A Real Man in My Life Ch. 05

Mark came forward for the only song he ever sang, the male voice for 'Does your mother know' and the Boyz rocked!

To cool everyone down we finished the Abba bit with 'Thank you for the music' everyone was still stood up.

Ray appeared with a microphone and applauded Elaine and I breathless back to our place. He had a towel around his neck, and mopped his sweating brow.

"Wow!" he said, to the shouting and cheering, "What a night! Ladies and gents, I've just been told by the guildhall staff that as of three days ago we officially sold out and have already reached TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS FOR CAROLINE!" He clapped the crowd, "That's more than we ever thought, thanks so much!" he wiped his face again, "But you know so many of us were good mates with Caroline, including lots of you out there. Deedee Darling," he called over Diane and she walked across and slipped an arm around him.

"Good evening Ray!" she said in her sexy rumbling voice. More howls and wolf whistles which increased as she dipped and pouted to her fans.

"It's been amazing Dee hasn't it?"

"Ray, it's been incredible, getting all of our old friends together in such a great cause for a great girl, it's wonderful."

"Yes," said Ray and the audience was starting to wonder what was going on with this discussion amongst all of the music, "BUT!" he said still talking, "don't you think that it's astounding, time is fleeting, and madness takes control..." There was some shouting as some of the audience got it. Some music started in the background, "BUT listen closely..." the music got still louder,

"Not for very much longer!" screamed Deedee standing next to him.

"I've got to keep control!" The crowd got it and the band came in.

"I remember doing the Time Warp.

Drinking those moments when

The blackness would hit me.

And the void would be calling!"

The entire place joined in with

"Let's do the Time Warp again!"

At the end of the bar the music stopped, dead, and Ray said quite simply

"It's just a jump to the left..."

Almost 2,500 people did as much of the time warp as they could with the limited space - it was one of the highlights of the evening with Ray and Deedee in each other's arms, laughing, crying, giggling, shouting to the rest of us having played the entire audience like pro's. It was perfect.

It was time for the cool-down before the big finish. Four of us came to the front, and for the first time in 20 years we were going to sing a special song for a special person.

There was Gray on the end, my Tom having taken his bass guitar and handing him a big acoustic, me, Elaine and grown up Tom, with another acoustic guitar.

Tom stepped forward.

"Ladies and Gentlemen we are all here this evening to remember someone really special that we lost; but at the same time we also need to remember someone that, without her, none of this would ever have happened. Please welcome," her turned to his left with his arm extended, "vision, soul and spirit of the Schools Theatre Company..." he smiled a soppy smile and lost the 'announcer voice' and used his softer 'Tom' voice, "Miss Anne White!"

Somehow he'd managed to track down Miss White and smuggle her into the building. With her same beaming smile she was instantly recognisable as the wonderful music teacher that had driven us, taught us, guided us and knew when to give us free reign she walked on from stage right on my Tom's arm.

She was of course twenty years older, looked greyer (but then so did some of us!) and more care worn and she walked onto stage with the same calm poise that she always had done, when we called her forward at the end of a concert or tour or such like.

She smiled and waved and got a standing ovation, especially from all of us on the stage. She came and stood between Elaine and I. None of us had seen her since our last concert in this hall twenty years ago and it was like meeting your favourite much loved Auntie again. We always called her 'Miss' or 'Miss White' even though she got married to her long-time boyfriend Mr Franklin, a science teacher at my school.

At the last concert before her wedding, we sang a song to her and she cried her eyes out. I just knew that tonight would be no less emotional for all of us.

"Miss White, this song is just for you," said Tom.

As soon as I saw Miss White I knew why the four of us and the Boyz had rehearsed this song, on our own, at the end of the last few rehearsal session.

I pulled her tighter to me and gulped back the emotion, and as I sang the first line my affection for this wonderful lady was audible,

"While I'm far away from you my baby,

I know it's hard for you my baby

Because it's hard for me my baby,

And the darkest hour is just before dawn..."

The boys picked their guitars harder and we all knew where this would go.

The rest of the band joined in gently and Miss White smiled and put her hands to her face in shocked pleasure.

