by Di Jones
“No. He wants to sing with the big kids. He knows he’s too little to go in the chorus, but he’s been bugging me about it…can he do it here, just the once…” As she tailed off, Emery could see a wonderful mother who didn’t want to crush her child’s hopes, and his heart warmed. His mother had been the same from when he was only a young child too.
“Sure. Come on, Aiden.” He took the child’s hand, and led him over to Harmony, who looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“You know he’s only three?” she said, bending down to the small boy. “Do you want to sing, sweetheart?”
His eyes resembled huge dark-copper pennies, which glinted with innocence and purity. He nodded, too overcome to speak. “Emery said I could. Just this one time.”
“Okay, you stand here.” She clapped again and the other kids, whose attention had been drifting again, fell back into line. “We’re going to sing that song once more, and this time Aiden here is going to sing with us.” She hit the note on the pitch pipe and the children sang, then at the chorus, Aiden’s sweet, reedy little voice became big and steady, surprising everyone.
At the end of the song, the bystanders applauded, and Anita wiped the tears from her eyes. “Thank you so much, Emery. You’re still the kind person I remember.”
He blushed, because he didn’t remember ever being particularly kind, but he knew he’d made Aiden and Anita’s day.
A short while later, during a break in the singing, Harmony came over to claim her coffee, which was going cold. “Sorry,” he told her, “I got caught up watching you…you’re so great with the kids. And then Aiden, I didn’t want to disappoint him or Anita. He’s a cute kid, isn’t he?”
“The cutest,” Harmony said. “It’s shame he isn’t old enough to go in the chorus. He’s got a lovely voice.”
“About that.” Emery tapped his nose. “I have an idea, and I think it will bring the house down.”
Eleven
Harmony
Harmony had never seen kids go gaga over a grown man before, but soon after Emery walked into rehearsals all hell broke loose. The kids loved him, loved the way he was famous, and loved the way they knew his songs and could sing them with him.
She took charge and after a few minutes—and with a bit of careful handling—managed to restore peace.
“You’re a natural with little ones,” he told her, and she wondered if he remembered they often used to talk about having kids together. It was clear he liked children, because he took every excuse to interact with them.
Then he started speaking to Anita and Aiden, and within minutes Emery shepherded the little boy over to sing with her students. It was unorthodox, but Anita was her friend, and she could see how much Emery wanted to make Anita’s son happy. Something else I love about him…he wants to make everyone happy. And he definitely makes me happy.
A little later he opened his guitar case, quickly tuned the instrument, and checked a chord before starting to play. As he picked out the melody of his hit “Before We Fall” the notes reverberated around the rafters of the old building and then Emery’s low husky voice started telling the story. Everyone was quiet, mesmerized that the town’s famous son, Emery Dante, rock star, was singing here in their hall. The kids were so awed it would have been easy to forget they were there, but when Emery changed it up at the end of the song and moved into Christmas carols the kids’ eyes shone, their faces glowed, and their attention to Emery was absolute. He started with “Away in a Manger”, moving to “Silent Night”, then finally Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. As he sang the lyrics his eyes never left Harmony’s face, making her heart beat with happiness. I love him, and I’ve never stopped…I’m so lucky he feels the same way I do.
As Harmony’s eyes left Emery’s, she now saw that Trisha had joined them in the auditorium. She was staring at Emery, rapt with attention, a hungry look in her eyes. When Emery stopped playing Trisha was the first to applaud.
“Emery, that was wonderful,” she said, moving over to him. He put the guitar down, winking at Harmony, but Trisha didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t care. “How are you enjoying being back in town?”
“It’s great…such a change from my life in LA.”
They spoke about his life there, with Trisha hanging on to his every word. As they chatted they were joined by three other women: Karen, Jen and April. Before too long Emery was surrounded by a large posse of women.
“Emery, we’re so lucky to have you back here. I’m a huge fan, you know. I always knew you’d make it big,” April told him.
A vein pulsed in Harmony’s temple. Really, April? Because I don’t remember you ever giving Emery the time of day when he lived here.
“Me too. Can I take a selfie with you?” Karen didn’t wait for Emery to agree, instead posing next to him and puckering her lips for the shot.
Why do I hate this type of interaction so much? Is it because I’m not sure of my place with Emery? Am I over-possessive? Harmony stood back watching the interactions, but she didn’t try to assert any claim on him. She could see he wasn’t flirting with anyone and from his frequent looks toward her he demonstrated he had eyes only for her.
It’s a shame though that Trisha doesn’t notice it. Her propriety air with Emery grated on Harmony and it was only when Trisha left nearly half an hour later that the tension leeched out of Harmony’s shoulders. She took a deep breath, calling out to the kids, “Okay everyone, there’s only a week to go before Christmas Eve and our concert. We’re having our first dress rehearsal the day after tomorrow. Is there anyone here who needs any help with their costumes?”
“My mom made mine,” Eliza-May piped up. “It’s really pretty.”
Harmony beamed at her favorite. “Okay, if no one needs any help, that’s great. We’ll see you in two days time and remember to bring your costumes with you.”
