Chapter 21
Within weeks of finishing his grounding sentence, Keith had sold the car and bought most of the equipment they needed to make a recording. Danny had finagled the use of recording equipment from the school and after many discussions and arguments, they'd even decided to bring in another voice. They needed a strong soprano as Laurie was a better alto. She could hit the high notes, but it was a strain on her natural voice. Danny picked Gloria Steinberg because he'd seen her sing a solo in the girl's choir. Her voice wasn't the greatest, but he'd said she 'had a body that won't quit'. Of course, he'd sent Keith to talk her into singing with them. Gloria had tried to use Keith's need of a soprano voice into forcing him into a date. He'd considered it for about a half a second because, after all, Danny had been right. She had a body that could bring grown men to their knees. But Keith had already learned that looks weren't everything and he didn't want to mix business with pleasure. She finally agreed to sing with them anyway in the hopes that in spending time with Keith, she could eventually talk him into going steady.
They'd set up the recording date for Friday night. Everything was going beautifully. They were in the garage warming up and waiting for Gloria to show up when it all fell apart. Well, at least they thought it did at first.
Shirley had come in to tell them that Gloria had the mumps and wouldn't be able to sing with them. Chris suggested that they let mom sing Gloria's part and the rest is, as they say, 'history'. She was fantastic!
Danny took it from there. Three days later, he found out that a record promoter was in town and he took Tracy with him to make sure the man got to hear the 'best new group' to come along in ages – or so Danny said. After brazen frontal attacks and devious sneak attacks, Danny finally got Reuben Kincaid to listen, really listen, to their song and he offered to sign them to a contract.
Danny surprised his mom at work with the contract, and because the line was long and she had no time to argue with him, she signed it without really looking at it. As soon as he was gone, she worried momentarily about what had looked like an official document and wondered briefly what she had just done. However, the solid wave of customers that demanded her attention pulled her mind away from it quickly. As she heard nothing much about it that night at home, she soon forgot about it and assumed it was just another of Danny's 'get rich quick' schemes.
Several weeks went by. Keith celebrated his sixteenth birthday and got his license the very same day. He was now the proud owner of the ability to drive and no vehicle in which to do so. He suffered a short bout of sadness for the loss of his car, but Danny's continued updates on their future career in the music industry kept those feelings at bay most of the time. While the Partridge siblings all kept abreast of what Mr. Kincaid was doing to try to make them 'stars', Shirley continued to juggle way too many balls like most single parents must do. She spent her days working hard and her nights working even harder to keep her family clean, clothed, fed and happy. Oh, they all pitched in, but there were still a million and one things to do every single day.
She was shocked to hear her own and her kid's voices on a transistor radio hanging from a stranger's shoulder when she was walking to her car after work one day. She came flying into the house yelling "Danny!"
"He's in the living room. What's wrong mom?" Laurie asked as she pushed the roast back in the oven after checking it.
"Did you know that they're playing our song on the radio?" Shirley said in shock.
"Yeah, they have been for a couple of days now. Danny says not to get too excited just yet as there aren't that many of them that have picked it up. But it has a good 'Q' rating, whatever that is. He's on the phone with Mr. Kincaid right now." Laurie waved a meat thermometer in the general direction of the living room.
"Who's Mr. Kincaid?" Shirley just had to ask even though Laurie's mention of Q ratings and radio stations had put her deeper into a fog of disbelief.
"He's the manger that Danny had you sign a contract with a few weeks ago." Laurie reminded her and watched her mother's dazed look take on a look of anger.
Shirley pushed through the swinging door to find her middle son hanging up the phone with a big grin on his face. Keith was sitting on the edge of the couch arm and grinning back. "Well?" Keith asked.
"He's coming over tonight to talk about a tour." Danny announced proudly.
"Far out!" Keith high fived his younger brother and turned to find his mother standing there with an angry look on her face and her hands on her hips. He immediately assumed it was something he'd done, but couldn't think of anything recently that should have made her angry. He quickly realized that she was looking past him at Danny and sighed in relief.
"Mom, you'll never guess. Mr. Kincaid says our record is quickly becoming a national hit. Well, maybe not a hit exactly, but there's enough interest that he wants us to start touring to support the album." Danny beamed.
Shirley's anger melted into confusion and shock. "Did you say tour? Album?"
"Yeah, isn't it neat?!?!" Danny couldn't contain his excitement.
"You all have some major explaining to do. But, let's talk about this at dinner." Shirley quickly decided that she needed some time to absorb everything she'd been bombarded with since walking in the door. "I'm going to go and change. Then, after we all sit down to a nice dinner that your sister has lovingly prepared, we are going to talk."
xoxo
After much discussion and a concerted and combined effort from her children, they had talked her into touring for the summer in support of an album that Mr. Kincaid suggested they record. They would tour for the first two and a half months of the summer and then go into the recording studio to put an album in the hands of their newly made fans.
