Love's Dilemma (Sixty Minute Romance)

Love’s
Dilemma

Naomi
Davies

Copyright © 2013 by Naomi Davies

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses
permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send email to
[email protected].

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination
or are used fictitiously.  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and
trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which
have been used without permission.  The publication/use of these trademarks is
not authorised, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Contents

Chapter One - Clair’s Got Talent

Chapter Two – Holding & Marshall

Chapter Three – The Lead Singer

Chapter Four – The Impromptu Vocalist

Chapter Five – The Wrong Type of Lift

Chapter Six – The Reception Committee

Chapter Seven – The Big Night

Chapter Eight – A Change Of Heart

Chapter Nine – Six Days of Waiting

Chapter Ten – The Second Week

Chapter Eleven – A Long Road – Two Months Later

Chapter Twelve - Finale

Chapter One - Clair’s Got Talent

The first time Clair sang in public was unexpected and
unannounced. She was three years old and her favourite uncle, Uncle Tom, was
playing the old upright piano in his dining room. At the end of his rendition
of
‘Mary’s Boy Child’
she had continued singing the chorus over and
over.

“Hark now hear the angels
sing, a new king born today.

Mary’s boy child, Jesus
Christ, was born on Christmas day.”

As Clair’s little recital finished, she was applauded
by the small family group who were enjoying a traditional family Christmas
together. She loved the applause and the attention.

Now this little scene has been played out millions of
times over the years, and in many homes. But for Clair, it set in motion a
compelling seed of desire. She wanted to sing. As she grew up she always
volunteered for the school choir. She sang with the band at church on a Sunday.
She had sung the lead in
‘Bugsy Malone’
and
‘Grease’
at school. Basically,
if there was a chance for her to sing in public, she would take it.

Clair’s upbringing had been very sheltered. She only
left home to go to school or when she went to church with her parents. Church
was twice on a Sunday and once on Wednesday, and you could never miss a
meeting. Her West Indian roots were strict, but she didn’t resent them or fight
against them as she was growing up. She didn’t know any different. Church was a
place where she was encouraged to sing. The very thing she wanted to do.

When she was in her own room, she sang constantly. The
radio was an ever-present friend to her. She took it everywhere with her and
sang to the songs that were being played. She would listen closely to Whitney
Houston, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin and others. She would then try to
copy them note for note. She also sang in front of the mirror, using a hair
brush as a microphone, to perfect how she looked while she was singing.

When
‘New Faces’
and
‘Pop Idol’
were on the
television, as she was growing up, she sat mesmerised, watching the singers and
dreaming of being one of them. She would scream at the judges when they put the
wrong singers through to the next round. In 2007 she had even gone to the
London
‘X-factor’
auditions herself, only to be told that there was no
more time for anyone else to audition. Singing was her life. Nothing was better
than taking a song and making it her own.

Within the limited circles of her friends and
acquaintances, Clair had in fact received some recognition for her talent. Her
friends would often request her to sing a few songs at parties and other
events. She had a long line of certificates and medals for singing that she had
been awarded throughout her school years. Her parents encouraged her to a
point, but they had a career path set out for Clair that she would not be
allowed to swerve from. They knew that she liked singing and had attended some
of her performances over the years. But they were busy running their own business.
They barely noticed the prodigious talent that was emerging with their
daughter.

By the time Clair had reached the age of twenty, she
had begun to develop a singing style of her own. She would take a classic song
and think of ways that she could rearrange it to make it different. At Exeter
Students Union she had once brought an open mike evening to a complete
standstill with her unique version of Annie Lennox’s ‘Why’.

She did this thing where she would leave the stage
carrying her mike and sing the lyrics of each verse, while eyeballing directly,
various people in the audience. You had to be there to understand it. As she
finished her performance there was a tumultuous cheer of appreciation. On this
occasion she wasn’t allowed to stop before she had sung two more numbers. This
she did, without needing the words or rehearsal. She just checked with the
pianist which songs he could play well and went for it. She controlled and
conducted the pianist to play in the way that she wanted as she performed each
song.

Now, at the age of twenty five, Clair was young, alive
and hugely talented. She knew it, and so did a few special friends who had
grown up with her. The greatest of these special friends was Jocelyn. Everyone
called her Jo. They had been through school together and were like sisters. Jo
could sing a bit, but she knew that she couldn’t match Clair. While Clair was
the singer, Jo was the dancer. This was fine and there was no jealousy between
them. They had grown up to love each other deeply.

While still at school, they were always vivaciously
running through song and dance routines on their way to classes. Teachers
regularly pleaded with them to stand still and be quiet. At the same time they
were popular with most of the staff because they behaved in the classroom. But
singing and dancing was their life.

