Chapter 2

Monday, on the way home, Willow asked Gina if she could ask her mother if she minded going out of the way on the late evenings to take Jacob home.

“Why are we taking Jacob home, may I ask?”

“Because, friend, he will be joining the Junior Orchestra as a classical guitar player. Hopefully, he will round out Summer Rose playing folk songs. He is a fine guitarist, but not one who wants to be a rock star. He’s been shy about letting everyone hear him.”

“How do you know all that?”

“Because his parents brought him to the New Year party, and we danced.”

“So, where does he live?”

“At a farm that his parents run, if we turn off the Coventry Road, we can drop him off and end up going into the Village on the Birmingham Road.”

After they had dropped off Gina, Wendy turned to Willow.

“Once again, young lady, you’ve drawn another boy into your orbit. I saw you kissing him at the party, but there has to be more to the story.”

“I dragged him in to see Mister Bamborough at lunchtime. He had a brand-new Martin guitar for Jacob to play. Jacob almost fainted when he took it out of the case, and then made it sing. After that, he was asked to join the orchestra, with a promise that there will be something for him to play with us.”

“You really have to stop interfering in people’s lives.”

“Why? All I’m doing is helping them express themselves.”

Wendy had no answer to that. She parked at their house, and they went in to change and get dinner ready. She had to admit that Willow was doing well, so far, in moving the chosen few to another level. Actually, it was the chosen many, after speaking to the teachers.

Tuesday morning, Gina announced that her mother was happy to give Jacob a lift, and even knew how to get to the farm. Willow played the organ for the morning service, and the day was as normal as it could be. Lunchtime, there was much talk about the exam results. Willow just said that she had done well, without letting on about the number of ‘A’s she had. Jacob told them that he was able to come to the orchestra, as long as he had a trip home. When he was told that he had a lift, he rang home and left a message.

The rehearsal was, once again, in the theatre. The two Yamahas were set up, so Willow and Gina sat at one each. Jacob took a seat in the back, next to the percussion, and was immediately given a triangle and a stack of sheet music. Willow noticed that the choir were with them. Mister Bamborough tapped his baton for quiet.

“Welcome to the new term. Today, we’ll just repeat the full show for May. We start with the ‘Seven Improvisations’, played by Willow. Then we will go on with ‘Danse Macabre’, with Abbie leading the violins. We will follow that with the ‘Carnival of the Animals’, and finish with the ‘Organ Symphony’. It will take us a good two hours, so consider it a performance. Any mistakes need to be forgotten and you just carry on, as if you have a paying audience.”

He tapped his baton again and took the pose. Then the orchestra sat to listen to Willow play the ‘Seven Improvisations’. The organ was fed into the theatre PA, with three times multiplication, so sounded very much like the big organ in the Cathedral. When she finished, the orchestra then made ready for the ‘Danse Macabre’, which Barbara was very good playing her spooky violin. At the end, they were straight into the ‘Carnival of the Animals’, with Gina and Willow on the twin pianos. Julie, who had played the xylophone earlier, now had the glass harmonica.

When they finished the final movement, they then readied themselves for the first movement of the final piece. The choir, finally, had their five minutes of fame as they sung along to Willow’s organ playing. Just over two and a half hours after they had sat down, the last notes faded.

“Before we go, I would like to welcome Jacob Epstein to our orchestra. Next week, we will give him some work to do, by hearing him play guitar when we rehearse the ‘Concerto de Aranjuez’, by Rodrigo. I’m thinking that we can do some Spanish music over the year, with an Albeniz piano concerto as well. No Senior Orchestra on Wednesday.”

They all left the theatre and picked up their things to go home. Jacob joined the girls as they went out to find Maisie looking at a magazine in the reception area.

“Sorry we’re a bit late, Mum. We played the entire May performance. We’re moving on to other things for a while.”

“It’s all right. I stuck my head into the theatre and listened to you all for a little while. What did you think of your first time, Jacob?”

“I didn’t know what to expect. In the past, if there was no guitar in the piece, I never bothered to listen much. Tonight, I was sat at the back with a triangle and actually had to follow the score, and it made a difference. Being inside the orchestra, and able to watch all the players as they did their part; it was like a blind man being able to see. I wasn’t just a spectator but could feel the music vibrate inside me as it was played. I see why you all do it, now.”

“That’s why I told you that we are all just part of it, whether we’re playing solo or one of the group. You’ll have your chance next week, if we do the Rodrigo, are you happy with that?”

