Mistaken For A Girl Singer - Chapter 17

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Chris and Margo sat side by side, with her arm around his shoulder and his head on her shoulder.

"What time do you need to be at the studio tomorrow?" 

Willy asked as they pulled into traffic.

Chris sighed. He'd enjoyed the last couple of days of freedom, but he looked forward to getting back to work to complete the duet with John Holden. 

"I need to be there by 11:00. 

So, I guess I'll need to leave around 10:15."

"OK. I'll be waiting." 

Willy made a note on his pad of paper as he drove. "Will you be working all night?" He asked. "No. Probably a couple of hours. I'm just trying a few keys and making a scratch track that the rest of the band can use next week. 

Why?" Willy smiled into the mirror. "Your aunt Sophie is making roast chicken, and she'd like you to come and help. She says that it's the most important meal a girl can know how to prepare. Would you like to come back to the house?"

"I'd love that, Uncle Willy! Tell Auntie that I will be there with bells on!" Willy laughed. "Bells are fine, but Sophie said, 'no designer clothes.

someone ready to work.'"

The suite was dark when they entered. None of the others had gotten back. Margo pulled her phone from her purse and snickered.

"What?" asked Chris as he reached into his purse for his. When he saw the text messages, he giggled. Text from Gina at 8:57 p.m.: Don't wait up. I'm staying with John tonight. Text from Grace at 8:13 p.m.: Me too. Staying with Rick.

Text from Terry at 10:46 p.m.: We're making a night of it, too. 

Mark wants to show me the sunrise over the Cumberland River. "Huh. Terry, too," Chris said. 

"That's surprising." 

Margo laughed some more and said, "Why? You don't think your sister is a virgin, do you?"

"Isn't she?"

"Oh, my goodness, no! She has more experience than me!"

"Seriously?" Margo thought about what she'd just said: "I don't mean that we have results or anything. I mean, well, to be honest, I've only gone 'all the way' a couple of times, and it was with the same guy. We dated for almost a year and a half. I've fooled around a lot, though."

"And Terry?"

Margo's laugh was now a bit uncomfortable. 

"Well, umm, Terry's always been a popular girl, you know? 

Very fun and flirty. She dated a lot of guys, and well, things happened. I'd guess a couple of times with two or three boys. 

Not a whore, but not exactly a saint, either. Just a girl in the twenty-first century." Chris put his phone back in his purse and turned to kiss Margo. 

"She never mentioned it to me," he said as he cuddled into her soft yet firm body.

"Of course not. You were her sickly little brother. 

She wasn't going to come to you and tell you that she opened herself up to a boy. As personal as that is for a boy, it's much more personal for a girl."

Letting someone enter you is a very big deal for a girl.

"He took a step back from her embrace and took both of her hands in his. Then he walked backward to the room he shared with Terry. His eyes never left Margo's, and they both smiled at each other. 

Once in the room, he left the door open, allowing light from the common room to flow into the bedroom, but the lights in the room remained off. First, he took off his shoes, lowering his height by three inches, making Margo seem that much taller and that much bigger than him. 

The press of herbs on his back and the feel of her hands caught between the soft cotton of his dress and the smooth silk of his bra, while she fondled and caressed his new and sensitive breasts, turning his legs to puff. 

When her kisses moved from his mouth to his naked neck, his knees finally buckled, and he had to rely on her strength to hold him upright. 

Finally, she relented and let Chris regain his strength. Margo lowered the dress beyond his shoulders, allowing it to drop to the floor. Again, he held his hair up to the back of his head to allow Margo access to his bra clasp, which she undid, her hands shaking with excitement. 

Then, uncertain that it was the right thing to do, he stepped forward and turned, allowing her to take in his body. And she did. His hair was still perfect, soft, full, and wavy. His make-up was still lovely and fresh, and his mouth was just a bit plump for the kissing. 

His shoulders were small and feminine. 

His breasts were round, firm, and high. Soft and white. 

His waist was trim, and his hips were just a little wider than Margo had expected. 

His legs were smooth, slender, and white, which led to little feet that had been so recently pampered with a pedicure; they too were soft and pretty. 

Moving back up his legs, he came to the spot where his legs met. 

