Chapter 58

I saw my orchestra waiting for me. Apparently, Mike was the spokesman, “So, how big of a Symphony will we be, boss man?”

Roh?

“Off the top of my head, I see about 100 to 110 people. The GSS won’t be that big, so I may open it up to anyone from any local school from ten to eighteen years old. Whoever it is, will have to pass an audition from the head of their specialty, me and other people.”

“How many trumpets?” he followed up.

“At least ten, as many trombones, seven-ish french horns, twenty-six violins, ten violas and a percussion section like no one has ever seen before. Go home get some rest, we have to do this two more times.”

Brigitte asked, “How many Double Basses will you want, Michael?”

“Seven to nine of them. I may have some ideas about using Double Basses differently than most Symphonies. That’s a long way off everyone. Go home.”

She gave me a light kiss on the cheek. I was remembering that dream for a while, at least until I had two different people pulling at me. Isabel and Jennifer. “Michael, what’s wrong with you?” Isabel asked.

“It’s that French accent she has, I think he has been bewitched, Red.”

“You have got Jenn and me. No more additions to the harem ... you got that buddy?”

“Yes dear,” I said.

Family after family of the GSS stopped by to say their good wishes. The Bells, Mitchells, Newman’s, and Prefontayne’s were there. I also met our harpists’ mother, who was a dazzlingly beautiful Latina named Alexandra.

Jason pulled me away to meet his father Gentry Stottlemire, a very stout man with his long hair in a semi-ponytail. I am 6ft2, but he was near 6ft7 or taller. I don’t look up to many people these days, but he was tall. He is in the oil industry; thus he makes more money than he can spend ... Jason once told me.

“Sir,” I said. “Something we need to set aside some money for is replacement parts for the instruments along with getting some new and improved pieces for our Gold Standard Society and its descendent the GS Symphony. Would you, either by yourself, or under the auspices of your company be interested in endowing or funding the Gold Standard Societies Acquision & Repair Division?”

“Jason told me you were bold. He probably told you I make more money than I know what to do with. That said, “How would an initial check for $100,000 do?” He pulled out his wallet and started writing it right there.

As a joke, I quipped, “A million would be better, Sir.”

“For a million dollars, I think we should be on a first name basis Michael, my name is Gentry, but my best friends call me ‘Gent.’

I was fucking out of my mind nervous as he finished the check, handed it to me and we shook hands. I asked Jason to take the picture of his Dad, the check and me using my phone.

I found Mom and Brian, Ally and Jeff, Katherine and Peter, and my girls ... showing them the check.

“Exactly how much is one million dollars, Michael?” Red asked.

“To some people it isn’t very much, but to others, it’s enough to live on without making any more money.”

“Give me an example, please?”

“OK, let’s say a meal at McDonalds’ costs $5. There are about nineteen thousand people in Vincennes, so you could buy everyone in the whole town a meal and have about $70,000 left.”

“Cool.”

“What bank account do you want this in, Michael?” Brian asked.

“A new account called GSS Acquisition & Repairs. I want only me, you and mom to have access to it. It’s for buying everything from bow strings to Steel guitars, and whatever else we need in between.”

“Right away Boss,” he said taking the check out of my hand. I didn’t want to let go of it.

“Let’s get home, I am hungry and I need to take my evening pill.”

I turned around and saw Stuart, who was crying. He went and gave me a huge hug. “That was the best fucking singing, dancing, and everything else that I have seen in my entire life ... sorry, about the cursing, here’s a couple bucks. I have hitched myself to a star.”

“And an angel,” I said grabbing Jenn. I got a smile from Isabel. That’s all she needed.

Stu actually gave my future sister, a once over. She didn’t notice ... but I did!

Back at the house, it was just the four of us, Jeff took Ally to his place. He bought a home and it’s on the other side of town. She’s taken some stuff over, but still lives with us most of the time ... for now!.

Isabel and I made a late dinner for everyone. We made deviled eggs. She so loves doing anything that has to do with cooking.

We took a dozen eggs, hard-boiled them and had turned them into ‘devils’ as Isabel said it. I made some sourdough toast and she got to say, “Dinner” to the other ladies.

It was quick and quite tasty. Isabel got up and went into my room, coming out with my prescription pill. She also got me a separate bottle of water from the fridge.