“I’ve played along with it on a CD I have, so I think that I’ll be able to hold my own. It will be totally different with a live orchestra. Have either of you played any Spanish pieces?”

“I have played some Albeniz piano pieces when learning the piano. What about you, Willow?”

“I’ve played a few. I’m sure that we’ll be told what we’re doing after we get Jacob as an integral part of the orchestra.”

As they went towards Stoneleigh, Maisie turned off on a side road, then turned into a driveway.

“You know where to go, Mrs. Summer?”

“I do, Jacob, although I haven’t been here for a good many years. When I was a teenager, I used to work here in my summer holidays, picking berries for your grandfather. That’s when he had a small field of loganberries. They were the worst thing to pick, and I had a lot of scratches before we finished. That was just before I went to Birmingham and got a job.”

She drove into the yard in front of the farmhouse, and Rosalie came out.

“Come on in for a cup of tea before you carry on. How was your first time in the orchestra, son?”

“It was good, Mum. I’ll tell you all about it later. Mrs. Summer was just telling us that she picked loganberries here when she was a few years younger.”

“That was a thing that your grandfather grew. We pulled them out as soon as he passed, as being far too difficult to pick. Now, Willow I’ve met, who are these others.”

Gina and Maisie were now standing, and Gina spoke up.

“I’m Gina Summer, and I play with Willow on the church organ and in the Community Club. This is my mother---”

Just then, there was a voice from the porch.

“Maisie! How many years is it? You haven’t aged a day.”

“Wilhelm, you look like you’ve been working hard in the fields.”

“Not what I planned to do when we last spoke, is it? I was ready to travel the world and study to be a teacher. Then my father injured himself by falling out of a tractor, and suddenly, I became a farmer as my brothers hightailed it as far as they could. I can’t complain, though. It’s kept the roof over our heads. Come on in and tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself.”

They went into the house and sat around the kitchen table, with Rosalie pouring out cups of tea.

“So, Maisie. Last time you were here, you said that you had an interview, then you were gone.”

“That’s right. I went to Birmingham and got the job, working in a bridal shop as a salesgirl and helping with the dressmaking. I ended up as the main dressmaker and stayed there until I married.”

“Who was the lucky man?”

“He was Roger Summer, a career soldier who I met at a dance. I ended up living at various army camps for a while, and we created Gina in twenty-eleven. He was badly injured by friendly shrapnel in Helmand Province, that year. It turned sceptic and he died before he could be repatriated. He wasn’t classed as an official war fatality, but they did give me a small pension. I came back to Stoneleigh to live with my parents. I ended up as their carer until they both died during the first years of COVID. I inherited their house, where we live.”

“So, how do you make ends meet?”

“I’ve set up a workroom in the old main bedroom, and Gina and I use the spares. I make bespoke wedding dresses and formal wear. It just takes time, which I have plenty of, or should I say I used to. Since Willow and Gina have got together, I’ve been out for meals and things more than I did. It’s been good and seeing these two in the Cathedral was worth everything. Gina will be solo on the piano this year and is now playing the organ in the church. Anyway, we have to move on. It’s been good seeing you. I bring the girls home whenever they have late studies, so I’ll be seeing you again.”

The three of them got back in the car and carried on into Stoneleigh. Willow got out at her home and went in.

“A bit late, dear?”

“We did the entire May performance, Mum, then we had to drop Jacob off at the farm. We went in and had a cup of tea. Maisie had worked at the farm when she was a teenager, working for Jacob’s grandfather picking berries.”

“So, how was Jacob after his first orchestra session?”

“He knows why we love doing it, as he realised that he was inside the music for the first time. He was on the triangle, which sounds easy, but takes a lot of focus. He’ll be playing the guitar next week as we try something new.”

She sat and ate her sandwich and drank more tea, then went off to get ready for bed. Next morning, at breakfast, she had a thought.

“Last night I found out that Gina’s father died in Afghanistan before she was born. That is so sad. I wonder if that was why she didn’t push herself forward in the past. Her first nine years was living with her mother and grandparents, probably the only girl of her age in the Village.”

“That is sad, dear, but you’ve pulled her out of that, the same way you’re pulling Jacob out. Every member of that dance band were here for you, more than gaining kudos from the school. You gave them the opportunity to enjoy something different. I spoke to a few of the parents, and they all praised your skills in organising, and leading, a small group.”

‘I find that difficult to believe.”

“Believe it or not. Now it’s time to get ready for another day at the grindstone.”

“One day, you’re going to have to explain that one to me.”