With no hair around it, it looked like it belonged to a little boy, but the reality of the body to which it was attached made it clear that this small sweet thing belonged to an attractive girl on the verge of womanhood. The realization of this dichotomy made Margo shiver with desire. 

"What do you think? Am I a freak?" Chris asked, feeling more naked than he'd ever felt. "A freak?" Margo was shocked by the term. 

"You're the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." 

His smile was small and uncertain. 

"Really. It doesn't look weird that I have this?"

She smiled and knelt down in front of him. 

Then, she carefully lifted it to gain access to his sack, which she kissed several times before standing and hugging him to her."

I love every inch of you. 

From your perky breasts to your pretty little thing, You are just beautiful." Chris's smile indicated his relief. 

"I love you, too. I mean, I really, really love you. You're the first person to see me naked. Even the doctor only looked at my breasts. 

I was really nervous to show you." 

Margo used a finger to push stray hair from Chris's face and place it behind his ear. Then, as she kissed him, she ran that finger down his throat, across his shoulder, down his breast, and across his nipple. 

Chris's breath caught, and Margo used that moment to insinuate her tongue as far into his mouth as possible. Chris moaned with excitement. She broke the kiss. 

"Do you think you're ready for what's about to happen?" He smiled and said, "I am. I'm not a little girl, you know." 

That made him giggle. Margo laughed, too, 

He fixed his eyes on the most beautiful thing he could imagine, and suddenly, he stiffened and his eyes glazed over as he filled the room to the breaking point. Margo smiled and squeezed him as he softened in her grip. "Ahhh. What a good little girl you are." She cooed again. 

"Put on your nightie, baby. I'll be right back." Chris wearily pulled himself to the edge of the bed, sat up, and pulled the pretty cotton nightie over his head. It was plain white with narrow straps over the shoulder and little, flower-shaped eyelets across the surface. 

When Margo returned, she was wearing a dark green, knee-length silk nightie with a lace bodice and lace around the hem. 

She crawled in behind Chris and pulled him close so that her knees were tucked in right behind his and her arms were wrapped around his shoulders. 

"Sweet dreams, my love." He smiled and cuddled back into her. "Sweet dreams. I love you." 

"I love you, too."

"Well, this is a new look for you!" 

Willy laughed as Chris pulled himself into the shotgun seat of the town car. When Willy had pulled up to the front door of the hotel, Chris had been out in front waiting for him. 

He was carrying his guitar and wearing a simple yellow sundress. That alone was a bit different. Willy had noticed that all the Dusty Rose girls tended to dress similarly, usually in fairly subdued colors, like most northern girls. 

Although he had seen Chrissie dressed up on three separate occasions, now this dress was distinctly southern-looking. 

Like something that Jojo and her friends would wear. The big difference, though, was the hair. It was elaborately braided around his head and down his neck. "Does it look okay?" 

 "It looks lovely, darling. Did you do it yourself?" Chris laughed, "Yeah, I wish. I don't know how to do anything fancy with my hair. I went to the salon at the hotel and asked them to do something nice that would keep me cool. It's getting so hot out, and I have a lot of hair." Willy put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway. 

"What are we listening to today, sweetie?" 

"Can we just talk today, Uncle Willy?" 

"Sure, darling. What's the problem?" 

"No real problem, Uncle Willy. Just... well, just worries, I guess." Willy just listened as he drove. "I can't really talk to anyone else. 

I hope you don't mind, but... see... When we were signed to record this album, well, everything just became a whirlwind. 

We had to change our lives and the way we looked, and we had to talk to our parents... Then, before we knew it, we were here and in the studio, working nonstop'. Since we finished the album, I'm really scared about it. 

What happens if the album flops? Or, what happens if one of the girls gets sick or leaves the band? Or, what happens if the public—I don't know—finds out something about us that they don't like? What will happen to us?" Willy sighed and turned on his right turn direction. 

He pulled into an empty parking lot and put the car in the parking lot. He looked forward, lost in thought, for a few moments before throwing his right arm over the seat behind Chris, pulling his bulky frame as far to the right as possible. 

When he'd settled, he looked into Chris's eyes and patted his braided head gently. "First," he said quietly and firmly, "you are seventeen years old. You're in Nashville, working with a great producer. 

