The Torch Singer Ch. 01

"Oh! Yeah, shit - I almost forgot. My agent, Leo, called to say that he heard through the grapevine that someone from Vanguard Studios was supposedly coming by to hear us tonight. He didn't know if it was for real, or who it was that might be coming, but he said we should try to be in top form. But I guess I don't have to tell you that, sweetness, because you look like you already are."

"Why thank you, kind sir." She batted her dramatic lashes at him, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Not for the first time, Chance wondered what it might be like to kiss those gorgeous lips. She continued to pull up the sleeves of her gloves, which ended half way up her biceps. It was a great look for her and made her arms look even longer and more graceful.

"Is everyone else ready to go on time?" She asked, looking back up at him. Chance had already schooled his face back into a normal, nonsexual expression.

"Yup - walking at eight fifty-nine." He winked at her, and before leaving, he paused, shaking his head and deliberately expelling a sigh so she'd know how much he approved of her look, and then he left, closing the door behind him.

Smiling, Frankie turned to the full-length mirrors that covered the changing screen, and surveyed herself critically. So perhaps this was the reason she'd felt jumpy earlier - sort of premonition that this performance was meaningful. Frankie was no ingénue; she knew better than to imagine that one studio executive would change her life. But still, it was exciting to have someone special out there tonight.

She was relatively satisfied with the mysterious, glamorous woman that gazed back at her in the mirror. This look worked the way she'd hoped it would. And the heady perfume of the real gardenia she had pinned to her hair, tucked over her right ear, was invading her senses. She felt really sexy, and as if in answer, a tiny trickle of wetness seeped into her lace panties.

She moved her left thigh to expose the high side slit in her ankle-length halter dress, and grinned at the effect. The lace-top thigh high stockings were a nice touch, and would peek out seductively at certain key moments in her subtle on-stage choreography.

Frankie took a few deep breaths, relaxing her body as she did before all performances.

She closed her eyes for a moment and conjured up the image of Jake. It was her little secret that each time she sang, she imagined he was there in the audience.

She always sang only to him.

People who came to see Frankie perform might notice her staring fixedly out into the crowd from time to time, but they couldn't possibly guess it was to gaze upon her phantom lover. Nor could they know that the sexual way she moved was aimed at one man only: a man from her past, who wasn't really there.

She smiled at her reflection, checking again to make sure there was no lipstick on her teeth. Yes, it was finally here: show time.

***

INTERLUDE

[Similar to Intermezzo, an interlude is a short piece played in the transition between two parts of a composition. Like a musical version of sorbet.]

One Week Ago:

Jake pulled his Jeep smoothly into a guest space on the backlot. It would never have occurred to him to notice that his hard-ridden vintage CJ was quite a bit out of place among the Maseratis, Bentleys and Mercedes that filled the other VIP spots. But he probably would have just laughed if he had. Jake was annoyed with himself for running late for the development meeting on their latest feature film project, but a quick time check reassured him that it was only by about ten minutes. He had sent a text to his friend, Danny Burrows, the Director, to say he'd be a bit late but would get there shortly, and Dan replied that they were behind schedule and he didn't have to worry.

The farewell, "let bygones be bygones" lunch he agreed to have with Sunny ran longer than he wanted it to, but all things considered it had been relatively painless. She was definitely trying to be sweet now. Must be in her "don't burn any bridges" phase. So much the better.

Jake reminded himself that it wasn't her fault that things hadn't gone further between them. She simply wasn't the right girl for him. Her initial bitterness and anger had dissipated over the last couple of months, and now she wanted to be friends - which was more than fine with Jake. He felt a little guilty about it all anyway, since he knew from the outset that his heart was otherwise occupied.

Running a hand through his hair, which was getting long and in need of a trim, he grimaced to acknowledge yet again that a heart could be completely occupied even when the love it felt was one-sided. Well, his heart could, anyhow.

Pushing all of this stuff to a far corner of his brain, Jake began to focus on the subject at hand - the latest collaboration he was undertaking with Dan. Since the young director had won Best Picture for their last project, Andromeda Rising, Dan was under a lot of pressure to show something different and yet still deliver stellar box office and critical results in his next film.

The idea for this project had actually been unwittingly prompted by Jake. Last Fall, Dan, Jake, Phil - who was Dan's favorite DP (director of photography) and a few of Dan's college friends chartered a boat to spend a weekend fishing in Half Moon Bay. Jake's playlist of old Blues singers was shuffling out of the Bluetooth speaker on deck, while the guys were enjoying after dinner drinks under the stars.

Nina Simone was singing about having "put a spell on you" when Dan asked who he was listening to. Incredulous, Jake began to talk about Nina, and the array of amazing and sad singers on his Blues list. He'd already had a couple of single malts, and ended up waxing philosophical about how sadness creates an affinity for the Blues and how the creative process is often rooted in pain and suffering. He talked about the recurring theme of lost love, unrequited love, and the yearning for a love that seemed to always be out of reach. How these themes were constants in the human condition throughout history. He talked about how much great art was driven by this kind of pain.

His passion for the subject did not escape his friend's notice - Dan sensed that there was a more personal history involved than his friend was sharing.

While Jake demurred on revealing the nature of his own fascination, he did manage to spark in Dan an idea that the young auteur continued to develop. The screenplay for "The Torch Singer" had taken about six months to draft. He collaborated with the same writer who'd worked with him on Andromeda, but this time they consulted with Jake throughout the writing process in order build in a level of authenticity that Dan felt was important to the drama's narrative.

