Chapter 12

On Monday morning, they talked about Jacob’s melt-down. Gina had received the email from Wilhelm and the one from Peter. Willow stayed quiet about the drugs. She did ask Gina about going to London during the next weekend and told her that accommodation had been organised.

Jacob wasn’t at the school that day, and Willow went to speak to Herb, Nancy, and Brent about going to London for a launch interview. They all agreed that what Wilhelm had suggested was the quick and easy way to see Jacob leave. She also went to see the Gees, who had also been contacted and would be staying at the Langham for the interview. Not all were going, only Geoff, Zara and Garry.

Monday, when she arrived home, there was a box on the porch. She took it in and left it on the kitchen table as she went up to her room to change into something casual. Back downstairs, she opened it up. There was a copy of the Gees album and the ‘Live in Paris’ DVD. There were six copies of their album and six of the ‘Live in Berlin’ DVD.

A note told her that all the band members had received the same package, with the Gees getting a single copy of Summer Rose discs. She put a copy of the album and DVD aside for her grandmother, and another of each in the sitting room, next to the music centre, along with the Gees products. Then she put the other four copies of each in her bag for tomorrow.

She started peeling and dicing for tonight’s meal, checking what they had in the fridge. There were half a dozen pork sausages, so she cut up the potatoes to cook as mash. When her parents arrived home from work, they cooked the sausages and veg. After the meal, Willow gave her mother the two discs to send to her grandmother, then suggested that they may like to see the DVD.

They took their mugs into the sitting room and Ashley turned the TV and music centre on. Willow slid the DVD into the slot.

“Now, you did hear the album in its original form, so we don’t need to hear it again. This DVD was filmed in Berlin, at the end of the short tour. Berlin was odd, because the audience were all hard rockers, and looked like it. We reflected their own likes, and it made us play a bit differently. I have to warn you, this is Summer Rose like you haven’t heard before.

She sat down and pressed the play button, keen to see what had been produced. The show opened with vision of the crowd arriving. Ashley chuckled.

“I see what you mean. This looks like a massive biker convention.”

“That venue only held seventeen thousand. At times, it sounded like a hundred thousand.”

There must have been a cameraman behind the stage, but Willow couldn’t remember seeing one. There was vision of the band getting ready for the performance, with each one named. Then, they were heading for the stage and the scene became the audience, chanting for Sommer Rose, until there was a big cheer as the band walked out on stage. From then on, it was the full ninety minutes of the show, with no breaks and no lessening of the high pressure. Ashley and Wendy were cuddled on the sofa, agog at what they were looking at. Willow was looking very closely at the scenes that showed Jacob. To her, it was obvious that he was well out of his comfort zone, while the rest of the band was finding theirs.

When the final notes of ‘Spitter’ died and the crowd roared like wild animals, the credits rolled as the band took their bows, with Jacob only half-hearted. He was the first to start heading for the rear of the stage, while Herb, Gina, and Willow were still waving to the fans. When the screen went dark Ashley stood to hug her, and her mother asked if she still had that leather outfit. Before they went to bed, Willow asked her mother if she could pick her up after school, the next day, because there were a few things she wanted to get for her suite in the attic.

On Tuesday, they spoke about the power of their performance. Gina had also seen Jacob’s attitude. Willow went to give a copy of the DVD to the Head, who thanked her for it, telling her that Xavier had delivered the two master recordings the day before. At lunch time, most of the band had extra albums and DVDs to hand out to their friends. Willow gave a DVD to the twins, to remind them of the show that they had seen. She asked Jim about playing at the church on Sunday, as they would be in London. Xavier gave her three copies of the Messiah CD for her collection. After school, she waited for Wendy, and they went into Coventry and spent a little while in the shop where she had bought Tiger. There wasn’t one on the shelves, but there was another Shaun. She came away with some posters and the Shaun. That evening, she rang the restaurant and booked a big table for lunch on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Jacob still hadn’t shown, and Gina, Willow, Nancy, and Zara spoke about what they would wear for the interview. It may be for radio, but you have to make an impression. They decided on the cocktail dresses that they had worn in the Paris show. After school, they had the orchestra session to play the Messiah right through. All the soloists, and all the choir were there, and Mister Bamborough had organised for the stage to be set up in the same way that they had recorded. By the time that they had set up and tuned, there were quite a few interested teachers in the stalls, along with most of the cast of ‘Wicked’, with the parents who were picking them up.

Willow didn’t give any instructions, just sitting after they had tuned, and waited for the conductor to set them off. They all knew what they had to do, now, and did it well. With a short break for a comfort stop, they moved into the second part, with the audience all standing for the Hallelujah Chorus, as is the tradition. That does have one advantage, as the audience are on their feet at the end of that section, so the applause is magnified. After another break, they played the last part, and every voice gave their all with the extended Amen.

