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

Chapter 3

Saturday morning, Willow and Wendy carried the Yamaha to the club, making another trip to collect the stand and stool. Malcolm had put the amp in place and set out three microphones. Willow took a dining chair from the back room and set one microphone in front of it, at a level to pick up a seated singer.

They tested the sound and spoke to Malcolm while waiting for Jacob. He told them that there was to be a meeting that afternoon, where Ashley was going to be elected to the club board. Because the Roses lived so close, he would be given the keys if there were any evening events in the week, which would allow Malcolm some time off.

When Jacob arrived, he was followed in by his sister. Racheal was in her twenties and much more social than the rest of the family. Willow took to her immediately. Jacob opened his guitar case and pulled out a Fender acoustic that had been altered with a pick-up inside the body, a volume and a tone control, and a jack plug in the usual place. He plugged in the lead and played a few chords, adjusting the volume and tone to his satisfaction.

“Jacob. We can work this two ways. Either you play something you know, and we’ll follow; or we play something we know, and you follow. When we’re playing, tonight, we’ll let you lead and pick the songs, so, I suggest that we start this that way.”

“All right, Willow. A lot of what I know is stuff that you may have heard before.”

He tuned up as Malcolm brought Racheal a drink. With his first song, Willow was able to catch on quickly, while Gina took a bit longer. They repeated it and Racheal told them that it was great. They worked for an hour, with Gina getting faster to find the accompaniment. Then they swapped, with the girls playing their singable pop, and Jacob finding it easy to add the guitar, sometimes with a lead-like passage. When they stopped, Racheal was grinning.

“I told my boyfriend that we were going to a community club for a sing-along, tonight. He’s a dear, and agreed to come, but I think that he had the idea that it will be old fogies singing war-time ditties. He is a budding singer in a new band in Coventry. This will blow his mind.”

“You don’t mind bringing Jacob?”

“Certainly not. I used to hear him play while I was at home and was amazed at how good he was. It took you girls to pull him out of his bedroom and into the world. He told me that he played in front of the school orchestra and that it was so different. I think that he may be a good entertainer, rather than the farmer he’s been pencilled in as. Rick and I watched that concert on Christmas Eve. I never thought that I would be here with the star of that show.”

“Has Jacob shown you the two DVDs of school concerts that we were in?”

“No. I’ll have to borrow them from him and have a look this afternoon before I come back to collect him. What time will you need him here?”

“About half past six. There will be food served, and he will get a free meal before we play. Does your boyfriend’s group do gigs? We have a bigger room in the back where we’ll be having a dinner dance on the last Saturday of the month. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Willow led Racheal through to the back room.

“This seats up to two forty without a dance floor. There are four fifty-watt Marshalls and a PA system in-house. We had eleven on stage before Christmas for a party to a full house.”

“Are you heavily involved in this club?”

“My father will be on the board by tonight, but I just seem to be here a lot, playing and singing. Gina and I are the organists for the church across the road.”

“That’s interesting. I’ll have a look at that before I take Jacob home. I’ve been dropping hints to Rick for a few months and having a venue in mind is the first step in getting him to propose.”

“There will be a society wedding there just before Easter. The reception will be in this room.”

“Oh! Who are the couple?”

“Cassandra and Terry. She is the daughter of Baron Leigh. If you look in the church, you’ll see lots of memorials to the earlier side of the family. The third baron died without children and the peerage went to his cousin.”

They all left the club; Gina went home, and Willow took Racheal and Jacob into the church. They were amazed by the beauty and the calmness of the building.

“This is amazing, Willow. I’ve never been in here before, even though I lived nearby. Our family lapsed without a synagogue close by.”

“I was told that by your parents. What is your boyfriend?”

“At the moment, semi-goth satanist on stage. I believe that he had been a choirboy in his early years.”

They went to her car and Willow went home.

“How did it go, sweetheart?”

“Good, Dad. Malcolm told me that you’re going to be on the club board and will be getting the keys. Will that mean that you’ll also double as bartender?”

“Probably. I did that for a while as a job while I was at Cambridge.”

“Did you serve any drinks to Mum while she was still underage?”

“Of course. She had an excellent ID, and so did all of her friends.”

“Oh, great! My Mum was a forger, and my Dad worked as an underage barkeep in a speakeasy. No wonder I’m so mixed up.”

“You really are a bright one. You know that you light up our lives.”

“My battery seems to be lasting longer, these days. I told Mum that there are some church ladies who have started singing together. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to open up the club on a weekday evening so they can practise. I won’t be surprised if they want someone on the piano.”

“Are you set for this evening?”

“Yes, Summer Rose is now a trio. You’ll be able to sing as you pull pints.”

When Wendy and Willow walked to the club, Ashley had been there for a while and was now a member of the club management. He had been surprised to see the books, and how much more business had come in since the sing-alongs started, compared with the previous few years. Gina and Maisie were already sitting with drinks.

When Jacob arrived, they had a meal before they started playing. The place was filling, with Rick, Racheal’s boyfriend, looking almost normal. The Russell's joined Wendy and Maisie at their table, and the three teens went to start the evening entertainment. Willow looked out at the crowded room, seeing some faces from school and then made an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, Summer Rose has been joined by Jacob Epstein on guitar. We hope you like what we play.”

They started with the songs that had Jacob leading, with Gina on the piano and Willow on the keyboard. Obviously, a lot of people had listened to the radio over the previous years, as there was good singing. At around eight-thirty, Willow said that they were taking a short break and then would be back with the drinking songs. Jacob was reluctant to leave the spotlight, but both Willow and Gina gave him a hug and told him that this was just the start.

They took a comfort break and were playing again when Racheal and Rick came back in, staying to the end and singing along. When they finished Rick came over to them.

“I have to compliment you two on your professionalism. That was a full evening of entertainment. I know how hard it is to capture your audience, and you had everyone in the palms of your hands. Jacob was better than I’d ever heard him, and I never thought that I’d see him basking in the spotlight and enjoying being an entertainer.”

“He was magnificent in front of the school orchestra. You can expect to see him starring in a future concert.”

“Rachael said that you were the organist in that Christmas Eve concert. That piece is one that always gives me shivers down my spine.”

“We’ll be back in the Cathedral to play a Saint-Saens concert in May. Who knows what else we’ll be doing in the rest of the year. Did you see the DVDs of the school concerts yet?”

“Not yet. Rach has them in the car and we’ll watch them during the week.”

“I hope that you enjoy them.”

Wendy and Willow helped to tidy up before Ashley could leave, with Ashley carrying the keyboard and Willow with the stand and stool.

“Another great show tonight.”

“It did go well, didn’t it. Jacob added so much to the entertainment.”

“He seemed to grow as he played. You look like you’ve done it again, my girl.”

“I can’t help it if people hide their skill. His evenings in his bedroom has made him a very good.”

“Just like someone else we know.”

Sunday morning, the family walked to church, with Willow going up to fire up old Betsy. When the church was empty again, she went down to find out what the gossip was. It wasn’t surprising that a lot of it was about last night’s entertainment. Rick and Racheal were there, and Rick came over to her.

“Good morning, Willow. I thought that I was just being dragged here to check out a likely marriage venue. I never thought that I would be hearing you play. I’ve never heard a genuine old organ before, and I have to say it was worth coming. It has a tone all of its own.”

“That’s because it’s old, and still uses air pressure from a reservoir. The word that best describes it is authentic.”

“That’s it. I wonder if I could get a tune recorded here. There are a few that we sing that should have an organ, and it would really make a difference with that sound.”

“As long as it’s not one of those Goth dirges about death and destruction. I don’t think that the Reverend would approve of that.”

“Actually, one’s about love and marriage, and a short burst of the wedding march would round it out nicely.”

“If that’s it, I can organise for you to bring your sound gear in and I’ll play it for you, in full, and you can cut it to suit.”

“Would you? That would be great! Give me your number and I’ll get back to you.”

That afternoon, Gina and Willow worked on their Music Studies project. They had been given memory cards with a short segment of a video game, but without any sound. Their task, before the next lesson, was to see if they could create a musical accompaniment to the action. They both used Willow’s organ and laptop but created their own takes on the segment that they had been given. They used some of the synthesizer controls, recording the output to the laptop and then adding the video, before recording it back on their memory cards.

The following week the girls and Jacob were the centre of some attention, as those who had been at the club told their friends about the show. On Tuesday afternoon, they played the ‘Concerto’ through, and then went on to start learning an Albinez piece.

“Today, boys and girls, we will start learning one of the harder pieces that you’ve come across. It is Albinez, ‘Opus 232’, his ‘Cantos de Espana’. We will do it in its original form, with three parts. The thing with this are the odd timings and chords. The second and third movements do not flow as easily as you’re used to, being based on flamenco.”

It took them the rest of the session to master the easier movement. The whole opus was aimed at a piano and cello. With other parts of the orchestra adding their weight. Gina was on piano, and Willow was sitting with her clarinet. Alec was quite friendly, and they spoke between playing. By the time they went home they had worked hard.

………………………………………………………….

While the orchestra was rehearsing, the Head and Miss Russell were in the Head’s office, speaking to a well-dressed man who had asked for an appointment.

“I have to tell you, Mister Waddington, that we have had promoters in here before, offering the world but really just wanting to use our school talent to make a killing. I’ll say to you, before you start, that our children are our first responsibility, and they’re not for signing for pop shows, no matter how good you think they are.”

“What it says on the card is that I am a promoter, true, but I have a great interest in classical music, and find talent good enough to make recordings for a classical music CD company. I could organise a weekend in a studio with your wonderful orchestra, and you would have a CD on the market showing just how good this school is. I was at the concert at the Cathedral and was totally enraptured by what they did there. I know that show will be a BBC production, but I’m sure that there are other items in their repertoire that deserve greater exposure.”

“Give me your contact details, and a list of other orchestras that you have recorded. We’ll do our research. If the signs are good, we’ll get in touch.”

……………………………………………………..

Wednesday evening, Ashley was needed to go to the club and open up. He found a group of village ladies asking to use the front area to rehearse their singing. One of them asked if Willow could help them with the piano, so he rang her and told her that the speculation was now fact, and if she could come and play the piano.

That evening, she played as accompaniment on some hymns, some carols, and told the ladies that she would get some lyrics for them next week. None of them read music, so she would have to lead the singing until they got the hang of every choral piece. She walked home with her father, and he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Tonight, I saw, at first hand, how good you are with teaching. You could have a career teaching singing, even if you don’t get to sing, yourself.”

“I’m just repeating what I hear at school, Dad. It’s no big thing.”

The rest of the week was as usual as school days could be. They submitted their music for the video games, and they went home Friday with an arrangement for Jacob to join them again for a practise session on Saturday afternoon. It was Gina’s week for the church organ so Willow had some spare time on her hands to source easier choral pieces that the ladies would be able to master.

Saturday morning, Rick got in touch and asked if Willow could arrange a session in the church one evening in the week.

“I’ll go and see the Reverend and call you back. I do have an idea. If you have the actual songs that you want rearranged, can you bring a CD or tape player with them. If I listen to them once, I can then play something suitable the next time. I can count down to the start of a song, so you can then record the organ and will have the timing when you add the track. That might be easier than trying to make the actual classical piece fit.”

“Great idea, I’ll bring the recording gear and the player. Do you have headphones?”

“I have some of my own. I’ll call you back with a time.”

She went over to the church where Gina was running through the hymns and sought out the Reverend.

“Reverend, I’ve been asked to provide a backing track on the organ. It will only take one evening. If I tell them to list the organ of St. Marys, Stoneleigh, on the cover notes, will it be right?”

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask for a donation, but we can accept a small percentage of sales, say a couple of percent to the roof fund.”

“Got you. I’ll tell you tomorrow if it’s on. Will Thursday evening work for you?”

“I’ll be here. Who are the group, someone from school?”

“No. It’s Rick, Racheal Epstein’s boyfriend. He was here with her last Sunday. That’s when he heard the organ.”

Back at home, she rang Rick. He agreed to the Thursday, and readily agreed to paying a small percentage to the roof fund. That afternoon, Racheal brought Jacob to the club. Because it wasn’t a show night, Gina and Willow swapped seats on the upright for two hours, with the one not playing being the lead singer. They worked through more of Jacob’s repertoire. By the time they packed up, they would be able to handle a full evening of song, the next time it happened. Racheal told them that she would be coming to the dinner dance, so Jacob would be available if needed.

On Sunday, Gina played for the service and Willow sat with the ladies of the choir, trying to gauge their voices in full flight, as they had been a little reticent on the Wednesday evening. That afternoon, she looked for choral pieces on her computer, sending suitable ones to the printer. She found three that she liked, and made ten copies of each set, thinking that they would last her several weeks to get the ladies singing properly.

The school week passed quickly, with much discussion about who were going to be at the dinner dance with their parents. If they, and the usual villagers, turned up, the casual event may be more crowded than the New Year’s Eve party. Gina played for Tuesday morning chapel and the orchestra practise saw them work on the second and third movements of the Albinez.

Wednesday, Willow introduced the ladies to a genuine choral piece for the first time. They worked on it for two hours, with her having to coax some in using the voice that they had sung hymns with on the Sunday. On the way home, Ashley patted her on the shoulder.

“Tonight, you took those ladies out of their comfort zones. If they all turn up next week, you’ll have the foundation of a good choir. That choral piece will make, or break, them.”

Thursday evening, Willow had warmed up her fingers with some Bach when Rick, Racheal, and a couple of guys lugging big bags came into the church. She went down to watch them set up the recording equipment.

“What we have here, Willow, is a small transmitter which will send a signal to this receiver, which you have the headphones plugged into. We will be able to record that signal, digitally, onto a hard drive, which will also be able to record what the microphone catches. All we need is the best place to set up.”

“There’s an outlet in the tearoom for the power, and I believe that the sweet spot is just in front of the temporary altar. Just don’t put anything on it! Play me the songs while I play you some music to set the levels. I’ll go up and start.”

She played some Bach and some bits of the ‘Organ Symphony’ to give them a volume range, while listening to the three songs that Rick wanted to overdub. When they indicated that they were ready, she called down.

“Play me the songs again but be prepared to reject the result. It’ll be better by the second or third take.”

She set herself to improvise and gave an arm wave to start. She could see the four of them all had headphones on, so were probably listening to the final cut as it was being recorded. The song that Rick had said was about love and marriage was quite sweet, she thought, and she was restrained with the additional parts of the Wedding March. After the third set, everyone in the body of the church had big grins, so she took her headphones off and they waved her to come down. She switched the fans off and tidied up, then went down to have Racheal give her a hug.

“That was fantastic, Willow. It really made those songs stand out!”

Rick then gave her a hug as well.

“Rach is right. The organ sound has made all the difference. Those three tracks will join another three that we have perfected and will be issued on the internet by the weekend. We have a video of us doing ‘Love and Marriage’, and we’ll have this audio added to it. You took what we were doing to heart and the result sounds as if you’ve been in the group for ever. Still, with what I saw of your Deep Purple and Moody’s acts, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

Willow stayed with them until they had collected all their equipment and the waved to them as they left, before locking the church and taking the keys to the vicarage. She strolled home, her headphones around her neck, wondering why she was so good at blending organ music into a track that she had never heard before. She wasn’t able to do something similar with piano, violin or clarinet, yet. But, there again, that was something she hadn’t had the chance to work on.

The dance band spent two hours after school on Friday sorting out a basic repertoire. Jacob joined in but Alec had bowed out because his mother refused to let him go to Stoneleigh on an unofficial event, as well as Herb, who had a family party to go to. The violinist had also gone down with the flu. They went with what they had. Without the strings, it became more of an electric band, but with the volume lowered, and the girls creating the strings sounds on the keyboards, it sounded good.

Saturday was busy for the Rose family. Ashley went to the club in the morning to help set up, taking the Yamaha with him. Willow followed with the stand and seat, then went to Gina’s house to help carry her Yamaha and stuff to the club. They hauled the amps and PA system out of storage and set them up, as the tables and chairs were being set out. Malcolm was setting up for the two hundred, and able to take tables away if the numbers didn’t happen.

Gina tested her keyboard and went home, while Willow went over to the church to check out the hymns for Sunday, before going home for her own lunch and changing before she went back. In the afternoon, Ashley was preparing the bar for a hopefully, busy evening. Malcolm, Wendy and a few of the church ladies were laying the tables and setting out water carafes. Willow and Gina made sure that the stage equipment was ready to go. Being the third event in here, since COVID, the kitchen was regaining its old efficiency, and the suppliers were keen to make sure that nobody left feeling that they hadn’t had a good feed.

The other band members started arriving and set their instruments in place. Racheal, Rick and Jacob arrived in the late afternoon. As diners started to arrive, going for drinks and finding a table, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When the two coaches from the school arrived, with other students and their parents, it started to look like the event was going to be a runaway success. In the end, just before orders were to be taken, Malcolm had to add two small tables for another eight diners, which didn’t take a lot out of the dance floor.

The band were given their meal in the front section of the building, and then went to the stage to entertain the crowd. Over the next three hours, they played everything from standard ballroom numbers, to folk, pop, love songs and fun songs. Almost every member of the band had sung more than once, with Jacob and Willow doing the most. The dance floor was packed for most of the time, and the room slowly cleared while a few couples danced, cheek to cheek, to a brace of slow numbers before Willow announced that the evening was drawing to a close.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 4

At the end of the evening, Malcolm went around the band members with envelopes of cash. The girls left the keyboards there to be collected the next day, while the other band members took their equipment with them, Brent being the only one to need help taking his drums out to his father’s works van. Several of the parents had expressed their appreciation of the event being both suitable for the teens as well as good entertainment for adults.

………………………………………..

Two of the late arriving couples left with more to think about than many. Zac Martin, Marcus Waddington, and their wives had thoroughly enjoyed the evening, but it left them wondering just where they could place the band members to achieve the greatest outcome. One thing that the two promoters were certain of, and that was that it was going to be a long-term project. For at least two on the stage, Marcus was starting to think in terms of a lifetime.

………………………………………….

Another couple were driving back to Coventry as well. The writer for the Coventry Observer was sitting in the passenger seat as his wife drove. He was thinking back about that article he had written after the Deep Purple concert, as well as his critique of the concert in the Cathedral. They had parked near the church, and his eye had been caught by the names of the organists on the signboard.

“Tomorrow morning, my love, we’re coming back to that church. Both of those girls on stage tonight are listed as the church organists. They’re both still only thirteen, and there has to be a story there.”

………………………………………………..

Wendy and Willow strolled home.

“That show was something else again, my daughter. You and Jacob were almost like a couple with the way you sang together. At times, it sounded like the Carpenters. I thought that the sing-along was good, but this was almost professional. There seemed to be a lot from the school there, and the few that I spoke to were happy that they had come. Miss Russell and the Head were there on the Reverend’s table, and looked as if they were enjoying themselves.”

“That’s because there are now a lot more opportunities to open up the theatre to the paying public. I can see us even more certain to be playing at a school dinner dance or two.”

…………………………………………………..

At that very moment, in Birmingham, a popular influencer, who had been sent a link to a video clip by a friend, was extolling the joy of watching Rick Sacks and the Hikers, with their debut single ‘Love and Marriage’. She was particularly taken by the sound of a real church organ. She paid the small fee to download the six-track album for listening before she slept. As Wendy inserted her key in the front door lock, the recommendation was on its way to her followers.

………………………………………………..

As Willow was in her bed, tired but happy, she thought about the events of the evening. The band had been different without Alec and some strings, but it had sounded good. She thought about what he mother had said and realised that there were several songs that she and Jacob had sung, together. One, she suddenly remembered, had him singing the words ‘You are my everything’ as he looked into her eyes. Surely, she reasoned, it was only his showmanship coming to the fore. Before settling, she googled The Carpenters and realised that she had heard most of the songs on a MOR radio station while in Bristol.

Sunday morning, the family walked through a thin layer of snow to the church, where Edie had the heaters going at full blast. Willow went up and played Bach as the pews filled with the congregation. The bells had stopped, and she saw everyone rise, and faded the music as the Reverend reached the altar. During the hymns, she was gratified to hear the ladies of the choir leading the singing and doing it as well as the school choir.

When the church had emptied and the bells had gone quiet, she tidied the organ loft and went outside, where only a few remained. Wendy was waiting for her in the porch.

“Come along. Your father’s gone over the road and opened up for anyone who wants tea or coffee, and most of the church followed him. There are a few who want to talk to you, so close the door and follow me.”

They went across the road and into the club, which had kept a lot of its warmth from the previous evening. Ashley had the big urn going and was starting to hand out free teas and coffees. The first person to speak to her was Rick.

“Just letting you know, Willow, we’ve sent out a link to our supporters and groupies. It went out around six, so should be on your computer when you get home. It’s the video of the debut single, with a link to a paid download of the album. It’s only a pound, but that will give the church two pence for every sale. If we sell a few hundred albums, that will be two pounds a hundred, so we may be able to give a bit to the Roof Fund.”

“Thanks, Rick. I will look forward to looking at it. I may even download the album myself.”

The next person to speak to her had been talking to Wendy, who brought him over.

“Willow, sweetie. This is Bruce Miller, the writer from the Observer. He did that great piece about you after the Purple show. He and his wife were at the show last night and just had to come back to hear you this morning.”

“Good morning, Mister Miller. I’m sure that hearing me play hymns wasn’t worth the trip on a cold day.”

“On the contrary, young lady. It has provided another string to your impressive bow. I missed the Blue pop concert in the school, but have purchased the DVD, which shows you, and your friend on the other keyboard, from a new perspective. I was at the Cathedral to cover the school concert and there you were, again, up there on their organ. Now, I hear you playing wonderfully on the old organ here. I said to myself, ‘Bruce, there has to be a story in this.’ So, here I am, asking you if you would make this old man happy with the background of how you came to be here. I even heard one of the ladies here saying how you’ve improved their singing.”

Willow looked at him, then a questioning glance at her mother, who nodded her head.

“Mister Miller. I will give you my story, but it must be in private, and only published if other things happen. When I tell you how I came to be standing here, you’ll know what those other things may be. I will tell you the truth, and give you all the relevant copies of documentation, but you have to promise that you will not publish unless it becomes imperative. When we finish here, if you and your wife would like to walk around the corner to our house, we can sit and discuss whatever you want.”

“I will agree to sit on it for as long as necessary, Miss Rose. With a talent like yours, it won’t take long before the national press are hounding you and nipping at your heels.”

“Exactly why I’m going to tell you the truth, so you can refute anyone who publishes any other version for their own gratification.”

He looked at her to gauge her sincerity, and his honed senses told him that there was much more to this story than he expected.

“My wife is bound by any promise that I make, Willow, and I promise that I will be bound by your wishes. I will, in future, be reporting on other concerts that you appear in, and will treat you as fairly as I do the others. If you’re going to be here for a while, I’ll go and speak to the Reverend.”

“You may want to talk to Rick, who was just speaking to me. We did a recording in the church last week, with me playing an organ overdub of his band. The video was sent out on the internet yesterday. I should be able to play it for you at home.”

He went off and Wendy got them cups of tea.

“Are you sure this is wise, darling? He could be just out for a slice of fame for himself.”

“It’s insurance, Mum. If he does renege and print, at least it will be the truth. If someone else follows our trail and writes something truly awful, at least we have a record of the truth with an independent journalist. With the exposure I’ve been getting, it’s going to have to come out sooner or later. I hate having to conceal my true self from the school and all my friends. The sooner I get operated on and can declare myself to be a medically created woman, the happier I’ll be. That will be years, unless we can get it in earlier. Even if it’s allowed, it will cost more than we can afford. In the meantime, we just keep doing what we do best.”

After the congregation had warmed enough to go home, Ashley and Wendy put all the cups and saucers in the industrial dishwasher, locked up, and the five walked to the Rose residence. Bruce was saying how much good will there was towards them as a family. He had been told, by the Reverend, about the link between the Roses and the Leighs, something that he thought could be an article all of its own.

In the house, Wendy put the kettle on, and they divested all their coats, since the house was nicely warm from the central heating. Bruce put a recording device on the table and just looked at Willow. She started at the very beginning, from her birth, with Wendy supplying a copy of the original birth certificate. There were old photos, school reports and results from Clifton. When they got to the original misunderstanding of Miss Russell bringing around the girl’s uniform, they supplied copies of the clinical report, photocopies of the scans and prints of the scars that still marred Willow’s body. Wendy owned up to forging a new birth certificate to allow Willow to appear at the school without the fear of being bullied.

“After that, Mister Miller, things just got out of hand. The Purple concert was the first, and the rest seemed to just move along, one after the other. If you want to delve into the earlier days in Bristol, feel free to ask about William Rose. I doubt that there will be any who really care after six months of us being here. You can talk to our doctor at the clinic in Gaydon, she’ll tell you that there really is no other path I could have taken. The next step is for a complete transition, the sooner the better. I feel so much more alive as Willow, and I have no need to fear bullies, unless all that you now know becomes public.”

“I have to tell you, all of you, that I admire your family values to create the best life for your child. I’ll write this up for myself. I’m sure that if I keep writing reports of your career, anyone looking into your life will come to me as a contact point. I’ll be able to warn you at that time. Now, how about we look at this video that you say that you overdubbed?”

Willow went and got her laptop, turned it on and found the link in her in-tray. She clicked on it and the video started. She had heard it when it was being recorded but was amazed at how much better the organ made the tune sound. When it finished, there was silence around the table. Wendy was the first to speak.

“I think that you’ve just gone and done it again, my daughter.”

“Why, Mum. Rick said that it was only sent to groupies and friends and expects to sell a couple of hundred copies of the album download.”

Bruce laughed.

“While you were busy looking at the band, Willow, I looked at the YouTube statistics. That clip has been seen more than half a million times since it went online, and, if you click on it again, I think that you’ll find that it’s been accessed a few hundred more while we watched.”

Willow clicked the link again, and they waited a few minutes to repeat the process, finding that it had been accessed nearly seven hundred times in the few minutes that they waited. Bruce put his hand on her arm.

“You just keep giving, Willow. That, my girl, is the sign that this video has gone viral. Those numbers, for an independent band on YouTube, are getting towards being a viral sensation. Rick and the Hikers are going to find promoters knocking on their door next week.”

“Aaaarrrggghhh! Why does this keep happening to me?”

Ashley grinned.

“It’s your talent adding to others. Oh, talented daughter. There were a couple of guys there, last night, and they gave me their business cards. Perhaps you’ve heard of them, Bruce?”

He handed over the cards.

“Zac has been working with a real sleazebag, one Artie Hamilton. If he’s broken off the partnership and gone in with Marcus Waddington, that is a real plus in our favour. They were both at the dinner dance, you say. That can only mean that they were there to see someone who was presenting some entertainment, and we know who that has to be, don’t we? Do you have a number for this Rick?”

“I have it on my mobile. I’ll give him a call and put it on speaker.”

She dialled the number. When he answered, she asked him where he was.

“We’ve just got to Racheal’s home and put our feet up. What’s up?”

“Do you recall telling me that you may sell a few hundred albums locally?”

“Yes. That’s all a local band can expect.”

“We’ve just looked at the video clip on my computer, and it’s had over a half a million hits, and climbing by about a hundred a minute. I have Bruce Miller of the Coventry Observer with me, and he wants to ask you a few questions.”

“Rick, it’s Bruce. I write the entertainment reports for the Observer, and I’ve just been interviewing Willow. Tell me; do you have a band bank account that you can look at on-line? If so, can you look at it now and see if there’s been a take up of the album download.”

“Just a moment while I open up my laptop. That was a hell of a show last night, by the way. Now. Banking accessed, let’s see what…. Holy crap! Thanks for warning me. According to our balance, we’ve been paid for over a quarter of a million album downloads.”

“Rick, can you give me your address so I can come and talk to you. I’ve been around the traps for quite a while, and I know that there will be some trying to get you to sign on contracts that fleece you dry and work you to death. There were a couple of promoters at the dance who were looking at Willow. She’s safe as she’s underage, but you’re not. You will be rich pickings for the wrong guys.”

“I hear you, Bruce. I read your reports, and you sound like a fair judge, so I’ll wait here for you. Thanks, Willow, for ringing, and doubly thanks for making the single sound so good. Talk to you later.”

He gave Bruce the address and then rang off.

“Before we leave you, who else knows what you’ve told me?”

“Other than the medical staff, only us and both sets of grandparents. Mum’s side were with us over Christmas and are really happy for me. I bonded closely with my grandmother.”

“And the other side?”

Ashley groaned.

“Not so good, Bruce. They kept calling her Bill when we went to see them. I’m afraid that I put my foot down and we left then to their own prejudices. We haven’t spoken since.”

“What! Even when she presents as a lovely teenage girl. Look, folks, when I’ve seen Rick, I’ll give Marcus Waddington a call and sound him out on what he has in mind. We’ve spoken in the past, as he mainly organised classical concerts. I expect that it was Zac that put him on your trail. I came here to see about getting a nice story about a young talent, and here I am in the middle of an emerging story about a local band creating a hit single.”

The couple put their coats back on and walked up the road to get their car. Ashley watched them go. He wasn’t totally happy with a reporter now knowing everything, but he was trusting Willow’s hunch that they may need an independent record of the truth and giving Bruce enough time to verify things. They hadn’t gone out of their way to fool the school; it was the school that had set the tone of proceedings. He closed the door and went back into the kitchen.

“Now! What about this record?”

“That depends on what the rest of the band say, Dad. I just added an overdub track to the existing song. They’re a local group and have been playing parties and stuff for a while. I don’t think that they have an organist, there wasn’t an organ on the tracks I listened to.”

“Tracks?”

“Yes, there were three that we re-recorded with the organ. Rick said that they were half the album. I haven’t heard the others. If there’s four, or five, in the band they and split the proceeds equally, it will be a nice little earner. The church is getting two percent of sales for the church roof.”

“And you?”

“Never discussed. I’m underage, remember. If they want to slip a few pounds my way, we’ll have to sort out a separate account for my earnings. This isn’t a school thing, so nothing goes to them.”

“That’s the thing, Willow. With it being outside the school, it is yours to run with as you want. I doubt that the Hikers will want you on stage, as they can’t recreate that authentic sound, so any organ player with a good unit will do. You deserve something out of it. The debut video doesn’t work without the organ track, so their success is very much down to your input, and they should accept that.”

“We’ll see what happens in the week, Dad. If you can set up an account for me so we can set aside anything that comes my way.”

“There is one that we already opened when we came here. It’s mainly to fund your tertiary studies. If you can add to that before you go to Uni, it’ll be good. Now, I feel like taking my favourite ladies out to lunch. How about our steakhouse?”

They all got ready and took the car out to the steakhouse, where they had a leisurely lunch. While they were there, Willow’s phone rang, and she left the table to answer it. When she came back, she sat down and took a sip of her drink.

“What’s up, sweetie?”

“That was Rick, Dad. They have decided to give both me and the church a five percent cut of the profits. He said that the video was now being viewed in America, and that the album sales have passed four hundred thousand. The band are getting queries about merchandise, and their email account has hundreds of messages that will take weeks to work through. He says that he’ll be coming to Stoneleigh, later today, to see us. I gave him our address. He says that he will need a bank account number to deposit my earnings, with thanks from a grateful band, and will need the account number of the roof fund to deposit that donation.”

“Wow! The lad doesn’t hang around! From what I’ve read about viral videos, the take-up tends to peter out once it has gone around the world. Asia isn’t likely to buy up big, although Japan does like western music. From what’s happened, so far, I’ll guess that the final sales may be somewhere between one and one and a half million. That will put the band on the international map and give them the backing to go their own way. It will give you between forty and fifty thousand by the end of the week. That’s an impressive result from an evening playing the church organ. It will also boost the roof fund, very likely enough to get the repairs done when the weather improves.”

“The other thing, Dad, will be the number of albums out there with me named as the Stoneleigh organist. I’ll have to see Miss Russell or the Head tomorrow and let her know what’s happened. We should talk to Reverend Russell on the way home to let him know of the windfall coming his way.”

They stopped at the vicarage on the way. When they were let in, Miss Russell was there, having stayed overnight after the dance. They were sat in the formal lounge and the Reverend asked what had brought them around.

“Do you remember the guys that came to the church on Thursday evening?”

“I do. I listened for a while but couldn’t make out what you were doing. All I could hear was bits played on the organ.”

“That’s because we were all listening to the songs through headphones. Last night, Rick told me that the link to the debut single went out to the fans that they had email addresses for.”

Miss Russell leaned forward.

“Who is Rick?”

“He is Rick Saxon, and the band is Rick Sacks and the Hikers. He is the boyfriend of Racheal Epstein, the older sister of Jacob, who lives on a farm nearby.”

“I remember her, she’s about ten years older and, if I remember rightly, was a good student without a skerrick of musical talent.”

“She and Rick had been here last week to check out a marriage venue and he had been really taken with the old-world sound of the pipe organ. Anyway, I followed the link to the YouTube video this morning. The track is really very good. There is a link to buy a download of a six-track album.”

“The world turns faster and faster.”

“Exactly, Reverend. The thing is, in the ten or twelve hours after being sent to a few hundred locals, the clip had been viewed over a half a million times. I rang Rick and he checked the bank account. Mid-morning, they had sold over a quarter of a million albums at a pound a piece.”

As the Reverend sat back and Miss Russell’s jaw dropped, Ashley clarified the latest news.

“Rick rang Willow while we were having lunch. He told her that the band has decided to donate five percent of the profits to the Roof Fund, as a thank you to the church. They are going to pay Willow the same amount as the stand-in organist. Everyone who had seen the video say that it’s the organ addition that lifts the track out of the ordinary. I’ve calculated that, by the time the link has gone around the world, the Roof Fund may be around forty thousand better off. Rick wants the account number so he can start paying in.”

“Now that is what I call a result, brother dear. Tell me, what happens to Willow’s share?”

“That’s going into her Uni Fund. Both Wendy and I went to Cambridge, and Wendy’s parents live there. They were the ones with us over Christmas.”

“Can you wait while I get my laptop. I always carry it with me in case of emails from the school.”

Miss Russell left the room and Edie went to the drinks cupboard.

“I think this calls for a sherry, being such a grand day.”

She poured small glasses for all the adults and gave Willow a glass of lemonade. Miss Russell came back and started her laptop. Willow told her to go to the website for the band, as there would be a link to click on that. She found the video and clicked on it to play, and they sat as the track played. When it had finished, Miss Russell spoke.

“That is an ordinary piece of music made extraordinary by your playing, Willow.”

“What is extraordinary, Miss Russell, is the number of views under the picture. Which is now at over eight hundred thousand views.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 5

“I believe you’re right, Willow. It seems to be quite popular.”

“If the take-up of albums remains at half the views, that means that they’ve sold four hundred thousand.”

“My word. That’s almost enough for a gold record, or whatever they give out for a digital offering. These are local Coventry boys, you say?”

“I think so.”

“That will be nice. We haven’t had a good local band since The Specials. There have been some popular punk groups, but I don’t listen to that. I will have to tell the Head about this, but it isn’t linked to the school in any way. What you do in your own time is no responsibility of ours. We have had some promoters come and see us.”

“There were two at the dance last night. So was Bruce Miller from the Observer. He knows one, a Marcus Waddington, and is going to talk to him to find out his intentions.”

“When he saw us, it was about organising a recording session for the orchestra, to be issued by a low-cost classical label. The ones before just wanted to sign you all for a Deep Purple concert tour. One was particularly sleazy.”

“Rick is coming to see us, later on. If we can have the account number for the Roof Fund, we will give it to him, and you can expect to see some donations before next weekend.”

When the Roses went home, Wendy put on the kettle, and they sat in the kitchen. Ashley took a sip of his drink and looked at Willow.

“Did you hear Miss Russell say that there were promoters trying to sign you up at the beginning of the first term? The Head must have been forceful if they haven’t contacted you before. I like the idea of a classical CD, though, with my precious daughter listed in the orchestra. That’ll be one for the scrapbook.”

“Dad. With all the excitement, I forgot that the keyboard is still at the club. Can we go and get it, please?”

The two of them went in the car and collected the keyboard. Malcolm was setting up the front section for the Sunday evening.

“That was a tremendous show, last night. We were at almost capacity, and they weren’t shy about having a few drinks, either. I expect that there were several wives doing the drive home. A sing-along in two weeks, Willow?”

“Sure thing, Malcolm. We may have a few new songs for the first part by then. Got to mix things up or else it gets stale.”

“Nothing that you girls do is stale, Willow. If I were you, I’d find myself a manager.”

“We’ll pop back tomorrow evening to tidy up the stage area, so you can leave that to us.”

They took the keyboard and went home with it, taking it up to Willow’s room. She was listening to Carpenters songs and playing the keyboard set to piano when a car pulled up and the front doorbell rang. Wendy called up to tell her that Rick and Racheal were here. She went downstairs to be enveloped in hugs from Rick, Racheal, and Jacob. His hug was the best, and she kissed him on the cheek. They sat in the sitting room and Wendy raided the drinks cabinet, bringing out something a little stiffer than the earlier sherry. Jacob and Willow sat on a small sofa, close together and clutching glasses of cola, while the other sipped at their own drinks. Rick raised his glass.

“A toast to Willow Rose, who took an ordinary song and turned it into a hit. The rest of the band send their thanks. We were visited by Bruce Miller, this morning. Now that is one very cluey guy. He was a school with some of The Specials and gave us a lot of good advice. He asked me to hand this card on to you. It’s the contact for a manager who he says is a good guy. I have an interview with him tomorrow, but Willow may need him in a year or two. He’ll cost us fifteen percent, but what we earn prior to signing will be ours to keep.”

“With a hit single and album, I guess that you’ll be touring this summer.”

“I think so. That means that Racheal and I will need to get married before that, now that I will have something to offer her. I’ll go and see the Reverend next week, once we’ve sorted out a date.”

Wendy and Willow gave Racheal a hug. When they sat down again, Rick looked serious.

“I hope you don’t mind, Willow, but we’ll be getting an organist in the band, so we can play the hits. I realise that you won’t have the spare time to be hiking around the country in a coach.”

“That’s all right, Rick. It’s what I expected. Just make sure he has a good enough keyboard to recreate something close to the sound. Dad will give you the account numbers you’re after. Jacob and I have something to listen to upstairs. Mum gave me an idea for some new songs to play at the sing-along.”

She grabbed Jacob’s hand and pulled him out of the room, and upstairs. In her room, he looked around in wonder. She sat him on her bed and turned her laptop on. She had a list of Carpenters songs cued up, hit the play button and then went and sat beside him.

“There’s something I need to say, Jacob Epstein.”

“What have I done, Willow?”

“It’s what you haven’t done since the New Year party. It’s been a month, and you haven’t even tried to kiss me.”

“But there’s always been people around.”

“Do you see anyone else now?”

He grinned and put his arm around her. They kissed as Karen Carpenter sang that they’d only just begun.

They kissed and listened until Racheal called up that it was time to go. They embraced and kissed before leaving the room. Jacob smiled.

“I know most of the Carpenters songs. Richard was a good pianist and Karen played drums. We can do them on stage at the sing-along. Gina won’t take long to pick up the strings backing on the keyboard. She’s pretty friendly with Brent, so we can get him to play the drums for us.”

“That’s interesting, I wonder if Brent would be able to join us for the sing-along. Mum said that we sounded like the Carpenters last night, and we could do a segment of their slower songs.”

“Rach mentioned that similarity as well. This will mean that I can sing you love songs in full view and get away with it.”

“As long as you mean it when you say the words.”

“Oh! I will, my darling. I will.”

As Willow stood to watch the car leave, Wendy came to stand beside her.

“Good kisser, is he? You’d better go and repair your lipstick before your father sees you.”

“He said that when we sing love songs, he’ll mean every word.”

“And you’re trying to tell me that you won’t!”

Willow hugged her mother and dashed back upstairs to repair her make-up. They had a light meal and spent the evening watching the television. Willow went to bed, sitting where she had next to Jacob for a few minutes, before going to the bathroom and changing into her nightie. As she was drifting off, she thought to herself. ‘Yes, Mum, he is a very good kisser, and I think I’m in love, again!’

Monday morning was school. Willow was ready and in her school uniform before breakfast. Ashley gave them both a hug before he left for work.

“Finally! A normal day at last. Let’s hope that the week stays on an even keel. See you both tonight.”

Wendy drove the three children to school. On the way, Gina was brought up to speed on Rick’s success by Jacob, without letting on the amount of money that was being bandied about. Willow remained coy about how much her input had helped, saying that all she did was play an overdub on an existing track.

Willow was called to see the Head during lunch. She wasn’t away long and came back with a smile. Jacob and Gina were keen to find out what she had been told. She had been congratulated on the events of the weekend but didn’t say anything about that. She grinned.

“The dance band will be playing in the theatre on the evening of Friday week. They will be setting up tables and chairs, and we’ll be on the stage. The school canteen will be supplying food. It will have a limit of six hundred couples, and we start playing at seven to finish at ten-thirty. Dash around to the others and tell them. We will try to get a two-hour rehearsal on Thursday evening. This is what you get when you make the Head enjoy her evening out.”

The three went to other tables and advised the other band members of the plan. What she hadn’t told them was that the whole show was going to be filmed and recorded for a two-disc DVD. She went to Miss Russell and organised a rehearsal room for Thursday, after school.

On the way home, Willow asked Gina if she was keen on Brent. Gina was flustered but agreed that she liked him.

“Jacob and I are thinking about doing a segment of our show playing Carpenters songs. It was noted how much we sounded like them at times. I wondered if we could persuade Brent to join us at the club for our sing-along. That would give us me on piano, Jacob on guitar, you on the organ with other sounds, and Brent on drums. It would be idea if we wanted to make a recording as Summer Rose.”

“So, you want me to ask him if he’ll join us?”

“Actually, I thought that Jacob could talk to him at the orchestra practise tomorrow, that will allow us to find out if he’s keen on you.”

It was Wendy who commented that Willow was wicked.

That evening, Willow did her research on Carpenters songs, downloading the music and lyrics that she could. She also paid the pound for the Hikers digital album and listened to the other tracks. She decided that it was pretty good for a debut album and noted that the viewing numbers were now well over the million.

Tuesday morning was Willow’s turn playing the organ in chapel. At lunch, she had a message that the rehearsal room would be available, so went around all the band members to let them know that there was a practise on Thursday, after school. The orchestra session was with the combined one still, and they ran through the Albinez and a couple of other items. Mister Bamborough announced that they would be having one more combined session, then would go back to the junior and senior sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as usual in the second half of the term. He told them that the date for the next Cathedral event would be on the Friday and Saturday of the middle weekend in May, a week before the half-term holidays.

On the way home, they verified that Maisie would be picking them up late on Thursday. Nothing was said about Brent. On Wednesday lunch, he came over to their table and sat down.

“Jacob says that you would like me to play drums with you guys. How would that work?”

Willow took the lead.

“You know that we have the school dinner dance on Friday week. Well, we have our sing-along at the club the day after. We thought that, as the school will provide the drum kit here, if you bring your kit to the club next week, the four of us will be able to nail some new songs, as a quartet. We’re looking at a set of Carpenters pieces, and we could add them to the end of the dinner dance set as something different. They’ll be all smooth love songs to end the night, but easy enough to be played at the club while the audience eat.”

“That sounds good. So, all I’ll have to do is get my kit to the club on Wednesday or Thursday and pick it up in the holidays. What will the rest of the band do while we finish the evening?”

“We’ll get the school to drop the house lights so that the setting is more intimate and let them all join their friends or relatives for the last half-hour or so. Jacob and I will do the singing, as it’s comments made about how we sounded like Karen and Richard last Saturday evening. I see it as slightly night club, which will be fun for the other students.”

Brent grinned.

“Has anyone told you that you’re wicked, Willow?”

Jacob and Gina replied. ‘Everyone’, in unison.

That evening, Willow was at the club working with the choir ladies. Contrary to her father’s sense of doom, she had two extra voices who didn’t attend the church. They carefully worked through the choral piece that they had started last week, with Willow happy that the new additions were good singers, who had been despairing of finding a singing group in the village.

At the end of the evening, she was helping Ashley tidy up the club.

“Dad. I have a question for you.”

“Ask away, kiddo.”

“We seem to be here a lot, these days. With the choir, the sing-alongs and the dances, it’s a bit of a problem lugging the Yamaha here every time it’s needed. What if we dropped it?”

“Let me guess. You want the club to have one of its own.”

“What a great idea, Dad! Clever you for thinking of that!”

“All right, I give in. What’s the plan?”

“I wonder if we brought the Yamaha here on loan. With the money that I’m likely to be earning this week, will you allow me to spend a little over three thousand on a new unit. I’ve looked online, and there’s a store in Birmingham that carries the Nord range. They have an eighty-eight key similar to the Yamaha, but with the ability to preload a large number of soundscapes that you can switch to in the middle of a song. It’s several grades higher than the Yamaha, and has grand piano, but also electric piano, as well as a setting that gives an authentic pipe organ.”

“I’ll take you to Birmingham on Saturday, but only if there has been more than ten thousand added to your account before that. Hold on, I’ll check the account on my phone.”

He pushed buttons and inputted a code, then sat down, looked closely at the screen, then showed it to Willow. What she saw was a balance in excess of thirty thousand.

“What was it before, Dad?”

“On Sunday, after you asked about it, the balance was just under five thousand. I’ll check this with your mother, but I think that she’ll be happy to visit Birmingham on Saturday. We’ll make a day of it. It’s Gina in church on Sunday, so you aren’t needed in the village.”

They strolled home, happy in the knowledge that great things were happening as they did other things. Willow was cosy in her bed, with Tiger and Shaun, and wondering about the set-up that she wanted. If she brought home the Nord and a two-tier stand, she would be able to set up her trusty Casio on the upper tier, giving her a complete second sound and would get her used to single hand playing on both sets of keys.

On Thursday morning, Wendy was happy to be going into Birmingham, and had started looking up various shops that she wanted to visit. When she dropped the three off, she said that she would see Willow when she got home.

“Your Mum’s looking happy this morning?”

“We’re planning a trip to Birmingham on Saturday, to visit some bigger shops. It’s going to be a day out, and she’s been making a list of new things she wants to look at.”

“What are you going to look at, Willow?”

“We’re visiting a music shop. Just to look and learn.”

