Chapter 21: The Chipmunk Divine
Chip and Dale could hardly believe their eyes. They were so busy gasping that they even forgot to clap. There she was, she who used to be the chipmunk of their dreams back in the mid-80s when they all were much younger. Oh, how they did fight for her, how they pulled tricks on one another to beat the respective competitor, and be it only for a mere few seconds with her until the other struck back.
So this was what had happened to her. She was big in the showbiz now, larger than life, so to speak. They remembered her as a cute girlie who sang at a jazz club in Manhattan, accompanied by either some small combo or Chip and Dale themselves. And now she was a diva doing her own large-scale show in Vegas with her own orchestra. If she had been a star back then, what was she now?
Keeping the smile on her face like she was expected to, that is, like she expected herself to, Clarice gazed all over the audience as far as the spotlight shining in her face allowed. Below her, unseen in the darkness, the musicians handed the artificial petals that had fallen upon them to crew members who carried them away to the backstage area. She didn't have to search for long, for Armando had kept his word and placed those whom she was looking for right before the stage. Her heart filled up with joy as she saw the two chipmunks. Her biggest and most faithful fans from her time in New York City were there to see the show that meant everything to her, that they helped her resurrect, probably without even knowing. Deep in her mind, she decided to perform just for them.
Meanwhile, Chip and Dale were barely aware of the audience behind them as they stood at the far end of the catwalk, their elbows planted upon the stage floor, their chins resting on their hands, and grinning as if they had traded in their sanities for a pair of backstage tickets.
"Is it still boring, Dale?"
"Pinch me, Chip, I must be dreaming."
"May I bonk you instead?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Chip raised his right fist and swung it down again, but missed Dale completely and just ran his arm through the air. He only had eyes for Clarice and omitted to aim before hitting. He tried another three times before he lost interest and gave up.
Accompanied by a triplet rhythm and some chords from Todd's PDA, the orchestra began to play anew. This time it was a lush, slow piece of music that quietly came sounding from the speakers on both sides of the stage. First, Clarice stood and did not stir, but after a few measures, she lowered her arms and moved the microphone to her mouth.
"You know that my tears
Have kept me awake
The longer I'm gone
I'll hunger and shake
From here to New York
I'll wait out of time
With you in my heart
The Chipmunk Divine."
Clear yet powerful, her voice filled the hall. For the first time ever, Chip and Dale heard her sing over a public address system which had not been necessary at the small jazz clubs where she used to sing back then. Besides, this was a style the boys had never heard her sing before, not to mention that she did not sound like a girlie at all anymore.
The first verse was over, the rhythm grew more powerful while holding its original tempo, and Clarice slowly descended the stairs which led down from the platform, step by step, and sang the second verse.
"So won't you come close..." She motioned those who watched her, specifically two chipmunks, to approach. The lyrics of the first verse already made clear whom she addressed with this song. None of the Rangers really knew that she had sung them for two and a half years without her two old fans ever hearing them.
"Bring this to an end
With this giant rose
My love I will send
You'll light up the night
Like spotlights so bright
With you in my heart
The Chipmunk Divine."
Another spotlight lit up and illuminated Melissa who had gotten up and played a violin solo. Clarice began to slowly and gently dance down the catwalk. For the first half of the solo, she kept her eyes closed, for the second half, she kept them on Chip and Dale. When the violin solo was over, she sang again.
"With you," she pointed at the two gasping chipmunk guys in front of whom she was standing meanwhile, "in my heart," and then pulled her left hand back and laid it onto her chest.
"The Chipmunk Divine." She knelt down and gave them a smile, hiding her own excitement like only a professional can. She even resisted the urge to ruffle through Dale's hair tuft, even more so when she noticed a mouse and a bat sitting next to two vacant seats and glaring jealously at her.
She got up again, and with the orchestra going full blast, she repeated the first verse. Although she was standing again, she was still close enough for Chip and Dale to hear her natural voice.
