37

Immediately after the first song ended the announcer came back on, and most of us looked around wondering what was going on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, The Tavern and the Paul McAllister Combo would like to introduce to you, for the first time on stage and at lead vocals; please give a warm Tavern welcome to Miss Kassidy Williams."

Suddenly, as we were all giving an enthusiastic applause, a stunningly bright spotlight was shone on the newcomer that had taken the stage, and the entire bar fell as silent as an empty church. To say that the woman standing at the microphone was beautiful would be like saying that the Sistine Chapel ceiling had decent use of color. She was by far the most gorgeous woman that I have ever laid eyes on, and I was not really sure if the blazing illumination that surrounded her came from the spotlight or from just her presence. And then, as the music started up again, she began to sing.

What came out of this woman's mouth was not music, rather it was the heavenly sound of an Earth bound angel trying to get a message back to God. The absolute beauty of her voice washed out over the entranced crowd like warm honey, and the power that was present in her vocal ability had nearly short circuited my brain. I looked around at my friends and those who were at the table nearest us, and nearly everyone's mouth hung open in both surprise and bafflement. The combination of both her ethereal beauty and her angelic voice promised that this night would be one that all of us would remember forever.

For a while I just let myself be enthralled by her incredible voice, but once I was able to think straight again I began to notice all of the little things about her that added up to such an impressive whole. Her hair was a deep auburn, and it fell past her shoulders in silky waves that shimmered in the stage lights. Her deep caramel skin appeared so smooth and flawless, and with her strong facial features, it suggested a mixed race heritage in which she won the lottery from both sides of the gene pool. She was about five and a half feet in height, and her body was deliciously curvy, and wrapped in a red dress that looked like it had been painted on. She was a vision of feminine perfection straight out of the golden age of jazz music.

I leaned over and tapped Jessica on the shoulder, desperate to get her attention, because she appeared to be just as entranced as the rest of us. After a few moments, however, she was able to pay attention to me.

"Did Paul tell you anything about her," I asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting to disturb the heavenly sounds coming from the stage.

"No, he told me nothing," she hissed back, trying to keep her own voice down. "Though he has some explaining to do after the show, I think."

I nodded to her and only briefly felt sorry for Paul, springing this kind of surprise on everyone. But you just don't hide such a magnificent person from your friends, and especially your sister. He was definitely going to get an earful.

The show continued on for another hour or so, with an instrumental number mixed into the set every now and again so that Paul's mystery singer, Kassidy, could get a breather in. And it was a glorious hour indeed, filled with energy, emotion and the most exquisite music that anyone at the bar had ever experienced. Eventually, though, the show ended to a blistering round of applause punctuated by many hollers and whistles. It had been that fantastic.

Paul and the group made their way over to our corner afterwards, through a crowd that wanted to pat them all on the back and to shake hands with the woman in red. I couldn't blame them at all, as she was like a celestial being that had chosen to walk amongst us lowly mortals for an evening and bless us by her very presence. They finally made it to our table and we congratulated them all on a fine performance before Paul introduced us to their new band mate.

"Ok, I know it came as a surprise, but I'd like you all to meet Miss Kassidy Williams," Paul announced to us in introduction as he gently pushed her forward.

"Please, just call me Kass. All my friends do."

I saw the flash in Jessica's eye at that moment, and it made me giggle at Paul's coming misfortune.

"So, dear brother," she called out to him, with her hands placed so aggressively on her hips that even a rabid tiger would have moved on. "Can you tell me why I have not heard one peep about Miss Kassidy, here? You just ask us to come and see your first show and spring such a fabulous singer on us? Is there something we should know?"

Each question that Jessica asked caused Paul to pull back a little as if he had been struck, and it was obvious that his comfort level had completely bottomed out. Even seeing his discomfort, Jessica was undeterred, and stood with her arms akimbo as she tapped out a staccato rhythm with her foot.

