I don’t deserve it anymore
I’ve never felt like this before
You really make me lose my head
My hungry heart must be fed
Baby, it’s the way you make me
Kind of get me go crazy…
A.J. was goofing around with Nick onstage while the Boys launched into "It’s Gotta Be You". The two men worked the crowd while Kevin introduced guitarist Guy Walker, bassist Louie Vigilante and a pair of dancers then A.J. took his turn announcing Mindi Abair.
His assignment finished, A.J. scanned the sea of 20,000 faces. The fans were into the concert tonight. The screams seemed louder, the actions more rambunctious. He was about to turn away and help out Howie with his MC D routine when he heard a familiar voice rise about the cheers and squeals. "Alex. It’s me, Alex."
Blinking several times, A.J. surveyed the faces in the ten or so rows he could see. "Where are you? I can’t see you."
"You will see me. Sing for me, you will see me."
A.J. opened his mouth perfectly happy to oblige the request and discovered that he couldn’t sing. His voice had been fine moments ago. He cleared his throat and tried again. Still his voice refused to cooperate. A third time he opened his mouth and could hear his own raspy voice, but it wasn’t coming from his body.
It was too surreal. A.J. was a ventriloquist’s dummy and his master was throwing A.J.’s own voice back at him. He felt like the little mermaid when the sea witch used magic to snatch her voice as payment for becoming human.
His eyes and ears scanned the arena trying to identify the thief as the voice continued to sing. The words and the music were so familiar to him, he knew them even consciously. Before he could connect a name to the tune, he was startled by a pair of green eyes glowing almost catlike in the darkness.
It was if those eyes could see his soul. They could read his every thought – the confusion and panic. Suprisingly, this wasn’t a disturbing revelation, rather it served to comfort him. He could see the concern and the love in the jade-colored depths. Was it there for him? As the connection was made, A.J. could hear a young woman’s soprano join his own baritone in a beautiful, well-rehearsed harmony.
"Sing for me, Alex. You will see me," the first voice repeated.
A.J. opened his eyes and blinked to accustom himself before glancing at his watch. 4:30 a.m. He groaned a rolled over in his bunk only to find himself staring at the familiar blue stationary. Without consciously thinking about it, he began to read:
My heart was missing its heartbeat
My song its melody
My body was missing its soul
It’s you who opened my eyes to who I am
You who taught me I was special
You are the one who made me whole
My life meant less than nothing
Til there was you
The dream. The song. The music was his and these were the lyrics. Now awake, A.J. scrambled from bed, withdrew the second copy of J.’s letter from his bag and reached for his sheet music. He locked himself in the living area and began work on combining the two. He finished an hour later. He had to admit it was a beautiful piece. "Thank you, J.," he whispered gazing to the heavens.
Now he needed to persuade the others to perform it, a task he accomplished the following morning after bagels and coffee. First, he admitted to his friends about the letter, his dreams and gave his interpretation of the situation. Nick and Brian thenheard Kevin, Howie and A.J. perform the song during soundcheck. Together they agreed to begin rehearsal and add it to the set list when it was ready.
A.J. could only hope that it would all come together
for their Boston shows in two weeks time.
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