The Singer and Her Arranger

As he got into his car, Herb added, "Remember what I said!"

Charlie sat back down and asked himself what to do.

~~** When I fall in love... **~~

Sid was sitting, moping in her hotel room again.

She was back 'home' in Nashville, performing at the Graystone Quarry, an old quarry that had been turn into a outdoor performance center. It was actually in Franklin, Tennessee, about 20 miles south of Nashville. It was an amphitheater, with great acoustics and space for large audiences.

She had spoken to Charlie just before the show, but just talking remotely wasn't doing it for her anymore.

Charlie had warned her, and she knew from her prior experience touring with the "Jewels" about the difficulties and temptations of being on the road. A lot of performers turned to drinking too much, others did drugs, and some, promiscuous sex. She wasn't into any of those things and did her best to make sure that her band members, who were also her friends, didn't get caught up in the lifestyle either. Not because she was a prude, or was making moral judgements on anybody, but if the band wanted to stay together, they needed the discipline.

Oddly, 'Cat', who had indulged in a lot of the vices herself before joining the band, was helping her keep things under control. The bandmember they had to watch over the most closely, was Linda, who was the youngest and newest. And Heather needed some watching as well.

Her other big issue was dealing with the people (both men and women, something that kind of embarrassed her) hitting on her. It was another reason for being careful about what she would drink or eat, and certainly a reason to avoid drugs.

Sid was not very experienced sexually.

She had a high school boyfriend, and like so many others, had lost her cherry after their senior prom. It was an eminently forgettable experience, and she and her first romantic relationship foundered after that. He wanted more, while she was completely indifferent. Soon he took off, looking for other flowers to pollenate.

Her other experiences were basically one-night stands with men who were handsome, charming, or well endowed. But there was never any chemistry there with any of them. Most of them didn't have a clue as to what a woman wanted, either. And since she started touring, this time, there were none of the men who tempted her in the slightest.

Charlie, on the other hand was handsome, charming and it was obvious to her that he was as attracted to her as she was to him. But his damn rules to keep himself from taking a risk with a woman was keeping them apart.

She had fallen in love with Charlie during their scant eight weeks together. They had become close friends as well as coworkers in a way that other men didn't think was important. Sex was enough for them. Charlie respected her as a musician and as a person. The fact was, in an odd way, she kind of respected Charlie's unwillingness to have anything less than serious sex with her. She wanted a one-woman man, so she could be his one-man woman.

For Sid, love was to be a permanent thing, one of those 'til death do us part things. Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Georginna Young and Ricardo Montalban*, forever kinds of love. And if they could find a way, then she and Charlie could find a way.

Now it was up to her to make it happen. Somehow. She just didn't know how, yet.

~~** When a man loves a woman... **~~

Herb turned out to be the last straw. Charlie had his plan.

Charlie got up from his seat and strode decisively into the house. He checked a piece of paper, a paper with Sid's schedule on it. He sat at his computer and looked up some airline schedules, then went to pack a bag. Just enough for a week of so. This wasn't going to be a long trip, either way.

He called for a car to drive him to Burbank 'Bob Hope' International airport. They had a non-stop flight to Nashville, BNA, airport leaving in three hours.

On his way, in the car, he booked a seat. It wasn't what he would normally fly, but anything to get there was okay.

They dropped him off at the entrance to the terminals, and he walked up to the security check. He knew his way around the airport — he'd flown back and forth to Nashville numerous times working with clients.

He grabbed something to eat at one of the restaurants close to his gate, and when they called his group for boarding, he walked aboard knowing what to expect. As a late comer, his choice of seats was limited, and he found himself with a woman sitting by the window, a young child on her lap, and a huge, like 6-foot 5-inch, 300 pounds plus man, in the aisle seat. As he squeezed himself into the middle seat, he kept thinking that this flight was going to be painful, but it was only a means to a desirable end.

