Love on Stage Read Online Free Page B

do.” She wrapped the white earbud cord around her index finger. “It would be kind of fun. And like you say, it would just be one performance. Not a major commitment.”
    “So you’re in?”
    She laughed. “I guess so.”
    “That’s great!” He leaned forward and smooched her cheek. “Now come help me find Archie and recruit him.”
    “He’s going to be a lot harder to convince,” Erica said as they stood up. “He’s so into his job.”
    Archie was a year older, with a business degree and a job as an assistant manager at the bank in Chippewa Falls, a town north of Eau Claire. He was sitting on the grass, leaning back against the trunk of a big maple tree out by the lake, with a blade of grass in his mouth and his cell phone against his ear.
    “Hey, Arch,” Gavin said, sitting down beside him.
    “I’m on the phone,” Archie said, holding it up. “See this funny white metal box? It’s called a phone. And you use it to talk to people you like when they’re not around and the only people with you are relatives.”
    “Ha-ha,” Erica said. “I’ll bet that’s Mary Anne, isn’t it?” She grabbed the phone from him. “Yo, M-A.”
    “That’s my phone. Give it back,” Archie said, but Erica was already in conversation with Archie’s girlfriend.
    “You like to hear Archie sing, don’t you?” Erica asked. She laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t describe his voice that way, but you can. How’d you like to hear him sing at a concert at the Dells, Labor Day?”
    “What are you talking about?” Archie demanded.
    “Yeah, I thought you would,” Erica said. “He’ll call you back with all the details.” She ended the call and handed the phone back to Archie.
    “Are you insane?” he asked. “Oh, wait. I know. You both are.” He took the phone and slipped it into his pocket. He tried to stand up, but Gavin tugged on his shirt.
    “We have this opportunity,” Gavin said and then explained about the concert.
    “No way. I have to work.”
    “Come on, Arch. It’ll be a kick,” Gavin said. “I know you’re a ham at heart.”
    “That would be you, Gavin,” he said. “Me, I’m just a working guy.”
    “Mary Anne said you have a dreamy voice,” Erica said, pretending to swoon. “Don’t you want to do it for her?”
    “She said that?”
    Erica nodded. “And it’s just one performance, over Labor Day. The banks are closed that weekend.”
    “I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.” This time he did stand up and walked back toward the house. Gavin saw him pull his phone out of his pocket as he went.
    “Did Mary Anne really say his voice was dreamy?”
    “Yes.” She stood up. “Clearly she has no taste. Come on, let’s talk to the grandmas.”
    By the time they got back up to the house, Grandma Frances and her sisters were in their customary rocking chairs on the porch.
    “Are you guys talking about the concert?” Gavin asked.
    “We’re having a family disagreement,” Grandma Frances said. “Ida wants to do it, but Myrtle doesn’t.”
    “Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Frances,” Aunt Myrtle said. “I’m perfectly capable of expressing myself. I said you don’t understand how much work it would take to get us ready for a performance. Don’t you remember how hard we had to work back then?”
    “But you’ve been singing ‘Apple Cider Time’ for as long as I can remember,” Gavin said. “You know the words already.”
    “There’s more to it than words,” Aunt Myrtle said. “Erica, you understand. You have to practice in order to make all the voices go together. And we’ve only ever performed with the three of us, not with you children too.”
    “Don’t be such an old stick,” Aunt Ida said. “These children have been singing with us since they could talk.”
    “Who are you calling an old stick?” Aunt Myrtle demanded.
    Gavin jumped in. “How much work would it be?” he asked Erica.
    “We’d have to practice at least an hour a day,” she said.