Much of their mutual love and affection had come out of
their school life. As the only two girls in their year with darker skin, they
had created a formidable bond. They had fought together, and escaped together
from many unwanted conflicts over the years. The constant comments and name
calling had not affected them, apart from making them hardier in the face of
them. They had finished school with top grades and both had busy professional
working lives laid out before them. That was the best response they could give
to the years of verbal abuse.

In truth, Clair and Jo gained a great deal of respect
and admiration from their fellow students in the last few years. They were extremely
attractive, intelligent and mature young ladies, who had concentrated on their
studies and done well. Most of the boys at school were too terrified to ask
them out on a date. There were a few brave ones who did ask them. But Clair and
Jo were not that interested. That lack of interest was in the past however. As highly
eligible young ladies they were on the prowl for suitable boyfriend material.
But they had very high standards which made things difficult.

Chapter Two – Holding & Marshall

It was in 2011 that Clair’s dreams of a life of singing
were finally shattered and ended. This was when she joined the hugely
successful ‘Holding and Marshall’ firm of solicitors. Suddenly she had no time
to sing. She had no time to do anything. Having newly qualified, she was
strongly influenced by her seniors at work. She was expected to commit her
efforts fully and wholeheartedly, to establishing her career as a solicitor in
the firm. This was a long term commitment for her.

Aaron Holding and Cora Marshall had great plans for their
daughter to take over the family business when it came time for them to retire.
The firm had four other partners and about fifteen support staff. It was very
well established. They had paid for Clair’s training and she did them proud by
passing her final exams with distinction. The whole five years she was studying,
she felt like she was being pulled apart. Her ambitions to become a singer
fought against her studies to become a solicitor. Now she was working in the
same building with her parents, she felt doomed to a life unfulfilled and full
of drudgery.

This was almost true. Because of Clair’s extrovert
nature and effervescent character she made the best of her working life and was
already making her mark in the legal world in a small way. You could not be in
a room and ignore her.

There were some side benefits about working for your
parents. She had worked through her studies without getting into debt. She felt
very grateful to her parents for this. She was also on a good wage for someone
newly qualified. This was mainly because of the reputation that Holding and
Marshall had within the West Indian community in the UK. They were the leading UK
group of solicitors who dealt with immigration and asylum seekers. Because of
their company’s specialist knowledge and good track record, they were able to
charge their clients a great deal of money. A side benefit of this was that
they paid their staff well. This included Clair.

For the first six months Clair was the model employee.
She loved her mum and dad, and wanted to prove to them that she was able to do
the job. So she made sure she was on time every day. Her paperwork was always neat
and tidy. She kept up to date by reading the latest law business magazines and
articles. She worked in the communal offices with the support staff. Having
your own office was a privilege yet to be bestowed on her. She was nice and
pleasant in her demeanor, even to the obnoxious partner, Clay Smith, who leered
at her every time he came in to ask her something.

At the same time she had an inner conflict that was
tearing at her emotions. She couldn’t let go of her desire to sing. She still
did sing at home and when she caught up with Jo from time to time. But it had
been two years since she had performed a song in public. She missed it
dreadfully. But there was nothing she could do for the moment. She would have
to keep her head down and see what happened in the future.

Chapter Three – The Lead Singer

What happened in the future was Max Wrighton. Jo had
called Clair to see if she wanted to go out for a drink. It was a Friday and
‘The
George and Dragon’
had a couple of bands playing that night. It was one of
their regular haunts. Clair quickly agreed to meet Jo there at half past eight.
The first band was playing at nine o clock.

On this particular evening the pub was packed with
Friday night revellers. Many of the customers were standing or sitting outside
in the warm summer evening. The beer garden was full. Everyone was drinking,
shouting and laughing for all they were worth. Clair found Jo waiting for her
outside and they went in together. They fought their way to the bar to order a
drink. They nodded to some of the regulars and chatted to some friends in the
queue.

Clair could see the first band setting up on the tiny
stage in the far corner. She loved the whole event of setting up and
preparation for a gig. She even enjoyed it when an orchestra was tuning up. It
was something about the anticipation of what was going to happen. One of the
band members looked over towards her and caught her eye. His look of shock and
recognition was very marked. He stood tall and looked over at her again. One of
the band members interrupted him looking, and he went back to setting up.

Clair wondered what had happened. It was as if he
thought he knew her and was surprised to see her. She was sure they had never
met before. Jo distracted her and introduced her to an old friend. She forgot
the guy for the moment.

 After seven or eight minutes they were still waiting
to order their drinks.

“Ladies, ladies, let me buy you a drink!”

This was not much of a chat up line, but it was the
first of the night, so Clair turned round in sympathy more than expectation.
She met face to face with a friendly looking guy who was amazingly still sober.
In fact he was the guy in the band who had seen her earlier.