Two days later the choir ran through their songs again, and then Harmony called out to the leads, “You’ve all got your costumes? If so, you can go into the back and get changed.”
Ten minutes later the children were all back, resplendent in their outfits. There was red velvet, silver lace and shiny white satin, along with an assortment of other fabrics and colors, building a richness that would enhance the performances. Harmony was in awe—as she always was—of the trouble the mothers had gone to. The clothes were as striking and beautifully made as if the players were on Broadway and the children wore them proudly.
“They look good, don’t they?” Emery said, his hand straying to Harmony’s waist. “That little girl in the fairy outfit is so cute. She reminds me of you when you were little.”
Harmony squeezed his hand, and he leaned over and gave her a light peck on the lips. The few adults present watched them with interest, particularly the fan-girls, and she knew it was clear to everyone that her and Emery were an item again.
“We’re ready to start,” Harmony told him a few minutes later. “Except we have a problem…Tommy Butler isn’t here.”
“About that.” Emery shuffled from foot to foot, and as he did so a growing unease coursed through Harmony.
“What? He hasn’t pulled out, has he?”
“No. Actually I told his mother that I was replacing him.”
A bolt of annoyance shot through Harmony. She crossed her arms over her chest, opened her mouth to berate him then stopped short. She’d wanted Tommy replaced, hadn’t she? She’d told Emery that Tommy’s behavior toward Eliza-May was unacceptable. So…Emery had done what she’d wanted, hadn’t he?
She uncrossed her arms, relaxed her posture and smiled at him. “Thank you for doing that for me. What did his mom say?”
Emery grimaced at her. “She wasn’t well pleased. She tried to argue with me. But my charm won out in the end.”
Harmony narrowed her eyes, imagining him turning on the charm. Did she feel jealous that he’d probably flirted with another woman? Yes, of course she did, but he’d done her dirty work for her and saved her a lot of tr
ouble.
“Good. That’s a big problem sorted out. But who’s going to replace him?”
Emery leaned against the judging table. “Can’t you guess?”
She was still shaking her head when Anita walked in, Aiden in tow. The young boy ran over to her and Emery, looking as excited as if it was Christmas already.
“Hi, Aiden. Are you going to sing for us today?” Emery knelt down in front of the young boy, who gave him a gap-toothed grin.
“Mommy and me have been practicing.”
Anita stepped forward and hugged Harmony. “Honestly, you don’t know how much this means to me. Emery told me it was your idea. I owe you one. Aiden’s so happy and excited.”
She was about to deny it had been her idea when she caught Emery’s eye. He was nodding at her and clearly wanted her to take the credit.
“We both decided,” she said, happy to see the joy on Anita’s face. “Anyway, the song…”
Aiden jumped up and down on the spot, then burst into song. “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth…”
Of course, it was the perfect number for a three-year-old who really did need teeth. Emery had struck a note of brilliance with the song choice, and Eliza-May and Aiden would bring the house down.
“Right. Have you got Aiden’s costume?” Harmony asked Anita.
“No. Emery said I should talk to you today. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“Not at all. Let’s get through rehearsal, then we can figure something out.”
Anita hugged her again, and Harmony tried not to feel guilty that it hadn’t been her who’d thought of this solution.
The rehearsal went without hitch, and an hour and a half later Harmony walked over to Emery, who’d just finished doing a bit of work with Eliza-May and Aiden. He quirked an eyebrow and smiled at her. “Didn’t it all go well?” He put his hand on her back. “Come here,” he whispered. “I want a sneaky hug.”
“Me too, but it will have to wait. I’m going outside to see the kids all get picked up by their parents. Want to come along and get a breath of fresh air?”
He shook his head. “I’ll stay here. Steve from my band texted me before to let me know they’ll be here soon. We’re going to do a full run-through of our set for after the show.”
“Okay, I’ll head straight home then. See you later?”
His hand slid around her waist, pulled her in to him, and he whispered into her ear, “Try to keep me away.”
Harmony licked her lips, leaned against him for an instant then took a step back and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, leaving him to wait for his band.
As she stood outside with her young charges a large black bus pulled up and three men got out and went straight inside. She wondered if she should go in and meet them, but Emery hadn’t seen his friends for a while and she still had loads to organize. So after the last youngster had been picked up Harmony left Emery to it, knowing that the Christmas concert was going to be the best one the town had ever seen.
Twelve
Emery
When the boys from his band walked into the hall Emery got up from where he was sitting, waved his arms and chest-shoved his friends good-naturedly. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed them, leaving him somewhat confused. He’d felt the same way when he’d arrived in Lewiston, so why was he feeling this way now that he was reunited with people from Los Angeles?
“How are you, mate?” Steve, his bass guitarist, playfully punched him on the arm. “I hate to admit this, but we’ve missed you…the nightclubs aren’t the same without you.”
“And there are a lot of girls in town asking about you.” Rob, the shyest of them, grinned at him. “We’re not quite so attractive without you.”
He chatted briefly with Steve, Rob, and Jack but then it was time to get down to business. “I thought we’d play six songs… four of our biggest hits and then two Christmas carols to finish off. What do you think?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Jack said, and the others nodded their agreement.