"You know that my tears
Have kept me awake
The longer I'm gone
I'll hunger and shake
From here to New York
I'll wait out of time
With you in my heart
The Chipmunk Divine."
Towards the end of the song, Clarice raised her voice and repeated the title of the song and the name of the show while Chip and Dale were grasped from behind by a hand and a wing respectively and pulled back to their seats.
"The Chipmunk Divine,
The Chipmunk Divine."
Frantic applause followed before the last chord ended. Clarice stood and waited for the audience to quiet down. Gadget and Foxglove decided not to question Chip and Dale about their suspicions as to their reactions upon seeing the diva, and also if, and if yes, how she happened to know them, and to wait for a break or the end of the show instead.
When the clapping had gotten quieter than her voice on the PA, Clarice spoke up. "Good evening, Las Vegas!" The noises from the audience temporarily gained volume, and she waited for another short while.
"It's nice to see so many of you found the time to more or less spontaneously attend my show, and that you like it, no matter how long I've been out of practice. Well, and it's of course nice to be back on stage with the Chipmunk Divine after a... very long break. And it was probably as much a surprise to me as it was to you. Seriously, I didn't know this morning that I'd be back on stage this evening. And I'd like to thank those who made my comeback possible. First of all, there's my synthesizer player, Todd!"
The white mouse got a spotlight and a lot of applause of his own. Despite his quite exposed place within the orchestra, he rarely got either. And Clarice's gratefulness made him feel double proud. His thoughts of staying with the orchestra for only one night were gone.
"Thank you, Todd, for coming back to the Destiny Unlimited Orchestra and performing together with us tonight. And I'd also like to thank a very special team who came here from far away and dedicate this show to them. Ladies and gentlemen, from New York, New York... the Rescue Rangers!"
More applause followed. Some of the Rangers were sure, though, that Clarice did in fact only mean Chip and Dale. It might have been only natural for two chipmunk lads to go nuts about a chipmunk lass, but Clarice's behavior made clear that she knew them.
Apart from Chip's affection towards the singer, Gadget was worried about something else. Now everyone in the audience knew that the Rangers were there, and thanks to the bright spotlights which were shining upon them, it was also clear where they were sitting. If Fat Cat or Francis and either one's gang were at the show, too, the Rangers would be an easy target. But although she remained alerted, she decided not to let it ruin the show for her.
And the show went on. Accompanied by the Destiny Unlimited Orchestra, Clarice sang song for song, many of which were written and composed for the show, while a few were cover versions, sometimes with re-written lyrics like the opener. A colorful assortment of songs of many styles and easily as many facets as a diamond made up the show. Larger-than-life orchestral arrangements, almost like movie themes from the 40s or 50s, met jazz tunes with sparse as well as broad accompaniment, lush, balladesque compositions, hot Latin rhythms, and even driving disco beats. Not always did the songs involve the whole orchestra, there were pieces of music without Todd's synthetic sounds, some even only played by Armando or Clarice herself on the piano, certain jazz numbers had nothing but acoustic drums, bass, and horns, and a few modern-sounding songs featured Todd as the only musician accompanying the singer. Sometimes, Armando joined Clarice in the singing. The orchestra had a lot of solists, but no-one played as many solos as Melissa who was allowed to move about the stage freely, always tracked by a spotlight, when she played a solo. Not rarely did she walk past Todd or even stand beside him when he had a more important role in a song. Those who watched them largely agreed that this had little to do with coincidence.
The show went on for two and a half hours, and even after three encores, the audience didn't have enough yet and shouted out for more. After all, even those who had seen the show before were happy to have it back after half a year. The spectators watched as Clarice spoke to Armando who sat at the piano and then went around and talked to the rest of the orchestra. Another song followed, sung by Armando, and for the first time since the overture, Clarice was not on stage which the audience soon noticed. They wondered if something was wrong with her that she left the stage and had her orchestra play the last encore.