I knocked on the office door and told Adele it was time to start. I went back to the center of the store and cleared the customers from the path of the procession. Mrs. Shedd lowered the lights. The store holiday music went off and the familiar Santa Lucia song began. Personally it reminded me more of the singing gondoliers at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, but the look on Mrs. Shedd’s face made me think it was all connected with Christmases past for her.
Everyone turned as Rayaad’s daughters made their entrance. They wore the traditional white dresses with red sashes and had crowns of battery-operated flickering candles. I realized I’d been holding my breath in anticipation of disaster, and now that all seemed okay, I let it out in a gush. And then I saw Adele.
She had on a long dress, too, but instead of white, it was swirled with lime green, purple, rosy pink and sky blue. No red sash for her. She wore a purple one. Instead of the crown of candles, she had a crown of fiber-optic threads that kept changing colors.
The music lowered and Adele started prowling around the girls in white and playing to the crowd.
“Yo, yo,” she said in rhythm, holding up two fingers on both hands and waving them rapper-style. She stopped and took a stance, waving her arms in a hip-hop dance mode.
“Santa Lucia comes from a long time ago.
She started out Italian, don’t ya know, don’t ya know.
Then somehow she got to Sweden, how we don’t know,
Where they celebrate the day with white dresses and
candles, yo, yo, yo, yo.
Her name means light and she comes bringing hope.
Her goodwill lasts throughout the holidays, so don’t ya
mope, don’t ya mope.”
Adele threw in some more “yo, yos” as she started clapping her hands and dancing around Rayaad’s daughters. I looked at Mrs. Shedd. Her mouth was open in shock. The crowd seemed unsure what to make of it. No one stopped Adele and her holiday rap.
“We celebrate with cookies and rolls, don’t ya know,
don’t ya know,
Because St. Lucia said bring those goodies to the table.
She wants to feed everyone as long as she’s able, don’t
ya know.”
Adele punctuated it with some more “yo, yos” as she rocked back and forth toward and away from the crowd.
“Give it up for the lady in white. But she’s not the only thing we celebrate tonight, yo, yo,” Adele said, pointing at the crowd. “Say ‘yo, yo.’” She had to repeat it several times before everyone got it that they were supposed to join in. Once they did their repeat “yo, yos,” they started to clap in time to her rap. Mrs. Shedd closed her mouth for a moment, but then it opened again as a noise went through the crowd when Koo Koo in full clown outfit joined Adele. Rayaad’s daughters had moved out of view, but nobody noticed as the colorful couple continued the holiday rap.
“For Hanukkah, we have the dreidel game.
Some call it gambling, but it’s fun all the same, don’t
ya know, don’t ya know.
Kwanzaa has a candleholder, too, it’s called a kinara,
woo-hoo, woo-hoo.
We’ve got books for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, don’t ya
know.
We’ve got them, too, for the man in the red suit who
says, ho, ho, ho.”
Both of them prowled around the cleared center, getting the crowd to join them in their “yo, yos.” With a flourish, Adele pulled back the sheet on the table.
“Shop for books and stop for a treat, don’t ya know.
Good words to read and good things to eat, yo, yo.”
The music stopped and Adele and Koo Koo took their bow. Okay maybe it hadn’t been exactly traditional, but everyone looked like they’d enjoyed it. I saw Ryder hiding behind a bookcase with his video camera going. Adele would be thrilled to know she and Koo Koo were probably going to end up on YouTube.
With the show over, the crowd moved toward the goodie table. CeeCee and her guy (her title for him), Tony Bonnard, trailed the crowd. They were carrying shopping bags and had obviously made several shopping stops at the other stores on the street. CeeCee kept sniffing the air, seeming to be carried forward by the scent of the treats. Not a surprise. Her sweet tooth was legendary, along with her battle to keep it under control. She must have been reading my thoughts.
“My character in the Anthony movie is known for her soft curves,” CeeCee said. “The director thought I looked a little gaunt for the part.”
I hated to admit it, but as soon as she made the gaunt comment, I looked over her face and body. She’d kept the soft brown hair color and midlength style the stylist she’d hired a while back gave her, but she’d wavered from the woman’s choice of clothing style. The brown corduroy jean-style pants and creamy-colored cable-knit sweater were more revealing than the long tops over slacks the stylist had chosen for her. Nowhere in any of this did I see anything remotely resembling gaunt.
“Is Elise coming?” CeeCee said, then turned to Tony and explained she was the Hooker she’d been telling him about who was so over the top about the Anthony books. “She’s already asked me to get her on the set when we film.”
I mentioned that Elise’s mind seemed to be on other things now and described how she’d been hiding out in the yarn department.
“Poor dear,” CeeCee said. It was a sincere comment. CeeCee hadn’t forgotten what it was like to lose what you thought you had. Things were going well for her now that she had the successful reality series and even better with her movie role.
Adele bypassed the food table and headed into the children’s department. Koo Koo followed her, not an easy feat in the big red shoes. He stopped next to me and I was about to compliment him on his performance when Emily stepped in front of me.
“I need that afghan back,” she said. “Right away.” The comment seemed to come from left field and it didn’t register for a moment what she was talking about. Once I realized she was talking about the pretty green blanket