You have already achieved far beyond your peers. If that success continues, that's wonderful. If the album fails, then think of it as the first failure on your way to success. Relax. If things go well, the other girls will be there with you. 

If things go badly, guess what? The girls will be there with you, too. Chris nodded. "Second, the Lord takes care of us all. We can't control every aspect of our lives or our health. 

I had a brother who was in great shape, walked three miles a day, and ate nothing but organic food. Then, one day, when he was thirty-seven, I found him dead at his desk. We worked together every single day. 

Who do you think I blamed for that? Me. I blamed myself, and I hated myself for not being there when he needed me." He continued to hold Chris in his fatherly gaze. 

"Does that sound familiar at all?" 

Chris nodded. "Now, it took me a long time to realize that I was not responsible for his death, and you need to realize that you're not responsible for your dad's death, either. 

I know you're afraid of losing any of your friends, but you are only a child. You have a long road ahead of you, and you are not responsible for anyone but yourself. Everyone is happy and healthy now. Enjoy that while it lasts." 

Chris sighed and nodded again. 

"And finally..." he paused to choose his words correctly. 

"I'm not a brilliant man, baby, but I know that you're keeping some pretty big secrets, and that wears on a child, but there are a lot of people around you, and they all love you and they will protect you. 

Do you understand?" Chris wiped his watery eyes. 

"Uncle Willy, I need to tell you..." 

"No, angel, you don't. There is nothing that you could tell me that would change how I feel about you. If I were forced to tell you what I think you want to say, I bet you'd be surprised to hear me say it, but sweetheart, I have watched you grow from an uncomfortable girl to a confident woman in the last few weeks. That doesn't happen unless there are some pretty big changes going on in someone's life." 

"You knew?" Chris was relieved and a little scared."

Actually, you told me once." Chris was confused. "No, I didn't." Willy took a deep breath. 

"Once, when you were telling me about your dad and you were pretty emotional, you said, 'I was only a little boy.' I never heard a woman say that she had been a little boy—that is unless she had been a little boy." 

Chris raised his hands to his mouth. How could he have said something so careless? Had he said that to anyone else!?  

"Don't worry, angel. No one else knows. Every day, you become a more beautiful woman. I promise, no one will ever know unless you want them to." Chris hugged Willy and kissed his cheek. 

"Thank you, Uncle Willy." Willy smiled, turned forward, and put the car in gear. "We're family now, darling. Family takes care of each other." 

"Ok, Chrissie," Mark's voice was in Chris's headphones. "I think you nailed it that time. Take a break. You have some visitors in here." 

They had been recording the scratch track for the duet between Dusty Rose and John Holden. It was a pretty straight-ahead country music ballad, and Chris was determined to make it feel a certain way—just a little bit more like a rock song without taking it out of the sphere of 'country.' 

He took off his headphones, put down his guitar, and headed into the booth. What he found surprised him. Besides Mark, Allan Bennett had come in, and so had John Holden with his new romantic partner, Gina. 

They all had big smiles on their faces, but it was the woman next to Gina who spoke first, and it was her words that made Chris's knees go weak. 

The woman had a young child on her hip, and she had to move the child a bit to free up an arm to offer a handshake to Chris. 

"Hi, Christine, we met the other night," she said with a sweet touch of a drawl. "I'm Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, and, girl, that is sounding really good in there." For a moment, Chris couldn't speak. 

This was just a scratch-track; not the kind of work he wanted to present to a successful country music artist like Hillary Scott! Why hadn't anyone told him that she was in the booth!? Then he stuttered, "Oh, hi, Ms. Scott. Oh, my goodness, hi! Oh, my, Gina! It's Hillary Scott! Umm yeah.. 

That was just a scratch track, you know, not really a completed" Then it occurred to him that it could not just be a coincidence that Hillary Scott would wander into a recording studio by chance. There had to be a reason. 

He tried to form a polite, thoughtful sentence, but all that came out was, 

"Why are you here?" Hillary laughed. 

"Well, darling, I just stopped by to talk to Allan. The boys and I would like you girls to open for Lady Antebellum at six large arenas over two weeks, starting in ten days at an arena in Jacksonville. How does that sound?" He leaned against the wall to stay upright. "Seriously?" 

