Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 50 

Opening Night

When I arrived at the house, Allie was waiting for me, “Dad, Bra will be here in about forty five minutes.  I thought we would wait and all eat together.  I have some notes for you to read.”

Allie showed me the thank you notes from the people he had invited to the party.  All eleven people had written notes, even though there had been two sets of twins in attendance.  There were notes from the five parents I didn’t know, thanking us for allowing their son or daughter to attend, because they arrived home raving about the great time they had at the party.

Brahim was smiling when he arrived, for a change.  He had hardly put his backpack down before he started, “I think the opera is going to turn out to be okay.  Everyone is so much more relaxed and there is no yelling or ranting.”

That was to set the tone for the rest of the week. Everyone was contributing to the conference, to make sure that everything would be ready for the visitors, the following week.  We even had help from  Marlene and even Mr. Odom. It seemed that everyone wanted to be a part of the preparation team.

It was almost four o’clock on Friday, when Eric entered the office, “Hi, President Waller, here’s the final informational packet of the arrangements that I’ve made for the conference visitors.  I’ve made arrangements to have the packets put into the visitors’ boxes at the hotel when they arrive.”

“Juan has all the arriving passengers being met, and Oz has been a tremendous help in setting up the opening dinner on Monday evening and the closing breakfast on Friday morning.  The training sessions and seminars will start on Tuesday at nine, and run through four on Thursday afternoon.  You will need to be available, at least, for the  opening banquet on Monday and the closing breakfast on Friday.”

“In the meantime, you will be expected to attend the sessions and I’ve alerted Vice Presidents Bloom and Graybill that they will be making presentations.  The headquarters has asked that you give the keynote speech at the opening dinner, and Mr. Odom will be doing the farewell speech on Friday morning.”

“The other person from here who will be making presentations is Dr. Rudy, who will be discussing the legal ramifications of all the changes that you caused to be made here at the headquarters.  Sorry I hadn’t gotten to you sooner, but I thought that you already had a good start on your presentation with what you presented to the city employees.”

I looked at the brochure and it certainly was complete, with lots of opportunities for the visitors to enjoy their stay in Houston.  “Eric, you’ve done a tremendous job.  It sounds as if this is going to be a great conference.  Go home and relax while you can.”

It was almost five o’clock when Ozzie, Cassandra and Damon appeared in my office.  Oz started, “Boss, these two would like to come in for eight hours over the weekend to make sure the executive floor is ready for the conference.  We’ve checked with Vice-President Graybill and she has no problem with it.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “I have no problem with that.  What do Cassandra’s parents have to say about it?”

Cassandra chuckled, “My parents live in North Dakota.  My husband will be thrilled that he won’t have to work overtime, since he has a big project due for Damon’s mother, next Monday.”

I stood, “It looks to me as if it’s a win, win situation.  I’m going to bust out of this place.”

When I arrived at the house, Brahim was already home.  He and Allie were working in the kitchen.  He seemed so much more relaxed than he had since the practice for the opera had begun.  Allie hugged me, “Dad, Danny asked me to spend the night at their house.  I told him I would call him after I talked to you.”

“Allie, that’s fine with me.  Are you sure that it’s okay with Dr. Graybill, since she has a class to teach in the morning?”

Allie shrugged his shoulders, “I didn’t know that Danny and Danielle’s Mother was a teacher.  When I call Danny after dinner, you can talk to her to make sure.”

After dinner, Allie called Danny, “Danny, my Dad says its fine if I spend the night, but he wants to check something with your mother first.”

Allie handed me the phone, “This is Kit.”

“Kit, it’s Ed Waller.  I just wanted to make sure that you had no objection to Allie spending the night with Danny.”

“Hi Ed, I was just going to call you and tell you that I had given Danny permission to ask Allie to spend the night.  It’s the least I can do for what you have done for Damon.  You know he thinks of you as some sort of God.”

I laughed, “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

Kit chuckled, “Ordinarily, I would have questioned his choice of Gods but in this case, I’m pleased.”

“Thanks, I think.  Bra and I’ll drop Allie off as soon as he packs his gear.  We’ll pick him and the twins up and treat them to lunch, since you have a class to teach and Damon is planning to work tomorrow.”

“The twins would like that.  See you shortly.”

Needless to say, it was very quiet in the house with just Bra and me at home.  We made the most of the time since neither of us had to be anywhere until we picked Allie and the twins up, so we could have lunch before Brahim had to go to dress rehearsal.  It’s a good thing we did, because that was the last quiet time the two of us would have for some time.

I was a little stiff when we woke up on Saturday morning.  Bra and I had a light breakfast before we went to pick up Allie and the twins.  Allie wanted to take the twins to an Algerian restaurant for lunch and they had a great time.  We dropped Bra at the house, so he could go to dress rehearsal.  Allie and the twins were satisfied to just hang at the house.  Curtis and Manny came over and Danielle was more of an athlete than any of the guys.

