Chapter Ten

"Send her in Millie." Amber said, trying to hold a composure that she didn't feel.

The door opened and a stately woman walked in. Her face was the same with an updo of braids Amber had seen on so many fine black women, and a colorful scarf wrapped around her head. She was in an African dress and carried it with pride. Amber would have known her anywhere.

"Come in Mrs. Franklin." Amber began with a swish of her hand, "Please have a seat. May I get you something? Tea or coffee?"

A large smile spread across her dark face. "Now, Ms. Von Tussle you don't have to be so formal with me. We're old friends." Inez stated genuinely, "Besides, look what you have done and I'm just a simple Sunday School teacher from the other side of town."

A simple Sunday School teacher? Well, maybe she taught, but Amber knew the money and connections of the Stubbs family. In the African-American community, they were the First Family of Baltimore.

After the death of Charisse, Motown stated that Inez and the Charmettes had lost some of their popularity. Barry Gordie, unbeknownst to the Stubbs, had plans for the group. The name Charmetttes, still belonged to Motown. He felt that there was no need to keep a millstone connected to it. They paid off Inez's contract and replaced the singers with new fresh faces. The unlike The Supremes which turned into Diana Ross and the Supremes, Inez and the Charmettes became simply The Charmettes and he bet that the group would continue on with hit after hit, even without it's star.

But he bet wrong. The young girls who bought their records, were devastated by the death of one of their stars. The new girls were marketed as young sexy versions of the Supremes and fell quickly this way. About the time that the former Corny Collins show, which morphed into "Music America", was cancelled by NBC, the Charmettes released their last single that barely made it up the Top 100. They faded quietly.

All the while, Inez sat in her room and cried. She had lost her friend and her dreams all at once. Maybelle, however was thrilled. Her baby was hurt and all she wanted to do was go home. When she got the check from Motown, she packed up the few belongings they had brought with them. All the other stuff held memories of the heartache they had gone through and this devil was not coming back with them. They left Hollywood with heads held high as they drove back home. Maybelle spoke years later of how sad she had been that she couldn't bring everyone back with her. She also left a dear friend behind and he was no where to be found.

Baltimore opened her arms to the returning Stubbs. In the west, performers were dying from the choices they made. Here in Baltimore, Charisse's death was not one of many, it was personal. She was one of their own and so was Inez. Inez was greated as a child coming home. People threw parties, the mayor invited her to the mansion and children stopped her in the streets. It didn't take her long to realize, home is where she belonged.

Maybelle had left her record store under the management of her sister. It did just fine. In fact, with the money sent from California, her sister invested in three more stores. They were growing. Around the mid-seventies, the BetaMax, home video recorder was released to the public. The generic VHS was released not long after. Maybelle saw a market and began to carry rentable movies at her stores. "Maybelle's Movies" popped up like weeds all over the city. By the time she sold her franchise to Blockbuster, she was worth millions.

Inez started into college a bit unsure of what to expect. Maybelle encouraged her to attend Sojourner-Douglass College with its Afro-Centric curriculum. She studied hard and was a popular girl. She met a young man named Isaiah Franklin and they fell in love. After they were married, both of them worked in her mother's stores while Isaiah became a Neurosurgeon and Inez raised their four children. Ironically, the youngest girl was named Amber. A name Inez always loved. People wondered why.

Now Inez sat in the office of her baby's namesake and smiled at her with a warm grin. Amber didn't know what to say next. Inez's words flowed with warmth. "I would like to talk to you about a little project I would like to finance, Ms Von Tussle."

"Amber." She said stunned.

"Yes, Amber, thank you." She continued without missing a beat, "As you know, my mother and I were recently interviewed by BET. We were asked about The Corny Collins Show. We were approached about participating in a reunion show with original Council members."

Amber's heart jumped. "Would your mother be willing to go along with this?"

"I'm not sure if you know it, but my mother has recently discovered that her bout with breast cancer is not over. She has resumed her chemotherapy and is currently hospitalized."

"I'm so sorry." Amber said sincerely.

"So am I." she replied simply. "My mother's wish is that your station runs the reunion. This station was home for her. In many ways, WYZT gave her so many good memories, she thinks that giving you the reunion would do well for all of us. There is an interest in the African American community about the show, but she wants everyone to remember with her. It was a groundbreaker. What good would it do for BET to run it with a black audience in mind? Now since you are seen on cable all across the country, black and white audiences would see it. Just like it originally aired. Mama and I would be willing to get you any amount that you would need for this to happen"

Amber's mind began to race, To have a reunion of the Corny Collins Show, one must have Corny Collins. She swallowed hard. "Has anyone spoken to Corny about this?" she managed to blurt out sounding as professional as possible.

Inez sighed. "Do you know where he is?"

Amber had no clue. She knew he disappeared from the public eye only a year after the huge success of the show on NBC. She knew that publicly, he was a ghost but thought that those he loved knew of his whereabouts all along. She was shocked and whispered a "No."

"Well that's a problem now, isn't it?" Inez replied. "The retrospect would be so much better with him there." She leaned on Amber's desk. "With the exposure that you could give us and enough cash to bring in the professionals, maybe Corny Collins can be found. What do you think?"

Amber wanted to jump up and scream, "YES!" but remained professional. "Inez, this sounds like it could work for all of us. I'm with you on it."

"Good!" Inez smiled, "This Sunday, we were planning a get together for Mama coming home from her hospital stay. My whole family will be there. We would be pleased if you would join us."

Amber agreed and offered her hand. Inez looked down and gently embraced her instead. "Welcome back to the family, Amber. You always belonged with us."

Amber plopped into her chair to steady her bubbling excitement. Sunday would be the beginning of an adventure so big, she could not even imagine.