"Well, yes, darling. Of course, I'm being serious. Six concerts to get you gals ready to become headliners yourselves. What do you say?" 

He looked to Gina, who said, "You say, 'yes,' Chrissie! You say, 'Yes!' 

"Chris began nodding, but it took a good 10 seconds to make his voice work. 

"Yes! I say, yes!! Oh, my goodness! Thank you so much, Ms. Scott. Thank you so much!" 

"Hillary, baby. Call me Hillary." Allan laughed. 

"Good luck with that. I'm still Mr. Bennett." Hillary smiled, and the child in her arms grunted at her desire to get down. 

"I've got to go. This little one is getting fidgety and needs a nap. We'll be in touch!" She left with a final wave. Gina ran to Chris and hugged him. 

"Can you believe it!? Ten days from now, and we'll be opening for them! Ten-freaking-days!"

"I have more news," Allan said. "We're dropping your first two singles the day after tomorrow." 

"The day after tomorrow!?" Screamed Gina. 

"Two singles!?" I screamed at Chris at the same moment. "That's right." Allan loved their reaction."

'In His Eyes' and 'One Less Set of Footsteps' are being released simultaneously in," he checked his watch, "thirty-six hours and eleven minutes." 

Gina leaped into John's arms. 

"Can you believe this?" John's smile showed a bit of concern about his own future, but he said, "That's great, baby. Congratulations!" Chris was still holding the console for support. 

"I think I'm going to throw up," he said. Allan realized that Chris was actually shaking, so he grabbed a waste basket, handed it to him, and took him into a big, supportive hug. "That's ok, honey. You're ready. 

It will be great," and Chris vomited into the waste basket. 

"Mr. Bennett says that we need to take the next two days in the studio to finish up the recording with John; he's from our hometown, and then on Monday we start filming performance and concert footage for the videos. 

They'll only have a little bit of a story with Gina and John and a little with Terry and John. Other than that, we need to get a concert set together for the tour with Lady Antebellum, and then we go on a short tour. 

From there, Mr. Bennett says that we'll have to see how the sales of the singles go and, eventually, how the album goes, but we probably will start on our own by the beginning of August. 

Small places at first, of course, but it could pick up momentum if sales are good. They're working on a logo for us, too. The drafts that I saw are very cool. 

They all have a rose, of course, but very cool." Chris was talking a mile a minute while Jojo and Margo sat at the counter with him. 

All three were shucking freshly picked corn while Sophie was pulling pots and pans out of cabinets. The younger girls were laughing at Chris's excitement, while Sophie struggled to keep up with the nonstop barrage of words. 

Her occasional remarks consisted of "uh-huh," 

"Now, who said that?" 

"Where is that, now?" etc. 

When Willy had come to pick up Chris, he had brought along Margo as a surprise, and thank goodness he had because Chris was so excited that he had been speaking nonstop since entering the town car. It was not even 4:00, and Willy was exhausted from all the talking. 

Margo was also excited, but Chris was so much more excited than Margo was even capable of that she was hopelessly amused by his enthusiasm. 

"Are you excited, too?" Jojo asked Margo from across the counter. 

She spoke quietly so as not to interrupt Chris. Margo smiled and nodded. 

"I'm pretty scared, too. We never played for more than 250 people before. Everything is just moving so darn fast, you know?" Jojo smiled and rubbed her hand on Margo's arm. 

"You're going to be great. My dad says that you guys are the best." Margo smiled and grabbed another ear of corn. 

"I hope so." Sophie was trying to find a break in the flow of words coming out of the little girl in the yellow sundress so that the cooking lesson could begin. 

Willy, who had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, came back into the kitchen. 

"Lord, child," he said, giving a full-throated laugh as he spoke louder than necessary. 

"Will you please take a breath? If you don't get dinner started, we're all going to starve!" Chris stopped abruptly and covered his mouth with his hands, but his eyes were still sparkling with excitement. "Sorry." 

Willy laughed even harder, and I gave him a huge hug. "No need to apologize, sweetie. It's a big day. I know. Now, let your aunt show you how to do some cooking, ok?" 

Chris hugged Willy once more and then bounced over to Sophie. 

"I'm ready, Auntie Sophie. Sorry." 