The whole idea was terrifying to Shirley. Her kids, on the other hand, were ecstatic.
An hour after dinner, the front doorbell rang and Danny tore from the kitchen to the door in record time. He opened the door just as quickly, without asking who it was, and was greeted by the harried face of Mr. Kincaid.
"Hey, kid, do I finally get to meet your mysterious mother?" Reuben straightened his tie as he watched a family grow behind the smiling face of the young 'Clarence Darrow' in the making.
"Mr. Kincaid, meet my mother, Shirley Partridge. The most beautiful mother of five in the whole world with the voice of an angel besides." Danny dramatically swept his arm out and pointed at the uncomfortable and still floundering woman he'd just described.
Reuben glanced at the pretty blond woman who didn't look a day over thirty and couldn't help but agree with the first part of Danny's description. He had yet to hear her speak or sing, so he would hold off on the last part. "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Partridge."
"You too, Mr. Kincaid and please, call me Shirley." Shirley smiled at the man who was nothing like she'd pictured in her mind. She'd pictured this smarmy, slick, beady-eyed man who'd taken advantage of her middle son to get a contract signed in order to take advantage of her talented children. Instead, here was an earnest, if not nervous, looking man who appeared quite sincere.
"In that case, Shirley, please call me Reuben." Reuben grabbed Shirley's proffered hand and shook it firmly.
"Well then, Reuben, let's sit down and talk." Danny grabbed Reuben's coat sleeve and tried to lead him toward the living room couch.
"That's Mr. Kincaid to you." Both Shirley and Reuben corrected him in unison. Danny looked at them in awe. They hardly knew each other yet they were correcting his manners in unison.
Danny shook his head as Shirley motioned Reuben toward the couch that Danny had intended on leading him to and had him take a seat. "Would you like some coffee?" She offered.
"That sounds great. Just a little cream." Reuben agreed with a smile.
"So, kid, where's this prolific song writer you were telling me about?" Reuben glanced around at the teenagers and younger group of kids surrounding him. None of them looked old enough to drive much less write hit music.
"That's him right there; my brother Keith." Danny said as he motioned Keith's way. Keith had been watching Reuben closely, but staying quiet, trying to get the measure of the man. So far he seemed too nervous to be much of a manager.
"Him?" Reuben said in shock. "He looks all of fourteen or fifteen."
"He's sixteen and what does age have to do with anything?" Laurie came to her brother's defense as soon as she'd felt him stiffen at the comment that had been taken as a slur.
"No offense, young lady, but most good song writers are quite a bit older." Reuben remarked.
"Yeah, well, age has nothing to do with human suffering." Keith said quietly and continued to glare at the even more uncomfortable man.
Reuben swallowed heavily as he remembered that Danny had told him that their father had passed away just over 6 months earlier. The kid was right – age didn't have anything to do with how much pain a person had suffered through. Sometimes the very young had suffered more than people two and three times their age.
"My mistake." Reuben quickly answered not wanting to offend anyone in this new group he would be managing. He still wanted to spend some serious time with the young man and knew that he would need to become friends with him – earn his trust – in order for them to work together. He had all kinds of ideas he needed to share with the song writer of the group.
"Here you go, Reuben." Shirley finally came back into the room with a tray that included two cups and a pot of coffee. A small pot of creamer had been included.
Reuben waited patiently to be handed his cup and took an appreciative sip of the flavorful and hot liquid before even attempting to continue the conversation. He needed Shirley's full attention and he wouldn't have it while she was playing hostess.
"So, Mrs. Partridge…" At Shirley's soft smile Reuben corrected himself "….Shirley, has Danny filled you in on any of our conversations?"
They talked about the length of the 'set' of music they would need to have ready for a concert tour and the fact that they would need to find transportation in order to get to their new club dates. He informed them that he was 'this close' to closing a deal with Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. That comment had garnered great enthusiasm from the raptly listening kids. Keith, Laurie and Danny were well aware of Las Vegas and the prestige that was garnered from performing at one of the premier hotels in that entertainment hot spot. Chris and Tracy just went along with their older siblings.
Shirley felt something well up inside herself too. However, it wasn't enthusiasm or excitement. It had the unmistakable earmarks of something closing to fear or terror. She did her best to hide it from her kids who had more than enough excitement to cover for her lack of it.
As the conversation continued for more than two hours, Shirley glanced at the clock and realized it was past the youngest kid's bed times.
"Laurie, can you please put Chris and Tracy to bed for me while Reuben, Keith and I continue talking?" Shirley asked.
"Hey, what about me? I'm contributing to this conversation too." Danny reminded her.
"Yes, sorry, honey. We'd just started talking about the musical side of it which is more Keith's area. I didn't mean to leave you out." Shirley smiled patiently at Danny.
