Before he could respond, Joy ran up to us, an adorable pink ukulele tucked under her arm. “Hi, Ate Lila! Dr. Jae! How are you?”
Jae reached out for a high five, which she returned. “Hey, I didn’t know you played the ukulele! We should jam together sometime.”
Joy’s eyes lit up. “You play the ukulele, too?”
“Yeah, I taught myself in college. My friend was part of the ukulele club and got me to join since he knew I played the guitar. It was a lot of fun, but I haven’t played in a while.”
“I taught myself, too! I really wanted to learn piano when I was younger, but we couldn’t afford it. So my sister got me this ukulele for my birthday freshman year. Said it reminded her of me.” Joy cradled her ukulele, a soft smile on her face as she looked at her beloved instrument.
I was about to ask what song she was playing for her talent portion when Mr. Acevedo beat me to the punch.
“OK, that’s great! I think we figured out all the audio stuff. Joy, can you play a quick piece one last time to be sure? And make sure to sing, not just play the instrument. I want to make sure the mic picks up your voice,” Mr. Acevedo called out, as he messed around with the soundboard for the stage.
Joy obeyed, stepping up to the microphone stand and strumming her ukulele. She sang the first verse of “Over the Rainbow” in a clear, sweet voice that somehow managed to be equal parts hopeful and nostalgic. Tears sprang to my eyes and I had to fake a sneeze so I could dig a tissue out of my purse to dab at my face. Jae put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, the light pressure more comforting than I expected. I wasn’t even sure why I needed comforting.
The click of a camera made both of us jump, and I whirled around to catch Natalie Philipps and Dave, the Shady Palms News photographer, grinning at us.
“Sorry, just wanted to make sure my exposure was right. All this sunlight was washing out my photos,” Dave said.
“Since it was just a test shot, you’ll be deleting that photo, won’t you?” Beth came over to us, the smile on her face doing nothing to temper the steel in her voice.
Natalie Philipps hurried to reassure Beth, likely not wanting to be banned from the festivities the way her husband had been. “Of course, Mrs. Thompson! Dave, get rid of it. Now.”
Dave grumbled, but complied. “I need to start snapping the final photos of the girls anyway. How did we want to stage this?”
Beth led the way to the giant stage, where a curved staircase rose six feet to the platform the girls would be standing on for the majority of the final event. “Let’s get all the group photos out of the way first, then you can move on to individual shots. We need to wrap this up quick while the lighting is still good.”
“Lila, can we get a picture of you with all the contestants? You know, a former winner passing on the crown and whatnot,” Dave said.
“I don’t think—”
“That’s a lovely idea! Yes, Lila, go join the girls. It would make a lovely shot,” Valerie said. “I’m sure the paper will mention your new cafe as well. You know, local girl makes good?” she added, looking at Mrs. Philipps pointedly.
“Of course, of course! We’d be happy to. We’ve been enjoying all the little snacks you’ve been supplying for the various events, after all,” the reporter said.
I sighed and trudged toward the stairs. Good thing I was used to walking in heels because the stairs were narrow and it was hard to find good footing as I posed alongside the ten contestants.
“Lila, go further up. Yes, all the way to the top! Now lean back against the railing and spread your arms across it. Try to look natural and inviting,” Dave said, taking photo after photo while issuing these instructions.
I squeezed past Katie and tried to follow Dave’s instructions, but she was taking up too much room, positioning herself so that she stood above all the other girls. “Katie, could you move down just a—”
Katie turned to look at me midquestion, and the section of railing we were leaning against came loose. We both screamed and I reached out to Katie to try to pull her back onto the stairs, but it was too late. We both tumbled to the ground, and I just barely had time to tuck my head in and cover it with my arms before we hit the stage. I landed on my left side, my hip and ankle taking the brunt of the damage.
Katie sobbed next to me, repeating something over and over as she tried to choke back tears. It took me a minute to realize she was saying, “I’m so sorry.” I turned my aching body toward her to reassure her it wasn’t her fault, but that simple motion drew a hiss of pain from me and she started crying even harder.
I didn’t register the other people in attendance talking and screaming until Bernadette jumped on the stage and began to check Katie over for injuries, Jae and Sana right behind her to provide assistance.
Bernadette swore under her breath. “Looks like a dislocated shoulder. Possible fractures, but we’ll need X-rays to confirm that. Can you sit up? An ambulance will be here soon, but I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” She had Sana help Katie up to a sitting position and continued her inspection, noting that other than her arm, she was fine. “Thankfully that’s the worst of it.”
While Bernadette examined Katie, Jae turned his attention to me, checking me for injuries and having me rotate various body parts to make sure nothing was broken. I yelped when his strong fingers prodded my left ankle, but was able to move it.
“Badly sprained ankle and some bumps and bruises, but overall you should be OK. You’ll probably need a mobility device to help you get around for the next week or so, but I’m sure Bernadette can help with that.” He brushed a stray curl away from my face. “You scared me. At least you have good instincts. I saw you protect your head, which probably prevented a worse injury.”
Beth, Valerie, and Mayor Gunderson all rushed up to us at once. “Oh thank God you’re both OK. Who the hell put these stairs together? Because they’re about to be out of a job!” Valerie raged. In a rare show of unity, Beth and Mayor Gunderson agreed with her.
“This is terrible! Girls, come down from there! We don’t need a repeat of this,” Mayor Gunderson called up to the contestants, who had finally stopped screaming but were still frozen to the steps.
There was a moment of calm while the pageant committee passed out water bottles and the parents in the audience comforted their scared children. Jae, Bernadette, Sana, and I huddled around Katie and Joy, the latter doing what she could to console her crying friend. I could already hear the ambulance approaching in the distance, but before it pulled up, Winnie Pang arrived.
“Katie? Katie! What happened?” Winnie ran over to join us onstage. “Joy called me at the salon and said there was an accident. Are you OK, baby?”