Jake agreed to score the film and create original music even before the outline had been fleshed out. He knew that he'd have plenty of inspiration for this one, and had a vague sense that he was born to do this project. That had been about a year ago, and they were now pretty far along in development.

Today's meeting was related to casting. Jake wouldn't normally be involved at this stage, except that a key role - the title character - had to be able to sing convincingly for the period, which for this film would be the late 1940s. Dan wanted Jake to be part of the dialogue and decision process with the casting directors and producers, because the choice would greatly impact the original songs that Jake would compose for the film, not to mention the musical credibility of the project. If done right, it would be a great media story and the soundtrack could also have a very meaningful impact on the project's bottom line.

This performer would have to be both a talented singer and actress - but Dan felt very strongly that it could not be someone already famous. He wanted the audience to completely suspend disbelief and find the character to be mysterious and vulnerable - something that would not be possible with a famous starlet or popstar in the role.

This casting session would be equal parts listening and looking. She had to be young, she had to be beautiful, and she had to be able to sing like the Blues greats. But even more, she had to have that thing - that X factor that made the cameras and the audience love her. She had to be a heroine that engaged people emotionally. A tall order under any circumstance.

Dan told Jake that the studio and the Executive Producers kept trying to make him consider big brand names like Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow. But he was steadfast in his desire to find an unknown, and his credibility from all the recent Academy Award wins meant he had enough clout to push back, for now. But the pressure to get it right was intense.

So Jake really wanted to be there for Dan, and help him to find that right woman - the one with the chemistry to make it all work. He was pretty excited to see what the casting agency had come up with as a starting point.

An hour into the meeting, the tension in the room was palpable. Dan had rejected with great irritation more than two dozen suggestions from the casting director and EPs. Most were well-known singers and actresses, and even some comediennes were thrown in - some absurdly too old and off-type for their leading lady. The unknowns they'd gathered were not much better. None had both the right look combined with a good voice. It was looking grim.

Jake was frustrated not only for his friend, but for himself. None of these choices would realize the vision they had for this character. An awkward silence followed Dan's impatient exclamation: "After all this time, is this all you have for us?"

Finally, a junior member of the team, a twenty-something named Tobey, cleared his throat and began to offer another idea. The casting director, Kathleen, shot him a hard look for a moment, then relenting, gave him a barely perceptible nod.

Tobey continued: "This is a longshot... she's just someone I saw in a jazz club in New York last month. But she fits the physical type. Really gorgeous with an old school stage presence. And boy, she can sing. I don't know if she has any acting experience or representation - but no one could take their eyes off her... You could have heard a pin drop when she was on stage. They even stopped pouring drinks at the bar. I have a video on my phone if you want to see it. Her name is Frankie Rose... I have no idea where she comes from. If you like her, we can look into it."

Jake's gut seized up. He felt like he was dreaming. He heard Dan ask Tobey whether he could project the video onto the conference room wall, and watched them struggle to connect the device to a small projector and speaker, then they worked to get the video to cue up.

Tobey clicked the play arrow. The sound wasn't great - and there was a lot of ambient noise. The mostly dark screen showed shadowy images as live applause and a few hoots filled their ears. Then a spotlight illuminated a central figure, and the noise died down as the audience hushed in anticipation.

All of a sudden, there she was. The light falling on her white-blond hair seemed to create a halo. Her face was luminous. His bright angel was no longer a little girl. She was a goddess. A goddess in a tight green dress.

Dan sharply inhaled and uttered a curse word. One of the other Executive Producers murmured "holy shit." Jake shushed them violently, his heart was pounding in his chest.

She began to sing. It was a rendition of "Lover Man". The video's poor, completely raw production quality didn't make any difference. The room was rapt. At the finale of the song, there was a moment when Frankie sang acapella, and held a beautiful, sad note for at least three measures. When she finished, there was wild applause and shouted accolades in the club. The video abruptly ended, and the room was quiet for about ten seconds.

Jake ran a shaky hand through his hair, his mind was racing in a million different directions. He had to resist the impulse to ask them to play it again. He was so moved, he felt like crying, and yet his cock was partially erect. It would take him a few minutes and some deep breathing to calm down. She'd bloomed into a stunningly beautiful woman - he'd always known that would happen. What he had not anticipated was how sexy she would be. And the voice - the seductive power of her performance! He was so proud of her. And he was in awe. The reality of Frankie as a mature woman far surpassed his fantasy.

He was caught momentarily in profound feelings of wistful longing. If only she'd reached out to him. If only she had wanted him as much as he had wanted her. He wanted her still. More, in fact, than ever. Fuck.

Voices around him raved and posed a series of questions related to this mystery girl. Except for a couple of skeptics from the studio, most people in the room felt that they were looking at their torch singer. Suddenly, he realized that everyone was looking at him. Dan had asked him a question.

"Sorry, what?" Jake had to ask.

"Well, what do you think?" Dan asked slowly, clearly repeating himself.

"I think I need to go check her out in person." Jake didn't know he was going to say that until the words had left his lips. They sounded oddly calm and businesslike, despite the churning he felt inside. Yes, he needed to see her.

"But she looks like the one, to me." He added. His ears reddened at the true meaning of his words, but luckily they were hidden by his hair.

Dan slapped his hand down on the table, his enthusiasm was evident. Everyone nodded in agreement - and people began to discuss logistics. Someone was searching the web for any more clips of this promising new talent, Frankie Rose.

He realized that he'd have to tell Dan their history - that he knew her - and used to know her very well indeed. But first things first.

'Will she remember me after all these years?' Jake mused. An excitement he hadn't felt in a long time coursed through his veins.

INTERMISSION: To be continued...