We originally expected Camille to share our bed, as she did a few times a week ever since that first night. However, she accepted Will’s invitation to his room, which didn’t surprise us too much, as the two of them were staring at each other nearly non-stop since the two laid eyes on one another.
Kristen and I gave Camille and Will some time alone on Saturday, and we had reservations at another nice restaurant for Valentine’s Day. Will and Camille were still doing the staring thing. We tried drawing them into conversation, but every attempt received a single syllable response at most, and only if they heard us, which wasn’t often.
When we left Logan Airport, Camille and Will shared a long, ten minute kiss that drew the attention of nearly everybody at the gate.
The only thing that was able to separate them was an insistent flight attendant who told them that Camille was about to miss the final call for the flight.
I think Camille seriously considered staying in Boston with Will. I was quite surprised to see Camille, who was sitting alone on the opposite side across the aisle from me. I know that Camille was physically on the plane, but her heart had definitely been left in a lovely apartment in Cambridge.
Despite her feelings for Will, Camille still spent the night a few times a week with Kristen and me.
Aside from my new friendship with Tiny, I found myself stumbling into Amy more and more. It was as if she knew my class schedule and intentionally made herself present in between classes. I remembered when she was a shy player, not saying too much to anybody with the notable exception of Kristen. I mentioned this to Kristen, and she told me that she noticed that Amy was coming out of her shell as well.
Kristen and Amy were still talking to one another during the rehearsal. Kris was playing Mr. Proilet’s electric piano during rehearsals and playing on mine in the music studio at our apartment, so that she and Amy could play duets—duets became popular with that particular song after the Two T’s showed their proficiency that first time. I was very happy that the band members were taking time to practice together on their own.
Amy even started talking to me in the hallways. I didn’t know how to handle it, so I just listened to what she said, remembering Kristen’s advice a few months earlier, and I talked back to her.
A couple of weeks before the Spring Concert, I asked Kristen to make a special trip to the Junior High to pick up Merry for our jazz band rehearsal.
There was a bit of buzz in the music room as they noticed Merry sitting on a tall stool right next to my podium. I didn’t explain Merry’s purpose to anybody. I wanted to see the reaction of the band (including Mr. Proilet, who was sitting in the back, as usual).
We started with the song I wrote, which I referred to as the ”Fisherman Variations.” I figured out the chord progression from something that I quite enjoyed, and I brought Merry in on the joke, and she agreed to play along with it. I red-lighted the room, making the only people in the room the musicians, myself, Merry, and Mr. Proilet. The members of the chorus, who were part of other songs, were waiting patiently outside.
Before I started the song, I told everybody that I was going to add a sixteen-bar vocal solo at the point right before the finale. They seemed confused, since Merry wasn’t known as a singer, even in Junior High.
We started the song, and Kristen and Amy took the first eight-bar duet. The other duets followed, with the Two T’s doing the last duet. It was now time for Merry’s solo, and Amy, Sam, and the drummer started a light chord accompaniment as Merry started singing at my cue.
The entire band was so stunned when Merry finished that they all missed their cue for the big finale.
The song degenerated at that point, and Mr. Proilet started laughing. “I thought the chord progression sounded familiar, Jim,” he said, coming up to my podium.
“Thanks, Mr. P.”
“Merry, that was one hundred percent cute,” Mr. Proilet said, smiling at my sister.
I turned to the rest of the band. “Do you think we can do it again, this time not missing the finale?”
Everybody looked sheepish. I actually expected the laughter to interrupt the song, which is why I brought Merry in a couple of weeks before the actual performance.
We did the song again, Merry did her solo, and this time, there was no hesitation that prevented the finale.
Still, at the end, there was a lot of levity in the room.
I swore everybody to secrecy. “If this gets out to too many people,” I said, “it will spoil the surprise, and with this song, the surprise is everything!”
Everybody swore that they wouldn’t tell. Unfortunately, I heard the song occasionally sung in the hallways, and not only by band members. I hoped the song would go over well live as well as it did the second time we rehearsed it with Merry.
When the Spring Concert arrived, the jazz band was once again the closing act. A lot of people attended the concert… even more than during the Christmas Concert, which was actually unusual.
I asked Patty to use her artistic talents to create Merry’s special props. She didn’t understand what they represented, but I knew she’d understand when Merry did her performance.
My mother, step-father, and just about everybody that I knew, including the very busy Mr. Swift and his wife, were in attendance. The room was standing room only, and I think we may have violated a fire code with the crowd in attendance.
When I walked on stage with the rest of the band for the first part of the concert, I heard people start to chant, “Oogie!”
I didn’t respond to the chants. This first part wasn’t even the jazz band, just the third period class that Mr. Proilet taught. This wasn’t about me, and I was embarrassed a bit. Heck, none of the concert, not even the jazz band, was about me. It was only possible to put on a great performance with great performers, not just the conductor. I knew that Leonard Bernstein conducting a group of five year old kids who never saw an instrument before wouldn’t sound very well.
After we played our numbers, the high school chorus did their songs. They were nicely done, and my good friend Roy sang a featured solo in the song Colour My World, followed by a lovely flute solo from one of the women in the orchestral band. I recognized the flutist as a junior, and made a mental note to invite her to the jazz band next year. Watching her play gave me an idea for some songs by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
It was now time for the jazz band to appear. As we set up, more and more people started to chant, “Oogie! Oogie!”
I sighed. It was kind of embarrassing. I mean, I worked my ass off, but so did over a dozen other very dedicated people. It wasn’t fair for me to be singled out like that.
I set up for the first song, which featured an extra-long featured solo by Tiny Jonas. It was very well received.
We played the rest of our set, leaving the ”Fisherman Variations“ for last.
Amy started the intro to the song, and soon the entire band broke up into eight-bar duets. Each was met by enthusiastic applause.
Finally, during the duet by the Two T’s, two members of the chorus rolled Merry onto the stage. She was sitting on a step-ladder, in front of which was a large sheet of paper that looked like bricks. The effect was that Merry was sitting on a cartoon brick wall.
In Merry’s hand was a stick with a string on it: She was the fisherman for her solo. There was a microphone strategically placed in front of Merry.