Chapter 18

Before Il Volo started their tour of Christmas concerts, Michele had a promotional week scheduled, in which the boys would appear on a few morning shows, late-night shows, and radio programs scattered throughout the country.

That meant our time being hugely occupied with flying from place to place, giving me much time to work on my project, an idea I had pounced on from an earlier observation. I was thrilled with the ideas I flirted with, and I was engrossed in my work, constantly on my laptop forming designs that were subject to my whims.

I kept my plans to myself, wanting them to be quiet until I could carry them out, and also savoring that they were exclusively my secret. Though I never told any of the other Il Volo "teammates" that I had begun my own project, I thought everyone knew something was up, especially Ignazio, who constantly noticed my involuntary smiling, approving nods at the laptop screen, and the way I typed in hyperspeed.

It wasn't a particularly ambitious venture, but it was mine and I was in total control of its progress. When Ignazio had brought to my attention my to my own importance and influence in the Il Volo community, the first thing that came to my mind when I thought of being in control of my own projects was the Il Volo merchandise, or lack of. Excluding the CDs, of course, there wasn't much else available for the Il Volovers, and after reading through some discussions on a fan website, I realized that this was the general consensus.

So I had immediately set to work designing an Il Volo poster and T-shirt. The poster was nice, one of my pictures of the boys in concert against a red background, with images of the boys' signatures under them in gold, and the words "Il Volo" in huge block letters above them. I really liked it, and I was secretly arranging to have it printed.

But I was especially proud of the design I had come up with for the T-shirt, after many discarded documents of inferior imaginings.

The shirt was the Italian flag, with the left side a green stripe, the middle of the front and back white, and the right side a rich red stripe. I planned for there to be a picture of one of the boys in each color, Ignazio in the green, Gianluca in the white, and Piero in the red. Arched above them were the words "Il Volo" in block letters across the chest of the shirt, and their signatures in gold were below the pictures of the boys. The back of the T-shirt was a quote I had found online that I thought was perfect: "LOVE makes the world go around, but ITALIANS make it worth the trip!"

I was ecstatic about the T-shirt, and very eager to get it printed. I kept returning to the design and staring at it, diligently trying to determine if it could be better and ending up just admiring it every time. I had eagerly observed that many people like to wear flags of countries other than their own, like all the British-themed merchandise in the U.S.!

The fans widely embraced that the boys were from Italy, and I thought they'd go crazy over the new T-shirt. I was dying to get it printed and hold the shirt in my hands, but it was still missing the essential photos of the boys!

I wanted a new photo of them singing, with each of them holding the microphone and doing specific characteristic actions I wanted to capture from each of them. I wanted to get Piero's hand over his heart and the way he occasionally closes his eyes when he sings, Gianluca's serious look and dramatic pose he adopts every so often onstage, and Ignazio's shining eyes and his excited expression when he hits the high note of a song.

I knew exactly at what points during their music they would assume these positions, and I was determined to catch them the next time they sang together.

I stood in front of the stage in the nearly empty auditorium, where the night show would soon be recorded. Michele had brought us to the auditorium very early so the boys could get a feel for the stage before their performance later in the evening. Unfortunately, the boys weren't in a very good mood to practice, as evidenced by their gleeful romping around the stage and their playful silliness as they sang pop songs instead of "I'll Be Home For Christmas," the song they'd be singing on the show.

"Boys, come one!" Michele called, clapping his hands together. "Just sing the song and we can go!"

"Oh, but Michele!" Ignazio whined playfully, "We're having soooo much fun!"

"We've been on a plane forever!" Piero chimed in, adopting the same pout as Ignazio.

Oblivious to their conversation, I eyed the stage, feeling determined and excited to get the photos I needed for the T-shirt. I gazed about the theatre, silently taking in the endless possibilities around me. I pictured specifically what I wanted and almost trembled with exhilaration. Ambition overtook me and I pulled myself up onto the stage, sure that my perfect photos were within my reach.

As Michele chastised the boys, I gripped my camera and wandered around the stage, finding the best photography spots. I walked around the boys, intent on finding the right angles. I jumped down and moved around along the edge of the stage, tracing my fingers along it as I hunted down the right places to stand. I paused after a few moments, looking up at Ignazio from below, and then quickly crouched down to my knees, looking up at the stage. I aimed up my camera to see the angle, and a gleeful smile broke out on my face.