Danny harrumphed, but seemed to be appeased by her apology. Shirley watched Laurie reluctantly lead Chris and Tracy away and promised to make her chore the fastest in history. She wanted to hear everything they talked about too.
"So, just how many songs do you have written at this point?" Reuben turned to Keith to ask.
"I guess about a half a dozen or so." Keith thought about several more that weren't too far from being complete and some that he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to record. Like the song 'Only a Moment Ago' that he'd written about his father's death.
"Are they all like the one that's getting play right now?" Reuben spoke in manger speak and was about to correct himself when Keith answered without being told what he'd meant.
"Some are; others aren't." Keith said vaguely. "Why, what are you looking for?"
"Well, the group idea is great and all, but….." Reuben trailed off.
"But?" Keith asked and saw his mother raise her eyebrow as if silently asking the question herself.
"Well, realistically, commercially, the group needs a lead singer." Reuben's opinion of Keith had grown exponentially since he'd walked through the front door just over two hours ago. The kid had talent and, after seeing him, he also had the look. The question was, did he have the charisma?
"Oh." Keith said quietly and looked down. He'd been a little afraid of this. Was he ready to sing lead? He knew he was the natural choice. Not many rock groups had lead singers with his mother's beautiful soprano voice. No, Keith was the obvious choice and he knew it.
"Can I hear a few more songs?" Reuben thought that maybe he'd get a feel for Keith's abilities if he could just get him to sing a song or two by himself.
"Chris and Tracy just went to bed." Keith reminded him. "We just lost our drummer."
"Right." Reuben had known that and had almost instinctively waited for that to happen. He wanted to hear Keith perform, not the family. "Maybe you could just sing a song or two for me with just your guitar."
"Come on Keith. You've done it before. Laurie told me so." Danny urged. He did not want to blow this deal because Keith was getting all self-conscious on them.
Keith glared at Danny but knew that he didn't want to blow this deal either. "I'll just have to go into the garage and get my guitar." Keith said while still glaring at Danny.
Danny just smiled smugly as Keith walked out of the room.
"He'll be ok to do this, right?" Reuben asked Shirley a little nervous that if Keith couldn't pull off being the lead singer of the band that this family's career could be very short lived. They'd be a one hit wonder at best.
"I don't know. He has a wonderful singing voice. I just don't know how confident he is about it yet. He's so young, Reuben. I hate to force him to do something he's not completely comfortable with." Shirley frowned at the still swinging kitchen door that had closed behind her eldest.
"You do know that…" Reuben left the rest unsaid.
"Of course we do." Danny's comment brought both adults attention to him. They'd almost forgotten he was still there. "Mr. Kincaid hasn't actually said it, but I know what he's thinking. We need a lead singer and Keith is the obvious choice. Not that mom wouldn't make a great choice. She's sexy enough for it."
"Danny!" Shirley said in shock and embarrassment.
"Well, you are. It's just that a rock band will have a younger audience and Keith is in the right age group to relate to our audience. Right, Mr. Kincaid?" Danny looked to Reuben to back up his theory on how to form a successful rock group.
"Right, kid." Reuben said absently as he looked at the ten year old who talked like someone four times older than him. It was unnatural to hear such business acumen coming out of such a small kid.
"He's also got the talent, but don't tell him I said that. He'll get a big head." Danny grinned.
Shirley was just about to tell Danny not to talk about his brother like that behind his back when Keith came back into the living room with his guitar in hand. He sat back down in the chair he'd recently vacated and set the guitar on his lap. He spent a few minutes tuning it to make sure he wouldn't accidentally hit a bad note and throw himself off.
"So, what do you want to hear?" Keith asked nervously.
"What've you got?" Reuben's forehead raised in confusion. He thought Keith knew he wanted to hear something he'd written himself.
"Alright, here goes." Keith said and started strumming his guitar. He soon began to sing 'Singing My Song' quietly. When he glanced up and noticed his mother's surprised and pleased smile, he gained some confidence and began to sing a little louder.
When he brought the song to a close, Reuben too was impressed. But, it was only one song. "That was good."
"Good?" Danny knew Keith would need more than that to build his confidence. "That was outasight!"
"Alright, it was better than good, but I'd like to hear more. What else?" Reuben smiled at Keith to show his appreciation of what he'd just heard.
Keith just nodded and started another song. This one knocked Reuben for a loop. This new song he was singing did have 'million seller' written all over it. Reuben could feel the smile build on his face as Keith brought 'I Think I Love You' to a close.
"That was brilliant!" Reuben couldn't hide his enthusiasm. "When did you write that one?"
"I don't know, about a month ago I guess." Keith frowned. Why did it matter when he'd written it?
Reuben made Keith play him several more songs and he was excited at the young man's voice and song writing talent. His bosses were going to be very excited when he brought this latest development to their door.
