As I said at the beginning of Chapter One, I have to thank Jill and Eric for their input into this story. I hope that I achieved something we can all be proud of.
Marianne

Chapter 39

The upshot of the whole thing was, as usual, a lift in sales of all the albums that Josie had been on, even the forgotten one she did with the girl group in L.A. I got Allan to put all my part of those sales into a trust fund for the twins, which also took the proceeds of the sale of their family home, as well as their shares of the estate.

Martyn had changed his will to leave everything to Tony and Josie. They, in turn, left everything equally to the twins. As it was deemed that Tony had died first, his estate went to Josie, and it was her will that was used. Dianne did wonders to get it all through the courts without any problems. After putting the urns in the ground, we went into a church to pray for their souls.

Back in Detroit, Tabby and the twins went into the same year at high school for the last semester before summer, and Ali went back to Wayne. She confided to me that her opus was now being revised and would be a musical memorial to Josie and me, as her thanks for giving her life. As I said earlier, the events altered her mind-set. Where the piece may have been complicated in parts, it had been light-hearted.

The adagio remained a beautiful serenade, but the first movement was going to be a lot more hard-hitting. Where the two pianos had been playing in a similar tone, she was revising one to be more masculine, with stronger bass notes. The other was going the other way, using the treble end of the keyboard to sound more feminine. It had a similarity, at the beginning, to the Joseph Hayden opus, “The Creation.” She had the orchestra open the piece and a vocalist paraphrase the original first line. Instead of singing. “In the beginning—there was Light!” It would be, “In the beginning -- there is Life!”

The third movement was to be partly vocal, and she asked Sharron and me if we could help with the lyrics. On top of that, she wanted to have a full orchestra involved, me and any of the Sisters who came by being roped in to help with the score. Ali had the tunes in her head, but it took all of us to write it out as she hummed or played the notes on the piano.

Her fifteenth birthday was another quiet one. We went to the Italian place where the Pixies would gather, and the management put on a special meal for us. We were joined by those Sisters that still lived close. Ali and Georgie wore their “Sisters Forever” pendants and I, along with the rest of the band, wore our own “Stable Sisters Rule” pendants. These were a lasting link to our times with Josie.

The following Grammy event saw them have a short segment to commemorate the work of the three Prentices, with a couple of songs from albums Martyn and Tony had produced, followed by a video clip of Josie, with Snowden, on stage at one of the vet shows. I was staggered at how much younger we all looked. Her death had put a couple of years, or more, on my face.

I had picked up some of the tricks that Martyn and Tony had showed me, but I went back to the makers of our studio equipment to brush up on operating it. I intended to be as big a part of Ali’s future as I could, and if I wasn’t to be on stage with her, playing, I would help her create her dream.

Over the next year, we worked in the studio, together, and sometimes with Tabitha. The two of them worked on the double, while Ali worked on other things when she was on her own. She needed to create a ten-minute piece to be marked before summer.

This became something that started out like the Moonlight but developed into a much stronger second half. Her creative skills were amazing me every day. We recorded it and I produced some CDs that she took into school. She was asked to play it for her year, in the small auditorium, as her final examination for the year. Our whole family was in the auditorium when she came on to play at the end of a recital put on by her whole year. It was magic and brought the audience to their feet.

During this time, I was also teaching Georgina different guitar skills. She had played along with Josie, while Martyn had been taking piano lessons. He had decided that he didn’t have the ability or temperament to be any good and spent a lot of time with me at the control desk. He may not have the musical skill, but he had a good ear and adjusted the mixing if I missed something.

So, we moved forward, toward a sixteenth birthday.

The request for her birthday present was a couple of sessions with the orchestra, in Boston. I called Kelly and we had a long conversation. She told me that they had a week clear in the middle of October. I advised her that the piece wasn’t finished yet. She said that it would be an honor to work with Alicia, and that there would be a spot for her in the following year when it was finished, if Wilhelm was happy to conduct. Before we finished the call, I was invited to the wedding, in the middle of January.

