“Amen,” said Jethro, who had assumed his usual patriarchal seat at the head of the table. “Now, how about an acoustic All Stars set while we digest that food?”
“My gear’s still in the truck,” revealed Jake. “Give me a half-hour to get set up.”
“A half-hour? You got ten minutes, Mr Power!” joked Maddy.
“Yes, boss!”
It took the musicians a few minutes to get themselves sorted out then, just as they thought they were ready, Todd arrived. He quickly set up his own guitar then announced he was hungry. While Paul headed off to grill another batch of hamburgers, Jake shouted to Garrett, Ellen and Taylor to join him.
“Let’s keep these good people entertained,” he said as he settled himself on one of Maddy’s wooden bar stools.
“What we playing?” asked Taylor.
With a knowing nod to Garrett, Jake said, “Let’s get this song out of the way first. Li’l lady, listen up. This is for you before you ask for it.”
“Simple Man?” asked Lori hopefully.
“But of course.”
“Every time,” sighed Garrett, faking exasperation. “So, predictable, Mrs Power.”
“I just love that song,” confessed Lori, feeling her cheeks flush scarlet.
Accompanied by Garrett and Taylor, Jake began the song. Gently, he fingerpicked the intro then began to sing, “Mama told me when I was young….”
Recognising their daddy’s voice, both Jesse and Melody came running back down the yard to sit on the edge of the sun deck.
Seeing his son watching and paying such close attention tugged at Jake’s heart. In his heart, he hoped the little boy was listening to the words but his head told him Jesse was way too young to understand.
As the last notes floated off down the yard, Ellen whispered something to Tailz who nodded.
“Ellen?” asked Jake, inclining his head towards her. “You got a plan?”
“Humour me,” said After Life’s songbird with a wink.
As Tailz played a delicate familiar melody, Ellen started to sing, “There is a castle on a cloud...”
She kept her voice clear and child-like until she reached the line, “She says Cosette I love you very much” then changed her tone to a dark, menacing mood to sing the final verse.
“Awesome!” shrieked Maddy, clapping her hands. “After Life do Les Mis!”
“Just a bit of fun,” giggled Ellen, nudging Taylor. “You next.”
Once the All Stars started to play, they kept playing. Taking it in turn, the various musicians chose the next song to be performed. On the odd occasion that they didn’t all know the song of choice, that person would sit it out and grab the opportunity to replenish their drink. The impromptu gig had no setlist and jumped from acoustic to electric; from country to hard rock; from male lead to female lead. Silver Lake songs and After Life favourites were played side by side with the occasional Weigh Station classic thrown in for good measure. Garrett surprised them all by singing some of his own solo stuff but politely declined to play anything from his Royal Court days.
Gradually, the sun set and, as the lightning bugs began to flit about in the dusky shadows, the kids all made their way onto the deck, slowly sneaking closer and closer to their mothers. Both Grey and Kola’s little girls were curled up either side of their mommy, resting their sleepy heads on her growing baby bump. It didn’t surprise Jake to see Wren and Melody snuggled into Becky while Jesse had curled up in Lori’s lap and was sound asleep with his thumb tucked into his mouth.
“We need to think about getting these little rock stars home to bed,” said Jake, laying aside his Gibson SG. “One more to round things off, ok?”
“What’ll it be, son?” asked Jethro, who had Hayden cuddled in beside him on an old rocking chair.
“Maddison, it’s your show,” began Jake. “Your choice, boss.”
“Hmm,” mused Silver Lake’s tour manager a glint of mischief twinkling in her eyes. “I’m in the mood for a ballad…. a power ballad.” She paused, “Sister Christian.”
“Jeez, I’ve not sung that one in more than ten years,” laughed Jake, instantly reaching into his memory banks for the lyrics. “Guys, do you know it?”
The others nodded.
“Ellen?”
“I’ll help out on the chorus,” she said shyly.
“Ok, let’s do this. It could fail epically!”
As he prepared to play, Jake felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Ignoring the buzzing against his upper thigh, he took a deep breath and counted the All Stars in. Keeping his eyes on Maddy, Jake began to sing, “Sister Christian, oh the time has come.”
The harmonies that Ellen produced for the chorus gave him goosebumps. Every time he heard her sing, her voice just got better and better. Instead of executing the guitar solo himself, Jake gave Garrett the nod, allowing the older musician to shine for a couple of minutes before he and Ellen ended the song together. As he sang the outro, Ellen delivered a long whispery note and held it as he sang, “But you’re motoring. Yeah. Motoring.”
“Perfect!” proclaimed Maddy with a smile. “Been meaning to ask you to sing that one for a long time.”
“Well done on remembering the words,” added Grey as he unplugged his bass. “Don’t think we’ve played that since a wedding we played at on the outskirts of Salisbury.”
“That was a long, long time ago,” laughed Jake, remembering the wedding vividly. “The bride’s father was so drunk he passed out. We nearly never got paid. The cash was in his pants pocket and no one wanted to waken him. He had a reputation as a nasty fighting drunk. Eventually, his wife paid us using the gift money the newlyweds had got in their cards. Felt bad about that one.”
“Yeah and we got short-changed