Reuben was already making plans to move himself closer to the group he now figured was going to play a major roll in his management future. He just hoped he could hide his excitement from Danny Partridge. He did not need the kid thinking he could out maneuver him on future deals and management issues.
"You'll have to come back to hear some of Keith's more rockin' songs." Danny was saying when Reuben came back from planning their futures in his head. "He's got 'I Can Feel Your Heartbeat' and 'Brand New Me'. They both need the drums and bass to sound really great. But they are. Great, that is."
"Yeah, kid, I'm sure they are." Reuben said vaguely.
Reuben's sudden lack of enthusiasm turned Keith's tentative smile into a frown. He'd thought Reuben had been enjoying what he was hearing. His face had taken on a thoughtful yet eager look but right now it was blank and his almost total lack of response to Danny's last comment left Keith feeling like his song writing lacked something that their new manager thought was missing.
"Mr. Kincaid…." Keith started tentatively.
"Reuben, kid. You and I will be working pretty closely together for quite some time. You should call me Reuben. It makes more sense if you call me Reuben rather than Mr. Kincaid, don't you think?" Reuben smiled at Keith.
"Hey, why does he get to call you Reuben, when I have to call you Mr. Kincaid?" Danny jumped up from his perch on the couch. He hoped his new height would make him seem more important.
"Because, Danny, it's a show of respect. Besides, Reuben and Keith will be working very closely together while we're recording and performing." Shirley knew her explanation wasn't the best, but it would have to suffice. "Now, it's past your bedtime too, young man. Off you go."
"Oh, so soon?" Reuben couldn't help but throw the question at the departing young tycoon's back. "See you next time, kid."
Laurie passed Danny on the stairs and whispered, "What'd I miss?"
"You missed Keith impressing the pants off Mr. Kincaid. I could see the dollar signs floating above his head when Keith played some of his songs. Laurie, we are about to become superstars!" Danny grinned at her as he paused at the turn in the landing.
"Groovy!" Laurie grinned back. "Which songs did Keith play? I could hear him playing but couldn't quite make it out while I was reading to Tracy."
Danny gave Laurie the fastest blow by blow possible as his mother had just noticed that he was still on the stairs. 'Daniel Partridge' floated up to them.
"Ok, I've filled you in on what happened while you were gone; you'll do the same for me in the morning?" Danny begged as he began to back up the stairs.
"Deal." Laurie said as she continued on down the stairs.
Reuben stayed for a couple more hours while they talked more in depth about how they were going to get around as a performing group. They knew they couldn't fit all of their equipment into the family station wagon and renting a truck would get expensive.
"What about a bus?" Laurie suggested.
"That's fine, but who'd drive it?" Shirley asked.
"I could." Keith offered.
"No, honey. You're too young to be driving a big heavy bus all over the country. You just got your license. I won't allow it." Shirley reminded him.
"Well, we have to come up with something." Reuben brought them back to reality. "The record company won't spring for much until you have a bona fide hit. Though I think some of Keith's songs have potential, they aren't likely to invest much until you've proven yourselves."
"I guess I'll have to learn to drive something a little bigger than our wagon." Shirley offered.
xoxo
The next weekend Keith, Danny and Shirley went to Al's used car lot because Danny had spied the perfect vehicle for their needs and, if he could negotiate the price down, it would also fit their budget.
Keith looked it over to be sure it was mechanically sound and then Danny took over. Shirley and Keith looked on silently while Danny drove Al crazy with his superior negotiating skills. They both fought to hide grins while Danny turned the used car lot owner's complexion a florid red. No matter what he said, Danny hung tough and before long, Shirley was signing the papers and the check.
Keith drove the bus home while Shirley drove behind and fretted that he'd have problems. He pulled it effortlessly to the curb and then after much discussion, backed it into the driveway so that they could paint it.
Before she knew it, Shirley was at the hardware store buying several different bright colors of paint. Laurie had come up with a funky design to paint the bus and they all put on their oldest clothes and set to work. Before long, they were painting each other more than the old bus, but they had a blast. It ended up looking terrific if she did say so herself.
Keith had suggested the sign on the back of the bus that said 'careful nervous mother driving' while he explained the different pedals, gear shifts and levers to his mother. At first she seemed overwhelmed, but after a short time he finally suggested that she just try it.
She did, and after several unsuccessful attempts to get the behemoth moving forward they finally began to jerk forward slowly. Keith made her drive all over San Pueblo. He made her stop on hills and back up in parking lots. Before long, she was a pro.
Two hours after they'd left the house, Shirley and Keith pulled up in front of the house to the rest of the waiting kids with triumphant smiles on their faces.
The transportation problem had been dealt with. Now they just had to practice their butts off in preparation of their opening date at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas the week after school let out.
Their professional lives were about to begin. But, before that could happen, one last major happening was to take place in Keith's life.