“She’s practically your nurse, Michael,” Katherine said.

“I am just helping my big brother, Kit Kat,” Isabel said.

There were looks between the two of them, but we went on eating. With my help, we ate them all. I washed them down with my med and a full bottle of water.

“Wasn’t Peter amazing this evening?” Katherine said.

“Yes, he seems to have gotten so much more confidence since you two became undercover lovers,” I said.

Isabel giggled at my use of words.

“Is he going to get his own place and move out of Janice and Brian’s place?” Isabel asked.

“We have talked about it. Something like that would cause ... is that there wouldn’t be a legal adult at this house.”

“You mean; you would move out?” Isabel wondered.

“Not at first, but eventually I would. Now don’t get too excited about this. It won’t happen anytime soon. If you would keep it to yourselves, I would appreciate that.”

“We could take care of ourselves for a while, couldn’t we Michael?” Isabel asked me.

Ru-Roh!

“I think that what Katherine is saying ... is that she might stay over at his place, but be here when we came home from school, stuff like that.”

“Yes, of course. I am finding it more difficult all the time to see him for only an hour or two a day. I am afraid; he might do something really stupid during the school day. Something we could be caught at. Something I could get fired for.”

“With all the money he has access to,” Isabel said, “You could quit and spend all day together, couldn’t you?”

“I have made a promise to both principals that I am staying at my position for at least the next three years.”

“Three years ... then work for them and when you are done ... come work for me, as my Musical Director. I got enough money to keep you from becoming a gold-digger, in regards to Peter.”

“Then I would be your gold-digger, wouldn’t I?” she said with a cute smile on her face.

“I would make you work, young lady. I would pay you what you are really worth, which is about double what you are making right now. And yes, I would keep Peter around, if not as a singer, as your assistant who would work directly underneath you. How does that sound Twin Peaks?”

Isabel was giggling as my face was approaching Katherine’s very close.

“Twin Peaks ... how long have you been waiting to use that on me?”

“A while now, but I reserve the right to use it on Jenn and Tinker Bell in the future. Have we got a deal?”

She grabbed me and gave me quite the kiss, as I heard Jenn tell Isabel, “I think that means there is a deal in place. Get up you two, there are underage ladies here.”

I got up and they giggled. Jenn cleaned my face; apparently ... I had vestiges of Twin Peaks lip-gloss all over me.

She got up and said, “It’s time for bed, come on kids.”

“Since Peter isn’t here ... would you like a warm body next to you?”

Isabel pulled me away from her as I saw Katie’s eyes water up a little.

“Come on Michael, It’s time for bed,” Isabel said to me.

Jennifer walked in saying, “Katherine looks lonely, and I am going to join her. Can I trust you two?”

Isabel said, “Sure” way too quickly, but Jenn left us alone. Since TinkerBell has seen me in my boxers plenty of times, I stripped down to them then got into bed. She was already there. This felt so wonderful ... and so wrong at the same time.

We began to kiss and I scooted closer to her. “I love you Isabel Chapman.”

“I thought she would be upset, but she wasn’t. She really does trust you ... and love you.”

“It’s very late, school starts in seven hours.”

“Michael.”

“Yes Tinker Bell.”

“Don’t expect me to fall in love with anyone else ... Good-night.”

The next morning Jenn came in and cuddled me a little asking, “Anything I should know about, lover?”

“Nah, last night was perfect. I feel so unburdened like a new life has become alive inside of me.”

The braless young lady said, “We love each other too much for that to happen. You can be the mother of your children. I can be the doting aunt who occasionally gets to sleep alongside her big brother.”

“Get up Red, get to your room,” I told her.

“How can you be sure she won’t tell anyone?” Jennifer said.

“I just know it. I have faith, faith in you, and her and everyone I have ever met. Please, don’t make me feel bad over what happened last night. All of us seemed to have a wonderful time in other people beds.”

I left, stripped and went in the shower. She joined me caressing me from behind.

We walked out ready for breakfast.

“My goodness, everyone is smiling so big this morning. Is it safe to say we all got a good night’s sleep?”

We each responded differently, but positively.

“So ... On Monday we start every day during school practicing WICKED, while the GSS has performances tonight and tomorrow, then next Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis,” I said.