"Oh, baby," Sophie laughed. "I love seeing you this happy. Let me show you how to make the stuffing first. Then we'll get the chickens started." 

"Chickens!" Chris was surprised. 

"Yes. Three chickens. There are twelve of us tonight." Margo was shocked at that number. "Twelve? Is it a party?" Jojo laughed at Margo. 

"You can tell that you're new around here. Twelve is a slow night around here. That's why we have a ten-foot-long dining room table. It's always full." 

"Wow." Margo considered the amount of work necessary to feed twelve people. Living with her dad, it was mostly takeout food or mac and cheese. She'd never seen a family like this one before. 

"Daddy," Jojo said with a playful smile. 

"Can we go to Margo and Chrissie's first concert?" Willy feigned astonishment. 

"In Jacksonville!? I don't think so, Josephine. That's a long way to travel. I'll have to think about it." 

"Oh, come on, daddy. Please!?" Willy raised his eyebrows to look injured by her persistence. Then he sighed. 

"Darn it! I forgot to bring out the stuff I just printed. Joey, would you please go get the papers from my printer?" Jojo said, "Sure," and ran down the hall to retrieve the papers." 

"Just mix up the bread crumbs and spices with your hands, and we'll add some warm water." Sophie was showing Chris how to mix the stuffing. 

"I always add some chopped celery and carrots, and sometimes, like tonight, I add some chopped greens, too. It makes the stuffing taste so much better." While Chris followed Auntie Sophie's instructions, Willy moved to the counter and put his hands on Margo's shoulders. 

"You ok, honey?" She smiled. "I'm fine, Willy. Just very excited and very... well, petrified." Willy chuckled. "That's ok. You should be, but y'all are going to be great. I'm sure of it." 

Out of the blue, there was a scream from down the hallway. Everyone turned to see Josephine skip into the room carrying a small stack of papers. She ran to Willy and hugged him. 

"Oh, daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you! Look!" She held up the papers for Margo, Chris, and Sophie to see. "We have tickets to the show!" Sophie folded her arms in a scolding manner and said, "William Elias. What is the matter with you?

Do you have any idea how much it will cost to go to Jacksonville for a concert?"

Willy nodded. "I do because I already booked hotel rooms and plane tickets. It's done, Sophie, and I can't undo it." Sophie walked towards her husband with a look of cartoonish anger on her face. When she reached him, she ran her hand along his cheek. 

"You're a good man, William. That's a nice thing to do." 

"Purely for selfish reasons, though, my love," Willy smiled. "I want to tell people that I was there the first time Dusty Rose performed live." Sophie hugged him. She smiled as she turned back to give Chris her full attention. 

"That's good, baby. Now, let's stuff the birds. I'm telling you, baby, this is an easy meal, and everyone loves it. You'll hold onto a man forever just serving this meal once a week." 

Margo snickered at the remark. Jojo leaned across to her and whispered, "Are you guys a couple?" Margo's smile was a dead giveaway as she rolled her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. 

We kind of are. Nothing official, but yeah." The smile that spread across Jojo's face showed that she had figured that out on her own. "I thought so. You're very cute together." 

"Thanks." When the family had finally gathered, there were Willy, Sophie, Josephine, Margo, Eli, and his fiancé, Jenna; two of Jojo's sisters, Carrie and Louise; Louise's husband, Tony; their daughter Emma; and, of course, Chris. As each woman arrived, she took up a job in the kitchen. 

"Many hands make light work," Auntie Sophie had said, but it looked to Chris as if Auntie Sophie thrived on hard work in the kitchen. It was her kingdom. 

When it was time for things to be served, everyone took their place around the huge kitchen table, except for Jojo, Sophie, and Chris. While Jojo brought the vegetables and salad to the table, Sophie showed Chris how to quickly carve the birds and debone the pieces that had just been pulled off. 

"Better to keep all of your mess on the counter so that the tablecloth stays clean, right, Angel?" Chris nodded, still amazed at all of the thought that Sophie put into a meal. His own mom never had the luxury of being a real homemaker. 

Even when his dad was still alive, she always had a job that kept her working until dinner time. If she ever dragged out the crockpot, he and Terry rejoiced at the idea of a 'home-cooked' meal. 