That afternoon, the dance band got together in the rehearsal room. When they were all settled, Willow asked for hush.

“Friends. We will be playing next week to our fellow students, the teachers and a lot of parents and general public. I spoke to Miss Russell at lunchtime, and she told me that we were nearly sold out in the three days that the show has been up on the website. What we do, now, is to have a run-through of the newer pieces that we added at the club. I don’t have to remind you that an official school show needs to be perfect. Now, Gina, Jacob, and Brent have agreed to form a quartet. We plan to perfect a set of Carpenters songs that we will add at the end of the evening. This will allow you others to go down and join your friends or relatives. One thing that I didn’t tell you at the beginning of the week, is that we will be filmed and recorded for a two-disc DVD set to be sold later.”

Herb asked when the extra songs would be rehearsed.

“We will rehearse them when we can, next week, at the club. We won’t do them if we’re not happy with them.”

“Can we come along?”

“Certainly. The more the merrier. You can be our critics. Bring your girlfriends. My father will open up and there will be drinks and chips available. It will give us all a chance to talk about where we plan to take this into the future. We may be asked to do more dances in the theatre, and we all know how much better that will be for our grades. The more we play, the better we sound. So, we had better start playing.”

They had the two Yamahas, and an amp for Herb and the other guitarists. Jacob played the Martin to a microphone. They worked on the newer songs that they had added, adding some extra bits to make it all sound better. When they finished, they agreed to get back on the following Thursday, to be prepared for the Friday performance. Brent would be bringing his drum kit to the club on Monday evening, so they set that evening as the Carpenters’ night.

On Friday, it was the last lesson on Music for the Media. All the submissions were played to the class and discussed, anonymously. That allowed open speaking on every entry without anyone being picked out. Most were passable, a couple were a bit so-so, and a few were praised. Mister Jamieson was pleased with the overall level of competency and flair, then told them that the second half of the term was going to be about drumming and drum programming to provide backing by remote control. He then let them off early.

Willow, Gina and Jacob were waiting in the foyer for Wendy to arrive. Willow thought that she had better come clean with her friend.

“Gina, there’s something that I need to tell you.”

“That you and Jacob are more than friends? That’s been obvious since the beginning of term.”

“No, not that. Racheal brought Rick to the church when I played last month. He liked the sound of the organ. A week after that, I was in the church overdubbing some tracks that his band had recorded. They released the main track on the internet while we were playing the dinner dance; with a link to buy the album.”

“’Love and Marriage’. I know. Zara sent me an email to watch it. Are you telling me that the organ track was you in St. Marys?”

“It is. The thing is that the band is giving me a slice of the profits, as well as giving the Roof Fund some. Our trip, tomorrow, is to see about getting me another keyboard with greater features that will help me as we move on. We’re going to take the Yamaha to the club and leave it there on loan, so we won’t have to lug it around every weekend. Would you like to come along?”

“You bet! What were you thinking?”

“A Nord Piano 5. I’ve checked it out online and it looks good. We can wow them in the music store. How about you, Jacob? You could keep my father company while us girls try on dresses.”

When Wendy picked them up, she was sounded out in regard to a couple of extras for the visit to Birmingham. She was happy that Willow had invited her friends and was involving them with her activities. Gina was happy to get the details of the hymns that evening if it meant a day in the big city. Ashley and Wendy had agreed to fund the expenses from their own bank account and transfer the total the following week, so Willow will be able to pay for the extra meals.

That evening, Ashley rechecked the bank balance, finding that what they expected to spend in the morning had already been added to the bottom line.

The next day, it was a happy group going to Birmingham. Wendy had decided that she wanted to go to the Bullring shops after they had sorted Willow out. They were in the company car which had enough load space for a keyboard and stand. They arrived at the music store that Willow had told her father to go to. The teens dashed inside to have fun with the floor stock.

When a salesman approached Ashley, he was told that his daughter wanted to see a better keyboard. The man wasn’t too interested until Wendy mentioned that her daughter had been taken with the settings on the Coventry Cathedral organ when she had played it. That brought out a sense of professionalism in the man, so he went to the two girls and asked what they were looking at. Willow told him that they both had a Yamaha 88, and she wanted to try a Nord 5. He took them over to one and Willow played around with it, being shown the extra things that it could do.

“I have an older Casio CTX5000, which I want to mount as a second tier. Is that possible?”

“It is, Miss. There is an input for the second tier, which can have its output controlled by the main unit. I can do you a good deal with one that suits. Is there anything else that you’re thinking of?”

“Yes. I have a laptop, and I want a program to act as a mixer so that I can record separate tracks.”

“That’s not a problem. They don’t cost a lot, but you’ll need a bit of training.”

“We all go to the Blue Coat in Coventry and are in the music stream. We’ve done a course on the technology and will be doing a course on mixing next term. Can you do a really special deal for two of these programs?”

“Can you tell me how you are paying for these items. If it’s on time payment, I may be a bit held back with super specials.”

“Have you heard about Rick Sacks and the Hikers new video track?”

“Who hasn’t. It’s all over the internet.”

“I did the organ track for the single and two other tracks. What they’re paying me from the income will more than cover what we’re spending today. I expect that my father will settle up with his credit card and transfer from my account, seeing that I’m still a minor.”

A new Nord Piano 5 was loaded into the car, after an hour of Gina and Willow playing the Nord and other keyboards, while Jacob enjoyed playing a lot of different guitars. They had a two-tier frame and a new seat, as well as two boxes with the software and two mixing boxes with a number of standard cable inputs to a single USB plug output into the computer. Jacob had a box with an effects pedal. They had also been spoken to by the manager, snagged a further discount and a letter on company letterhead, and signed by him, offering Willow Rose or any member of the band Summer Rose, support and sponsorship when they start playing live.

From there, they went to the Bullring, where Jacob and Ashley looked at manly shops while the three tried on dresses at several shops. They met for a late lunch at an in-store restaurant, and then went back to Stoneleigh. Dropping Jacob off on the way, with his box of tricks. He was just happy to have tried the guitars and being with Willow the whole morning. Gina gave Willow a hug as she was dropped off with her new mixing box and software. Willow knew that she would make good use of it, and that the cost would be negligible, if and when they were in the charts.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 6

That Saturday afternoon, Willow put the Yamaha in its box, added the support frame and her old seat, and Ashley carried the keyboard to the club, where they stored it in the stage storage area, telling Malcolm that it was on loan.

Back at the house, Willow spent the rest of the day setting up the two-tier support frame and settling the Nord into the lower tier. It took a bit of fiddling with the brackets to have the Casio safely housed, then she went about plugging in the cables. The output from the Casio effectively silenced the speaker, and her headphones silenced the speaker on the Nord, but the output was able to be sent to the computer through the mixing box.

That evening, she played with the new software, recording multiple tracks with different settings. She was in seventh heaven. She was already thinking that once she had learned about drum programming, there must be a unit that she could add to lay down a drum track.

Sunday morning, she stood with her family to sing the hymns while Gina played. Afterwards, they hugged before going over to the club for a hot drink. This was something that Ashley had started and was becoming quite a popular talkfest after the service. The hot drinks were free, but there were remains of last night’s cakes or bags of crisps to buy.

Gina and Willow had a long discussion about the new software and the use that they could make out of it. Willow was planning to record her own songs using it. With a microphone, she could add vocals, violin and clarinet, as well as the sounds she could generate with the Nord.

On Sunday afternoon, the two friends set up the Yamaha next to the piano and worked on the Carpenters songs, with Willow on the piano and singing, while Gina found string or brass accompaniment. The few locals having a drink enjoyed the entertainment. By the time they went home, they had sorted out fifteen songs that would just need Jacob and Brent to add their parts to.

That evening, Willow recorded her own three songs with just the piano and vocal to start with. It didn’t take her long to realise that she would need a good solid-state drive to store the songs on, or else she would overload the drive in the laptop.

Monday morning, she asked Wendy if she could drop into an electrical store and get one for her, brand wasn’t a problem, just the need for two terabyte or greater. The last week of the half-term was mainly going over what had been covered earlier, with them having more time in the library to make photocopies of charts and hand-outs.

Monday evening, she went to the club and set up for the quartet. Gina arrived and Racheal came in with Jacob and his Fender. Five minutes later, Brent arrived with his father, and they all helped carry the pared-down drum kit in and set it up. Brent had decided that the music would need more brushwork and a light touch. By the time that Brent left, they had worked through almost an hour of Carpenters songs, with the few locals entertained, as well as some of the other band members. Gina and Brent spent a few minutes in the storeroom, saying that they were checking on something. They came back with Gina looking a bit flustered. Willow and Jacob just hugged and kissed before he got in the car, with Racheal looking on with a smile.

Tuesday was Gina playing for chapel, and the orchestra session was a straight-forward playing of a few of the pieces that they had been rehearsing. Willow took her clarinet home with her that night. Wednesday was a normal day, and Willow had the organ to play when her choir were singing, giving her a better range to go with the choral piece, which the group was now singing well. Willow decided that they would start on something else next week.

Thursday, the after-school session had the band running through some of the more complicated pieces for an hour, then the rest sat back as the quartet demonstrated what they had achieved, with Jacob playing his own Fender for this. The others were full of praise for the set.

On Friday, the band members were all allowed time in the afternoon to set up in the theatre and get a sound check in. Willow spoke to the guys manning the lighting and organised for the lights to be lowered when she announced the last set. Wendy had asked for an early finish and picked them up. They went home to have a shower and change for the show. Gina and Willow had matching long dresses in a midnight blue, purchased on Saturday, which added a year or two to their apparent age, especially with make-up.

Ashley drove them in, picking up Jacob on the way. It was a squeeze in the back seat, but Jacob and Willow were happy with it.

The band was fed in the lunchroom before the show, with the audience arriving, getting seated and ordering drinks. The meals were being served when the band appeared on stage and got themselves ready. Willow made the welcoming announcement and then they were playing gentle eating music.

As the meals were finished and couples began dancing, they moved into standards for a while, then into more modern music for the teenagers to have fun. They had a short break as coffee and cheese was served, then took it to before ten with dancing and sing-along songs that had gone down well at the club.

Willow nodded to the others, who left the stage, and she made her announcement as the house lights dimmed.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will finish our performance with a set of songs that only need the four of us. We will be playing as a quartet tomorrow night at the Stoneleigh Community Club, should any of you enjoy an evening of singing drinking songs. We go by the name of Summer Rose, and this segment is something I call ‘Coventry Carpentry’. Please sing along if you know the words.”

As she said the last words, she was starting to play the introduction to ‘Close to You’, which had her and Jacob singing, with him having changed to his Fender. They played to nearly eleven, with a lot of couples dancing close together and a good number singing along. Willow announced that they we about to play the last song and thanked everyone for coming, which got some applause and cheering. Then they sung ‘We’ve only Just begun’. When the last notes died, there was a lot of applause and cheers, and the audience started to leave.

The quartet had a group hug, then the two couples hugged before they left the stage. The rest of the band, who had taken the opportunity to dance with their boyfriends and girlfriends, came over and they all had a big group hug. The Head came by to tell them that they were all magnificent and that they would be doing it again, during the next term, for all those who had wanted to come but weren’t able to be fitted in.

The film crews were packing up, with big smiles on their faces, and the sound guys were putting their equipment away. They would spend a while to collect up all the microphones they had used and remove all the cabling. Ashley and Wendy came and hugged all and sundry, took the quartet aside and then Ashley took a card out of his pocket.

“Guys, Bruce Miller was here tonight, and while you were doing the final set, he brought Marcus Waddington to our table. Marcus will be in touch tomorrow with a day while you’re on holiday, to record you with the Carpenters songs. He will make a CD of them and then see what the radio stations think, without telling them how old you all are. If the answers are positive, he’ll get enough CDs to sell on-line. There’s no way you’ll be taking the music to any other stages, but who knows what will occur. This last week has been crazy enough for me to believe that you’ll be in the charts, forty years after the originals.”

As the others hi-fived, he got serious.

“Bruce is talking to his friend who could be managing Rick and the Hikers. He will be in touch with an appointment. Brent, if you want to remain part of this, then you had better tell your parents. If they bring you to the sing-along tomorrow evening, then we can sit and discuss the implications. We were given a letter from the big music shop in Birmingham on Saturday. They have offered support and sponsorship for Summer Rose members. If you want to leave your drums at the club, I’ll buy a set for you to use at home. We can take it out of your earnings with the CD.”

“Thank you, Mister Rose. That would be fantastic. Here comes Dad to take me home. By that smile on his face, I think that he’ll be happy to let me record. Gina has my number if you need to get in touch. I’ll say goodnight and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this tonight. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”

He gave his band members a final hug before going off with his smiling parents. Racheal had brought Jacob’s parents, and he went home with them. Maisie was there, ready to leave with Gina. Which left just Willow and her parents to go out to the car and go home. On the way, Willow was tired but awake enough to speak.

“That was kind of you, Dad, offering to buy Brent a kit.”

“I could see that it wouldn’t work without him, love. The heat that you and Jacob generated on stage was mirrored by the smiles that he and Gina were exchanging. To put it into musical terms, the four of you gave off the same vibes as ABBA.”

“And look what happened to their relationships.”

“That may be so, but they had fun and made a lot of money along the way. You have to remember that they started out a lot older than you and had all been in other relationships before.”

“OK, I’ll give you that point. Did you get some dancing in?”

“We did, and so did a lot of others. What you played was perfect for the occasion, and that final set was inspirational. You even gave out the name of the quartet and the title of the CD. As far as Marcus Waddington was concerned, you’ve done most of his work for him. He will fund the recording, and you’ll only start earning when the sales exceed the costs. He was talking to the Head as well, and I believe that she is getting ready to authorise time in the studio for the orchestra. I expect that it will be during your next holidays.”

There was silence from the back and Wendy glanced behind her. She saw that Willow was asleep. She whispered to her husband.

“You’ll have to repeat that last lot, darling. Our talented daughter has reached the edge of the cliff again.”

When they got home, Ashley carried Willow upstairs and laid her on the bed, noting, for the first time, the set up with the keyboards and computer. He looked at the notes on the desk and realised that she was laying down her own songs. He smiled as he went to the bedroom to undress. Wendy was already in her nightie and was cleaning off her make-up.

“Have we pushed her too far?”

“No, darling. She is gaining stamina with every passing performance. She just spent nearly four hours on stage entertaining about fourteen hundred people of all ages. That’s enough to take it out of anyone. Get into bed and I’ll sort her out. No tiger tonight, please, just slow and easy when I come back.”

Wendy roused her daughter enough to get her undressed and cleansed, then into her nightie and into bed.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight, Mum. I love you.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

They let her sleep in on Saturday. When Willow woke up, she was a little disorientated until she started to remember what had happened the previous evening. Then she thought about the club tonight, and smiled when she realised that Jacob would be with her for the evening. She wondered how much Gina’s attachment to Brent would change their own relationship.

When she had been to the bathroom, she put a gown on and went downstairs. Both her parents were only just finishing their own breakfasts, having stayed awake a bit longer last night.

“Good morning, dear. How are you feeling today?”

“Good, I think. Be better with some tea and toast.”

As she was eating, Ashley asked her how much she heard of the conversation in the car.

“I know that I asked you if did some dancing, but then everything went hazy.”

“I told you that Marcus Waddington was going to organise a studio this week, so that you can record the ‘Coventry Carpentry’ album. He’ll see if it flies with the radio stations. I expect that he’ll want the ‘We’ve only just Begun’ track as the lead single. We also need to get in touch with that manager that Bruce recommended. I spoke to Maisie last night, and she’s happy to ferry you around this week if needed.”

“That’s good, Dad. I need to go over to the church as it’s my turn tomorrow. Then, I’ll just relax until it’s time to head for the club. Talking about the Head, did I imagine you saying something about an orchestra recording session?”

“Yes. I said that I thought she was seriously considering it, possibly sometime in the next holidays. She was really knocked out by what you guys did last night.”

“So was I, Dad. It worked like a dream, didn’t it? The rest of the band are all good. It will be hard to keep them together.”

“As long as you keep Summer Rose as the main core, I’m certain that there’ll always be some wanting to join you on stage.”

Willow rugged up and walked over to the church. The Reverend and Edie were sweeping and polishing inside.

“Good morning, young Willow. That was a cracking show last night. You never cease to amaze with the things you come up with. We need to talk about tomorrow. The Bishop will be with us again, but it’s a casual service, with us both in suits. There will be four hymns and then there will be a presentation. Your friend Rick will be joining us with the rest of the band. It’s been arranged for him to give the church a bogus cheque for fifty thousand pounds, with Bruce Miller and others from the press on hand. Of course, the actual money is coming in electronically, so it’s for promotional reasons only. The band gets home-town publicity, the Bishop gets his face in the papers, and we get to have the roof repaired when the weather improves. I reckon it’s a result all round.”

“That’s great, Reverend. It all seems like a dream, after all, I was just here for part of an evening with them.”

“Sometimes that all it takes, my child. Now, I hear that the village choir is moving on to choral pieces.”

“Yes. We have got one item ready for public attention, and I’m going to start them on something a little harder this week, with different voices carrying different lines, rather than all together.”

“And what about you, Willow? That show must have taken it out of you, with another one tonight. Are you more able to last that time in the spotlight.”

“I went to sleep on the way home, last night. In the middle of Dad telling me that Marcus Waddington is going to get us into a recording studio this week. He’ll be getting in touch soon.”

“You make sure that you get as much sleep as you can. A growing girl can’t get enough, so they say.”

Willow looked at the hymns, saw that they were all bright and cheery, and went up to the organ to play them all. When she was happy with them, she went back down and helped Edie set out hymn books and tidy up the information table. She then went home. As she walked in the front door, her mother called out to her.

“Willow, there was a call for you from the clinic. They said that it was time for a review of your case. I told them that you’ll be in on Monday and your father will take you in, then bring you home in his lunch hour. I’ll make him some sandwiches that he can eat at his desk.”

“Thanks, Mum. It is getting towards three months since the last time, and I’m a bit itchy under the boobs. I’ve just been talking to the Reverend. We’ll have the Bishop with us tomorrow, and there’ll be a presentation of a cheque from Rick and the band. There’ll be press there, as well as Bruce Miller.”

“We had better look good then, won’t we?”

“It’s not about me, Mum. It’s between the band and the church.”

“And you don’t think that you won’t be dragged into the photos? You’re the one that played the organ, so we’ll need to be up early enough to glam up.”

Willow was struck with a thought and went up to her room to write some lyrics about a girl who was caught in a whirlwind of events that seemed to spiral out of her control. She was deep in trying to get a suitable tune when Gina knocked on her door.

“Hello, friend. Hiding away from the world in your cocoon of creativity, are we?”

“Not hiding, friend. I was just writing another song but can’t figure out how to finish it. How are you after last night?”

“I’m good, really. It was lovely when we played with just the four of us.”

“My Dad told me that we reminded him of ABBA, you know, the two couples bit.”

“Now that’s funny. Mum said the same thing on the way home. I hope that the Head won’t give us detention for being too lovey on stage.”

“I think the Head is all for it if we sell the merchandise. It will be good to see what the cameramen caught. That will take a couple of weeks before we see that. I was told that we’ll be in a recording studio sometime this week, laying down a ‘Coventry Carpentry’ album. That will be crazy.”

“Why crazy? You heard the singing last night. An awful lot of people know the words as that band were huge in the seventies. I think that the world is crying out for some soft rock instead of all this violent rapping. We may just be at the head of the game.”

“I suppose it depends on how it’s put out there. When we see Marcus, it might be good to mention the school had filmed our show. Then he can put one of the tracks out as a single on YouTube, with a link to buy either a download album, or the real thing. The school may even be able to tag along with that set as a live recording on DVD. A lot hangs on what can or can’t be done. That’s for brighter minds than mine to sort out. Are you ready for tonight?”

“Yes. Are we going with what we did at the last sing-along?”

“I think that we might add some Carpenters, seeing that we’ll be performing as a four-piece for the first time.”

“I didn’t think of that! We could smooch our boys in our breaks, that will be ten minutes every ten minutes.”

“You wish!”

“You bet. Now show me more of what this new machine can do that the old one couldn’t.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Nord, with Willow learning more about it as they tried all the knobs and sliders. They only stopped for a bite to eat and were surprised when Wendy called out that it was time to start getting ready for the show. Willow showed Gina the dress she intended to wear before they parted.

Ashley joined them as they walked to the club. Willow brought him up to date on the church service in the morning. At the club, they were joined by Jacob, who had his parents with him this time. A few minutes later, Brent arrived with both his parents, able to come in a car without having to transport drums.

Even before the quartet were given a meal, it became apparent that the front of the club wasn’t going to fit everyone in, so the band and the parents helped set out tables in the back room. Wendy went into the kitchen with Edie, who was on her phone to the casuals who helped out at the dances. The customers were helping pull out tables and chairs and the band started moving the instruments. Gina and Maisie went home to bring her Yamaha back as the upright was too heavy to move.

Willow and Jacob pulled out the PA system, two of the Marshalls and set everything up. Gina and Willow would go through one, with Jacob setting the other to suit himself. It seemed like bedlam for a while, but they were able to have a quick snack before going to the back room and up on the stage, to see a good hundred and fifty eager diners waiting to be fed and to listen.

Willow looked towards the back of the room, and Ashley gave her a thumbs up. She spoke into her microphone.

“Welcome to the Stoneleigh Community Club and our regular sing-along. Tonight is so far from our usual audience, and we apologise, in advance, if the food is a little slow. We normally only cater for about fifty on these evenings. We’re Summer Rose, and we’ll start the evening with easy-going tunes to help you drink and digest. Please don’t sing with your mouths full.”

They looked at each other, smiling, and were into the same set that they had started last night with, but pared down to the four of them. It became apparent to the diners that these four musicians really enjoyed being together and entertaining. As the evening moved on, they went to the sing-along pieces that all the locals loved, and that all the new visitors learned to love.

At one point, later in the evening, the house lights went out, plunging them all into darkness. Some wag called out ‘Don’t put the lights out father, wait till we get in bed’. Willow suddenly remembered something in the music classes about the history of pop. It had been said that there was a dirty wartime ditty that used the tune of Colonel Bogey. She repeated the notes of what the wag had said on her keyboard and then went on with the tune. By the time the lights were on again, the crowd were laughing fit to bust, and the teenagers had learned the words. Willow had to grin to herself. The last line tended to resonate with her.

Normally, the sing-alongs didn’t have dancing, as the front rooms had no dance floor. Here, they were able to utilise all the space. The band took a short break, and she found Malcolm, asking if he could get the mirror ball and coloured spotlights going when they returned to the stage. When they were ready again, she spoke into her microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Being back in this room allows us to play you dancing music. Feel free to take your loved one and circulate. We’ll end the evening with songs that you can dance to, as well as sing along to.”

They started playing the standards for dancing, and the floor filled with couples as Malcolm turned the house lights down and started the mirror ball going. For the band, it was an amazing sight in the flashing-coloured lights.

They ended the evening with the Carpenters set. When they ended, there was cheers and applause. Many of the crowd got ready to leave, some ordered more drinks, and others came over to congratulate the band on a great evening of fun and laughter. Malcolm came over with four envelopes for the band, which he handed out with heartfelt thanks.

Jacob unplugged his Fender, and Gina got her keyboard ready to take home. A man came over to the front of the stage and spoke to Willow.

“Miss Rose, Rick Saxon told me that you were good, but that didn’t prepare me for what I’ve seen tonight.”

He pulled out a card and gave it to her.

“I’m Peter Hodgson and I’m going to be the new manager of the Hikers. I only came this way to make sure I’d find the church in the morning, but the crowds coming in here drew my interest. I believe that I need to arrange a talk with your father. If he’s at the church, tomorrow, I’ll bring the paperwork and save you a trip into Coventry.”

“He’s here, tonight, Mister Hodgson. He is on the board of the club. I’ll take you to him, I think he’ll be in the front bar, pulling last orders.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

For those of you not old enough to know dirty, wartime ditties, the one mentioned has four lines -
Hitler, he only had one ball,
Goering, he had two – very small,
Himmler was very similar,
But poor old Goebbels had no balls at all.

Chapter 7

Willow led Peter out to the front bar and introduced him to her father, then went back to tidy up on stage. Jacob gave her a look.

“Who was that?”

“If it works out, that’s our manager. Bruce Miller has recommended him and he’s coming along tomorrow to the church. There’s going to be a presentation of a cheque for the Roof Fund, and the Bishop of Coventry will be taking the service. Racheal will be there with Rick, so she might be able to bring you. I’ll be playing the church organ.”

“You mean that I won’t get zapped by lightning if I step inside a church?”

“You attend the school chapel. This place is just a lot older and more interesting. I will instruct the almighty that Jacob Epstein is one of the good guys. Your parents are over there, so pick up your Fender and walk, young man. I’ll see you in the morning.”

They slowly got the stage cleared and the equipment stowed in the storage area. Brent and Gina went behind the backdrop for a little canoodling. Willow made sure everything was neat and then looked at the hall, which looked like there had been a riot. The tables were haphazard, due to the rush to get them up, and there was plates and glasses still on them. Wendy found her, stacking dirties.

“Don’t bother with those, love. The casuals will be coming in tomorrow and clean up. We’ll walk home, your father is talking to a guy.”

“The guy is Peter, and he’s the manager that Bruce knows. He will manage Rick’s band when they’ve signed.”

“Come along, you did well tonight and need your beauty sleep to be ready to be part of tomorrow’s happenings. I suggest that you select something nice to wear tomorrow and hang it on the door hook to fall out.”

They left the club and walked home. The night was chill, and their breath hung like steam around their heads. The house was warm and cosy, and Willow suddenly felt tired, hugging Wendy and going up to get ready for bed. Wendy stood and watched her climbing the stairs, wondering where all that talent had come from. OK, there were two great grandfathers who played piano in pubs, but what Willow was doing at such a young age was unbelievable.

The next morning, Wendy roused a reluctant daughter to get up and in the shower. Willow was dressed in one of her better full skirts and a pink sweater when she came down for breakfast. Ashley was smiling as they ate, which looked almost creepy to Willow.

“What’s the joke, Dad?”

“No joke, just lots of good things. Last night, Peter and I had a good discussion and he agreed that he needed to rebuff any promoter who wants you touring and that you had to be allowed to finish school. He thinks that the idea of an album is a good one, if all you need to do is appear for interviews. He has the idea that you’re creating the brand ‘Willow’ with all the things that you’re involved with.”

“Brand ‘Willow’! Like some washing powder or toothpaste?”

“Exactly. There are products on the market that give their name to the action, like everyone saying that they’re Hoovering. It’s still only local, but Willow Rose is getting linked to brilliant organ playing.”

“Yeah, right. There I was in the Cathedral, willowing away. I need to get the church notice board changed to ‘W.J. Rose, church willower.’ If that’s the sort of thing he comes up with, is he going to be what we want.”

“That was just a bit of what we spoke about. He is a man with a lot of ideas. Some crazy, some not so crazy, but he thinks about his clients and what’s needed to further their careers.”

“My career doesn’t need furthering, Dad. Not until I graduate, and the Brand Willow will be yesterday’s news by then,’

“Maybe so, but we had better get going to the church.”

They arrived at the church as the bells started ringing and went inside. The heaters must have been on all night as it was cosy. Willow went up to the organ to start playing, Wendy went to help Edie with the flower arranging, and Ashley went over to the club to get the urn on and make sure the heaters were on.

Willow was playing Bach as the church filled. She saw Jacob come in with Racheal, and Rick with the rest of the band. There was a guy with a lump of a camera panning around the church and then pointed it up at her. She could just make out the logo of the local TV station on his coat. Bruce, Peter and Marcus came in, followed by another guy who she surmised was Zac. It was standing room only when the bells stopped, and she saw the Bishop and the Reverend appear in the centre aisle.

The service went as usual, with the Bishop giving the readings and the sermon, giving praise for the mysterious ways that his god worked. The four hymns were all rejoicing the wonders of the world, ending with ‘All things Bright and Beautiful’. The Bishop descended from the pulpit and asked everyone to silently pray.

He then turned to the congregation.

“Friends. We are gathered here to give praise for a small act of kindness and a large portion of talent. A few weeks ago, our church organist, Willow Rose, helped out a young band by adding the sound of this wonderful organ to some songs they had produced. I’m told it’s called ‘overdubbing’. In the short period since, that song has, I’m told, ‘gone viral’. The band agreed to pay a percentage into the Roof Fund, and we have Mister Richard Saxon, the lead singer, here today to pass over a cheque for fifty thousand pounds to Reverend Russell, as the donation to the Fund.”

There was applause and a TV camera light came on to allow the handover to be filmed. Rick was gracious, and the Reverend was duly thankful, and then everyone clapped. The local paper wanted photos and Rick refused unless Willow was included. Willow switched off the fans and went down to join the official party.

The paper wanted interviews and they all told the reporter that he could ask his questions across the road and over a mug of tea. For once, Willow wasn’t the last one in the church, as she was included in the main group heading for the club.

Once in the warm, she made sure to separate herself from the band and went to help Ashley dispensing the drinks, joined by Jacob.

“That organ in the video can’t be any other than the one in that church. It has a distinctive sound.”

“If you mean that you can hear its aging wheeze, then you’re right.”

“But you play it like an angel of music!”

“It’s a church, Jacob. You’re supposed to see angels.”

“I see my angel in all sorts of places.”

“You are so sweet, my lad, you could replace the sugar in that big bowl.”

They were interrupted by Racheal, who was letting Rick and the band hog the limelight.

“Anyone would think that those boys have made a hit record.”

“But they did, Racheal. It must had been viewed close to a million times.”

“Actually, Willow, it’s nearly two million but it’s slowed down. The odd thing is that there must be people who took a while to decide to spend the money on the album. Where it was running at about fifty-fifty, it’s now close to seventy percent that have bought the album. The boys are going on national TV next week in one of those chat shows. They’ll be showing the video, rather than playing. Rick is talking about buying a big house and a flash car, but I’m trying to keep him in the real world.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Will you play at our wedding? Not only the service, but the reception as well. There isn’t another band around that Rick wants other than you.”

“I’ll get my manager to talk to your manager.”

Racheal stood for a few moments and then saw the joke. That started them laughing. The Bishop came over and said hello to Willow, who introduced Racheal and Jacob.

“Ah, a pair of the original flock, with names like that. Did you enjoy the service?”

Racheal smiled.

“Rick and I have been to this church a few times, now. My little brother was here for the first time and was worried about getting a lightning bolt.”

“No need to worry, young man. The Lord grew up before electricity was invented. It would be more like having a slab of stone, covered in writing, landing on your head. Do I detect that you and Willow are a couple?”

“Yes, sir. We both go to the Blue Coat and play in the orchestra.”

“I don’t remember seeing you in the Cathedral Concert.”

“I wasn’t in the orchestra then, sir. I play guitar with Willow in the school dance band as well.”

“Ah! A guitar player. You know, I sometimes think that if Jesus had played guitar and travelled around as a troubadour, he may have got his ideas accepted and lived to a ripe old age.”

The Bishop gave Willow a hug and shook Jacob’s hand, then went off to get his picture taken again.

“Wow! If that’s the main man, I’m joining his party. He’s a great guy!”

“He also likes to play games, Jacob. He has a mischievous streak a mile wide. He will remember you when we play at the Cathedral again. If he had gone into politics, he would have been dangerous.”

Gina joined them.

“This is some show for our little old village. The TV guys have been filming the church and the surroundings. If we’re lucky, we may score a visit from the Antiques Roadshow next.”

“That would have to wait until summer. How are you this morning, friend. Lips sore, are they?”

“Not chapped enough, friend. That was an interesting night for us, the first outing of the Summer Rose Quartet went well. I didn’t expect the crowds, though.”

“Nobody expected that, but I reckon Malcolm will leave the tables in place in case it happens again.”

Ashley came over to them.

“Can you get a table and about a dozen chairs ready out the back, please? Just about everyone who are involved are here and we can have a conference to make some plans for the future.”

The four went to the back room and put together two of the tables. Wendy joined them with a damp cloth and wiped them down as they put chairs around it. Willow went off to get a couple of water jugs and some glasses. The activity in the front room abated as the reporters got their copy and the TV got their pictures. The villagers, agog with all the excitement, started going home. Ashley left Malcolm in the front bar and ushered the others to the back room.

When everyone was seated, Willow, Jacob and Gina sat together, with the Roses, Maisie, Racheal and Rick. They were joined by Bruce, Marcus, Peter and Zac Martin, as well was the three Russells and the Bishop. They had to pull another table up with chairs to fit them all. Marcus Waddington took the lead.

“As you know, this meeting is going to lay some ground rules and plans to allow the Summer Rose Quartet to become well-known but refrain from touring because of their age. I’ll lay out my part in it. I want to record a ‘Coventry Carpenters’ album. This will be taken around to radio stations and the media. My business partner, Zac Martin, will have that job with his connections from promoting pop concerts. After that, I will like a follow-up album if the first one takes off. I will fund the process until the returns outweigh the costs, then the band will start to be paid. That becomes Peter’s part of it.”

Peter had a briefcase which he had collected from his car.

“I’m here as the manager of Rick’s band, when they finally sign. I want to be able to manage the Quartet and the individuals that make it up, including additions and replacements. I will supply assistance with interviews and performances, with my initial fee being five percent of earnings. That will increase to the usual fifteen percent once the band, or individuals, come of age or are playing regularly. I will organise transport and logistics, as well as administration and financial services. I will open a trust account for every member and any earnings would go into that. Any payments earned, before I get your signatures, will be yours to keep. With Rick, I will only start taking my fee after the band have signed, as what they are currently earning is still theirs to keep. Of course, as all of the quartet are still underage, we will need the parents to authorise the contracts.”

The Bishop put his hand up.

“Are you telling me that I will need to pay Willow to play at the Cathedral?”

“Not if she is volunteering, no. The same with both her and Gina playing the church organ here. The school orchestra at the Cathedral is a grey area, which depends on whether the members of the orchestra get a financial return on their involvement, seeing that all of the quartet are members.”

Miss Russell came in.

“The school gets no payment from the BBC, except for a percentage of the DVD sales, which haven’t started yet. The school will use that income to pay for equipment. The money that was taken for our concert goes to charity after costs are taken.”

“That makes that clearer. As I said, the aim is to get the quartet played by the radio, and we will also create a Summer Rose website, with links to whatever video that we film. Miss Russell, I believe that the entire show on Friday evening was filmed?”

“That’s correct, our technical students will have something for us to put out as merchandise in the next half-term.”

“Can I ask that you put a premium price on the complete show and allow me to have a master of the Carpenters section. We can put up one of the songs as a leader on the website and have a paid download of the complete set that we’ll split seventy-thirty between the quartet and the school. It would work like Rick’s website, but we’ll charge extra because there are a lot more tracks. We will also have a link to buy the physical CD that Marcus will be recording.”

“What sort of timeline are we talking about?”

Marcus leaned forward.

“If we start getting management contracts going, I’m able to have a recording studio on Thursday, all day. We can have digital versions available the next week, with the CDs coming off the production line later that week, as long as the radio stations start playing it. I guess that we can be completely operational by the middle of next month.”

Willow put her hand up.

“What say do we have in all this?”

Peter smiled.

“You four get to say what you want to record, who you talk to, and how you live your lives at home and at school. Remember, once this starts to work, your status at school will be different. You’ll be celebrities, and it will be up to Miss Russell to handle that side of it.”

“Yes, Peter. It has already started to happen. When Willow rehearsed at the Cathedral, she played a bit of the ‘Organ Symphony’ to test the new devices we had for the choir. There was a camera over her, and she was singing along with them. The BBC want to promote her as the face of the advertising for the live concert, and I had a call from them on Friday to verify that she was, indeed, the Willow Rose that played organ on the smash hit with Rick’s band. I’m afraid that she is already on the way to being a celebrity. They have already bought copies of our school DVDs and have asked for permission to use cuts from these. We haven’t given that permission, yet, but if we agree that there’s a contractual requirement, we can ask them for a payment, with residuals, that we will split with Willow.”

“Does anyone else have any questions? If not, I need to ask the parents here if they have any reservations.”

Ashley said that it all seemed reasonable, as long as the children were able to continue with their schooling. Maisie agreed. Racheal said that Jacob’s parents would need to be spoken to. Peter asked if anyone could contact Brent, so Gina pulled out her phone and called him. When he answered, she told him what was happening and asked him if he could get his parents and put his phone on speaker.

When the parents were listening, she quickly described what had happened that morning, named all of those around the table, and told them that she, and Willow, would be signing with Peter as their manager. She then pushed the phone towards Peter, who outlined what had been discussed. At the end of the conversation, Peter asked for, and got, Brent’s address with an appointment to see the family that afternoon.

The paperwork was signed by Willow, her parents, and Maisie and Gina. The band’s payments to Willow would be diverted to her new account when it was set up. Racheal had a grin and asked.

“Mister manager. I asked Willow if she would play at my wedding. She told me that I needed my manager to ask her manager. With you handling both her band and Rick’s, it will be a good promotional event. Perhaps you can organise one of the magazines to pay for exclusive rights, split both ways, of course. What do you say?”

“I say that I think it’s a great idea, and something that I’ll start my office thinking about. Have you set a date yet?”

“Not firm, but it will be before summer, perhaps after Easter. Willow is already booked for a society wedding before Easter, and I’m sure that the church or the Cathedral will have plans for her over the Easter weekend.”

“A society wedding. Who are the lucky couple?”

The Reverend took over, telling them about Cassandra and Terry, and Willow’s link to Cassandra’s family, by association. This was news to Jacob, who had a big grin on his face. He whispered to Willow.

“I promise to stop calling you my angel, from now on you’re my Princess!”

“You dare, Jacob Epstein. Just you dare!”

There was general talk, a few niggling points cleared up, and then Bruce, Peter and Marcus went out to their cars to follow Rick as he took Jacob home. Willow and Gina made a start on the mess until the casuals came in to take over. As they were working, Gina was a bit quiet.

“What’s the problem, Gina?”

“I was just thinking about how we’ll be treated at school.”

“The thing is that we just be ourselves, without getting above ourselves. Everyone will then start to see that we haven’t changed. We will probably be on the ‘A’ list for evenings in the theatre, but, besides that, we’ll just continue to be members of the orchestra and ordinary students. If we continue with the sing-alongs and dinner dances, Malcolm will need to send our payments to Peter. That will provide a small, but steady income.”

“He paid us fifty, each, last night. That, alone makes me independent.”

“Wait a while, and then we’ll tap Peter for a regular transfer from our accounts. The cash in hand will have to stop. If the album takes off there will be enough money coming in to see you right.”

Gina and her mother left, with the girls having made a time to meet on Tuesday, with Maisie taking them into the city. They were pencilled in to talk to the Bishop, who was a bit cagey about what he wanted to talk about.

When the Roses walked home, they were all quiet. Inside, Wendy put the kettle on, and Ashley opened his laptop. He checked the account balance. He whistled.

“I was a bit conservative when I estimated your income, rich daughter of mine.”

“Rach told me that the video had got to two million, with an album take-up of around seventy percent. That would be one point four million, so my account should be close to seventy thousand. Am I close?”

“Just a whisker shy of that, you clever thing. That’s also after the money I transferred back into my account after your shopping spree.”

Wendy, who was pouring out mugs of tea, sat down with a thump.

“Did I just hear you say seventy grand?”

“That’s what it says here. Whatever is in here will be more than enough for Willow to go to Cambridge. It may even allow her to go for a sex change privately. When you’re talking to the doctor, tomorrow, you may want to bring that up.”

“I will Dad. There must be some way that I can get in earlier.”

They had lunch and Ashley went out into the back garden. The temporary storehouse was looking worse for wear, so he decided that he would investigate a proper shed, big enough for all the odds and ends that were taking up space.

Willow went up to her room, thinking about her own songs. She decided that she would only record them as piano, organ, or other sounds over the vocals. That way, they could play them as the quartet. If she did the vocal, piano and organ, she could email each track to the other to work out what they wanted to do with them. She would make the organ part simple, to allow Gina to fill in with more complicated arrangements.

She saved the output, so far, to her new SSD storage, and made room on the laptop for a second go at her songs. By the end of the afternoon, she had laid down the new tracks, and had started thinking about her fourth song, as well as investigating the internet for suitable songs. She entered ‘Young Love’ into her search engine, and immediately came up with a song that she loved. It was from the fifties, by Sonny James. She copied the audio track to her laptop and downloaded the lyrics. After hearing it a few times, she added her vocals and backing to her ‘new song file’ then went down to help her mother make dinner.

After dinner, her phone rang. It was Jacob to tell her that his parents had signed the paperwork to allow him to be part of the band. He said that his father was a little sceptical about the future earnings, but went along with it, considering that there were a few years before he came of age. They spoke for a while and Willow asked him for his email address to send him some sound files that he might like to add to.

Five minutes after they hung up, her phone rang again, with Brent telling her that his parents had signed. He apologised for it being a bit late, but he had been on the phone to Gina for an hour. Willow got his email with the promise of sending him something to work on. He told her that his father was taking him to Birmingham in the morning, to look at drums. His father would pay, and he would scan and email the account for her father.

In her room, she turned on her laptop and sent both boys the four sound files and the link to the original song, then sent Gina the same, with a note that these were new songs that Gina had heard three of some weeks before, after the break-up with Alec. She went to bed early, to catch up on her sleep, happy with the outcomes from a momentous day.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 8

The following morning, Willow told her father about Brent going to buy the drums and that the account will be emailed.

“You can pay for them out of my account, Dad, and transfer a thousand to the debit card account I use. When Maisie takes Gina and me into Coventry, I’d like to take them to a decent lunch. The way that Maisie has pitched in with everything is amazing.”

“That’s all right. I’ll do that tonight. Just make sure that you’re not Miss Moneybags. You may need that nest egg later on.”

With his sandwich in his briefcase, he drove Willow to the clinic at Gaydon, then went on to work. Willow presented herself at the reception and was sent to a waiting room. She had enough time to look through a couple of old magazines before she was called in. She was instructed to strip completely and put on the paper gown. Over the course of an hour, she was prodded and probed, had the solvent treatment on the glues and was in her original state, minus some fluids, to be looked over by the doctor.

“How are you doing, Willow?”

“Really good, Doctor. School is good and I’m making music. Me and my bestie share the organ duties at the church now, and we’re now doing regular sing-alongs and dances in the club. Our last show, on Saturday night, had us as a quartet for the first time.”

“What about yesterday, I thought that I saw you in some event that the news had filmed.”

“Yes. I was at the church when a cheque was handed over for the Roof Fund. The Bishop was there as well.”

“From what the reporter said, the cheque was all down to a teenage organ player who overdubbed the church organ onto a global hit.”

“Well, that too.”

“How many videos are you in, now?”

“Two on the school website, plus another currently in production. Then there’s a BBC DVD coming out with the concert in the Cathedral. We go into a studio on Thursday, to record an album of Carpenters songs.”

“I liked them. They were non-confrontational. It’s good to see that those scars are fading, a bit of foundation should allow you to wear a backless dress in a year or so. Now tell me, are you having any pain passing water?”

“Actually, except for feeling pressure in the bladder, I feel very little. It’s a good job I sit to pee.”

The doctor pulled up a couple of the scans from the previous time.

“There was a very slight shadow around the base of the penis, last time. I’m sending you up for another scan. When are you being picked up?”

“Dad will be here at his lunch period. He has time to take me home and come back to work.”

She was taken to radiology on a trolley and was carefully scanned and the put in the MRI machine again. Redressed and back down with the doctor, an hour later, she was allowed to sit on a chair while the doctor looked at the computer. She had ordered urgent processing, and her fears were proved right.

“Willow. How soon do you want sexual reassignment?”

“As soon as possible, doctor. As part of my involvement with that hit single, I’ve earned enough to pay extra for private, if needed.”

“I should wait for your father, but I’ll tell you what I think has happened. When you were kicked, it did more than close off the tubes to your testicles. Over the years, the area around the base of the penis has started to discolour. If we do nothing, it will turn gangrenous and that’s not good at all. We need to operate within a couple of months. It will be as close to a sexual reassignment operation as we can make it, taking out the bad cells and rerouting the urinary tract. Is there a time within that limit that’s good for you?”

“The term ends at the end of March, and I have two weeks holiday. I have an appointment to play at a wedding on the weekend before Easter. How long will it take to heal?”

“You should be up and around inside a week, considering that the testicles no longer exist. Stiches will come out around ten days later. I think that you would be all right to play the organ, but no dancing. I’ll book you in for the Monday morning of the holiday. I’ll run it by your father, and we can work out any extra costs, but, being needed to save you from the chance of life-threatening problem, it will be on the National Health.”

“I think that there is only a week that we’re back at school, and then we have the Easter break, so there will only be four days at school. I can manage that, and Gina can take my place at the organ if it’s needed.”

“Head down to the café for a while. I’ll leave a message with reception to send your father here. When I see him, I’ll phone the café to send you up. If it takes too long, I can authorise a taxi to take you home. The thing is; if you have any unusual pain or notice anything in your urine, call me immediately.”

Willow thanked her and went down to the café, where she had an early lunch of pasta and salad, followed by cake and ice cream. She was drinking a cup of coffee when the girl who tidied the tables came over and told her to go up to her doctor’s office.

When she arrived, the assistant told her to go straight in. Her father stood and hugged her closely, tears in his eyes.

“Don’t cry, Dad, this only brings everything forward a few years. It will make it harder for anyone to out me.”

“It’s just a shock, honey. You’ve been so alive in the last six months. I had this sudden fear that if we didn’t do anything, we might lose you.”

The doctor had some pictures on her screen now.

“This is the picture that shows the problem best, Willow. You can see the darker parts, which were just a shadow six months ago. I’ve spoken to the office, and we can fit you in on that first Monday of your holidays. Now, we didn’t reglue you, so will just put a plaster over your groin with a gap to pee through. It’s the same as you had after the first operation. What I can’t guarantee, at this point, is whether you’ll be able to feel any sensations in what we create. You will have to dilate regularly, and when you do that, you’ll be able to report what you feel. We won’t reattach the breasts either. You have enough growth to buy bras with an uplift and look close to what they were.”

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll see you in a month.”

“You look after yourself, Willow, and slow down. If you go next door, the nurse will apply the cover, while I talk to your father a bit more. If he wants to go back to work, I’ll order the taxi.”