The child next to him was asleep, and Charlie hoped for a quiet flight. That lasted just about until the wheels left the ground, when the babe began wailing. The man's arm on the aisle seat took up the entire arm rest.

"Don't worry," he said to himself, "only four-and-a-half more hours of this."

Then he noticed the baby's bottle was leaking on his shirt.

~~** You'll Never find another love like mine... **~~

Cat walked into the hotel suite in Franklin, just east of the I65, only to find Sid, who was her roommate during their tour in middle Tennessee, racing around like a crazy person.

"Sid! What ARE you doing?"

"I'm packing."

"Oh, fer gods sake! We have a couple days off before our next show, and I thought that we were going to kick back and see some of the sights. You know that Broadway, the main street in the downtown area, is a real hoot. They call it 'Nash Vegas,' because of all the neon signs on the honky-tonk bars."

She thought for a second, "or is someone in your family sick or something?"

"No," Sid called from the next room. "I'm catching a flight out of BNA to Los Angeles. It leaves in a little over three hours."

"What are you going to L.A. for, as if I need to ask? As if we haven't all heard you moaning about your lost love for the past six months?"

"I'm going to beg and plead with Charlie to find a way for us to be together.

"I really love him. He's my soulmate, my other half. I'm warning you; I may have to give up touring if that the only way for us to be together. Become one of those reclusive artists who only records in the studio and stops doing live appearances."

"Are you CRAZY," screamed Cat, "After all the work that we, and I mean WE, not just YOU, have put into making the group a success. And for a man who you haven't even had SEX with?"

"Yes, he's the one," smirked Sid, "If you had a man like him, you'd probably be at home, barefoot in the kitchen having his babies."

"You know, I think that maybe I'M the crazy one, joining your band and spending the last couple of years trying to make it big, only to have our 'leader' give it all up because she has a case of the hornies!"

"And I would be bare assed in the bedroom, not bare foot in the kitchen," added Cat.

"Well, I'm not leaving the band yet, and I hope I won't have to. But Charlie and I have to find some sort of compromise."

Sid continued to pack, until she looked at Cat and asked, "Will you drop me off at the airport?"

Cat laughed, "Sure, why not. But then I'm going out on the town. I'll probably pick up some dude wearing boots and a cowboy hat, and no one will see me for the rest of the weekend!"

Then off they went, up I65, changing freeways a couple of times (thank goodness for nav systems) until they were on the I40 east, getting off for the BNA terminals.

As she dropped Sid off at the curb, Cat shouted, "Good luck with your boy! Let us know if you'll be back or if we are gonna have to replace you!"

Sid just waved her off.

Sid entered the building and went up to purchase a ticket on the next non-stop flight to LAX. She didn't bother to check her luggage, since she only had the one carry-on bag. Once checked in, she went through TSA security and began walking down the terminal to her departure gate. She was determined.

As she approached the gate for the flight to Los Angeles, she noticed something of a disturbance in the people coming off the flight from Burbank.

"No ma'am, you don't have to replace my shirt. Yes, I will have the staff at my hotel take it to the dry cleaners. Yes, I know that formula stains are notoriously hard to remove. Yes, he is a darling child. No, his crying didn't bother me at all."

She looked, because she thought that whoever the poor man was, whose shirt had been ruined, sounded just like Charlie. In fact, when she looked closely, the figure looked like a rather bedraggled Charlie.

Just then a large, heavy man passed her and saw her interest in the two people.

"I'd keep away from them. I was seated next to them. Her kid is a pain in the ass, and the dufus is anti-social. Wouldn't talk at all." Then he walked on.

"Charlie?" she called.

The man suddenly looked up and saw her. His face lit up.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but my girlfriend has arrived to pick me up," and disentangled himself from the very kind and concerned mother.

He too had only brought a single carry-on bag, and he walked towards Sid dragging his bag behind.

"Sid, wow you came to pick me up. How did you know I was coming in? Did Herb call you?"

Then he noticed that she too had baggage.