When Chris heard Jojo announce, "Christine made these biscuits by herself, It's her first time baking anything." Chris looked up and smiled at the assembled family. "Is that so?" Asked Louise. 

"Well, let's just see if they pass the Daddy Test!" The whole table laughed. Carrie explained through her giggles, "Daddy likes his biscuits just so; isn't that right, Daddy?" 

 "Yes, indeed, I do." Willie held up a lumpy biscuit and looked at it carefully. "Let's see how the newest member of the cooking brigade has done." The room grew quiet as Willy appeared to be very business-like. Only Sophie waved him off and continued plating the meat. 

"Hmm, Nice shape," he mused. He sniffed it and said, "Nice aroma." 

He pulled it apart and said, "Nice consistency; it looks as if it is cooked thoroughly." He put half of the biscuit down and grabbed a knife, spreading a thin layer of butter on the remaining half. "Seems to hold the butter well." 

A few snickers passed around the table as the patriarch of the family made smiling eye contact with everyone at the table, and he tossed the entire half-biscuit into his mouth. As he chewed, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he announced, "Lord Almighty if that isn't one of the best biscuits I've ever tasted!" 

There was playful applause around the table. Even Sophie stopped what she was doing to join in. Each of her daughters had experienced the exact same ritual when she made her first batch of biscuits. 

Each of them had only been eight or nine years old, though. It amused her to see how big Chris's smile was. 

'She's an odd child,' Sophie thought. When everything was on the table and everyone was seated, Willy took the hands of Sophie and Eli, who sat to his right and left, and everyone else joined hands as well. 

Margo looked at Chris and raised her eyebrows. She thought that saying Grace was just something that happened in old movies or was done ironically during holidays. 

"God," Willy said so comfortably that it was obvious that this man said these words with frequency: "Thank you for this food, for the earth that provides it, and for my wonderful family with whom I share it. 

Thank you to my wife and all of my beautiful children, including my two newest daughters, Christine and Margo. May they always feel welcome in my home." 

"Amen," was said in unison. Chris smiled and looked at everyone to see when to start eating. Margo raised an eyebrow towards Chris again. "Wow," she whispered to him, "no wonder you love this guy." 

"I know, right?" Chris laughed as a huge bowl of potatoes was passed to him. "I love it here." 

"So," said Louisa's husband, Tony, "you girls are musicians, huh?" 

"Yes. I play bass, and Chris sings," Margo replied. "Cool. And how is your career doing? It's not an easy road, is it?" 

"No work talk!" Willy proclaimed as he filled his plate. 

"You know the rules. No talking about work or school work at the table." 

"I know, Dad, but..." Willy smiled and shook a finger from side to side, imitating a shaking head. "Ok," his son-in-law laughed. 

"So, Margo," he began again, "how do you like Nashville?" 

When no one could eat another morsel, little Emma started fidgeting in her high chair. "Oh, you need to stretch your legs, baby, don't you?" said her mom, Louise. She unbuckled the child's restraints and lifted her from the chair, allowing her to wander the kitchen freely. 

She took just a few wobbly steps before making a beeline for Chris, who could not have been happier to reach down and pick the child up. 

"Hi, Emma. Hi, baby," he cooed. 

"Did you miss me? I sure missed you." Now, Chris stood so that he could sway the child back and forth. Louise leaned over to whisper to Margo. 

"She's a natural-born mommy, isn't she?" 

 "I guess so," Margo shrugged. "A couple of months ago, I never would have said so, but, yeah, she sure seems to be a great mommy." 

"Broken Promises' lead vocal track, Take Seventeen." 

Mark's voice showed no sign of the frustration that everyone was feeling. It's a really good song and they all knew that. The girls had laid down the instrumental tracks in a heartbeat, yesterday. 

Chris had been typically well prepared and had walked each of them through what he was looking for.  But the lead duet vocal tracks were just not coming together.  Just as the recording began, Allan Bennett entered the booth. "How's it going, Mark?"  

Mark let out a long breath, "Not great, but it'll get there, I guess... I hope..."  Chris began singing,  

"Just another day, dreaming of your touch Just another morning, expecting way too much"  John Holden took over,  "Just another lie to get me through the day Just another empty kiss to make you want to stay."  

