Chapter 15

That garnered her a very nice applause. I thanked her, asking Richard to come up with his music.

He handed me a Piano-guitar score of ANYTHING GOES, asking me to play “It’s De-Lovely”...

RICHARD YOUNG
The night is young,
the skies are clear
And if you want
to go walkin’, dear
It’s delightful, it’s
delicious, it’s de-lovely

I understand
the reason why
You’re sentimental,
‘cause so am I
It’s delightful, it’s
delicious,
It’s de-lovely

(Man, he is a natural!)

You can tell
at a glance
what a swell night
this is for romance
You can hear, dear
Mother Nature
murmuring
low “Let yourself go”
So please be sweet,
my chickadee
And when I kiss ya,
just say to me
“It’s delightful,
it’s delicious,
it’s delectable,
it’s delirious,
It’s dilemma,
it’s de limit,
it’s deluxe,
it’s de-lovely”

“That’s wonderful, I heard enough. You made the cut, Richard.” What an entertainer he was for only twelve years old. I saw Will holding Nancy tight.

Jeffrey came up without being asked, handing me a complete score to THE BOOK OF MORMON, music, I hadn’t heard before.

“If you haven’t already, make sure you each fill out an audition sheet. My girlfriend, April and my brother Williams’ girlfriend, Nancy, will hand them out to you. I will need them filled out before you leave today.”

“Does that mean you aren’t going to make a decision today?” Richard asked.

“I’m holding to the idea of talking with my existing Love Family Singers, as we decide who to keep and who not to. This isn’t meant to anguish anyone, I need you all to understand, OK?”

Everybody nodded their heads.

“Which song, Jeffrey?”

“‘I Believe,’ please?”

I looked it over a bit putting it on my synths built-in stand.

“Whenever you are ready, Jeff?”

“I crossed out the parts you can skip, Mike,” he said...

JEFFREY YOUNG
Ever since I was a child
I tried to be the best...
So what happened?
My family and friends
all said I was blessed...
so what happened?

It was supposed to
be all so exciting.
To be teaching of
Christ across the sea.
But I allowed my faith
to be shaken-
Oh, what’s the
matter with me?
I’ve always longed
to help the needy.
To do the things
I never dared.
This was the time
for me to step up.
So then, why was
I so scared?
A warlord that shoots
people in the face.
What’s so scary about that?
I must trust that
my Lord is mightier,
And always has my back.
Now I must be
completely devout
I can’t have even
one shred of doubt!

What a talent! This song needs a full orchestra.{br}

I believe
That the Lord God
created the universe.
I believe
That he sent his only
son to die for my sins.
And I believe
That ancient Jews
built boats and sailed
to America.
I am a Mormon.
And a Mormon
just believes.

You cannot just
believe part-way.
You have to
believe in it all.
My problem
was doubting
the Lord’s will.
Instead of standing tall.
I can’t allow myself
to have any doubt.
It’s time to set
my worries free.
Time to show the world
What Elder Price is about.
And share the
power inside of me!

(WOW!!)

I believe
That God has a
plan for all of us.
I believe
That plan involves
Me getting my
own planet.
And I believe
That the current
President of the church,
Thomas Monson,
speaks, directly to God.
I am a Mormon and, dang it,
A Mormon just believes.
I cut him off, thanking him. WHAT A TALENT, GEEZ! Everybody there who hadn’t been standing, were by the end of that song.

“From my existing members, not counting Nevina, who wants to add both brothers to the Love Family Singers?”

Every hand went up, and I welcomed them both in.

“Mary, please come to the keyboard?” I asked getting up.

She got up, and sat down, taking out a cloth from her small purse, and first cleaned off all the keys. She looked up and said to me, “Germs, Michael!”

I got out my songbook from BRIGADOON and asked her to play its Overture as best she could. She removed my music holder and took my small keyboard, moving it to on top of my new one, and turned it on.

Why hadn’t I thought of that?

She was quite good, if not better than I and it was really good and over much too quickly. Applause was immediate and she got up and bowed to everyone.

“I have another keyboard we could add, Michael, if you want?”

My response was to put my hand up and I got a nice high five from our new backup keyboardist.

Also up was my April, who declared, “Michael, why don’t we just add all of these fabulous ladies to our group. Having all of these great looking Moms, Sisters and Aunts, would make our sound unique, don’t you think?”

“All in favor?” she said, raising her hand as did I! I love it when she is aggressive!

It was unanimous, and the five Ryan Sisters, came up and I had them sing “God Bless America” together, and they were really wonderful, with the occasional harmony.

After that, I asked up the three DeMille Sisters and had them sing the same thing. Again, destiny seemed to be driving this day.

That made a group of:

Five male singers plus Me
Four female singers
Eight adult female singers
And three female instrumentalists

“Unless we get a small school bus like THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY, we need another vehicle to travel to our gigs in,” I said to everyone in the room.

