Chapter 3

We methodically went through all of my music, finding only a few songs she really liked:

‘I’ll Never Fall in Love Again’ and
‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’

Plus, ‘April Love’ and ‘Hallelujah’

“Do any of your sisters sing as well as you do?” I asked her.

“Mary does. Do you want me to ask her to come over?” she asked, flashing those red eyelashes and perfectly dimpled smile at me.

“Only if it’s OK with you and Charles,” was my response.

Using my phone, she called home and asked to speak to Mary, then hung up.

“What’s going on, pretty girl?” I asked.

“She’s already over here, probably wherever Charles is. I’ll just listen for William screaming again,” she said with a big grin on her face.

“You find her, and I need to talk to my dad again, for a moment,” I said kissing her behind the ear and heading downstairs.

I found Dad in the kitchen nuzzling up behind Mom, so I cleared my throat.

“Yes, Michael,” he said, not moving.

“I have had that same keyboard for a while. I was wondering if it might be time to replace it with something with a bigger sound to it,” I asked. “Especially, if we are playing for such an auspicious event.”

“How much are we talking about, Michael?” he asked, as I heard my mother giggling to whatever it was he was doing.

“April is getting her sister Mary to possibly join us, and I need a bigger sound to accompany both of them. The bottom of the line full-size keyboard is about $280 and top o’the line can be $1,000 or possibly more.”

“Are you asking me for $1,000, Michael?”

“No, Sir, I am not. I am simply giving you the range so I could accommodate whatever you could do to help.”

“Is this because of April, did she send you down here to get money from your old man?” He asked, moving from Mom and sitting down across from me.

“This is only about April, because we both want you to be proud of us when the band after us gets less applause than we will!”

Smirking, he pulled out his wallet and handed me back the card I used earlier, saying, “Spend as much as you need without being wasteful. With a nicer keyboard, you guys could possibly perform all summer, couldn’t you?”

“Yeah ... we could. Does that mean we could find some gigs on our own?”

“One thing at a time, Mr. Love,” he said. “Let me know how much you spent, and leave us alone, please?”

Maybe William won’t be the youngest Love child?

I heard my girls’ voice, “Oh, Michael, where art thou?”

I followed the Shakespearean call up the stairs and into my room, where Charles and Mary were as well. They were making out on my bed. I mean kissing, of course.

They sat up, with her fixing her hair a little, with a giggle. “April tells me you want me to sing with her in front of lots of people. Michael, I don’t know if I can do that or not?”

“Can’t you sing?” I asked.

“You should hear her voice,” my proud sounding younger brother said, “Sing something for him, why don’t you, please, Mary?”

I got up and sat in front my almost former keyboard, asking “What do you know, Miss Nicholas?”

That made her giggle, as April handed her one of my songbooks to look through.

“Can you play anything in this book?” she asked me.

“Yes miss, I can. Charles open the door, there is a rule in this house, no matter how horny you may be!”

He smiled big and both girls giggled but said nothing.

The book of music she was looking through was the ‘Best of Adele,’ and I liked all of her songs, so when she selected ‘Set Fire to The Rain,’ I infinitesimally jumped for joy, and started to play it...

MARY NICHOLAS
I let it fall, my heart
And as it fell,
you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you kissed my lips
and you saved me
My hands, they’re strong
But my knees
were far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet
But there’s a side to you
that I never knew, never knew
All the things you’d say,
they were never true, never true
And the games you play,
you would always win,
always win

But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I
touched your face
Let it burn while I cry
‘Cause I heard it screaming
out your name, your name

(She has a marvelous voice!)

When I lay with you
I could stay there,
close my eyes
Feel you here, forever
You and me together,
nothing is better

‘Cause there’s a side to you
that I never knew, never knew
All the things you’d say,
they were never true, never true
And the games you’d play,
you would always
win, always win

But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I
touched your face
Let it burn while I cried
‘Cause I heard it screaming
out your name, your name

I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
And I felt somethin’ die,
‘cause I knew that
That was the last time,
the last time

Sometimes I wake
up by the door
That heart you caught
must be waiting for you
Even now when
we’re already over
I can’t help myself
from looking for you

I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as
I touched your face
Let it burn while I cried
‘Cause I heard it
screaming out your
name, your name

I set fire to the rain
And I threw us
into the flames
And I felt somethin’ die
‘Cause I knew that that
was the last time,
the last time, oh

Oh, no
Let it burn, oh
Let it burn
Let it burn