Ashley and Willow were in the café when a taxi driver came in and called out ‘Taxi for Rose’. She hugged her father and followed the driver to the foyer. The trip home was interesting, with the taxi being an electric one. When she got home, she went in and played her organ with the volume up, playing along to Deep Purple, her old go-to soundtrack when she was feeling vulnerable and scared.

When she had settled down again, she started writing a new song, one of looking into the unknown and with the concept that the unknown could be fatal. When she had recorded the vocal and an organ track, she saved it for later, when she was convalescing.

By the time her parents arrived home, she was in a better frame of mind than they were, once Wendy had been told the outcome of the visit to the clinic. It was an evening of discussion, and plans. There were many hugging sessions before she went to bed.

Tuesday morning, after her parents went to work, she waited for Maisie to pick her up. She was looking forward to the day and was prepared to make sure they enjoyed themselves after seeing the bishop. The trip in was a welcome return to normality. Willow told the others that she wanted to go shopping for new bras, and the others wanted to look for material for an order for wedding dresses.

At the Cathedral, they had to wait a while to see the Bishop. Willow looked at the big artwork behind the altar and wondered if life was ordained to be a series of problems to be endured. When they went to see the Bishop, he was very cheery.

“Good morning, ladies. I suppose that you’re wondering why I needed to see you here, rather than talk to you on the weekend. The thing is, I have a problem. My organist has a family problem with his son in Germany. The lad went over there to learn new building techniques. He fell off a scaffold and is in hospital. Can you girls help out?”

Willow looked at Gina, who asked the question.

“What days, and how long, sir?”

“It will be this Sunday, both the morning service and Evensong, which Willow has already had experience with. Then Sundays next month. He has told me that he should be back for the Easter services. You girls will probably have a lot to do at St. Marys during that weekend. If he goes back to Germany after Easter, we may need you for a few more weeks.”

Willow could see Gina smiling.

“If Gina’s mother doesn’t mind bringing her in, mine will be able to bring me, sir. You were at the meeting on Sunday; is there any payment with this, seeing that the organist is a salaried employee of the Cathedral?”

The Bishop smiled.

“Can’t get anything over you, young lady. You’re right. What I’m asking is beyond what I would ask of a volunteer. There will be a payment, so I’ll have to sort that out with your manager. I have his number. Now, do you think that you can do it?”

“I can do it this Sunday, sir. Gina is at Stoneleigh this week. If we can have a little while with the organ, today, I’m sure I can give her enough information to be good for the week after, when I’m at Stoneleigh.”

“What about you, Gina?”

“If I can get some time on the organ, sir, I think that there won’t be a lot of difference that would be heard by your congregation. I’ve learned a lot from watching Willow play, and my time at St. Marys has given me an appreciation of how church music should be played.”

“Excellent. Are you in agreement, Mrs. Summer?”

“If I can sit in the Cathedral and hear my daughter on the organ, Bishop, I would carry her over hot coals.”

“I don’t think that would be necessary, Mrs Summer. See my Dean and he’ll give you the times and the hymn numbers for this week. The Evensong hasn’t been finalised yet so give him your emails and he will keep you both up to date in the days before the services. Thank you for helping me out. There are several other organists that I could have called on, but there are none who carry the same reputation as you two among the church community.”

The Dean was waiting for them when they left the office, and he took down all the details to contact them. Willow had Peter’s card in her bag, and he took those details to organise the payments. Then Maisie sat in the pews as Willow took Gina up to the organ, showed her how to turn it on and off, and pointed out the stops that were different to the one in the church. There were some sheets on the music holder, one a normal hymn, and another one that was an Evensong tune.

“Look, Gina. I’m not here to tell you how to suck eggs. Play some Bach to get warmed up and then have a go at these pieces. I’m going to go and sit with your mother.”

Gina stood and hugged Willow.

“Thank you, friend. This is such a privilege and an honour. I’ll turn it off when I’ve finished.”

“Then I’m taking you two for lunch before we go shopping.”

Willow went down to sit next to Maisie while Gina played the usual welcoming music. She saw that Maisie had tears in her eyes.

“Something wrong, Maisie?”

“Nothing wrong, Willow. Just that I’m sitting here, in Coventry Cathedral, listening to my daughter on the organ. I have to thank you for being the pathway that brings us here. I don’t have any idea what Gina would have done without you to give her a lift up.”

“It’s me that has to thank you for allowing me into your lives. I’ve told Gina that I’m taking you for lunch after this. Is there anywhere that you would like to go to? My treat, from the payment I’ve received from the Hikers album sales. After that, we go shopping. Excuse me for a moment, I need to let my mother know about the arrangements.”

She went outside and rang her mother at work.

“Hi Mum, I’m calling to let you know about something we’ve just discussed with the Bishop. He wants the two of us to alternate at the Cathedral on Sundays for a while. His usual organist has a problem in his family.”

“All right, dear. What’s the plan?”

“Gina is in the church this Sunday, and I’ll be needed here for the service and Evensong, like we did last time. I expect that there’ll be no lunch thrown in, so we can go into the city for a couple of hours. We then alternate until the organist comes back. He has promised to be back for Easter, anyway. After that, we just have to see.”

“What about you and your operation?”

“If I’m not available, then Gina will have to sit in, and the Reverend can lead the singing without an organ. He did it for five years, so it may be a shock, but nothing new. The fact that both of us will be here, in the Cathedral, for a few weeks, will make him feel good, anyway.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I’m taking the other two to lunch, and then I need to shop for new bras to suit my budding boobs. I’ll arrange to meet up with them after they’ve been to the haberdashers.”

“Tell Maisie to drop you off at my work. I’ll take you home. If you get any more posters, I’ll get my friends to laminate them for you. I think that my boss wants to talk to you about the show on Friday. I saw him there, but we didn’t have a chance to speak.”

“All right. I’ll see you later.”

She went back to sit by Maisie as Gina let loose with the Evensong piece. Willow could hear a new Gina, a girl who had climbed the mountain of organ works and was now sitting at the summit, looking at the view and singing. She leaned towards Maisie.

“Your daughter has just discovered how good she really is.”

“I know. It gladdens my heart to hear her now. She is really telling that organ what she wants, and it’s following her orders. There’s no way that she will be consigned to be a seamstress now. That money I spent on that Yamaha has been repaid several times over.”

They sat, with Willow looping her arm through Maisie’s, until Gina decided that she had done enough. When she came down, her mother held her for a while, and then let Willow give her friend a hug. Maisie drove them to a nice restaurant, and they had a good meal, with Gina almost hyper, only calming down by the time they got to the ice cream.

“Welcome back to Planet Earth, friend.”

“Have I been that bad? It was such an uplifting experience. It was if there was someone beside me telling me that I could do it, and I did!”

“We heard it, friend. That was a great performance. There’s no problems for you when you come in. The only thing that the two of you need to think about is what you’re going to do between the service and Evensong. I rang my mother, and she wants you to drop me off at her work on the way home.”

They arranged to meet at the café in the shopping centre, and Willow was dropped off there. She went to one of the better lingerie shops and walked in. When a girl asked her if she could help, Willow was happy to tell her that she’d been using enhancers but had now developed enough to go for new bra and panty sets to suit her new breasts. She was in the shop for a good two hours, being measured and trying on different styles.

When she left the shop, she had bags with her new sets, her old set and the enhancers. She was wearing a new set of uplift bra and padded pants. The assistant had seen her groin covering and was told that there were stitches that needed to come out later. This was a new Willow, one who was embracing life, having realised that life can be fleeting. She had also spent some money on slips and nighties, more expensive than anything she had in her drawers.

She went to the shop where she had bought posters and got a lovely one of Karen Carpenter looking happy. It was, to Willow, yet another reminder that life is only as long as it lasted, and to make the most of it. She sat in the café, having a cake and coffee, to wait for the others. She had her notebook, and some lyrics came into her mind about shopping for the good things in life. When the others joined her, they had drinks of their own, and then they went down to the car.

When Willow went into the factory reception, the girl had a brilliant smile on her face when she saw who had come in.

“Willow Rose, you are my absolute hero! We went to that school show on Friday, and it was a blast! My parents were on top of the world, excuse the pun, and I was able to dance with my boyfriend holding me close. It was lovely. I’ve also downloaded that album that you played on. Go on through, your mother’s expecting you. Leave your bags with me if you want.”

Willow went through to where her mother worked, to be hugged.

“Well, my darling. You’ve helped Gina up another rung. How did she go?”

“She reached the top, Mum, and then took off into the sky. It was amazing. I sat with Maisie and we both had tears in our eyes to listen to how she played. The spots will be paid, and I left them the details to talk to Peter.”

“Even better. How are you after yesterday?”

“Really good. I bought a poster of Karen Carpenter looking good. It will remind me to enjoy life and stop trying to help others so much. It’s in my bag in reception.”

“Run back and get it. I’ll get the laminator warmed up.”

Willow went and got the poster, and Wendy laminated it for her. The guys were talking to them when the boss came in. He took the two of them into his office.

“Willow. I was at the show on Friday evening. I had expected to be listening to the normal school event. I didn’t expect the show that we saw. My daughter had only come along to hear you sing but spent the night dancing. Now, as you know, we produce brochures for various companies, as well as stocking some of the imported lines for them. I have a customer who puts out a brochure with fashion, and I mentioned that I knew you. She’s keen to have you model for her, with teen outfits. My daughter has done it for her and will be now in the younger woman pages. Do you think that you could see her?”

“I suppose it wouldn’t harm, sir. I won’t be able to be in the Spring pages but should be ready for the Summer brochure. We’re recording the Carpenters set on Thursday, to be put out as an album, and will be pretty busy for a few months. This morning, Gina and I were asked to alternate at the Cathedral on Sundays for a few weeks, and we do have a big performance there in May with the orchestra.”

“My, you are one busy teenager! I’ll give you her card, and you can make your own mind up. She does pay well.”

“That will make my manager happy.”

He grinned.

“I had to expect that; you Rose women are level-headed and prepare for things. You’re just like your mother, who I am very happy to have employed.”

They took the card, left his office, and Willow sat, watching her mother working on the computer.

“Mum, do you have that program at home?”

“I do, love. It’s knowing my way round it that got me the job.”

“It wouldn’t be a big call for you to design our album cover, would it?”

“Do you want something around pictures of the band, or something more creative?”

“The pictures can go inside; perhaps something based on the first song, which will be ‘Close to You.’ I can see cartoonish depictions of the band members as two couples with birds above them on tree limbs. Perhaps with the girls holding bunches of roses.”

“Now, that’s really good. I can see it already. You must have some of my genes in you.”

They left the warehouse when Wendy knocked off, and drove home, with Wendy thinking about the album cover.

“Are there any other covers that you’re thinking of?”

“It depends on whether we bring in the rest of the band. Not the dance band, but the guys that I did the Moody Blues set with. We could do a cover version with that set, but I’m thinking of the set we rehearsed but didn’t play at the school, with the urgency of putting on the two Blue groups show. We covered a complete album from a band called Kansas. Gina joked that we could have a picture of me in red shoes and call it, ‘This Ain’t Kansas’.”

“But you have another idea?”

“Just an extension of the original. If we have the drawn picture of the two of us, on the yellow brick road, looking around, we could call it, ‘This can’t be Kansas’. It sounds better as far as literacy goes. Because we haven’t done it for the school, it could be an out of hours project for the other band members to give them some income.”

“How many are there?”

“Well, there’s Herb, Victor, and Roy. They’re all guitarists. Brent was the drummer and he’s already signed on. Then there was me and Gina on keyboards. If we add Jacob to the line-up, there’s a killer track called ‘Dust in the Wind’ which will sound good with his Fender. Alec was the singer, but I doubt that he would be allowed to be part of it. Jacob can do most of the singing. So that will be seven of us.”

“I remember that song. It was in the charts when I was younger. Isn’t it a bit dark?”

“Not in context with the rest of the album, which ends with everyone on earth dead and an alien visitor singing that ‘nobody’s home’. It would be an interesting flip side to the smooth Carpenters. If Peter is able to get the masters of the Moodie’s and Purple concerts, it would show a huge range of material. Perhaps Peter will be able to sign the G-Force up and get them out there, digitally.”

“Wouldn’t that go against the Head?”

“She doesn’t want them touring, so a digital footprint will give them some exposure, maybe a bit of money, and a foundation to go on stage later. From what I’ve seen, the local pop shows are a thing of the past, with venue hire and insurance cutting into the profits.”

When they arrived home, Willow took the enhancers out of the bag.

“Here Mum, do you want to hide these away?”

“Did you get new ones when you were shopping.”

“No, Mum. The clinic didn’t put them back, and I wore them loose today. What you see is all me with a push-up bra. I bought several sets today.”

Wendy hugged her daughter.

“My, my. Whatever happened to my child who didn’t want to even go into a dress shop when they were young?”

“She grew up to be a teenager, Mum. The girl in the shop was very helpful and told me that she had served a lot of girls like me. You know, flat chested until puberty but ashamed of it.”

She went to her room and put everything away after snipping the tags. Her previous bras were put aside for when she had boobs big enough to fill them naturally. She spent the evening, after dinner, writing lyrics about a girl shopping for bras without her mother pointing to the wrong things.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 9

Wednesday was a clear day, so Willow went over to the vicarage to speak to Reverend Russell. She found him in the church, polishing the altar furnishings.

“Good morning, Willow. Another fine winter’s day out there. What can I do for you?”

“Yesterday, Gina and I were asked to fill in on alternate Sundays at the Cathedral. The organist has gone to Germany to see his son in hospital. It may be for a few weeks, starting this Sunday.”

“Well, well. That’s a feather in our cap! Both of our organists playing in the Cathedral. I’m sure that there are others he could have asked.”

“He said there was, but none that had the standing within the church community. I think he likes us.”

“So, when we have one, the other will be in the city.”

“There may be a period where I have to go into the clinic for a minor procedure. I’m told that I’ll be up and around inside a week, but there may be a Sunday when the organ sits quietly.”

“That’s not a problem. It sat quiet for a lot of years, so a day without it won’t kill us. Your ladies' choir can lead the singing. They’re really getting quite good. They will be in big demand come Christmas.”

When she left him, she went home and sat writing lyrics and thinking about tunes until lunch, ate a small meal, and continued at her desk until mid-afternoon. She then committed three new songs to the computer, all from the aspect of a teenage girl and becoming a woman. She was already thinking of it as an album called ‘Journey’.

After dinner, she walked with her father to the club, where he opened up and she got the Yamaha set up. When the ladies arrived, she handed out the lyric sheets.

“Now, ladies. Today we are going to do something different, and something a bit harder. This is the stepping stone towards true choir singing. If you look at the lyrics, you will see that I’ve highlighted your copy. Those are the words you will sing. There are eight of you, and I’ve split you into three groups, by voice type. There are three different colours used. I will play the piece a couple of times, and you can sing along using all the lines. Then we will start with you only singing your highlighted lines.”

She played the music of the first verse to give them a sense of the tune, then played as they sang. She ignored slip-ups on the first and second tries, then they did it the third time without a problem. She gave Ashley a nod and he gave her the thumbs-up.

“Ladies, so far, you’ve done well. We’ll have a short break to allow you to forget everything I’ve said and then will do things the hard way. By the way, on Sundays, for a few weeks, me and Gina will be playing the organ in the Cathedral. Evensong is between four and five and is a wonderful chance for you to use those beautiful voices of yours if you want.”

They stopped for a hot drink and some crisps. After a comfort stop, Willow arranged them in the three different groups. When they were ready, she played the piece, and they sang just the highlighted parts. When they finished, they all knew that they had turned the corner. She took them through it again, and then they sang the piece that they had sung the previous week. Then it was time to pack up and go home.

On the walk home, Ashley remarked that he was getting prouder of his daughter with every passing day.

“That was almost easy, Dad. Those ladies want to sing, and I’m just helping them along. It’s tomorrow that worries me. I’m being picked up first, and I’ve never seen inside a recording studio. What I’m worried about is that it won’t have any atmosphere and the operator will want us to do things his way.”

On Thursday morning, she was looking out of the front window when a car came into the street. She put her big coat on and went out, locking up behind her. The driver was Zac, and she got in the front seat.

“Good morning, young Willow. Ready for the start of your career?”

“I’m not sure, Zac. I’m worried about the studio.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been there before. The operator is a nice guy, called Jock McBride. He’s very good at what he does and will listen to what you want.”

They stopped at Gina’s house, and she got in the back.

“Good morning, friend. Good morning, Zac. Will you be doing a lot of driving us around?”

“When you’re famous, there’ll be other drivers, but, for now, you’ll have to put up with me.”

They directed him to Jacob’s home, and Zac got out to put the guitar case in the back. They spoke about their week so far, with the girls surprising both the males with the news that they would be alternating at the Cathedral for a few weeks. Jacobs eyes lit up.

“When are you playing, Willow?”

“This Sunday. My Mum will be taking me in.”

“Can you pick me up, please. I’ve heard a lot about the place, and it will be awesome to hear you play.”

“It will be a long day, Jacob. I play for the morning service and then have to hang around in the city to go back to play the Evensong between four and five. You’ll have to get your parents approval to be out all day.”

“What’s this Evensong?”

“It’s an hour where the congregation sing hymns, carols, and choral pieces. There’s no praying or sermons, just everyone having a religious sing-along. The Cathedral Choir are there as well.”

They picked up Brent before going to the studio in Birmingham. When they were ushered in, they found a cosy rest area, a large room and the biggest mixing board that they had ever seen. There was a set of drums, two keyboards and an amp for Jacob. They were introduced to Jock. Marcus and Peter were already there, waiting for them. Marcus had done the introductions and got them ready to record, because, as he said, ‘time was money’.

Jock asked them how they wanted to work it and they told him that they wanted to sing the songs as if they were on stage. He got them seated so they could see each other, and then placed the microphones around them. There were a lot of microphones. When he was ready, he went to the mixing desk.

“Do you want to play something, while I set the desk. If it sounds odd, I can set you up with headphones, so all you hear is the final mix. Try it without, and then with, so you can decide.”

They started playing, while he slid things one way, and then the other. The other three sat behind him with headphones on. As he slowed down, they were all smiling. He waved for them to stop and then brought out four sets of headphones, plugging them into jacks by each one.

“Try these, now. If you like it, just keep playing. If not, we’ll start again without them. I’ll give you a wave if something’s wrong. I’ve been told that you’ve done all of this live. I’m really keen to hear the result. Watch me when I’m sat down, and I’ll give you the count-down from five as I start the recording going.”

The four of them looked at each other and grinned. Then they looked at the mixing desk and he held up five fingers, then curling one at a time until he dropped his hand. Willow started playing the piano intro and then they were into it, the sound that they were hearing was as if they were in the audience or listening to the finished album. They worked through the entire extended set, ending with ‘We’ve only Just Begun’. They sat in silence until the four men started applauding.

They were allowed a comfort break and then Jock broke out the coffee and biscuits as they sat and listened to themselves on playback. It had that live sound that Willow was afraid that they’d lose, and everyone had smiles when the last track finished. Jock looked stern.

“That was great as it stands. I can change the order of the tracks to make a more streamlined sound. If you’re making it a two-disc album, you’ll need to make the last track as the first of the second disc.”

Marcus smiled.

“What do you want to do, now?”

Brent spoke.

“We don’t have anything as polished as that, Marcus. We have a few songs that Willow sent us, that we haven’t played together. Has everyone put something on them?”

They all said that they had. Willow told Marcus that they were mainly her own writing, and the basis for an album that she called ‘Journey’, or ‘Journey of a Girl’.

They sat back at their instruments and put the headphones on. Willow was trembling, wondering if it was all rubbish. The hand went down, and Jacob started with the first song. Willow and Gina joined together as Brent played a gentle beat. Willow sang the song and the trembling stopped as she listened to herself and her band. The others had done everything asked of them. They continued with the song about finding a true friend, with Willow and Gina singing in harmony. The last song, about the first kiss, had the girls in harmony, with the boys singing the repeat in a harmony of their own.

When they finished, the others crowded in and congratulated them. Jock announced that the recordings were perfect and asked how they had achieved it. Gina explained that Willow had put down the vocal, piano and organ tracks, and that they had worked on them at home, adding their own input.

“We haven’t even got around to sending it back to Willow to see what she thinks.”

“And what do you think, Willow?”

“I think that these guys are the best band in town, Marcus. What we just played was as good as I hoped, and better than I had worried about.”

“Anything else while we’re here? Then I’ll take you for lunch.”

Willow thought a bit.

“Did anyone work on ‘Young Love’?”

The others said they had.

“Jacob, did you listen to the Moody’s DVD, especially ‘Driftwood’?”

“Many times, Willow, generally singing it to you in my mind.”

“All right. We’ll try ‘Young Love’ first, Gina singing, then you can lead us in on ‘Driftwood’. Jock, all of these are for personal use only. If we do make another album, we’ll do it properly.”

“Got it, Willow. I’ll add them to my private collection of out-takes.”

They all settled back in their places, headphones on, and waited for Jock’s signal. Gina was great with the song, as Willow, with her increasing knowledge of voices, thought she would be. The rest of them sang the backing vocals. After a pause, Jacob began with the guitar intro to ‘Driftwood’. On the DVD, it had been Herb on an electric, and the Fender acoustic was far better. When they had finished, they sat silently and then stood and stretched. It had been a long morning, but Willow thought that they had done well. Jock hadn’t asked for any retakes, and the other three were all smiles. There was shaking of hands, and a few hugs, before Zac put the guitar back in the car and drove them to an Italian restaurant for lunch. They were joined by Marcus and Peter and were seated on a big table, a little way from the other diners.

Peter ordered beers for the adults and lemonades for the children and suggested the dishes that the restaurant was well-known for. They had a good meal. When they had eaten their fill, Zac remarked that he had been told, on the way in, that Willow and Gina were playing the Cathedral organ on alternate Sundays for a few weeks. This made Peter perk up.

“It’s all right, Peter. I gave the Dean your contacts, and the bishop has agreed to pay us, seeing that we’re replacing the paid organist while he’s away.”

“I’m glad that you have a business head on your shoulders. Now, I believe that this album will be called ‘Coventry Carpentry’ – volume one and two. Any idea of a cover?”

Willow reached into her big shoulder bag and pulled out a folder. Taking the A4 sheets in it, she handed them out, one each.

“My mother is a graphic artist, and we put our heads together to come up with this.”

Peter started laughing and Willow wondered what was wrong. He managed to take a grip of himself.

“Willow Rose. This is perfect. I would have a consultant charge us a thousand pounds and they wouldn’t have come close. This is the album cover, and one of the posters. My office can produce a bigger version which you can all sign, and we will be able to sell it as is or laminated. I see that it’s signed ‘Wendy Rose’.”

“That’s my mother. She works in Coventry, usually creating those store brochures that clog up the middle of the newspaper. She has the same program that they use on her computer at home.”

She looked at her friends.

“You lot are quiet; did we do wrong?”

Gina stood up and pulled Willow into a hug.

“Nothing wrong, friend. Just stunned at how Wendy managed to capture the feel of the quartet.”

Jacob replaced her and held Willow close as they kissed. Brent just hugged, but kissed her cheek, whispering ‘thank you’.

Marcus was smiling.

“This can’t be everything. I see that look on Willows face that she had something else up her sleeve.”

“I have been thinking about a lot of things lately. I believe that Zac tried to poach us from the school when we had played the Deep Purple concert.”

Zac snorted.

“That was Artie. He was so over the top we almost got thrown out of the office.”

“Well, the band that I was on stage with are called ‘G-Force’ and are all good at what they do. They’ve been joined by Jim, the guy I stood in for, and they did the blues concert part at the school. The DVD shows Gina playing, but Jim is now the organist. I think that they would be a good fit with what we’re creating. They could have their own website, but with links to us, and vice versa. The same applies to them as it does to us, so no live shows, but creating a digital presence. They are, so I’m told, a good party band with a lot of material from the previous century. If you give me business cards, we can talk to them at school and let them decide if they want to contact you.”

“Sounds, doable. What else?”

“One other thing. Before we did the Blue concert for the school, Gina, Brent and I played in a group with three guitarists that Brent and Jacob know. We were called Blue Two and did the Moody Blues half.”

“And very impressive it was, too. I’d seen the original band and if I closed my eyes, I could imagine being there again. But that concert is property of the school.”

“Correct. However, in the week before the Blue concert became a priority, we rehearsed, and almost perfected, a cover of a concept album by Kansas. That has never seen light of day, so there are no restrictions in recording it as a Summer Rose album. All we need is your approval to go ahead and then the other guys to want to be in the limelight. It could go out as a digital download. One track from it, so I’m told, was in the charts a long time ago. That one was ‘Dust In The Wind’.”

“I remember that one. It really got into your headspace. I’ll be humming it for the rest of the day, now,”

“It’s one of my favourites too, Zac. It’s perfect for Jacob and his Fender. We could change the vibe by having me or Gina sing it. The original group only had men singing.”

“We’ll listen to that one on-line and get back to you. The rest of the album may not be to everyone’s taste. Is there a recording?”

“Herb made one of our last session on his phone. It won’t be great but will give you an idea if he’s still got it.”

Brent laughed.

“He still has it, Willow, I think he plays it back to himself every night. He calls it his missed opportunity. Those guys will bite your arm off to be in a proper studio with that album being laid down.”

“How many would there be?”

“Seven, Marcus. Plenty of space for that in the studio.”

“That is sounding interesting. Give this Herb my card and tell him to send me that sound file. It would be an interesting mix, on stage, with these G-men opening, and you four with the bigger band on second. You could do a mix of Moody’s, Kansas, Carpenters and your own songs. I can see a short season during summer, in the main local cities. Not enough to upset the Head, but enough to sell albums and merchandise. By that time, we would have enough feedback from the Carpentry album to estimate numbers and prices.”

“OK, Marcus. Just don’t forget that we have the big Saint-Saens concert in the Cathedral in May.”

“How much are you involved in that?”

“Gina and I are on keyboards for a fair bit of the first half. Brent is on percussion with Jacob on the triangle, unless he’s given something else. The second half is the ‘Organ Symphony’, that tune from ‘Babe’, with me on the Cathedral organ. I’m told that they’re going to use footage of me singing while I played at a rehearsal, before we played the last concert. That’s another link you can put on the website if you want. I know it’s mainly just me, but I did get named as the organist.”

She was given a bunch of cards from the three men, which she put in her bag. Then Marcus settled up and Zac took them home, Brent first, having to wait while Gina and Brent said cheerio, behind the front bushes. At Jacob’s house, she got out and they kissed next to the car while Zac opened the back and pulled out the guitar case.

Willow got out with Gina, and they sent Zac off. The girls went into the house, where Maisie was putting on the kettle.

“How did it go, girls?”

An hour later, Maisie had been brought up to date to her amazement at the number of tracks that the band had recorded. Willow then got hugs and went home, thinking about what had been achieved. If the final result was as good as she had heard in the headphones, she would be happy. She was truly in awe of the way the other three had interpreted her own songs. They would be added to within a few weeks. She smiled when she thought that there would be no shortage of Summer Rose material out there when it all took off. She had no fears that it wouldn’t. She had listened to, and watched, the audiences enjoying everything that had been played, so far.

At home, she worked on the songs that she hadn’t sent to the others yet. After all the playing this morning, it was nice to work a few new things out, especially that she could now utilise the second keyboard. She went downstairs and started preparing dinner for when her parents got home, something that would never have been on her radar a year ago.

That evening, she was able to give her parents a blow-by-blow account of the recordings.

“You’re saying that you recorded those three of your own songs? But you and the band have never rehearsed them!”

“It was as if we had spent hours on them, Mum. I recorded a piano and basic organ, with the vocals, and emailed it to the others. They listened to that and added what they thought would work. I was trembling when we were asked to play them, but it was fantastic. The others are on the same wavelength, so close it’s downright scary. I’m getting that from Gina; it’s as if we’re one mind in two bodies when we’re performing. They loved the cover art, and it will be used as a poster as well, after they’ve printed something that we can sign.”

“That will be neat, the products will then be reproduced with authentic signatures.”

On Friday, Willow continued to work on her own material until her phone pinged with a text message. That told her that there was an email coming her way with all the details for the Sunday services. When she opened her email page, she found a few others.

The Cathedral email was printed off to study and show to Wendy. One from Peter’s office was printed off and kept for her father to look at. It had the details of her new account and the date that the income from the Hikers had been moved to it. In the few days since the diversion, it had already amassed more than a thousand pounds.

There was another from Marcus to tell her that he was very happy with the recording session and that the quartet was more professional than any other groups that he had worked with. He asked about her own songs, and how long it would be before there was enough for an album. She replied to that one, thanking him for his comments and telling him that there should be enough in about a month.

She got back looking at her writing. After a light lunch, she worked on recording the three sections of four songs. Then she took the Kansas material that Herb had given her and made a copy for Jacob. She sat and listened to it again, realising just how much she had learned since she first heard it. Without having Alec to do the singing, she made a list of the tracks and put names of the best voices next to each track. With ‘Dust in the Wind’ she thought that she and Gina could alternate, one couplet at a time, with the boys doing the backing.

Later in the afternoon, she walked over to the church and sat at the organ after finding most of the Evensong music she didn’t already know, then played through what she had to set it in her mind. The Dean had penciled her in for two hours on Saturday for rehearsal. She knew that her father would be looking around to price garden sheds and garages, so she would
need to ask her mother to take her into Coventry.

While she was playing, Gina came in and climbed the steps to sit with her, watching and learning. When Willow had finished what she wanted to do, she sat back and turned off the fans.

“How are you, friend?”

“Oddly flat, Willow. The recording was such a concentrated session, I’m not sure what to do now.”

“Find the hymns for Sunday and run through them. Then we can go back to my place, and I’ll play you the material I’ve been working on. I haven’t emailed it to anyone yet. I had the thought that you would all be feeling a little flat today.”

Gina looked at the board for the hymns, with Willow confirming that they were new. She played the three hymns through and then played some Bach. That had been something she had picked up from Willow, playing gentle Bach that she didn’t have to think about. It settled her pulse rate and allowed her to breathe easier.

When they left the church, they did as suggested, with Gina adding a more interesting track to each of Willow’s recordings. They worked well together, being able to tell each other where they were going wrong and get things back on track.

When Wendy and Ashley came home, the girls hugged and wished each other luck for Sunday before Gina left to walk home. Willow stood by the door watching her go down the road. It was odd, as she was thinking about Gina as a sister, with their mental links making her almost a twin sister.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 10

Willow rested on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Ashley had gone out to look at garages and sheds. Wendy expected that he would end up with a shed to replace the ‘crate castle’ as the house already had a large garage, big enough for both cars. The crates had been delivered with the truck going alongside the house and craning the crate sides over the fence.

She sat with her mother having lunch, tidied up and went into the city. They parked at the Cathedral and went in. As far as it went, for Willow it was all too familiar. The hymns were as she had already been advised, and the Evensong content was as the list. She went up to the organ, turned it on and set it up, then warmed her fingers with some Bach before playing each hymn in full. It was gratifying to hear some singing. Then, she worked through the Evensong list in full, with a lot more singing of the popular songs, and the choir singing with the choral pieces.

It was all very straight-forward, and she had done all she wanted to do in under the two hours. She went back down and the two of them left the Cathedral to go into the shopping area, where they window-shopped but took nothing home.

“You seem a bit preoccupied.”

“I feel that I’ve been here and done that already. I don’t want to appear jaded, but after six months playing hymns, it’s become background to my other music. I’m not knocking it; it has become the pathway to my other things, but I’m feeling a bit tired and flat. Gina felt the same yesterday. I don’t think it’s the fault of the church music, just that we’re in bubble of inactivity until the album gets taken around.”

“You’re afraid that nobody will play it, aren’t you?”

“You’re right. I don’t know what I’ll do if it bombs. I may be the only one in the band that thinks that way. I have this feeling that there’s something coming.”

“Could it be fear of the operation?”

“Could be. I’ve never considered having my manhood removed, it was just a part of me that worked as needed. It has to happen, because it’s something that could kill me if I get blood poisoning.”

“We’ll be there for you, darling. You aren’t alone anymore.”

“I know, Mum. I also have a lot of friends. I just don’t know how I’ll explain this.”

“Just say that it’s a consequence of the earlier problem. That something came back. It is the truth, and that helps.”

They had dinner after Ashley came in from measuring the back garden. He had decided that a garage wasn’t feasible, seeing that he would have to use the neighbours land as access. It would take the ‘crate castle’ to be emptied and removed, then a concrete floor laid and allowed to set, They would lose what little of the vegetable patch that remained after the crates had arrived. As far as Willow was concerned, they could lose a lot of stuff that had ended up out there for the reason that it had reached its use-by date.

Wendy took Willow in on Sunday morning, as Ashley was going to be in the club. They picked up Jacob on the way. The Cathedral was almost full when they went in, and there were several pictures taken as they walked in. The reason became apparent when they passed a notice board with a sign stating that the organist that played on the smash hit, ‘Love and Marriage’ would supply the music today.

That had the effect of breaking Willow’s funk. Out of sight of the public, she had to start laughing and sit down, while Jacob went and got her some water.

“You really have to hand it to the Bishop! There’s me and Gina thinking that playing here is the pinnacle for any organist, and he uses a four-minute YouTube video to pull in the punters!”

The service was as expected, and Willow played as expected. After she had played the Bishop out of the church, she sneaked in a few bars of the ‘Wedding March’ with more than a few cheers. When she came down, she was inundated by autograph hunters and younger fans asking questions.

When she had signed everything and was able to escape to the Chapter House, the Bishop was there with a big smile and a huge hug.

“Willow, Willow, Willow. You just had to round out a perfect service with the perfect snippet of classics. I’m pretty sure that more than ten percent of the congregation have never been in a church before. Your friend Bruce suggested the advert. Being in the media, he knows how to press buttons. He’s over there if you want to slap anyone around.”

“It’s perfectly all right, sir. It took me out of a funk that I’ve been in since we recorded our album on Thursday. You won’t be able to pull the same trick with Gina.”

“That depends on how many radio stations are playing your album, doesn’t it?”

They were both laughing when Wendy and Jacob came in, having to negotiate the small crowd and the security man.

“You two look happy.”

“We are, Wendy. Good morning, Jacob. No lightning or lumps of stone today?”

Jacob had to grin.

“Just the mob outside, sir. I would have been worried if someone had supplied a pile of rocks.”

The Bishop laughed.

“You may not have the faith, young man, but the knowledge of the stories is inside you, waiting to sustain you in your hour of need. Now, Willow, you’ll be back at half past three, please. There is a reporter from the Church News who wants to talk to you and take a few pictures before you start playing. He will do the same with Gina, next week, and then write an article that will be in that esteemed publication before the May concert.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

He hugged her and Wendy, shook Jacob’s hand and they left the Chapter House and headed into the city. Jacob took the role of the man in the group and opened doors, pulled out chairs, and was generally gentlemanly. They had a leisurely lunch, window-shopped and were back at the Cathedral at the time nominated. The reporter was very kind and only asked general questions about her school, her likes and dislikes. She had to describe how she ended up as the organist on a viral video and she dropped hints about Summer Rose and the May concert.

He took pictures of her in front of the altar, and one with Jacob standing beside her. The last was of her sitting at the organ. By that time, it was very close to Evensong, and she prepared herself to start playing as he went back down to ground level. There was a good crowd, and she started on the hour, with a lot of singing. To her, this was what she was here for, the entertainment. When the choir was singing, she heard about five times as many voices as she could see, their previous visit obviously being continued with the Cathedrals’ own multipliers.

When she had finished and tidied up, she met the Dean at the bottom of the stairs who told her that it had been a good day. She had to agree. Wendy took the teenagers to the Steakhouse, where Ashley had secured a table. They had a good dinner and then went to the farm, where they were required to have a cup of tea and explain what had happened during the day. When they left, Jacob gave Willow a hug and a kiss without any embarrassment.

That night, when Willow went to bed, she cuddled her plush friends and was smiling as she went to sleep. It had been a very good day, in the end.

Monday was back to school. Willow had her shoulder bag and the various business cards bundled with elastic bands. At the lunch break, she went over to the table where Herb, Roy and Victor were sitting.

“Hi, guys. I want to tell you a little story. Last Thursday, Gina, Jacob, Brent, and I spent some hours in a recording studio in Birmingham to record the entire set of Carpenters songs that we played at the dinner dance. We asked the guys there about adding others to the four of us to do other things. I spoke about our unfinished project.”

“You told them about the Kansas set?”

“I did, Herb. Now, they’re interested but not convinced. The thing is that if we record it, we will be acting outside the school. The result will be a digital offering on our Summer Rose website. If you guys want to take it further, I have some business cards that I can give you.”

“What does it cost us?”

“Nothing except your time and talent. Our manager charges five percent until we come of age, or when we will be able to tour, and his cut goes to fifteen percent. Our promoter will cover the cost of recording and only split with us once the costs are met.”

“The band will be Summer Rose?”

“That’s right. Gina and I picked the name when it was just the two of us.”

“If you give us the cards, it’s up to us to get in touch. They won’t hound us?”

“Correct. Now, do you want the cards and talk about it. No pressure on our side but we would be happy to have you all on stage when we go live.”

“If we aren’t performing on stage, how will we make any money?”

“Have you heard that single by Rick Sacks and the Hikers?”

“You bet, it’s great.”

“That single went on the website on a Saturday evening. By Sunday evening it had been viewed close to a million times, and a week ago it hit two million views.”

“Views don’t make money.”

“No, but there was a link to let you buy the six-track album for a pound a piece.”

“We all got that. So what?”

“So, seventy percent of people viewing bought the album. I’ll leave you to work out the maths.”

She pulled out the business cards and gave each one a set.

“Wait! How do you know all this detail?”

“Did you see who overdubbed the organ tracks?”

She stood and left them before they could pick their chins up from the tabletop. She went over to where the four Gees and Jim were sitting.

“Hello, Gee Men. How are you all.”

“Good, Willow. We were watching you talk to Blue Two. The way that they’re huddled, I guess that you lit a fire under them.”

“Exactly, Geoff. It’s like the fire I’ve come over to you to light. Are you guys still determined to finish school before you tour?”

“That was the plan. The Head isn’t keen to see us give away a good education.”

“How about getting your name out there without touring?”

“How do we do that?”

“By having a website and selling your music online. You can do what Rick Saxon has done with the Hikers. I’ve got some business cards for a manager and a promoter who will be willing to take you into a recording studio.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Only that it would be nice if Blue One opened a show with Blue Two in the second half. Actually, not Blue Two, we’re Summer Rose and we’ve signed with these guys. We recorded our Carpenters tracks last week and the result should be on the web in a week or two.”

“If we take the cards, it’s up to us to make contact?”

“Correct. One of the guys that I have a card for was talking to the Head a week after our Purple show. She threw him out but never told us that there were people interested. The other promoter is a good guy and will be putting our orchestra into a studio to record a classics album. That will be a school project; if you make the move, it will be your own project.”

Geoff nodded and she handed each one a set of cards, including an extra set for Geoff.

“They’re for Zara if you want her out front.”

Garry stood and gave her a hug before she left them and went back to her table, sitting down to finish her drink.

“Lit a couple of fires, there?”

“I hope so, Jacob. We can only ask and let them decide. By the way, I’ve got a copy of the Kansas album that we spoke about. Alec was the main singer when we did it last, but I think we can spread that between us.”

She gave him the CD and the bit of paper with suggested singers. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled.

“Have you got your spark back? You were a bit down on Sunday.”

“I think so, Jacob. It’s the waiting that gets to me. Not having any control of things. I suppose that happens a lot when you’re grown up. As a kid, your world is immediate, but I’m starting to realise that you need to plan ahead. Take the service yesterday. There was no way that I could have foreseen a crowd of autograph hunters when I played for Rick in the church. We’re all going to be in that boat when we get famous. I just don’t know if it will be good or bad.”

“If I’m with you, Willow, it can only be good.”

They were interrupted by Gina.

“Come on, you lovebirds, classes are awaiting our esteemed selves.”

On the way home, Wendy had the radio on, softly, as the teens talked among themselves about their day. Suddenly, she reached over and turned it up as the sound of the Carpenters filled the car. Only, it wasn’t the Carpenters, it was Summer Rose. At the end, the announcer came on.

“That, dear listeners, is the first of many songs from a new double CD, called ‘Coventry Carpentry’, that I’ll be playing. The band is Summer Rose, and they all come from Coventry, so we may have another Specials from this fine city.”

Wendy turned it back down as another song started, with the car filled with whoops. When they arrived at the farm, they all got out and the teens took the opportunity to hug, with Jacob kissing Willow and whispering that he loved her. She replied in the same fashion.

Jacob’s parents were advised that their son was now being heard on the radio, and he turned his laptop on as they were sitting around the kitchen table. He found their new website, that must have gone up over the weekend. There was a video, which showed them in the recording studio playing. There was a link to the digital double album at five pounds each disc.

The video had only been seen fifteen hundred times, but it was early days. He clicked on a merchandise button which brought up pictures of each of them and the poster that was the album cover. The teens gave Wendy a hug and told her she was wonderful. Rosalie and Wilhelm were amazed. They had gone along with it to see their son happy, never thinking that it would come to this.

When they dropped Gina off, they had to go in and show Maisie the website and have another cup of tea. When they arrived home, Wendy and Willow went in and shed their winter coats.

“What happens now, darling?”

“What happens is that I’m in the toilet after two cups of tea and a lot of excitement!”

Willow went up to the toilet. When she turned around to flush, she thought that she saw something black in the water and decided it may have been an insect that had drowned. The dinner was full of laughs and joy, and there was a phone call to her grandparents. When she went to bed, there were two things on her mind. One was the concept that she, and the band, had been on the radio, while the other one made her smile more. It was those three little words that every girl wants to hear. They were the words that Alec, in all his time with her, had never uttered.

……………………………………………..

That evening, the IT specialist in Peter’s office was hunched over a computer. He had been sent a large file which contained the video and audio of Summer Rose in concert. He was replacing the studio clip with the live clip of the same song, thinking that it was much better seeing the interaction of the band on stage. He added the album cover, with a LIVE overwrite and put a link to buy the DVD at fifteen pounds for the download, or twenty for the actual disc.

…………………………………………..

Bruce Miller, having been sent a copy of the concert, was busy writing up his article for the next issue of the Observer. He had known the Specials, had gone to school with some, but had never been this close to an upcoming band before. He was looking forward to the next few months.

…………………………………………..

In her easy chair, the Head was looking at the website, wondering if she had done the right thing by agreeing to the release of the concert video. Whatever happened, the school would gain from its share of the takings, no matter how small, and she still had the complete concert DVD to sell in the school before the term ended. It was a hard job to keep the income coming in to improve the facilities and the equipment. It was the talent of her students that set the Blue Coat apart from run-of-the-mill schools. Without them, she knew, her job wouldn’t be so fulfilling.

…………………………………………

Tuesday morning seemed almost normal. Gina was on the organ for chapel. None of the other students listened to the middle-of-the-road radio stations, so nothing was said. Some thought it odd that Brent had been seen hugging Gina, Willow and Jacob; especially Jacob, but most thought that it was something between the four of them.

At lunch, Brent went over to his friends and gave them a bit of paper with the band website written on it, and then did the same for Geoff and the Gees. The first odd thing happened during the Orchestra. They were back to working with ‘Bolero’ and the Grieg. When they had played the two pieces, Mister Bamborough called for quiet.

“Last night, I looked at a website that the Head had told me about. It had four of this orchestra with a double album for sale. Those four, Willow, Gina, Jacob and Brent, performed a set of Carpenters songs at our dinner dance a couple of weeks ago. I applaud you four and hope that you do well. The school has a part in this, as every download of the concert video will bring us a piece of the income. The full concert DVD will be available next week as a school offering. It will be two discs, discounted, so will be twenty-five pounds each. It does show the skills of the others from this orchestra and is well worth it, especially for those who didn’t attend the wonderful event. That dance band is back at the Stoneleigh Community Club on Saturday evening, and I can tell you that it’s a good place to take your parents, as well as having fun.”

The band were hugged and backslapped as the session ended. Some had been at the school dance, but, for many, it was all something new. On the way home, Jacob remarked that things will now be changing for them. The others were a little bit overwhelmed by the reaction from their school friends.

When Willow was dropped off, she went inside to find her mother on the computer.

“What are you working on, Mum?”

“It’s a part of the graphics program that I’ve never used before. While we were preparing our dinner, I said that it had been a bit haywire in the club for the sing-along. Your father told me that there was a module in the program that they use for the best use of a sheet of steel when cutting a number of shapes. He had the dimensions of the back room of the club. I’ve estimated the space needed for an eight-seat table and chairs and have been working on finding the best fit while leaving space for a dance floor.”

“That looks like a pattern, rather than a table lay-out.”

“Exactly. I’ve found a layout that adds two eight-seaters to the old maximum and still leaves a dance floor. If we get inundated on Saturday evening, we’ll be able to seat two hundred and fifty-six and still have room to dance. That will increase the number that can be catered for at receptions as well. It still leaves plenty of room for people to move around.”

“That’s fantastic, Mum! You and Dad can see how it works tomorrow evening while I work with the village choir. There’s nearly a dozen of them now, and they can tell you what they think before anyone else sees it. From the point of view of someone on the stage, it would be great to have the audience as more of a ‘U’ shape in front of us. The only thing that I can see, right now, is that we will have to re-site the PA speakers, or else the close tables will have one in their ear.”

She had her sandwich and then told her mother about the orchestra session, and the fact that Mister Bamborough had brought up the website. She went and got her laptop and set it up on the kitchen table. When she looked at the website and noted the changes. The picture of the single link was different, so she clicked on it. She called her parents in to have a look.

“That’s nice, dear. They’ve gone from that boring studio clip to the school dance. That’s much nicer.”

“They must have received the permission and the raw video from the school. We were told that the full double DVD will be out next week, at twenty-five pounds each. Just the quartet section on the website is half that price for a download.”

Ashley put his hand on her shoulder.

“That’s because the school doesn’t pay the film crew or the sound guys. The website has to price everything as if you’ve gone into a professional studio to record the video. This is the money that things will cost when you do other recordings.”