Ali sent the score so far, and she got an email to say that it looked interesting and that they would have a small group sorting it out for our visit. By the time we went to Boston, the orchestra had worked through their parts and just needed the stars to join them. A lot had happened in the twelve years since Ali had set their stage alight, and the older members still there were wondering just what she would do this time. About half of the orchestra had not been there all that time ago.

Jordan and Carol stayed at the farm, while Sharron and Tabitha flew with us, Tabitha had become a competent pianist in her own right, and would be playing the second piano, while I had been roped in as the vocalist. On the first day in the hall, they worked on the adagio first, because that was, so we thought, complete and ready to go. It took three run-throughs before it truly came together. After a light lunch, Kelly brought in a film crew that she had waiting for her call. The piece was played twice in the afternoon and was filmed for posterity.

After that, I was brought up on stage for the minimal vocals and we did the first part, for the first time with the orchestra. It was a mess! The orchestra was sent home and we sat down with Wilhelm to work out what went wrong.

By dinnertime, the problems had been overcome. It came down to the timing between the orchestra and the pianos being out. Wilhelm was invaluable at seeing the error at a point about six minutes in that put everything after that as a jangled mess when both the pianos and the orchestra played. He assured us that tomorrow would be good.

The six of us were invited to have dinner with Algernon, come as you are, so Geoffrey took us over there. It was good to catch up with him and his family, now scions of the Boston community. Their two daughters had now completed their education and were working in the family business, putting a lot of time into the vet concerts as they saw themselves as budding music industry participants. They were certainly getting a lot of experience with booking stars and arranging logistics for shows. I knew that they would have to step up another notch when they got to proper concerts where a profit was the desired outcome.

The vet shows had scaled back to only six or seven a year and all were filled. The girls were spending a lot of time organizing small shows in the various aged care homes and had spent some time working in Paris at the places Algernon had bought there. They had a conversation with Ali and Tabby about the places they had been to, while Algernon, Sharron, Kelly, Wilhelm, and I had a discussion, over one of his fine brandies. I found out that Algernon was financing this week as part of his wanting to see Alicia fulfil her potential.

The next day we brought the orchestra up to date with the changes to the score and worked through the first part again. This time it sounded a lot better. The orchestra opened the piece, I did my vocal part and Ali came in on the piano in the bass register, followed by Tabby in the alto register. It sounded as if the pianos were talking to each other, slowly becoming synchronized, with intervals where the orchestra took over the conversation, also moving from the deeper toned instruments to the lighter toned ones.

The piece lasted about twenty minutes and, toward the end, had little snippets of Pixies and Sisters tunes interwoven into the orchestration. The last part of it worked up to a crescendo, and then Ali played a complicated section which sounded as if someone was bawling their eyes out, slowly moving from the tenor to the alto voice. Having been there, at the time, I could see me coming to the decision to be the best mother I could be. It made me cry, along with some of the older members of the orchestra.

In the afternoon, Kelly had the orchestra change into performance outfits, while the three of us were put into long dresses. The film crew were back, with extra cameras, and we did the first part and the adagio, in real time, while it was preserved for our dissection later. There was a big dinner in a good restaurant later where Algernon was brought up to date on the progression. All we had to do, over the next three days, was work on the unfinished third part.

It became a writing workshop on the Wednesday. Everyone on stage playing the parts that had been finished. Ali already had the ending in her mind, as well as the message she wanted to say. The first ten minutes of it was good, and, with some help, got better. I had more input with the vocals. At times it sounded like I was being accompanied by the orchestra. That day, and the next, became a blur as we played some bits, reworked them, played them again, and then moved on. Alicia was a powerhouse, writing new score on the run, discussing what she wanted the orchestra to play with Wilhelm and the firsts.

