was a medium-sized room, tiled in cream marble. Wall
sconces, ceramic urns and plush chairs arranged around low coffee tables
were done in royal blue. A stage, its blue velvet drapes drawn back,
occupied the front of the room and a line of judges in shirtsleeves sat
to its side. Potential performers with numbers pinned to their chests
milled on one side of the room while supporters sat sipping coffee on
the other.
“Relax,” Adam said to her, feeling her tense as they entered the room.
“This is just a formality. I’ve already vouched for you.”
Kristen gaped at him. “Why would you do that? I’ve never done anything
like this before.”
“Doesn’t deny your talent.” When he reached into her backpack for her
camera, Kristen grabbed for it and he evaded her. “What has you so on
edge?” he demanded.
Kristen’s eyes tracked through the crowd even as she kicked herself for
hoping. Adrian wasn’t there. When she looked at Adam again, the concern
in his eyes had her twisting her fingers in her hair. “Not relevant,”
she pressed. “Hope I live up to your expectations.”
“There’s our star!” Logan picked Kristen off her feet and twirled her.
Brooke and Raven rushed up to hug her. “Mom and Dad want to hug you,
too,” Brooke said brightly, pulling her toward Jeb and Leigh, who were
sitting across the room. “Still can’t believe my idiot brother isn’t
here,” Adam heard Brooke gripe as she whisked Kristen off.
Ah, so that’s why she’d been so quiet this morning, Adam mused, forcing
himself to get into work mode. Mixed with his relief that she’d been
telling him the truth and that her mood had nothing to do with him was
the same incredulous irritation he’d heard in Brooke’s voice.
She’d sung in public before. That’s what Kristen kept telling herself as
she waited to be called on stage. She’d sang in choirs and for family
functions and children’s parties. Adrian’s family had seen videos of her
singing and she was always singing to Bella and her own niece and
nephew. This was no different.
She stepped into the spotlight and focused on the opening notes of
Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time.” She had won an award for singing
this song, in public, when she was in grade nine. She loved this song.
She was good at it. Kristen started to sing and, as she got into the
groove, barely noticed the hush in the room. Singing came naturally to
her and flowed through her like cleansing rain. She knew the notes
emerged clear and on pitch and smiled as the room broke into applause at
the final crescendo. The five judges raised cards reading ten across the
board and Brooke and Raven hollered in approval. When Kristen’s eyes met
Adam’s, what she saw there was more than pleasure or satisfaction that
he’d pulled strings for a worthy contestant.
