The Singer and Her Arranger

When they entered the studio area, they saw a wall with Grammy awards lined up, hanging on a wall. Their collective jaws dropped at the sight.

Linda, the bass player, whispered to Sid, "You didn't tell us about these!"

"We didn't come up here the other night, honest. I didn't know about them."

They approached the recording room, where they could see a sound engineer operating the equipment. It was a very modern, complete board, entirely digital, instead of the old sliders and knobs to control the recording process.

Further in, beyond the second set of glass windows, they could see Charlie playing a grand piano, along with a cellist, a violin and a viola, and finally a singer. There were mics all over the room recording the musicians.

Karen went up to the window and flipped a switch to allow the women to listen in to the recording taking place.

They listened for a minute, when Heather, the keyboard player, recognized the song.

"Isn't that music that Julia Roberts was listening to in the movie, 'Pretty Woman'?"

"Yes, good ear and memory. What do you play?"

Heather lightly blushed, "I'm the keyboard player," she admitted.

Karen nodded, "Yes. That is 'Un bel di, vedremo', an aria from Madama Butterfly by Puccini. Very famous, and I think, well sung, make almost everyone cry.

"It is one of a selection of Puccini arias that this group is recording. Charlie brought them together. Do you recognize the soprano, Melissa Bretton? She was one of the finalists on one of the big national talent shows. The string players are a famous string trio out of San Francisco, and of course there is Charlie. This recording will very likely be a wildly popular best-selling album — by classical music standards!"

She laughed, "Of course, it will only sell a small percent of the albums you do with Charlie.

But it will probably earn him another Grammy. He does albums like this one to keep his hand in the classical music world.

"I teach Melissa. Obviously, her voice is already outstanding, so I work with her more on the nuances of interpretation and help her learn the standard repertoire."

After the explanation, everyone went silent, just listening to the beautiful music.

Soon they were finished for the day. The string players were packing away their instruments. Melissa was standing just behind Charlie and they were both looking at a music score on the music stand of the piano. She had her hands on Charlie's shoulders while she stood there. Then they stopped and Charlie and Melissa walked out of the recording room, she tight against his chest, and he, with his arm around her waist.

When they emerged into the outer room, Melissa gave Charlie a chaste kiss and then bid him goodbye as she left with Karen.

Charlie turned and walked over to Sid and her compatriots to greet them.

Sid had watched his interaction with Melissa and was frankly feeling a bit jealous and hurt.

He shook hands with each of Sid's band members, calling each by their name, letting them know he remembered each and every one of them. When he came to Sid, he looked at her eyes and how her face had hardened.

He quietly told her, "You and I will talk privately later, Okay? Now, we need to get to work."

The next couple of hours were spent with the band, getting to know how Charlie's studio was set up and how to achieve the best sound for their music.

After that, they began to practice "The First Flower..." with the background music that Charlie had composed/arranged. He had made additional progress on the music in the past two days, and the band was impressed with the sound, in the studio, and even more when they heard the playback. The sound engineer, who Charlie used, was a true expert, taking what started as good music and making it even better. The multichannel recordings were also saved, so that any of the parts could be reused, or redone. Charlie's studio had a very flexible system.

When they were finished, several of the women in the band had questions.

"Charlie? I had some theory in class," asked Heather, "but how do you come up with some of the chords that you use? And how do you know when to substitute? I'd like to learn more about how you do that."

"First, I have books as well as a PDF file on my computer, that shows most of the chords associated with any major or minor chord. And if you look online, you'll find a lot of people who teach about possible substitutions. Some of them even have online classes that you can take."

"What are all these Grammy's? I mean, who ever heard of a Grammy for 'Best instrumental Arrangement for a Vocalist?" Linda, the bassist asked. She had been playing professionally for the shortest time.

Charlie laughed.

