CHAPTER FOUR

Summary

In the two weeks following the dance, Landon's life seems to return to normal, including his occasional forays with his friends to the cemetery where they sit on the tombstones of the Preston family and eat boiled peanuts. Eric, of course, usually has beer as well. During one night there, Eric questions Landon about his date. He wonders if they kissed and he teases Landon about liking Jamie. Of course, Landon protests that he doesn't, but a part of his mind wonders about what Eric has said. He knows Jamie is probably the best date he could have had that night, because not many people would have done what she did to help him. But he tells himself that if he really liked her that way, he would have wanted to talk to her since the date and he hasn't. He doesn't want to do any of things a guy would do for a girl if he likes her, either. He figures he's served his penance.

The next Sunday afternoon, while he's working in his room on his university application essays, Landon receives a telephone call from Jamie. She asks him if he could come to her house later that afternoon, because she has something she wants to talk to him about. He figures it would be better there than at school where his friends could make fun of him, so he agrees. When he arrives, Jamie asks him if he will play the role of Tom Thornton, the lead male role in The Christmas Angel. The only boy who had volunteered for the part has a stuttering problem and both Jamie, the boy himself, and Miss Garber realize that this isn't going to work. For Jamie, this is a special year for the play written by her father since she is playing the part of the angel and she doesn't want to see it ruined. Landon tries to name everyone he can think of other than himself who would do it, but for every name he offers, there is a reason why that young man can't. She finally gets him to agree by asking him to think of her father, who, she says, is really a wonderful man. So it comes to past that Landon will be Tom Thornton.

Notes

It does seem as if Jamie's belief in the Lord's Plan is well-founded, because in the two weeks after the dance, some plan seems to be in place to bring Landon and her together. Eric hits upon some inner feeling that Landon may be developing for Jamie, in spite of the fact that he tells himself he doesn't like her. And then, she talks him into playing the lead role in the play opposite her. Landon even says at the end of the chapter that he accepts her request, because he doesn't really have a choice. What he means is that he can't seem to tell someone no after such a poignant appeal. But maybe the author is saying that he doesn't have a choice, because he's up against God.

CHAPTER FIVE

Summary

The next day, Landon auditions and is given the part officially. The young man, Eddie, whose stuttering worried even him, is obviously relieved and will play a better part - that of the mute bum, whose thoughts the angel always knows and voices for him. Unfortunately, they only have three weeks to get ready for the play this year, because Thanksgiving falls so late. Furthermore, Landon only comes to realize how much work it will be after he accepts and reads the script. He also has to put up with his friends riding him about it. That makes him resent Jamie again and so, he refuses to learn his lines or get prepared for the play.

The next Sunday night, when he and his friends are hanging out outside the diner, Jamie comes up the street, Bible in hand, and sweetly confronts Landon. However, she doesn't chastise him for being unprepared; instead, she compliments him and tells him she's proud of him for taking the part. Eric as a joke on Landon, uses this as an excuse to suggest that they present the dress rehearsal before the orphans, a way to further involve Landon with a girl everyone makes fun of. Jamie thinks that's a wonderful idea and leaves Landon with that thought and with the offer to help him learn his lines on her own front porch. Her intentions work and the next day, Landon spends fourteen hours memorizing his lines, so he doesn't look like an idiot in front of the orphans. He wonders just exactly when his life started spinning out of control.

Notes

This chapter further emphasizes that Jamie is becoming a good influence in Landon's life. She is wise beyond her years and keeps Landon toeing the line. But she never shows him anything but kindness and just puts him in a position where he makes his own decisions with a little nudge from her. She seems to know exactly what works with him and what doesn't and what he thinks is his life spinning out of control is actually his life finding stability. All because of Jamie Sullivan and God.