“Oh! The real world. Did you notice the viewing number on the video, am I reading it right? I see a hundred and forty thousand.”

“Early days, daughter. If Peter has been canny, he would have sent it out to the people on Rick’s list. It may be a couple of days before an influencer gets to see it. Even that’s a good number if twenty thousand have bought the download at that price. We’ll have to wait until Peter sends us a statement of your earnings before we know for sure.”

On Wednesday, the four of them were the centre of attention. Most of the school had now seen the website and looked at the video. Summer Rose was now a group to be friends with no matter what year you were in. The rest of Blue Two reported that they had been in touch with Peter, with progress to be reported on after the parents had met him and seen the paperwork. The Gees said the same and had spoken to Marcus about recording something. Grant had been writing but never thought that he would have a chance to have anything played.

That evening, Wendy and Ashley moved tables and chairs around while Willow was in the front room with the choir ladies. They repeated the first two songs that they had perfected and worked on another item that Willow had found for them. The choral items from the Evensong was providing good material for this size group. After the session, they all went to the back room to see what the new layout was like.

It was different, and they sat in chairs and walked between settings with the chairs pulled out. Malcolm was there, with a big smile on his face. Saturday would be the big test.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 11

When the Roses walked home, they all felt that they had done well. Willow was happy at how her singing group were improving, Wendy was happy at the result of her work with what Ashley called a ‘nesting’ program, and Ashley with the thought that they would be able to cater for more in the club.

That night, when Willow went to the toilet, she saw definite black spots in the bowl. She wasn’t going to tell her parents yet, but she was going to call the clinic. It took her a while to slide into dreamland and she was clutching Tiger and Shaun tightly.

She was her usual self in the morning, only stopping to check the viewing numbers which were now reaching the quarter of a million. At school, she was attentive and focused during the lessons. When it came to lunchtime, she told her friends that she needed to make a phone call and to start without her. She found a private spot and called the clinic, asking to speak to her doctor.

“Good afternoon, doctor. It’s Willow Rose.”

“Do you have a problem, Willow?”

“I’m seeing black spots in the toilet bowl after I’ve passed water.”

“Right! Go to the nurses room in the school. When you see them, ring me back.”

“OK, will do.”

She found her way to the nurses office and knocked. When she was called to go in, the nurse smiled brightly.

“Hello, Willow. What can I do for you?”

“I’ve just rung my doctor and she has told me to see you and ring her back.”

“All right, you had better make that call.”

Willow rang the clinic and was put through to the doctor, who asked to speak to the nurse. The nurse pulled out a notepad and started writing while Willow looked on. When she said cheerio, she ended the call and gave the phone back to Willow.

“I have some things we have to do, right now. I have some urine sample containers and I’ve been told to get you to pass some water for me, then we ring her back. Here it is, now, go into the ensuite and give me a sample.”

Willow went into the toilet and half-filled the container, screwing the lid on. She washed her hands and took it out to the nurse who held it up and looked at the contents. She picked up her desk phone and called the clinic.

“I have that sample, doctor. There are drops of blood and some other things that I can’t identify.”

She listened for a few minutes and made some more notes.

“Willow, I need to take a blood sample. Then I’ll package the two items and call the path lab to send a courier, with results to come to me and the clinic. I’ve been told that you had a couple of growths taken from your groin before the first term, and the doctor tells me that scans have shown that something is wrong. I have to give you another sample bottle. She wants you to give her a sample on Monday morning, before you eat, and have your father drop it off on his way to work. She’ll give you a call when she gets that result.”

“Thank you, Miss. I was due to go in after the end of term, but it looks like I’ll be there earlier.”

“If you do have to miss any time, I will back you up. I suggest that whatever you have there, it needs to be looked at as soon as you can. I would hate to see someone as talented as you be lost to us.”

Willow went to join her friends for lunch, a sample bottle in a plastic bag and a note for her parents in her bag. In the lunchroom, she found that the only seat vacant on her table, and for several tables around, was the one saved for her. By this time, almost everyone had seen the video clip, and many said that they had bought the download.

As she ate, there was constant chatter about Summer Rose going on around her, but she hardly noticed until Herb stood in front of her.

“Willow, me and the guys have all signed on with Peter. You’re having a dinner dance at Stoneleigh on Saturday, any chance we can get some time in on stage?”

“I think we can work that in, Herb. We can let the other band members have some time off and we can do some Moody’s. If you bring your guitars, we can set up another pair of Marshall fifties. I have another idea. Brush up on the Kansas stuff, say, ‘Dust in the Wind’ and ‘Nobody’s Home’. Jacob can add his Fender sound to those, I’m sure.”

Jacob, who was listening to every word, nodded his head.

“I’ll tell the guys. What time to arrive?”

“Make it between six and half past. We can do a sound check before we eat. We play after we’ve eaten and start off with the dance band. Then I’ll call you guys up and we do some electric for the teens. After that, we end up with the four of us playing songs from the Carpentry album. Does that sound good to you?”

“You bet. We’ll be there, raring to go. It’s been too long since that school concert.”

She watched him almost bounce back to his table. Jacob gave out a short laugh.

“That is going to be one hell of a show, sweetheart.”

The rest of the day went normally, and everyone was talkative as Wendy drove them home. Gina was brought up to speed on the plans for the dinner dance. She was going into the city in the afternoon to prepare for the Sunday organ playing. Willow advised her to just get her fingers warm, then do the service and the Evensong in full, as there would be Cathedral visitors wanting to sing and the choir will be on hand when she played the choral items.

When they entered their home, Wendy put her hand on Willow’s arm.

“You were good, darling, but not good enough for me. Now, spill!”

Willow dug the sample bottle out of her bag and the note, which she gave to her mother.

“We can talk about it when I get back, I’m going to change.”

When she came back down, Wendy was sitting at the kitchen table with the note in front of her.

“What happened?”

“I thought I saw something dark in the bowl a few days ago. I spotted more yesterday and rang the clinic at lunch time. The doctor ordered me to go to see the school nurse. She got me to give a sample, rang the doctor back and was told to draw blood and sent the two to a path lab. Then she gave me the second container and told me to pass a sample Monday morning for Dad to take in on his way to work.”

“He told me that they were organising an operation on the Monday of the holidays.”

“It looks like I’ll be convalescing by then. Nothing drastic, just me becoming Willow for good.”

She burst into tears and was still sobbing, in her mother’s loving arms, when Ashley walked in. Wendy pushed the note towards him and continued to comfort her distraught daughter. He read it through, nodded, and went to the phone to call the clinic.

When he came back, Willow was calmer. He sat down.

“I called the doctor. She had given me an after-hours number to call. She says that she will know more when she gets the path results, but she is organising the surgery for Monday week. She needs to get the right people in.”

Willow blew her nose and looked at her father.

“Thanks, Dad. She did say that I’ll be a week in the hospital and the stitches would come out at the end of the next week. I’ll be better, now. It was just that there was a big build-up of stuff waiting to come out as tears. The nurse said that she wouldn’t be happy to lose someone like me, and it’s made me realise that there are now a lot of people relying on me. We’re planning a very different dinner dance on Saturday. The band from the school will be there, and we’ll be doing some of the Moody’s set. They have all signed with Peter, so it will be the first showing of the Summer Rose Group.”

“You’ll be fine, I’m sure. Go up and wash your face, then have a lie down. We’ll give you a call when dinner is ready. Then I want you to relax when you can until Saturday evening.”

“Yes, Dad.”

She went upstairs and her parents clung to each other.

“Don’t worry, my love. The doctor warned me that this might happen, she said that it would accelerate our daughter becoming a strong woman that she’s going to grow into. If you get dinner ready, I’ll give Bruce a call to let him know. The old story will be old news in a few weeks.”

He came back to help with the dinner preparation.

“Bruce tells me that he’s been talking to his friend, Marcus. The last that he saw, there has been close to twenty-five thousand downloads of the Carpentry album.”

“That’s nowhere near what Rick’s album had.”

“Rick’s album was a pound, this one’s a tenner. So that’s a quarter of a million. Take away the costs, and the management fee, and those four teenagers have made over forty thousand, each.”

Wendy had to have some water before she could carry on with the cooking.

“We don’t say anything, right! We’ll wait for the official statement from Peter. If that’s just the album, there could be concert DVD sales added.”

“That’s right. Shall I set the table while you go and see how Willow is bearing up.”

When Wendy came back, she had Willow with her, already dressed for bed.

“I’ll go to bed as soon as we’ve eaten, Dad. For some reason I feel totally drained.”

That’s all right, love. It’s been a big day.”

They had their dinner, with Willow toying with hers until she had settled and then did it justice. After that, she went up to bed and laid there, clutching her furry friends. She started off being sorry for herself, and then started imagining the performance on Saturday, finally going to sleep with a smile on her face.

In the morning, she was her usual bright self. That afternoon, the music group had the lesson on drumming and drum programming. There were lesson sheets for them to read later.

“Now, class. Reasonable drum machines run from about one fifty to over to five hundred. These are Behringer RD6 units, which sell for about two-thirty. All we’ll do, today, is let you play around with them in groups. I’ll hand out a sheet with the sequence we want to end with, and how to do it. There’ll be one sheet each, and you should hold on to it for the exams, as there will be a question based on it.”

Each machine was plugged into a five-watt amp, big enough to sit on a desk. The room soon resounded with drum sounds and squeals of delight from the students. Everyone had a go, and the three machines gave out the same three sequences at the end of the lesson. It had certainly made Willow think, determined that she should have one. That made her wonder if she could have the end of the shed when it was erected. The idea of a small recording studio was a thought.

She followed orders and rested on Friday evening. Saturday, she and her father carried her two-tier organ to the club, keeping them set up. She went back with the stool and quietly pulled out the PA and amps from the storage. After that, she went over to the church to check the hymns for Sunday. She had finished playing, something that always settled her, and met the Reverend on the way out.

“So, Gina is playing in the Cathedral today, to prepare for Sunday. That is a really big thing for her, and something that you’ve helped her get to. Did the Bishop play any tricks last week?”

“Not with the hymns, but he had advertised that the organ player from the hit single would provide the music, and I had to sign a load of autographs when I had finished in the morning. The place was packed!”

“He can’t do that with Gina.”

“That’s what I said, and he replied that it depended on how much airplay our album is getting.”

“We listen to the local station, and I can tell you that they’re playing your songs a lot. They have even started with the actual Carpenters and then blended it to you. There’s very little difference, mainly the instrumentation.”

“I’ll have to wait until I get a statement before I know how it’s going. The website has added the video from the school performance.”

She went back home and had lunch, then sat in her room and wrote some lyrics. At little after four, the family went to the club with Willow carrying her seat. Ashley checked out the bar area with Malcolm, while Wendy started putting out water, glasses, and cutlery on the tables. Willow smiled when she saw every table set. She busied herself plugging everything in, setting up microphones and testing the sound. Then, she sat at her keyboard and played Bach to calm her and, hopefully, please her mother. Then, she set it to piano setting and played some easy-listening pop, singing along. Wendy stopped to watch and listen, wondering at how much talent she was hearing.

Slowly, others came in. The casuals to start the cooking, some band members to go up on stage with Willow to continue to jam. By six, the whole band was there, electric and the wind. Malcolm was given the job of setting the mix as they played a song that used all the members.

The band went to the front area to have their meal, as other diners found seats and ordered drinks. Gina told them that she had spent two hours at the Cathedral that afternoon, and that she saw a notice that said that Sunday’s music was being supplied by a member of Summer Rose, the band that was covering the airwaves with Carpenters songs. Willow laughed.

“Expect a crowd of autograph hunters tomorrow. Last week, he had a similar poster that said that the organist would be the one from the hit single, ‘Love and Marriage’. They needed a security man to get me into the Chapter House.”

They talked about how they would work the evening, and what songs they would play. The extra seats had been filled and there were people waiting for their table when the band went to go on the stage. As decided, the extra guitarists went to the bar and sat on stools for the first part, with Ashley keeping them hydrated with lemonade and cola. The doors to the front area had been left open, so the diners there could hear the music.

When Willow could see that most of the diners had finished their meals, she announced that they would take a break and come back with dancing music for the fit and healthy. The band left the stage, with the core four taking a comfort stop. When they went back, the wind players were at the bar or sitting in spaces that had been saved for them. The guitarists plugged in.

Willow announced that they were going to play some songs that they had played at the school, and that there was a DVD available on the school website. Then they played the full Moody Blues set, with Willow providing the flute part using her Casio on the upper tier. Jacob was great with ‘For My Lady’ and his Fender opening to ‘Driftwood’ was almost uncanny.

There was a ton of room for dancers, and the whole room was swaying and singing along when they got to ‘Nights in White Satin’. At the end of that, there was applause and cheering. Willow spoke.

“We are now going to play a couple of songs that we hope will be on a future album, which could be called ‘Can’t be Kansas’. Look out for it in a few weeks, we hope.”

They then played ‘Dust in the Wind’ and ‘Nobody’s Home.’ After that, the extra members unplugged and left the stage.

“We are now the Summer Rose Quartet. Some of you may have listened to us on the radio in the last week. We are proud to offer the complete ‘Coventry Carpentry’ set. Copies of the album and a performance we did a couple of weeks ago are available on our website.”

The four of them worked through the entire double album until after ten, and time to wind up the proceedings. Willow could see Malcolm giving the wind players envelopes. The rest of them would split whatever he paid Peter. The dance floor was crowded, and, if she looked to her side, she could see couples dancing in the corridor to the front bar.

When they finished ‘We’ve only just Begun’ they all stood, went to the front of the stage, and bowed to applause. The crowd started to thin out, with some that they knew remaining seated. There was a table with Bruce, Marcus, Peter, Zac, and their wives. As the four approached them, all eight stood to give them hugs, beckoning the three guitarists over to join in. Then, Peter went to the wind players about getting them signed on to be official band members. Taking names and addresses and handing out business cards to the parents who had brought them.

Gina said that she had to go, as she was to be in the Cathedral in the morning. Willow gave her a hug and wished her luck. Brent went out with her to say his own brand of goodnight, after Peter gave them an envelope. Malcolm came over and spoke to Peter about payment and was joined by someone that Willow had never seen before. The man was very well dressed, and his partner had jewellery that sparkled in the lights. She could see them in discussion, and Peter handed the guy a business card before they shook hands and the couple left. She grinned when she thought about having ‘my people to talk to your people’. Jacob took hold of her hand.

“You look amused, my love?”

“Just realising that we have others to do the deals, darling. We’re surrounded by people who are committed to helping us play.”

Peter came over to them and gave each of them an envelope.

“This, believe it or not, is your statement of income since you signed on. Willow, your income from the Hikers is listed separately, along with the payment from the Cathedral. If I were you, I’d be at home and sitting down when you open it.”

“I haven’t had time to see the viewing numbers, Peter. I have to tell you that there will be a period of about two weeks that I won’t be available. I had surgery last summer and need some follow-up. I think that I’ll be in hospital Monday week, for a week, then home until the stitches come out a week after that.”

“Thank you for letting me know, Willow. There’s nothing set up yet, and I’ll try to get you into a radio station next week. I’ll email everyone with the time, and Zac will pick you up.”

He walked away and Jacob looked worried.

“Don’t worry, love. It’s just something that has to be done. I’m told that everything will be better for me afterwards. I had a couple of growths in my groin, which had to be removed. This time there is more that needs sorting out. I’ll need to tell the school when I get the firm date, so that they can save some course notes for me. When I come back, it will be exam time, anyway, so I don’t think I’ll miss a lot. You may have to run as a trio for the next sing-along, but Gina can do that stuff in her sleep, these days.”

“Can I visit you?”

“You’ll be at school, Jacob. I’ll call you to tell you how I am, and when I’m home, Racheal can bring you around. She knows the way. Your parents are waiting for you, love. I’ll see you on Monday.”

They kissed and he left with his parents, the envelope clutched in one hand, his guitar case in the other. Willow put her envelope in her bag and went on stage to finish clearing it. Victor and Roy were still there and helped her put things away. They offered to carry her keyboard home, so she got the keys out and led them around the corner.

Once they were in the peace and quiet, Roy thanked her for what had happened tonight.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything, Roy. It’s your own talent, and the talent of the rest of you that put you on that stage. Like the orchestra, we are all part of a team with some appearing to be out front at times. The two of you sang well in the Moody’s segment.”

They got to her house, and she got them to leave the keyboard next to the upright. As they went back to the club, Victor wanted to know what happened now.

“That’s up to us and our team. We have the rest of the school year to get through, and a few more years after that. Peter and Marcus did float a thought bubble about us being the second half of a show with Geoff and the Gees opening. The main thing there is whether they can get something out there that the public likes. Summer Rose is being played, but only the quiet stuff. If we record Kansas, we can test the waters with that. I don’t see why it won’t work after how it went down tonight.”

Back at the club, Willow thanked them and then helped her parents tidy up the room. Malcolm and Ashley decided that it was time to leave the tables and chairs in position, now that they were being used every two weeks. When the family finally went home, they were all too tired to do anything but sleep.

Sunday morning, they were all slow off the mark, but arrived at the church as the bells started ringing. Willow went in and got the organ ready, then played Bach as the church filled. The music had its usual effect on her, and she was calm and settled when the Reverend appeared below her. The service went well, the hymns were ones she had played before, and the only odd thing was the sermon, which was about embracing life, because it’s the only one we have, but with the prospect of everlasting life beyond. The first bit resonated, but the second was way over the top as far as she was concerned.

As usual, on these cold days, when she emerged from the church there were only a few that were walking away. The rest, she surmised, were already with their hot drinks. As she closed the church door, she thought about that one little touch of kindness that her father had started, which had completely altered established customs.

In the club, it was warm, cosy and friendly. Some asked her how she thought Gina was getting on, and she replied that Gina was totally able to perform in the Cathedral. When she went to the toilet, she ended up in the back room thinking about what happened last night.

This reminded her about the envelope in her bag. She sat at a table and opened the envelope and looked at the contents. After a few minutes, she folded the paper and put it back in her bag, then just sat to think.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 12

That was where Wendy found her sitting, some ten minutes later.

“Getting some quiet time in, love?”

“That and some thinking, Mum. Are you ready to go yet?”

“Just about. Your Dad will be here a while until Malcolm takes over.”

She looked around the room.

“Malcolm was very happy about the crowd. The biggest one-day takings in history, except for a big reception. He was talking about making the future events a book-first affair, with an upper limit and a cut-off time to turn up. He was amazed at how many ate in the front room and went in for a dance.”

“I saw some dancing in the corridor.”

“He has offered us a free lunch when he arrives, so the two of us should go home, freshen up, and change into something casual.”

She held her hand out to Willow, who took it and stood, a smile appearing on her face. They strolled home in the wintery light and went into the house. When they were sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming mug in front of each of them, Willow put the sheet of paper on the table.

“Peter gave me this last night, Mum. It’s the statement of earnings in the twelve days since we signed the contract. He did suggest that I was sitting down when I looked at it.”

Wendy looked at the figures.

“OK. Income from twenty-seven thousand odd album downloads, was over two hundred and seventy thousand. Costs to produce album was six thousand, Marcus Waddington’s expenses for admin, studio hire, and transport was five thousand. I see a note that the DVD downloads are starting next week, with the actual discs available a few days later, cost of supply to be reported later. That leaves two-hundred and fifty-nine thousand with your share being sixty-four thousand seven fifty. That’s wonderful. Each of the others will be over the moon with that!”

“It doesn’t include poster sales, as I think that the poster is free to album buyers. When they have laminated posters there will be a charge. If you look lower, there is four thousand off the top for Peter’s costs, admin, and IT services, and six thousand to the school. Then he’s taken another three thousand as his five percent.”

“That still leaves you with sixty thousand in the first two weeks. That’s pretty good, and you haven’t even been interviewed yet. What about the Hikers and other stuff?”

“Turn over to the next page. The Cathedral paid me a hundred for my services last week, and the Hikers income has been another six thousand, less the five percent. I would be interested to see what the Uni Fund account stands at now that that income has been diverted.”

Wendy went to fetch the laptop from the office, called up the account and turned the screen so that Willow could see it.

“Wow! Over eighty-seven thousand after the things we bought. That’s awesome.”

“What’s awesome is you and the band. There wasn’t a person in the club who didn’t have a good time last night. It may lead to a few more sales in the next few days, but the main thing is that you’re here and we need to make sure that you’re totally healthy. I’ll ring the Head from work, tomorrow, to let her know that you’ll be away for a couple of weeks which can’t be avoided.”

“Tell her to check with the school nurse who took the urine sample. She spoke to the doctor in a foreign language which you learn in medical school. The only part that I caught was UTI.”

“That stands for Urinary Tract Infection, which is common among women who get a bug in the outlet. Some men can get it by sitting on a dirty toilet. I expect that the doctor will give your father a script to get filled on Monday if there’s traces of that. A week of anti-biotics before the operation can only help.”

They tidied up and walked back to the club, where Malcolm greeted Willow with a bear-hug.

“Willow and Wendy. Because of your talents, we had over two hundred and fifty in the back room, an all-time record, and served two-hundred and eighty meals. Now, what do you want to eat? I’ll get Ashley out from behind the bar to sit with you.”

“It seems busier than the usual Sunday.”

“You bet. Bringing them over from the church means that some stay to eat.”

They had a good meal, with some coming over to tell Willow how much they enjoyed the previous evening. They were eating dessert when her phone chirped. She took it to the back room to answer. It was Brent, to tell her that both he, and his parents, were shocked at what they had earned since they had signed.

“My Dad thought that it was all a joke until your dad offered to buy a drum kit. He thinks that he should be paying it back now.”

“Tell him to get you signed on with an accountant. There has to be more to come.”

“I’ll work on that. Dad’s going to take me into Birmingham next Saturday so I can get one of those drum machines that we played with at school. When I was looking at it, there’s so much more that you can do with it.”

“If you get one, get one for me, please. I’ll pay you for it.”

“No way I’m asking you for money, Willow, not after what you’ve done for me.”

“I may not be in school that week, so you can give it to Gina or Jacob to bring home. See you on Monday.”

She was heading back to her melting ice cream when the phone chirped again.

“Good morning, Jacob. How are you this lovely morning?”

“Stunned, Willow. I looked at that paper that we were given last night. I was staggered, and so was Dad when I showed him.”

“Yeah, Brent was just on the phone. I’ll say the same that I said to him. Get to see an accountant, I’m sure that your dad uses one for the farm accounts. You will be able to buy your own Martin now.”

“Later, maybe. First, I need a practise amp for home, so I can use my effects box. Have you heard from Gina?”

“No. She’ll be just finishing the stint in the Cathedral. If she didn’t take the envelope with her, she’ll probably look at it when she gets home. Look, my ice cream is becoming a flavoured puddle in the dish. Talk to you at tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you, too. See you in the morning.”

She went back to finish her meal.

“What was that, sweetheart?”

“Just Brent, and then Jacob, ringing about our paperwork.”

Ashley looked up.

“What paperwork, sweetie?”

“Peter gave us all a statement of earnings last night. Mine is on the kitchen table for you to have a look at. I think that I need to be on an accountant’s books, and a lawyer so that I can have an official name change after the operation. There has to be tax problems coming our way, so I will need a bank account which can have a small regular deposit from Peter put in.”

“I’ll give Peter a call from work, tomorrow. We have a guy that does our tax, so I’ll call him. What sort of money are we talking about?”

Wendy smiled and put her hand on her husband’s arm.

“With the Uni Fund and what Peter is holding at the moment, about a hundred and fifty thousand.”

Ashley took a quick gulp of his drink.

“You’re dead right, Willow. I’ll make the calls tomorrow. If they need to see you, we can organise an evening appointment before you go to the clinic. This is all happening in a bit of a rush, isn’t it?”

“Can’t disagree with you there, Dad.”

Back at home, Ashley had a look at the paperwork and went to his office to photocopy it for the accountant. Then he called up the bank account and printed off the movements since the day that Willow recorded the overdub for Rick. Then, he found the contract with Peter and took a copy of that, before logging on to the band website and printing off the opening page. The accountant could look at it to see, for himself, the offerings, prices, and download numbers. He went back into the kitchen.

“What else will I need?”

“Probably the medical report from my original diagnosis, plus one after the operation to confirm that I’m female. We will need something like that for the name and gender change, not to mention a new passport application.”

“That will be a job for later. I have enough for now. I’ll ask around the office to see if there are good financial and legal guys locally. Several of guys in the office have had problems in the past. Anything else.”

“Only that when you order the shed, you make it big enough to fit a small recording studio in.”

Willow spent the afternoon at the keyboard, her notepad on the key cover of the upright, working on songs of her own. When she had a basic tune, she wrote the notation, something that she had always though was too much work. The family had a light tea, followed by the front doorbell ringing. Ashley opened it to find Maisie and Gina standing there.

Gina rushed past him to grab Willow in a hug that almost turned her blue.

“Hello, friend. How was the Cathedral?”

Gina giggled.

“You were right about the autograph hunters. I had to be rescued by security. The Bishop thought that it was a huge joke. I don’t know what he’s got up his sleeve next week. Anyway, I’m here to talk money, Willow. Enough money to take me to university.”

“Me too. As it says in the song, we’ve only just begun. Dad’s going to ring and get an appointment with an accountant. Seeing that we’re almost sisters, how about he takes Maisie along. Jacob’s dad will have one for the farm business, and Brent’s dad probably has one for his bricklaying business.”

“Accountants at our age. That’s weird. By the way, when is your birthday?”

“May twentieth.”

“No way! I’m the twenty-second! We can have a joint birthday party, I expect that by that time, we’ll have enough friends to fill the club. It’ll be a blast! Actually, it will be my very first party with invites. What about you, I bet that you’ve had a few parties, yourself.”

“Believe it or not, my friend, this will be my first as well. I was a bit of a loner before. It took coming here to bring me out of myself.”

“I find that hard to believe!”

“It’s true. I was always getting bullied. It was meeting you that helped me more than you can know. That and the school being so good for musicians. Look, I need to show you something before you invite me to a pool party.”

She took Gina’s hand and led her up to her room. She shut the door and loosened her skirt waist, then pulled her blouse out from the skirt. She stood with her back to Gina.

“Lift the blouse, friend.”

Gina lifted the blouse and gasped.

“You’re… you’ve got scars all over your back!”

“They go all the way round, friend. I had all-inclusive bullies at my last school.”

“Did you report them?”

“No. My parents didn’t even know until we got here, and Mum saw them. Nobody at the school knows, except you. They have started to fade, and my doctor told me that I’ll be able to wear a backless dress, sometime, as long as I have someone to apply concealer.”

“Some are more faded than others.”

“The last ones happened in the last week of the third term, last year.”

She tucked herself in and readjusted the waistband. The girls went back downstairs where the adults were discussing investments. They all sat in the kitchen for a while, talking about what was now happening. The girls were less worried about things than the parents. When the visitors were leaving, they both gave Willow hugs. Maisie just said, ‘Thank you for everything’ and Gina whispered, ‘See you tomorrow, true friend. We have a real party to plan.’

On Monday morning, Willow half-filled the container, sealed it and wrote her details in the sticker. She put in the zip-lock bag and gave it to her father. On the way to school, the teens were quiet, especially after hearing themselves on morning radio.

As they entered every class, they got a cheer, but treated the lessons with the attention they deserved, much to the relief of the teachers. In the lunchroom, they were joined by Roy and the others, to talk about the set that they had played. Herb was almost hyper and couldn’t wait to be in the recording studio.

“No rush, Herb. We have to allow the first album to have its time in the sun before we record again. I expect that we’ll be in the studio in the last week of the month, or the first weeks of next month. We have two weeks before the terms to get together and rehearse. We should keep it away from the school. I expect that we can use the club; it has everything we need. When I did the overdub for Rick, he had a recording unit that sat in the sweet spot in the church and only needed the one microphone. Jacob can see his sister and find out where we can get one for ourselves. We can club together to buy it.”

“That sounds good. I was thinking that we could use a rehearsal room, but I see your reasoning. I was wondering how Jacob would fit in with an acoustic, but he sounded great. My parents were there to see me, and they agree that I’m one of the lucky ones to be part of Summer Rose.”

“Thank you, Herb. You’re where you deserve to be. We’ll see what they think if we get on the box for interviews. I’m expecting that the four of us will be first, and then the rest of you when we have another song out. Do any of you write?”

“Victor had a few songs that we’ve played around with.”

“Look, bring them along, or better still email the rest of us with recordings, and well see if we can put together an album of our own material. That’s the sure sign of a mature band.”

“Will do, Willow.”

Things got back to normal in the afternoon. The band had their nine minutes of fame. Everyone had agreed that the dance on Saturday had been awesome, and all of the band members were awesome. There were even a few early bird CDs for them to sign, which allowed them to inspect the product for the first time.

When Ashley got home on Monday, he had some news and a small box with a pop-out tray of pills.

“Willow, the sample that the nurse took showed a bug in your water. These pills have to be taken, one a day after dinner. There are seven, the last taken on Sunday. After that one, you have to fast. Just water until you get out of the operating theatre. The blood didn’t show any abnormal signs except a raised level of white cells, which the doctor says is usual if you have an infection. I take you in on Monday morning, and she thinks I should be able to bring you home on Friday afternoon. I take you in on the following Friday for them to look you over and remove the stitches. They’ll send you home in a taxi.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll speak to the Head.”

“I rang her as well and explained the situation as we want her to hear it. She may talk to you this week, but she promised that she will email any course notes for you to keep up. She said that it will be mainly revision and you will be going back for exams.”

“I know. It doesn’t seem real that I’ve been going to that school for two terms. By the way, Gina has her birthday two days after mine, and we were wondering if we could have a big party at the club?”

“Will you want it on one of the days, the day in the middle, or wait to the Saturday?”

“We’ll discuss it and let you know. A weekday would be better, though, won’t it?”

“Certainly, if the Saturday is a sing-along or a dance. Were you thinking of playing?”

“Actually, I was thinking of getting the G-Force to play. Gina and I can ask Peter for a discount, I’m sure.”

On Tuesday, it was Willow’s turn to play for chapel. The orchestra session was more of ‘Bolero’ and the Grieg, with Mister Bamborough telling them that they were likely to be in a recording studio in the new term, and that they would bookend the two pieces with Willow and Gina playing one of the Beethoven ‘Organ Sonatas’ each. Before she left, she told him that she would be missing the next two sessions for medical reasons, so he could concentrate on Gina, as she already knew all four of the sonatas.

“I know, Reg told me. I would have you play both, but I hear that Gina is fast catching up. I heard her at Evensong on Sunday, and it could have been the regular organist up there.”

The rest of the week was fairly normal. Willow had a session with her Village Choir on Wednesday evening, telling them that she wouldn’t be able to look after them the following week. Ashley and Maisie went to see an accountant that had been recommended, coming home to say that things would be set up by the time Willow was home again.

At school, the lessons were starting to take on the revision feel. Thursday, she sought out Mister Jamieson and told him that she would miss the drumming class on the following Friday. He gave her the course notes in advance.

On the way home on the Friday, she and Gina sorted out the order of organ playing. Willow was in the Cathedral on Sunday, and Gina in the church. Gina was in the Cathedral the following Sunday, and Willow hoped that she would be good enough to play the church. Gina would play the chapel for two weeks, with Willow taking the last week of term. Willow said that she hoped she would be able to play for the sing-along on the Saturday after she got home but would let Gina know if she couldn’t. Wendy was going to continue the usual school run while Willow was in hospital.

With everything sorted out, Willow just had to get through Saturday and her turn at the Cathedral on Sunday. Her keyboard was back in her room, and she had spent a lot of her evenings writing and recording the tracks. She now had twelve songs, including the three that they had already played. Most of the later songs were from her imagination about things that an older girl may live through, taken from films or stories she had read.

On Saturday afternoon, she sent the files to each of the three others, as well as all twelve of the basic files to Herb, Victor and Roy. To those, she had a message that the others had already played the first three as a quartet, but to add their ideas to turn everything into an electric offering. Then, Wendy took her into Coventry to run through the content for the Sunday services.

Ashley was on duty in the club on Saturday, as Malcolm had the idea that there would be more than usual coming along. Wendy and Willow walked there to have dinner and found about fifty diners there already. More came in while they ate, with some having to sit in the back room. Malcolm offered her cash in hand if she would play something, so Willow finished her meal and went to the stage. She pulled out the Yamaha and set it up, adding one of the Marshalls.

The other diners were transferring their meals to other tables in the back room as she was doing this, so, when she sat at the keyboard, alone on the stage, there were about seventy people in front of her. She had plugged a microphone into one of the amp inputs.

“Good evening, folks. This isn’t one of our normal Saturday evening shows, so I’ll have to apologise if it isn’t up to the standard that you’ve come to expect from the Stoneleigh Club. I’m Willow Rose, part of Summer Rose. I’ll play you the songs you may have been hearing on the radio, then I have a few new ones that may become our next album. I hope that you enjoy them, and the dance floor is there to be used.”

She had set the Yamaha to the piano and started her first solo performance on stage. This was pure improvisation and bravado. She worked through all the Carpenters material and then took a break. She was a few songs in when Maisie and Gina came in and ordered dinners. Gina grinned and gave her a thumbs up as the performance continued.

In the break, she went over to them, and the girls hugged.

“That was awesome, friend. Even pared down to just the piano, you nail it! How come you’re up there?”

“Malcolm asked me. I think that some of the people here are on their first visit. He wanted them to have something to talk about when they leave. I’m going to do some of the easier dance tunes after, then I think I’ll do all of the ‘Journey’ set. Did you get the files?”

“I did. I haven’t had a chance to work with them yet, so it will be good to hear them live. Did you send them to the others?”

“Yes. I also sent the whole set to the electric section. If they come up with anything good, it may be a good second album for the band. Not as heavy as the ‘Kansas’ but all original material. That’s what sets a band up as a force to be reckoned with. The feedback, tonight, will be interesting. You’ll have a fortnight without me around to kick it around.”

After her comfort break and a glass of water, she told her father that if Malcolm put together an envelope, to take it for her. Back on stage, she set the Yamaha to organ and started playing some of the dance numbers that were easy enough to sing and play at the same time. She was gratified when some couples came out to dance. After an hour of these, she announced that she was ending the evening with a set of songs from a possible album called ‘Journey’ and comments would be appreciated.

“You, tonight, are the first to hear this set. I hope that the ladies among you can relate to the story of a child becoming a teenage girl and then growing to be a woman.”

She sang all twelve songs, live for the first time. There was some dancing, some smiling, some of the women going to their bags for tissues, including Wendy. The first five were all from Willow’s own experiences, shared by most of the females in the room. The rest were from her imagination, which seemed to resonate with the older women there. At the last song, she sat, head bowed, then stood and nodded her head to the audience, who were applauding her. She turned the keyboard and amp off, then left the stage to be hugged by Gina and Wendy, then by most of the women present, and some of the men.

She sat with her mother, Maisie and Gina, and had a lemonade. Gina told her that the album was going to be a hit, even if it was only bought by the female half of the population. She had recorded the performance on her phone and would play it to the others when they met. She said that she would organise an after-school session to show it to them.

That night, as the Rose family walked home, her father was quiet for a while.

“What’s up, Dad? It looked like a good night for the club.”

“That’s the thing, you clever girl. People will be coming along expecting to be entertained. You can’t carry it on your shoulders.”

“I don’t have to, Dad. You do have the phone number of a grateful manager, don’t you? I bet that he has a stable full of bands who would be happy to play here. It could become part of the live music scene. I don’t mean rock bands, but there would be a lot of older folks who appreciate a meal and a dance on Saturday evenings. If we have to move the sing-alongs to another night, then so be it. We could have a link to book for meals on the website. I’d be talking to Peter, if I were you.”

“I once thought that you were just a good musician, but you’ve become a good teacher, a good organiser, and a good businesswoman. That’s a great idea which I’ll discuss with Malcolm and the other board members. Tonight, we had enough paying customers to cover band hire, and a full house would turn a good profit, as last Saturday proved. While you’re in bed next week, things may be changing outside, as well as with you. That last set brought tears to my eyes; it was so sweet.”

“You and every woman in the room, my husband. That set tugged at the heartstrings like nothing I’ve heard lately.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 13

On Sunday morning, Wendy took her daughter into Coventry. As they walked into the Cathedral, there were more people wanting to take pictures and wanting selfies with Willow. They saw the poster that advertised the day’s music being played by ‘Willow Rose – not only the organist of the hit song ‘Love and Marriage’ but also the leader of the ‘Summer Rose Quartet.”

The Dean met them.

“I have to thank you and your friend Gina. You’ve lifted our attendance numbers with some that would have never set foot inside the Cathedral before. You’re doing, for us, what you did at St. Marys.”

They had a drink in the Chapter House before Willow went up to the organ to start the proceedings. The service was as she had played the day before, and she played some Bach afterwards for a few minutes.

Mother and daughter went into the city. Today, Wendy had decided that they were going to do some serious dress shopping, as Willow needed something suitable for the stage. They were sitting in the shopping centre café, bags beside them, when Wendy smiled.

“That was a good service, this morning. It takes some bravery to be up there, on your own, in charge of that instrument.”

“Church organ playing is a touch of skill, a lot of practise, and the chance that’s offered, Mum. Real bravery was what I needed last night. I looked out at those people and wondered if I would be able to entertain them on my own. Everything I played I was imagining that I was in my bedroom, alone.”

“If that was the case, my darling, you were totally successful in hiding it. You could have been any one of those solo artists up there. I was listening to some of the comments. One woman told her friends that she had been to Las Vegas, and you were as good as some of the stars she had seen there.”

“If we ever play Las Vegas, Mum, it will be me and my friends on stage. I couldn’t do anything without them behind me.”

“Exactly, Willow. They will be behind you as the girl leader. They all know that, already, and they will all follow you to the ends of the world. You may consider them your equals, but most of them think of you as the first among equals.”

“That’s almost scary, Mum. It’s after three, we had better get this shopping in the car and head back for Evensong.”

When they walked into the Cathedral, Willow glanced up at the organ to see a man up a ladder. The Dean saw them and hurried over.

“Follow me, the Bishop wants a word.”

They followed him to the Chapter House, where the Bishop was sitting on an easy chair. He gestured to others.

“Please sit. I have something important to ask.”

They sat and were offered refreshments.

“No thank you, we have just come from the café.”

The Bishop sat forward.

“Willow. Our regular organist has used up his available leave but cannot come back to us yet. His son will be able to be flown back in a couple of months to be in a spinal unit for rehabilitation. He asked for, and was given, three months of his long service. This will take him to the end of May. Will it be possible that we can continue with you and Gina playing for us?”

“I suppose it would be all right. Playing here is a wonderful experience. That would take us through Easter, though.”

“Ah! Yes. We will have to work something out with Reverend Russell for that. It does give us some time to sort out. Perhaps we can send a coach to Stoneleigh and bring everyone here.”

“That would be good, but when they find that out, you’ll need two coaches, or more.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I talk to him. The other thing is that we will consider the two of you as semi-permanent employees. We’ll pay each of you five hundred on the week for your Saturday and Sunday time. Through your manager, of course.”

“That’s very generous, thank you.”

“One more thing is going to be different.”

“Will that be why there’s a man up a ladder over the organ?”

He grinned.

“Nothing gets by you, my girl. Yes. There is a man on a ladder. He is installing a camera which will show you playing. We have used it in the past but not recently. We usually live-stream the morning service, using a camera mounted on the wall that looks at the altar area as well as the one that takes in the full Cathedral. That one you have vision of by the organ. We want to start live-streaming the Evensong as well. Our organist will watch on his computer.”

“That sounds like a good move, Bishop. Would you mind if we have a link on the Summer Rose website so that some of our friends can watch?”

“I’ve already spoken to Peter about that, and he says that he’ll have something up for today. We have already added the link to our own website.”

Willow turned to her mother.

“What do you think, Mum?”

“I think that it will be wonderful for the two of you, as well as for the general public once the service becomes well-known. Bruce may be interested in writing about it in the Observer.”

“Talk to whoever you see fit, Mrs. Rose. I think that our man may have finished now, Willow. When you have the monitor on, you’ll see yourself so that you can smile or sing along. It will show you which of two cameras is being used today and the three for the morning service. Could you please advise Gina?”

“I will, sir. I’d better go and warm up my fingers.”

She left the Chapter House, had a comfort stop and went up to the organ, noting the camera position, slightly to one side so that she would be seen in semi-profile. She looked at her watch and set the timer, then started playing Bach until four.

As she worked through the Evensong, she would glance at the monitor and smile when she saw herself. The choir were in full voice and there were no reasons not to be happy as the Cathedral reverberated with the singing congregation. When she finished, she looked down and there seemed to be a lot more there than usual.

On the way home, she rang Gina, with her end on speaker.

“Hi, friend.”

“Hi, Willow. What’s up? Is the organist back?”

“Just the opposite. He’ll be away for another three months and we’re going to get five hundred each to play as semi-permanent employees.”

“That’s fantastic!”

“There’s also a camera over the organ to show you playing. They are live streaming both the morning service and the Evensong.”

“So, we can tell the school and they’ll let everyone know. That’s awesome.”

“There will be a link on their website and the Bishop has already spoken to Peter about one on ours.”

“OK, I’ll go on-line and have a look.”

“While I was playing, today, I had some thoughts. Are you up for a little job while I’m away?”

“Fire away.”

“Can you speak to the rest of the band, including the guitarists, and see if you can work on the ‘Journey’ set?”

“Already thinking about that.”

“Also, can you speak to the film guys and the sound man that the school use to record the concerts. What I’m thinking is that we can pay for them to record us in the club, one day during the holiday. I’ll see my Dad about having the back room. If we have a set that’s ready to record, we can offer it to Peter as a done deal. I have the idea that he won’t talk to Marcus about getting us back in the studio until the Carpentry album starts to flag.”

“I’m with you there. They won’t be able to use the school equipment, though.”

“If they’re willing to come along, tell them that they will get five hundred each for two day’s work. If they select what they need, they can order it and then email the account to me. I’ll get Dad to pay it with a transfer from my account, then they can pick it up. We get to keep the gear. I reckon they will need two cameras and an eight-track digital recorder, with six microphones and cables to the PA. It’s stuff that we can learn to use for ourselves later.”

“That sounds like a good plan, Willow. Are you sure that you want to fund this?”

“I already have a lot more than you guys from the Hikers sales, so I’m happy to do that. There’s something else.”

“What’s that.”

“Can you talk to Geoff and see if he’s interested in being recorded. I have been told that Grant is writing original songs. This would be a good time for them to show us what they can do, as well as giving them something to show Peter as well.”

“How will we get the discs?”

“I expect that the technical guys have a lot of gear at home. If they need the software to mix and process the audio and video, I’m happy to give that to them, as long as they get an extra package for us to use later.”

“This is starting to sound like a long-term project.”

“That’s because I’m starting to think long-term, friend. I hope that you all join me on the journey, because I need you all there with me, making music and entertaining the crowd.”

“I’m with you, all the way, friend. I’ve made notes and I’ll get on to it during the week. Be busy but don’t let the school know what we’re up to.”

“Right on. The tech guys are all seniors, perhaps Geoff and the G-Force already know them.”

“All right. I’ll ask your mother how you’re getting on and may be able to visit you.”

“It’s all right if you leave it until I’m home. If I’m up to it, I’ll go over to the church on Saturday to see if I’m good to play.”

“All right, friend. I’ll let your mother know how I’m moving with the plan. The more I think about it, the more I think that you are totally right. Catch you later, friend.”

“Keep well, friend. Thank you for listening.”

She turned the phone call off. Wendy glanced at her as they drove down the main road.

“You don’t do things by halves, my daughter. That was the slickest piece of organising I’ve seen from you. How much do you think the equipment will cost?”

“Not sure, Mum. Maybe five to ten thousand. Those guys will get the best they can that will do the job. It’s spending money to make money. If we get big, we can find a lock-up and create our own studio. If we don’t, I’ll get some of my money back if I sell it.”

“What brought all this on?”

“Last night in the club. I was up there, on my own, playing the keyboard and singing. It was like the feeling I got the first time I played the Purple, scared to be doing it but exhilarated at the same time. It was the feeling that I was one with the music and that it would be my future. I’m still going to work towards university, but there will always be time to entertain. I hope you and Dad are all right with that.”

“We’re right behind you, my daughter. I have such pride and joy in my heart when I see you performing. Your father is the same but has a problem telling you how much he loves and admires you. It will be your life, and only you can decide how you want to live it. When we get home, I’ll have to email your Gramma to tell her how to watch you on a Sunday. She has already been told about the band website and has told me that she’ll buy the CD and DVD when they are actual things that arrive in the post. She is a big fan.”

“If we produce our own DVD in the club, we can get the rest of the band to sign it and we can send her an exclusive first look at the next album.”

“She will love that. Now, let’s get home and get you fed. You need to take that last pill and get off to bed. I’m sure that it will take you a while to get to sleep tonight.”

After dinner, Willow got ready for bed and went up to her room to put her headphones on and play the keyboard, now back in its usual place. She was engrossed with sorting out the niggling tune based on MRI sounds when she felt her phone vibrate.

“Willow speaking.”

“Willow, it’s Racheal. I was talking to Jacob today and he told me that you were going into hospital tomorrow. I thought that I should call and give you my wish that everything is fixed.”

“I’ve been told that it will be, Rach. How are you?”

“It’s been crazy. We were in London yesterday, talking to some big promoter about a nationwide tour. The problem is that what he was offering was all good for him but not great for the band. Rick went there, ready to do whatever it takes but we came home without agreeing to anything.”

“Tell him to speak to Bruce Miller again. Did the band sign with Peter?”

“Not yet, they had thought that because they had done so well on their own, they could look after themselves. Nothing’s happened yet.”

“They need a good manager. We signed with Peter and had Marcus take us into a studio to record our album. Those guys are looking out for us and things are happening behind the scenes.”

“I’ll talk to him. Anyway, all the best for next week, I’ll try to get to the next dance. Mum told me that you have to book to get a seat.”

“Thanks, Rach, see you there.”

She switched everything off and got into bed. She hugged her two soft friends and thought about what she had just said. She decided that she would be more inclusive when it came to band decisions in future, if she could.