"There are about 100 different categories for just about everything, and that is after they've gotten rid of about 100 more categories! But mine are for composing, arranging, and for songs and albums that I either arranged, or arranged and produced. And I've gotten them for classical albums, pop songs — a bunch of things. But don't get overwhelmed by them. Your band will probably get a couple for this album, like best new Country or Pop album, maybe a best song. Then you'll have your own vanity wall!"

When it was time for the band to leave and go back to their rental house, Charlie asked Sid to stay a while, and told them that he would bring her back.

Sid was clearly still a little miffed at him. They went down to the first floor and sat down in two overstuffed chairs looking at each other.

"Sid, why are you unhappy? Not because of Melissa, is it?"

"Yes, it is. Two nights ago, I was naked in your spa, sleeping down the hall just waiting for you to knock in the door, and today, you are hugging and kissing some other woman RIGHT IN FRONT of me!"

"For one thing, she kissed me, unassisted. In fact, I think it was done intentionally to tweek you. And if you get upset every time you see me hugging or being hugged by a woman, you will be upset a LOT! But it doesn't mean anything. Or seeing some guy giving you a hug, or you kissing some guy on his cheek after a performance? If you are in the entertainment industry, you'll have to develop a thicker skin.

"But do you see what I was talking about the other night? Could we maintain a relationship without being angry with each other all the time?

"What about when you are on the road with handsome, sexy men making passes at you all the time? Could you resist over time? Or, for that matter, what about when you are on the road, and I'm working with attractive women out here while you're gone?"

Sid sat there for a while, quiet and introspective.

"I see what you mean," Sid finally spoke. "But I think that I would still want to try."

"Maybe you could arrange to do it like you did for Maddi in Vegas. You could come on the road with us and do your work remotely."

Charlie just shook his head, realizing that Sid didn't understand that he couldn't do his work, moving his studio every day or two. Or that he needed to have face-to-face interaction with his clients.

"Sid, I did virtually all of the work on Maddi's show here, in the studio. What I was doing up there was just rehearsing for the show, getting the musicians ready, making sure that the plan worked out in practice. But the music work was all finished before I went up there."

"Well, I don't think that we will settle this today. Let's get some dinner and I'll take you back to your place."

Of course, it didn't work out that way, and Sid ended up staying over in the guest room suite.

Over the next six weeks, Charlie worked and practiced with Sid and her band. As often as not, Sid ended up staying at Charlie's 'Convent' as they called it. Charlie and Sid were becoming close, good friends, a lot of kissing and petting, but Charlie was steadfastly refusing to go all the way.

It finally boiled over with Sid one day.

"Charles! I know that you were hurt in the past, but what happened? You have to tell me, because I'm getting impatient with you. I can't show you that we can work it out if you won't tell me what you are avoiding."

Charlie knew this was serious. Sidney had called him 'Charles', something no one did. So, he replied.

"Okay, SIDNEY. I'll tell you, but I don't think that it is anything that you can change or make better.

"Years ago, when I started working with," and then he said the name of a singer who Sid immediately recognized, "it started out like it did with us. She was chasing me, and, since I was a young and naïve, and a bundle of male hormones, I immediately fell for her. We had a torrid affair while I was arranging her music and going through the process of putting out her first album. She wasn't completely unknown at the time, but she was definitely not a music legend yet.

"So not only did I shepherd her through — incidentally, my first Grammy was for arranging the music for her album — but because she was such a newbie, and I thought that she didn't have the money to pay, so I didn't have a contract with her and I didn't charge her up front for my work. I thought that we would be going forward together, and the money wouldn't matter. We would be a team.

"But it turned out a bit, well, different.

"After the album was cut with the orchestra and mixed, I came home the next day to find she was gone. Like, not a sign of her remaining.

"I tried to get in touch with her, if nothing else to ask her why she left me and to get paid. I ended up talking to a lawyer I didn't know she had, who let me know that oral contracts aren't worth the paper that they are printed on. Therefore, whereas, and a bunch of legal terms to say: no payoff. And she let everyone know that she didn't want to see or talk to me — she completely ghosted me.