"Oh," he said weakly, "You are going someplace else. I'm sorry, I should have warned you.

"I came back hoping to talk to you and maybe finding a way for us to be together. I've been so lonely since you've been gone. I've missed you beyond my ability to understand. I think I love you. No, I know I'm madly in love with you."

At first, Sid was confused. She hadn't come to pick HIM up, she was going to track him down in L.A.

Then she took matters into her own hands, and let go of the handle of her bag, and grabbed him in a hug, no matter how rumpled and formula stained his shirt might be and kissed him in the middle of the terminal. It must have been a good kiss, because there was applause when they were finished.

A paparazzi who had recognized Sidney, clicked a photo of the kiss that he later sold to a fan mag to be used accompanying a short piece about the sensational new singer, Sidney Barron, and her mystery lover. It didn't take them long to track Charlie down, and it was even more exciting when it turned out that the man who had arranged the music on her album was now her lover as well.

"I wasn't here to meet your flight; I was going to fly out to L.A. and beg you to be with me. I mean, if Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton and their husbands have been able to make it for 50 or 60 years, then why can't we?"

Without further ado, Sid and Charlie walked out of the terminal. Charlie called a car to pick them up and take them to the hotel, while Sid, always frugal, got a refund on the price of her ticket.

The limo that Charlie had called arrived and whisked them to the hotel.

They didn't get as much talking done during the drive as one might imagine, as they spent the time in the back seat of the car making out, holding each other and enjoying the closeness together after being apart for so long.

In the suite Sid and Charlie looked at each other.

"What do you want to do?" asked Sid.

Charlie smiled as he looked down at her, "I've missed you so much, and I realized I was just being stupid and afraid. But now, I want to stop being an ass, and make love to you. After a shower, though. Why, what do you want?"

"The same. I don't even care if you shower, but if you want to, we can take a shower together first. But I need you. I've missed you so much too."

The next morning, as Cat dragged herself out of bed, she heard strange noises coming from Sid's room. Not that they were truly strange, just strange coming from Sid's room. Sid was supposed to be in L.A. Cat looked for any texts telling her that Sid had arrived. None.

"Oh well, here goes," she though as she banged at the door, "Okay, who is in there. Which of you sluts is using Sid's bed. Were you so drunk that you got the wrong room?"

Cat was standing there with her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face, waiting to ream a new one for whoever it was that was trespassing in Sid's room.

The bedroom door cracked open just a little to expose none other than Sid, standing wrapped in nothing but a sheet, with a cat-that-ate-the-canary look on her face.

"Cat, I'm sorry that I didn't let you know, but I found Charlie lost and alone in the terminal, so I rescued him and brought him here to nurse him back to health."

Cat had a lopsided grin on her face as she asked, "And how long will that take?"

"I don't know. Maybe the next 50 or 60 years," Sid replied, a happy and contented woman at last.

"Well, you might want to get up early enough to make it to breakfast."

And make it to breakfast, they did. Then they spent the next several days finding compromises for being married and together, despite the forces pulling them apart.

They must have worked it out, because ten years later, they were still together, and deliriously happy. Their son was just a little under nine years old, their daughter was six, and their youngest son was three (and a real handful.) Sid was considering if they wanted another. The nanny told her that if they had another, they needed to get a second nanny.

The Convent's bedrooms were filled, and Sid had reduced her time on the road. When she WAS on the road, Charlie turned down any new work and came with her. Charlie still mainly worked up on his studio on the third floor, unless he had to go into one of the studios in L.A.

The house would not be described as 'peaceful and quiet' anymore, with children running, screaming and playing. But healthy and happy? Yes, indeed.

Fini, das ende, finito, The End.

*Georgina Young and Ricardo Montalban — Georgina was Loretta Young's youngest sister, and the story of her and her husband, Ricardo Montalban (Fantasy Island, and Chrysler 'Corinthian leather' fame) is one of the sweetest true love stories you'll ever find. Married over 60 years!