The vocal parts took the line of creating the world as you want to see it, not being ground down by pessimists and nay-sayers. The tune that I had heard in my dream was a thread through the third part. The last couple of minutes had me singing these words. “Don’t fret about the could have been. Don’t cry over the should have been. There’s no need to take those pills or consider that rope from a bough. Life is good and there’ll be no more ills, if you just embrace the Here and Now.”

After that the recurring tune was taken up by both pianos and the orchestra, rising in volume to a thunderous final chord. The first time we nailed it, complete, I was an emotional mess, as was Ali. She held me close and just thanked me several times, before embracing Tabby, who was streaming with sweat and tears. This was the hardest she had ever worked, and it had taken a lot out of her.

Sharron came up on stage and tried to embrace everyone she could. When she hugged me, she told me that she had just had the most emotional moment of her life. She then said. “You know, Edie, this has given me the idea of some lyrics. We could do a song about two small boys who grew to father daughters and then became their mothers.”

I laughed. “We could call it, “How did that happen?” We could do it as a single song, to be sold by the download on the Swan website.”

We called it a day and Kelly arranged for a full-dress performance on Saturday afternoon, filmed and recorded, with a selected audience. I got on the phone to Jordan to tell him to close the farm and fly to Boston, with the other children and Carol, in the morning. I was told that Algernon was putting on a party Saturday night so told him to bring a smart outfit.

After that I called Veronica to tell her to book her seats tomorrow morning and put them on my account and let me know when she will arrive. After that it was a broadcast text to all the Sisters to let them know what was happening. It was all so sudden, none of us expecting to have the first performance tomorrow.

Saturday morning, I had replies from everyone. All the Sisters were coming, including Abigail, fresh off a tour of most of the major cities. Veronica and her man would be in at eleven, Jordan and our family would be in at twelve. The Sisters all said that they would arrange their own transport. I arranged town cars for all the ones I knew of and tried to calm my own churning mind, let alone two hyperactive teenagers.

It all worked out well. All our guests arrived at the hotel before one and we sat down to lunch at half past. Kelly had texted me to say that the performance should start at three with us to be there by half past two to be dressed. The table for lunch was animated, none of the others knowing what to expect.

When we arrived at the hall, we were amazed to see it fully set up for recording a video, with mics, and cameras all over the place. I had to calm the girls, telling them that it was just a bigger set-up than the ones we had during the week. I told them that it was all due to Algernon and his desire to help launch their careers. Kelly told me that everything had already been sound checked for balance.

The audience were all seated by three and the doors secured. This was purely a private event. In the stalls were Kelly and the board of the orchestra, Algernon with his family and the boards of both the Grove Institute and the vet show office. All the Sisters had arrived with their families, and Veronica sat with her husband, unable to take a smile off her face. Jordan had the twins either side of him and Carol was trying hard to squash Sharron.

For those of us waiting in the wings, it was totally unnerving. Before the cameras started, Algernon got on his feet and declared that today we would see the culmination of a young girl’s climb to a new level of performance. He told them that he had sat in the stalls, many years ago, and seen a four-year-old Alicia Sanders play the Moonlight Sonata with such finesse that he had to help her realize her potential. He finished with. “From what I have been told about the performance you are about to see, today will be just a step along that upward trajectory.”

The orchestra walked past us with smiles, sat, got comfortable, and tuned. Then Wilhelm led the three of us out onto the stage, left me by my seat and made sure the two girls were comfortable. He then went to the rostrum and picked up a microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said. “Today is just a private performance of an opus that Lady Grove and I have already booked for its world premiere in the future. Never, in my long career, have I been so involved with a piece of music that I consider to be equal to some of the classics, but with its own modern take. I ask you to sit back and enjoy the first performance of “Here and Now” by Alicia Sanders. Our pianists are the composer, and Tabitha Rafferty, a name that will also be gracing our billboards in a few more years. Our vocalist is someone you all know well, Edweena Sanders. Please refrain from applauding until the piece is finished, thank you.”

With that, he turned to the orchestra, made sure we were ready to go, and raised his baton. I stood, with my songbook in my hand, as the first notes built up to my small part in this. When I sang “In the beginning, there was Life!” we were enveloped in the wonderful notes of the two pianos as both girls played better than I had heard them before.