The stage was left set up for the following week, when there would be a paying audience and some invited supporters of the school. Willow left her violin in her locker for then and joined Gina to leave. It was quite a while navigating all of the teachers and parents who wanted to congratulate all the players, including the Vines. They finally found Sebastian, who told them that they had really nailed it.

On the way home, he told them that they had expanded his musical knowledge since he had started driving them, and Gina had a copy of the Berlin DVD for him, to expand his mind even further. On Thursday morning he had it with him so they could sign it for him. He told them that it must have been good to be there, and that it was far better than even the shows earlier in the year.

On Friday, they arranged the pick-ups for the next morning. Wendy would follow Ashley in her car, both with a card for parking. That evening, overnight bags were packed and in the back of the car, with Willow’s containing a city Shaun and a few rolled up posters.

Saturday morning, they left home, in convoy. Stopping at Gina’s home to pick her up, she got in with Willow, her bag and garment bag in the back. They went into Coventry and picked up Herb, Brent, and Nancy. Brent got in with Gina, while the other two were in the back of Wendy’s car. The drive down to London was easy, until they reached the city. Wendy stayed close and Ashley drove with one eye on the mirror.

They stopped in Foley Street and the band got out, the boys carrying Wendy and Ashley’s bags with their own. It was a quick operation, and the two cars left as Willow was leading them to the door, opening it with her key.

“Go on in, right to the top. We have number three and four.”

When they reached the top landing, Willow went to the front and opened number three, putting her bag, and garment bag inside, with her posters. The boys put her parent’s bags on the floor.

“Right, thank you, lads. If you follow me, I’ll open number four. This will be your apartment for the night.”

She opened that one up and gave Gina the key.

“There are two double bedrooms. As far as anyone else is concerned, the boys are doubling up down here, and the girls are in the attic. How you sleep is entirely up to you. For the weekend, Gina has the key, so my mother will have to knock. If that happens, make sure that you’re presentable. The bedroom is through here.”

She opened the door to the bedroom and pointed out the ensuite.

“There’s a door in the kitchen that goes up to the other suite. That has ensuite and a sitting room. There should be some drinks in the fridge, but you don’t need food because we eat in the restaurant downstairs. There should be cards waiting for me when we go in. There is a monthly invoice for our meals there, so order what you want.”

Brent and Gina found the door to the attic and went up with their bags, coming back later with big smiles. Willow went back to her apartment and put her parent’s bags in their room. She took her things up to the attic and hung the garment bag in the wardrobe, next to the dressing gown she had left behind last week. Putting City Shaun on the bed, she went back to the next door. Gina wanted to know all about the apartments, so the five of them sat in the kitchen and Willow explained how they came to be here.

“We are only a couple of hundred yards to Broadcasting House and a half an hour stroll to either the University of London or the British Museum. There are lots of other places nearby, and a tube station which can get us into the City. We went to the Tower last week when we came down to see what I’d purchased.”

“Did you buy the two apartments?”

“No. I bought the whole building. The restaurant is leased, and the two other apartments were sold with a hundred-year lease. These two used to be leased by a company to house visiting American executives. That’s why they’re so well furnished. We’re having lunch downstairs, with Jill and Clive, before we head to the BBC. The Gees are staying at the Langham. Now, I’ve been a bit naughty, and booked seats at the Novello, tonight, to see Mamma Mia. I did book ten, so the three Gees can come as well. Is that all right?”

Brent laughed.

“Do you think that anyone would mind if we sang along?”

“I’m sure that a lot of the audience will be singing along.”

They heard her parents arrive, so Willow left them to unpack and went to unpack her own things. Wendy was happy that she had driven down without any problems, and that the two cars were inside and under cover. Willow went down to the restaurant to speak to the owners about the new cards. On the middle landing, her phone buzzed, and she stopped to take the call.

“Hello, Willow, it’s Jill.”

“Hi Jill. We’ve all arrived and settling in. What can I do for you?”

“I’m with the three Gees, and I wonder if we could add them to the lunch. Have you booked anything for dinner?”

“Not yet. I’m on my way down to see the restaurant, now. I’ll add another three, if I can. I can book for ten for dinner, if they want to eat with us. I’ve got ten tickets to Mama Mia, so they can stay with us this evening. It’s an easy tube ride to get near, with a short walk.”

“All right. I’ll get them dressed for the interview and bring them to the restaurant. They can stay with you after lunch, and they have transport home tomorrow afternoon. See you for lunch.”

As Willow was standing there, a man came out of one of the apartments. When he saw her end the call, he spoke.