They always did agree with him, because he was the one that was the genius songwriter and singer. No one ever said no to Emery Dante, not even his best friends.
“Okay, boys, let’s set up our gear,” Rob said. “It’ll take a bit longer than we expected.”
“Yeah, it seems odd not having the crew with us,” Steve added. “But it’s good to stay humble.”
Emery pitched in and thirty minutes later they got up onto the small stage and started tuning their instruments.
“Here we go, boys.” Emery plucked out the opening chords of “I Love You to the Moon and Back”.
As the others joined in he stood tall, his stance wide, his shoulders back and his chin high. He thrust his pelvis forward, pulled in a deep breath then boomed out the words of the first verse.
Rob moved to him, and they both sang into the microphone, their eye contact intense. Then Emery broke it, flipped his hair back, and strutted round the stage, ripping out an arpeggio on the guitar.
Damn, he’d nearly forgotten how this felt. A rush of adrenaline whooshed straight into his veins, and it felt better than drugs, better than sex, better than anything he could think of. It was what he lived for, what kept him going, and he couldn’t imagine life without that excitement.
Seamlessly they transitioned into “The Bluest of Nights”, then “I Miss Her Every Time She Goes”.
When they’d finished Emery offered the others a thumbs up, his guitar swinging from its strap. “Let’s talk about Christmas carols. I know we’ve technically never practiced any before, but can you guys follow along? He played the opening verse of “Good King Wenceslas” on his guitar and Steve picked up the baseline.
“Let’s rock it up a bit,” Emery picked up the pace and Jack dusted the drums lightly.
The sound was jazzy, and he moved towards Jack, signaling for him to take it on a more aggressive line. The boys were innovative and energized, and once finished, he punched the air in delight.
“What next?” Steve asked.
“Not sure. What do you think?”
“How about “Jingle Bell Rock”?”
Rob picked out the first notes on his guitar, as the others listened.
“Let’s do it.”
The others all followed along, and as it finished Emery moved into their biggest hit to date, “Our Life Forever Girl.” As the song came to an end, he heard clapping and his heart warmed. Harmony must’ve come back after all.
“Wow, you haven’t lost it in your time away.” A woman moved toward him, wearing a tight white sweater and even tighter jeans.
“Carmen, what are you doing here?” He put his guitar down and moved to the front of the stage.
She was faster than he was, and before he could get down, she’d moved onto the stage and pulled him in for a hug. “I told the guys not to tell you I was coming. I wanted to surprise you.”
He rolled his eyes at Rob over Carmen’s shoulder.
“Did you decide you needed some country air?” he asked Carmen. “Are you sick of LA?”
She took a step back as if sensing his sarcasm. “Hardly.”
“So why on earth have you come?” He turned to the boys. “Surely you don’t need Carmen to accompany you.”
Steve blushed and cleared his throat, but before he could say anything Carmen spoke. “The thing is Emery, I’ve come to bring you to your senses.”
Emery bit the inside of his lip. He knew what was coming next and the knot in his belly hardened, prior to his temper fraying. It was important that he remain calm and in control though.
“I think I’m perfectly in possession of my senses. Why have you come, Carmen?”
She turned her back to him, walked down the stage, and paused, as if composing herself. When she faced him again, there was a hard line to her jaw.
“Remember that private Christmas Eve party I told you about?”
“Yes. I remember. The one I turned down.”
She pinched the bridg
e of her nose as he was speaking, irritating him beyond belief.
“I told them you said no but the thing is, Emery, this affects the whole band—”
His gaze ping-ponged between her, and the boys. Was he being set up?
“And you guys want to do this party?” At first, there was no movement then one by one they all shrugged. “So why are you here?”
“It’s all up to you, Emery,” Jack told him. “We’ll do whatever you decide. But Carmen said this could be really important for our careers.”
His nails bit into his palms as heat radiated through his body.
“Look, I told you, Carmen, I’m not interested in doing this party. I don’t care how much money they pay me. I’m not going.”
He wished she’d wipe the smirk off her face, and he wished just one of the boys would back him up.
“They’ve offered you a load more money.” Carmen pulled something out of her back pocket and waved it at him.”
He shook his head, but Steve grabbed the paper and scanned it quickly. He whistled then passed it to Rob then Jack.
“Six figures.”
“For one night? That’s a lot of money.” He didn’t know what else to say so instead stole a look at his band mates. Their expressions told him they wanted to do this gig.
“It is a lot of money, Emery. But what’s more important is the prestige. Who knows where this could lead? Who knows who else could be at that party? You know some performers get private parties where they’re paid a million dollars and upwards. You only need a couple of those before you could—”
“What? Retire?”
Carmen didn’t answer. She had turned toward the door and was looking over the woman who’d come in…Harmony.
“Harmony, how long have you been there?” he asked, jumping down from the stage.
“Long enough to hear that you’ve got an offer for a concert on Christmas Eve. You’re not thinking of taking it, are you?”
Emery ignored her question, but he couldn’t ignore her accusatory tone. The smile slipped from his face, but he didn't lose his manners. “Carmen, this is Harmony. Harmony, this is Carmen, my manager.”