Damon arrived to pick the twins up and announced that he and Cassie had worked for five hours and that Oz had given them permission to work again on Sunday.

Allie and I were fixing a light dinner when Brahim arrived and announced, “I’m pooped.  The hardest part of being in an opera is changing outfits.  I swear that the costumes are all made of the heaviest and warmest materials they could find.  We’re invited to a cast dinner party on Tuesday night at the Hilton hotel, sponsored by the theatre guild.  There will be a cocktail party before the show on  Wednesday night, which is a preview for the patrons, family and the critics.  I think the idea is to get the critics drunk, so they will write good reviews.”

Allie asked, “Who all is invited to the Wednesday night gala?”

Bra shrugged his arms, “I don’t know for sure.  I have tickets for Dad and Mother Waller and the two of you.  I figured that was all I needed.  The two of you are going to be at the dinner on Tuesday.  Dad and Mother won’t be arriving until about nine that evening.  When I talked to them, Mother said she had a meeting that afternoon.”

I added, “I won’t be home for dinner, Monday, since there is a banquet for the conferees that will be arriving tomorrow and Monday.  I’m to give keynote talk.  I guess I’d better sit down and get my act together.”

Sunday was a lazy day, and I finalized my presentation.  On Monday, I drove to work by myself, since the only people who would be going to the banquet would be Tom, Mr. Odom and myself.  Kit had asked to be excused because of her class.  Eric and Oz were going to be there, but to make sure that the arrangements were all made, and followed, exactly as arranged.

When I arrived at the office, Eric was visibly nervous.  He was fretting that things wouldn’t go as planned.  I was apprehensive as well, but the day went very smoothly.  I freshened up before I went to the banquet and almost forgot to take my presentation with me.  Fortunately, J. R. and Tammy had left a note reminding me to take it.

The food was very good, and the presentation was well received.  Several of the people from the headquarters came up to me and commended me on how well organized everything was.

When I arrived at the house, Allie announced, “Dieter is going to be coming with Mrs. Carr.  I told him he could stay here.  That’s okay, isn’t it?

“Of course, it’s okay.”

Tuesday was a blur.  I had to let the staff take care of the business, since I felt as if I needed to attend as many of the sessions as possible.  I was exhausted when the conference broke up at four.  I really had no desire to go to a another dinner, but I knew that Bra would be disappointed if we didn’t go.

We went to the buffet dinner and had a good time.  It was fun meeting the opera company people.  They all had only nice things to say about Brahim.

When we arrived at the house, the parents were already there.  They were surprised when we had Dieter with us.  Dad began to ask him all sorts of questions about how his GED courses were going.

Dieter frowned, “It would have been much better if I had been able to go to school.  It’s a grind and I’m not getting the education I would have in high school.  I’ll have to go to a junior college probably before I can get accepted into a major college.”

Dad patted Dieter on the back, “Son, not everyone needs to go to college.  There are people who don’t have a college education who are making better livings than some people who have college degrees, including post graduate degrees.”

On Wednesday, the combined Board Meeting and Conference made for some heavy discussions.  Fortunately, my staff was there and we were able to fend off all the questions and answered them to everyone’s satisfaction.  The meal was at Trig’s restaurant and it was one of the highlights of the conference.  Not only was the food outstanding, but there was a friendly dialogue at all the tables which had been arranged so that one of the board members would be at each table.”

The Wednesday night event was a formal affair, so I had to rush home and change into my tuxedo, which Allie had already laid out for me.  Dieter and my parents accompanied Allie and me to the affair, since Bra had to be there early to get ready.  As we were going into the theatre to be seated, I had a sudden panic attack that something was going to go wrong.  I started to giggle nervously.  Mother looked at me, “Ed, everything is going to be fine.  Brahim will be great.  He can only do his part.”

It’s a good thing that I wasn’t a fingernail biter or I wouldn’t have had any fingernails left.  Why I was so nervous, I’ll never understand, but I wanted Brahim to do well.  When the final curtain came down, I was watching the people to see what the reaction would be.  It seemed to me that they were lukewarm to the production.

Allie leaned over to me, “Dad, I think the people are overwhelmed by what they just saw.  Bra was fantastic.”

The curtain went up and there was a standing ovation for the entire cast and supporting crew.  When Bra made his appearance, the flowers started to be delivered.  After three curtain calls with standing ovations, the house lights dimmed.  We walked back stage to see if we could find Bra and he was surrounded by reporters and photographers.  We caught his attention.