Then the true duet began with John singing in a medium-high range and Chris belting out deep sadness a third above John,  "You broke your vow and made me cry You turned your back and said goodbye You laughed and sneered as I fell apart But your broken promises can't break my heart."  Mark looked at Allan who shook his head. Mark stopped the playback.  

When the music in his headphones stopped, Chris sighed, dropped his gaze, and shook his ponytailed head for a moment, waiting for Mark to tell them what was wrong. 

When nothing was said, Chris looked to the booth and saw Allan Bennett gesturing broadly, explaining something to Mark and the girls.  

He was saying, "It's not Chris, it's John, I know. 

He's not opening up to Chris's voice. It sounds like he's fighting her rather than singing with her. How long have they been at it?" 

"We did the background vocals with Chrissie from about 10:00 till 11:15. She's been in there with John for about two-and-a-half hours now," Grace said. "They rehearsed for a while, then started recording."  

"Maybe we should all leave. Maybe we're making him too nervous." Gina was offering any reason to leave. She had developed strong feelings for John and could sense his anxiety. Maybe, if they were gone, he could relax and do a better job.  Allan nodded and turned to Mark. 

"Tell them to take a break and talk through the emotions of the song or something. Tell them to keep busy." 

He turned to the girls and said, "Let's go out to the hall to talk. They're watching us and I have some news for you."  

When the instructions from the booth came through, John pulled his headphones off and threw them at the wall. "Goddamnit! What the hell am I doing wrong?"  

The outburst really startled Chris and he was genuinely scared for a moment. 

Nothing like this ever happened when dealing with the girls. He'd talk them through things and everything would just come together. This was exactly what he meant when he'd been talking to Mr Bennett. 

He and the girls were much better than the sum of their parts. He didn't have any experience with John and he felt like he was in far over his head. He looked to the booth for help, but Mr Bennett and the girls were leaving and Mark was talking to Mr Bennett. 

None of them had seen John's outburst.  "Well, first, calm down," Chris said. 

"Anger is definitely not the emotion we want in the song." 

Chris sat on a piano bench and hunched forward, his knees together and his elbows on his knees. "We need to talk our way through this so that we're not just beating our heads against a wall."  

John nodded.  "Here's how I envision the song," Chris continued. "We really loved each other, once, and something went wrong. We still love each other now, but we're both so hurt by the other that we can't let that pain go and get on with our lives."  

John contemplated this, took a deep breath, and nodded.  

"Ok," he said as he moved to sit beside Chris on the piano bench. While Chris had his back to the keyboard, John faced it, folded his arms on the closed music stand of the 8-foot Baldwin, and put his head down. 

"I understand all that. I'm trying, I swear I am."  Chris leaned back now, his back supported by the key cover. "Then what's going on? We ran through this song at least ten times in the hotel room. You sounded great then."  

John remained quiet for a few minutes, then, "Chrissie... I'm scared."  Chris leaned to the side and rested his head on John's arm. "I know, John. I am too. At least you have a backup plan. 

You have your bachelor's and nearly have a master's degree. If this all falls apart, John... I'll be working as a checkout clerk at a food mart. I don't even have a GED." 

 John let out a frustrated laugh. "Chris, I heard your songs on the radio last night. On the freaking radio! They are amazing, Chris. You are going to be huge and you know it. This duet, this is just charity, and you and I both know it." 

 "No, it's not, John. It's friends helping friends. 

Let us be your friends, ok. Relax and just sing the song. It'll be great and so will you."  John picked his head up and turned to look Chris in the eyes. "You think so?" 

 "I do."  

"Can I ask you something?" 

 "Sure," Chris turned his body to face John but remained leaning on the piano. He put his right elbow onto of the instrument and laid his head down on it, facing John.  John moved his body slightly to mimic Chris. 

"These songs you write, have you ever been in love? I mean... you're only seventeen, right?"  Chris smiled and giggled a bit. 

"I think so. You?" 

 "I don't know. I think I may be in love with Gina, but I don't know." There was a silence as they just looked at each other a while longer. Then John said, "Can I ask you another question?" 

 "Sure," Chris smiled.  "It's Margo, isn't it? You're in love with her."  

At first, Chris didn't know quite what to say, then he just grinned and giggled.  "I knew it. Well, I can certainly understand that; she certainly is beautiful."  The silence continued.  