It was a song that she would always sing herself, or whistle and Elaine had found out that her Dad would sing it to her when she was a young girl. Once we found out, we of course learned it and played and sang our teenage hearts out to her in our best ever four part harmony.

"Each night before you go to bed, my baby,

Whisper a little prayer for me my baby, yeeeeah,

And tell all stars above,

This is dedicated to the one I love,"

Mrs White-Franklin rested against me laughing and crying, and Elaine came closer and hugged her too.

I looked across to Elaine and we smiled, both knowing how this would go; we raised the pitch just as the Mommas and Pappas used to

"And there's one thing I want you to do,

Especially for me,"

I held the microphone in front of Miss White and she got it as well, and placing a hand gently to mine, pulled the mike to her mouth and just as she had done all those years ago belted out,

"And it's something that everybody needs!"

Now it was a five part harmony and Miss sang with the Schools Theatre Company for the second time. The roar from the crowd was enormous and we sang our hearts out again for a wonderful lady.

"Each night before you go to bed, my baby,

Whisper a little prayer for me my baby, yeeeeah,

And tell all stars above,

This is dedicated to the one I love,"

I will confess that on a couple of the 'This is dedicated to the one I love" I did look across and smiled at my wonderful boyfriend Gray.

When we finished the roar from the crowd was deafening. Miss White was shown back to a seat on the stage with the brass and strings where she was hugged and kissed by all the other surprised musicians; after all, she had as much right to be up there as we did.

Elaine and I walked back to our place and Tom and Gray stayed at their microphones,

"Sing it Gray," said Tom off of the mike, "one more time for Caroline".

The crowd heard though, and even though they didn't know what song the Boyz were on about they cheered and shouted 'Yes'.

He grinned and nodded, and Marty came forward from his drum riser with a tambourine and a water bottle, Mark appeared with Gray's bass, Stevie Mac with another acoustic guitar and Ray was there with a small piano strung like a guitar around his neck and they all walked towards the front microphones and waited for silence.

Tom and Gray strummed their guitars just once and Gray began to sing, his first solo of the night,

"To lead a better life,

I need my love to be here,

Here,

Making each day of the year

Changing my life with a wave of her hand,

Nobody can deny that there's something there."

The boys joined in on the 'oooh's' all the way through and Ray had set his piano to sound like an accordion. It was classic Boyz stuff and a pleasure to listen to.

"There,

Running my hands through her hair

Both of us thinking how good it could be

Someone is speaking, but she doesn't know he's there."

As I listened I remember that they used to play this song to and all stand around Caroline, and look at her and fawn, and just generally try to embarrass her. I could hear the emotion in the song and thought on how this must be upsetting for Gray and all the Boyz and I felt my bottom lip tremble. I had been making eyes at Gray all night and now he was singing a song to his lost love.

"I want her everywhere,

And if she's beside me I know I need never care

But to love her, is to need her everywhere,

Knowing that love is to share

Each one believing that love never dies

Watching her eyes

And hoping I'm always there."

Elaine slipped a hand through my arms and squeezed, then pointed up at the screen and there were pictures of Caroline, but then there were also picture of Deedee, Elaine, Kate and all the girls from the company.

"I want her everywhere

And if she's beside me, I know I need never care

But to love her is to need her everywhere

Knowing that love is to share

Each one believe that love never dies,

Watching her eyes,

And hoping I'm always there.

To be there, and everywhere

Here, there and everywhere!"

At the final 'Here, there and everywhere' there was my picture and Gray turned round to me and blew a kiss to me, and there was a roar of approval. To save my blushes Deedee and Elaine were waving back with the same sweet smile that I was! Gray laughed and stepped back, taking his bass guitar from Mark, with my Tom handing Mark his Gibson.

The Boyz returned to their usual places with their usual guitars, and Stevie Mac played the twangly intro instantly recognisable from the Eagles and stepped up to his mike.

"On a dark desert highway

Cool wind in my hair,

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim,

I had to stop for the night."

The verse continued until all of the Boyz at their various microphones and hit the chorus in perfect harmony and the audience joined in.

"Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place

Such a lovely face,

Plenty of room at the Hotel California

Any time of year

You can find it here"

Stevie Mac encouraged the audience to come in on the choruses and it was wonderful.

After the brilliant guitar outro the Boyz played pitch perfectly, Stevie took a big bow and faced the audience he had in the palm of his hand,

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he purred, which had all the women in the place screaming at him, "Seeing as we are all feelin' Californian..."

The last gasp was of course the Beach Boys, and with Ray's keyboards brought down from his elevated position to the front of the stage and he said that despite whatever we played now, he insisted that we were all now too old to stand on the furniture. He struck his guitar and played the intro to 'Surfin' USA', and I don't think I've ever seen so many people on one stage jump in the air and turn 180 degrees at one go.

Then it was 'Fun, fun fun', then it was just the Boyz and an acapella version of Barbara Ann, before we all sang 'I get around'.

The last song was a secret, even from the rest of us and it was to be a tribute to Caroline. It was being done by The Boyz, and Caroline - lovely gorgeous, curvaceous, feminine Caroline - had been an honorary 'Boy' and would even dress in their school colour of black rather than our blue, and they had said they would do something worthy of their former band mate.

Ray came forward, leaving his beloved keyboard behind and adjusted the mike stand. There was some good natured cheering, but the silence on stage and his look had the two and half thousand people hushed.

He looked over his shoulder at the huge screen and the picture of Caroline in a rocking line up with the all of the Boyz. Those of us close enough could see the tears pouring down his face.

"This is a song for my Caroline," he said, "I think at one stage we all fell in love with Caroline in one way or another." He rubbed at his eyes with the sleeve of his T-shirt, "one of us even got to marry her." The air in the hall could have been cut with a knife, "anyway, this song is for my gorgeous mate Caz," he looked up, "still miss you baby!" he shouted, the grief in his voice audible and touching everyone.

"See me!" he cried, with real emotion in his voice, "Feel me... touch me... heal me..." It was from 'Tommy' the only musical we ever did; we did want to do Rocky Horror but the Catholic School complained.

Slowly it continued with the band joining in and Ray throwing himself into the song, and only the Boyz backing him.

This of course led to the big chorus and the second time around Ray waved for us all to come and we all came on stage and joined in the chorus, holding hands.

"Listening to you I get the music

Gazing at you I get the heat

Following you I climb the mountain

I get excitement at your feet,"

The music rocked up to its crescendo and all of us not holding instruments were holding hands with tears pouring down our faces. Stood right at the front of the crowd was my Gemma still with Sam in her arms dancing to and singing a song she'd probably never heard before with tears in her eyes for a woman she never knew.

The entire hall was on its feet, holding hands and swinging them in time to the music. Young Sam was clapping and beaming up at the pictures of his Mum, including a picture of a blissfully happy couple on their wedding day, and lots of photos of Sam with Mum and Dad growing up. Finally there was the picture of her in her hospital bed fighting the disease until the end.

As the song came to its finish, I could see Ray talking with Gemma, and as the audience roared at the climax of the tune, she put Sam down to his feet and he toddled awkwardly across to his darling Daddy, who let go of his guitar and swung his son up in his arms holding him high up to the picture of his Mum. The crowd roared, and far from scaring the young boy having his face kissed by his father, Sam turned to the crowd and put his arms in the air and roared back.

No one in the house that night had a dry eye, let alone the stage.

I figured that with all of that love for Caroline around the place, Gray wouldn't want to be anywhere near me this night so I backed off a bit, only to see lots of other women honing in on him. I was most pleased when he obviously saw me, and he came over, a lightly dozing Sam in his arms, and took hold of my hand.

He smiled at me, and leaned down to whisper in my ear,

"I've just had the most fantastic compliment of the night," he said beaming a smile at me.

"Really?" I said intrigued. I figured it would be something about what a fantastic child Caroline and he had raised, or how proud Caroline would have been of the whole night.

"Yeah really," he said, "Gemma said that I was lovely, and I could marry you if I wanted; well, more like if you wanted really."