"In fact, I found out, I heard it on the grapevine, so to speak, that she had returned to a boyfriend, who I also didn't know about. That she was telling everyone how she took advantage of me, that I was stupid, and a little pussy could get me to do anything.

"There were two good things that came out from that album.

"I did get a Grammy for arranging the music. It also got the 'Best Pop Album' that year, but I refused to stand there with her for photos afterwards. Frankly, I also got a big boost, with a lot of people groups, including Maddi, wanting to work with me. I also had a lot of offers from women who thought that all they needed to do was wave their pussies in my face, and I would make them a star. Well, that didn't work!" He laughed a bitter low laugh.

"The other, really weird thing, was, that she came back asking me to work on her next album! I mean what cajones! The chutzpa that woman had! I laughed at her, right in her face. If you remember, her second album was highly criticized for not matching the quality of her first. Even Herb agreed (at the cost of his commission) that I shouldn't do it. By the way — he also stopped representing her.

"The other thing was, after the story of what she had done to me got around, people would still work with her, but they were very cautious and made sure that any agreements with her were airtight. They also charge her top dollar; even today, years later.

"So there you have it, my sad story of being screwed, used and abused.

"And since then, I've made it my policy to completely separate my work and business from my private, and especially, my romantic life. In fact, you have gotten deeper into my defenses that anyone else since that time.

"But you and I both know what the next six months is going to be like for you and the band. They release the album; you go on a national, or even international, tour. Television shows, famous venues, moving from place to place on an almost daily basis. No place for a boyfriend or husband, waiting for you back at the hotel."

Charlie looked sad as he said that to Sid, and she could see why he couldn't see himself attached to another musician like her.

They spent the rest of the day together, and they held each other tightly as they kissed, both of them wondering if this might be the last time that they could be with each other. Worse, they knew they were just being realistic.

Life goes on.

~~** Can't help falling in love... **~~

Things went more or less the way that Charlie had predicted.

Once the album was released, it became a best seller. After all, even before they cut the album, Precious Jewels had two million followers on social media, so venues filled up quickly. They were now the headliners and other, less well-known bands opened for them.

Charlie had arranged the music that they were playing on tour a little differently than the full orchestra that had been used in the studio. He cut down the number of instruments to a minimum (after all, the band was paying for them.) They had three players who were on the bus with them all the time — another keyboardist who had a sophisticated synthesizer that could have multiple pre-sets for the live concerts, a brass guy, who primarily played the trumpet, but could also double on flugelhorn and baritone horn, and a woodwind play who played sax, flute, or clarinet as needed. They were all extremely good players, very professional. Charlie had picked them out himself.

Then, they would hire string players for each venue, as few as a half-a-dozen, to twenty, depending on the venue. They would also hire a local conductor to keep everyone on the same beat. They would practice once in the morning prior to the show, once in the afternoon, and then have the performance that night. They would usually play two to three nights at a particular venue, before heading on to the next town.

When he could, like at the Hollywood Bowl, or when they played at 'The Lakes," or one of the major casinos in Vegas, Charlie would make it up for the show. He and Sid would try to make time for each other, but it was tight and time was limited. They would have breakfast or lunch, and sometimes they could spend some time together after the show. But that didn't always work out, because Sid and the band was expected to spend time socializing and doing photo ops with the VIPs and local bigwigs at parties after the shows.

Charlie and Sid spent time on the phone, or video chatting with each other, but that was hardy satisfying. And since the band traveled from city to city at night, they were on the bus, where there wasn't much privacy.

Otherwise, Charlie tried to catch their shows when he could on pay-per-view, or even had Herb send digital recordings over the 'net. He even became a 'follower' on social media, just to see the short clips that were posted.

But even as he watched, he was regretting that they hadn't made love, or even if it didn't work out, at least tried to commit to each other. And that was completely his own fault. Sid was willing, but he was too stubborn.

