Vivo O Sonho

“Watch your step!” Wendy shouted, jerking him to the side.

“What the hell?” Ben shook his arm free from Wendy’s grasp. “Do you really think that stepping on a piece of broken cement will hurt mama?”

“I’m not taking any chances. We need all the luck we can get. And we’re already late, so get a move on.” Wendy strode ahead, eyes down to watch for sidewalk cracks, leaving Ben shaking his head and staring after her.

“Hi. We’re the Blue Bells here for our appointment,” Ben announced breathlessly.

Josie, the receptionist for Nashville’s Finest Talent Agency, shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’re 10 minutes late and Mr. Carter has left for the day. You can call in the morning and see if he wants to reschedule. He’s a very busy man.”

Tears welled in Wendy’s eyes. “We couldn’t help it! The bus was delayed and we practically ran from the station. We came all the way from Texas. Please, can he see us tomorrow?”

At the sound of Wendy’s voice, Josie looked up from her computer. She not only looked like a young Dolly Parton, but sounded exactly like her, too. Her boss would be very interested in hearing her sing and she could take credit for fitting them in.

“Well, he could see you for a few minutes before his first appointment. Be here at 8:45 sharp.

———————————————————————————

“C’mon, Wendy. We look ridiculous. No one wears this stuff anymore,” Ben whined.

“Benjamin, we missed our appointment for a reason. Now we have time to put our best faces forward and you know how hard mama worked on these.”

There was no changing Wendy’s mind and they had been waiting outside the agent’s door in matching white leather and blue sequined outfits for 30 minutes when Josie arrived.

“Wow. You two really are something. Blake’s going to get a kick out of you.”

Ben rolled his guys, mouthing “I told you so” as Josie turned to open the door.

When Blake Carter walked into the office the couple stood to greet him, the young man ready with apologies. His eyes widened at the sight of them, pretty sure they were wearing Dolly Parton and Cole Porter replica outfits from the late ‘60s. He was tired of the rap and pop sounds that had crept into modern country music and longed for the days of old-fashioned twang and simple story-telling.

“C’mon in and let’s see what you got. You sure look country. Let’s see if you sound country.”

Ben positioned the guitar across his body. He nodded to Wendy and she began singing:

“Troubled clouds may fill our skies
It might even rain awhile.
But the rain will go away,
There’s always a brighter day.”

Blake’s heart beat faster and his eyes welled with tears as Wendy’s crystal clear voice hit every note of Dolly & Cole’s first hit. This was the real deal.

“Today’s your lucky day. I just happen to have room for one more duo. Let’s talk.”

*****************************

“Say Forever You’ll Be Mine” is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dolly Parton as a duet with American country music artist Porter Wagoner. It was released in August 1975 as the first single from their album Say Forever You’ll Be Mine. The song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.^[1] It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.^[2]

This information is courtesy of Wikipedia.

*****************************

Written for the To Live & Write in Alameda November 2019 “Flash Lit” Challenge #4. We had three days to write a piece of fiction, non-fiction or poetry of 500 words or less to the theme “Watch Your Step” and post the link in our group.