In the morning, she showered and dressed in loose clothes, expecting that they will be the best for after the operation. She had an overnight bag already packed, so just needed to add her phone and charging cable. She had her laptop in a bag with its own cable. She made her bed, and, on impulse, added Tiger to her bag. She stayed in her room until her parents had eaten, then went down to join Ashley for the drive to Gaydon.

Wendy gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, saying that Ashley will drop in to see her that afternoon, and she would be going to the clinic as soon as she left work on Tuesday, seeing that Maisie would be picking up the others. On the way in, Ashley broke the silence.

“Your mother told me about your plans that you put into place. Just tell me the day you want to use the back room and I’ll make sure that there’s a no entry sign. I’m behind you with what you have set in motion. It’s always good to be pro-active, and a complete recording of the new album will push Peter into moving ahead, as soon as he can see how good it is. What I saw on Saturday was enough for me to have total confidence in what you decide.”

“Thanks, Dad. I told Mum that it’s spending money to make money, and I hope I’m right. If I’m not, I’ll just have to roll with the punches. If I’m zonked when you come in, you don’t have to stop.”

“Yes, I do, my darling daughter. I have to make sure that you’re settled after the operation. I’ll get the spotlight and the third-degree interrogation when I get home.”

“Just put the Deep Purple DVD on, Dad. That will save you.”

“What do you know about that?”

“Only that when you hear it, the bedsprings squeak. You need to oil them or get a new mattress.”

He was still chuckling when they stopped at the clinic. Willow gave him a kiss on the cheek and grabbed both of her bags.

“Have a good day at work, Dad. I’ll be all right. I’m in good hands.”

She walked into the clinic as he drove away. The receptionist told her to sit down and made a phone call. Five minutes later, a nurse came to lead her into the vortex of medical intervention. She was shown a bed in a private room, asked to completely strip and then given a sample bottle for some urine to check to make sure the infection had been conquered. She laid on the bed as another nurse came in with a razor to shave her pubic area, then disinfected the area. Later, she was given an injection to make her drowsy and able to take things as they came.

About ten, she was taken on a trolley to the pre-op room and the anaesthetist put a needle into the back of her hand. After that, she stopped thinking and just let things happen. She woke up in the late afternoon in the bed, with pipes leading from her groin area and a drip in her arm. Something beeped and a nurse came in with some fluid for her to sip.

“Welcome back to the world, Willow. The doctor will be around soon, but I can tell you that everything is good.”

She laid there, quietly, and wondered how this was going to change things. Before, she was a pretend girl, but without too much of her old self to give her away. Now, there was nothing to give her away, she hoped, except the fact that children was not on the cards. About an hour later, her doctor came in and checked the clipboard at the end of the bed.

“Welcome to the world of womanhood. The operation was as perfect as it could be, considering what the surgeons had to work with. The nasty stuff that was growing has been taken away and is in the path lab to be checked. They inverted your willie and have given you a useable vagina and a new outlet for your urine, just the same configuration as every girl. There is only one problem that I can see.”

“What’s that, doctor?”

“Just about every nurse on this floor have the Summer Rose album. Your hand may be stiff after signing all the autographs. You are so much more than the lad that we operated on last time, and your fame needs us to make sure nobody sneaks in to take pictures.”

“I’m not famous, doctor. I’m just a musical schoolgirl.”

“Yeah! And I’m Florence Nightingale.”

“Hello, Flo. What do you know, you just got back from a theatre show.”

“You, my girl, are going to light up the clinic while you’re here.”

“Why, thank you, doctor. I’m no match against you.”

The doctor grinned and left her. When her father came in, she had gone to sleep naturally, so he was given the details and allowed to look at her clutching her Tiger. He smiled, thanked the nurses and went home. He told Wendy what their daughter had said that morning, so they snuggled on the sofa and took her advice. That evening, Purple worked its magic once more, or it could have been twice more. Ashley was now aware of the springs and told Wendy that they needed to shop for a new base and mattress.

Oddly, the days didn’t drag for Willow. The nurses were attentive, and she did have to sign a few CDs and posters. She had her notepad to write lyrics and came up with some that could fit the MRI sounds. She gave the song the working title of ‘Fractured’.

On Tuesday evening, she was bright and cheerful when Wendy came to see her.

“There’s a package in the house that Gina gave me last night. It’s a drum machine. I asked her who we should pay for it, and she told me that it was a gift from Brent.”

“That’s right. I asked him to get me one when he got one for himself. I offered to pay but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said it was the least he could do.”

“Gina told me that the plans were under way on the drive in this morning. She suggested that you have a look at the band website.”

“I’ll do that. I’ve been on my laptop for a little while today, and I have a lot of good wishes by email, even one from the Head. They tell me that the catheter comes out tomorrow, along with the drip. It appears that I’m a quick healer. Then, I’ll be able to have a shower and tell them what they can do with this hospital gown.”

“I hope that you’re not being a difficult patient.”

“Oddly, Mum, this time I’m much easier about being here. It gives me time to think and to get my thoughts into some sort of order. It will be interesting to see what I look like, down there. The doctor says that I’ll be just like all girls when the bruises fade. I’m not looking forward to the first pee.”

“You’ll be all right. You already sit as a matter of course and I’ve told you to wipe front to back. Your father has told me that we’ll be looking for a new bed this week.”

Willow giggled.

“Did you watch Purple last night?”

Wendy laughed.

“Are you sure that you’re still only thirteen?”

“You have to remember something, Mum. I did grow up among boys, even if they weren’t kind to me. There was a lot I knew about in primary that wasn’t on the curriculum. If I meet them again, I can now tell them that girls aren’t the ice maidens they thought they were.”

On Wednesday, Willow had the drip and catheter removed, and had the shower that she craved for. In one of her own nighties and her own gown, she was allowed to sit in an armchair while her bed was remade. When Ashley came in, she was able to give him a hug. He made sure that she was all right and kissed her forehead when he left.

By Thursday afternoon, she was walking to the nurses station and back. Thursday evening, Wendy was told that she could be picked up on Friday, by Ashley. She would have been checked over and given fresh covering that was waterproof and should stay on until she came back to have the stitches out.

Before she left the hospital, Willow was walking almost naturally and had spent some time in the café. She had also started a couple of songs based on young love, which could be added to the song of the same name. She had also made some decisions about the MRI song. She would start with a staccato drumbeat from the machine and add the jagged synthesiser sounds. If it ever got recorded, it would after she had broken up with Jacob. She hoped it would never be needed.

She had also studied a few of the websites. The Cathedral one had pictures of her and Gina with a link to the services and Evensongs that they would be playing for. The Summer Rose website now had a range of merchandise, including a charming pendant shaped like a red rose, on either a silver or golden chain. She emailed Peter to ask if he could send two dozen to her home for giving out to deserving relatives. The website also listed the physical CD and DVD set with an order form link. When she looked at the video, it now showed more than a million views.

Peter emailed her back to say the pendants would be sent to her home by courier next week, and that that she should expect a TV crew and reporter to visit her on the Wednesday evening. She emailed him back to tell them to find her at the club with her singing group practise.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 14

When Willow got home on Friday evening, she had a home-cooked dinner and went off to bed. Wendy had taken all her soiled nighties to the laundry, and her laptop and Tiger were already upstairs when she arrived in her bedroom. Her bed was luxurious after the hospital bed, and she was soon asleep with her hunger for her mother’s cooking satisfied.

On Saturday morning, she showered and dressed in a jersey knit that went below the knee and a sweater. She was getting herself some breakfast when her phone chirped.

“Hello, friend.”

“Hello, yourself, friend. Are you home?”

“Got back last night and just flaked out in my comfy bed.”

“Have you got plans for the day?”

“Only to see if I can toddle over to the church to see if I’m fit enough to play.”

“I’ll come over and help you and I can tell you what’s happening. Are your parent’s home?”

“No. They went into the city to get a new bed, this one’s run out of oil, or something.”

“See you in ten minutes.”

She was having something to eat when Gina arrived. They had a hug and Gina complimented her on her dress. Willow got something for her friend to drink as she finished her breakfast.

“While you were away, I had a talk to all of the ones on your list. The tech boys will be happy to do what we want, especially when I mentioned payment and the program. The Gee’s will be rehearsing their new material in a lock-up that they can use, and our guys have been working out soft-rock versions of your songs. Did you look at our website?”

“I did. I saw those pendants in the shape of a red rose with either gold or silver chains. I’ve asked for some gold ones that we can hand out to our closer friends. It’s a nice logo we can use on our covers.”

“If you’ve done there, I’ll tidy up while you go and get some boots and a winter coat on.”

“Thanks. I won’t be long.”

After Willow had locked the door, the two walked arm-in-arm to the church. Willow wasn’t the best on her feet after her long time in a hospital bed. The Reverend had selected some hymns, just in case, and Willow climbed the stairs to the organ and ran through them. The joy of playing did more to revive her spirits than a month in bed. When she made her way down, she sat in a pew with Gina and the Reverend.

“Gina tells me that the Cathedral is paying you more and streaming both services.”

“Yes. It started last week with Evensong. We’re playing there until after Easter. The Bishop said he might send a coach here to take everyone to the Cathedral.

“I’ll never give up rejoicing the glory of Easter in my own church!”

“You can tell him that when he talks to you. I’ll be here the weekend before, then in the Cathedral for the Easter weekend. I suppose that we could share the burden at the Cathedral and here, but it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. The other thing is the concert. If that’s a hit with the public, we will be there on Thursday to Saturday. I looked on the calendar and I’ll be on duty on the Sunday, so you’d better get the hymns sorted out for Gina earlier in the week.”

“Keep me posted of any changes. It looks like it will be a busy time for you girls.”

They strolled back to Willow’s home.

“By the way, Gina. With our birthdays, would you rather have the party on mine, yours, the day in between, or the Friday night?”

“Definitely the day in between or the Friday.”

“It’s the week before the half-term holidays, so might be better on the Friday, after we break up.”

“I’ll talk to Mum and see what she thinks. Friday after school’s out sounds good, though.”

“Thanks for dropping the drum machine off. Please pass my thanks to Brent. Actually, you can give him a kiss from me.”

“You wish! I’m starting to realise that boys aren’t all nasty little pests. I may be turning the corner. You’re still a boyfriend ahead of me.”

“It isn’t a competition, friend. Alec was nice, and he was a good kisser while it lasted, but the edict that his mother laid down was enough to stop it in its tracks. If he had loved me, he would have done everything to stay, but he just rolled over.”

“Jacob is head over heels in love, you know.”

“I think that I’m in love with him as well. The thing is that his family may want him to marry a nice Jewish girl, although I think that he’s been in an Anglican church more times now than his parents have been in a synagogue.”

“Who knows what will happen. We’re still young and silly.”

“Not too silly, friend. You just have to wait and see our next statement to see how silly we are.”

“Yes. Will you be ready for the sing-along tonight?”

“I’ll give it a try. If I have to leave early, you’ll have to carry on.”

When Gina had gone home to get ready to head for practise in the Cathedral, Willow went and had a lie down, only waking up when her parents came home. They told her how much fun it was trying beds out, bouncing to see if they squeaked. They all freshened up and went to the club, where they sat for a while.

Ashley then helped Willow pull the amps and PA out of the storage and set up the Yamaha. When he queried the lack of the second keyboard, Willow just said that she would sing until she was tired. One by one, the rest of the band turned up, followed by the three tech guys. They showed everyone the brochures for the equipment that they had ordered and gave Ashley the invoice to pay. Willow had a look, and it was, to her, quite reasonable at just over seven thousand. Ashley said that it would be paid by Tuesday, so they should be able to pick it up after then.

Willow went to see Malcolm about hiring the back room for one day the week after next. He told her that it was available to her, all she needed to do was hang the ‘No Entry’ sign on the corridor door. He told her that what she had already given the club had warranted use of the facilities whenever she needed it.

The band and tech guys were fed as the diners started arriving. Before they went on stage, over three quarters of the tables were being used, with more coming in as they were setting up. Willow had a dining chair, with a hand-held microphone and told them that Gina would be providing all the keyboard tonight. She knew that she was heaping a lot on her friend’s shoulders, but there was no way she could have played and sung tonight.

She needn’t have worried, as Gina took up the lead position with ease, leaving Willow to sit and sing for them. Tonight, being sing-along, there wasn’t a lot of dancing, instead, there was a lot of singing and laughter.

She did make it through to the end, but it took all her energy. At the finish, she said goodnight to her friends and Wendy half carried her home. She was almost catatonic when Wendy undressed her and got her into her bed. She was fast asleep when Wendy turned the light out and made sure that the house was locked when she went back to the club to help tidy up. That night, she and Ashley made the bedsprings sing.

On Sunday, it took an effort of will for Willow to be up and dressed and in the church. As usual, playing Bach calmed her down and the service was as good as it usually was. Afterwards, she spent a little while in the club, then went home with Wendy to relax in front of the TV. At four, she got her laptop, plugged it into the TV, and watched Gina at the Cathedral. For her, it could have been a different place completely, and the captions and running banner with important notes would have been off-putting if they had been on the in-house monitor. When it was over, she looked at the band website and saw that the views had surged past the one point four mark.

Her email alert came up on screen, so she opened it up. It was an urgent email from Peter to tell her that there would be a reporter and photographer from the number one teenage magazine arriving at her house on Monday evening. She texted Gina to join her for the interview. She answered Peter to say she would be ready and asked why there had been a surge in views. He replied that the album had been picked up by several national stations, as well as being reviewed on the Saturday evening BBC music show.

When he rang off, Willow had a light tea and went to bed early. The effort of the day had been hard on her post-hospital body.

Monday, she felt better and knew that she had to pace herself if she wanted to be bright for the teen magazine. She spent most of the day playing with the drum machine, building sequences that could be almost as real as having a drummer sitting next to you. By the time Wendy arrived home; she was quite proficient with the unit.

Together, the family made dinner and ate it, just finishing loading the dishwasher when Gina arrived. They hugged and compared outfits. Both had gone with denim skirts and colourful tops for the inside. When Wendy looked at them, she thought that they may be sisters. The reporter and photographer arrived, and they sat in the sitting room with the upright. The photographer was keen to get pictures of them with the piano.

The questions were mainly directed towards Willow, and she tried hard to get them to talk about Gina and the rest of the band.

“There are seven of us now, you know. We can work as a quartet, but we want future albums, and any live work, to be the complete band.”

It was like drawing blood from a stone, but Willow and Gina made the reporter take notes about the others and their connection at the Blue Coat. They were close to an hour before surprising the reporter with their involvement with the Cathedral and their appearances in the school orchestra. Gina laughed.

“You really didn’t do any research, did you? We’re not your run-of-the-mill vacuous teens. We are also serious students with a desire to attend university. The music is good, but we also need to be successful in our academic life. That’s why we won’t perform while we’re in school. There may be summer shows, but that’s all.”

Willow looked at her friend in wonder. She was now becoming her own woman. The reporter looked ashamed.

“I have to admit that when I saw that you were only second year in high school, I expected a couple of giggling teens, not the serious women I’m now talking to. I had heard about your other pursuits but wasn’t aware that they were so big in your lives. I also wondered if you were a manufactured band, like the Monkees, not the serious musicians that you are.”

“Before you finish your article, I think that you should see us play. In a few weeks, we’re going to film and record some material in the Stoneleigh Club. Please keep it to yourselves. Give me your email and I’ll send you the day and time when we’ve confirmed them. That way, you’ll see how serious we are – as a seven-piece band. You will also see the next album before anyone else.”

“Thank you, Willow. Can I bring along a film crew?”

“No. We will have our own crew there and I’ll send you whatever you need once we’ve edited the output. I hope that you’ll also see another local band who are at the school with us. The session may be a couple of hours or maybe most of the day, but we’ll be able to get drinks and food at the Club. It has become quite popular this year as a dance venue for young and old.”

“That might be an article I can write for one of our other adult magazines.”

“There is a dinner dance there, Saturday week, before our recording session. You will have to reserve a table, they seat eight, so take along your partners for some dancing. I believe that the band is pretty good, even good enough for a write-up in the adult magazine.”

After the journalists had left, saying that they’ll make a booking for the dinner dance, Willow and Gina hugged and giggled.

“Now that was wicked, Willow. When they turn up, expecting some bunch of bald guys, they’ll be seeing Summer Rose plus a wind section. I’m going to enjoy seeing the looks on their faces that night!”

They went through to the kitchen, where Ashley and Wendy were sitting, trying to keep a straight face.

“What’s the joke, Mum?”

“The way you two took that poor girl and wrapped her around your finger. We both stood outside the door and listened to every word. Not only did you upend her concept of what Summer Rose was about, you also offered her two exclusives. One being the first to hear the new album, and the second to be the first reporter to see the band playing dance music live. After she sees the two of you on stage for over three hours, she will shelve the ‘manufactured band’ concept for ever. On top of that, it will give the club free advertising. You two are brilliant.”

“We still have a TV interview to go. They’ll be at the club on Wednesday evening. I’m not going to miss my choir ladies for them. Mum, can you tell Jacob about that when you take him to school, tomorrow? He may want to pop in.”

“He won’t miss out on seeing you again, my girl! How are the Village ladies getting on?”

“Really good. I had them singing separate parts of a choral piece when I last had them.”

Ashley laughed.

“Really good, she says. That group is going to be ready to take on anyone in a few months. They’ll be wanting to find an outlet for their singing. That will be another challenge for you, my girl.”

On Tuesday, Willow went for a walk down to the river and around the church. She was feeling much better, with the fresh air helping. She wondered if what she was feeling was delayed shock from being operated on, or maybe she had overdone things on the weekend. She had plenty to do in the quiet house, with some course notes being emailed to her. The doorbell rang and she looked through the spyhole to see a courier. She opened and signed for a package from Peter’s office. It contained two dozen pendants on gold chains, all in separate boxes with ‘Bloom like a Summer Rose’ in gold lettering on them. She took one and put it on, where it nestled on her upper chest. She looked in the mirror and vowed that it was to be seen.

She filled her day on Wednesday with schoolwork, the only respite was the drumming notes she had, finding that a lot of it was what she had learned with her day of playing with the unit. On Wednesday evening, the family strolled to the club, Ashley to do his barkeeping, Willow to work with the choir, and Wendy to watch over her daughter, now wearing a pendant of her own.

The choir arrived first, all giving Willow careful hugs. The new additions turned up, along with a lady in a powered wheelchair.

“Hello, Willow. This is Margaret. She used to sing with me in the opera company.”

“Hello, Margaret, welcome to our little singing group.”

“Thank you, young lady. I’m not sure how I’ll fit in, but I was told that it’s all a lot of fun. I may look frail, and my legs don’t work, but my voice hasn’t changed much. It will be good to use it again.”

“Look, we’ll move to the back room, and I’ll set the Yamaha up. There’s a TV crew coming to interview me tonight, so we’ll need the space. Mum, can you help me there?”

They all went to the back room and Wendy helped Willow pull out the Yamaha and an amp, setting them up on the dance floor. Willow had the sheets that they had already used, handing them around.

“We’ll start with these, going through them to warm up your voices. Margaret, what are you?”

“I was soprano, but I think that I’m better as an alto, now.”

As she was lining them up, Gina and Maisie arrived.

Willow sat at the keyboard and played for them with the easy, full choir, piece. As she played, the joy on Margaret’s face was enough to make her tear up. The TV crew arrived as they were singing, and stood, unsure of what they should do. At the end of the piece, Willow excused herself and went to the reporter.

“Hello, I’m Willow Rose, and my friend, Gina Summer is here. Oh! That lad just coming in is Jacob Epstein, the guitarist and vocalist in the Summer Rose Quartet. I have a standing requirement to work with these ladies, the growing members of a village choir. Some were just helpers in the church, but a few are retired professionals who live here. We have just started, and you’re welcome to set up and film us. It may be something that will give you a hook for your story.”

She went back to the organ, after a hug with Jacob.

“Sorry about that, ladies, the appointment was made without my input, so they will just have to take it as it comes. Shall we do the easy one again, and then go on with the split-voice choral item. After that, I have another one that needs the same sort of finesse.”

They sang the straight-forward piece, with Gina grabbing the word sheet and joining in. The TV cameramen were using small handhelds that didn’t need extra lighting, so remained quite unobtrusive. The sound man had a hand-held boom mic and headphones, with just a digital recorder in a backpack. They moved on with the second item, which brought some polite applause from the others in the room when they finished.

“Right, ladies. This new piece is similar, but it’s one of the old ones where the voices sing in harmony but singing different words. Anyone who has listened to things like the Messiah will know the technique. Gina and Jacob, can you come and stand beside me as I play, which will give you the idea. This is a comparatively simple version, with just two sections of voices.”

She gave her friends the sheets, pointing out what she wanted each to be singing, as she had highlighted the two sections. She played and the others sung. It sounded complicated, but the trick was to sing what you had to sing without listening to the other half.

The choir ladies were smiling, especially Margaret and her two retired friends. Willow gave the sheets out, separating the two halves, and they tried it once, with obvious mistakes. Willow said words of encouragement and they sang it again; this time it was good. There was more polite applause.

“Ladies, thank you, that was fantastic. Next week we can start by doing all three items and then move on to something else. Perhaps you ladies who sang professionally may be able to suggest something.”

Margaret reached behind her to a bag on the back of her chair, pulling out a book.

“Willow. I brought this along in the hope that I might be able to sing with you. This is the words and music to Handel’s Messiah that you mentioned. Would it be possible for me to sing the Air that deals with the despised man? I know the words by heart.”

“I would love to play the music for you, Margaret. Let me find the page. Ah! Yes. I’ll have to just set the keyboard.”

She set the Yamaha so that she could play a violin section sound. When she was ready, Margaret nodded, and Willow started with the violins. Then Margaret started to sing, putting her heart and soul into it. It starts with ‘He was despised and rejected of men’ with that sentence alone being sung in sections and repeats. Willow was working the strings, and the others looked on in wonder. The cameramen had one on Willow, and the other on Margaret. The sound man had the boom mic set up over the two of them. For everyone in the room, it was as good as it gets.

When it ended, Margaret was in tears and Willow wasn’t far behind her. It had been the most stirring thing that she had ever played. She stood and went over to Margaret, bending down to give her a hug. They both said ‘You were wonderful’ in unison.

The reporter came over to them.

“Margaret, I saw you on stage when you were with Sadlers Wells. Then you disappeared. Willow, would you mind if I interview Margaret and her friends first, then we can do what I came for. What we have seen is something that our viewers will be asking us to repeat.”

“That’s all right. I’ll get a drink and we can put this kit away.”

Jacob, Gina, and Wendy told Willow not to touch anything and they put the keyboard and amp back into the storage. Willow went over to the bar, where her father gave her a drink.

“That was just amazing, my daughter. Margaret has a fantastic voice and she sung with such passion. I heard her say that it was her legs that forced her out of singing. Who knew that we have such talent in sleepy Stoneleigh. This choir of yours is getting better by the day. You’re playing with the Messiah was brilliant.”

“Well, Dad, I was trying to emulate a full orchestra. I had the thought, while I was playing, that the whole thing would sound good in the Cathedral. The thing is that it goes two and a half hours and needs a lot more singers in the chorus than we have. I think that the orchestra could muster most of the instruments, but it would take more work than the school is prepared to give for one performance. Unlike most orchestras, ours turns over every two or three years, so there isn’t a core set of players.”

The others came over and they sat while the TV reporter spoke to Margaret at one of the tables. Her two friends also sat at the table and were included in the discussion. The other choir ladies sat near the bar and watched the proceedings, speaking in whispers.

When the reporter shook hands with the three, he looked around. The choir ladies all stood.

“Willow. Tonight, has been a real eye-opener for us. We’ve done something far beyond what we were thinking of. We all thought that we would be able to sing carols by next Christmas, never realising that we could do such complex music. Thank you for tonight, and we’ll see you next week.”

Willow stood and got hugs from all of them, as the other three came over. Sandra, one of Margaret’s friends, gave Willow a long hug.

“Willow Rose. You have no idea what joy you brought tonight. Margaret has been moping about her house for years. Bringing her tonight took a lot of encouragement, but I think we’ll be bringing her every week from now on. She really missed having song in her life.”

The TV guys had a drink and then the reporter asked the three friends to join them at the other table. He sat them opposite him, and one cameraman set up with a tripod to film him, while the other was to one side to see the three of them, with Willow closest.

“I’m going to start by speaking to the audience first, then I’ll speak to each of you in turn. Thank you for providing the opportunity for the other interview, it will go to air after yours. There will be clips of what you did tonight that will be slipped into the interview we will now do, as well as clips from your wonderful video. Are you ready? Feel free to stop me if we go anywhere that you don’t want to go.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 15

The three sat quietly as he settled and nodded. The sound man counted down from five and the reporter smiled.

“Today, I’m sitting in the dining room of the Stoneleigh Community Club. With me are Willow Rose, Gina Summer, and Jacob Epstein, three members of the quartet, Summer Rose, who have that successful album, ‘Coventry Carpentry’. I came here thinking that it would be an easy job to interview teenagers who had managed to find a niche in the market and would be unlikely to maintain that level of success. What I found were three, very serious musicians who have more than that album up their sleeves.”

He looked across the table and smiled.

“I walked into this room to find Willow Rose teaching a group of elderly ladies how to sing as a choir. Not only were they singing the sort of things that you would expect carollers to sing, but they were learning complex choral techniques that you hear from professionals. A few of those singers were once professional, and my interview with them will leave you with tears in your eyes.”

He turned to Willow to start the interview. There was the usual questions that she had answered with the magazine writer, but he had done his research, so spoke to her and Gina about the work with the Cathedral, which led on to Willow playing the organ in the BBC show on Christmas Eve. The girls told him that it was all part of being at Blue Coat and that Jacob would be starring in a guitar concerto later in the year. That led to Jacob talking about growing up on the farm.

They shamelessly plugged the club and the dinner dances, the website for the Cathedral and the link to see the services, as well as the band website and the album. When asked about sales, they could say, in all honesty, that they didn’t know how it stood at the moment. They had over a half-an-hour talking, and Willow thought that it had been a good discussion, even if it would be edited for transmission.

As the sound and camera men were packing their equipment, Willow suggested that the reporter bring his partner to the dinner dance on the Saturday night.

“You’ll have to see my Dad behind the bar to book one of these tables. I expect that there will be a group from the magazines coming along. The band is pretty good. In the week after, we will be in this room with our own sound and video team to record quite a bit of new material. It could end up as our next albums. We will supply vision and sound later, after we have processed it, so no cameramen of yours. If you leave your card, I’ll email you with the day and time. Please keep this to yourself, as we can’t deal with any fans here.”

He grinned.

“I’ll do that. I might book a table and bring some friends along. Will you be here if they want a word?”

“You bet. I wouldn’t miss the event. I live around the corner and it’s just a short walk for a good meal and a good night.”

The reporter went to the bar, spoke to Ashley and the crew left. Gina started laughing.

“You really are wicked, Willow.”

Jacob looked bewildered.

“What did I miss?”

“We had an interview with a reporter and photographer from a teen magazine on Monday evening. They were clueless about who we are. Even suggested that we were a ‘manufactured group’. They might be here for the dinner dance as well. They don’t know that it will be us on stage. We’re going to have to decide what we’re going to play. We can’t do anything from Kansas or Journal, so it will have to be from that big repertoire of pop and folky stuff early on, then some dance music, ending with some of the album. We don’t have to do the lot anymore, so should pick the best.”

Wendy came over to them.

“It’s time you were asleep, my girl. Have you finished the plotting to take over the world?”

“Just sorting out what we’ll play at the dinner dance. I expect that both lots of reporters will come along when we record the next album, here. I think you’re right. Goodnight, friends. Thanks for helping out with the singing.”

She had a hug from Gina, and a hug and kiss from Jacob.

“How did you get here, darling?”

“Rach brought me. She’ll be back soon to take me home. She wanted to stay for the interview but had something she had to do with one of her friends in the village. I think that they may be planning a wedding.”

Willow walked home with her mother, arm in arm.

“You know, my darling daughter, my tear ducts have never worked so hard as they have these last few months. Tonight was so emotional when Margaret sang. I remember seeing her on the TV when she was a professional. A lovely voice then, and still as lovely without her old range. Have you any idea what you’re going to do with that group?”

“Don’t know, Mum. They need to learn a lot of material, with a few that should learn to read music if they want to do more. If we keep it local, they’re almost good enough now.”

It didn’t take her long to get to sleep but was sure that she was getting stronger by the day. The area around her groin was itching a bit, but there wasn’t any pain. Thursday, she devoted the whole day to reading up on old lessons and looking at the file that had been sent to her with a small amount of new work.

On Friday morning, she was back in the car with her father, heading for the clinic. He asked her how she could convince the two media teams to come to the next dinner dance.

“They both booked a full table, and there have been quite a few who have also booked to make sure they get a seat. What did you offer them, some sort of exclusive?”

“All we offered, Dad, is a good meal and a good night. They don’t even know who the band is, so it may be a surprise when we start playing. I’m not sure what they have in mind for me today, and they’ve told me that they’ll send me home by taxi. See you when you get home for dinner.”

“See you then, sweetie. You’ll have a quieter weekend.”

“Just the Cathedral on Sunday. You can take your laptop to the club and watch me playing on the big screen. The service there doesn’t start until the one in St. Marys is almost over.”

When he stopped outside the main doors, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and got out. She waved as he drove away, then turned and went into the clinic. Over the next hour, she was checked over and had the dressing removed. After the few stitches came out, she discovered the joy of her first time with her legs lifted in stirrups and having the doctor giving her a very detailed vaginal inspection.

That was followed by more than an hour of instruction of how to look after her new equipment and how to make sure it was clean. After that was something of a surprise, being something that she had never heard of. She learned how to dilate, when to dilate, and instructed to contact the doctor when she started to enjoy it, which would mean that the nerves were starting to work as they should.

Back in the outside, her new pack of different size dilators in her bag, she waited for the taxi to come for her. When she got home, she stripped and had a long shower, making sure that she soaped everywhere. She washed her hair and then dried off. With her hair in a towel turban, she stood and looked at her naked body in the big mirror.

Except for the continuing bruising, she looked like a girl. The marks around her torso were now fading and she felt really good about herself. So good that she laid on her bed with one of the dilators and tried it out while rubbing her budding breasts. The result was more than she expected and felt very good indeed. She decided that it was far too early to tell the doctor that there was a little more feeling than she had expected; a few more sessions like that were called for to make sure that the data was genuine.

For the rest of the day, she wrote a new song about a girl finding her sexuality for the first time, recorded the vocal and keyboard track, then filed it as something to save in the same file where ‘Fractured’ was. She dressed in the new underwear she had brought for herself and put on one of her better skirts and tops. When Wendy got home, Willow suggested that a meal at the steakhouse might be nice. Her treat as the celebration of a successful operation and aftermath.

“Oh! How successful was that?”

“Almost earthmoving. Mum.”

Wendy gave her a big hug.

“Congratulations, girl. We won’t tell your father that little detail.”

When Ashley got home, he only had time to change into casual clothes before they were on their way to the table that Wendy had booked. He wouldn’t hear of Willow paying for the meal, he was so happy that the women in his life were happy.

On Saturday afternoon, Wendy drove them to the Cathedral. Willow played through the hymns first, finding that she had much more freedom of leg movement without the covering. Then, she worked through the Evensong, with some singing along and the choir coming in when she got to their material.

Before they left, she went to speak to the choirmaster.

“Excuse me, sir, can I ask a question?”

“Certainly, Willow. What do you want to know?”

“I’ve been working with a group of church ladies in Stoneleigh. I had noticed that they stood together to sing the hymns and suggested that they may enjoy forming a group choir. It started with five, and now we have fourteen, including a few retired professionals who live in the village. I’ve taken them through straight out group singing, to alternating lines, and last week we worked on singing together but using different words. It worked out quite well.”

“Right. Who are these retired members?”

She named them and the choirmaster smiled.

“You have three of the best in their day. I haven’t heard of what came of Margaret. One season she was there and the next she was gone. I worked with her for a while.”

“She lost the use of her legs, and now uses a motorised wheelchair. She’s now an alto but has a wonderful voice. She sang us one of the Airs from Messiah. There was a TV crew there at the time, come to interview me as one of Summer Rose. Where I’m stuck is that they all show promise, but I have no idea where to take them from here. I’m in the orchestra but haven’t a clue of how you turn singers into a choir.”

“I would love to help you, especially seeing Margaret again. Where and when do you get together?”

“It’s Wednesday evenings, from about seven, at the Stoneleigh Community Club. If you come along, I can guarantee that you’ll be fed if you get there early. Those of us that work for club activities get a meal thrown in. My Dad is behind the bar and pulls a mean pint.”

“Thank you for asking your question. I’ll come along with a couple of dozen books for them. It outlines the home training and has about fifty choir songs to extend their skills, with the music for piano. I expect that your original ladies don’t read music, so there are phonetic notations that help them follow, over the music. I’ve found that most people can pick up the way the music goes by following that. When I see the Bishop, I’ll tell him what you’re doing. He was a great fan of Margaret when she was singing.”

“Thank you, sir. I look forward to hearing the choir tomorrow. I’ve told my father to take his laptop to the club and show the stream on the big screen.”

As they were driving home, Wendy asked what the discussion was about.

“I asked him about teaching singers to be a choir. He says that he’ll come along next week and bring some training manuals with him for the ladies. He worked with Margaret at one time and is keen to see her again.”

“Will he help you with the village ladies?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see what he thinks after hearing them sing.”

When they got home, Ashley had a big grin on his face.

“The old bed is in the Crate Castle, darling, and the new one has been set up. All it needs is making. As a mere male, that’s way above my pay grade.”

“We’ll do that, love. You’ll have to buy us dinner at the club, though.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I agree.”

Wendy and Willow went up to the master bedroom and made up the bed with fresh sheets. Wendy had bought new ones when they were shopping for the bed. It looked very nice when it was finished.

“That looks good enough to sleep in, Mum.”

“Yes, my girl, and it won’t wake you up in the night, either. We made sure of that in the store.”

“You tried to make it squeak in the store and weren’t arrested!”

“We stayed fully dressed, my girl. The sales lady stood by us as we bounced on it.”

“That would have been a demonstration bed, Mum. It may have been desqueaked. If this is out of the box, who knows what sounds it makes.”

They went to the club, where there was a good crowd. Willow was asked, by some, if she was playing, and she told everyone to come back next Saturday for the dinner dance. She added that she was playing in the Cathedral in the morning and didn’t want to wear her fingers out.

That night, she didn’t hear a thing from her parents room, except for a muffled cry from her mother that she could now relate to, having had a similar feeling herself.

The Sunday went as usual. She played for the service, now seeing the three views on the monitor and singing along as she played. The Cathedral was packed, and the singing was strong. When her mother took them into the shopping centre, the dress shops had a lot of spring fashions in, and they came away with more additions for both their wardrobes for when the sun was out.

The Evensong was well attended, and the singing was good, led by the choir. Willow sat quietly as they went home, thinking about the week to come, then turned to Wendy.

“It’s exam week, Mum. I expect that the orchestra session may be postponed to next half-term. We’ll find out tomorrow and let you know if we’ll be early every day.”

“Thanks, darling one. How do you feel about the exams?”

“I’m pretty good with the subjects, as I didn’t miss a lot of new material while I was away. I’ll be having a good talk with the band members about the dinner dance on Saturday, and I’ll try and get our band to the club one day in the holidays to run through what we’ll record. We have yet to set a date for that, so that will be a priority. If we set up to practise, we can leave it up for the recording.”

When they arrived home, Ashley was there.

“Just getting some papers together for Malcolm. He wants me to think about throwing my hat in the ring for the next election. Are you coming to the club?”

“Yes dear, any day I don’t have to cook is another day in paradise. Come along Willow, let’s freshen up and go eat.”

They had a quiet meal and then left Ashley working the bar to go home. Willow put another few pendants in her bag to give to Gina and their close friends. It felt a bit odd to be going back to school but knew that exam week would be different.

Monday, on the way, Gina told them that she had gone to the club after church to find vision of the Cathedral service being shown on the big screen. She said that a lot of parishioners may be visiting the Cathedral to experience it in person.

“While we were in the city on Saturday, Mum took me to that music store where you got your Nord. I bought one of my own, as well as one of those drum machines. I’ll bring my Yamaha to the club to lend it alongside yours. That way we won’t have to carry one in every show. We also went to a store, and I brought Mum a new sewing machine with computerised embroidery and all the attachments to go with it.”

Willow waited until lunch to bring the boxes out of her bag. One, she gave to Gina.

“These are the new pendants. I had some sent to me and have one on now, under the blouse. I was thinking of giving one to Barbara and Diane, who were the first girls that I played with from the school.”

“Excellent thinking. Hey, Barb, grab your sister and see what we have for you.”

The squealing sisters brought other girls around. Gina told them that the pendants were now on the band website. Willow looked at her friend.

“You’re a fast learner, friend.”

“What can I say, I have the best teacher in front of me.”

Willow asked Gina what day, next week, she thought would be good for the recording, and they agreed on Wednesday, with setting up on Tuesday for practise. Before leaving for the next exam, Willow went to see the other band members to tell them of the arrangement, asking them to be at the club on Saturday afternoon so they could run through the first playing of Journey. Then she went to where the seniors were sitting to tell the tech guys that they could test the gear on Tuesday for recording Wednesday. Then she gave the Gees that information, telling them what equipment would already be on stage.

As they were heading back to the next exam, they saw a notice that the orchestra session was cancelled. The rest of the day went smoothly, and the three were quietly confident that they had done well. On Tuesday, it was Willow’s turn on the chapel organ, with Reverend Jack giving praise for another good half-term and hopes that they will all be back after the holidays, refreshed and ready to learn more.

That evening, Willow emailed the two media contacts to tell them to be at the club at ten, Wednesday morning. The TV reporter emailed back to tell her that their interview was going to air on Saturday, in the local news segment after the five ‘o’clock national news; and that he had received some good words from his superiors.

Wednesday evening, the choir meeting was full of joy. Gina and Maisie arrived, carrying the Yamaha, and set it up. Willow helped get an amp down. All of her ladies arrived, and Willow asked her mother if she could join in, having such a good voice. She said that she would if Maisie would, and Maisie laughed.

“Gina has already got me to try out with her, Wendy. So, line up.”

The choir master came in, followed by three members of his choir, all carrying boxes. He put his on a table and went to Margaret.

“Tom, what a lovely surprise. It’s been too long. Why are you here?”

“Willow asked for help, Margaret, and as soon as she said that you were in the choir, I just couldn’t stay away. I have three members of the Cathedral Choir here to help out. The boxes are full of the basic handbook on choir singing, from easy to hard, with the music. Willow has told me that there are some of you who don’t read music, so we’ll have one of ours stand beside each one of you to show you where you are on the page. Gina, can you help there as well. The first thing we have to do is find out just what your ranges are.”

Over the next half an hour, one of the visitors filled in each member of the choir’s details as Willow went through the scale for each one in turn, finding that Wendy was quite an effective mezzo-soprano. After that, Tom conducted them as they worked through the songs that Willow had already put them through, nodding as he heard them in full voice for the first time. After that, they worked on the first song in the book, with Willow playing, Tom conducting, and those who could read music helping those who couldn’t. They were passable on the second try, which brought a smile to Tom’s face.

“I think that this is enough for now. In the future, I’ll be here on Wednesday evenings to take you to the next level. There will be others in my choir who will come along to help out.”

Before he left, Gina told him that she would be coming to the Cathedral on Saturday morning, and not the usual afternoon.

The rest of the week was more of the exams, and they had finished by Friday lunchtime. The three friends went to one of the rehearsal rooms, where there was a piano. Willow played the piano, while they all sang quietly; songs from Journey and a few others that they could fit into the dinner dance set.

They were working on an old standard when Mister Bamborough walked in.

“I thought I’d find you here in the break after exams. How do you think you got on?”

They all said that they thought that they had done enough.

“More than enough, if your last results are anything to go by. I’ve been looking at that website of the band. We do have an interest with a share of some of the content that was originally school intellectual property. I believe that you’re all doing very well out of it. I’m starting to wonder if there are any thoughts of touring and destroying your schooling.”

“No thoughts of that, sir. We had a couple of interviews last week; one for a magazine and one for the TV. We told both that we were determined to go through to university. I believe that the TV one is going to air on the local news on Saturday, after the national bulletin. Hopefully, it will be in the early part so we can see it before heading for the dinner dance.”

“My wife and I plan to attend that. I have to say that the experience of performing live has increased the skills of the wind players, as well as the rest of you. It will be good to see you play, again. Do you have any new material?”

Gina laughed.

“We have a whole new album, sir, all written by Willow and expanded by the rest of the band. I’ve heard Willow play the whole thing, with just her and the piano. How about you let Mister Bamborough hear ‘Finding a Friend’.

Willow smiled at her friend and started playing the piano intro, then singing the song. It was enough to make the teacher inwardly draw breath. When she finished, he let it out.

“That was wonderful, Willow.”

“That’s what some of the other students used to call me, sir. Jacob told me that there was ‘Wonderful Willow’ going around behind my back. I nearly came to school in a mask and a cape.”

“Totally deserved. When will we be hearing the rest of the album?”

“If you’re free next Wednesday morning, sir. We have planned a recording session at the club. It will be the G-Force with some material that Grant has written, and also the seven-piece version of Summer Rose. There will be others there, a reporter from a teen magazine and the TV reporter. We know that both outlets have booked tables for Saturday evening but are in the dark about the band that’s providing the entertainment.”

“Who is doing the recording?”

“The tech guys who do the school concerts. Before you ask, we have bought all our own equipment.”

“That’s quite an outlay, Willow. How are you funding that?”

“From the money I have from the Hikers album sales. I have enough to do that sort of thing, and we get to keep the equipment afterwards.”

“Will I be able to have a copy of the event?”

“We plan to have a quantity of CDs and DVDs cut after the guys have edited it. It will be up to our management to mass produce. We can let you have a sample of our material, but you’ll have to ask the Gees if they will give you theirs.”

“Exactly as it should be. Look, congratulations on what you’ve done this year, so far. The school is getting good publicity from the various endeavours that you’re involved in. I’ll see you, on stage, Saturday evening.”

After he left, they collected their things and went to wait for Wendy. Jacob gave Willow a cuddle.

“Saturday morning, Rach is taking me to that music store in Birmingham. I’m going to buy myself two guitars with my earnings. One will be a Martin, like the one I play here, and the other will be something like my old Fender, but a properly made acoustic with a pick-up inside. I’ll bring it along on Saturday afternoon to see how it sounds with the band. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll use the Fender. I’ve also been playing around with that effects box; I’ll try that out on Saturday afternoon as well.”

As they were dropped off, they two said that they were looking forward to playing again on Saturday, all sensing that it would be yet another watershed in their lives.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 16

On Saturday morning, Willow was up and over at the church early. She got the service details from the Reverend and went up to the organ to work through the hymns. After that, she went to the club, where Malcolm was polishing glasses.

“Big night, tonight, Willow. Fully booked with a waiting list. Quite a few that have booked full tables.”

“That’s great, Malcolm. We love playing to a full house, especially when they dance. It’s as if we’re the puppet masters, and they’re on the end of our strings. Has Dad had a word to you about booking other bands?”

“He mentioned it, but a lot come to see you.”

“We won’t be around for ever, and the earliest you get them used to seeing other bands, the easier it will be for us. Over the summer, we may be off somewhere else on a Saturday night. Talk to Peter when he comes in and see if he has other dance bands. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll be using the back room, and there’ll be another band from school. They have been playing for a while and do blues, sixties pop, and will be playing new material here.”

“I’ll pop in and see them. What time?”

“In the morning from ten. They get a couple of hours and then we take over for the rest of the day.”

She went home and rested until noon. Then, she set the video recorder, and the family went to the club for lunch and to set up for the afternoon practise. Gina arrived with Maisie, and then Jacob arrived with Racheal, carrying what looked like a new guitar case. The band members started pulling out the equipment and the others started setting up the tables for the evening. When the whole band was there, they had a snack that Malcolm had organised and went up on the stage to sort themselves out.

They worked as the full band, with the wind section, including the winds jamming with the Carpenters and the few Journey songs that were now being played by the full band. Willow told them that if they couldn’t follow, to just stand and sing, or, at least, sway with the beat. Jacob was playing a new guitar, a Guild Troubadour with pick-up as standard.

“What happened to the new Martin, Jacob?”

“I tried several, Willow, but this one sat so well on me and sounds great.”

They worked until nearly five, and then rested, eating the supplied dinner and then getting out of the way in the store area as the customers came in, talking about the past week and the exams.

When they heard the noise in the dining room quieten as the meals started coming out, they went up on the stage and started playing quiet ‘eating’ music. After about half an hour, they started to up the tempo and moved to dancing music. Willow had to smile as she saw the reporters and their companions look up from their plates and take in the band playing to them.

As she looked around the room, she saw one table with some of her choir, sitting with Tom and his partner. She was surprised to see tables with both the Hikers and the Gees, with Rick and Racheal sitting with the Epstein parents and another elderly couple.

She was also surprised to see Wendy and Maisie sitting with the Baron, Marie, Cassie and Terry, plus Rupert and a blonde who looked like a model. They got a cheer when they started with a small set of Carpenters numbers, then did some easy pop, and then ended the evening with a trio of new numbers from Journey, followed by some more slow dance songs. Close to eleven, Willow spoke.

“Thank you all for coming along tonight, I hope that you enjoyed your time in the Stoneleigh Community Club. We’re the Blue Coat School Dance Band, and any resemblance to Summer Rose is purely your imagination. And we’ve only just begun.”

They played that song, which Brent had told them was in the national top ten that day. When they finished, they all stood and bowed to the applause.

There were a lot of people wanting to talk to them after that, with Willow having to ask for a few minutes so they could have a comfort break. By the time they came back, there were a few empty tables, so the band commandeered a couple while Ashley organised soft drinks for them all. Most of the band were on one table, with Willow, Gina, Brent and Jacob on one to themselves, which gave those who wanted a chat to be able to sit with them.

The two reporters just wanted to tell them that the show had totally changed the way that future reporting would take. Although the TV show had been transmitted, the magazine article still had to be written, and would be revised. Willow said that she hadn’t seen the show because she had been in the club at the time but would look at it later.

The Baron and his party just stopped to say hello and congratulate the band before heading to the hotel in Coventry where they were staying. They said that they would be in the Cathedral on Sunday morning, so Willow told them that Gina would be on the organ.

