Dear Readers, this is a rewrite.

Eleven

The four of them got an Uber to 30th Street Station in Philly, then rode the Acela to Grand Central Station in New York. Teri and Jenn couldn’t stop looking and talking as the towns wizzed by. They just had to keep reminding themselves that they were looking at the industrial side of each of these towns. Pulling their luggage behind, it took them almost an hour to travel down to Greenwich Village to the same boutique hotel they’d stayed in when they spent a week in New York in the summer.

After they checked in, Teri needed to attend to her dilation responsibilities while the rest of them relaxed and enjoyed the quiet. As they gathered together forty minutes later, Smith quietly said, “Inhale all the quiet now, because as soon as we head to the street, the noise is overwhelming.”

The four of them walked over to an Indian restaurant and took their time dining. Teri and Jenn opted for seltzer with a squeeze of lime instead of wine. They enjoyed each other’s company, listening to Smith tell stories of coming to New York ten years ago and what it was like seeing the Big Apple as an eighteen-year-old.

Then, both couples walked over to the club. After going in, they were escorted to a good table after Smith handed the manager a folded bill. As they sat down, a waitress greeted them and placed menus on the table.

They all ordered something to drink and French fries for the table while they waited for the band to start playing. They’d watched the four musicians set up and test their volumes. Finally, Jack Dempsey leaned into his mic. “Evening, folks. Tonight, we’re calling ourselves the Groundhogs of Punxsutawney. We’re a season early for Groundhog Day, but it was the first thing we’ve agreed on tonight besides the set list.”

They watched the drummer count off, then the bass and Jack Dempsey started playing. The keyboardist began a blues riff that served as the intro to an old Muddy Waters song. Lisa smiled as Teri whispered, “That’s Your Hoochie Coochie Man. Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, and Willie Dixon released that in 1954.”

Smith surprised them all when he chimed in, “And written by Willie.”

They listened as Jack played an excellent guitar and had a great voice. When they finished, he gave credit to the other musicians. “Thank you,” he said. “As you have figured out, this is what old rockers do on the weekends. We still have our day jobs, but love the music too much to give it up. Bill and Pete are both session men, and Rodger has invented too many toys for Cheerios and Cracker Jack. He doesn’t need to work. That first one was a Willie Dixon song, but let’s switch it up with something by the Stones.”

The four of them listened as the band did Time Is On My Side. Each one of them took a short solo, and each was perfect.

The four of them listened in awe through the whole evening. Occasionally, Teri had to discreetly get out of her chair, stand, and watch from the back. She deflated her inflatable donut when they snuck out before the lights came up.

As they were walking back to their hotel, Jenn was laughing. “Well, after listening to Jack, it’s obvious where the two of you get your talent. That band was good.”

Lisa turned to Smith. “Did you see the redhead?”

Smith smiled and shook his head. “This is one of those trick questions where no matter what I say, you’re going to punch me.” He rubbed his shoulder, anticipating a shot from her fist.

Lisa laughed. “She was beautiful, wasn't she?”

Smith shrugged. “Yeah, but I only looked for a minute. I think she was with your guy, Jack. She just kept staring at him.”

“I noticed. I also noticed that she wasn’t much older than me.”

As they climbed the stairs to their suite, Teri smiled. “He’s talented. Don’t you wonder why he was never a star? I’d never heard of him before tonight.”

Jenn nodded. “He’s a great musician, but maybe he didn’t get the breaks. You don’t know the whole story. I guess we’re going to get all of that info from Jessica when she gets done with her investigation.”

After a good night’s sleep, they snuck back into Philly, hoping that Richard would never find out they’d disobeyed his instructions.

The next day was business as usual. Teri sat down with Phil. “I wanted your opinion. I was thinking of these twenty Christmas-based songs. The women have each written many more, but I’m gleaning what I think are the best. How about five standards, with maybe two being duets? And I have five more potential duets from their originals. That leaves five solo cuts for each of them.”

Phil was reviewing the binder of sheet music that Teri had prepared. “Excellent work. Now, whose record label are you using?”

Teri smiled. “We have lots of choices. They each have their own companies, but I was thinking of proposing a third party to make the whole thing charity-based. Maybe pick something like donating everything to World Central Kitchen and let Bill Wiggins handle it through Warners.”

Phil smiled. “Total transparency would make it easier for everyone to agree and say yes. And World Central Kitchen is international and they are an impressive group that feeds anyone in crisis. ”

“That’s why I chose them. I was hoping everyone could get behind them.”

“Say, Phil. Have you ever heard of this guy? You know, our sperm donor guy?”

“Sure. Jack is well known among producers. Has a lot of album credits. Speaking of hearing him play, am I not supposed to know that the four of you went up to hear him play on Friday night?”

Teri’s head whipped around and stared at Phil. “Huh? How’d you know?”

“Right. You forget that dragging Smith along is a beacon to everone in the room. C’mon, Teri. He’s a celebrity and in New York City? A friend of mine called me. They were at the bar when the four of you walked in. Right, nobody notices Smith and three beautiful women spending the evening watching the show. You know that band is made up of studio musicians. I got three calls today about it all from friends in the industry. One guy even asked me if the Wildcats were thinking about replacing me.”

“Does Richard know that we went?”

“Nope. He would be upset over you going up there. I’ll just keep it a secret and hold it over your head.” Phil smiled.