I blushed a fluorescent red putting my hands to my hot cheeks.

"Why Gray-Gray!" shouted Ray, "I do believe you just proposed to my girl here!"

We both turned, and said "What?" in unison.

"You two are among my oldest and dearest friends - that still talk to me." He took a draught of his bottled water, "the pair of you have been making big moochie eyes at each other for three months now and, I get the funniest feeling you haven't just been going to the pictures on those long quiet evenings. For fuck sake you two, life is too short!"

We kissed and laughed.

There was an after show party in the Guildhall's bar, that stayed open until two in the morning, and we stayed for as long as little Sam, and I for that matter, could keep our eyes open. I walked with Gemma and Tom while Gray held a sleeping Sam in his arms. He came back to my place and stayed over. Sam was bedded down in the spare room, and Gray climbed naked into bed with me. The buzz continued and we talked about our favourite bits of the show, which songs, which singer.

Still too pumped to even think of sleep, Gray found the perfect answer, we started to kiss playfully, and before I knew it I was on my back with my thighs spread wide as he lay between them adding the perfect ending to a perfect day, his fingers dancing across my genitalia with the same mastery that he had shown with his guitar. He added his tongue and before I knew it I was either running fingers across his scalp or pulling his hips harder into my pussy as I came again and again. Finally I was flipped on to my hands and knees and fucked. Gray was a master lovemaker but he was also brilliant at the basics and I came twice just with him screwing me. We fell asleep in the spoons position, him still inside me.

With ears slightly ringing it was as if the music carried on, and in a way still does...

Epilogue

The Concert for Caroline raised in excess of forty thousand pounds, both from ticket sales, donations on the night and the corporate sponsorship raised by a certain barrister involved in the event. We made the local TV news, with the promise of some minor extra income to be made from DVD sales.

The Boyz still rock out in pubs two or three times a year, but now they occasionally have a brunette singer that pops in for a couple of songs, sometimes with her two friends.

Elaine was the lucky girl that disappeared into the night with Stevie Mac, there are suggestions that it was back to his hotel room, some back to her house but I'm not convinced as her two children would have been there. But what does it matter, she was divorced from her cheating husband - he was a career singleton.

From her Facebook page, I know she's been on a couple of holidays in the US, one of which was in Virginia, home of course of Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the other being way off in San Francisco.

Over a coffee a few weeks later Deedee told me that she'd got really pissed with Ray at the Guildhall bar and went back to his place.

"I shagged him," she said simply, sipping her coffee and watching young Natalie colouring in on a small table joined by my Gemma.

"Really?" I beamed, "Cool!"

"Oh, I'll never be able to turn him back," she said waving at our daughters, "but we have had a few more practices sober since then just to see if he really likes it..."

"And does he?"

"Fuck yeah," said Deedee, "And he's really good at it."

"Excellent!" I said, "A fuck buddy is better than just a buddy."

"That he certainly is," she looked pensive, "at first I think we just looked at each other as fuck buddies, a bit of rough and tumble, friends with benefits but he's started to just show up at my place and it's really nice. He brought around a big old electronic keyboard and he's teaching Natalie to play the piano, and she worships him; I'm hoping he might want to hang around for a bit, on his own terms of course." I smiled. The old Deedee I knew would never have settled for someone else's view before, and I guessed that being a parent had changed her, for the good I guessed. She smiled, "And how are things with you and the man mountain Graham?"

"Wonderful," I said, "He's offered to sort out my divorce from Parker.

"Excellent," said Deedee, "you take that brain damaged fuck-up for every cent he has."

"I've got the house and maintenance for the kids until they graduate on the understanding that he's still earning money of course. I get a feeling that Bradley will want to move out as soon as he leaves school. Sadly I don't think that Parker will want him to move in. So I'll be stuck with him until he moves out to his own place, and I'm not holding my breath for him to suddenly become a financial success. He's too much like his Dad for that to happen!"

"Well, I'm pleased that Gray is looking after you. He'll eat him and his poxy solicitor for breakfast." She said and downed the last of her latte.

The school year finished and we moved into a quite wonderful summer.