I sat down as the music washed over me and looked out at the audience. I wished that I had a camera beside me, and then looked and saw a go-pro on a tripod, seeing what I was seeing. Jordan was beaming, the twins had a look of total rapture, Carol was nearly twisting Sharron’s arm off. The orchestra board were in a long row, looking like clowns at a fairground, waiting for you to roll a ball into their mouths.

When the first twenty minutes came to an end, I could see several who wanted to stand and cheer. Luckily, they held back, and we were soon into the lush and wonderful adagio. I could have listened to that piece of music all afternoon, the pianos in front and the orchestra behind me, I was in a world of my own. All too soon, however, the final notes faded, and we readied ourselves for the final stretch. I stood and Wilhelm set us going, again.

I wasn’t looking at the audience now. I knew that they were hooked and ready to be landed. We played and I sung, both Ali and Tabby giving it their all. When we arrived at the last page of the score, I sang “If you just embrace the Here and Now”, with as much emotion as I could, and then just stood there as the final crescendo and chords built around me and crashed in a sonic boom of an ending.

Wilhelm stood with his baton up, for more than a few seconds, and the put his arm down to turn to the stalls. It wasn’t a big audience, but they were all on their feet and clapping and cheering. Ali and Tabby stood and beckoned me to stand with them as we took our bows. I called to Wilhelm to stand with us, and he got the orchestra on its feet as he joined us. We finished in proper orchestral fashion; Wilhelm led us three off, and then the orchestra left the stage.

Our audience was crowding the dressing rooms as we splashed faces and hugged each other. Then we were enveloped in hugs and kisses from the invading horde. I could see Sharron and Carol with their arms around Tabitha, as Jordan and the twins wrapped their arms around Alicia and me. Well, Jordan wrapped his arms around me, while the twins enveloped Ali.

Jordan whispered in my ear. “How are we going to top that?”

“No, it’s not we. It’s Alicia all the way now. That was my last bit; someone else can take the singing at the premiere.”

“How much of what we just heard was others?”

“Not much, Wilhelm was a great help in sorting out the glitches, but Ali was a whirlwind as she corrected and rewrote the music. I’ve never been so proud in my life.”

Algernon had organized town cars to take us back to the hotel to freshen up and then take us to his house for a dinner party. The orchestra were all invited so would be going home to change. Before we left, Kelly came up and asked me if I would like to take the stage to play the first half of the premiere performance. I told her that I would if Ali would write something for me.

On the way back to the hotel, Ali between me and Jordan, I turned to her and told her that she should ring Allan and tell him that she was booked to play a concert in the future.

She grinned. “I rang him last night and told him to make sure that there’s chocolate cake on top of the money. He wants a copy of the video, so that he can calculate how much he’s going to charge Kelly for the gig.”

The dinner party was lovely. We all ate well. Algernon was on a high and the rest of the crowd were also happy. One by one, the Sisters told us how much they had enjoyed the performance. Pet was the most astute when she asked me if it was my life-story, through Ali’s eyes.

Abigail asked me if I would be singing in the world premiere, and I told her that Kelly wanted me playing the first half.

“Good, now I won’t have to kill you to get the gig!”

With that she went to Ali and Kelly to offer her services as the vocalist.

We went back to the farm and a normal life. Sharron and I carried on writing for others, with one notable exception. “How did that come about?” was a smash hit on the Swan website. Sung by a couple of Swan members but written by Egg and Chips, it made a lot of money for the cause, as well as making three mothers and a father feel good.

The “World Premier” performance was a sell-out, but the DVD that hit the market, due to Abigail's contractual barriers, came from the private performance, much to Abigail’s amusement. It was a runaway best-seller in the classical genre and didn’t do too badly on the Billboard charts, either. Ali had written a forty-minute piece for me in the first half, so the event ended up as a double premier. I passed all my royalties to the two girls.