“Hello. Are you visiting? You look too young to be an executive. They always look like something out of a mafia movie.”

“That accounts for all the DVDs that we found. We watched a Die-Hard last week. No, I’m the new building owner, bought through my holding company. I plan to use the two upper apartments as a London base. There’s quite a crowd of us there this weekend. We have an appointment at Broadcasting House this afternoon. How are you finding the life here?”

“It’s very handy. I’m a lecturer at the University of London, and the other apartment is another of my colleagues. It’s a nice walk, most mornings. My wife works in the City, and his works as a PR Consultant. You look like you’re still at school?”

“I’m in third year at the moment. So are my friends. My parents drove us down from Coventry. I’m just going down to see if I can expand our table for lunch, we have three others joining us, who are staying at the Langham. What do you teach?”

“Business Studies and Management. My colleague teaches courses on promoting and advertising. I’ll join you on the way down, I’m going to pick up the bags for the laundry service. Carlo, in the restaurant, has those, and puts them on the landing when they’re returned.”

“That’s something that I needed to sort out.”

She led them down and into the restaurant. As they walked in, Julia saw her and came over to give her a hug.

“Willow! I got the DVD of the live show in Berlin. It was fantastic! I’ve almost worn it out by playing it so many times. I also got the Paris show by G-Force. That Zara has a wonderful voice.”

“You can tell her that when she joins us for lunch, that’s what I want to change.”

Her companion looked embarrassed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you. One doesn’t expect to leave your apartment to find Willow Rose on the landing.”

Willow chuckled.

“It’s perfectly all right. We had a short time where we were two normal people. I’m all right at school, with the people that I know, but it sometimes gets odd when little girls want me to sign their tee-shirt.”

The manager come out from behind the counter.

“I see that you’ve met the Professor. Are you looking for laundry bags, Prof?”

“I am, Carlo. Willow wants to sort some out for her floor as well.”

“If you can give me a few minutes, I’ll write out the tags. Both apartments for you, Willow?”

“Yes, Carlo. We have a full house today. There are four others from the band in number four. I did book for a table of ten, can I make that twelve, please. We will be joined by three members of another band for lunch and dinner. Would you like to join us, with your wife and friends, Prof?”

“If it’s all right with you, Willow. Both our wives have the two early albums, so sitting with you would make their day. I’ll try to get them to act like normal people.”

“Just like adults would be good. With a lot of ‘normal’ people, the result is usually tears and hyperventilation.”

He grinned.

“OK, adult mode initiated. My name is Theodore, usually Ted, unless you’re a student, when it’s sir. My colleague is Kevin, and our wives are Alicia and Hazel.”

Carlo rushed off to move tables around. When he came back, he had four big plastic bags, two blue and two green. He gave the green ones to Willow.

“Just bring them down when you leave, and I’ll put them aside to be picked up. I have the door key, so will leave them on your landing when they come back. It will be just sheets and pillowcases, I expect.”

“It will, Carlo. Do you have those cards for me, please?”

“They came back yesterday. I put them by the register. Eight cards in the name of WR Holdings. If you’re covering today’s meals, it will be on the invoice at the end of next month.”

“That will be good. Where are you putting us, today. Last week was a bit noisy.”

“I’m setting you up in the cellar. It’s a lot quieter with the curtained wall and no windows. You would know all about echo reduction, I expect.”

“OK, I’ll see you, with all the others, for lunch.”

She picked up the cards and followed Ted up the stairs. At his landing, he stopped.

“Do you mind me introducing you to the others? It would help them get over the shock.”

He opened his door and called out.

“Alicia, darling. You would never guess who I met on the stairs.”

His wife came to the door and saw Willow. Her face was a picture of surprise. She rushed forward and gave her a hug, squashing the bags between then. When she stepped back, there were tears in her eyes. Willow grinned.

“Well Professor, I think that this proves that Alicia is normal.”

He laughed as he went to knock on the other door. When it was opened, a woman stood there.

“Hi, Ted. What can I help you with? We’re all out of sugar.”

“Hazel, I just want you to meet our new landlord. We’ve been invited to have lunch with her and some friends today.”

Hazel looked out at Willow, and she looked as if she was trying to remember something.

“Hello. You look familiar. Did you come around selling things for Guide Week?”

Alicia giggled.

“Hazel, my scatty friend. This is Willow Rose, leader of the Summer Rose band.”

“Wow. What are you doing on our landing with laundry bags in your hand?”

“I bought the building, and I’m staying upstairs tonight. We have an interview at the BBC this afternoon.”

“Did you bring that lad, Herb? If he was five years older, I’d leave Kevin for him.”

Willow turned to Ted, and he laughed.