Damn, he was realizing, he had fallen in love with that woman, and he missed her more each day. He sat there in his office looking at the photos that had been taken of Sid and him at Maddi's party. She was so beautiful. But her beauty was deeply embedded in her soul, not just the superficial layer on the surface.

Plus, even though he had told Sid she needed to 'get a thick skin', he was getting upset every time he saw the sax player and Sid having one of those interactions on stage, where they would get close to each other and look into each other's eyes, and act as if they were emotionally close. He had almost called the sax player to tell him to back off with Sid, when he realized that once the song was over, they each returned to their place on the stage, and there were no other signs of anything special between them.

Even worse were some of the photos and video of Sid and other men at the after the show parties. Hugs, kisses, her eyes looking bright and happy. He was steaming, even though he thought he knew better. It's just the way the entertainment industry is.

It was depressing. It was so depressing that his work was suffering. In fact, he was feeling so depressed about it, that he had stopped taking any new work. He just couldn't get his heart into it.

It got to the point, that Herb showed up, without any announcement, at Charlie's one day.

"Charlie, you know that you are almost like a son to me.." Herb started.

"No, I'm not, Herb. I'm more like a cash cow to you."

They both laughed, which was more than Charlie had done for a long time.

"Okay, so maybe I exaggerate. But, even money aside, I like you. I like to think of you as a friend and not just a client.

"You finished the album with Melissa singing the Verdi and Puccini arias, but that you could do in your sleep. Since then, you haven't been even making any effort. I mean, I've brought you at least three good projects, and, what? Nothing!"

Charlie objected, "I haven't turned them down! I just haven't been able to motivate myself to get them going."

"Well, we both know what the problem is, and it's Sidney Barron. Or, more accurately, her absence from your life. I haven't seen you as happy since you-know-who dumped on you. And while the offers I brought are still out there, and they have been patient so far, eventually they will have to find someone else. And I don't want them going to someone else, I want YOU to do the work.

"Charlie, I'm going to tell you about me and my wife, Rachael.

"You know that she was a client of mine? She was. I only took her on because I liked her looks and I thought that maybe I could convince her to date me.

"But she wouldn't date me, because I was her agent, and we should keep our relationship professional.

"So, I told her that I was dropping her as a client and we could date. She got really mad and asked me what was wrong with her that I didn't want to represent her. Silly me; I told her.

"I said I had to be honest. She was never going to be anything more than a background singer, because she just didn't have the strong, unique voice to make it as anything else. She looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights (not that I've ever personally seen a deer caught in the headlights.) I told her that I had to be honest with her, and that I'd been helping her because I was in love with her. This was before we'd even gone on a date!

"She was SO angry that she slapped me right across my face, and let me tell you, she has a mean right hook, and stomped right out the door, slamming it behind her. I knew that I'd lost her, and I was heartbroken as a man can be.

"Then, three days later she came back to the office and sat down on the other side of the desk from me. Her eyes looked like she had been crying the whole time since she walked out.

"She told me that she was sorry, and that I was right. She knew she didn't have the voice to be a big singing star. But, she said, it was the fact that I had been dishonest with her that really hurt. But, she told me that she had forgiven me this one time, and was pretty sure that she loved me too, and that we could start dating.

"Then she told me, that if I wasn't entirely truthful with her again, that first slap would be nothing compared to the next one.

"I took her seriously, and we've been married for over 40 years, happy ever since. Sometimes she sings at church, where she is a star. You know church choirs are pretty bad! They make her look good.

"The moral of the story is: make yourself and your girl happy. Forget your rules in this one case. Maybe it doesn't work, but it is better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. I think Ben Franklin said that. Wait! Maybe it was Teddy Roosevelt. Anyway, it's true."

Charlie sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

"So, get going, piss or get off the pot," was Herb's parting remark on the subject.

Herb then changed the subject and he and Charlie had lunch together out at a table in the garden.