Brilliant!

I looked up and rolled my eyes as I observed the boys' continuing horseplaying as Michele spoke with a studio worker, momentarily relenting in his chastising.

"Boys!" I cried suddenly, jumping up with my hands agitatedly on my hips, and they stopped and turned to me. "Practice! Now! I've got some pictures to get, and I'm getting impatient with you! Get into your spots and start singing! Now!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Piero said, saluting teasingly, and then the three of them laughed and moved to their spots.

"And be serious!" I called, jumping onto the stage and gesturing wildly in front of them so they'd pay attention, "Give me some emotion! This is important!"

"Why?" Gianluca asked as I turned and jumped down.

"Just do it!" I demanded over my shoulder as I went to my first spot, the place where I'd capture Ignazio's excited expression.

The music started, and as Ignazio started to sing, he smiled at me and struck a dramatic pose.

"Don't look at me, Ignazio!" I ordered, rolling my eyes, and he smiled and shifted his gaze to the empty seats where the audience would be seated, pretending he was singing to the crowd. His eyes were shimmering with playful delight, and I dropped to my knees and clasped the cold metal of the camera in my hands, waiting, waiting…Brilliant!

I snapped the picture and stayed on my knees, taking more as his expression and posture changed slightly. Then I suddenly snapped up and sprinted around the stage, leaping around a startled Michele and nearly tripping over a stray speaker as I made my way to my spot.

I dropped down in front of Piero, watching him, and he grinned at me and began to move toward the edge of the stage toward me as he sang.

"No!" I commanded, pointing at his spot, and he looked surprised as he moved back. He quickly recovered and looked out at the crowd, tenderly watching the empty seats. When he moved his hand over his heart, I smiled in excitement and held up the camera, pausing, waiting…

When his eyes closed, I got the pictures I needed, and then by the time he opened them again, I was already gone, dashing around Michele to the middle of the stage.

"Goodness, Tamzin!" he exclaimed as he jumped back from me, making the boys laugh.

I went right up in front of Gianluca as he began to sing, and I got down on my knees, poised to capture the images I was waiting for.

Gianluca eyed me, smiling until I yelled, "I'm not here, Gianluca!" so he'd finally look away.

Usually they didn't pay attention to me because their focus was on the crowd, but I guess it was hard not to watch me as I dashed back and forth in front of them, crazy with excitement.

I laughed gleefully over the music as I caught Gianluca's dramatic pose on the camera, and then I leaped up and sprinted away to see what else I could get from them.

I ran back and forth in front of the stage until Michele decided to withdraw from his spot completely, giving me room to carry out my crazed endeavors.

The boys immensely enjoyed my frenzy, and the knowing smiles they exchanged made a great photo, though I still wanted them to ignore me so I could get more of their usual gazes.

As they sang, I masterfully captured each moment, movement, and expression on my camera, snatching them from the theatre's grasp and hiding them in my camera. By the end of the song I was breathing hard and trembling with wild energy, clutching the camera tightly to my chest as I looked up eagerly at the boys.

"How'd we do, Tamzin?" Ignazio called, and through my breathless smiling I answered, "Brilliant!"

"We have Tamzin's approval!" Piero cried, throwing up his hands triumphantly and shattering the tender mood the song had brought on, inspiring another round of laughter and playful joking from the three boys. I slunk away with my camera, my prize, held tightly in my arms, and I collapsed into an audience chair, shaking with eager energy as I clutched it to my chest.

As I began to review the photos, I looked up and laughed suddenly when I heard the boys beginning to sing pop songs together to Michele, who laughed also and watched them. Ignazio turned to me, beaming with delight and beckoning me, but I was lost in the realm of my own ingenuity, in my photos. Intent only on the pictures in front of me, I flipped through the images on the camera and grinned incessantly at the screen.

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

They were exactly what I wanted, and I as I pictured them on the T-shirt I gazed off dreamily into the distance, until the bright lights of the stage pulled me back and I submerged myself in the pictures again, listening happily to Il Volo playing around in the background as Michele talked with stagehands again.