“By your gauge, Willow, my wife is normal, and Hazel is adult. Who would have thought it. We’re invited for lunch in the cellar, Hazel. Then you and Kevin can try and work out how Willow and her band have gone from unknown, to the biggest names in the country in less than a year. It could be a good case study for Kevin.”

“You will be able to talk to Jill and Clive, from our label. A lot of our fame is down to them with the tours they’ve organised.”

She went up to the upper level, finding her parents had arrived. She gave her mother a bag.

“Sheets and pillowcases when we leave. One bag for us, and one for next door. We’re in the cellar for lunch, and we have added the Gees and our neighbours downstairs. Both the men are lecturers at the University of London.”

“That could be handy in a few years.”

She took the other bag and knocked on the door. Gina opened it.

“Got a bag for all the sheets and pillowcases tomorrow. They will be brought back in the week and left on the landing.”

“After all night with Brent they may need washing. I think Herb and Nancy have already been at it.”

“I just met one of our downstairs neighbours who told me that if he was five years older, she would leave her husband for him. They’ll be joining us for lunch. We know their type. Both men are lecturers, and their wives are an office worker and a PR Consultant.”

“Lunch with them will be barrel of laughs, I’m sure.”

“I had a call from Jill. She’s bringing the three Gees for lunch. They will be glammed up for the interview, so I expect that we had better be ready to go around to the BBC as soon as we finish lunch. I hope that the napkins are big enough to protect our dresses.”

“All right. I’ll tell Nancy when she surfaces. I’ve been looking at that big TV. It has normal signal and a satellite dish. I may have to look for one at home.”

“Don’t bother with the movies. Everyone has told me that the guys who used to stay here looked like extras for ‘The Godfather’. All we could find, last week, were movies that they may have even had parts in.”

She went back to the other apartment and up to her own room. The shower was luxurious, and she felt good when she dried off. She had brought underwear suitable for the dress. She thought it was good to be able to wear a stage item for normal use. It needed tights and heels, and she looked in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. She was good looking, rich, and free. What on earth could go wrong?

Back downstairs, her mother saw her and patted her shoulder.

“My talented and beautiful daughter. I hope that they have big napkins.”

“I thought that myself, Mum. Are you and Dad coming to the interview? You may find it interesting to see a well-oiled show being put together.”

“Of course we will. What have you planned for dinner?”

“I’d booked downstairs for ten, now more with the Gees and our neighbours. I do have ten tickets for Mama Mia but can’t be certain to get others.”

“That’s all right. Your father is taking me out, and we’re going to see if we can get late tickets for ‘The Mousetrap’, so the ten of you can have dinner and a night out by yourselves. Just be careful, you don’t have any security to look after you.”

“We’ll tube down, and Uber back. Nothing has been planned for tomorrow, yet.”

When they all went down to the restaurant, Jill was already at the table with the others, including their neighbours, and they all sat down. Clive commented on how good they all looked, for radio. Hazel laughed.

“There will be photos taken. You don’t want your stars to look dowdy.”

She then introduced Kevin to them, and then went on to introduce Ted and Alicia to those who hadn’t met them yet. The Roses had naturally arranged themselves with the other adults, and soon talk was flowing about work and the state of the world. Clive was telling both bands about today’s interview. It would centre around the latest tour and both DVDs, which were already selling well in both Britain and Europe. Nothing was mentioned about Jacob until they were walking towards the BBC.

Jill had lagged back with Willow as she was talking about things. Willow gave her a copy of the Messiah session, and then Jill brought up what was on her mind, quietly.

“I had a CD sent to me this week. It was directly from Jacob. He played acoustic guitar and sang duets with a girl called Anita. It wasn’t bad, just so last century. I didn’t want to upset him, so haven’t done anything yet.”

“If you look at the Berlin show, you will see that his heart wasn’t in it. He has asked to be paid out of our two property syndicates, which has happened. He has told Peter that he isn’t part of Summer Rose, and that recording was done with him dealing with Xavier directly. He hasn’t been at school all week, and his father walked in on that recording to find him smoking pot. Anita is a sister to one of the drinking members of the Hikers, who is known to deal in weed, or so Racheal told me.”

“Right. So, it wouldn’t bother you if I sent it back with a note that it isn’t commercial. I thought that you two were a couple.”

“For a while, we were. He went all ape-man in Paris and that’s when the rot set in. He says he met her at the going-away party that the Hikers put on and turned up with her at the opening night of our ‘Wicked’ show. I’m wondering if he’s been on something for a while.”

“Could be. If a question is asked today, is there part of the DVD that shows him looking different?”

“Just watch the end of the final song, to the end of the credits. He looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else. Now, he has the opportunity to be there!”

Marianne Gregory © 2025