Confessions

"Oh Lord, give me chastity, but do not give it yet." St. Augustine

Before you read this and accuse me of being long-winded (which I may be,) remember that I put this at the END of the story, and you don't have to read it! And keep in mind, that this entire story and this ending are nothing but electrons, which have no weight, and virtually no size, so my extra words are really just ether. LMAO!

First and foremost, thanks to Randi for inviting me to write this story to her prompt — 'When a man loves a woman" — by Percy Sledge. An old song that I always enjoyed, and looking around was surprised to find, that only Otis Redding has a comparable cover version. (IMHO)

I don't remember writing any stories meant to encompass the emotions or perspective expressed in a song. But as I started writing this story, I found that there were songs that came to mind that seemed to capture what my characters were feeling at that point, so instead of my normal breaks, I added the titles of songs that seemed appropriate.

My selections reveal my old geezer status! What can I say, I LIKE a lot of old music, and I've been a musician (classical) almost my entire life.

I won't misrepresent things: I am no music theory mavin, and once you get beyond basic chords, diminished, augmented, 9ths, 11ths or 13ths, a little about counterpoint, I am at the end of my knowledge. One of the wonderful things about the internet is that I can look up these subjects and learn a lot more about them. I've played music with suss2 or suss4 chords, but I sure didn't know what they were called until recently.

So, onto the music that I've called out. Many of you will know them, and if you don't go onto You Tube and look them up and enjoy!

Unforgettable — Nat King Cole, Lew Rawls, Natalie Cole (recording over the older recording with her father.) Composed by Irving Gordon, I love these renditions of the song.

Last night (I couldn't get any sleep at all) -- Music and lyrics written by Tony Macauley for the Carpenters, who wouldn't perform it because it mentioned pills! That didn't bother the 5th Dimension! Sung by the great, Marilyn McCoo.

The Very Thought of you -- An old standard (1934) music and lyrics by Ray Nobel. I have two versions, the first by Chris Botti, featuring vocalist, Paula Cole, and the second by Cheryl Bentyne. Both easy listening for the one you love.

Quiet night of quiet stars (Corcovado) -- Antonio Carlos Jobim; too many covers to mention, including Sinatra. I am very fond of the Queen Latifa cover. Astrid Gilberto's rendition, done with sax player, Stan Getz, is also excellent. Oscar Peterson did a great instrumental cover. (Jobim also wrote "The Girl from Ipanema", if you don't already know who he is.)

The Look of Love — Burt Bacharach, Hal David. The version of this one on my playlist is Diana Krall, from her 'Live in Paris" album. I have a Sergio Mendes, Brazil 66 version as well, somewhere on one of my hard disks.

Ravel's favorite chord was a B-minor add 9 — That's what they say! He used it a lot. Just had to throw it in. B, D-natural, F#, C#

Can't help falling in love — Based on a French melody composed in 1740, called "the Pleasure of Love"! Everyone knows the Elvis version, and UB40 did one as well. I still prefer Elvis, of this song that is abused nightly in every Karaoke bar.

When I fall in love -- A lot of great recent covers. Michael Bublé, Chris Botti, Julie London from the 1950's, are three that I have on my iTunes.

When a man loves a woman — Percy Sledge, and the prompt for this story, although I've made it a more mutual thing, 'when a man loves a woman, and she loves him back, just as much!' The best cover for this is Otis Redding, IMHO! LOL!

You'll Never find — Written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, this was Lew Rawls breakthrough song. It seemed like a good song to end my story on. A great cover by Michael Bublé.

Just to let you know I'm not entirely limited to classical or easy listening, some of my other favs over the years have included Santana's "You've got to change your evil ways," Iron Butterfly's "In-a-gadda-di-vida", Dire Straights, "Sultans of Swing', The Stranglers, "Peaches", and most recently, Ramstein's "Adieu." HAHAHAHA!

P.S.