He was wearing some torn jeans and a blue T-shirt with
the slogan
‘As Close To Perfect As I Can Be!’
printed in black letters
on it. He was about twenty three or twenty four and had an open fresh faced
look about him. It was like he spent a lot of time in the outdoors in the sun.
His tan was very even and definitely had not been sprayed on. Maybe he was a
bit scruffy and unkempt with his clothes, but the man inside the clothes was
very inviting and attractive.

His hair was sticking out all over the place but looked
great. No gel or hairspray had been harmed during the preparation of his hair
this evening. He looked natural, alive and in very good health. His easy going
nature came over strongly, as he attempted to buy Clair and Jo a drink. But
they were having none of it.

“We are OK thanks. We are the next ones to be served.”
Clair started to turn away from him, in the hope that she would get served
quickly at the bar.

“What will you have? I’m buying and I will get served
before you, I can assure you.” He was persistent. Clair turned back and looked
more closely at his features to see a warm and open smiling face with an
exuberant look about it. His bright hazel coloured eyes pierced into her for a
moment. He was keen and after a few seconds of thought, she decided to let him
try to buy them a drink. Clair stood to one side and silently showed him the
bar as if to say
‘You try then’
.

“You don’t say much do you?” Max stepped forward with a
positive grin and a confident stance. While doing this he high fived a couple
of people that he obviously knew. He raised his arm to attract the barman.

At this point the main barman immediately walked the
full length of the bar from the far side and came right up to the guy to serve
him. Clair and Jo were furious with the barman but kept quiet. They looked at
each other in frustration. But then they looked again at the pick-up guy with
new hope. They really needed a drink. And he seemed like a nice harmless guy.

“So what will it be then?” He attempted to look
directly into Clair’s eyes, but it was difficult. She didn’t want to join in.

“We’ll both have pear and mango juice with ice,
please.” Said Jo quickly to make sure they actually did get a drink.

“Nice and polite, I like that, Girls should be nice and
polite, isn’t that right Duke?” The barman called Duke smiled quietly like he
had watched this scene a thousand times before.

“Your usual Max?” Duke asked the guy. “

Yes. That would be great thanks.” The guy called Max
thought he was getting lucky. The two girls had not run off in fright.

“There you are ladies, enjoy!” Max passed the drinks to
Clair and Jo. He picked up his sparkling water with ice and took a sip from it.
Clair thought that it was an odd drink for a guy. She was expecting him to be
drinking lager or beer. Why would he not be drinking alcohol?

Max seemed a little light headed but he was in fact
quite sober. He had been watching Clair from the moment she walked in. He had
noticed her face, her outfit and her shoes. But most of all he had noticed her
eyes. He wanted to look into those large, round, brown eyes. The prospect of finally
meeting her, after all these years, had put him in a good frame of mind. Now he
was standing right next to her, he was in deep trouble. He could barely bring
himself to raise his own eyes.
‘What is the matter with me?’
he thought
to himself.

Clair had a presence about her that many people around
her had experienced before. She always tried to deny it, but she carried an
aura about her that could be quite overwhelming. When she worked a crowd with
her singing, she would see people reacting to her, but she put it down to her
voice alone. At this moment her charisma and charm was having a huge effect on
Max. He eventually looked her in the eye briefly before speaking.

“Glad I could help, Ladies. Cheers!”

“Thank you. Cheers!” Clair and Jo said in unison.

“I’ve got to go and do some stuff, I’ll catch you
later. Don’t go away!” With that Max disappeared into the ever increasing
throng of Friday night drinkers. Clair followed him with her eyes as best she
could. He went around the bar and through a door marked
‘Private’
.

“OK, so he must be something to do with the bar here.” Jo
said.

“It was good of him to buy us drinks, but why did he
run off so quickly?” Clair was a bit mystified. She was used to being harassed
and hounded by men in bars. She had confidence in her own looks with good
reason. She had flawless dark skin and a curvy figure that would be the envy of
any top model. Her dark black hair was tied back in a huge bun this evening. If
she let her hair down it was long and wavy, and reached down to her waist. But
she usually wore her hair up. She was about five foot five inches tall, but
with the monster heeled shoes she was wearing this evening, she was not far
short of six foot tall.

So she expected all men who approached her to be in
attack mode. Men were after whatever they could get. This rather negative
opinion of men was drawn from her admittedly limited experience of meeting men
in pubs and nightclubs. Most of them were sleazy and creepy in her opinion. This
Max chap was all politeness and generosity. It was different to say the least.
She liked it that he was actually almost drooling over her and making easy
conversation. He was not quite as confident as he first appeared.

“He ran off quickly because of that thing you do.” Jo
had spoken to Clair about this before. Clair would stand silently and allow
everyone else to do the talking. She did this out of politeness and deference.
It came across to many people as a bit scary. You could never work out what she
was thinking. At least, this was Jo’s theory.

