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