“Michael,” Kathleen, Nevins’s just younger sister said. “We have one of those ten seat vans. I’m certain my hubby would let us use it as much as necessary. He’s got a Beemer!”

“OK, next question, will everyone be available to rehearse at least two times a week, starting this coming Monday?”

“The reason is, we have a gig this coming Saturday night, and I will not be able to renegotiate the money for it. I will send you the complete list of our musical inventory. That’s another reason for everyone to fill out the audition forms.”

“May I please speak to the two sets of older sisters in the kitchen, please?”

April got up, and I said, “Not you, Honey, please?”

She crossed her arms and said, “Well, OK!”

It was a bit intimidating, as I walked in the kitchen. “Ladies, this is a very sensitive subject, but the reason we got such a positive response last night, was because Nevina and Sarah were not only singing beautifully, but they were also ... physically evocative enough to make most of the boys all go home with boners.”

They all giggled at that, although my mother did give me a slight slap on the top of my head.

“I deserved that, I know. While we don’t have the money to help, could you please find a dress design and coloration you could agree on, in time for our first big all-inclusive mini-concert on Saturday, June 18?”

Tara, Nevins’s second youngest sister said, “Big sister told us about that, Michael. No nipples showing, correct?”

For a split second, I just envisioned hers, and then I said, “Please, no nipples, my dear!”

“He is so ... charming,” Tara said.

Her twin Leah agreed, and I left the kitchen before it got weird!

I walked back in to find the Nicholas girls on the Love brothers laps, with Rich and Jeff both talking to Mary as she sat at the keyboard.

I walked over and asked, “You have a younger sister, Nancy. Does she sing or play an instrument, Mary?”

“Actually, Michael, she plays both the saxophone and the flute. Do you want me to bring her to our Monday rehearsal?”

“Yes, please, I would like that, with both instruments. All of you please notice that the Nicholas Girls and the Love Brothers are tantamount to ‘not available,’ so please no flirting is allowed, even between brothers and sisters, Richard.”

He blushed, as I suspected. “Sorry Boss, no flirting with my pretty sister, got it!”

Thirty minutes later, the house was empty, back down to the Love Family Dozen, minus our dads.

“FOOD’S READY! Came from the kitchen, and MYOBurgers and fries were the meal de jure.

All of my brothers got the chairs for their counterparts, as did I. Our mothers are quite the team together.

“Michael made some new friends with my sisters today,” Nevina said.

I got quite a look from April, as I quickly made myself a cheese burger and put it in my mouth.

“Izzy and Liv seemed to take a shine to him as well,” my mother said pushing the dagger a bit deeper. “Liv has two daughters, Maddie and Andrea, if you want more girls, Michael?”

Pushing back, and able to speak, “I should’ve asked this when everyone was still here, but with Mary as an additional keyboardist, are there any other cousins, aunts and uncles who play an instrument?”

“Actually,” my Mother said, “Martha Marigold, my sister Christine’s oldest, plays drums, from what I understand.”

My phone rang, “Hello, this is Michael Love?”

“July 4^th? You need The Love Family Singers on the Fourth of July?”

“For how many hours?”

“Four. Four on the Fourth. Haha, that’s cute!”

“How much ... one moment please?” I put her on hold!

“Sarah, Nevina, if we have our whole new group, how much is too much to charge?”

“One thousand per hour, with four hours for only, $3,500,” came from Nevins’s mouth!

“Really?”

Taking her off hold, I quoted the exact price I was just told, and the woman said, “No problem,” as I asked her to text to the same phone number the address and time of the event.

“Thank you, Mrs. Fischer. We will indeed load up the set with patriotic music. If you want us after those four hours, each hour will be $1,000 each in cash, again, thank you?”

The second I ended the call, there was a big whoop, and I got a very big kiss from my girl.

“Mrs. Fischer; was that Greg Fischer’s wife?” my mother asked.

“Who is Greg Fischer, Sarah?” I asked

“I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him, Michael,” she said. “He is the Mayor of Louisville. His wife is Dr. Alexandra Gerassimides. Somebody from that party last night is either related to them or told them of your performance under pressure. He is speculated to be running for Governor in 2024 against the incumbent, Republican Matt Bevin. You have hit the mother lode, potentially, young man.”

That gave April another reason, to give me a great big kiss. That got each of my brothers one each from their girls.

I got the pertinent details, from Dr. Gerassimides, prompting me to ask, “How do you address a woman who is a doctor?”

“Slap him on the back of his head, April,” her mother said.

“So, it’s Dr. Gerassimides, is that what you so elegantly explained?” I said rubbing the back of my head.

“Poor baby,” April said to me.

“Last question, before I go lock myself in my room,” I said. “Would you each come up with five songs we don’t have, that you would like to learn and include. We need, at least eighty more songs. No obscene lyrics is my only condition, and I will choose who sings what, regardless of who came up with the song!”