Excerpt of Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton

Then came the sound of doors opening at the back of the church sanctuary, followed by young male voices. Changing voices. Cracking high, dropping low. Kelly turned to see three young teenaged boys stroll up the aisle. The missing Wise Men, at last. The sandy brown-haired one in front looked familiar.

“Coach Flynn?” he called as he and companions drew near. “What are you doing here?”

“O’Leary?” Kelly exclaimed, recognizing her favorite baseman, best hitter, and all- around troublemaker from last summer’s baseball leagues.

“In the flesh, Coach,” he said as he and Kelly clasped hands in a jock handshake. “You runnin’ this show now?”

“Let me guess, you and your friends are the Wise Men, right?”

“That’s us, Coach.” O’Leary and his buddies wrapped arms around each other’s shoulders and mugged with cheesy smiles. “Three Wise Men. We got the goods.”

The shepherds spread on the steps surrounding the altar groaned as did the Narrator.

Kelly grinned. “Goods or not, guys, if you’re late again, I’ll kick your butts.”

“Whoa!”

“Hey, she can hit it outta the park, so shut up,” O’Leary said.

“Awesome!” the third boy exclaimed.

“Hey, Coach Flynn, when are you gonna have tryouts for next year? O’Leary said you straightened out his swing.”

O’Leary made a dramatic swing with an invisible bat. “Home run! Outta the park!”

This time the entire pageant cast sitting on the altar steps groaned.

Kelly just laughed. “They any good?” She nodded toward his friends.

“Oh, yeah. Not as good as me, of course,” he said with a swagger.

“Gonna hurl!” Narrator warned.

Kelly laughed out loud this time, as did Jennifer. “Tell you what, guys. Do a stand-up job with this Nativity scene, and I’ll watch for you in the tryouts. I’ll even put in a good word with Coach Townsend.”

“Whoa!”

“Awesome!”

“Totally!”

Jennifer handed them scripts. “Three Wise Guys is more like it.”

“Hey, that’s good,” O’Leary said, incapable of insult.

“Wise Guys, one, two, and three,” Jennifer said, pointing to each.

“Get on up there,” Kelly ordered, pointing toward the steps. “No more mouthing off. O’Leary, that means you. And keep your buds in line.”

“Got it, Coach,” he said as he walked toward the steps.

“Do we have to wear those stupid bathrobes,” Wise Guy Two asked as he followed O’Leary.

“Yeah, they’re so lame,” Wise Guy Three said as he sank on the steps beside the teenaged girl playing Mary. She gave him an Annoyed Teenage Girl stare, only used when trying to ignore annoying teenage boys.

“Well, if you guys have a costume or something that looks like a robe, go ahead and use it,” Kelly said.

“My mother is making my costume,” one of the angels announced, tossing her blonde curls over her shoulder. “She’s even making wings.”

As if on cue, O’Leary and his buddies grabbed their stomachs and heaved. Loudly. Shepherds One and Two convulsed on the steps. Even Mary smiled.