At lunch, that day, Jacob asked Willow if it was possible for him to be picked up and taken home, as it was taking a lot of his sister’s time away from her agricultural studies,

“Does she live at the farm?”

“No, she’s in a flat in southern Coventry. She comes to the farm and picks me up, then goes to the college.”

That afternoon, he waited while Wendy was asked, then went to his sisters’ car to tell her that she was off the hook. That afternoon, Wendy was guided to the farm to drop him off.

Thursday, on the way to school, Wendy asked the question that had remained unspoken.

“So, how was your results from the first term?”

Gina was happy to reply.

“They were better than last year. I even had a comment on how much better I had done.”

“That’s because you’ve started to train your brain, Gina.”

“How does that work, friend.”

“It’s happening because you’ve started to remember music, after just being happy to read the sheet. It makes your brain able to come up with facts that you weren’t able to before. I bet that you’re an ‘A’ student, Jacob.”

“I have always downplayed that fact, Willow. It must be the reason that you’ve just given. I can play hundreds of tunes from memory, and school has never been a problem for me. How did you know?”

“Because I’m the same. The more music I remembered, the better my retention of academic facts became. Keep up what you’re doing, Gina, and you’ll be straight ‘A’s by third year.

“That would be wonderful. I had a talk to Mum, last night, and she told me that she had enough savings for me to go to university, if I kept improving. I had thought that I may carry on her business, but can’t sew a button on properly, according to her.”

That short discussion had long-lasting effects, as the three of them now knew that they were as good as they could be. The school did not publish a class honours list, just had an honours board for those students that had achieved greatness when they left.

It also made Gina take more interest in class, realising that she would remember and understand more of the details. Another thing that happened, that week, was the number of members of the dance band who asked about another performance in the club. They had been told, by the parents who had gone before Christmas, how much fun it was, and that it was a breath of fresh air after the lack of entertainment during the lockdowns.

Friday afternoon was the first Music Studies lesson, and they were introduced to creating music for media and video games, something that they all had heard, but never thought that it could be a job. Both Willow and Gina realised that they had an advantage with the sounds that they could produce from their keyboards. For Willow, it would give her the impetus to write out the score.

On Saturday, Willow met Gina at the church to see about the hymn playing, and, together, they went in to see Malcolm.

“We’ve come in, Malcolm, because there are members of the band that played here who want to do it again. What do you think?”

“I think that it’s a damn fine idea. There have been quite a few locals who think so, too. What say we pencil in a sing-along evening next Saturday, with a dinner dance at the end of the month. That will give a two-week break. If we’re not collecting for the church roof, we can pay the band, cash in hand.”

“Don’t we have to register, or something?”

“Not if you aren’t paying tax, and you won’t be doing that for a while. I can always give the money to the parents, to be put into a trust account for your further education. Look, I’ll start doing that for the sing-along nights. It won’t be a lot, but it will be a start. I’ll make it a set amount, instead of a slice of the tips. That evening was a very special one.”

“Thank you, Malcolm. We may have a third member of the group at the sing-along. Jacob is a local, a good guitarist, and knows a lot of folkish songs. I’ll bring my keyboard over, if you can set up that amp and three microphones, we’ll see what difference we can make.”

The friends went to Willow’s house, to tell Wendy what had been arranged. Wendy just shook her head and smiled, thinking that, once again, Willow was becoming an event organiser, and now dragging Gina along with her. The girls brought the keyboard down and set it up next to the upright and spent the day getting their groove back after the break.

Sunday was Gina’s turn in church, with Willow sitting with her parents. Maisie had been told about the arrangements and was happy to support the plan. On Monday, Jacob was told that he was needed to expand Summer Rose on the following Saturday evening. He said that he would talk to his sister about picking him up, as he thought that a pub sing-along wasn’t to his parent’s taste.

That day, Willow and Gina went to see Miss Russell to tell her about the dinner dance plan. She was happy to follow the plan and would arrange the school coach if there was enough parents and band members who would want to leave from the school. At lunch, the previous band members were told the date, and the likelihood of some payment.

Tuesday was Gina’s turn to play in the chapel. She found that the hymn, being one she had played in the church, hardly needed her to read the sheet music. Willow stood with the other members of the choir who were in her year and sang with them with gusto. The joy of singing in the Cathedral had made her willing to use her voice.