I was trembling with excitement, reveling in the perfection of my photos, jubilantly experiencing the satisfaction of bringing a vision to life. Soon I'd have the shirt, my project, in my hands, seeing my real design come into being by my own effort.

"Brilliant!" I breathed, gazing absentmindedly at the stage.

"Hey, Michele," I heard Iganzio call, "You know what we should sing on The Tonight Show?"

I focused my gaze on Ignazio, who pointed at a stagehand who immediately started some music. Then he dramatically gestured to Gianluca, prompting him to strike a pose and sing happily with the recording, "Rockin' around the Christmas tree! At the Christmas party hop! Mistletoe hung where you can see! Every couple tries to stop!"

I laughed suddenly, sounding wild and giddy as I watched them dancing and posing dramatically.

Ignazio started to sing his part, his dimples showing as he smiled wide, his eyes shining playfully as he turned to see me.

"Voices singing let's be jolly! Deck the halls with boughs of holly!"

He came quickly to the edge of the stage and tucked the microphone in his pocket, letting the music play as he beckoned me wildly.

"Tamzin, come here!" he called, and I jumped up agreeably and hurried to the stage, leaving the camera in the chair behind me.

"The pictures are amazing!" I called ecstatically, laughing giddily, and he laughed with me and reached down his hands to me.

"That's great, Tamzin! Come here!"

I took his hands and he immediately pulled me closer to the stage and then upward.

"Ignazio!" I gasped as he hoisted me up quickly from the floor and onto the stage by my hands. He set me down in front of him and laughed at my surprise, then pulled me close to him and rested a hand on my waist.

"Dance with me!" he called happily over the music, and I laughed but wriggled out of his grasp, taking his hands to salsa with him.

As the upbeat music echoed loudly in the theatre, Ignazio and I moved rapidly forward and back, laughing as Ignazio spun me around and caught me when I broke away from him to dance teasingly around him. Piero and Gianluca watched us and came to dance beside us, and they playfully tried to take me from Iganzio, who giddily pulled me away and kept dancing with me. I laughed at his silly faces and dramatic poses, and allowed him to pull me close, breaking out of the salsa to rock quickly from side to side as he tightly held me and kept me from slipping.

Michele watched us cheerfully romping and singing around the stage, shaking his head and letting us play around while we had the auditorium all to ourselves. Ignazio sang without the microphone so he could hold me with both hands and capture me again and again as I playfully wriggled away.

In the final notes of the song, I leaped away from Iganzio one last time, and when he rushed forward to me I happily let him pull me back to him, letting him pull me closer and closer to him as his eyes shone brightly and brilliantly. The song ended, and the joyous laughter of the four of us and Michele filled the silence. Ignazio and I shared a smile, breathless and breathing hard.

The next song on the Il Volo Christmas CD started, soft symphony music and the low ringing of bells, and I expected Iganzio to release me.

Instead, he held my hands tightly, keeping me close to him, and I watched curiously as his playful expression shifted to content tenderness. I looked up at him in bewilderment for only a moment before he released my hands and instead wrapped his arms around my waist. He gently pulled me closer to him as I bewilderedly reached up and laid my hands on his shoulders, looking up into his gentle eyes.

The dimples disappeared as the bright smile faded, and before I knew what was happening, he leaned forward and gently touched his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and felt him against me, my hands slipping blissfully down from his shoulders to his chest, resting on the sleek black jacket of his suit, his tie velvety and cool under my fingers.

Then after a moment he pulled back and the brilliant smile returned instantly, even brighter than before, his eyes dancing gleefully.

"Ignazio!" I chastened, suddenly startled, and then pulled quickly out of his grasp and turned to Gianluca and Piero. I expected them to be shocked, dazed, maybe even angry, but they just exchanged knowing smiles and continued adjusting the microphone stands.

I watched them for a moment, still breathing hard from all the dancing, confused. I felt Ignazio gazing at me, and I turned back to him, looking up at him as he regarded my confusion with a gentle smile.

"They know?" I asked, and his smiled widened as he watched me.

"Tamzin," he said softly, taking my hand, "They knew a long time before either of us did that I was falling for you."

He gently moved me back to him, resting his hands around my waist, and when I anticipated he was going to kiss me again I closed my eyes and contentedly let him.