Tom came over with his wife.

“I asked my daughter if she wanted to come with us, but she declared that she wouldn’t be seen dead in an old fogies dance. I took some pictures on my phone, and she’ll be livid when she sees them. She’s a big fan of Summer Rose.”

Willow delved into her bag.

“Here, give her this as a consolation. It’s one of our pendants.”

Tom got his wife to take the box, taking a picture of it being handed over. After that, there were a few of the normal diners who told them that they had just enjoyed a wonderful evening. The room cleared and Racheal came over with Rick and the rest of the Hikers.

“That was wonderful, I think that you’re going to be booked for our reception. It will be in one of the ballrooms in the city. Rick was suitably impressed with your total package.”

“Yes, I was. You have just shown me and my band what entertainment really is. We’ve been staying with what we like, but there must be a lot that we can do well but aren’t totally keen on. I’m told that you’re in here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Can we join in? There are a few new songs that we’ve written and would like to see what our peers think of them. I found out that G-Force will be here as well. It could be a fun day.”

“The object of the two days is to get some material recorded, Rick. We will have two cameramen and a sound guy with enough equipment to put together a DVD for you to show others. That’s what we will be doing. We have this room for all day, so you should arrive before ten. What’s set up on the stage now will be still there, so have a look and see if there’s anything else you want to bring. Tuesday will be try-out day, and Wednesday will be for making the recordings. You’re welcome to join in.”

After they had gone, taking Jacob with them, Geoff and the rest of the Gees sat down.

“Willow Rose. When you played the organ for us last summer, it was as if an angel had dropped out of the sky to save us. Here you are now, with a full band of second years, showing us that we’ve been knocking our heads against a wall since then. You’ve moved forward while we’ve remained, stubbornly static with our pop and blues. Grant has several new songs that we want to try that could pull us out of the rut. It would be really good with an audience of two bands with charting songs watching us.”

“We’re not going to be here to judge, Geoff. We’re here to do some work ourselves.”

“We know, but, after talking to Rick tonight, I know that he’s in the same boat as we are. Honestly, I’m not sure if you haven’t established your own rut with the easy-listening music.”

“You’ll see where we’re heading next week. What you see on the stage is what we will be using. We won’t have the wind section, so it will just be the seven of us that are signed with Peter. Bring along anything else that you want. The two Yamahas will be here for Jim to use. I will add one piece of advice. See if you can get Zara to sing in front of the band. That will put you behind her but could put you all in the charts.”

“She has sung with us when we had practise. I’ll try to get her to come along to see what being in a good band can be like. We’ll see you at ten on Tuesday.”

Finally, the room cleared, the wind section all collected their envelopes, joined their parents, who had been at a table together, and left. The rest of the band drifted off with their families. Willow and Gina sat with their drinks.

“That was interesting, friend.”

“It was, Gina. Our sessions here will be interesting. It will be good to see where the other groups are.”

“Two groups that you’ve played in, Willow. You’re the one who have brought them together with us. The day I saw you play the Purple with Geoff; I was in awe. Now I’m sitting beside you, my very best friend and mentor, hearing you offer advice to guys a lot older than us. It’s strange, but seems right, somehow.”

“What is right is that I’m ready for bed. We’ll make sure that everything on stage is turned off, and I’m heading home.”

They stood and hugged, then checked the stage before Gina went with Maisie and Willow went home with her mother.

Before she left, she asked Malcolm about getting into the club on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I’ll be here, lass. It will be interesting to hear what sounds like a Battle of the Bands play-off. I’ve paid the extras, and will pay Peter fifteen hundred for your time, tonight. That was a cracking show. The TV reporter told me that I was a lucky man as he ordered a round of drinks for his table. One of his companions used to be on the screen but is now the head of the news at the station.”

Mother and daughter strolled home, with Willow starting to flake as they went. She cleansed and changed to her nightie, dived into bed and was asleep before saying goodnight to her furry friends.

Sunday morning, she was awake and dressed for breakfast and the church, feeling good. The family walked there as the bells started. The Reverend greeted them.

“Cracking show last night, Willow. You may not have noticed us in the crowd, but Mister Bamborough and his wife sat with us. He didn’t want to impose, but he was mightily impressed with the show. He said that he knew that the band was good after the dance at the school but had moved on since then. He had a laugh when you announced the name. He was, I think, considering that it would be nice to put a show on in one of the big halls in Coventry.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see. There’s a term and a half before we get to the summer holidays, and there still is the concert in the Cathedral to get through.”

She went to the organ, got ready, and started playing the welcoming music. As she played, she thought about how the week will pan out. She was getting excited about having the three bands in one place, swapping ideas and trying new things. She hoped that the recording of the news show was a good one and would look at it this afternoon.

The service went as usual, and she went over to join the others in the club. Although it was now the end of March, there was still a nip in the air and the hot drink was welcome. Ashley put the big screen on, and at ten-thirty, they watched it as Gina played the Cathedral. Willow was surprised when her mother put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to snuggle.

“Your friend is there because of your faith in her. When I first met her, she was a timid little mouse. Now, there she is playing in the Cathedral. I don’t know how many will be watching the stream, but there will be followers anywhere in the world. It’s almost scary to think about.”

“It’s not scary, Mum. It’s wonderful. That sort of exposure will give her offers to play anywhere after school. It sets her up for life if she wants.”

“You too. I’m going to call that woman that my boss knows. It’s high time you were exposed to fashion and proper make-up in a photo shoot. With you and Gina having been on the TV, I’m sure that she’ll jump at the chance to give you both a screen test.”

“We can watch that interview this afternoon, as long as I set the recorder properly. Malcolm told me that the head of the news division was on a table with the reporter last night. And Brent told us that ‘Only Just Begun’ was in the national top ten, based on radio plays. Peter should be tearing his hair out thinking of ways to get us on to a stage.”

“Suggest what the Reverend told us. Get him to put on big dinner dances with the band as the evening’s entertainment. He could co-ordinate with the school to split the organisation and some of the profit.”

“You’re a genius, Mum. Can you start to think about a couple of album covers for us, please.”

“What are you thinking of?”

“One will be for the Kansas CD. I think that we should have me and Jacob, and Gina and Brent, out front on that yellow brick road, with the others clearly seen behind us. The title can be, ‘It’s not Kansas anymore, it’s the Other Side of Summer Rose’. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ve taken pictures of all of you while you were playing, so I can get the faces right. What’s the other one?”

“That one will be ‘Journey into Womanhood’. You’ve heard me do the whole album when I was on the piano a couple of weeks ago. We’ll be playing it as a soft-rock set with the whole band. I haven’t got a picture in my mind yet. The whole set are my own compositions. We did play a few from the album last night, near the end.”

When the feed from the Cathedral finished, most of the crowd went home. Malcolm insisted that the Roses stayed for lunch. He sat with them at the table.

“That show, last night, was brilliant. As brilliant as our takings lately. This year, the club has pulled out of the COVID slump and is more popular than before, with a lot of diners who don’t live in the village. We’re nearly at the stage where we can do some renovations, especially in the conveniences area.”

Willow thought a bit and then looked at her father.

“Dad, we need to draw some money from my account to pay for the tech guys in the week. Can you please get me fifteen hundred, in cash, as we promised them five hundred each. While you’re about it, can you get another thousand so I can pay Malcolm for hire of the back room for the two days. I know it’s been offered free, and I appreciate that, but it’s turned into more than we had planned. We will have Rick and the Hikers with us, as well as the G-Force. Malcolm said that it will be like a Battle of the Bands last night, and that has made me realise that two of those bands are in the charts. We can afford to pay our way.”

“Did I just hear you right? You said two in the charts.”

“Rick has been to the top with ‘Love and Marriage’, and Brent told me that “Only Just Begun’ is in the top ten on radio exposure. It will be interesting to see my statement from Peter.”

“With you on both of them! That’s crazy! My daughter a pop star and just sitting here after playing organ for the church service.”

“I told Jacob that when you play with a group, like an orchestra, there are no stars, just some individuals doing a bit more at the time. That’s how I feel about Summer Rose. As you saw last night, almost everyone is out front with the vocals at some time or another. Anyway, the video didn’t have an organ in it, and they’ve got an extra member to play one.”

“But it was you on the audio, sweetheart, the sound that made it work. It was you that allowed the Hikers to earn more than a million pounds.”

“Don’t lay it on with a trowel, Dad. I’m still me, your child. Still a child, Dad, with some more years at school to get through. Anyway, thank you for the lunch, Malcolm. I think I need to have a look at that interview that aired last night while we were here.”

Wendy and Willow went home and changed into casual outfits. They sat in front of the TV and went to the start of the recording. It came on and showed the end of the national weather news, then the opening credits of the local news. There was an item about one of the aged care homes and poor nutrition. Then they saw the reporter, as he opened the item with, “Today, I’m sitting in the dining room of the Stoneleigh Community Club. With me are Willow Rose, Gina Summer, and Jacob Epstein, three members of the quartet, Summer Rose, who have that successful album, ‘Coventry Carpentry’.”

The interview gave them all equal time, with a fair bit of editing, and interrupted by snippets of the live performance at the school. Willow thought that it was as good as they could give time for. It was followed by the interview with Margaret and her friends after a short ad break. With this one the reporter had thought about the continuity with it being second.

“You have just seen an interview with the members of Summer Rose. When I arrived to interview them, I walked in on a choir session, with some ladies from the Stoneleigh village being taught by Willow Rose”. There was a short clip of Willow at the keyboard with the choir in front of her, singing. When it came back to him, he smiled.

“The opera lovers of you may have recognised three of the faces in that choir, all were at the top of their game before they retired, and all now rejoicing in the opportunity to sing again.”

He turned his eyes away from the camera and asked Margaret about her time since she last walked a stage. The interview followed her time in hospital and then drew in her friends, who were living in the village and were able to organise a cottage for her, getting it wheelchair friendly before she moved in. The three all said that finding out about the singing group was like a shining beacon in their lives, telling him that it was Margaret’s first time.

“I don’t have to ask you if you enjoyed it, Margaret. I thank you for talking to me and we will finish this segment of local news with your wonderful voice, accompanied by Willow Rose in a role that most would have never considered her in.”

They watched the entire performance of Margaret singing the Air from the Messiah, with cuts to Willow working hard on the keyboard. When the next show started, mother and daughter were still sitting on the couch, clinging to each other and bawling their eyes out.

When they had composed themselves, Wendy went to the recorder and ejected the disc.

“That one is for the collection. I wonder what others thought of it.”

Willow pulled her phone out of her bag and turned it on, her eyes widening as message after message scrolled on her screen. She went to the bottom of the list and started looking at them. Most were from schoolfriend fans of Summer Rose, most being supportive, and a few telling her that she had sold out to ‘the establishment’. She deleted as she went, stopping when she came to one from the Head, timed at seven the previous evening, telling her that she was a student from heaven, and that she was needed in her office first thing on the first day back.

There was one from Tom.

‘Good things come in threes. One was a great evening, two was the look on Sally’s face when we showed her the picture of you presenting the pendant. She only takes it off to shower. Three was looking at my recording of last night’s news service. Wish I had been there at the time but glad I’m part of taking those voices forward.’

She texted him back.

‘If you come early this week, we will be making a DVD. If Sally still at school, bring her along. G-Force and the Hikers from ten in the morning, SR in the afternoon, the choir in the evening. Will have the gear to film them if wanted.’

There were more from fans, then one from Peter.

‘Watched interviews last night, well done you. Latest statement sent to your emails today. Please organise an account that I can pay you regular amounts.’

She got the bank account number for the trust account and emailed him back with the number and the request for a thousand a week, based on her expectation that this would be a small amount of the income. She asked Wendy if it was all right before she sent it.

After several more fan messages, there was one from Marcus Waddington.

‘Just seen great interview. Album selling well and I need you somewhere on stage.’

She answered that one.

‘Been suggested that we do dinner dances as Blue Coat School Dance Band. Did four-hour show last night as eleven-piece. School will allow this if you talk to them and involve them. Mister Bamborough at show last night, so talk to him first.’

As she looked at, and deleted more messages, the times approached the actual time. The last one had come in at one, just before she had turned on her phone. She had to laugh when she read it. Wendy wanted to know what was funny, so she passed the phone over. Wendy read the message aloud.

“That man! Just called me at home. Now wants us to perform Messiah in Cathedral for Xmas.”

Willow was sitting on the couch, almost crying from laughing. When she was able to speak, she smiled.

“I wondered about hearing Margaret in the Cathedral when she sang for us but considered it to be too big for our orchestra. I wonder if the Head will take it on or reject it. If we do it, there will be a lot of kudos for the school, but it will take most of the full term to get it right.”

“When did you hear it?”

“I must have been nine or ten. It was on the TV one day during the Christmas holidays. Dad was at work, and you were off shopping or something. It went for nearly three hours, and I was captivated, only rushing off for a pee in the breaks. It isn’t an easy piece by any means. The violins were what pulled me in, it’s mesmerising and uplifting at the same time.”

“You’ll just have to see what others do. If it’s decided to be performed, I suppose that you’ll have intensive practise from the first week in September.”

“Not just me, Mum. To do it right, it needs about thirty in the choir. The school has ten or so, the Cathedral had ten or so, and we have Tom working with seventeen of you at the club.”

“You have to be joking! Me in a choir in the Cathedral! That’s ludicrous.”

“Wait and see, Mum, just wait and see.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 17

When she had finished with her phone, she went and got her laptop and clicked on the email program. There were less who had the address, but the inbox still had a lot of messages. She found the one from Peter, looked at the statement, then went into her father’s office and turned on the printer. She sent the statement to the printer, then sat and took it in.

The band had sold another forty-five thousand downloads, giving a total income of four hundred and fifty thousand pounds. The CD sales had made a hundred and eighty thousand pounds, and the DVD sales were split at twenty thousand downloads and fifteen thousand DVDs. That was another three hundred thousand, plus another three hundred and seventy-five thousand, giving a total of one point three zero five million. Pendants had brought in thirty thousand, and posters had added fifteen thousand.

That gave a total income from sales at one point three five million. Other income included twelve hundred from the Cathedral, and fifteen hundred from Malcolm. Costs were thirty-six thousand for the CDs, a hundred and eighty thousand for the DVDs. Posters were five thousand and the pendants were twelve thousand.

The admin expenses included eighty-four thousand in postage, and twelve thousand in office costs. Willow was aware that every CD and DVD needed to be packaged and addressed, even if they were using standard PO mailing boxes. The school had received twelve thousand.

That left over one point two million, now split seven ways, which gave Willow a total of just over a hundred and forty thousand. Over the page was just her income from the Hikers sales, which was another fourteen thousand less five percent. She had earned over a hundred and fifty thousand pounds in the month. There was an extra cost at the bottom; less two hundred and forty pounds for pendants, at cost.

She sat back, realising that every one of the seven had earned a hundred and forty thousand. She laughed.

“What’s that, darling?”

“The statement for the month, Mum. I should have asked for more in wages. Peter is now splitting the total income seven ways, taking care of all the band. He included the payments for the Cathedral into the total, in the sum of things, it’s a drop in the ocean.”

She showed the papers to Wendy, who had to sit down as she read it.

“So, you’ve asked him to pay a thousand a week into your Uni Fund account. That will be fifty-two thousand a year out and over a hundred and forty thousand going in, every month?’

“It will vary, Mum. When the sales drop off the expenses probably won’t. A lot of the expenses are manufacture of product, as well as packaging and postage. That stays as a fixed portion of the sales, so goes up and down with that.”

“I think that we need to get you to the accountant with this. It may change how he deals with your accounts. He may want you to draw down from what Peter is holding and invest it.”

“I also need to talk to the lawyer about getting my gender changed and having a new birth certificate issued in my current name. I hope the change can be done without shouting it to the hilltops.”

“I’ll talk to your father about this when he gets home. Hopefully, the doctor has enough of the paperwork completed to issue a certificate of sex change. Once we have that, we can start on the rest.”

“If I have my own bank account opened, we could transfer a smaller amount to that to tide me over for everyday expenses. Band related expenses can be covered with a transfer from the Uni Fund, unless it can be put on Peter to pay from our account.”

“Where did you get all this information at your age?”

“Maths questions and a course on ‘Everyday Living and Finances’ that we did in Clifton.”

She then looked at the other emails. There was one from Cassandra Leigh, which had three attachments. Willow went back to the printer and printed them off. She took them back to Wendy.

“OK, what else are you surprising me with?”

“One is an invitation to us all to the wedding of Cassie and Terry, two weeks from today, at our church. It’s taking place at four, on the Sunday, and it’s the day before the beginning of the next term. Gina will be in the Cathedral, so I’m good for the church.”

“That’s close, but we can do it. We can even afford a couple of very nice dresses. We will have to go shopping next weekend. You’ll be in the Cathedral, so that’s doable. What are the others?”

“One is the official request for my playing of the organ at the event. I’ll be here on that day, so it’s also good. She has given a list of the music and the hymns. I expect that the Reverend has a similar email.”

“The third one?”

“It’s a booking for the dance band to play at the reception, a copy of what has been sent to Peter, and there is a three-thousand-pound payment for our services. That’s twice what Malcolm pays us. Gina will be playing until five, so I expect that we’ll start the music a little after six when the speeches are over. We can do the bridal waltz without her. There is also another email from Peter advising us of the booking. The whole band will get that. There was another email, from Racheal and Rick, with an invitation to their wedding at the registry office, next Thursday. I thought she was a little flushed last night.”

“So, no church wedding, that’s sad. Did she mention a reception?”

“That’s when they push the boat out. It’s at the Britannia Hotel, that big white place next to the Cathedral. I expect that a place like that has several reception rooms, depending on the size of the guest list. The wedding is at two, with the reception starting at five. I suppose that means two dresses, Mum, with the events just a few days apart.”

Willow sat at her laptop and acknowledged the emails that needed it. Then they had a light tea, knowing that Ashley would have something in the club. They sat and watched TV until he came home. When he was told about the weddings, he agreed to go with them to Coventry the next Saturday to get a new suit. When he was shown the latest statement, he wrote notes for himself to ring the accountant and the doctor on Monday.

Monday morning, Willow had breakfast with her parents and waved them off as they took their separate ways to work. She locked up and went for a walk along the river, then back through the village. As she passed the church, she heard her name being called, turning to see Gina coming towards her.

“I was just coming to see you, friend. I looked at my emails and had the shock of my life when I saw how much we had earned in the last month!”

“It was rather a lot, wasn’t it? Have you any idea of what you’ll be doing with it? I emailed Peter to pay a thousand a week into my Uni Fund account, and Dad will be phoning the accountant today.”

“I really haven’t thought about it. I hate to think of Peter sitting on it and getting the interest.”

“What about buying a house? You could put a hundred thousand on it, in joint names with your mother, with your present home as collateral, I’m sure that there wouldn’t be a bank that would refuse to give you a mortgage, one you could pay off by summer. If you sell the present place, you may be able to pay it off sooner.”

“That would be good. Something with three bedrooms would give us both one and the third could be the work room. It would be nice to be out of that box room I’m in.”

They walked to Willow’s home, and she fired up the laptop. It didn’t take long to find a newish house on the Birmingham Road for just over four hundred thousand. They scrolled through the pictures and Gina got excited. She stood and they hugged.

“Thank you, friend. I’m going home to show this to Mum and see what she thinks. See you tomorrow.”

Willow watched her friend skip up the road to the junction. Then she went back on the laptop to look for somewhere in an industrial area for a recording studio, just for interest sake. It was Gina’s comment about Peter keeping the interest that was making her think of investing in property. She would be living here until she went to Cambridge, so didn’t need a house as much as Gina, and after that, who knows. She found one place that looked right but had a tenant. She realised that if the lease ran for five years, she would be nineteen when it ran out. She would still be at Cambridge, and another two years would allow her to spend the money to create a recording studio. All it needed was the band to keep selling albums.

Her phone rang and she saw that it was Jacob.

“Hello, you.”

“Hello yourself, sweetheart. I thought I’d call and talk about all this money I now have. Dad nearly fell out of his chair when I showed him the latest statement. Have you thought about what you’re doing with your money?”

“I was just looking at commercial property, wondering if I could buy a place now, and convert it to a recording studio later. That place where we made the album wasn’t much bigger than one of the school classrooms.”

“That sounds like a plan. Did you find somewhere?”

“There’s a unit on Hood Street, in the city. It looks good but has a tenant with a five-year lease. It’s just over four hundred and fifty but returns over thirty-one a year. We can’t open as a business at fourteen, so a few years won’t matter. Dad’s organising a visit to the accountant, so I’ll talk about it to him.”

“If you go with it, can I join you as co-owner?” I’ve spoken to my Dad, and he agrees that I’m not really farming stock. Racheal is studying agriculture, and Rick sounds like he’d be happy living on a farm, so they’ve been talking to my parents about taking over after they get married. You did get the invitation, I hope.”

“I did, and we’re going into the city to get some glad rags on Saturday. Did you get the notification of the big wedding in two weeks? We’re playing the reception.”

“I did. Peter forwarded the booking to me. We’re not playing at Racheal’s reception; the hotel organises a DJ. She’ll be with Rick tomorrow and could open up a bit more about their plans. Rick has made almost enough to buy the farmhouse outright, which would let my folks retire early. They’ve been looking at brochures, or else they may buy somewhere in Stoneleigh.”

“Ask Gina about that, tomorrow. We were looking at newer houses in the village and she seemed keen to drag her mother to look at one. If they buy, her home may be up for sale. It’s only a two-bed and a box room and is what they call ‘character’ but it’s been in her family for nearly a hundred years.”

“That might work. What time are you getting to the club?”

“Before ten. I want to be there to make sure the stage is ready to go before the others turn up. I really don’t know how it will work out. I’m hoping for a friendly swapping of information and advice.”

“We’ll just have to take it as it comes. See you in the morning. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

While she had been talking, her phone had pinged a few times, so she scrolled through the messages. There was one each from Herb, Victor, Brent and Roy, all saying much the same thing about their sudden wealth. There was one from Bruce Miller, asking if there was any news. She rang him back.

“Hello, Bruce, it’s Willow.”

“Willow, I texted to see what was happening.”

“A couple of things. One is that I had an operation a few weeks ago that aligns my body with my school birth certificate, so that story now has an ending.”

“Just a beginning, my girl. Now is the time you really get going. What else?”

“The second are two weddings. The first is at the registry office between Rick Saxon and Racheal Epstein. That’s Thursday week at two. The next one is the society affair between Cassandra Leigh and Terry. According to my invitation, he is Viscount Terrance Appleby. That’s at Stoneleigh church, the following Sunday afternoon, with the reception in the club, with Summer Rose playing.”

“They both sound like events that a social pages reporter should be covering. What else?”

“Tomorrow, there will be a gathering of a few local bands at the club. It’s going to be the debut of some new songs. Wednesday, we’ll be back again to play proper sets, with video and audio recordings made.”

“What are the bands?”

“G-Force, which are a group of fourth-year students; Rick and the Hikers, who you know, and a seven-piece version of Summer Rose. We plan to record two complete albums; one a cover, and the other is all new material.”

“Now, that I can’t miss. Can I bring a photographer?”

“I’ve told a teen magazine that it won’t be allowed, but I expect that they’ll use their phone with zoom. Tell him to keep it unobtrusive. I think that the TV reporter that did the interview on Saturday will be there, I told him the same.”

“Ah! That interview. I was wondering if there’s a chance to talk to your choir ladies for the paper.”

“If you’re there Wednesday, they will be coming along for a practise in the evening. Tom, the choir master from the Cathedral, has said that he’ll help turn them into a semi-professional group. I was doing the teaching but had reached the end of my choral knowledge.”

“Thanks for the information. I’ll be along on both days, as I need to get out of the office to show my boss that I’m on top of things. See you then.”

There was another text, this one from her father.

‘Picking up letter from doc today. Have the cash asked for. Appt. tonight with accountant.’

She texted her thanks back, then went to see what she could find for a late lunch. In the afternoon, she did something that she had left for too long. She went to her room and played violin for three hours until her left hand was aching. Then she went down to the kitchen to see about preparing their dinner, so that they could have it as soon as her parents got home.

When Ashley gave her the money, she put five hundred in each of three envelopes, writing the names on the front. The two who would be filming were Frank and Dave, with the audio expert called Xavier. She had found out that all three were in the same year as the Gees. She put the thousand into another envelope and gave it back to her father.

“Can you put that in the till, Dad, as payment for the two days. I’m hoping that it will return a lot more than that.”

They ate the dinner and Wendy told them that she would tidy up. Ashley drove Willow into the city to see the accountant. When they arrived, the girl in reception wanted her to sign her copy of the album, and then they were sitting in front of the accountant. He looked at the latest account, adding it to her file.

“What do you want to do, Miss Rose?”

“I want to set up a limited liability company, called WR Holdings. I want to open a bank account in that name with me and my parents as co-directors. I want to look at commercial properties in the area, with regard to converting one into a recording studio inside five years, or so.”

“That’s a pretty concise list. What brought you to those conclusions?”

“One is that I’m underage and can’t purchase real estate in my own name, and the other is that we recorded our CD in one of the best places in the city with a studio hardly big enough to swing a guitar. I’m looking at somewhere in excess of twenty-five hundred square feet. There’s one, at the moment, on Hood Street at four-fifty with a sitting tenant that returns over thirty-one a year for five years. If they move out, then good. If they don’t, I’ll have an income producing property that’s fully paid for, which should make getting something else much easier. I’m not counting on my income being as good as this last month, but we’ll be working hard to keep it going. I still have school and uni to get through.”

He laughed.

“Then why do you need me?”

“Because I’m not an accountant. If you don’t want to deal with my affairs, we can always go somewhere else.”

His face tightened.

“You, young lady, are the brightest teenager I’ve ever met. I’m happy to look after you to the best of my abilities, seeing that you’re totally serious about investing. I’ve had clients in your position who only wanted to buy big houses and flash cars, mostly ending up having to sell them a few years later. You have a good head for business on top of your other talents. I saw the interview on Saturday and was mightily impressed by you and your friends but wondered if you’d been coached by the reporter to lift his ratings.”

“The reporter turned up thinking that he’ll be interviewing a few giggly children. Boy! Did he get a surprise when he walked in on our choir practise.”

“What is your expectations for your career?”

“I have another two months of playing the organ in the Cathedral, alternating with Gina Summer. Then we have a big school concert there in May, which could lead to an invitation to fill one evening at the Proms. I think that we may be performing at a few dinner dances during the year, as the Blue Coat School Dance Band, splitting the payments between us and the school. Our manager is talking about us having gigs during the summer, but nothing has been finalised. There has been a suggestion that the orchestra will be playing the Messiah in the Cathedral before Christmas, but the school has to sign off on that one. We will be recording two complete albums to show our manager and may have to go into a studio to record them properly. So, my expectations are that my income will remain close to last month for a good six months, or more.”

“That comes to over a million.”

“I know that but remember that I’m only getting one seventh of the take.”

“You’re telling me that this statement is for just one seventh of the profit?”

“That’s right.”

“Look, I like your idea of commercial property. They’re nowhere near the trouble that owning houses to rent gives you. I will look seriously at what you want and get back to you. If I think I’ve found something, I’ll be in touch. Anything else?”

“I’ve spoken to Jacob Epstein, the lad in the interview, and he has told me that he wants to join me in getting the property.”

“I do the Epstein farm books. I had the idea that he could take over the farm.”

“Not happening. It’s possible that his sister and her husband will take it over. Her husband is Rick Saxon, from the band, Rick Sacks and the Hikers. He’s made a few hundred thousand from his viral video, so can fund any improvements that they want to make.”

“Thank you for that. I have an appointment with his parents at the end of the week. I wondered why they wanted to see me outside the usual tax period. I will set up the company and the bank account. You’ll need to go to the bank, together, to sign the papers. It’s going to be a pleasure dealing with someone as level-headed as yourself.”

They stood and Ashley shook hands with the accountant. On the way to the car, he laughed.

“That was interesting, my girl. He ran into that brick wall you can erect instantly. Gina has told me that they used to call you ‘Wonderful Willow’ at school. You just showed me one of your superpowers.”

“I may be small and a teenager, Dad, but I didn’t come down with the last shower. Years of being bullied gave me that power, but it came at a price. I refuse to roll over for any man who thinks that he knows it all. Talking about men who know it all, when are we seeing the lawyer?”

“Either end of the week or the beginning of next. I have all the paperwork to get your name change started. If we start the company, we’ll need him as well to guide us through the regulations.”

“Thanks Dad. If we have you and Mum as directors, then I can legally share profits with you. If we do set up a recording studio, we will do it as up to date as possible. I’ll talk to our tech guys tomorrow and find out what their future plans are. They’re cluey guys, and it will be interesting to see what they’ve come up with for the recording.”

They went home and Willow took herself off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

In the morning, Willow wore jeans and a sweater, with boots. Today was going to be for working and also networking. When she arrived at the club, there was a people mover outside. It had Frank, Dave and Xavier waiting for her. She was greeted by Xavier’s father.

“Hello. I’m pleased to meet you, Willow. Xavier has been telling me a lot about you and your band. I haven’t been able to be at any of your shows as I work nights. Once we unload, I’ll be off to get some sleep and Frank’s father will pick them up in the late afternoon.”

“We would have been on stage ourselves by then. We have the G-Force in the morning and Rick Sacks and the Hikers will be here as well, so it’s going to be an interesting day. These guys will set up and do their thing, but all we ask is for them to be ready to record sessions tomorrow.”

“I’m told that you’re paying them.”

“Yes, I offered them five hundred each for the two days’ work, plus the software for home if it’s needed. Did you get that, Xavier?”

“I did, Willow. It’s an updated suite from the one we use at the school. I got a package for you as well. Will you have time to see how it works today.”

“I’ll see what I can do as we get going. Jacob will need to learn it as well.”

His father coughed.

“Willow, I was asked by the other two fathers if I would make sure the boys are paid.”

“Certainly, sir, I have their envelopes here.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out the three envelopes and handed them to him.

“The guys will be fed while they’re here, on both days, so you don’t have to worry about that. If we unload, I’ll introduce you to Malcolm, who is the boss here, as well as the Village Manager.”

The guys opened up the back of the people mover and started hauling out rolls of cable and various boxes. Willow introduced Malcolm to Xavier’s father and then showed him the back room while the boys commandeered a table to put the recording unit on.

“Have you seen any of the shows that they’ve recorded?”

“I have, and I’ve been impressed, especially with that dinner dance that you played. Professional bands would line up to shake your hand.”

“It’s the last part of that that is on our website. We can’t give the boys any cut of those sales as it was a school production, but if any of what they record here goes onto the websites for distribution, I’ll organise a one-off payment as our technical team. It could help them to find jobs after they leave school.”

“That would be really good. None of them have any thoughts about doing anything but working in media.”

“The reporter from the local TV station will be here tomorrow, so they’ll have some experienced media people watching what they do. I don’t know who they’ll be bringing, but I expect there would be at least one professional cameraman.”

He smiled, shook her hand, and left to get some sleep. Willow started to help the boys set up, telling them which instrument used which amplifier. They loved the PA, as they could use the Wi-Fi facility to take a feed from it, as well as setting up individual microphones. The recording unit was plugged into a socket with an extension lead, and Xavier had his laptop plugged in as well. Willow took it all in, determined to be able to use the new software that was nestled in her bag.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 18

As they were getting things set up, Gina and Maisie arrived, followed, a few minutes later, by the G-Force, who had been driven there by Jim’s father. They had their guitars, and the drummer had brought his own cymbals. G-Force set up and Jim reset one of the Yamahas to suit his style. Willow was interested in hearing how much the band had moved on.

They played a song from the blues show, while Xavier moved sliders on the mixer, and motioned Frank and Dave to make subtle changes in microphone placement. Willow stood next to him with her headphones plugged in, hearing how the slight changes improved the sound.

When the band had finished that song, Xavier asked them how they wanted to work things, considering that the real recording would be tomorrow. Geoff looked at Willow.

“OK if we do some new stuff?”

“Certainly, you’re here to do whatever makes you happy, and allows you to put together a set for tomorrow morning.”

Xavier turned to her.

“Is it all right to record everything?”

“How much will this unit save?”

“About thirty hours’ worth.”

“Then record everything and fine tune as you go. Remember the settings for each band to save time tomorrow. I’ll stay out of your way, it’s your call with the bands, you’re running the show as far as recording goes. It might pay to make a note of any track that stands out, in case it gets fluffed in the morning.”

“Got you, Willow. Thank you for this opportunity and for having faith in us.”

He called out to the band and then to Frank.

“Geoff, after Frank uses the clapper, you’re free to go. Just let me know when you’re stopping, or else I end up with minutes of nothing. Frank, clapper time.”

Dave had one of the cameras ready, nodded to Frank who snapped the clapper board shut and walked out of shot. Willow noted that they had bought good cameras that recorded to memory cards. The band started to play some material that Willow had never heard before, she thought that it may be their own stuff, and she liked it.

As G-Force was playing, members of Summer Rose and the Hikers arrived, taking seats in the back of the room, alongside Willow, who was determined not to poke her nose into the session developing in front of her. Racheal came in with Rick and Jacob, sitting each side of her. Jacob gave her a hug and a kiss. They spoke softly, so not to be picked up by the microphones.

“How are you, Racheal?”

“Good, Willow, good. You got my invitation?”

“We did, we’re going into the city on the weekend to get all three of us outfitted.”

“Dad’s taking Jacob in on Saturday, he’s never had a proper suit before.”

“I’m sure that he will look like a million dollars.”

“He’d better. He’ll be standing beside Rick during the wedding.”

“Who do you have beside you?”

“I was hoping that you’d fill that space. After all, I do blame you for the rush.”

“How on earth did I bring your marriage on?”

“You remember overdubbing the hit song? Well, the week after it went viral, the band had a little celebration. Rick and I got a bit drunk, checked into the Britannia and went at it like rabbits. Up until then we had taken precautions, but that night of bliss had consequences. I don’t regret it for a moment, but it did torpedo the chance of a church wedding.”

“You could always have a second wedding in the church, if you want to.”

“Maybe later. Anyway, I’ll have an apricot dress, so you can have something similar. Knee length for a civic ceremony, and then I don’t have to change for the reception. We’re spending the night in the hotel again.”

“I’ll be happy to stand beside you, Racheal. That will make you due in the middle of October, then. It would be nice to have a christening in St. Marys.”

They all sat and listened as the G-Force played some of the old blues, some sixties pop and quite a few new songs. When they indicated that they had finished, Xavier and the others took a break while the bands changed over. He came over to Willow.

“Never in a million years did I think that I’d be recording a band with a world-wide viral hit.”

“It will be interesting to see what they do with that song, now that they have an organist.”

He went back to his mixing and Geoff came over to Willow.

“Zara couldn’t make it this morning. Would it be possible to let her do a few songs at the end?”

“Perfectly all right, Geoff. I liked your new stuff, and you mixed up the material nicely.”

“That’s from watching you play for hours, while keeping it interesting. The rest of us realised that if we do more than half an hour of what we like, the audience would be drowning us out with their snoring.”

Willow was watching the tech boys as the two cameramen took the memory cards out of the cameras, put them in plastic bags and wrote on the bag. She went over and had a look. Frank looked up from his writing.

“You’ve allowed us to do something new. We’re capturing a complete set and saving it separately. We have enough cards for ten sessions. That will allow us to work more easily with the post-production. Will we be allowed to stay a little later, and you will be able to see how that’s done.”

“We have all day, Frank. Tomorrow, I have to stay because I have my choir group coming in later.”

When Rick and the Hikers were ready to go, the crowd moved to the back of the room, joining Bruce, who had arrived. They stayed quiet as the clapper went down and the session started. They kicked off with the hit single, with Willow now hearing it as it would be performed on stage, then went on with another ten new songs, finishing with another from the video. As they played, Willow was watching how Frank and Dave were working, with Dave keeping his camera on the whole band, or sections of the band, while Frank moved around, concentrating on individuals, and taking close-ups of the guitarist’s hands as they played.

When the Hikers had finished, they all took a break and had the light lunch that Malcolm had prepared. In the quiet hubbub of eating, Willow and Gina sat together.

“I showed Mum that house on my computer and asked her if we could think about it. She phoned the agent and we looked at it yesterday, then went to her bank. They looked at my two statements, rang Peter to verify that he would release money, looked at the paid-up title, and offered us a short-term mortgage on the spot. Peter transferred a hundred thousand from my account and we went back to the agent to make an offer.”

“That was quick. Did they accept?”

“We offered them four hundred thousand, with immediate payment, and they agreed. It seems that they’re due to fly to Canada next week and asked us if we’d take the furnishings for ten thousand, which we were happy to. Everything in the old house only sits where it has been for fifty years or more, so wouldn’t be any good in the new place. We move in during the first week of term. I’ll be leaving one house in the morning and going home to another in the afternoon.”

Jacob leaned over from the other side of Willow.

“My folks may be looking for somewhere in the village. Can they come and look at where you are now?”

Gina spoke to Maisie, who wrote he number on a piece of paper, which Gina gave to Jacob.

“Here you are, Jacob. Get your folks to ring Mum and arrange a visit.”

She put her hand on Willow’s arm.

“Now, friend, have you decided what you want to do with your money?”

“I have my accountant looking at commercial property. Jacob and I will be going halves in buying something. It may be somewhere that we can convert to a recording studio, or else it may just be an investment. With our share of it, we will have an easy time getting banks to fund us with a property portfolio, maybe we can buy an existing studio, or even build one from scratch in a few years. If you and Brent are a couple, you will be able to start something like that once you have the house paid for.”

Gina smiled and went to sit next to Brent on a table with the rest of the band. Jacob smiled.

“That girl is great! She follows good advice. What are we buying?”

“Don’t know yet. The accountant is looking around for a starter for us. The one I saw has tenants, but he may come up with somewhere else. He’s also going to create a company with me and my parents as co-directors. He’s the guy your family see, so it might pay you to do the same. Kids like us can’t sign agreements for property, but we can do it with adults who are part of the company.”

“Now that’s good thinking, my love. I’m going to talk to Rach and Rick about that. My folks are too old-world to understand that sort of thing.”

He got up and went to sit next to Racheal. His seat was taken by Bruce.

“Good set-up you have here, Willow. I’ve spoken to Geoff while the others were playing and will talk to Rick and his guys while you’re up there. I have taken some pictures on my phone. Just today will give me at least three articles. I had a look in the church before I came in and took pictures of the plaques on the walls to give me some background for the society wedding. I’ll tell you, in advance, that one article will be about the four-times great niece of the third baroness, playing the organ for the daughter of the sixth baron. It’s too good to pass up.”

“I’ll forgive you, Bruce. I doubt that it will increase the number of people wanting selfies, though.”

“If nothing else, those wanting selfies may be from a higher strata. I can see you getting invitations to some classy shows. Now, you were obviously in the middle of some planning with your friends. Anything I should know?’

“Just that Gina and her mother are buying a newer house in the village, and that Jacob’s sister may be taking over the running of the farm, with Jacob’s parents likely to look at Gina’s old home to retire to. Nothing the world needs to know about, Bruce, Mister Reporter.”

“You, my girl, would make one hell of a member of parliament or diplomat. Your organising skills are too good to remain behind a keyboard and singing.”

“That may be so, but I just saw Zara come in, so we had better get this show back on the road, catch you later.”

She got up and went over to Zara, standing there with a lady who must be her mother.

“Zara, welcome to our little band session. Geoff told me that you were coming, how long have you got?”

“Less than an hour, I had to force Mum into bringing me, and we do have somewhere to go later.”

Willow took Zara to where Geoff was sitting.

“Zara doesn’t have long, so you’d better get the G-men back on stage and let her have her set. I’ll get everyone else on the move.”

She went to the tech guys and told them that G-Force will be starting soon, with Zara out front, so would go on before Summer Rose. They started getting ready as the band were setting up. She went back to Zara’s mother.

“I’ve got things going so that Zara can sing her songs, and then you’ll be able to leave. I suggest that you come over and sit with us. Malcolm can get you a drink if you want.”

“It looks like you’re the leader here. I expected one of the older ones to be in charge.”

“No, ma-am, my club, my rules.”

“Your club?”

Well, I’m a member and my Dad’s on the board. I paid for these two days so, I guess, the room is mine in that time. Will Zara be able to come back tomorrow for the actual recording session?”

“No, we have other arrangements.”

“OK. Now sit and enjoy.”

She went over to the tech crew.

“This may be the only chance we have to get Zara recorded. Make it as good as you can. You can talk to Geoff later about slipping the songs into their set if he wants.”

They nodded, and Willow went back to sit down next to Zara’s mother.

“Have you heard Zara with the band?”

“No. I was thinking that it was just a bit of fun. What you’re doing here is more than fun, though, isn’t it?’

“It’s us trying to get some new material recorded. Those other guys are Rick Sacks and the Hikers, and they have made close to two million pounds with their viral video and downloads. You may have seen me and my quartet at the school dinner dance. We are in the national top ten and will be trying out a new album when this session is over. It’s not just fun, but a serious step in our musical careers. Geoff and his friends may have only played in small local events, but the DVD that they’ll have after this will let them get as serious as the rest of us. Let’s listen to what Zara can do.”

Frank snapped the clapper shut and the talk died as the G-Force started the intro to the first of six songs with Zara out front. She was good, which Willow already knew from her school choir involvement. She was also an entertainer, once the fear of singing to an audience left her. The six songs were good enough to get some applause after a moment’s silence. Her mother laid her hand on Willow’s arm.

“I had no idea that she was so good. Will you be able to help her, and the band, if she wants to take it further?”

“Any way I can. Before you rush off, I see Bruce Miller, from the Observer, coming our way. I’ll leave you with him, it’s time I was up there.”

She, and Gina, gave Zara a hug as they passed. Geoff had a big grin on his face. They all went up on stage and Brent re-arranged his drums, while Gina and Willow reset the Yamaha’s.

“We’ll do ‘Journey’ first, OK?”

Jacob grinned.

“Can’t wait to hear this, love. Herb has bought himself a sustain unit that can be used at low power. It should make this sound really like top ten material.”

They waited while the tech guys made themselves ready. Willow looked over and saw Zara talking to Bruce while her mother was on her phone. Frank got ready with the clapper and the talk died. Once that snap occurred, Willow waited a few seconds and then started the intro to the first track of the new album. As they played, Herb’s new sound was different, but made the song sound more heartfelt. As they worked through the album tracks, she saw Zara and her mother clutching each other, tissues to their eyes. Racheal was being held by Rick and Maisie was sitting on her own, tears running down her face.

Zara and her mother were still there when they finished the set and went for a break. She hugged Willow.

“That was just beautiful. It tugged at my heart. If you play it live, you’ll have to have packs of tissues on every seat.”

“More like a concession selling tissue boxes.”

They had a comfort break and a drink before going back on stage. While the tech guys were getting ready and the band was making sure they were in tune, Willow spoke into her microphone.

“What we’re about to play is something we worked on, back before that double blue concert last year. This is the first time in public, so don’t expect us to sound like the last session. This is the Other Side of Summer Rose.”

After the clapper sounded, they got into the first track of Kansas, seeing some shock on several faces, including Malcolm, behind the bar. The band now sounded better, with Jacob and his effects box and Herb with his sustain. Willow had listened to the original album, and could imagine them on a big stage, in front of thousands, with a huge bank of big amps behind them. ‘Dust in the Wind’ was an oasis in the stadium rock, with Jacob’s guitar and singing making it his own, the others singing back-up in harmony. Then they were into the final few tracks, finishing on a power chord.

There was a few seconds of silence, and then the other two bands stood up, stamped their feet and whoo-whoo’ed. Summer Rose had a group hug and then went down off the stage to get more hugs all round.

Rick gave her a hug.

“Now, that was different! Where has the rock band been hiding all this time?”

“Behind the curtain, Rick, waiting to pounce. Like that new material of yours. If you don’t mind me saying, it made most of your old album sound insipid.”

“I don’t mind a bit. It wasn’t as good as we could do. We have had the time, and the money, to realise the things that we had held back by the need to be working instead of playing. We’ve been in our lock-up rehearsal room for weeks. We have more that we can round a show out with. All we need is somewhere to play.”

“Go and see Peter with the video and audio that we’ll give you. If it’s used, just list the audio and visual guys and give them a percentage. They leave school soon, and need all the help they get for their future.”

“I’ll do that. Where can we say it was recorded.”

“Just list it as recorded on site, by WR Holdings. This isn’t a proper studio, just a room rented to us.”

“Can we pay something towards the cost?”

“You already have by being here.”

They all confirmed that they would be back in the morning, including Zara, now with a mother who had realised that what her daughter was doing was important to her. Most of the others left, leaving Willow and Gina, Maisie, Jacob, Rick and Racheal, Bruce and the tech boys. They all pulled seats around Xavier. He pulled two of the bags with the memory cards and slipped the cards into adaptors that fitted into USB slots in his laptop.

“This is where we do something that took a lot of time for the school concerts. If you have a look at the screen, you’ll see that it’s split into three parts. One is the audio, and the others are the two cameras. It’s easier with a big monitor to look at, but this will show you how it works.”

He moved a bar on the audio until there was a big soundwave.

“That’s the clapper. I’ll synchronise Dave’s card with that.”

He advanced the vision until the shot showed the clapper just closing.

“Now, we start those two together. I’m using the set with Zara as it’s the shortest. Frank’s camera doesn’t need to be in sync, so I’ll just advance it to match the others, once he starts filming.”

They heard the sound coming from the speaker, with the vision matching it. Frank’s vision only showed the floor until he focussed on Zara. Xavier stopped the three screens and advanced Franks vision until Zara’s face and body exactly matched the wider view.

“The biggest thing with this system is that we can now play all three streams together. When I see something that Frank filmed, I can click on his stream and it replaces the other in the master, until I go back to Dave’s camera. This allows us to end up with a final product with multiple views without laborious cut and paste, in real time. When we’ve seen the set, I can cut an audio, or a video disc immediately.”

They watched as he swapped screens. When the track finished, he saved it to his hard drive as ‘Zara track one fin.’ He then called up the file and played them the track back on full screen. It looked as good as anything they had seen on TV music shows. Rick was agog.

