Chapter 30
"Alright, boys!" I called, stepping onto the coffee table and blocking the T.V. in Ignazio's condo to get their attention. "Tomorrow we leave for Chicago! Michele and I want you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for six!"
"My tail isn't bushy until nine!" Piero said, and then ducked and laughed when I jumped down and pretended to whack him with a copy of the calendar.
"I'm excited," Gianluca said from where he sat texting his little brother in a corner of the room, "With you monitoring our publicity, after this month I wouldn't be surprised if every family in the country has heard of us!"
"That's the idea!" I said, nodding eagerly.
"Where to first, captain?" Ignazio asked from the kitchen, as he stirred the soup was making for our group and for Gatica and Renis, and I put my hands on my hips.
"I gave you the calendar!"
"Yeah, but it's in my suitcase, and you're holding it."
"Memorize it! You packed already?"
"Ummm…sure."
"Ignazio!"
"I'm only kidding, Tamzin!" He put down the spoon and came over to me, stepping over Piero's feet on the coffee table as he passed the couch. He took my face in his hands and kissed my cheek.
"I'm packed and ready to go, my dear."
"We're going to that morning news program first," Piero said boredly as he stared at his phone screen.
"Yes!" I said, and then turned to Ignazio, "See, Piero knows the schedule!"
"Or I just have a picture of it on my phone."
He laughed as I pretended to whack him again, and then Ignazio tugged on my arm.
"Come on, Tamzin, come and taste the soup."
"And stop abusing me," Piero said, and jumped over the arm of the couch when I held the rolled paper above me and jumped toward him.
I laughed and followed Ignazio to the kitchen, where he scooped up a spoonful of soup and handed it to me to taste.
"It's perfect, Ignazio," I said after I had tasted it, handing him back the spoon.
"Excellent," he said, kissing my cheek. Then he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. "Tamzin, I just want you to know how proud I am of you."
"Why?"
"For being the best photographer we've ever had, for the merchandise you've created for us, for getting us all these interviews, for putting up with my silliness-"
I laughed, and he kissed my cheek.
"And especially for deciding to stay with us."
I looked up at him.
"I love working with you guys."
"I know, but you also love your landscapes, and I know it took a whole lot to give that up for us. I'm so glad you're staying. Thank you for being so committed to us. I love you."
I smiled, and he reached for my face to tilt up my chin to kiss me for a long moment. Then he pulled back and we gazed up at each other, sharing a smile.
"Ew, gross!" Piero and Gianluca chimed from the couch, and they laughed and leaped away from me as I raised my calendar and charged, laughing.
The next morning we all woke early and got ready to leave for the airport. Ignazio invited me over to his condo to have breakfast with him and Piero and Gianluca. We talked about the tour and where we'd be going, and I elaborated about the hotels we'd be staying at in the places we'd be traveling to.
After breakfast we rounded up our suitcases and equipment, and we loaded them all into Michele's rental car. Ignazio went with me and got my suitcase for me as I slung my camera bag over my shoulder and looked around the condo one last time, my hand on the light switch.
"I like these condos," I said, and Ignazio smiled.
"Me too, Tamzin. We stay here almost every time we return to Los Angeles. We'll be back here eventually."
I nodded and flipped off the lights, stepping onto the porch and closing the door.
"This is gonna be good!" I said, clasping my hands together as I followed Ignazio down the porch steps, the same place I had first met him.
It was time again to live solely in hotel rooms, hang out on planes, and spend days on the sets of various television programs. Though we were constantly on the move, it wasn't as tiring for the boys as the concerts had been. They were generally laid-back and cheerful as we traveled from city to city, completing interviews and appearing on different programs. I always accompanied Barbara and Michele to the interviews and watched the boys from backstage lounges.
They were brilliant onscreen, their cheerful candor capturing the attention of the audiences, and their singing mesmerizing them. They behaved just as I had imaged they would, Ignazio being entertaining and eager, Piero telling his stories and playing with Ignazio and the hosts, and Gianluca being calm and suave. People loved the boys, and the numbers of people included in the social media groups began to grow rapidly, to my delight.
I was sure to post many backstage pictures of the boys for the fans, and I started a countdown to the release of the CD that the people seemed to enjoy, responding eagerly to my updates and posts.
I encouraged the boys to be active in social media as well, to seem more approachable, and with the help of Barbara and Michele we scheduled some public meet-and-greets in various cities for after the release of the CD.
Though I spent most of my time working on things for Il Volo, I also occasionally found time to slip away and go out to get my landscapes, which Ignazio loved to see whenever I returned.
When we traveled by plane, Ignazio would sit beside me and watch as I worked diligently on the documentary, which came closer and closer to being finished as the August days passed.
As the boys completed more and more interviews and radio program appearances, I watched with Michele as the amount of pre-orders for the CD grew higher and higher.
"This is amazing!" he said one evening in mid-August as our group ate together in his hotel room. "This is the biggest demand for pre-orders we've ever had!"
