Throw Him My Way

Chapter 6

The next couple of weeks seemed to fly by.

There was so much to do. Suddenly, she was singing a lot more.

Somewhere inside, Heidi decided that Christian was her lucky charm.

Her YouTube numbers were going up, too.

Mrs. Spinelli said she’d gotten better.

“Young love,” she teased again, and Heidi laughed.

“I have barely seen him in the last couple of weeks. He’s had some intensive training course to attend, for ten days.”

Mrs. Spinelli nodded.

“But of course, your young man needs to be in shape. Comes in handy, eh?”

The bawdy laugh that followed made Heidi grin and giggle, too.

“It’s not like that, Mrs. Spinelli. We’re friends.”

“Right. Friends who do the…”

“Have a cookie and stop, please! I baked fig center cookies. Here.”

Mrs. Spinelli obviously saw the ploy for what it was, but it worked, nonetheless.

“I think your lessons are helping, though,” said Heidi, and she nodded easily.

“You’ve improved. You’re singing from the heart now.”

But Heidi, as she said goodbye to her neighbor, dismissed that.

She wasn’t falling in love or anything. Mrs. Spinelli had always been a bit of a romantic. Heidi was just…

Well, she was having fun. Why shouldn’t she have some fun? She’d told Christian the honest truth – she hadn’t had any fun of this kind in about a year and a half. She was overdue for some fun.

So she was having it.

Heidi was getting ready to go and get the dogs when her phone rang. She couldn’t know that her eyes lit up when she saw that it was Christian.

“Hey! You’re back?”

“I am. I’ll be at the club tonight. You’re singing at Tunes, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. There’s no prize money tonight, so I’ll probably win.”

“Well, maybe there’ll be something to win. Dale said he might be able to drop by.”

Everything froze inside Heidi.

“Dale? The guy who books a few biggish names, that Dale?”

“Yep, that Dale. So bring your A-game, Richards. See you tonight?”

Oh boy.

“Yes, see you tonight. I’ll… Should I sing an original?”

“I can’t tell you what to do, Heidi. You’re the expert. You have excellent instincts. Go with your gut, and it’ll be fine. You’re an incredible singer, Heidi. It will be fine. Trust me on that. I’ve got to go now. See you tonight, all right?”

“Okay,” said Heidi, and the line went dead.

Her first instinct was to run screaming across to Mrs. Spinelli’s and tell her everything.

Christian had just told her to follow her instincts, hadn’t he? She cut out the screaming bit, but ran across to the apartment.

“Heidi, whatever’s the matter?”

“Mrs. Spinelli! Dale, his friend, the one who books people! He’s coming tonight!”

“A cop is coming somewhere?”

Mrs. Spinelli looked positively alarmed.

Heidi shook her head furiously.

“No, the music guy. The one with the connections. Who might be able to get me a few paying gigs. Oh man, I’m gonna hyperventilate.”

Mrs. Spinelli calmly got her a paper bag, making her laugh.

“Not really. But… Sh*t, I’m late for the dogs. I’ve got to go.”

“Come back, and we’ll figure it out. I’ll help you choose a dress, do your makeup, and we’ll choose a song. Don’t worry, Heidi. You’re the best I’ve ever trained.”

“You haven’t trained that many,” pointed out Heidi, a bit alarmed at the idea of Mrs. Spinelli doing her makeup. The older woman was not known for her subtlety.

“Enough to know you’re the best. Now go. You still need your dog money.”

She did indeed need it, so Heidi went, and got through the day.

Spending some time with dogs helped. They calmed her down.

They didn’t care if she had no money, and nobody paid to hear her sing. They didn’t even mind if she sang to them.

They were good dogs.

By the time she got back, she was feeling a lot better.

Still quaking in her boots a bit about Mrs. Spinelli doing her makeup – she was more nervous about that than singing, now – she went over to her apartment.

Makeup threats or not, she needed the help. She needed to pick the perfect song.

After a lot of back and forth, they narrowed it down to an original – You look at me, but do you see me – which was one of her best, and the Nina Simone classic she had knocked out of the park the last time she performed it.

“I think you should do the original, my dear,” said Mrs. Spinelli, finally.

But Heidi wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. At least this one is recognizable. I mean, it’ll be easier for him to judge me if I sing something he probably knows, right? How will he know if I screw it up if it’s an original?”

Mrs. Spinelli laughed.

“My girl, that is exactly why you should sing your original! Besides, your heart is in that one. If he’s worth anything, if he knows his job, he will recognize that your heart is in it. That matters, does it not?”

Did it?

Heidi was a bundle of nerves by then.

“Use the nerves. Channel it. You always have an edge. Now become edgier. And none of that neutral makeup for you. My girl, you have the most beautiful skin and the most striking cheekbones, and those eyes! You need some color, to make it pop. Contour, highlight, use the bronzer. Don’t even think of the nude lipstick. Red – we want bright red tonight. And your hair, no bun. Wild and free, that’s what you should be tonight. No?”

She was being swept along on a tidal wave and there was no stopping it.

Resigned, she let Mrs. Spinelli do whatever she wanted to.

When she was done, she sat up – and she gasped.

“Wow,” she said.

It had taken twenty minutes, but the transformation was amazing.

Heidi knew she was lovely. But the trouble with that was that she had never learned how to play up her best features, or to look lovelier. She’d always been perfectly satisfied with some mascara, some lip gloss, and some blush.

Mrs. Spinelli had transformed her into something so much more compelling.

She had transformed Heidi into the kind of woman who would demand to be seen.

She knew, the moment their eyes met in the mirror.

“I’m singing the original.”

Mrs. Spinelli nodded in approval, her eyes shining with pride.

“Yes, you are. And you’re wearing my gown. The one you like.”

Heidi whirled around.

“I couldn’t!”

That gown was special. Mrs. Spinelli had made that very clear.

“Tonight is special. It’s the beginning of something new, and bold. Wear it, Heidi. The copper tones will go well with the makeup.”

“You planned that,” said Heidi, and Mrs. Spinelli nodded.

“I did. Now go, get changed. Let me see if I can find shoes that are good enough in your closet. You, my girl, have a criminal lack of interest in the tools of the battle of the sexes. You are in dire need of help and guidance…”

Mrs. Spinelli’s voice trailed off as she went into Heidi’s apartment.

Heidi got dressed, wearing the long dress with the slit high up one leg, all the way to the hip. It clung like second skin, and one shoulder was left bare.

She had to admit that Mrs. Spinelli was right.

She looked perfect.

Her neighbor came back, holding her red heels, and Heidi turned around.

For once, even Mrs. Spinelli seemed to have run out of words.

She simply walked to Heidi and hugged her.

“You look incredible, my lovely girl. There will not be a man who does not want you. There will not be a woman who will not envy you. Use that confidence, and all of those nerves, and give the performance of your life tonight. And tomorrow night, do even better.”

Heidi nodded.

“I will. I will, Mrs. Spinelli. I… Thank you. Thank you, for everything. Even if tonight comes to nothing… Even if he doesn’t get me a booking that I need, it will still be the night of my life. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”