“Xavier, if we choose one of our tracks as a single, you can separate that out and give us a track which we can put on the website, and an album, complete that we can sell as a download?”

“If you want, the resolution is good enough to send to someone to make DVDs. All you need, after that, is to add an intro and credits, cover art and a load of disc cases. It’s what we do with the school concerts, and nobody has complained about the quality of them. What this gives us is the chance to produce a final product in a tenth of the time that we’ve spent before.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“We will do each band as a separate session, with Willow taking two sessions. Hopefully, you’ll all be a tight as you’ve been today. Then, we leave the microphones, cameras, and cables with Willow, as they’re her property. I’ll take this unit home and work on all the sessions there, with my big monitor. I should have an audio CD, and a showable DVD, for you by the weekend. I’ll also supply a memory stick with the digital version of the album, and another with the single. That should give you enough to stream. Then I give Willow this unit, she already has the software and enough other kit in her bag to work with it.”

“Look, if you do that for us, the Hikers will pay you a thousand on delivery. What about you, Willow?”

“Because we have two sessions, I’m prepared to pay the boys two thousand, as long as they supply whatever Geoff wants free of charge. When you stream, Rick, make sure you list the tech crew that made the video.”

“We certainly will. It took us a week to make the video of our album, and that was only a single view. This will knock that one for six.”

“Just make sure you charge the right amount. No more pound-a-pop, we’ve charged a fiver per disc, so the double is ten pounds.”

“How many have you sold?”

“At last count, about seventy thousand.”

“Wow! That’s almost as much as we’ve earned in several weeks. We undersold ourselves.”

Bruce put a hand on his arm.

“You didn’t undersell, Rick. What you put out was, as you’ve come to realise, a little less than perfect. I would think that ninety percent of the album buyers did so because of one very good song. It didn’t matter if the others didn’t do much for them, a pound to have the single would have been money well spent. With what I heard today, every song is worth a pound. I wouldn’t be putting more than one as free view.”

“I hear you, Bruce. I’ll have to talk to the others about this. I think that Willow has been right, we need a good manager working for us.”

“With Peter, you’ll also get Marcus Waddington to promote you. You can ask to do local area shows until the album takes off. By that time, who knows where you’ll be asked to play. Just give yourselves time and peace to write more songs like the ones you played today.”

“All right. Who did your cover art, Willow?”

“My Mum. She’s a graphic artist. If you want her to work on your album, talk to her at your reception with an idea of what you want it to look like. You don’t want it streamed until you finish your honeymoon.”

Jacob and Willow hugged and kissed, then Racheal and Rick left with him in tow. Gina and Maisie left, after both giving Willow a hug. She went up on stage to turn off all the equipment as Xavier put the recording unit and his laptop in bags to take with him.

“Frank’s father should be picking us up. Willow. We’ll go outside and wait for him. It’s been a very exciting day.”

She gave each of them hugs, and they left. Bruce had a wry smile.

“I’ll be waiting in my car when you get here in the morning. What I’ve seen has been brilliant. I can’t see how much better you all can get, after today.”

“There’ll be an audience, Bruce. A national teen magazine, with their sister adult magazine possible. Then there’s the TV people. All of them were here Saturday night and saw Summer Rose as an eleven-piece dance band, so that would be enough to get their juices going. Who knows who they’ll be bringing along. An audience always make a band work harder to please. It may not be a lot, but we will know that we’ve lifted.”

“All right, I’ll see you in the morning.”

After he had left, she went to the bar and asked Malcolm for a lemonade. When he put it in front of her, he leaned on the bar and looked her in the eyes.

“Willow Rose. I knew you were amazing, but today as shown you in a different light. You held that lot together and they all worked hard. I have to tell you that I will book G-Force for the dinner dance if that girl sings with them”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 19

Willow smiled at Malcolm’s statement.

“I told you that there were others who can take our place. Now, tomorrow, there will be at least twenty others. What’s the chance of putting on some food, even something light, between the end of the recording and the time that the choir get here.”

“It will be simple. I could do pie and chips, sausage and chips, egg and chips or chips on their own. With some bread and marge, you could always make chip butties.”

“That sounds good. If there’s any extra cost, let me know. I’m feeling really good about the recordings tomorrow. Offer them the food for free, I’m good for it.”

“I realise that, now. I just heard you telling that Rick how many albums you’ve sold at a tenner each. That’s serious money.”

“It’s serious enough for Maisie and Gina moving into a modern house on Birmingham Road in a couple of weeks. I’m looking for commercial property. It’s been brilliant, but who knows how long it will last.”

“After seeing those two sets of yours, I expect that it could be years.”

Willow laughed.

“I don’t know if I can last the pace. Anyway, I’m off now, see you in the morning.”

She walked out of the club, seeing that the boys must have been picked up. She walked home, thinking about the day. She had to grin when she thought about what her mother would say about Racheal’s admission. She wasn’t home long before Wendy arrived. Together, they worked to make dinner, with Wendy having to sit down when she was told about Racheal’s night of passion. When Ashley got home, they had dinner and Willow had to tell them about the three bands and waxed lyrical amount the new equipment.

She needed to go to bed early and was asleep quickly.

On Wednesday morning, she was up early and ready to go, even before her parents left for work. She was at the club at nine-thirty and had to wait five minutes for Malcolm to turn up. He opened up, and she went through and turned on the lights in the back room. She was up on the stage, switching on the equipment, when Bruce walked in.

“I see that I didn’t beat you as I thought I would. You must be excited about today.”

“I am, Bruce. I just hope it all goes to plan. Can you help by tidying a few tables that we used yesterday, we normally have casuals in after the weekend, but will have to make-do now.”

He collected up the empty glasses and bottles, putting them on the bar, while she made sure that all was ready. Xavier and the others came in with the equipment. He pulled two DVDs out of his pocket.

“A little something, just for you. It’s the two sessions that the band did, just the vision that Dave took with the sound. It will be interesting to see if you do better. Everything from yesterday was as good as it could be. I’ve transferred all of the raw material to a remote drive, including the memory cards, so we’re clear to start fresh.”

She left him to set up, as the magazine reporter had walked in. Willow went over to greet her, and the others that were with her.

“Hello, Willow. You’ve met my photographer, he doesn’t have his usual camera, as requested. This lady is the editor of our main office, and the other lady is a reporter from our adult magazine. I believe that the choir that you’re training will be in later. Will it be all right if we stay for that?”

“Not a problem. Malcolm is putting on some basic food today. We don’t usually serve food on weekdays, but he has pies, sausages, eggs and enough chips to feed the five thousand. Find yourselves somewhere to sit, Malcolm can get you drinks and crisps.”

The bands started turning up and the noise in the room rose. The TV crew came in and Willow welcomed them, telling them to find seats near the back. Mister Bamborough arrived with the Head and Miss Russell. Willow acted like a hostess, told them about the food situation and to sit at the back. She went up on the stage as Zara came in with her mother, followed by Tom and a teenage girl. She looked around and saw that everyone was here and stood in front of the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Stoneleigh Club. This morning, I ask you to remain silent while we record our three bands. Each one will be playing a set of around a dozen songs, and our tech crew of Dave and Frank on cameras, and Xavier on the recording desk, will make sure that the sets are good to create audio CDs and video DVDs afterwards. Those in the media will be able to receive a DVD each, but please talk to me before using any video or stills from the raw material. The results will form the basis of new albums, so consider that you have an advance screening and should hold back until the albums are up on the websites. Each band will let you know where to look. The first band are all fourth formers at the Blue Coat School. They will do one song for a sound check and then we’ll record. A clapper board is used to synchronise the audio and visuals, so no talking until the set is finished. Welcome our first band, G-Force and Zara.”

Geoff and the others gave her a smile as they went on stage, made the changes that they wanted, and looked towards Xavier, who nodded. They played a Fleetwood Mac number that Willow had heard them play in the school rehearsal room. When Xavier nodded to Frank, the clapper came down and they started with Zara singing, then alternated between her on vocals and the others with their other new material. At the end of fourteen songs, they relaxed, and the spectators gave them some applause. Willow went up to stand next to Zara.

“I’m sure that the media will have some questions. We do have time for you to ask whatever has come into your heads.”

She arbitrated as the magazine, the TV, and Bruce asked questions. When that had run out of steam, the band left the stage. Willow went back to the microphone.

“There are some of you that have heard of our next band. They had a runaway success with a video that went viral two months ago. Since then, they have been laying low and writing original material. Please welcome Rick Sacks and the Hikers.”

As she left the stage, she could see the magazine editor on her phone. She sat with her band and watched as the Hikers got themselves ready. Rick walked up to the microphone.

“Before we play anything, I would like to thank Willow Rose for allowing us this opportunity to play this morning. Willow supplied the overdub of the church organ for our first, and only, hit so far. The organ on the audio is across the road in the church, and it turned an ordinary song into a world-wide hit. We will give you an up-to-date version this morning, but everything else is new material. Thank you for listening.”

They played the second-best song from the original album as their sound check. Then they went through the process up to the clapper board, starting the set with the stage version of ‘Love and Marriage’, followed by a dozen new tracks. When they relaxed, there was applause as Willow went on stage for question time. This time there were a lot more questions, understandable with the amount of fame that the band had garnered in the two months.

When that had run its course, Willow announced that there would be a break, with a light lunch served from platters that Malcolm was putting out on the bar. As they ate, the two media outlets were organising further interviews with both bands. Willow walked over to the teacher’s table.

“Good to see you this morning, Headmistress.”

“It’s good to be here Willow. I must say that you certainly have some interesting friends. I have heard that viral song but had no idea that it was you that played the organ on it. Funny that the first time you played the organ was with the Gees.”

“I know. Life does throw up mysterious links, doesn’t it?”

Mister Bamborough motioned towards the table where the tech boys were sitting.

“I see that you have the school techs with you. What did they get?”

“It’s pretty much the same kit that the school has, but the latest version. Have a chat with him, after, it takes hours off the post processing.”

“I will, what are Summer Rose going to play? More Carpenters?”

“No, sir. It’s going to be two separate sessions. One is a complete album of new material that I’ve called ‘Journey into Womanhood’. The other is a cover of an American band called Kansas. It’s something that we worked on as Blue Two before the school concert but had to shelve to do the Moody Blues set.”

“Is it loud and proud?”

“In the original, yes. But we keep the sound down to being bearable in a room this size, using some technical aids that they didn’t have in the eighties. In the day, they got the same effect with a bank of two-hundred-watt amps at number ten. We do it with the four small amps on the stage. If you saw the interview with the opera ladies last week, you’re welcome to stay, as they’ll be coming in around six-thirty.”

She left them and went back to her table. Gina grinned.

“So, we have the three most important people from the school here to listen, a TV reporter and a magazine editor. What else can happen?”

“Look towards the door, friend. The man we wanted to surprise has just walked in.”

Peter came over to their table, found a chair and sat beside the girls.

“I came into the village to have a talk with you about your house purchase, Gina. I was told that you were here. What’s going on?”

“We’re here to make some recordings, Peter. You’ve missed the G-Force with some new material that will be well worth your involvement. You’ve only just missed Rick Sacks and the Hikers play a completely new range of songs which is also worth latching on to. Rick is over there, next to his fiancée, and Geoff is there with that blonde girl and her mother. If you ask nicely, I’m sure that they’ll let you have a copy of the audio and video that we’ve already captured. We’ve told them, repeatedly, that you’re the man to make them famous. Don’t let us down. This afternoon, we’ll be playing a new album of Summer Rose material, written by Willow, and after that, we will play something totally different, which we’re calling the ‘Other side of Summer Rose’.”

He looked around.

“There are two other bands here?”

“Yep, and my Mum is over there if you want to talk about the house. I know nothing, I’m just a little girl.”

“When are you going to be on stage?”

“About another fifteen minutes, when we’ve finished lunch.”

He stood and pulled out his phone, hitting a speed dial. Then moved away.

“What’s the betting that Marcus will be coming in while we’re playing.”

“We could just mingle a bit to slow us down. That will let everyone digest.”

The two of them got up and went over to talk to the magazine people, and then the TV people. Both sets wanted to know when they were playing next. Willow pointed Peter out.

“Unless our manager has something up his sleeve, our next performance is here, Saturday week, where we play honky-tonk piano for a lot of inebriated locals to sing bawdy songs. The next will be two weeks later, at the end of the month, when we’ll also be here, but playing for a dinner dance.”

The door opened and Marcus rushed in.

“Time to get moving, friend.”

They rounded up the rest of the band and went up on the stage. As the others were tuning the guitars, Willow and Gina stood together.

“That was an interesting take-down of Peter, back there, friend.”

“I know, Willow. He just got under my skin, wanting to know the ins and outs of what is my business.”

The rest were ready to play, so they did a Carpenters number as the sound check. Willow spoke into her microphone.

“Please be extra careful to stay silent while we play this set. It will, hopefully, be our next album. Ladies, if you look at the other women who were here yesterday, you will see that they have brought boxes of tissues today. Be warned.”

The clapper came down and they played the album through. Willow winked at Gina when she saw the Head with a tissue to her eyes. It wasn’t every day that you can make the headmistress cry without getting into trouble. The women on the magazine table weren’t far behind in the tissue stakes. Willow thought she saw the photographer use his phone to take a sneak picture of the editor.

When they finished, there was some applause. Willow announced that there would be a Q and A after, but now they would take a comfort break and come back in a few minutes. The band left the stage to get a drink and a pee, with some questions about the set being asked. They all said ‘Later’.

When they were back on stage, Willow made the announcement that the next set was different and was ‘The Other Side of Summer Rose.’

While they played, Willow could see the other band members grooving along, and the Head with a big smile. When they finished, on a high, there was a short break before everyone started talking at once. Willow saw Peter and Marcus in a deep discussion. She announce the Q and A, and they spent a half an hour taking questions and trying to answer them truthfully. At the end, the band left the stage to be approached individually for discussion.

Mister Bamborough went over to Xavier to see what this new equipment did that the school kit didn’t. Peter and Marcus came up to Willow.

“What is all this, Willow? We manage your careers.”

“That’s correct, Peter, but all you’ve done in the last six weeks is manage our money and post stuff. There hasn’t been a whiff of interest in what we wanted to do next. What we set up for today was to give us some material that we can offer to you, without having to go into another city to sit in a pokey studio without any feeling. We will have a digital download of both the audio and the video of both those sets, along with a file that has enough resolution to make a DVD. Our tech guys will post-produce and the finished product will be ours, and nothing to do with the school.”

“So, how come there are these other bands?”

“I did the overdub for Ricks viral hit, and I played with Geoff on the Purple DVD. They’re friends, and they are both bands that need a good manager and a good promoter. I suggested you two, and I know Rick is already thinking of signing, so don’t prove me wrong. I didn’t see any clause in my contract that forced us to stay with you.”

“Haven’t we looked after you? There is the little request that there’s no performances while school’s on.”

“Here I am, with another week and a half of holidays to go. There’s enough time to have put something on, even if it’s just a TV spot. The local station is all sitting on that table, coming along to see this. That reporter from the teen magazine is there with her editor. She turned up at my house thinking that Gina and I were giggling teenies in a ‘manufactured band’. You haven’t covered yourself in glory, you know.”

“I’m not used to be talked to like this by a thirteen-year-old.”

“Then do something, for goodness sake. I’m starting to lose my patience with you, and my patience has a long fuse. Did what we play this afternoon sound like a hit album?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then pull your finger out. It has been suggested that we play as a dance band and the school would be happy to go along with that. Book a function room with a stage and we’ll be there. Make it Easter Saturday and I’m your girl. Other Saturdays until June are pretty much taken up, mainly playing here. From the end of July, we’re on holiday. I was hoping that you had something in mind. A suggested itinerary would be nice. There are two bands in this room who could round out the bill. You don’t even have to look any further than your nose. I won’t say anything to the others about this conversation if I start seeing emails telling us of suggested plans. Right?”

Marcus laughed.

“She has you there, Pete. I’ve been asking about booking something, but you’ve been dragging your feet. Why?”

“It’s working with someone so young, that’s the problem. We’ll have everyone looking over our shoulders.”

“You’ve just been totally ambushed by that ‘young girl’ Pete. I can see her tearing a new anus in anyone who suggested that she’s being mistreated. Take her advice. Let’s get both these bands on the books and send them out to the world this summer. I can think of a dozen places where they’ll be welcomed.”

Peter put his hand out to Willow.

“Pax, Willow. I’ve been scared of upsetting the school and the do-gooders. I see the Head over there. I’ll start by talking to them. Marcus, can you round up the leaders of the other bands and see what they intend to do. I’ll catch up with you.”

Willow took his hand.

“I’ll introduce Marcus around, Peter. He’ll be safe with me.”

“I’m glad someone is.”

As Peter walked away, Marcus looked down at Willow and grinned.

“That was what he needed. Sometimes he has about as much imagination as this table. Introduce me to your gig buddies.”

She took him to Rick first, introduced them and told Rick that Marcus professed to be able to arrange shows but that the only thing he had arranged, so far, was a recording studio. Marcus laughed.

“I deserved that one. Peter isn’t the only one who needs to get his finger out.”

He gave Rick his card, and they agreed on a time and place for a meeting with the whole band to talk about how they wanted to move further. Then, Willow took him to speak to Geoff and Zara.

“Geoff is someone I’ve seen on the school video, but Zara, you are new to me. Can I see anything that you’ve done.”

“If you saw Geoff in the concert, I played cello with Willow in the first act. For what we did today, you’ll have to wait until we get the recording.”

Willow got up and went over to Xavier, who was showing a very interested teacher the glories of the new software.

“Excuse me, sir. Xavier, do you still have that file with Zara that you did for us yesterday?”

“Yes, it doesn’t take up enough room to delete.”

“Can you please bring your laptop over to where she’s sitting and show it to her and the older guy she’s talking to, sorry sir, this won’t take long.”

“Not a problem, Willow. I would like to see what this new program can put out.”

They went back to the other table.

“Marcus, I believe that you may have met Mister Bamborough before. This young man is Xavier, who does the sound and post-production for the school concerts. Yesterday, as a demonstration, he did a quick job on one of Zara’s songs to show us how easy the system is. You can see how good Zara is from that.”

Xavier found the file and played the song on full screen. When Marcus watched it, her singing reminded him of Adele, and the band behind her was a tight as any he had heard. When the clip finished, Geoff was the first to speak.

“If that was a quick demo job, I’m looking forward to seeing what a DVD is going to look like.”

Marcus nodded.

“Just on that clip alone, I’m prepared to have you on stage. If I can organise a hall, would you and Summer Rose be prepared to perform in the next few weeks. I’ll work with Willow to get a date that works for her. It will be in Coventry, and I’ll try to get Rick and his band on board. Three good local bands with tracks in the charts will be guaranteed to fill the seats. What do you think, Willow?”

“I’ll have a look at the calendar and email you with some clear days, Marcus. We would have to fit a Saturday date between the times we play here and can do a Sunday evening because either Gina or I am playing organ in the Cathedral until five, for another two months.”

Marcus gave both Zara and Geoff his card.

“Give me a call next week before you go back to school. I would like to have a meeting with the whole band to listen to what you want to do. Hopefully, I would have a copy of your set to look at by then.”

Willow left them to it and went over to where Tom and his daughter sat.

“Hello, Tom, and – Sally, I believe.”

Sally jumped up and hugged her.

“OMG! Willow Rose even knows my name! Thank you so much for the pendant. I only take it off to shower. I could have kicked myself for missing seeing you the other night, but what I saw today was literally awesome! That set you played had me crying in the beginning but was so positive in the end. When will I be able to buy it?”

“That depends on our manager, who is over there talking to two of the teachers at school. He will organise to put it on the website after he has made the first batch of CDs and DVDs. Could be a couple of weeks. Are you staying for the choir?”

Tom answered for them.

“We’re staying, if only to let Sally see what her father does for a living in the Cathedral. You’re on again this Sunday, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I’m in at the usual time on Saturday. I have to go into the city with my parents for us to all get something for two weddings. I’ll be standing next to Racheal when she marries Rick, and Jacob will be the Best Man.”

“Two weddings?”

“The Sunday after, I play the church organ for Cassie and Terry, over at the church, and then we’re playing here for the reception.”

“Anyone I should know?”

“They don’t live around here anymore. Cassie’s ancestors used to own the Stoneleigh Abbey, and Terry is a viscount. Bruce Miller will be writing about them in the Observer. Now, if you’re staying, Malcolm will be putting on simple meals, mainly chips with something else. We don’t cook on weekdays, usually, but there are others who want to hang around to speak to the choir, mainly the editor of a woman’s magazine, and Bruce Miller.’

“I’ll go and talk to Bruce. I’ll leave Sally in your hands.”

“OK. Sally, how about I introduce you to the others.”

She took Sally’s hand and took her around the room, introducing her to the rest of Summer Rose, as well as what members of the other two bands had remained. When they got to Geoff and Zara, Willow introduced them.

“Sally, if you saw the concert from the Cathedral on the TV on Christmas Eve, Zara was in the choir that night.”

“And you were standing beside me after you came down from the organ. That was a real experience.”

Sally put her hand to her mouth.

“I wasn’t at home, but round a friend’s house. Her parents had the show on, and it sucked us in. Are you telling me that you played that fantastic organ piece. Willow, and then joined the choir for the last part. It was so uplifting, we all cried. Not as much as I did today, though.”

Zara laughed.

“Willow made Miss Russell and the Headmistress cry today. Those two may never have cried in their lives before. I’ll carry the vision with me for a long time but will never bring it up. The Head can wield a lot of power. Have you heard anything about the May concert, Willow?”

“Just that the date is locked in. I expect that we’ll be told in the orchestra session.”

“Just so, my friend. We’re the workers, we’re always the last to know.”

“Well, Zara. Here’s a little snippet for you to think about, so that you’re not surprised when it’s mentioned. The Bishop has floated the idea of the school doing The Messiah at Christmas. I don’t know if the Head will agree, but, if she does, it’s going to be a hell of a lot of work in our first term.”

“Amen to that, Willow.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 20

The other bands were drifting off, and all came to say their thanks. Willow had Sally shadowing her as she was hugged. Sally, being quite a striking looking girl, had her share of hugs as well. When Rick, Racheal, and Jacob were leaving, Willow got a hug and a kiss. She told Rick that she would get in touch as soon as she was given the finished discs.

There was a repeat when Geoff, Zara and her mother left. Sally snorted.

“That girl is going to have a problem with her mother. It looks as if she wants her daughter to be a star.”

“Yesterday, that woman came here fully intending to be away as soon as they could. She heard Zara sing, then I saw her on the phone, no doubt cancelling the other arrangements. She stayed until we packed up. I rather think that she saw her daughter as an independent person and is coming to grips with it. Zara has been going out with Geoff for a good eight months and the appear to be very comfortable together. How about you help me to get some food organised.”

They went into the kitchen where Maisie was helping get some chips cooking.

“What do want us to do, Maisie?”

“We do need numbers, so we can get things going without too much waste.”

“Sally, grab that order pad and pen. Let’s go and get the rabble organised.”

They went out and up onto the stage. Willow asked for quiet and then told them that she wanted numbers for the meal.

“We have pie and chips, egg and chips, sausage and chips, or chips and chips. Those that are staying to see our village choir, hands up those who want pie.”

They counted the hands and then got a count for sausages. Nobody wanted the egg option, and two were happy with just chips.

“That leaves just us, Sally. I’m for the sausages.”

She rang her mother.

“Mum, we’re having some tea at the club. There’s pie and chips or sausage and chips.”

“Make mine sausages, love. Your father will be eating fast food, as he’s visiting the accountant again to look over some papers he’s drawn up. I’ll join you at the club.”

Willow put her phone away.

“That’s another sausage serve, Sally. My mother will join us. She has started singing with the choir.”

“Can anyone join?”

“As long as you have a decent voice. Your father said that he would help out, so you could come along with him.”

They went back to give the numbers. Sally said that she would help with the cooking, so Willow went back into the room, seeing Gina speaking to the magazine people. Tom was sitting with the teachers, and the Head beckoned her to join them.

“We’re discussing the proposal for The Messiah, have you any thoughts?”

“In terms of the orchestra, I think that we have enough with the combined groups to make it, even oversubscribed in the strings. The Messiah can be done with six firsts, six seconds, six viola, four cello and two double bass to make it work. There’s an organ and piano. On the wind side, you can get by with a contra-bassoon and a couple of French Horns. The extras come in at the end and are two trumpets and the timpani player. I think that we’re good with that. The brass and winds that aren’t playing could fill out the male section of the choir.”

The others sat and looked at her. Finally, Mister Bamborough found his voice.

“We’ve just come to that conclusion ourselves. Have you played the piece?”

“No sir, but I have heard it, and was interested enough to research the orchestra make-up.”

“So, who do you think should play what?”

“Not for me to say, sir. You’re the conductor and I’m just a player.”

“If the Bishop pushes this, he’ll want you and Gina to be somewhere prominent.”

“Gina can play the organ, and the senior pianist is good enough for that part. There’s no clarinet.”

“But there are a lot of strings, and the ideal place for you would be sitting next to the conductor as the orchestra leader.”

“What about the other firsts, sir. Surely, they would want that to be one of their own.”

“You are one of their own, Willow, and no-one can doubt your organisational skills. The fact that you stepped back to allow Gina to blossom has given you a lot of leeway with the orchestra. All we need to sort out is a big choir.”

Tom leaned forward.

“We have most of that sorted. There is the Cathedral choir and the reserves, you have the school choir, and there are some that you’ll hear tonight who would be worthy of a place. All that leaves are the soloists.”

Willow spoke.

“What’s Sally?”

“She’s a soprano that needs training, but I can’t get her interested.”

“She asked me if she could join our choir tonight.”

“All right, we’ll see if she is committed. She does love opera, and the chance to meet Margaret, tonight, was an added bonus.”

“You’ve just mentioned the most suitable alto around. Just think of the publicity. I’m sure that there are plenty of tenor and bass voices in the city.”

“What about the wheelchair?”

“What about it. You heard her on the TV. She can sing sitting down. In fact, the four soloists could sit in a line and just stand in place to sing. Then it wouldn’t look out of place if Margaret moves her wheelchair forward a few feet, then reverses after she’s sung.”

The Head tapped the table.

“That does it. If we decide that we go ahead, Willow, you will need to be in on any meetings as orchestra leader, and Tom, you’re welcome to bring your choir along to the school if we get to full-force rehearsals. We’ll listen to what your choir sounds like, tonight, and factor that into the mix.”

Tom and Willow stood.

“Where’s Sally?”

“Helping out in the kitchen.”

“That, I have to see.”

They went to the kitchen and helped by spreading out plates on the big plate warmer, which allowed food to be taken out to diners without cooling too much. Willow grabbed a bucket of knives, and another of forks, taking them out and giving each diner a set, then getting a pile of napkins and taking them around. Tom came out of the kitchen bearing a tray with salt and pepper, putting them out.

Then, Willow showed him where the choir books were kept, and they put them out on a table near the stage, and he helped her carry one of the Yamahas down to floor level, followed by an amp. Gina came over, and, together, they cleared the stage. The techs were still there, with Xavier working on the post-production while they waited for their pick-up. The extra microphones, mixer, and cables were collected together in a box.

Xavier looked up.

“I’ve done the preliminary work, Willow. I’ll have the final items finished tomorrow. Can you organise someone to pick them up? I’ll give you the address.”

“Gina. Can your Mum take us into the city on Friday? It’s just to pick up the discs.”

“I’m certain that she’ll be happy to, friend.”

Willow took the address and thanked him for the work.

“Hell, Willow, with the bands you had here, I would have done it for nothing.”

“Now he tells me!”

“I’ll give you ten CDs and ten DVDs of the other two bands. I’ll burn twenty each of the two sessions of yours. There will be USB drives with all the raw material on them so you can play around with them for training. I get a bonus, as I won’t have to buy from the website. The unit will be in its box with all the paperwork for it. Bambi said that he might get a new set of kit for the school, seeing how easy today worked.”

Willow and Gina went and started carrying out the meals, getting their own as Wendy came in. She sat with the girls as Tom came out with his and Sally’s meal. They sat at the table, and Willow stood to go and get her mother’s plate, finding Maisie carrying two plates out.

“Mum’s arrived, Maisie. Thanks for getting on with the food.”

“It’s all right, it gave me something to do while you two implemented your plans of world domination.”

There was quiet in the room as the meals were devoured. Willow went to the bar and got a jug of soft drink and two white wines, something she knew both their mothers liked. They sat, quietly until Tom opened the conversation.

“Wendy, I haven’t introduced you to Sally, my daughter. I brought her along because she wanted to see Summer Rose and got infected by that strange effect that Willow spreads. When we arrived, Sally wouldn’t do anything in our kitchen or consider singing. Now, she helped produce all these meals and is thinking of joining your choir.”

Willow looked at Sally starting to blush.

“Who does the cooking at home, Tom?”

“My wife. She’s very good, almost restaurant style, we eat well.”

“What’s the difference between her kitchen output and what was produced today?”

“It’s chalk and cheese.”

“So, do you think that Sally would help more if the food was simpler, or if she was allowed to do simple tasks. Not everyone is cordon bleu. Did you have fun in the kitchen, Sally?”

“I did. There wasn’t anybody telling me I couldn’t boil water.”

“With the choir, have you wanted to sing but thought that you would be laughed at?”

Sally put her head down and nodded.

“Tom, someone has told me that I see talent and help it grow. What I do see are people who are scared to show their true colours. It is something I learned because I was also shy child who wanted to hide in the background. I don’t know how I detect it, but I see a yearning in Sally to be able to do something that is hers, and hers alone.”

“You know, Willow Rose, you may be young, but when you get older, you will be formidable.”

“You’re telling me that she isn’t that now! She told me off something proper earlier in the day, and my so-called friend, Marcus, rubbed it in by telling me I deserved it!”

“Hello, Peter, why don’t you join us when you’ve bought your drink.”

Peter went to the bar. When he came back, he sat at the table.

“I want to bring you up to date with my discussion with the Head. She has told me that it appears that the more time you’re all on the stage, the better your grades are. She has a theory about learning music and raising the work ethic. Anyway, she’s happy for us to start organising the odd show. Marcus wants to put together one in the city with all three of the bands. He has pointed out that you were right, Willow, and a steady injection of new Summer Rose into the mix would help put bums on seats.”

“What about dinner dances?”

“She’s keen on those. Something about looking after big donors and the church hierarchy. If you can email your suggested dates to both Marcus and me. I’ll follow your sage advice and de-finger. Note any dates that are a definite no-no.”

“Thank you, Peter, I’ll send something to your office tomorrow. I’ve been told that the product from today can be picked up on Friday. Can we drop by your office to leave you some samples.”

“OK. How are you getting in?”

Maisie raised a hand.

“I’m driving them. I need to go in and get some material. One of my clients has an invitation to a society wedding in a week and a half. I didn’t know she even knew the Baron or his family. She may be a friend of a friend of the Earl.”

They had a laugh, and Willow put her hand on her mother’s arm.

“Bit of a change on Saturday, Mum. Racheal is going to wear apricot and has asked me to be the Maid of Honour. What I get for the Registry has to be suitable for the reception. Cassie hasn’t told us any limits, and we will be playing at the reception, so something that looks good but is also easy to play in without getting overheated will work.”

“Ah! Yes. That reception. It’s a very interesting show that you’ve been booked for, paid twice what you usually get here, money up front.”

“Thanks for reminding me, Peter. We’ll need to have our four wind players for that. Do you think that you could go to the Head and ask for contact details of them. When they play here, Malcolm had been giving them cash in hand. If you sign them up as casuals, they can get a portion of our payment. When you get the details and speak to them, can you tell them to contact me, so I can give them details of the gig.”

He stood, laughed and saluted her.

“Aye, aye, my captain.”

They watched him go to speak to the teachers again. They were clearing the tables and loading the industrial dishwasher as the choir started to arrive. They all got themselves drinks while waiting, and Tom introduced Sally.

“We will test her range first, just as we did with you last week. Then we’ll know where she stands. Bruce Miller from the Observer is here tonight, and he wants to talk to you all for an article. He’s a good guy and will write it in a nice way. There is also some people from a woman’s magazine. Here come our three retirees, let’s get ourselves ready. Willow, do you want to run the scales for Sally?”

“Gina, do you think you can handle the organ tonight. There’s a pile of stuff I need to carry home.”

“OK friend. The music is in the book, so it shouldn’t be a problem. You have a lot of tidying up to do.”

Gina sat at the keyboard and worked through the scales for Sally, who Willow could hear had a good soprano, but needed some breath training. Picking up bundles of cables, and her bag, she left the club and walked home with her burden. She stacked the cables in the spare room and went back to the club to collect the box with the microphones and the mixer. As far as she was concerned, it had been a good day, even with Peter barging in. That may have been a blessing in disguise, as everyone that he needed to talk to were already in the room.

When she got back to the club, she sat on a stool by the bar and had a lemonade. Malcolm came and leaned on his side of the counter.

“Stepping back to give Gina more responsibility?”

“You see through me like a window. I might have a lot more responsibility with the school orchestra heading towards the end of the year. Gina has come along and is gaining her own ways of doing things.”

“I’ve known her and Maisie for years. Gina has grown a year in the last six months. You, young lady, started out as a feisty young girl, but you’re acting like an adult, so take my advice, take some time out for yourself and enjoy your teenage years.”

“The problem is, Malcolm, that I have become an entertainer. I’ve gone from a shy kid who hid away, to someone who isn’t afraid of standing up in front of people. I’ve sung in front of two hundred and fifty here, performed for fifteen hundred in the school, and played the organ for over two thousand in the Cathedral. Christmas Eve, I was playing the organ on the TV, to who knows how many millions, but all I saw in front of me was a set of keyboards. People tell me that I have a knack of finding talent and promoting them. Do you hear that soprano? That’s a girl who was afraid of singing in case she would be laughed at. If everything happens as expected, she may be a soloist in the Cathedral before Christmas.”

“I won’t try to figure out how you do it, Willow, but don’t stop.”

“I’ll try not to, Malcolm, I’m having too much fun. Thank you for your support these two days, I’m sorry that I kept you from your other work.”

“I’ve been able to do some things that I’ve been putting off. I’ve also listened to four very good bands.”

“Four?”

“Summer Rose and the Other side are two different bands. Both worthy of being in the charts.”

“The Other Side was just a cover band today. We are going to have to work up some original material before we take it to the stage. That’s something that I’ll have to coax our guitarists to come up with. So far, my output has been soft-rock ballads.”

“You’ll find your voice with stronger tunes as you age. Once the others start coming to you with new songs, you’ll start to think of ways to improve them. That will lead you writing your own.”

“How did you get to be so erudite?”

“Standing behind a bar and listening to drinkers telling you how they can save the world.”

They stayed where they were and listened to the choir, with Tom taking them through some exercises and a few songs before he called it a night. Willow stayed where she was as she saw Margaret talk to Sally, who had a wonderful smile on her face. Gina turned off the keyboard and amp, and Tom helped her put them away in the storeroom.

Wendy came over to the bar.

“That was fun. It was interesting to see Sally blossom. You were exactly right, and I think that her father may make some changes in their household in future. Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes, Mum. It’s been a long day. I’ll just say goodnight to the others, and I’ll walk home if you want to leave now.”

“I’ll get ready for bed and make a hot chocolate. Your father should be home soon.”

She left and Willow watched as the magazine people were talking to Margaret and her friend, and also including Sally in the conversation, with the teen magazine reporter concentrating on her. Gina came over.

“You look like you need your bed, friend. That was interesting to play for a choir. I think that I learned a few things. We’ll pick you up on Friday morning. Have a day off tomorrow, this is supposed to be a holiday.”

“I’ll do that. See you Friday.”

They hugged and Willow picked up her bag. Malcolm gave her a wink as he bade her goodnight. When she got home, she sat with her parents with the mugs of hot chocolate. Ashley told her that the accountant’s paperwork looked good and that they had an appointment on Monday evening to sign. Then, he asked her how things went, and she gave him a potted history of the day, asking him if he could draw two thousand in cash from her account to pay for the post-production.

“I thought that you had already paid for those three guys?”

“That was for the recordings. Rick offered Xavier a thousand to pay for the post-production of his band, so I felt that I should match that for the two sessions we did. I’m going to pick up the product on Friday. If Peter works things as he should, just one of those sessions will return over a million, so it’s money well spent.”

“What about the other session?”

“That will have to be on the back burner until summer, and our possible live shows. When you see the DVD, you’ll understand why.”

She went off to bed, cleansing and brushing her teeth. Tonight, she had time to tell Tiger and Shaun about her day before drifting off to sleep.

On Thursday, she dressed casually, loaded the new software onto her laptop, and played around with it before calling up the on-line training and following the lessons. After that, she made sure that one of the cameras had the battery charged, and a memory card in, then went to the church to make a film about it, trying out the zoom from the organ loft, and doing close-ups of the plaques and other signs. Then she walked home along the river, stopping to film her surroundings. By the time she got home, she was happy with what she had learned. She put the memory stick into one of the adaptors she found, and played her film back, seeing where she had been unsteady, or too fast with the panning that made her dizzy.

After that, she took the two discs that Xavier had given her and watched them from start to finish. By that time, it was late enough to go into the kitchen and start preparing dinner. As she chopped and diced, she thought about her day and what she had learned. What with the drum machine and the new software, she was becoming far more used to the technology, and she had been quite good at it before.

After dinner, Ashley gave her the two thousand in a brown bank envelope which she put in her bag. Wendy gave her a wad of CD album covers that she had designed and printed off. Willow put the Journey disc into the player, and they sat and watched it, her parents seeing it complete with the full band for the first time. As it finished, Ashley gave her a hug while Wendy was drying her eyes.

“If that’s what gets released, it’s going to get crazy around here,”

“That was just from Tuesday, Dad. Tomorrow evening I’ll have what should be the saleable show, using the new software.”

She had an early night, needing to catch up on her sleep, the efforts of the last few days bringing back some of the fatigue that she had felt after the operation. She was mindful of that sage advice to take time out for herself.

In the morning, she waited for Maisie to pick her up, checking that she had everything in a big shoulder bag. When they went towards Coventry, Maisie took the road towards the farm. Gina turned around in the front seat.

“We went to the farm yesterday to talk about them buying our place. I told Jacob that we were going to pick up the discs, and he wanted to come along.”

Jacob got in the back seat with Willow, and they kissed before he buckled up. They held hands during the trip. Maisie had put the address into the GPS, and they pulled up outside Xavier’s house. When they knocked on the door, Xavier opened it and beckoned them in. His father was there and welcomed them. Xavier had three boxes of discs as promised, with the USB and all the memory sticks. Willow handed him the brown envelope.

“That’s the payment we agreed. Jacob will make sure Rick pays for his set when he’s at the farm. I’ll give our manager two CDs and two DVDs, and the USB to put up on the website. How did you go with the TV guys yesterday?”

Xavier gave his father the envelope as he replied.

“It was really good. They were very interested in what we did on the fly, and I was told a name of a guy to get in touch with. The guy that spoke to me suggested that I could work at the station, part-time, until I finished school. The cameraman had a long talk with Dave and Frank. Do I have your permission to send a few tracks to the station, so that they can gauge our work?”

“Not a problem. Just make sure that they know that they need to get in touch with me before putting anything from any of the bands to air. By rights, because I funded the day, the finished product is my property.”

His father looked up from checking the contents of the envelope.

“This is a lot of money for a day’s work.”

“Not when you’re paying for expert attention. We’ll be dropping some of these to our manager, today. When they go on-line, Xavier will have a bargaining tool when he talks to the TV station.”

“Thank you for all that you’ve done for him, Miss Rose. He showed me a few clips from your show last night. It was certainly better than the ones he had done for the school.”

Xavier and his father helped to take the boxes out to the car, including the recording unit in its box. Willow and Gina gave Xavier a hug and said that they would see him in school. On the way to Peter’s office, Willow asked Maisie to pull over. She got the album cover art out of the bag and added it to some of their own disc cases. Jacob and Gina kept one of each for themselves.

At Peter’s office they gave him two CDs and two DVDs.

“These will allow you to see what it turned out like. One set for you, and one set for Marcus. I’ll give you the digital version on a USB when you’re ready to go on-line. We have the discs for the other bands but think that it’s up to them to give you copies when they’ve been signed on. Jacob will give the Hiker’s set to Racheal to give to Rick, as they’re at the farm a lot, these days. I’ll phone Geoff to send Jim over to pick up theirs.”

He gave them a signed receipt for the discs and then they went to look for fabric, with Willow and Jacob having a cuddle behind the rolls of material.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 21

When they had dropped Jacob off, with the box for Rick, Maisie told Willow that they would be getting the keys to the new home at the end of the next week and thanked her for suggesting it. There would be a housewarming on Easter Saturday afternoon. When they stopped at Willow’s they helped carry the last boxes in.

When she was alone, Willow phoned the rest of the band to let them know that there were discs to pick up. Then she called Geoff to let him know. He asked for the address and told her that Jim would come and pick them up in a couple of hours.

She left his box on the kitchen table but kept the bag containing the memory cards and the USB with the original audio, adding them to the ones that she had taken from the Hiker’s box. That left the other band with the discs and a USB holding the digital version of the DVD. Her Shaun had a zipped compartment for girly trinkets, and she put these, and the ones from the Summer Rose sessions, in there for safety.

She added the recording unit to the growing collection in the spare room, along with the remaining items in her band’s box, just leaving two DVDs out to look at when her parents came home. A pair of the CDs was put in with her collection in her bedroom, to join the Carpenters one that she had to pay for.

She was preparing the dinner when Jim and Geoff arrived, driven by Jim’s mother. She gave them a drink and showed them their box.

“This has the ten audio CDs, the ten DVDs, and two USB sticks. One for the audio and the other with the show, as post-produced by Xavier. They are yours to do what you want with. We have already given Peter a set of ours, along with another set for Marcus. If you sign with them, I suggest that you do the same. These discs are not protected, so make sure that you don’t hand them around. Wait for the purchased ones to go on sale. The other thing is the DVD does not have any titles or credits. It will be up to whoever is adding them to your website to add those. Our last album was done by Peter’s office.”

“What do we owe you, Willow. This must have been an expensive operation.”

“Nothing, Geoff. Xavier and the others have been fully paid, and will get some more from Rick, who can afford it. I’m doing this as thanks for letting me play with you at that first concert. You may have thought that I saved the day, but that one performance saved my life and allowed me to go to a new school with many showing acceptance of the new girl. Without that show, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“It will be interesting to see if we do get a show together, the school has been the biggest audience that we’ve played to.”

“The quicker you get these properly on-line, the quicker you’ll start earning money, and the more audience you’ll attract. Watch the show and pick out the one you want as a single. Rick will be doing the same. If all of us are in the charts, the show will be another awesome experience.”

They took the box and left. Willow went back to the kitchen to prepare the dinner. She was still slicing and dicing when the front doorbell chimed, and she found Brent and Herb, with Herb’s father, at the front door. She let them in, sat them at the table with drinks and went upstairs to get four sets of discs. They chatted about the sessions and what may come of them, and the boys both gave her a hug, before leaving with their discs in plastic bags that Willow took from a drawer.

When her parents arrived, she had nearly got the dinner ready to go, just needing to start cooking. After dinner, they tidied up and sat in front of the TV to watch both finished shows for the first time.

Wendy had a box of tissues beside her, fully prepared for what she had been told would need them. She had seen Willow sing these songs solo, but it didn’t prepare her for the extra emotion that Herb’s guitar playing added. There was a pile of soggy tissues beside her when the DVD ended. Willow had been amazed at how it had been produced, with overall band shots and close-ups that made it look very professional. Her father said nothing, trying to look manly and blowing his nose to wipe his eyes.

The Other Side show brought a different response, with him putting his arm around his wife and pulling her to him. When Willow ejected the disc, he stood and hugged her.

“When you were spending close to five thousand to set up those sessions, on top of the seven and a half that the equipment cost, I had the feeling that you might be going over the top. What I’ve just see has shown me that it was worth every penny. The other two bands are getting copies of their shows as well?”

“Yes Dad. All delivered. It’s up to them to do what they want with them. I haven’t even looked at their discs, it’s not my place.”

She grinned.

“But I do have the original memory sticks of the videos and a USB with the original audio put aside. I paid for the sessions, so I thought that I should be the custodian of the raw material. I do have a copy of the production software, so could, if I wanted, put together a DVD myself.”

He laughed and hugged her again.

“What about your sessions?”

“Same thing, I retained the raw material and Peter has a copy of the CD and one of the DVD. I’ve held back the USB with the digital file for when he says that he’s putting it on-line.”

He laughed and said that he was getting ready for bed. Wendy told Willow not to stay up too late and that she would see her for breakfast.

“So, Mum. Kansas may be the new Purple?”

“I think so, dear. I’ll let you know if the American version is any different to the British one, tomorrow.”

Willow put the DVDs in with the family collection and went to cleanse and get ready for bed. There were no creaking springs, but she thought that there may have been some low moaning from the master bedroom.

………………………………………………………..

At about the same time, Peter was sitting in his own lounge with his wife, having just watched both shows.

“What did you think, darling?”

“No thought needed, my husband. That band is gold, and that girl is the diamond. The Journey one will go world-wide, treated properly. I suggest that you bypass the local stations and take the CD and DVD directly to the national broadcasters and one of the major distributors. The other one is chalk and cheese. I would hold that back for a while until the time is right. Didn’t you say something about a show that one of your contacts is putting together with a heavy-metal band? Blastmasters or some such name. That set would open the show nicely.”

“You always say the right thing, my love. You should be in the office with me.”

“I couldn’t put up with sweaty rockers. Love. This band is something a lot different. This band has class which can develop into lasting success. I know that this was, as you said, a recording made in a pub, but it just doesn’t look like that. It looks like it was made in a studio by professionals. You’re not pulling my leg when you told me that the band are all thirteen and the techs fifteen, are you?”

“Honest God’s truth, darling. I’ve even had several discussions with their teachers. I’m waiting to talk to the other two bands. One is mainly in the same year as the techs, and the other already had a viral on-line hit but I’m told it has improved out of sight since then. They have signed with us, but we haven’t organised anything yet. When I get some likely dates, I’ll start working with Marcus to put some performances together.”

He went to his home office to send an email to Marcus, who had some more contacts in London than he had.