Ali graduated after another two years and immediately started composing something else for me to play alongside her, later. Allan signed her on as a full artiste, along with Tabitha, and was planning concerts for the two of them when Tabitha graduated. He was, he told us, only doing this for the two of them as a favour, ready now to join my parents down in Florida. He did, eventually, move down there and I heard a rumor that, with Alicia and Brad, they became known as “The Silly Six” in their local community. Or “The Happy Half-Dozen” by those not so jealous of the fun that had together.

Georgina became proficient on the guitar and formed an all-girl band to play country-rock. And so, the wheel turns. Martyn graduated with a degree in electronics and sat with me at the mixing desk, recording top-flight bands in our studio. It now had a bit more room; we had added to the rehearsal room and one concert grand now sat in there. I was now getting to be known as a producer, in my own right. He and Tabitha were now a genuine couple.

Jordan put Sharron in charge of the vet business, now with the two interns full-time. Sharron sat in the office as manager/surgeon/receptionist, while Carol kept the farm and studio books up to scratch. We did open the accommodation block at times when we were again inundated with guests.

Sometimes, as I sit between takes, I looked around the control room and the pictures on the walls. There was the section devoted to Josie and the Prentices that Martyn would nod to every time he came in. The pictures of the early Pixies and then the Sisters, along with all the awards, took up a lot of space.

I had two favorite places to look at. One was where there were pictures of Snowden and AJE, with me and Josie in truly happy times. Then my eyes would pass along the pictures of Joyce, and I out front of international stars, to end on a picture, taken from the DVD, of me standing with my songbook and the teenagers hammering away on two pianos. Alongside that was a picture I had cajoled out of the video makers. It showed the small audience with such a mixture of facial expressions it was impossible to give a name to. I called it “Clowns at a Fair.”

The vet shows continued, now considered a solid part of show-business. The Grove Institute stopped trying to find out what had cured everyone. The Swan Effect could not be bottled but still cast its magic over all those who sat and concentrated on the DVD to the end. There had been many attempts to replicate the effect, but it had only ever happened with the three of us, on the Italian instruments, and no amount of experimentation could discover the reason behind that fact.

I got older, Ali got more famous, and Georgina became as big a star as her mother. They remained living in the stable until they, eventually, married and had families of their own. Martyn and Tabitha were wed in the church where Alicia was christened and took over the stable apartment as their own.

Ali, and her new husband, a violinist that she had met at Wayne, bought a penthouse in Boston, to be close to the main areas of influence. Allans’ old agency looked after her bookings as she flew around the world to play, often with Tabitha on the same programme.

We had a long discussion with Sharron and Carol, agreeing to build a large veterinarian centre for them on the five acres out the back of the sheds, with a separate entrance and living accommodation. When the building was finished, we divided the property, and erected a fence between the two. They now had their own business.

After talking to Martyn, we split the studio off from the remaining farm, and sold it to him and Tabitha, at a “family rate,” after getting its own entry to the road. That just left us with an “L” shaped farm which could just move along at its own pace. I took over the old clinic as an office, where I concentrated on the retail business, along with a secretary and a couple of office girls. The upstairs accommodation was maintained for any visitors. The rehearsal room remained my own little bastion, filled with my instruments.

After all that, I produced an album, every couple of years, of my own songs. I wrote and played in the rehearsal room, and then would book time with Martyn to record. Sharron and I would get together and write songs, purely by request, and that kept ‘Egg and Chips’ in the marketplace.

Jordon is now a well-respected tutor at the vet school, and we have a happy life. Of course, there were times that weren’t so happy, when, one by one, our parents died. We had some big wakes, as well as big celebrations, over the years.

It was at one of those celebrations, with Sharron and I sitting side by side, when Carol took a picture of us. We both had our daughters behind us and a grandchild on our laps. It now sits on my office desk, adorned with a small plaque that reads - “The impossible can happen, with enough love.”

Marianne Gregory © 2023