Stan: And, every time it rains, it rains, pennies from heaven.
Jake and Dave: Shoo-be-doo-be!
Stan: Don't you know each cloud contains, pennies from heaven.
Jake and Dave: Shoo-be-doo-be!
Stan: You'll find your fortune falling, all over town. Be sure that your umbrella is up-up-up-up-upside down.... Trade them for a package of sunshine and ravioli.
Jake and Dave: Macaroni!
Lacy and Frank Mullins looked at each other with delight. These guys were great! As one, they got up and danced. Other couples quickly followed their lead. The musicians were ecstatic; the teenage offspring of the moms and dads were horrified.
Jeff Mullins looked on, appalled and embarrassed, as his parents swung with abandon. He smacked his hand over his eyes. He would absolutely never live this down.
Stan: Now come over here, girl! Allie! And every time it rains, it rains!
Allison: Bop bop, bop-ba-bah!
Stan: And don't you know each cloud contains!
Allison: Bop bop, bop-ba-BAH!
Stan: Every time it rains, it rains!
Allison: Bop bop, bop-ba-bah!
Stan: And don't you know each cloud contains—
Allison: Bop-ah-dop-ah, bop-ah-dah!
Jeff sank low in his chair, trying to disappear. He scowled at the performers, even as he noticed again how pretty Allison looked. The black clarinet stood out against her white dress.
Suddenly he leaned forward in his chair, staring hard at the instrument. Black1. The black stick resembled a number one. His mouth fell open slightly as another memory clicked into place. A memory of a light turning off in a music room, as he and his cronies discussed ... their private business ...
Jeff leapt from his chair and scuttled from the room that was now in full swing with dancers and happy music. He had to find Craig and Hank.
* * *
Craig knocked on Allison's dressing room door. She answered quickly, breathlessly, but her eager face fell as she saw who it was. "Oh."
The young man bulled ahead. He showed her the dozen red roses he'd been hiding behind his back. "Congratulations on a fabulous performance!" He settled the flowers into her arms.
Automatically she received them. Her caller took the opportunity to nudge his way into the room and close the door behind him. He would have locked it, but the high school was not crazy enough to install locks on student dressing room doors.
"Thanks!" Allison's voice piped out like the clumsy efforts of a first-grade clarinet player. She looked around, still feeling off-balance by the unexpected visit. "I, uh, don't seem to have a vase. I'll just go find one," and she made for the door.
Craig blocked her path. He put his arms around her and did the look-deep-in-my-eyes thing. "Why fight it, Allie? I've seen how you look at me. Let's make your big night even more special."
"No!" Allison came to her senses. She placed a firm hand against the football player's chest, trying to push him away. It was like pushing against a wall.
Her would-be lover pushed his lips against hers. The result of his caress was not swooning, but panic.
"Ow!" Craig pulled away and felt at his mouth. "You bit me!" Blood decorated his fingertips. "You bitch! I tried to play nice with you!"
Everything happened at once. Allison shrieked. Craig put his hand over her mouth and began to demonstrate wrestling maneuvers that were far beyond her ken. David heard the noise and burst in without knocking. Jeff and Hank, who had been hiding behind the costume rack, jumped out and all hell broke loose.
Jeff pinned Allison's hands behind her back. Hank threw a punch at David, who gladly returned the favor.
"NO! David! Your hands!!"
It was too late. David lay curled on his side, cradling his right hand and emitting little noises of pain.
Craig pushed up Allison's skirt and told her to shut up. When she didn't, he slapped her.
This made her holler even louder. Craig turned over his shoulder: "Hank, get over here and shut this girl up—"
He never finished his sentence. Stan Katz and Jacob Olaffsen appeared in the doorway, and they both looked pissed as hell. Hank lowered his head like a ram and ran toward them. Jake even had time to roll his eyes before he flipped the boy neatly, causing the hapless attacker to land on his back with a solid thud.
"Nice pickin'," Stan approved.
The older man shrugged. "Semper fi."
Jeff and Craig dropped Allison like the proverbial hot rock. More adults crowded into the room. The Cherry Poppers Club was finished.
Several hours later, Jake bid Stan, Allison and David good night. He left the Katz home in fairly good spirits. The concert had been a rousing success, and his two protégées had not been seriously harmed. He knew Allison well enough to believe she would bounce back, as children raised with love were wont to do; and the ER doctor had confirmed that David's hand was no more than bruised. It would heal fairly quickly.
Stan added his good night wishes. "I've had enough excitement for one night," he told the young people. In automatic dad-mode he added, "Lights out at midnight, Allie." Then he realized it was already well past that hour. "Aw, hell, stay up as long as you want. Just keep it quiet, please."
Father and daughter hugged one another. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you, too, Punkin." He dropped a kiss to her crown and traced a finger down her nose. "Be good."
She smiled. "I will." Her dad trudged up the stairs.
David and Allison sat alone on the sofa. He shifted uncomfortably.
"You want a fresh ice pack?"
"No, uh..." David's throat dried up. Allie looked at him, waiting for his words.
"I guess I wasn't much of a hero for you tonight."
Allison was incredulous. "Yes, you were. Who are you kidding? You took a punch for me, didn't you?"
"That I did." David nodded. Then he looked her full in the face. "There's something else I've been wanting to tell you, Allie..."
"What." Their eyes met, each barely able to breathe.
Her friend held out his good hand. Wordlessly she put her hand in his and followed as he led the way to the piano bench.
"I've always been better with music than I am with words," he said. As he spoke, he opened a book of sheet music and began leafing through it, hunting for the right page. "I can't play for you now, but — this is the best I can do. I know you'll know."
Using just his index finger, he started at the top left of the page. Note by note, he tapped out the romantic rhythm. It was a tender swing jazz tune; the music spoke how she made him feel.
A lump formed in Allison's throat. Her voice was hoarse and squeaky as she trembled out the lyrics: "L -- is for the way you look at me ... O -- is for the only one I see..." David put his arm around her and kept following the notes. His own eyes were wet. But he managed to get out the words: "Two in love can make it, take my heart and please don't break it. Love was made for me and you."
* * *
Three blocks away, Hillary Fairchild drifted toward sleep. Her blonde ringlets rose and fell with her slowing breathing. She had one last thought as her conscious mind slipped into darkness:
"I'll get my chance."
* * *
Pennies from Heaven by Arthur Johnston and Johnny Burke. Quoted here as recorded by Louis Prima.
L-O-V-E by Milt Gabler and Bert Kaempfert.
Thanks to rgraham666 for editing this chapter. Please vote! Thanks. ~~~L8
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