“I don’t do that thing. You are making it up again.”
Clair was quite sure that she didn’t do anything to scare men off. She was also
sure that she had behaved quite properly with Max. She was intrigued as to why he
would buy them a drink and then disappear so quickly.

Clair turned her mind to listening to the bands that
were playing this evening. She loved the thrill of live music. It was dangerous
because things could go wrong. It was fantastic because when things went right,
you couldn’t experience a better buzz. Some band members were finishing setting
their gear up and tuning their guitars.

It looked like a five piece guitar band was playing
first. The drummer was already in place and waiting for the others to catch up
and be ready. He did that thing that all drummers do when they have nothing
better to do. He hit all his drums and cymbals constantly while waiting for the
rest of the band to be ready. Drummers have no idea just how annoying this is!
Clair had noticed this character flaw with all drummers many times before, and
smiled knowingly to herself.

The door marked
‘Private’
opened and another
band member appeared. Behind him their new friend Max followed, with a good
looking blond girl in tow. Max kissed the girl briefly on both cheeks before
taking the stage and picking up his microphone. The girl was a bit older than
him. For some reason her presence disappointed Clair and she looked at Jo with
a glare. Obviously Max was spoken for. A bit disappointing, but never mind.

“I will never understand guys.” She almost snarled at
Jo. At the same time she couldn’t work out why it mattered to her.

As she got used to the fact that Max was the lead
singer in the first band, she noticed his blond girl walking around the back of
the room. She was getting closer and closer to Clair and Jo. It was like she
was deliberately trying to come and stand right next to them.
‘This could be
embarrassing’
, thought Clair for a moment. There was no real reason to be
embarrassed at all, or was there?

The band launched into their first number and the blond
girl started talking to Jo and Clair. She shook hands with them both and spoke
like they could hear what she was saying. They couldn’t hear a word as the
music was drowning the blond girl out. So they stood three in a line and waited
for the first song to finish. Clair couldn’t remember ever feeling so awkward
about any social situation, as she did about the apparently random meeting with
this blond girl. She decided that they wouldn’t stay very long. Clair looked at
Jo standing next to her and tried to speak with her eyes. The message she tried
to convey was
‘Help, we should go now, because there is a strange blond
woman standing next to me who won’t stop talking.’

Unfortunately Clair’s eye language was not that good,
and Jo replied with a clear,
’What are you talking about’
expression.
The band stopped playing and started the set up for the next tune. This was the
moment that the blond girl could be heard.

“Hi I’m Sandy. I’m Max’s sister. He told me to come
over and make friends with you.” That came as a relief; maybe Max was not
spoken for.

“How did you know that we were the ones he was talking
about?” Clair was very unsure about this girl.

“He told me I would know you if I looked around the
room, and he was right!” Sandy looked very pleased with herself for guessing
correctly that Clair and Jo were the
‘Drop dead gorgeous girls that looked
like a pair of backing singers in an eighties band.’
Sandy caught Max’s
eyes and gave him a double thumbs up. He did the same and smiled at all three
of them.

Clair felt embarrassed and slightly wrong footed in
this situation. This was a new experience for her. She thought that she should
be at least a little bit nice to Sandy, because after all, her brother had
bought them a drink. On the other hand, who were these people who almost forced
themselves upon them? It wasn’t truly like that, but Clair had never been
introduced to anyone in this way.

After about twenty five difficult minutes for Clair and
Jo, the band took a five minute break and Max jumped off the small stage to
greet them. They quickly learnt each other’s names and Clair and Jo started to
feel a bit more comfortable.

“What did you think? Did you like it?” Max was full of
enthusiasm for his own performance.

“You were great, Max. You get better every time I see
you perform.” Sandy was effusive and positive in her praise.

Clair and Jo had barely paid attention to the music
although the band’s Thin Lizzy cover was good.

“I liked the Thin Lizzy song. Very good.” Clair tried
to sound as gushing as Sandy but failed. Max didn’t notice anything wrong and
offered to buy them another drink. In fact he didn’t even ask. He just nodded
over to Duke at the bar and within two minutes they had another pear and mango
juice with ice in their hands.

“I’ve got to talk to you!” Max was forthright in the
extreme. He was no longer struggling to look into Clair’s eyes. Clair looked at
him with suspicion and intrigue. What was happening on this Friday evening? It
was the weirdest night out she had ever experienced.

They all decided to go outside into the garden so that
they could talk. It was much quieter in the cooling breeze of the beer garden.

“OK, cards on the table. You are a singer and you can
sing! You are the best soul singer I have ever heard! No Exceptions.” Max was
looking directly at Clair, his initial reticence had disappeared. Clair looked
startled at this revelation.