"Look sis," Paul said, with a healthy dose of contrition in his voice. "I met Kass at a music festival that they hold at the senior center every so often. I had volunteered to play for a couple of hours and she had just finished a performance there as I came on. She listened to me play for a couple of songs and then asked if I knew a few things she could sing to and we lost about 3 hours to the music."

"Yeah, and it had been so long since I had had the chance to belt out a good jazz number that I was thrilled for the opportunity," Kassidy added.

"Well, you've all heard her sing, and all I can say was that I was totally blown away. So I asked her to come by when the guys and I were practicing and it sort of snowballed from there."

"So there is nothing going on between the two of you then," Jessica pressed, and both her brother and Kassidy let her know that their relationship was strictly musical.

Paul proceeded to introduce everyone individually at that point, and while he was making the rounds with the group I noticed something strange going on between him and Kassidy. They weren't complete friends yet, and the bond that I could see between them was weak, though I could tell that it would soon be as robust as the bonds Paul shared with the other band members. What caught my eye were the flickerings of a romantic bond that were sparking between the two of them. They may not have had anything going on between them at that moment, but I could see that it was just a matter of time before attraction got the better of them. I almost gasped in surprise when the flickering between Paul and Kassidy changed slightly, and now there was a four way circuit of occasional sparks moving from them to Kelli and me. I had not anticipated this, but since it was way too early to jump to any conclusions I decided that I would just watch and see what would happen.

After getting over my brief surprise, we all sat and talked for a while longer before Paul and his group needed to pack up their gear, and the rest of us needed to head out. As the others made their way back to the stage, however, I gave Paul's sleeve a tug and got him turned around again. Once I had his complete attention I motioned Kelli forward so that she could talk to him.

"So, Paul," Kelli said, keeping her voice low so that only we were involved in the conversation. "Myka has a previous commitment tomorrow night and I was wondering if you might want to join me tomorrow for dinner?"

The poleaxed look and the overextended "Ummm...," that came from Paul's mouth made me giggle at the silliness of it all. I took pity on him, however, and quickly began to explain as well.

"Look, Paul. Kelli knows about our wonderful New Year's evening, and we both have talked a lot over the past weeks and have decided that in our relationship that we will share with each other completely."

"Though we won't pressure you to do something that you don't want to do," Kelli added. "Myka has said nothing but magnificent things about you, and I would like to get the chance to know the person that she got to know."

"You're both seriously ok with this? This really doesn't bother you or seem weird to you at all," Paul asked us.

"Paul," I replied with as much sincerity as I could muster. "To be perfectly honest, there are so many things about our relationship that are so god damned weird that the two of us wanting to share doesn't even cause a blip on the weird-shit-o-meter."

"Just watch the original Men In Black," I explained to a confused looking Paul when he failed to get my reference. "It will clear things up. In the meantime, Paul, would you like to go out with Kelli tomorrow for a wonderfully fun evening, the end of which will undoubtedly have you getting lucky. And depending on how late I get back, you will probably get lucky twice."

"Possibly three times," Kelli added just before we both broke down laughing.

To soften the blow, however, we both took turns plying Paul with ever so gentle kisses and then stepped back to wait for his answer. I saw the moment that his poor overtaxed mind caught up with the rest of the world, and I nearly did back flips when a shy but cheeky grin stretched across his face.

"Well, I would never be able to face Mark again if I said no and he found out," and it was Paul's turn to laugh when Kelli was caught off guard by his joke.

In mere moments, however, Paul had reassumed the mantle of the perfect gentleman as he pulled Kelli's hand to his mouth and kissed her hand like she was nobility.

"I would be more than honored to escort you out on the town tomorrow Miss Kelli. What time should I pick you up, or are you going to pick me up since you asked me out?"

I moved away so that they could finalize their plans without me interfering. Plus, I had to head off Jessica from interrupting as well. She took my cue as I steered her away from Kelli and Paul and we stepped to the side so that we could set the details of our own plans.

"Are they..." Jessica started to ask, pointing over at her brother.

"Yes. They are figuring out when and who will be picking the other up, which means that we are completely free to make our own plans. You should start by practicing asking me out."