Teri felt sick in her stomach. “I guess we were being foolish, but it was worthwhile seeing him perform. He’s good.”

Phil grinned. “Yep, I’ve heard that he’s talented. He’s famous for tutoring young bands starting out.”

“Well, how come he’s never cut an album and made a name for himself?”

Phil shrugged. “Fame’s not for everybody. A lot of producers find their satisfaction behind the scenes. Not everyone likes the bright lights. It’s a young person’s lifestyle.”

“So that’s it?”

“Well, you’re much more than a performing talent. This entire project with Beyoncé and Taylor is a great example of what you’re capable of achieving. You’re not intimidated by arranging and producing a whole album right off the top of your head. And you have no trouble composing material, either. Add that to a great voice and the ability to play whatever you touch; not too many people have that gift. You are one of a kind.”

“Wow, thanks. So you think that it’s more than DNA, huh?”

Phil laughed. “Sure. Your Mom raised you in a loving environment, letting both of you find yourselves. Lisa’s spent her whole life doing what she loves. And Amy provided you with whatever support you needed to pursue your musical career. She’d never said no to either of you. She’s pretty encouraging.”

“Yeah, she’s terrific. And I suppose we should thank her a million times for everything she has ever done for us. I’m glad that she and Conor do so well together.”

Phil smiled. “Remember, you are the spark that excites the Cats. Richard and I heard the old four-piece band several times and walked away from them. But when you got on the stage, it was a completely different band. I heard all the new arrangements and that third voice. Honestly, from my perspective, you were the fifth finger in the glove.”

“Am I the pinkie?”

They both laughed, and Teri surprised herself when she hugged Phil. “Thank you.”

Phil blushed and squeezed her. “Working with you and the Wildcats has been a dream for me. I loved slogging around this Summer when we toured, and I vicariously enjoyed the crowds around me cheering while I was sitting in the middle of the audience controlling the soundboard. And I’m looking forward to going to Europe with the entourage in tow. This will probably be the closest I’ll ever come to being a grandparent.”

“You’ve spoiled me. I never knew I’d find a producer who could be so patient teaching me the ropes. I was clueless the first time we were recording. Now, I enjoy the dynamic sound we’re able to wrangle out of the band. But whatever happened to EBR and their record release?”

“EBR is a completely different situation. Their album is finished, and I’ve heard from Bill that it’s pretty incredible. He mentioned that the band used all of your suggestions for arrangements. Warner’s is releasing one or two songs to critics and a few key radio stations to gauge the reaction. Naturally, Spotify and some others will get great copies of just a few of their songs, too. The idea is to build momentum and spark listeners' interest for more. However, the band doesn’t want to tour behind the album, so things are moving slowly. None of the band members seems eager to speed things up. And I don’t sense any interest from them in going back into the studio.”

“I wonder if they’d be interested in coming over to Europe for a few selective shows. The whole band and families might enjoy a vacation. Maybe we can extend the same offer to the Flower Sisters and their families. Imagine a few live cuts recorded in Rome or Paris for the second album.”

“It’s a great idea.”

“Maybe we should build a mobile studio to ship over to Europe. We could convince EBR to do a live show and make a record. Heck, the Cats would rock an album in Paris!”

Phil stared at Teri. “Did you just think off the top of your head? It’s a great idea and I’m sure that Bill Wiggins would fund a recording studio. In his mind, when we’re done using it, he’d either use it for other Warner bands or sell it for a profit.”

Teri shook her head. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m just throwing out ideas.”

“Second album? You think the band’s going to have a second album by the time we go to Europe?”

Teri hesitated. “Maybe. But we’ll definitely have lots of new cuts by June. I don’t know what the Saturday Night Live crowd wants to hear. Would they want recycled hits or new stuff?”

Teri answered her own question. “How about if we do twenty-four bars of Run, Run, Gone and then flip into something new? And I want to have a bunch of my Vampire Opera tunes ready to go by then. The original idea was to slide a few songs into the new album. I was thinking about incorporating some of the first album songs into the opera, too. By the time we release the third album, we’ll be ready for Broadway.”

“Have you thought about who’s going to play the romantic leads?”

Teri stopped for a minute. “No. How cool that will be.”

Teri buried herself in songs and discussions with the artists’ producers for the Christmas project. Three days later, they were ahead of schedule when they’d agreed to a set list to give to the stars for approval. Once they heard back, they’d start creating arrangements and working on the songs the two would sing together.

At this point, Teri could give herself a break and just take a few days off. She woke up and didn’t rush out to Allentown to work. Instead she hung around Jenn and watched her work on her classes.

Finally, Jenn looked up. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”

Teri kissed her lovingly. “Oh, it's all good. We’ve taken the Christmas project as far as we can until we hear back from Taylor and Beyonce.”

“Do you talk directly to them?”

“Nope. I’m just in discussion with their people. I doubt that I’ll do much more than watch when it’s time to record. They’ll probably want to call all those shots.”

Jenn smiled. “How crazy would it be if they wanted to record at Electric Lady Studios and use Jack as their producer. You could just hang out in the background, you and Phil.”

Teri shook her head. “That would be too much, spooky kind of stuff. I would love to just talk to him. I mean telling him about Lisa and me might make him happy or send him over the edge.”

“Oh, Teri. You should ask Jessica to take a look at the young friend he had with him at the show. She’s young. Maybe that’s his daughter.”

“Nah, his girlfriend.”