"And so are you," John said as he slipped a hand around Chris's waist and pulled him close. "Have you ever kissed a man before?"  

"Just you at the dinner." He couldn't help himself. He wanted to make John comfortable and flirting was certainly helping.  

John leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Chris's. The kiss was soft and tender and, despite himself, Chris felt a tingle in his gaffed loins. When the kiss ended, Chris remained in the exact position that he had been before, and he smiled broadly at John.  

"Well?" John asked.  Chris giggled some more, "Well, I'm not falling in love with you if that's what you're asking."  

John joined in the laughter, "Me neither, but I felt like I needed to kiss you. Are we cool?"  "Yes. We're cool. Now, let's try the song again."    Meanwhile, Mark had joined Allan and the girls in the hall.  

"They're putting 'In His Eyes' into the standard rotation today. It has already been doing well overnight and the local Nashville affiliates are sending out word to the rest of the country that you girls are hotter than Hades. 

I'm pretty sure that both songs will chart in the Hot 100 this week and I think that 'In His Eyes' may well make it to the Top 40 and the Country Top 40 within a week. 

This is even bigger than I had expected. We need to finish up video work ASAP and get you girls onto some television spots quickly. 

Y'all are blowing it up just like I predicted!"  Rather than the jumping up and down that Allan had expected, the girls responded with shocked whispers of 'wow' amongst themselves.  

"I did expect a little more enthusiasm about this," Allan chided.  "It's just a lot to take in," Terry laughed, nervously. 

"Especially on the first day that things aren't going very well."  He gave a dismissive wave towards the studio. "Don't worry about that. 

Chris will get him there, but listen, not a word to Chris or John until they finish up. Neither of them needs more pressure. As a matter of fact, why don't you all give us an hour or two here to finish up. Like Gina said, I think the audience is bothering John a little."  

They said, "OK," and, headed for the elevators.  

Terry stopped to give Mark a kiss. "Want a coffee or anything when I come back." 

 "Naw," he kissed her again. "It'll be almost dinner time by then. How about supper with my girl?"  She laughed and gave him a final kiss. "We probably should. It looks like things are going to get pretty busy in the next few weeks."   

"Broken Promises' lead vocal. Take 20."  

Take 18 had gone pretty well. Take 19 had gone really well. John had opened up his ears and started singing WITH Chris instead of against him, and Chris had been able to relax and reach a more comfortable emotional level - more like he had been doing with the girls. 

Nevertheless, this was the hardest day in the studio that Chris had had so far.  The final line of the song approached and the music slowed down. They looked directly at each other, determined to enunciate every work at the same time.  

"Broken promises Can't Break My Heart"  Chris took a chance and leaped to a higher note to create a new harmony, then, as John held his note, Chris did a little ornamental flourish and dropped back down to the original harmony. 

John's surprise and smile brightened his voice just a little, making the last phrase more touching and poignant.  

Three seconds of silence and stillness, then Mark's voice, "You nailed it, guys. Come on in and give it a listen."  

John grabbed Chris and planted another big kiss on his lips. 

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! It was so much better working with you than with the studio guys. They treat me like an upstart." 

He took Chris's hand and led the way to the recording booth.  Chris smiled as he thought about that. 

It probably was a lot easier to do it with a band than it would be doing it alone. He hadn't thought of that.  They heard the playback. 

Chris was satisfied, but John was elated.  

Mark fidgeted with a few things to balance things correctly and add a little reverb here and there, he knew from day one with Chrissie that she would have a fit if he even mentioned pitch correction, so he stayed away from that.  

Allan came in to hear the piece and he liked it a lot, too. 

He hugged Chris and kissed the crown of his head. 

"You know," he said to John, "you have a pretty good album put together, but, judging from the initial airplay, feedback, and sales from Dusty Rose's debut singles, having this appear only on your album and NOT on theirs is going to really help you. You know that, right?"  

"I know," he nodded his head and smiled. 

"Chris, I can't thank you enough."  

Chris shrugged, "It's what people do. They help each other. Right?"  

"Not most people," chortled Allan, "but maybe hanging around with your Uncle Willy has been good for you." 

 "It's been great for me!"