“We practice the new Firefighter set here Michael?” Isabel said.

“Yes, sweetie, that’s exactly right.”

“What’s different about it?” Katherine questioned bringing the poached eggs and open faced cheese toast to the table. The salt seems to be staying on the table now.

“Can I tell her, Michael?” my redhead asked.

“Go ahead,” I said.

“I have heard all the new songs Katherine,” Izzy said.

“First, well I don’t really know if it will be first or not, but there is a marvelous song from the fifties called “Smokey the Bear...”

She went on to tell about the songs and who was singing them.

After that, we went off to school. As we got out of the car, I took Isabel and said, “Sleeping together in the same bed would put me in jail if anyone were to find out. Do you understand what I am telling you?”

“Yes, I do ... lover.”

“ISABEL!”

“You are so adorable when you get rattled,” she said running off to her friends and the first class of the day. She is certainly growing into her corrected age. She wanted to stay with her friends until the school year is over, which isn’t that much longer.

I looked up and saw Jennifer grinning at me, “See what you did?”

With Jeremy helping, both orchestra classes did a fine job doing the WICKED music. He has done a remarkable job keeping them on task. He would stop and tell someone that they’re off on the count or the pitch. They seem to respect him. Good for that.

Quite fortunately, there was no let down between opening night and either of the other. The place wasn’t quite full on the final night, but we did sell just over 4,500 seats for the three-day run. At $25 a person or $65 a family, that turned into over $150,000. My arrangement with Principal McGowan was for 50% of the gross. We saw some of the same people at more than one of the performances. I hadn’t expected that.

We had a party in the concession area after the crowd had left. I gathered all of my singers together, “You were all extremely on top of your notes the whole run. Some people I would like to point our as remarkable would be Janice, Ally, Cece, Katherine and the most talented Clarice Hornicek.”

They all applauded.

“I could talk all night about you, all of you, but get some food. We’re headed to Indianapolis at the end of this next week. I plan to go up, perform, come back and have a really big slumber party.”

Everyone broke into sub groups and I found and made myself a plate of sliced beef, bread and butter. “Salt your steak honey,” Isabel said taking my arm.

“Yes dear, do you want your own plate, or would you like to share mine?”

“I love sharing with you Michael,” she said with her eyes glistening at me.

“Hey,” Jenn said sitting by us. “Wasn’t this fabulous?”

“Yes, Rose, Geena, and I get such a kick out of doing the Andrews Sisters music. Michael, could Jennifer and I sing something together at the Firefighters concert?”

“That sounds like a great idea. I will sleep on it and have something by tomorrow.”

Before we left the party, Isabel found Stuart and gave him a touch kiss on the lips. Oh my!

Sunday was a day of recuperating, sleeping in late and general laziness. I took a look through my collection and found a cute song for my two girls.

We had a GSS rehearsal at my house at the end of the school day on Monday. I called Ally to see if she could come to get us all using the bus. She said she had expected the call.

With Stuart coming separately, we now have 60 people and a 50 maximum bus, something I really never thought would happen. At least not so quickly. With the nicer weather, it should be a nice rehearsal.

Less than fifty minutes after leaving the school we were ready to begin. I handed out the booklet of the scores for the Firefighter songs. After giving them some time to look it over, I announced who was doing what.

“Jeff Newman, you are up first singing “The Dying Firefighter.”

“Thanks for the confidence Boss ... I don’t want to let you down,” he said.

“You haven’t yet, Jeff. Are you ready?”

“Pardon me if I cry while I am learning this. My mother’s Uncle Matthew died in the Second Tower.”

“I didn’t know that ... if you would rather not.”

“Let me sing with him,” Nancy said.

“Sure.”

“Is my orchestra ready?”

Mike responded, “Just give us the signal Boss...”

JEFF
I saw the plane hit the building
The flames and the
billowing smoke
I saw the glass, paper,
metal and stone
Everything shattered and broke
I was there with my people
Engine Company 24
We rushed into the building
Got as far as the 35th floor

NANCY
The black smoke and
the heat was like nothing
I’d seen in all of my years
With each step in
that blazing inferno
You could feel destiny near

In the midst of
the falling girders
The sheet rock and
God knows what else
I tried to find
the survivors
Those who made it
to the stairwells

BOTH
I carried the
wounded to safety
If that’s what you
might call the street
With bodies and
boulders and metal
All crashing down
by your feet

As Number two
was collapsing
When only ten
floors still stood
Everything was
falling around me
Like it was made out of
cardboard and wood

JEFF (already close to tears)
It was just then I heard someone
Trapped underneath the debris
I started pulling at something
And that’s when the fire got me...