Orchestra, that afternoon, was like nothing they had done before. Nobody, except Jacob, had played the ‘Concerto’ before, so it was a learning curve for all of them, needing to read the score as they went. There were mistakes, but they restarted, from the top, and overcame the hurdles as they went along. Jacob made the difference, playing the Martin with skill and feeling, and not needing to read the music in front of him. When they had played it completely, Mister Bamborough told them to take a break while he left the room. When he came back in, he was getting them settled, and pointing out some things to various members, when Miss Russell and the Head came in and sat by the door. They, alone, had the effect of sharpening the orchestra. The next playing would be a performance.

The baton was tapped, they readied, and then they were playing the piece, a hard one on the guitar, but a beautifully dreamlike piece of music in parts. Willow watched the Head from her seat, noting the amazed look, then the smiling. Miss Russell just smiled a lot. When they finished, the Head went to give Jacob a hug.

“That was wonderful! We’ve had good guitarists in the school, but never one as wonderful as you. My congratulations to you all, this gives us a new route to follow with public performances.”

She left the room and Miss Russell then called for quiet.

“I agree with everything that the Head said. This orchestra is proving to be the best that we’ve ever had. Now, a little bit of news. This Saturday, there will be a sing-along evening that Willow and Gina play at, with singable songs for the young, and then drinking songs for the not so young. That ends around ten. Two weekends later, on the Saturday evening, there will be a dinner dance in Stoneleigh and our very own dance band will be playing. Anyone from the band who can’t be there, please let us know so we can arrange stand-ins. If there is a requirement, I’ll organise a driver for the school coach, which will allow you to bring your parents or friends along in comfort, leaving from here and coming back here afterwards.”

The three friends went out to get in the car with Maisie for another trip home. They only stopped to let Jacob out and then headed to the Village. When Willow was dropped off, she had her sandwich and drink. Wendy eyed her daughter.

“So, something good, again?”

“We did a Rodrigo guitar concerto, from the basics to a performance for the Head. Jacob blew us away with his skill. I’m sure we’ll be trying more Spanish music to add to that for a full concert. Miss Russell announced our show on Saturday evening, and the dinner dance. That will be interesting to see how many from the school turn up. Except for the Christmas Party, we’ve been totally distanced from them up to now. If they start turning up at the club, it will change our relationships with some in our year. I suppose that it had to happen, sooner or later.”

“That’s what you get from being popular.”

“I know. By the way, I’ve noticed some of the ladies in church are standing together to sing the hymns, I wonder if they rehearse anywhere, or if it’s just a Sunday thing.”

“Why don’t you ask Edie when you see her. If they want, you can arrange a rehearsal, with one of you playing the organ and the other conducting. It would be nice if there was a Village choir.”

Willow went to bed wondering if she should have stayed silent.

On Wednesday morning, Jacob told them that his sister would be bringing him to the club on Saturday, along with his older Fender.

“Before I got it, someone had fitted a pick-up inside, but I’ve never tried it out.”

“Don’t worry. Malcolm will be setting up a twenty-watt amp for the mics, and we have leads to spare. It will be interesting to hear you amplified. If your sister can bring you early, we get an early meal before we start, which will give us a few minutes to set the volumes.”

The rest of the week went normally, with Willow and Gina having to answer a lot of questions about the sing-along and the dinner-dance. The girls organised themselves to transport the Yamaha to the club on Saturday morning. Jacob told them that his sister would drop him off around ten, so they could see how he could fit in, and pick him up at lunch time. She would bring him back at around half past six, in her boyfriend’s car, and they would take him home after eight.

Willow went over to the church on Friday evening to check the hymns. The Reverend and Edie were tidying up and they sat in the small kitchen with hot chocolates.

“Mrs. Russell. I’ve noticed that some of the ladies are standing together in church to sing hymns. Are they practising at other times?”

“Not that I know, Willow. A couple have wondered if they could get together in the church on weekday evenings. It would have to wait until the weather improves, as it’s far too expensive to warm the building for a few. It costs enough to make sure it’s warm enough on Sundays.”

“What about using the club? That’s got good insulation. If they get together on a weekday, the room will hold the warmth of the weekend events, so they could plan two or more sessions a month. It would be a good thing if there was a Village Choir, especially getting towards next Christmas.”

“That might be an idea. I’ll ask Malcolm.”

Willow went home, thinking that she may have provided a solution to something good for the Village. She reported the conversation to Wendy, who rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Willow, my daughter. You know that you have to do well in school. You can’t go committing yourself to yet another project.”

“But Mum! They will be singing acapella. They won’t need me around!”

“I’ll believe that when I see it. Now, get off to bed, you have a busy day ahead of you.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025