Chapter 4: I Can See It Moving

‘I dreamt about everything that Kerry and I had done,’ Cliff said. ‘Then I dreamt that Garry and I were naked and playing with each other. I fired and went to sleep very happy. But the next morning I felt a bit ashamed about including Garry.’

‘What happened?’ Lewis asked. ‘I arrived at Kerry’s just as his dad was dropping him off. He seemed happy enough. We walked up the path and as we reached the door, I turned to him and said, ‘I’ve missed seeing you.’ ‘Me too,’ he said, ‘I keep remembering that lovely hug you gave me on our first lesson.’ ‘Would you like another one?’ I asked. When he said, ‘Yes please.’ I opened my arms, and we hugged.’

‘How do you feel being here tonight?’ I asked. ‘I’ve been looking forward to it,’ he said smiling at me, ‘I’ve got to feel so close to you.’ ‘You know what that means, don’t you.’ I asked. ‘No.’ he said looking puzzled. ‘It means that you and I have become very special friends.’ I told him. He beamed and hugged me again. ‘That’s lovely,’ he said, ‘I’ll think of you as my big brother.’ ‘That would be nice,’ I said, ‘That means I can think of you as my younger brother.’

‘I rang the bell, and we went in. In the studio Kerry said, ‘Strip down to your underpants, then you can each do a solo on the stage.’ As we stripped off, Kerry said, ‘It hasn’t escaped my notice that you two have become good friends.’

‘So tonight, sing your best to show your friend how much you’ve improved. Garry, you go first please.’ As Garry went over to the stage, I assumed that as we were both in our underpants, Garry hadn’t been naked for his lessons. For some reason that pleased me.’

‘Was that relief for Garry, or were you pleased that you had a closer relationship with Kerry?’ Lewis asked. Cliff had to think for a while. ‘Some of each.’ I think he answered honestly.

‘Anyway, Garry sang well. His voice still didn’t sound very strong, but his singing and his confidence had clearly improved considerably. I clapped and when he came back over to us, I told him so. He came straight to me and hugged me. ‘Thank you.’ he said.’

‘Hugging each other in just our underpants gave me strange feelings down below. I was glad I had my back to them as I walked over to the stage. As I stood on the stage, I was still firm but not fully hard. I just hoped they couldn’t tell from the other side of the room.’

‘Kerry started playing and I did my usual thing of putting my brain in Olivers place. I sang to my heart’s content and as I finished both Garry and Kerry clapped enthusiastically.’

‘When I came back to them, Garry said, ‘That was amazing.’ I gave him a hug, then went over and gave Kerry one too. ‘Thank you, both of you.’ I said.’

‘We stood side by side by the piano then Kerry took us up and down scales. Next, he took Garry through ‘Consider Yourself’ which Garry would be singing early on with the rest of the boys. ‘Join in if you can,’ Kerry told me.’

‘That sounded good.’ he said at the end. We did another solo each then Kerry said, ‘There’s fifteen minutes before Garry gets picked up and I’ve got some things to do in the kitchen. So, Cliff you go and sit in the armchair please.’

‘I heard him talking to Garry as I went, then Kerry left the room. Garry came over to me and hesitated, looking uncertain a couple of feet away. ‘What’s up?’ I asked. ‘Kerry told me to come over and sit on your knee so we could enjoy our friendship.’ he said.’

‘Well, that’s fine with me,’ I told him. His face lit up. ‘Really, that’s great I wasn’t sure if you’d mind.’ ‘Come here little brother,’ I said holding my arms open. He got up on my knee and snuggled into me. I put an arm around his shoulder.’

‘As you grow up, I told him sounding so ancient, there will be lots of things that happen to you, new feelings and thoughts and events. Sometimes you need to talk to someone about them but can’t because you’re too embarrassed. I am now not only your brother, but I’m the only person you’ve sung a solo with dressed in nothing but your underpants. So, if you can’t ask me who can you ask?’

‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘I’d like that. I haven’t sat on anyone’s knee for years,’ he told me, ‘It feels lovely.’ ‘You’re probably a bit old for doing it now,’ I said, ‘But if you like it, so what, no one else is going to know about it and I certainly like you being there.’

‘I’ve got lots of things that I’d like to ask you about,’ he said. Just then Kerry stuck his head round the door and called, ‘Time to get dressed now.’ We got dressed and went out into the hall just as Kerry came out of the kitchen.’

‘Did you enjoy sitting together?’ he asked. Before I could answer Garry said, ‘Yes it was lovely, thank you.’ ‘Would you like to do that each time you come?’ he asked. ‘Yes, please.’ we both said together. ‘Ok,’ he said, ‘Consider it so.’

‘We each gave him a hug and thanked him. As the door closed behind us Garry said, ‘It was so lovely, I’ll be dreaming I’m sitting on your knee when I’m in bed tonight.’ ‘Well don’t let yourself get too excited,’ I told him, giving him a grin. He went very red, then we got in the car. They dropped me off on their way home.’

‘How did the next week go?’ Lewis asked. ‘I did another couple of sessions with Kerry, singing naked. Then on the Friday it was audition night. The chairman decided the auditions for Oliver would take place first.’

‘Garry and I were introduced to Leopold, the boy from the other group. He was with his dad. At thirteen, he was around our size in height but had a bit more padding. He seemed reluctant to shake hands when we were introduced and looked generally miserable.’

‘Whilst the three of us were waiting away from everyone else, I said to him, ‘You don’t seem very happy to be here.’ ‘I’m not,’ he said, ‘It’s my parents, I’m always getting pushed into parts I don’t want.’ ‘That’s rough,’ I told him. ‘I felt sad for him, but it crossed my mind that if he wasn’t happy, it might reflect in his singing.’

‘Then he told me he had had four solo singing parts in shows. That didn’t sound encouraging. Anyway, the auditions started, and Garry went first. Kerry started playing and I smiled and gave a thumbs up to Garry.’

‘Garry sang perfectly and as he finished, everyone clapped. Leopold said quietly to me, ‘He’s good.’ Leopold was called next. I said, ‘Good luck,’ as he got up and he just grunted, ‘Ta.’ as he headed for the stage.’

‘He seemed very confident on stage and his voice sounded stronger than Garry’s but whether it was his attitude or just wishful thinking on my part, he didn’t sound all that good to me.’

‘When he’d finished, he went straight over to sit by his dad. Then I was called. Since the chairman and casting director had heard me sing the once, no one in the group other than Garry and Kerry had heard me sing.’

‘I walked onto the stage feeling nervous, but excited. I knew it was all down to me now. Kerry gave me a smile and a nod then started playing the introduction. I turned to face the sea of faces looking up at me.’

‘I let my brain go off into Fagin’s loft, then made myself think how sad I’d feel if I had no one to love me. The introduction finished, I took a deep breath and burst into song.’

‘As I sang, I had to remember not to look happy. It was difficult, because obviously this song is a plea from the heart of an abandoned child. As I came to the end and the music faded away, there was silence. The audience were just looking at me.’

‘Then they all burst into applause. I spotted Garry clapping like mad. He broke off to give me a thumbs up and a big beam. I noticed even Leopold was clapping, although his dad wasn’t. I think he was the only one.’

‘As I went down from the stage and over to Garry, the chairman, casting director, Kerry and two others went into a huddle. Then a couple of minutes later the chairman came to the mike. ‘Well, I’m sure you’ll agree that was a stiring performance from all three contenders.’ he said.’