Nancy took over as Jeff couldn’t hold back his weeping

I was pinned
‘neath the rubble
And the flames
were licking my coat
And the pain,
the unbearable agony
And then that was
all that she wrote
But I just wish I could tell you
Before I am taken away
That I have seen
a lot of this world
And there’s something
that I gotta say

Jeff had it back together

BOTH
I don’t believe in politics
I believe in the human race
I believe in the
goodness of people
In New York or
some far-away place

JEFF
I believe in my daughter
And I believe in my wife
And may nobody’s
father be taken
To avenge the loss of my life
Some people may call
me a brave man
And this may very well be
But the firefighters of Kabul
Are just as brave men as me

(Jason played the acoustic guitar alone behind the singing siblings.)

Everyone loved the emotion as they held each other tight.

“Are you alright, Jeff?” I asked.

“Fine ... I am fine Michael.” Nan took him to sit down.

I walked over to Andrea and Brigitte, “Ladies, I would love you both to play some kind of contra melody to the vocal melody. If you can, come up with something on your own.”

“Do you want bowed or pizzicato?” Andrea asked.

“I would prefer bowed,” I said.

“Next is a song for my mother and me. Janice, come up, please? This is called The Fireman’s Prayer.”

She did.

“I would like you to sing low dissonant harmony to my melody, could you try that for me, gorgeous?”

“So you want a Janis Joplin sort of sound?”

“Exactly, you can do that?”

“Come on honey, we’re wasting daylight.”

Everyone got a chuckle out of that.

I went to my keyboard; Jason started this...

MICHAEL
When I am called to duty, God,
Wherever flames may rage,
Give me strength to save a life,
Whatever be its age.

JANICE joined in
Help me embrace a little child
Before it is too late,
Or to save an older person from
The horror of that fate.

Three violins join in.

MICHAEL
Enable me to be alert,
And hear the weakest shout
And to quickly and efficiently
To put the fire out.

BOTH
I want to fill my calling,
And to give the best in me,
to guard my friends
and neighbors,
and protect their
life and property.

Musical break featuring only Ginny the 1^st violinist.

BOTH
I want to fill my calling,
And to give the best in me,
to guard my friends
and neighbors,
and protect their
life and property.

MICHAEL
And if according to my faith
I am to lose my life
Please God with
your protecting hand
Please watch my
children and my wife

BOTH Amen...

That final note was so much fun to sing with my mother. We hugged and gave each other a kiss.

“I need Zoe, Rose, Geena, Isabel, Martha, Lily and Anna, please?”

With Rose and Isabel taking the lead, they sang “Smokey the Bear,” causing everyone to sing along and stand and applauds when it was over.

Everyone loved that, with all of them giving a curtsey to the other singers after it was complete. I gave Rose and Isabel a light touch kiss on the lips.

“Mister Sam Choate, come on up.”

“I know this song, sir,” he said.

“Great, I was going to sing this song myself, so belt it whenever you feel so inclined.”

“Yes ... Sir,” he said getting into position.

Not only did he sing the hell out of it, he dropped to his knee as he finished the song. It was the very best he ever sang anything that I have heard.

As the other performers stood up, I went over and helped him up, and took him to his chair. Mary Mitchell went to his side to comfort him.

I really hadn’t thought it through that some of my people knew someone who was affected by the events of 911.

“Let’s take a break, why don’t we?” I said.

I walked up to Isabel and Jenn, “Did I take my pill this morning? I don’t remember.”

“Take one now,” Jennifer said. “Get back on schedule in the morning. Feeling OK?”

“Yeah, that just crept into my mind.” Isabel was back with a pill and a water lickety-split. I took the pill and drained the water.

“Careful, or you may become a fish, Sweetie,” Izzy said. “I remember a story when I was little about a boy who wanted to become a fish and he never turned back into a human again.”