He excused himself, “Ed, stay and go home with me.  I don’t want to get caught here all night.  I do have classes tomorrow.  Some of the cast is ready to party and I don’t want to.”

I finally extracted Bra, about thirty minutes later.  There were some opera guild and board members who weren’t too happy, but Mrs. Odom and Mrs. Sanders stepped in and we were out of there.

On Thursday morning when I went to the kitchen, Dad was sitting there reading the paper.  “Ed, your man wowed the critics.  They are saying that Brahim is the best thing to hit the Houston opera scene in years.  Listen to this.”

“Last night I went to see the first showing of the Houston Grand Opera season opening production of Rigoletto with an unknown singer in the lead role.  I was totally prepared to be disappointed.  To my surprise and pleasure, the new young star, Mr. Brahim Safi was outstanding in his role.  His voice is a pleasure to listen to and he certainly was well prepared.  He is a very private person.  About all he would reveal is that he is originally from Algeria and studied opera in Italy for twelve years.  He’s 29 years old and is attending the University of Houston.”

“Mr. Safi has a brilliant career ahead of him.  It won’t be long until the young man is being featured around the world with his fantastic baritone voice and self assuredness.   I think I can honestly say that a star was born on the Houston Grand Opera stage, last night.  This is a must see production for all opera aficionados.”

I was dragging when I arrived at the house after work on Thursday.  The conference went extremely well.  In fact so well that the brass from London and The Hague kept stopping in to visit.  Consequently, I was not able to get any business done.  I was beginning to feel guilty because I was relying so much on the staff.  I was so glad that I didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything special on Thursday night.

When I walked into the house, Allie whispered, “Bra has had so many phone calls that I think the phone is growing out of his ear.  He just told Dieter and me to tell any further callers that he is not available and will be out of contact for the remainder of the evening.”

As we were eating, Bra explained, “Everyone is calling and wanting me to do a benefit for their organization.  They seem to think that because I’m in an opera that I’m obligated to do a free show to promote their cause and the opera.  I’m going to talk to members of the opera guild and tell them that I’ll quit if they don’t call the moochers off.  We have a life to lead and I’m not going to give away my services.”

We were in the living room after dinner when Ms Sanders, Ms Crabtree, Mrs. Carr and the Odoms arrived.  Ms Sanders was the spokesperson for the group, “Brahim, you’re probably overwhelmed by everything that has happened so far.  Tomorrow will be the telling show.  The people who attend the opening night tend to be a little more critical of the productions.  They aren’t as knowledgeable about opera as the people who were there last night.”

“However, if the audience enjoys what they see, they will bring more patrons by word of mouth than all the glossy critics comments.  Don’t let yourself get bogged down in doing free benefits.  There are some groups out there who would want you to become a benefactor and take advantage of you.  I suggest that if all goes well, you might consider getting a reputable manager to handle your bookings to make sure that you aren’t being used.  If you need someone, I’m available at a minimum fee.”

Bra looked at me as if asking for help.  I was saved from having to say anything by Mr. Odom.  “Brahim, Madeline has dedicated the last part of her life to helping aspiring young talent.  You could do a heck of a lot worse than having her as your agent.  She only has a few clients and besides, it would keep her out of Ed’s and my hair if you would keep her busy.”

That caused everyone to laugh.  Ms Carr added, “Bra, I think you need to keep your options open and not tie yourself strictly to opera.  Your voice is of such a quality that you will be able to demonstrate your versatility in other music forms as well.  I would really like to see you and Allie perform together.”

When the visitors had departed, Brahim fell back against the sofa, “Ed, can we get away from this rat race as soon as possible.  I still have three and a half years of college ahead of me.  I can’t be thinking about a career in music.  What’s to say my voice won’t fail tomorrow night?”

“Bra, let’s think positive.  Dad told Dieter the other night that being a college graduate doesn’t insure that you are going to be successful anymore.  Let’s just take one thing at a time.  Let’s go to bed.  We’re both tired and tomorrow is going to be another long day.” 

To be continued...

 Editor's Notes:  This was quite a busy chapter.  I don't think that Bra has anything to worry about, any time soon.  I am sure that his voice will continue to sound magnificent for many years to come. 

I agree with Bra about doing things gratis for "worthy causes."  You would be amazed how the various organizations circle above like vultures,  looking to get a big bite out of anyone whom they think they can sucker into donating their time and, in some cases, money.

It was nice to see Dieter again.  He is a very nice young man, who has been through a lot of heartache.  Hopefully, from now on, things will go much better for him.

I am very happy to see Damon turn his situation around.  He is definitely on his way to becoming a fine young man and in my opinion, he will go far in life.

Please don't forget to send along some warm wishes and prayers to E Walk.  He does seem to be getting better, but, Hey It won't hurt.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 12/03/10