"Why is that?" Ignazio asked, but the way he grinned at me told me what he was thinking.
"I might know how we can make it higher," I thought out loud, and after dinner I gathered them in my hotel room for the premier of the documentary.
I set up my laptop on the coffeetable and started it, and then settled down beside Ignazio to watch the finished product for the millionth time. The documentary was an overview of how the CD was made from start to finish, including interviews, sound clips, and shots of the boys playing around in the studio, as well as discussing the production of the CD with the producers. I ended it with a clip of one their interviews announcing the release date of the CD and showing the boys holding up copies in the studio and smiling.
The screen fell dark, and I waited for my response.
"I love it!" Michele said finally, and when the boys and Barbara enthusiastically agreed I sat up and clasped my hands together, laughing excitedly.
"Good! I'm glad!"
"Tamzin, can you post it on our social media sites for the fans to see?"
"I have a better idea."
I explained how I had been in contact with Gatica and Renis about it, and they suggested we announce the documentary in interviews, and I'd release it online a few days before the CD's release to get people interested in ordering it.
Michele smiled and shook his head.
"Tamzin, I don't know why I tell you you don't know what you're getting into, because obviously you do!"
I laughed as Ignazio hugged me eagerly from behind and kissed my cheek.
So we announced that soon we'd be releasing the documentary free online, and I watched as more and more subscriptions to our Youtube channel flowed in, along with an increase of people on social media pages and increasing pre-orders.
Ignazio and I watched together as their interviews were aired on TV, and I always kissed him and told him that he performed brilliantly on TV.
He was especially happy and playful ever since I'd told him I signed the contract at the beginning of the month, and he could never resist singing and dancing with me and trying always to make me laugh.
The boys' popularity in the media grew, and before I knew it Michele was sitting us down to tell us many new programs were contacting us to have the boys on for interviews.
Seeing how well the U.S. was responding to the boys, Michele decided to extend and split the promotional tour.
"We'll finish the Tamzin-arranged U.S. tour in early September, and then we'll go to Latin America for a while before we'll come back to the U.S., and then finish up in the Latin American countries."
"I'm game," I said, shrugging, "As long as we can continue the U.S. popularity, let's do it!"
"Brilliant!" Ignazio said from beside me on the couch, and I laughed and hugged him.
"Okay," said Michele, scribbling notes onto his calendar, "Tamzin, I'll get you the calendars ASAP."
"Yes!" I said, throwing my fist into the air, and the three boys laughed.
Several days later, I awoke in my hotel room to Ignazio pounding on the door and calling, "CD RELEASE DAY CD RELEASE DAY CD RELEASE DAYYAYAYAY!"
I laughed and jumped out of bed in my t-shirt and shorts and tore into the living room of the suite, grabbing my camera and opening the door.
I laughed as I filmed Ignazio's happy-dance in the hallway, and then I shrieked and held the camera over my head when he grabbed me around the waist and carried me to the sofa, dropping me onto it and then jumping on top of me to cover my face in kisses.
"What a great day!" he cried, jumping up and reaching down to pull me up too.
"THE CD'S OUT THE CD'S OUT!" I whooped, and he laughed and started happy-dancing again as Gianluca and Piero appeared in the doorway, and then laughed when they saw Ignazio.
"Come on, guys, do a happy-dance!" I called to them, and then ran backwards to get the three of them in the shot as they all danced wildly around the room.
"Brilliant! That'll make an excellent GIF for the fans!" I said as I shut the camera off and put it down on the coffee table, and then I shrieked when the three of them raced toward me, laughing and reaching out to grab me as we tore around the hotel room and down the hallway to wake Michele and Barbara, yelling, "CD RELEASE DAYYAYYAYYAY!"
"Wow," Michele said in the cab heading toward the airport as he reviewed the sales information on his phone. It was September, and the CD hadn't even been out for a month. "This is the highest sales we've had of a CD in such a short period of time."
"They're movin' on up!" I exclaimed happily, putting my arms around Gianluca and Ignazio, who were sitting on the sides of me. "Taking the world by storm!"
"Yeah!" Gianluca said back, putting his arm around me in return, and Ignazio kissed my cheek.
"Thanks to you, my dear. You're the one who helped us get all this publicity."
"Well, I'm not the singer!" I said, letting go of them and clutching my camera in my lap again. "I just know what I want and I go for it, and I want you guys to get the attention you deserve! I just wish we weren't headed to Latin America, though. I want to stay in the U.S. and keep you in popular opinion!"
"Oh, don't worry, Tamzin," Michele responded from the front seat of the cab, "The shows still have to finish airing all the interviews they filmed, which will supply the country with enough of our boys to last until we return!"
"I guess so," I agreed, leaning back in the seat against Ignazio's arm.
"We have to pay attention to the Latin countries, too, Tamzin," Ignazio reminded me, "They've done so much for us. And think of all the beautiful landscapes you'll be able to get!"
"Yeah, I guess so. But that still doesn't change the fact that I don't speak Spanish."
They laughed.