…………………………………………………….

On Saturday morning, the Rose family went into Birmingham to look at outfits. Willow told them that she would fund the make-over, which allowed them to look in better places than they had been able to shop in before. Ashley came away with two suits, one a charcoal grey, and the other a dark three-piece that would look good on a prime minister. Wendy and Willow tried on many dresses while Ashley went off to put his bags in the car and then sit in the nearby café to wait for them.

Wendy ended up with an emerald-green cocktail dress for Thursday, and a light pink one with frills and ruffles for the following Sunday. Willow needed one in apricot, or similar, for Thursday and ended up with a knee-length dress with big sleeves and decorative stitching. For the Sunday, she bought one similar to her mother’s, but slightly darker. It gave her freedom of movement for playing but was distinctive enough to be a stage outfit. They met up with Ashley and went for lunch, then drove into Coventry for her practise session in the Cathedral.

When they had parked and walked into the Cathedral, Tom saw them and came over. He was introduced to Ashley.

“Welcome to the Cathedral, Ashley. What you find, today, is a place of joy for me. My daughter has agreed to join the choir. I’ll be training her, and she will be going to see a breathing specialist. It’s all because she came along to see your daughter on Wednesday.”

“So, the spell of the rose has worked again! I’m losing count of the number of teenagers that my daughter has lifted out of their depths of darkness into the spotlight of entertaining.”

“Sit yourself down somewhere. I’m acting Dean this weekend, so I’ll take Willow up to the organ and show her the music we’ll be listening to on Sunday.”

As he led Willow to the stairs, he spoke to her.

“I had a long talk with my wife on Wednesday evening. It wasn’t heated, but it was serious. I told her that she had to allow Sally some leeway in the kitchen and not criticize her. She didn’t know that she was doing wrong but has followed my advice since. Sally is helping her more and taking on a lot of the simpler tasks. She’ll be singing with the others today. It’s the first time that she’s been here in the choir and is quite excited. I deliberately chose hymns and songs that would allow her some opportunity to impress, but not taxing her lungs until she gets extra training.”

“I’m happy for the two of you. I think that she’ll surprise both you and your wife.”

“My wife will be here tomorrow to hear for herself. It may prove that Sally can be someone outstanding.”

Willow went up to the organ and looked at the music. She saw that they were all easier pieces and decided that Tom was a thoughtful and loving father. She turned on and got comfortable, then started with the Bach to warm up her fingers. When she started on the hymns, there was some singing. When she got into the Evensong set, there was more singing, and she could pick out a new voice that soared above the others. At times, she could hear her mother, now happy to use more of her voice.

Back in the car and going home, Wendy turned to her.

“I can’t believe that Sally had never sung in a choir before. She was good on Wednesday, but her voice was something else today.”

“So was yours, Mum. I could pick you out from where I was sitting.”

“Your father nudged me to quieten down, but I ignored him.”

“Quite right. You have a voice that deserves to be heard,”

“I thought that she was being a bit loud, Willow. There was a guy a little way away from us that kept looking at her.”

“I saw him as I was leaving you. He happens to be Tom’s assistant choir master. Maybe he thinks that Mum should join the Cathedral choir.”

Wendy winked at her as Ashley had the politeness to blush. To round the day out, they stopped at the steakhouse for dinner.

At home, they relaxed. Tonight, they were a family that had things to be thankful for, and things to look forward to. Willow almost dozed off in front of the TV, feeling more rested than she had in days. The die had been cast with the band, and all she could do now was to wait. That woke her up, and she went to her room, looked at a calendar, opened her laptop to email Peter with some preferred dates. The first was the weekend five weeks on, in the first week of May.

She noted that the middle of May was out due to the concert in the Cathedral. The last weekend in May was another possible as it was in the half-year holidays. The last Saturday in June and the second one in July was marked as good. The end of the month was the start of the summer holidays, which lasted through to the second week of September. She sent it to Peter with a ‘cc’ to Marcus. She went down to say goodnight to her parents, who were cuddled on the couch, then went to cleanse and get into bed, wondering if Kansas was twice as potent as Purple. What she didn’t know was that Wendy had put a kitchen towel on the couch, and they were doing something that they hadn’t done since their younger days in Cambridge.

On Sunday, the three of them drove to the Cathedral. Being a lot later than St. Marys, it was an easier morning. At the Cathedral, Willow left her parents and went up to the organ to start playing the Bach as the building filled. She glanced down and saw her parents sitting, with Tom’s assistant next to Wendy and looking like they were discussing something.

She concentrated as she saw the Bishop come in, with Tom, as acting Dean, in full regalia and carrying the cross. From there, the service went as usual, with some very strong singing that still had Sally managing to stand out. When she turned the organ off and went down, Sally was there to give her a hug.

“Thank you, Willow. My life has spun around and I’m helping Mum cook and now I’ve sung with the best choir in the city.”

“Totally deserved, Sally. I could hear you clearly. You have a wonderful voice. Are you coming to the village with your father?”

“You bet! Singing alongside a few of the women that I used to listen to on the cassettes I had was fantastic! It was Margaret telling me how good my soprano was, for an untrained voice, that made me realise that I had been listening to music that was part of what I was. I just put it away in my heart for a few years. I feel liberated!”

The Rose family went into the city for a leisurely lunch. Ashley complained that they could have done their shopping in this break, instead of spending so long in Birmingham. He was told, in no uncertain terms, that three hours in Coventry was nowhere near long enough to choose two outfits.

Back in the Cathedral, the Evensong was full again, and the singing was great. When they were home again, Willow checked her phone, seeing a lot of texts from the other members of the other two bands. All were thanks for the quality of the recordings and the promise to see Peter next week to move forward. There was one from Marcus, thanking her for the dates and the discs. It also asked her if she would be happy to play the Belgrade Theatre on the first date that she had nominated, with extra dates to be added if the interest was there.

She replied that she would be happy with three nights if there was enough ticket sales.

She checked the size of the theatre and noticed that it was only able to seat eight hundred and fifty, so would be less than they had played for at the school. She decided that Marcus could have something up his sleeve.

……………………………………………..

Marcus, at that time, was packing a small case with enough clothes for three days. He had made copies of the audio and show discs and had made a few appointments with friends in London. He had some good contacts who would be interested in having new bands on stage. Peter had called him and spoken about the heavy metal show, and Marcus knew the promoter. He would be leaving early Monday morning, certain that he would return with good news.

……………………………………..

On Monday morning, after her parents had gone to work, Willow went for a walk. She went further into the village than normal, happy to be stretching her legs and thinking about things. She cast her mind back to the same time, last year, when she was still William, and wondered about the total changes in her life. Not only the gender thing, but also the personality changes that allowed her to be more proactive. In her mind, she said goodbye to William John, and welcomed Willow Jean as who she was.

Coming back by the church, she noticed a few nice cars parked outside. Intrigued, she peeked into the church to see Cassie and Marie, with Terry and another couple. Chris was talking to the Reverend. Cassie noticed her and came to the door.

“Just the person we need, Willow. We were about to run through a practise of the wedding, seeing where we stand and when we move and all that. You don’t realise just how choreographed a wedding is until you get to do it yourself. Come and meet Terry’s parents, Earl Appleby, and his wife.”

She led Willow into the church, with Marie stopping them for a hug. Willow was introduced as the organist for the wedding. The Earl looked surprised.

“A teenager, playing the organ for a wedding of this stature! What were you thinking, son?”

Terry looked at his mother.

“You know that CD I got for you that you like. The one with all the Carpenters songs on it?”

She nodded.

“Well, meet Willow Rose. One part of Summer Rose, and the leader of that band. They’re playing the reception for us. It was Gina Summer that played organ yesterday, she’s the same age as Willow and I didn’t hear you complaining about her playing, Dad.”

“I didn’t take much notice of the organist.”

Chris came over and gave Willow a hug.

“I see you’ve been introduced, Willow. Don’t mind the Earl. He’s has a stick up his bum when he meets new people but will have enough to drink at the reception to be friendly.”

The Earl harrumphed, then smiled.

“I’m sorry, Miss Rose. It’s just that I didn’t know who would be playing the organ. What I heard yesterday sounded like a much older person. How much experience have you had with the church organ?”

The Reverend had come over and replied for her.

“Willow was the one who woke this organ up after five years of sleeping. She brought the life back into this church and helped Gina start playing it. They alternate on Sundays, one playing here, and the other playing in the Cathedral. If you were watching the TV on Christmas Eve, you may have seen that big concert at the Cathedral. That was Willow playing the Bach at the beginning. There isn’t anyone else that I’d trust more with a wedding than her.”

“I stand corrected. I’m sorry I doubted you, Willow. Why don’t we get on with this practise?”

Reverend Russell had the pile of music for Willow, with a note telling her what was played and when. She went up to the organ and got it ready, then warmed her fingers with the Bach. In the mirror, she saw Terry and his father stand by the far altar, with the Reverend facing her, Terry’s mother sat in a pew one side, with Marie in a pew on the other. The Reverend gave a nod, and Willow changed to the Bridal March as the Baron walked Cassie up the aisle to join Terry at the altar. Willow faded the music off as the Reverend started the wedding.

He welcomed the congregation in the usual ‘we come together’ way, then stopped for a prayer, followed by a hymn, which they sang in full. Then there was the actual wedding ceremony, with Terry and Cassie reading from cards. After the husband and wife were announced. The couple were led back up the aisle as organ played the usual music. When they disappeared under her, she started the intro to another hymn that had been chosen. The two mothers stood after that, and she played the triumphal music that has the bride and groom, signatures on the paperwork, walk back along the aisle and out to be greeted by confetti. She played the Bach for a short while and went down to where they were standing near the door. The Earl reached out his hand and she shook it.

“Sorry about the start, Willow. Chris has often called me out as a pompous ass, but it’s something that my father pounded into me, with the promise of the birch cane. He was a real stickler for protocol. Even I had to call him sir in private. There was nothing amiss with your playing, and I look forward to Sunday when the church is full.”

“That’s all right, sir. I get the ‘she’s only a little girl’ a lot. Last week I was called ‘formidable’ by our band manager, so it isn’t all bad vibes.”

“So, you are on that album that my wife likes, what’s next for you?”

“We recorded our next album in the club across the road last week. There’s a suggestion that we’ll play the Belgrade in Coventry in a few weeks. In the middle of next month our school orchestra will be back in the Cathedral to play a Saint-Saens concert which will be filmed by the BBC. After that, I need to finish second year at school.”

“Impressive! So how do you know the Leighs?”

“Have you had a look at the plaques and the memorials in the church, sir? Take a few minutes and then ask Chris the same question. I’ve got to go home now. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, and I’ll see you all on Sunday.”

With that, she had some more hugs and walked home, smiling as she went. She sat on the couch and turned her laptop on, seeing some more emails. There was one from Peter, cc’ed to the rest of the band, with a picture of a finger at the top, which made her laugh. It told her that he had booked the Belgrade for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night of the first weekend in May, and that he would be adding the Gees and Hikers on her recommendation. Advertising to happen before Easter, with the headliner based on their Carpenters album success and the Hikers video. He told her that Marcus was in London to sort out TV coverage for one of the commercial channels that had a ‘Band Spot’ show. Then, he had booked the Coventry City Premier Lounge for a dinner dance on the last Saturday night in May, with the full dance band to play. At the end, he said that the ‘Journey’ album would be up on the website on the following week and asked for the digital version. She replied that she was at home and that he could send a courier to pick it up and gave the address.

There was another email from the Head, telling her that the school would be responsible for the bookings for the dinner dance, with invitation going to all of the old scholars and the church hierarchy, at a hundred pounds a seat, meals and drinks included, with the room to be set for two thousand and a good dance floor. It would be on the school website at the beginning of term. At the end was ‘Remember, first thing next Monday!’

There were others from the band, commenting on the sudden rush of bookings and asking about the finger picture. She did a group answer to let them know what she now knew, and that the finger was something between her and the manager, but that they should be able to deduce the reference.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 22

Willow spent a little while looking at her course notes and the subjects that would round out the year in Music Studies. The first half was called Remix, and the second half was Gamelan, with a group performance listed. She looked up the instruments in a Gamelan band, finding that most of them were percussion, and generally hit with a hammer. That, she thought, may be a hilarious way to end second year.

She was reading an incoming email when the doorbell rang. It was a courier to pick up the USB. She had put it into an envelope, addressed to Peter, which she gave to the courier, who gave her a signed receipt and left. She went back to the email.

It was from Racheal, asking her to be at the farm on Thursday morning, to help her get ready for the wedding. They were booked at a salon in Coventry and then for lunch and dressing at the Britannia. A car would drive them from the farm and to the registry for the ceremony, and then Willow could join her parents to go to the reception. She would be able to retrieve her normal outfit to wear home from the hotel, as the room was booked to the following morning and would be hers to use if she wanted to.

There was also an email from Wendy, sent from work. It told her that the fashion label was sending a photographer to Racheal’s wedding to get some preliminary shots to show the owner.

Willow printed off Racheal’s email to show her mother. Both of her parents would be taking the day off on Thursday for the wedding, so her mother would be able to drive her to the farm. The new dress was in a garment bag, with another bag with shoes, a clutch, and jewellery in. She had even bought a fascinator in the same colour to wear, although she thought she may look a bit silly with it.

In the afternoon, she suddenly felt very tired, and went up to her room to lie down. Waking up a little over three hours later, she felt refreshed. It had been a very stressful week, and she still had some effects of her operation to overcome. A lot had happened in a very short time, and she had been at the pointy end of most of it. She recalled Malcolm telling her to slow down, realising that her body had just told her the same thing.

She went down and started preparing for dinner, leaving her phone and computer alone. As she worked, she invariably started thinking about things. Her laptop was one that she had from the previous school and was sounding a bit loud when the drive was operating. Tonight, she decided, she would transfer everything important to the SSD memory and research something modern with an internal SSD.

That evening, after they had tidied up the dinner things, she went up to her room and transferred all the music and other memory to the remote SSD, amazed at how little space it had taken up. She ran through all her emails, cutting and pasting the most important to a word document to save on the SSD. That done, she went downstairs to see her father.

“Dad, can you transfer a thousand from my account to the debit card account. I want to go into the city, tomorrow, and get myself a new laptop. I’ll get a taxi in and out.”

“What about Maisie taking you?”

“She’s very busy with a special gown for Cassie’s wedding and sorting out house stuff. I’ll be all right. I have the card that the taxi driver that brought me home from the hospital gave me.”

He went into his office and called up the account.

“Peter put a thousand in this morning, so that’s your laptop paid for. Have you heard from him?”

“He emailed today. I’ll get my laptop so we can print it out.”

When she came back, he had transferred the money. She plugged in the printer and printed out today’s emails for him to look at.

“I think that I’ll get a printer at the same time, Dad. Then I can print stuff in my room.”

“That will be good. Look, these events that he’s putting together; they’re both a big step forward. The Belgrade isn’t a huge arena, but a TV show filmed there of the three bands is a huge exposure. The dinner dance will be great, we’ll have to get tickets. Perhaps we can get your grandies over from Cambridge for that.”

“I’ll have to clear the spare room if that happens, Dad, I’m slowly filling it with stuff.”

“How would you like it for me to go by the hardware store and get a couple of lockable metal cupboards that can go in the garage? That way, you can store all the extra stuff out of the way. It’s not as if you’ll be using it every week. I can get myself a workbench and get them all delivered together.”

“Sounds good, Dad. There’s an email here from Racheal. She wants me over at the farm in the morning and I won’t be back with you until after the ceremony. She’s booked a room for us to dress in and has told me that we can use it for the night, as it’s paid for until morning.”

“If we do stay overnight, you and I will have to taxi home so I can go to work on Friday. If we take your mother’s car, she can take a workday outfit and go to work from there. I can tell work that I’ll be a little late and work the extra time in the afternoon.”

She said goodnight to her parents, took the laptop back and went through the nightly rituals before getting into bed. Even with the afternoon sleep, she dropped off quickly and slept deeply.

In the morning, after her parents had left, she called the number on the card. The driver asked her where she wanted to go to, and she told him that she needed a good electrical store in Coventry where she could find a laptop. He took note of her address and told her that he would pick her up in about thirty minutes.

When he arrived, she locked up and with her big bag got in the back of the taxi. He was the same driver that she had been with before, and he asked her how she was. When they got into the city, he pulled up outside a big store and asked her how she was getting home. She told him that she would be a while and he told her that he would work in the city until she called him. She paid the fare and thanked him, then walked into the store.

Inside, she was looking at computers when a girl came up to her.

“Can I help you, Miss?”

“I’m looking for a laptop with a fast chip, plenty of working memory and the biggest SSD I can get. I also want a small printer that will go in a bedroom and a monitor that’s bigger than twenty-four inches.”

“That’s a lot of firepower for home and homework use.”

“I have a new professional mixing software which can take up to six feeds and produce good visuals sync ’ed to an audio track. We used it last week recording a couple of bands.”

“Oh. Which bands?”

“G-Force, Rick and the Hikers and Summer Rose.”

“That’s quite a line up. Do you have a relative in any of those?”

“I play keyboard in Summer Rose.”

“You’re Willow. Wow! My folks love the Carpenters stuff. You’re all over the airwaves at the moment. I guess that you need something that will endure the rough and tumble. An SSD is the only way to go. The thing with the latest units is that they’ve dropped having an inbuilt disc drive, so you’ll need a remote drive to play and record to. They don’t cost a lot, though.”

An hour later, Willow was the owner of a new laptop with more internal memory than she had ever had before, a remote disc drive, a printer that used ink tanks that she was assured lasted a very long time, and a thirty-inch curved monitor that she just had to have after seeing the clarity of the screen. She had also been supplied with the way to subscribe to the new MS suite, rather than having it on a disc, as well as a good virus protection starter. When it was all totalled up, she had enough to get herself a new music player with a link to Google and Spotify. All her boxes were taken near the door that she had come in, and she rang the taxi driver. He told her that he was ten minutes away and she waited for him. One of the assistants helped carry her things to the taxi and she was home, her boxes piled in the hallway, before lunch.

After she ate, she took the items up, one by one, and spent a few hours setting up. The monitor was fantastic, and the printer was Wi-Fi, so didn’t have to be anywhere near the desk. She nipped down to her dads office and took a bundle of printer paper back up. She found out that she needed a bank account to set up ongoing use of the MS suite and the virus protection, so she left those for a moment and loaded up the post-production software using the remote disc player. Xavier had been right; it was so much easier on a big screen.

When her father arrived home, she asked him about setting up her own account.

“Funny you should ask, sweetheart. The accountant rang me at work and we’re seeing him tonight. When we come home, everything will be running. How was your quest?’

She took him up to her room and showed him what she had bought. He loved the new screen and said that he needed to get one for himself.

After a quick dinner, the three of them went to see the accountant, with all three needing to sign the paperwork for the new company. The accountant gave her the new account details, set up with a seed from her uni account, and a credit card in the company name. She gave him the account for the computer equipment, the first purchase of the company. He gave her the details of her first personal account, also set up with a seed from the uni account. She got a debit card for that one. He also gave her details of three commercial properties to look at. He told her that if she wanted to see any, to ring the agent for a viewing. Before they left, she asked him if he could register the trading name ‘Summer Rose Band’ and the variations as a trademark in her name.

On Wednesday, she activated the MS suite and filled in the account details. When she tried Word, she found it to be chalk and cheese from what she had been used to, then realised that she had moved from Windows ten to eleven, and that everything was bright, shiny, and new. She loaded up and activated the virus protection. All of this was done as WR Holdings, with the company credit card to pay the subscriptions. She logged on to Outlook and set up her old email account, with all of the history empty. For the last thing, she created a Gmail address under the company, wrholdings. This would be her private account, only made known to those with a valid reason to know. She emailed Jacob to let him know to use it for private messages. Ten minutes later, she got her first message, which just read ‘Willow, I love you, JE’.

That evening, she went to the club and again let Gina play the organ for the choir. She sat at a table and wrote lyrics in her notebook, based on a busy life. She saw Tom looking across at her as he worked the choir with professionalism. Even Malcolm gave her a smile when she went for a drink. She was there, if needed, but was staying out of the way.

By the time she got home, the usual inbox had messages from various friends. There was one from Peter with a mock-up of the upgraded website to look at, as well as a similar one for each of the other two bands. He also told her that he would see her at the reception, now invited as Rick’s manager.

On Thursday morning, Willow had breakfast and then showered and dressed in one of her nicer skirt and top outfits. Ashley dropped her off at the farm and then left to look for the items for the garage. They weren’t at the farm long; just long enough for Willow and Jacob to have a cuddle, and then a car arrived to take the two girls on an adventure. Neither had been for a salon experience, having not been able to pay for one before.

At the salon, they were preened and pampered, had their hair washed and worked on, while other attendants looked after their fingers and toes. They both had their dresses with them, and the make-up was applied to suit the dress colours as well as their own colouring. When they left, they both had bags with the products that had been used on them.

At the Britannia, they were given the room card, and a lad carried their things up to what turned out to be a suite. With the dresses, a suitcase and the cosmetics bags, it was almost as much as you would have for a long stay. When the things were stored with the dresses hanging in the wardrobe, they went down to the dining room for an early lunch.

They spoke about the next events of the day, and then Willow asked about where Jacob would be living when Racheal and Rick moved in.

“The thing is, Willow, that we are just buying the farmhouse and the right to farm the land. My parents will retain ownership of the acreage and will receive a part of the profit as an annual payment. Dad has done some work on one of the old barns; making it watertight and internally insulated. He had started it so I could come back and help him. It has some internal walls and has been plumbed for water and a septic tank. All we need to do is finish the fit-out, and Jacob can move in. There will be enough room for him to set up a large music room, which Rick will use as well to store his stuff. I’ll feed Jacob, but he will essentially be living in a bachelor pad.”

“Will you be moving in soon?”

“About two months for our lease to run out on the flat. Enough time to throw some money at the barn and the parents to shift to Stoneleigh. There are things that they want to do with that house before they move in. Nothing will change until summer. And we need to go and change for the big event.”

Back in the room, the two girls made ready for the ceremony, putting on luxurious underwear and stockings. It was the first time that Willow had worn stockings and a garter belt, and she felt very lady-like. Willow helped Racheal get into a tight-fitting dress, then put on hers. They both stepped into shoes that neither would enjoy but made them both look fabulous.

They had rechecked their make-up when there was a knock on the door. The car driver was ready to take them. Racheal followed him, with Willow behind and carrying both of their clutches. There were some looks as they walked through the reception to the car, and then they were off to the registry.

When they arrived, Wilhelm was there to escort his daughter with Willow in attendance. In the office, Rick was waiting, Jacob in a very smart suit standing beside him. There wasn’t a lot of room, but enough for the parents. Once the paperwork had been signed, they went outside, where there was a small crowd of well-wishers. Maisie and Gina stood with Wendy and Ashley; the Hikers were all there with their partners. The bride and groom were showered with rice, as the local council didn’t allow confetti, but allowed rice as the pigeons would have it all gone within five minutes. Willow gave Racheal her clutch, and then went to stand with Gina, who had a stunning dark red outfit on. There was two or three photographers, one of them made sure to take several pictures of Willow and Gina.

Willow was taken back to the hotel by her parents, where she used the card to open the door to the room. She took her bag and garment bag through to the smaller room, leaving her parents the big bed. She changed into a skirt and top for the reception, changing her shoes for her more comfortable ones.

They went down to the hotel bar, where most of the wedding guests were having a drink and sat with Maisie and Gina. Jacob joined them. Rosalie and Wilhelm were sitting with a couple who she knew were the new in-laws, and the Hikers were enjoying drinks at the bar. As it got towards five, they all gravitated towards the function room, which was set out with a lot of table settings, with some guests already seated. At one end, Willow noticed a grand piano, next to where a DJ was setting up. They found their places, near the DJ, and sat down. The bridal party were on a table next to them, arriving just on five and joining both sets of parents. Racheal had changed from the wedding dress into something a lot more comfortable, no doubt assisted by Rick, Willow surmised.

The meal was good, and the room was filled. There were a lot of family, old school friends, and friends of the two families. Willow noticed Peter and Marcus with their partners, as well as Geoff and Zara. There were no set speeches, but Rick’s father stood to make one. The DJ stopped the quiet music. When he had waffled on about his layabout son and the angel he had married, he said that the happy couple would now have the first dance.

Racheal came over to Willow.

“Willow, friend. Could you please do that last song of the new album for me to dance to?”

“Certainly, Rach. Would you like me to add a few on, so that we get more dancing?”

“That would be lovely.”

Racheal went back to her table and Willow went to the piano, quickly opening and propping the top. She uncovered the keys and started playing ‘Her Day’. As she played and sung, Racheal and Rick were dancing. Racheal beckoned others to join them, and the floor slowly filled. When the song from the album ended, she segued into ‘Close to you’ and ‘Only Just Begun’. As she was nearing the end, she nodded to the DJ who was ready to carry on the music when she finished. She quietly put the cover on the keyboard as Jacob closed the piano top, then they joined the other dancers.

“That was nicely done, darling. Rach has been playing my CD of the album all week, with that song on rotation. After all the angst of the earlier numbers, that one is the most uplifting. It was good of you to play it for her.”

“It’s the least I could do, sweetheart. That was a nice piano. One day, we may have a house big enough to have one.”

“There’s another old barn at the farm that has a lot of room.”

“Surely the new farmers might have a use for it. If they embrace modern methods, they may need more plant and equipment.”

“You could be right. What are you doing tonight?”

“We’re staying in the room that we changed in. Mum will go to work from here and I’ll be going home with Dad in a taxi. I’ve got the other wedding on Sunday, and then we do that reception at the club. I’m amazed at what we fitted into this holiday.”

“It would never have happened without you wielding the shoehorn.”

They danced and sat, sat and danced. Over the course of the evening, several of Racheal’s old friends came over to say hello to Willow, Gina and Jacob, taking selfies. It encouraged the three to get up and move away from the bridal table, heading to where their manager was sitting.

“Hello, Peter, nice to see you and your good wife.”

“Hello, Willow. That was an interesting take on your songs back there.”

“The first time I did the new set was at the club when we had an impromptu Saturday night. Just me and the keyboard. I think it has more depth of emotion with the full band.”

“It certainly has, from the number of crying women in the club on Wednesday.”

“Someone suggested that we put a packet of tissues on every seat, but I reckon a concession stand selling them might be more lucrative. Nice work on the bookings.”

“When I de-finger, Willow, I go all out. Marcus has been to London and has some news for the band. I would like to set up a meeting before you go back to school.”

“I’ll be home, alone, tomorrow, then Saturday I need to be over the church to run through the wedding music again. We’ll all be at the club for the reception on Sunday. Maybe you can email the others to arrive early. Remember the wind players.”

“That wedding is at four, with the reception starting about six-thirty for the eating, right?”

“There will be a period between five and six while the bride and groom go and change in the vicarage. Maybe we could meet then, in the club.”

His wife sat forward.

“Who is it getting married, dear.”

“It’s Cassandra, the daughter of Baron Leigh, and Terry, son of the Earl Appleby. I’ll be playing the church organ for them.”

“A real society wedding. Didn’t I read something about that in the Observer this week. The story was about a many great niece of the third Baron playing the organ. Is that really you?”

“It is. My four times great grandfather was the brother of the third Baroness. We only found out about it by a twist of fate. It doesn’t make me family to the current Baron, though.”

“Still, it’s an interesting thing to tell your children.”

They moved on to talk to Geoff and Zara, and then the other members of the Hikers. As the evening wore on, the happy couple made their escape under a cloud of confetti, and the guests started to leave. The three friends went back to their tables. When it was quiet, Gina turned to Willow.

“I was going to bring this up before. At the registry, there was one photographer that seemed more interested in us than the happy couple.”

“That’s because we were why he was there. The boss where Mum works has a friend who runs a fashion business. They print the quarterly brochures for them. It appears that the friend is keen to have us model teen outfits. I’ve already put her off for the spring collection, but she sent him to take a few of us dolled up to see what we look like. I expect that Mum will hear what she thinks in the next week or two.”

“So, we may finish the term as rock stars and models. That’s wild!”

“Hey, it’s only a clothing brochure in the paper, it’s not Vogue.”

“It’s the first step on the ladder of super modelling. Catwalk by day, rock gods by night!”

“You’ve had too much raspberry cordial, friend. I think it’s time I hit the sack. My folks need their beauty sleep, Dad’s either nodding off or all that beer is getting to him. Goodnight, friends. I’ll see you Saturday for the sing-along.”

They hugged and Jacob kissed Willow before she rounded up her parents and went to the room. She cleansed in the bathroom and wondered what the meeting would deliver. It had to be something big if Peter wanted a full-band meeting. She decided not to worry herself and dived into a strange bed without her furry friends to talk to. As she went to put out the bedside light, she saw her shiny red fingernails and smiled.

Marianne Gregory © 2025

Chapter 23

It was early in the morning when Willow’s phone alarm woke her. She was slightly disorientated to wake up in a strange room. She looked around and remembered that she was going home in a taxi with her father today. She went to the bathroom and prepared for the day. When she came out, wearing one of the hotel dressing gowns, her father was waiting to go in.

She redressed in the skirt and top she had started off with the day before and spent a little time on her hair, now fallen out of its wedding look. She had the good dress, the reception outfit, and accessories in the garment bag, and her shoulder bag with everything else ready to go, along with the dress and other things that Racheal had left in the room, when a knock on her door told her it was time for breakfast. She followed Ashley down to the hotel dining room, where they grazed at the bain-marie and found a table. They had eaten their breakfast and were finishing some of the best coffee Willow had tasted, when Wendy joined them, dressed for work.

Father and daughter went back to the room and collected the baggage. Willow gave her mother the room card, had a morning hug, and went to the reception area to wait for Ashley. When he had wished Wendy a good day at work, he joined Willow, and they went outside where a line of taxis were waiting for custom. They put their bags in the first one, got in the back seat and were off to Stoneleigh at around the time they would normally be making breakfast.

On the way, the talk was about the wedding and the reception. When they were dropped off at home, Ashley went and changed into his working suit and gave Willow a hug on his way to his car. Willow stood for a while in the empty house, feeling a bit lonely after the events of the day before. She shook herself and took her bags up to her bedroom, stripping off and redressing in a new outfit, then putting all her soiled clothes into her hamper, and hanging Racheal’s garment bag in her wardrobe for later pick-up.

She made herself a cup of tea and some toast, and sat at the kitchen table with it, her new laptop open in front of her. There were a few new emails. One was from Marcus.

‘Willow, this is for your information, prior to a meeting Peter is going to call. The show at the Belgrade will be the three bands and filmed for the Band Spot program with the compere of that show compering on the three nights. The SRDB dinner dance at the football club will be a charity event with the money, after all the expenses, going to an outreach program that the Bishop supports, so there should be a big contingent of dignitaries and celebrities. I have provisional agreement with another promoter to have SRDB playing at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool for the last week of July. The Other Side will be opening for Blastmasters for two weeks at the end of August. That will be something that will knock your socks off. Sixteen shows in sixteen days in sixteen cities. Details later. See you at the reception.’

She looked at the header and saw that he had sent it to her yesterday morning. She was glad she hadn’t read it then, as it was a lot to take in. If they were to be on stage as the Other Side in August, the album would have to be out there before that. Then the Winter Gardens. That was surely a dance place, and the band would need more than internet sales to attract the general public. She drank her tea and wondered what else will be revealed on Sunday.

There was another one from the Head that had come in later yesterday.

‘BBC keen to have orchestra on the Monday of the last week of the Proms. See me Monday!’

She looked in her diary and noted that the Proms Monday was the Monday of the first day of the new term.

She made herself lunch and went for a good walk. She stopped at the church and worked through the music for the normal service, and then the wedding music to make sure she had it right. When she switched off and came down, the Reverend was in the altar area, and she helped him take away the usual altar and reset the main one.

“Thank you for helping, Willow. It’s good to see you making sure that you have the music right. Gina is very good at that as well. It does show a sense of detail that is sadly lacking in a lot of young people, I’m afraid.”

“Talking about detail, Reverend, I have advance notice of a couple of times over the summer when both Gina and I will be performing in another town, so there may be a few Sundays when neither of us will be able to play.”

“That’s all right. We can live with that. If you get famous, I expect that we may lose your services for good.”

“You never know, Reverend. There may be other budding organists out there who will want to play this organ that had been played by the now famous duo. Some would love to sit up there and pretend that they’re us, at first. Then they will realise that they aren’t us and will grow into being themselves.”

“You almost have the mind of a preacher, young lady. You think in parables, sometimes. I might use that insight in a sermon. ‘Do not emulate your idols, become an idol yourself’ sounds like a good topic.”

“I tell you what. When it gets closer, and I know the dates we’ll miss. If I’m being interviewed, I’ll lament that I can’t play here on that Sunday, and we’ll see how many give you a call to fill in.”

They laughed and Willow felt that the Reverend Russell was one of the kindest human beings she had ever met. She surprised him with a kiss on the cheek and left, leaving the Reverend heading for his notebook as the words of a sermon came into his head.

She went over to the club and Malcolm helped her to pull the two keyboards to the middle of the stage for the sing-along on Saturday evening. They also pulled out the amplifiers, but only plugged two in that had the cables from the keyboards. They set up the PA system and then Willow helped him tidy up the room and get the tables and chairs set. They talked as they worked, and Willow told him about the wedding, the day before.

“I suppose they got you to sing, then.”

“They did. There was a nice grand piano and I did three songs for the bridal dance.”

“The wedding day one from the album was one, I expect.”

“How did you guess?”

“I’ve been humming it since I heard it. The topic is so uplifting. Don’t be surprised if that becomes one of the most requested songs for wedding receptions this summer.”

“That will mean that there will be lots of downloads. I’ll ask Peter not to make it a free view. I think that he’s adding ‘Finding a Friend’ as the main vision.”

“That one’s nice as well. The rest are, quite frankly, beyond me, but seem to hit a nerve with all the women in the room.”

“Women are half the population, and if they all buy the album, we’ll throw a party. Talking about parties, both me and Gina have our birthday next month. We will talk about it, but I’m all for throwing a dinner dance, similar to a reception. I’ve never had an actual birthday party, so I’m keen to make this one pop. We haven’t decided, but are thinking about the Friday night, and there’s a dinner dance on the Saturday. We might get the Hikers to play if they’ve got enough material by then. I expect that there’ll be us and the Gees there as well, so we may just get up and jam rock and roll.”

“That’s something I’d pay to see. Be sure that you order the cakes early. One big enough to feed a hundred will take several days to make.”

With the room ready to go, Willow went home to slice and dice for dinner. When her mother got home, she came into the kitchen.

“Willow, great news! The fashion house owner has seen the pictures from yesterday and she wants both you and Gina to model the best items from her summer range. They guy took pictures of others there, and she asked me about the young lad, so I told her that it was Jacob, also in the band. We will all go to a studio next Thursday after I pick you up from school. She’ll lay on some food and you three will have a photo shoot. She hopes to complete the range that night, so the brochure can be designed. She has been in touch with Peter and discussed your fee.”

“That’s wicked, Mum. Gina will be beside herself. I have some news for you. We will be busy next month. We play at the Belgrade Theatre on the first weekend, have the concert in the Cathedral in the middle, then there’s that big dinner dance in the football stadium function room. That one, I’ve been told, will be our full dance band and a charity function involving the school.”

“Any word on what’s happening during summer?”

“All I know is that we could be having a week in the Winter Gardens in Blackpool at the end of July, and sixteen days touring with a rock band called Blastmasters at the end of August. Oh! And a possible performance in the Proms on the Monday of the first day of term. Only I have been given that information, so far. We’re having a big meeting with Peter and Marcus between the wedding and the reception on Sunday, where all will be revealed.”

“Why only you?’

“Because I was the one to get Peter moving on our recording day. He was dragging his heels and walked in demanding to know what we were doing without his permission.”

When Ashley arrived, they had dinner and Willow sat with them to watch TV, dozing off on the couch. She was woken with a nudge from her mother and went up to cleanse and get into bed. Despite her snooze, she slept well.

Saturday morning, the new cabinets and work bench arrived. Willow helped her father position them in the garage, with one cabinet near the work bench and the other some way away. Ashley started to collect his tools from where they were strewn over the floor and put them into one cabinet, while Willow made several trips to transfer the recording equipment, mixer, cables, microphones and her old laptop to her cupboard. She added the drum machine for safe keeping. The cabinet had a lock, so she locked it and put the key in her sock drawer. The spare room now was clear and ready for visitors, and her own room had more space. She flattened all the boxes and bundled them up with string to go out on the next rubbish pick-up day.

Later that afternoon, the family walked to the club, where Gina and Jacob joined them, along with Maisie and Jacob’s parents. They commented on how well the wedding had gone and how beautiful the bride and maid of honour were. Gina told her friends about the following Thursday evening, and complained that they would all be wearing the uniform. Wendy assured her that they would be given outfits to wear, possibly given something to come home in. They had their early dinner and then went up on the stage for the sing-along, surprised to see an audience that was close to capacity. They played and sung until after ten, finishing with ‘Now is the Hour’. They switched everything off and Jacob left his guitar in the storage room for the next night. The three of them pulled the drum kit out and roughly set it up. They all had a hug and Willow and Jacob shared a kiss or three, then he left with his parents. Gina told Willow that Sally sounded even better during the practise that afternoon, and they spoke about the meeting.

“I’ll record the meeting for you until you get back from Evensong. I think I know what it will be about. We’ll start playing after you arrive, OK?”

“OK, Willow. You know me. I’ll go along with whatever the band agrees to, as long as it keeps the money coming in.”

Willow left her parents to it and walked home, going off to bed as soon as she arrived. She thought back to some advice from ages ago. She should see about a personal trainer to get her into shape. She was able to go longer than before, but still needed plenty of sleep.

Sunday morning, Willow dressed in one of her fuller skirts and a top, and then the family walked to the church. She switched on and started playing the Bach as the bells rang. The church filled up, several new faces in the congregation. She wondered if some may be very early for the wedding. The service went the usual way, with her ending the music as the bells finished. When she came down, two gentlemen in suits were waiting for her.

“Miss Rose. I hope that we are not upsetting you, but we are both A and R executives with a record distributor based in London. My name is Clive. Mister Waddington came to see us last week and showed us a DVD which we loved, but we frankly found hard to believe was work of teenagers.”

“Every member of Summer Rose, sir, is starting the third term of second year tomorrow. We all go to Blue Coat in Coventry. How did you know where to find me?”

“Mister Waddington mentioned that you played organ here. Is the other girl around? Gina Summer, isn’t it?”

“Gina is in Coventry Cathedral, getting ready to play the organ there for the service. We alternate, and you will be able to see her in a live feed if you go across to the club. It’s where we recorded the shows last Wednesday week.”

“When are you playing again?”

“If you hang about, I’m playing organ for a wedding at four, Gina will be playing Evensong in Coventry until five, and then Peter, our manager, has called a meeting in the club between five and six, then we play for the reception from half-past six and late.”

“Is there anywhere we can stand where we can see the show?”

“Follow me. I’ll show you the layout. I don’t see any problem if you sat at the bar and looked like late-coming guests. The room sits over two-hundred and fifty, and I believe that it’s fully booked. If you eat a good lunch, you can get dinner in the front area before you go in.”

She led them across to the club, where she introduced them to her parents and the two men gave all three of them their business cards. She showed them the back room, the stools where they would be unobtrusive, the stage and the equipment.

“That looks exactly how it looked in the video. I’m becoming a convert, Miss Rose.”

“Please call me Willow, everyone else does.”

“All right, Willow. Mister Waddington said something about other bands but didn’t have anything to show us.”

“That would be G-Force and Rick Sacks and the Hikers. When Marcus went to London, they hadn’t given him their discs because they only got them Friday.”

“Is that the Hikers who had their album go viral some weeks back?”

“It is. We did a recording session here with all three bands. The Hikers played a lot of new material. G-Force are fourth years from our school. They have both signed with Peter and Marcus should have their shows now. You can ask Peter and Marcus when they come here this afternoon.”

“Are they on the guest list?”

“I doubt that either of them would know an Earl and a Baron, gentlemen.”

They laughed.

“No, so if we stay out of sight, we can come in when they leave.”

“Don’t you want them to see you?”

“Well, we don’t want them to think we have doubts. We’re committed to giving them our answer tomorrow.”

“What sort of answer would that be?”

“Whether we commit to manufacturing your CD and DVD to distribute world-wide. It was good enough for that, but we’ve been had before.”

“What show did he give you?”

“One called ‘Journey into Womanhood’. He said that there’s another but will show us that in some months’ time.”

“Get yourselves a drink and watch Gina on the big screen. I’ll go and get you a set of the other discs so you can see what he held back.”

She went home and came back with a CD and DVD of ‘The Other Side’ and a note with her phone number and email address. Giving them to the men, she went to sit with her parents, and they followed, sitting at the table and making conversation. They were very friendly, but Willow could see that their conversation was designed to draw out any chinks in the story. They were praising Wendy when she said that she had done the cover art, and surprised when she said that she had also done the ‘Coventry Carpentry’ album.

“You recorded that album as well?”

“Yes. It’s only been available on the website, But I believe that it’s been getting a lot of airplay. We’ll do some tracks off of it tonight, along with the two, more uplifting tracks off ‘Journey’. One thing about tonight. We will have a wind section for the dance band, on top of the seven of us.”

They all had lunch, after watching Gina on the big screen. Willow excused herself and went home to get herself ready for the wedding. As she showered, she thought long and hard about what had been said. World-wide distribution! That would be brilliant. She was ready to go at just after three and went to the church, her new dress wafting in the slight breeze.

Since she had left it, that morning, workmen had been inside, setting up a number of cameras, and there was a big screen set up outside, with each camera vision shown in one of the segments. She went and spoke to the Reverend, commenting on how many flowers now decorated the place. At half-past three, she went up to the organ, turned on the fans and got comfortable.

She was playing Bach as people started to come in. They were definitely a different crowd from the usual congregation. The wedding went as well as the practise, but with more robes, better dresses, jewels, and more pomp. When the happy couple left the church, she continued to play until the church was empty. Then, she went outside, where there was quite a crowd and several photographers making things difficult. She endured a quarter of an hour being positioned in group photos, and then was able to make her escape, going over to the club. Wendy told her that the others were in the back room, so she made sure her phone was on record, in her bag, and went in.

The rest of the band were sitting at a table, close to the stage and with their backs to it. Peter and Marcus were facing them, their backs to the bar where the two men sat quietly. When Willow joined them, Peter asked where Gina was.

“On her way from Coventry. I’ll record this for her.”

She took the phone out and put it on the table.

Peter and Marcus outlined what she had already read. Jacob was holding her hand at it tightened as the shows were spoken about. She whispered to him.

“Ease off on the grip or else I won’t be able to play tonight.”

The grip eased, and they sat while Marcus told them a bit more detail about the Winter Gardens show. They would be the house band for a week, as Summer Rose, and staying in a hotel nearby. As far as the Blastmasters shows went, all he could tell them that the tour would start in Liverpool and end in London, with the sixteen shows spaced to be easily moved from place to place, with two sets of equipment leapfrogging the venues. Both bands would be using the one set of amps, which would be bigger than anything they had played before. There were questions about accommodation and security, which they were told would be suitable for their age. They would not be travelling with the other band, who already had a reputation as hard drinkers.

Gina came in as they were finishing, and Willow linked to her phone and transferred the recording. Peter and Marcus were asked to leave the room as the guests started arriving. Willow looked across to the bar and Clive winked at her. The band went up on stage so that the diners could take their seats, and switched on, tuned up, and started playing what Willow had once heard called ‘Elevator Music’.

They played the background music until the main course had been consumed and stopped when Chris stood. He made a gentle sort of speech, followed by the best man, who Willow considered to be an upper-class chinless twit. Toasts were made to just about everyone, and then Terry led Cassie onto the dancefloor. Rather than a traditional waltz, which she doubted they could dance anyway, she played the intro to ‘Her Day’ and the band followed her, with it being such a simple tune that the winds could fill in. They moved on to the two that she had played on Thursday, because they had worked there. They continued playing dance music until the floor was only filled with younger dancers and then they upped the tempo, getting into some Moody’s, more Carpenters, other sixties tunes that always got the floor heaving. They played, until nine, when the happy couple left, then non-stop until ten-thirty when Willow announced that they would be playing the last tune.

As they were switching off and getting the instruments in the cases, Clive came over to speak to Willow.

“Willow, my hearty congratulations. You and your band are the real thing. I will be contacting Marcus tomorrow to tell him that we’ll throw our weight behind you and put the album out. I expect that he will organise an immediate tour.”

“Not on, sir. We’re all at school, you would have heard that we will play Blackpool in the holidays and that he’s also set up a tour with Blastmasters in the holidays.”

“Yes, that one is very odd.”

“Not when you’ve seen the other DVD.”

He smiled, gave her a nod and joined his companion to leave the room. Gina asked who he was, so Willow just said that he was someone who had enjoyed the show. That night as she lay in bed, she wondered how the record company would deal with them now, seeing that there was no way they could tour to promote the record.

On Monday morning, they were in the car and heading for school. Wendy could tell that Willow was stressed but wasn’t able to find out why. When they left the car and walked into the school, Miss Russell was at the door. She pointed at Willow.

“You have your orders Miss Rose, go and wait with the others. Miss Summer, you’re on the organ this morning. Go to the stage and check the music. It’s just a standard hymn today.”

Willow went to the Head’s office, where she found Abbie, the orchestra leader of the junior group, and Moyra, the leader of the senior group.

When they were called into the office, the Head got them to sit down.

“I’ve called you three in because we have an odd situation which needs the three of you in agreement. The Bishop has suggested that we perform The Messiah at Christmas, in the Cathedral. He will expect Willow, who has been playing their organ for a couple of months, to be prominent because of her high profile with her band. We have decided that the best place for Willow is right out in front as the orchestra leader for this one project only. What do you say?”

Abbie spoke first.

“I’m happy with that if I can sit beside her. She has acted more like a leader in the orchestra than anyone else I’ve seen.”

Moyra just said that she agreed. The Head smiled.

“I will announce her as leader for the project. It will be hard work to get it right and the three of you will have to work together. Now, let’s get to the theatre and start the last term.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025
End of book two.